Cognitive and behavioral engagement in online teacher professional development: The role of teacher characteristics and learning opportunities

Designing adaptive online teacher professional development (oTPD) requires an understanding of how both teacher characteristics and the nature of learning opportunities shape teacher engagement. While indicators of behavioral engagement (e.g., time spent) have received some attention, cognitive engagement—how deeply teachers process and reflect on learning opportunities—remains underexplored. This study investigates both behavioral and cognitive engagement across three types of learning opportunities (theoretical input, planning material, representations of practice) among N = 125 in-service teachers. Results indicate that aspects of behavioral engagement were only weakly related to cognitive engagement, and for some types of learning opportunities, not at all. In addition to prior knowledge, individual beliefs and perceived time resources emerged as relevant predictors of engagement. These findings highlight the importance of considering teachers’ cognitive engagement more systematically in oTPD design and research. • Objective quality of teachers' engagement in oTPD as a relevant new construct. • Perceived time resources as an important, often overlooked teacher characteristic. • Situated learning opportunities may hinder alignment with intended oTPD goals.