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This chapter reports on ongoing design-based research being conducted in the fully online Master of Arts in Teacher Leadership (MTL) program at the University of Illinois Springfield. After an initial Quality Matters (QM) review and redesign, semester-to-semester implementation issues identified by the Community of Inquiry (CoI) survey form the basis for ongoing course improvements. Preliminary results from a four-semester iterative redesign of one course demonstrated the efficacy of using this design-based process for significantly improving learning outcomes. Currently, departmental faculty are collaborating on the redesign of all core courses in the MTL program using a similar process guided by an initial QM redesign followed by iterative and incremental changes driven by CoI survey results.

This chapter describes how faculty in a fully online Master’s program in teacher leadership are using a design-based approach, grounded in theory and informed by data, to iteratively improve core courses and student learning from them. Specifically, the authors revised their courses to meet Quality Matters (QM) standards for online course design, and then made incremental and ongoing revisions focused on course implementation and based on student responses to the Community of Inquiry (CoI) survey. The first part of the chapter describes the online program in which course improvements are taking place, and the QM and CoI theoretical frameworks. In the main body of the chapter, specific course revisions are discussed and initial findings reported which show significant improvements in student outcomes as a result of these revisions. This section also describes the design-based approach the authors adopted and provides recommendations for others who might want to similarly improve individual courses or program offerings as a whole. The chapter closes with a brief discussion of directions for future research and conclusions, which highlight what the authors believe are the most important aspects of this work.