Online vs. In-Person Teacher Training: An Instructor's View
Wondering whether you can earn a California teaching credential online? At BATTI, you can. Our full Multiple Subject Credential and Master's in Education program is offered both in person and online, with the same core content in each format. To show what learning online actually looks like, we asked Abel Guzman, who teaches our Teaching for English Language Learners (ELLs) course to both cohorts, how he approaches each one.
Does BATTI offer an online teaching credential program?
Yes. BATTI runs in-person and online cohorts side by side, and both formats are here to stay. Online residents complete the same Multiple Subject Credential and Master's in Education as in-person residents, and they apply on the same timeline: the priority deadline is February 19 and the final deadline is May 1. Online classes meet live two evenings a week, for 3 hours per session, so residents can learn alongside their full teaching day.
How is online teacher training different from in-person?
By the time Abel was invited to teach online, he had already taught the course in person for two years and built a syllabus around comprehensible content and dynamic adult learning. Online learning had never felt truly meaningful to him, as a facilitator or as a participant, so the online cohort became a personal challenge.
"Facilitating this same course online meant I had to rethink how I wanted my students to interact with and access the content, but most importantly, how I wanted them to interact with each other," Abel says.
Here is what changed:
Breakout rooms keep every voice in the conversation
Abel uses breakout rooms for pair and small-group processing time, followed by share-outs. With limited class time, his goal is for every resident to be heard every 10 to 15 minutes.
Video recordings replace live modeling
Some teaching moves, like live modeling of key strategies, lose their impact on a screen or run into tech limitations. For the online cohort, Abel uses video recordings of those strategies instead.
Interactive slide decks become the classroom
Live, interactive slide decks are the online cohort's main way to engage with content and with each other. Individual residents or pairs annotate, summarize, connect and critique a slide, then do a virtual gallery walk, responding to each other with quick comments, reactions and emojis. "I found this particularly powerful in giving residents choice via different ways to express, and agency in their own learning," Abel says.
Warm-ups get an online makeover
Some in-person openers, like tableau or "find a partner who is wearing…," simply don't work on a screen, so Abel adapts warm-ups and ice-breakers into online versions.
Sessions are built for residents after a full teaching day
Mid-semester feedback showed that staying engaged in front of a screen for three hours after teaching all day was a real struggle. Online sessions now run 2.5 to 3 hours.
What stays the same online?
Almost everything that matters. Abel estimates that about 90% of the course content is the same for both cohorts. The assignments, the weekly class structure and the asynchronous work are shared as well. Each class still moves from discussing weekly readings and videos into hands-on learning: developing lessons, modeling strategies and analyzing recordings of real teaching.
Why does cohort size matter more online?
It might seem easier to hold a large group on a screen than in a room. Abel has found the opposite. "Keeping learners engaged on a screen is a much more challenging endeavor, and the smaller the group, the more frequent everyone's voice can be heard and the more important the individual becomes within the group."
BATTI's online cohorts have been small so far, and while we hope to grow them, we don't expect a cohort to exceed 20 residents.
Can online teacher training be as meaningful as in-person?
For Abel, the answer is yes, if it's designed with intention. "I think it is important to create authentic and meaningful learning experiences on a screen because, whether you favor more traditional in-person learning or not, screens are now an important part of our culture, especially among young learners." Teaching both cohorts, he says, made him a better instructor and pushed him to design more meaningful assignments and learning experiences.
Frequently asked questions
-
Yes. Online residents earn the same Multiple Subject Credential and Master's in Education as in-person residents.
-
Live, two evenings a week, for 2.5 to 3 hours per session.
-
The priority deadline is February 19 and the final deadline is May 1, the same for both formats.
Find the format that fits your life
Ready to become a teacher? Explore BATTI's Credential + Master's program, in person or online.
