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Rural educators must possess high standards of ethical behavior that inform professional practice and improve the communities in which they live and work. The purposes of this article are to discuss rural education and its intersection with online classes as vehicles to meet residents' educational needs; ethical issues that surround online class delivery; and suggestions to deter academic dishonesty in online classes. Key Words: rural education, distance education, academic dishonesty, academic integrity, cheating, ethics, instructional practices, Internet, online instruction, student behaviors/attitude, teacher preparation, World Wide Web.

Within their teacher preparation courses and field experiences, preservice teachers are introduced to numerous instructional practices, not all of which are considered research-based. For this reason, instruction in how to evaluate the effectiveness of one’s practices is essential, but it is often a lacking component of initial certification programs. In this article, a flexible, problem-solving model for collecting and reflecting on practice-based evidence (PBE) is described. The model, utilized in a graduate program in Special Education, was designed to assist teacher candidates in evaluating the effectiveness of the practices they implement to optimize students’ learning outcomes. Implications for practice in the K-12 environment are also provided.

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