USE OF OPEN-ACCESS RESOURCES AND DIGITAL PLATFORMS FOR EFFECTIVE TEACHING AND PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT OF SCIENCE TEACHERS IN NIGERIA

Abstract

The rapid development in scientific innovation and development will require large-scale professional development for all science teachers. Existing research on effective teacher professional development suggests factors that are associated with substantial changes in teacher knowledge and practice, as well as students' science achievement. But the complexity of the educational system continues to thwart the search for a straightforward answer to the question of how to support science teachers' accessibility of open information resources and professional development platforms. The paper examined the use of open-access resources and platforms by science teachers. The paper is hinged on two objectives. The paper revealed that science teachers can access instruction materials freely, such as textbooks, journals, magazines, and video and audio materials. The open-access platforms that science teachers can access information resources freely include PDF Books World; Planet ebook; LibriVox; Freee B o o k s . n e t ; e B o o k L o b b y ; O n l i n e P r o g r a m m i n g B o o k s ; a n d GetFreeEbooks. The paper also showed the digital platforms where science teachers can access professional development. The digital platforms were Coursera, edX, Udemy, Alison, Udacity, LinkedIn Learning, Skillshare, MIT OpenCourseWare, Connections Academy, Academic Earth, and LessonPaths. The paper concluded that the use of open-access resources and digital platforms is essential for science teachers' pedagogical performance. Therefore, Science teachers should embrace the use of open-access resources and digital platforms for effective teaching activities and professional development