Purnell, Courtney Paschal.

The demand for virtual education is rapidly increasing due to the proliferation of legislation demanding class size limitations, funding cuts, and school choice across the United States. Virtual education leaders are discovering new ways to enhance and develop teachers to become more efficient and increase quality of learning online. Learning teams are one tool implemented by professional development departments in order to obtain a community of shared best practices and increase professional learning for teachers. ... The purpose of this exploratory case study was to investigate teachers' perceptions of the contribution of virtual learning teams to their professional development in a completely online K-12 environment. ... Five major themes emerged from the interviews, which were teacher professional development as it relates to student success, collaboration, balance, knowledge gained from being part of a virtual learning team, and teachers' perception of student success.