Unboxing virtual professional development for early childhood educators: Infusing User Experience (UX) with virtual adult learning theory (VALT)

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to explore the social validity of the STEAM Trunk Math study- a virtual professional development intervention approach for early learning educators. The aim of the intervention was to increase the knowledge, skills, and comfort level regarding the use of math in early learning settings. A quasi-experimental mixed-methods approach was used to assess the acceptability and importance of the goals, procedures, and outcomes of the intervention package. The research questions were: 1) Will math comfort and teacher attitudes about math change after participating in STEAM Trunk? 2) Is the STEAM Trunk a socially valid intervention? a) Will participants enjoy and feel like it was worth their time? b) Will they feel satisfied with this intervention and 3) How will teachers describe the influence of the STEAM trunk intervention on their teaching practice? Participants included 70 early learning educators across the State of Washington over a six-month period. Qualitative results suggest that participants deemed the intervention package helpful in increasing their knowledge, skills, and confidence. Quantitative results from an exploratory factor analysis and subsequent regression support statistically significant change in educator’s views about math. The combined results also unveiled sentiments of a user experience (UX) lens that may underlie degrees of social validity. The possibilities and potential of incorporating a UX perspective in the design of virtual professional development for the early learning workforce are discussed. Keywords: Professional development, virtual professional development, user experience, early childhood teacher education