Design an international blended professional development model for gifted education: An evaluation study

Area of Science:

• Education
• Professional Development
• Instructional Design

Background:

• Gifted education requires specialized professional development.
• International programs face unique design and delivery challenges.
• Blended learning offers potential solutions for global professional development.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and evaluate an international blended learning professional development program for gifted education (The RITHA program).
• To examine the prototype of the RITHA program using Design-Based Research.
• To report on the development and evaluation process of the blended learning design.

Main Methods:

• Design-Based Research was employed to iteratively develop and test the program prototype.
• Evaluation surveys were administered to training participants.
• Analysis focused on participant satisfaction with the blended learning model and specific course components.

Main Results:

• Participants reported high overall satisfaction with the blended learning model.
• Key appreciated elements included well-designed courses, instructor quality, positive interaction, and feedback.
• Flexibility and asynchronous discussion boards were identified as major benefits of the blended approach.

Conclusions:

• The blended learning design for the RITHA program was successfully evaluated.
• Participant feedback indicates a strong preference for synchronous and asynchronous online activities and feedback.
• The findings support the effectiveness of blended learning in international professional development for gifted education.