In the throes of the pandemic, districts and professional development providers rushed to digitize teacher learning—trotting out online courses and tools while brushing up on their webinar delivery skills. (“Can you hear me now?”) Yet almost as soon as the wave hit, the tide seemed to go out on digital PD. Awash in recovery dollars, many districts returned to in-person PD. Teachers, they found, were sick of staring at screens, if not a bit hostile to online learning (Fittes, 2022).
Pandemic-era online PD might’ve been reactive, suffering from rushed rollouts, but that doesn’t mean all online PD is inherently bad. In fact, today, as districts tighten their budgets, many are reconsidering online PD as an affordable alternative to traditional in-person training. In that light, what can research tell us about best practices for online PD that won’t leave teachers weary and cranky?
A recent analysis of 115 peer-reviewed articles on online PD (Stavermann, 2025) offers four key takeaways:
1. Online PD is a viable alternative for busy teachers. Teachers generally reported that online learning afforded opportunities for flexibility that in-person learning didn’t always have. They appreciated, for example, being able to learn while juggling a busy schedule, such as by listening to a podcast or an audio recording of an article while driving to work.
2. Done well, virtual PD can be a more personalized way to learn. Teachers like that online PD can do what in-person often cannot, such as offering learning sessions in short bursts that are targeted to their own needs (vs. all-day, in-service sessions) and self-paced learning (e.g., pausing, slowing down, and rewatching videos of exemplary practice).
3. An online PD course is better when it’s interactive. Clicking through a course at your kitchen table may be a more convenient way to learn, but teachers say it’s not terribly engaging or effective without opportunities for interaction with and feedback from a live instructor. With a few exceptions, online courses without instructors or guided discussions have low participation and uptake. Online discussion forums only work when others participate—and that usually requires an active facilitator.
4. Online PD should have both structure and flexibility. Teachers like the flexibility and self-direction of digital learning, yet note too much choice can feel overwhelming. Teachers “do not want to be left exclusively to their own devices,” the review said, but prefer a clear focus and objectives for learning.
Ultimately, what matters most for good PD—whether online, in-person, or hybrid—is that teachers find the content applicable to their daily practice, can ask for and receive feedback and guidance, and have opportunities to apply what they learn to their classrooms.
