Interconnecting networks of practice for professional learning (original) (raw)
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Teachers as drivers of their professional learning through teams, communities and networks
Engaging teachers in cooperative and collaborative processes through which they learn from each other is fundamental in rethinking professional development as being ‘done’ to teachers compared with teachers ‘doing’ or driving their professional learning. This rethinking is underpinned by opportunities that have arisen through social networks and the pervasiveness of online media but also from the shift in valuing the exploration of individual interests and needs as well as in the pedagogical reform process. The tenents of effective professional learning, that being, active engagement, teacher voice, creation and collaboration, inquiry and reflection, will be explored in this chapter through two modes of discourse. First, a reckoning of what counts as professional learning activities is propositioned to establish the driving force or purpose for teacher learning. This is then developed further in the second part of this chapter where we discuss the various approaches to professional learning with a theoretical analysis of teacher collaboration, teacher teams, communities of practice and broader social networks. Understanding the genesis, development and purpose of professional engagement and interaction is key to supporting teachers as the ‘deliverers’ of educational reform who are those tasked with transforming education through ICT.
Creating learning connections via an online community of practice: A case study
The Digital and Collaborative Learning postgraduate programme of The Mind Lab by Unitec not only provides teachers with transformational approaches to 21st‐century learning, but also with opportunities to create connections with those who teach different student age groups, are from different teaching disciplines, or are from different regions of the country. More than 600 teachers from the four annual cohorts studied in this research provide a substantial pool of knowledge and practice to be tapped into. To realise this potential, we have sought to foster an online community of practice for the teachers to engage in learning and social interactions. A community of practice embodies a: shared domain, with mutual interest in transforming teaching practice via digital and collaborative learning; shared practice; and a shared community. Structured online interactions create a dynamic sense of engagement for members. A Google+ Community provides the online platform for the teachers to share their reflective practice. Our research questions centre around what impacts the online community of practice might have on participant learning. This paper presents an analysis of a survey of current students as well as alumni. The findings should provide insights for online course designers into how to effectively foster online communities of practice.
ICERI2011 Proceedings, 2011
Advances in information and communication technologies (ICTs) as well as modern pedagogical perspectives have created new possibilities to facilitate and support learning in higher education (HE). Emerging technologies bring opportunities to reconsider teaching and learning (Coto, 2008). New ideas and concepts about the educational use of new technologies transform the roles of teachers. In this context the key question of this study is: whether learning as part of a (virtual) community of practice supports teachers’ technology professional development. Different learning alternatives such as distance learning, workplace learning as well as blended forms of learning will enhance lifelong learning which forces a rethinking of traditional forms of education. However, most institutions for education foster just-in-case learning while new technologies foster just-in-time learning (Schrum, 1999; Collins & Halverson, 2009). As a result of new learning perspectives and the potential pedagogical benefits of ICTs in educational contexts, teachers have to learn how to integrate new technologies in teaching and learning. Putnam and Borko (2000) recommend that teacher professional development should be situated in multiple learning settings in which learning is teacher-centred. Next to classroom settings and cross-institutional learning communities, virtual learning communities (VCoPs) are a significant source for learning. There is an overlap between the educational values of interned-based learning and social theories of learning such as Lave & Wenger’s (1991) situated learning theory and Wenger’s (1998) theory of communities of practice. Drawing upon these theories, offers a perspective on social learning that emphasizes social processes within (V)CoPs where community participants engage in collective learning and knowledge creation. The data discussed in this paper have been drawn from a cross institutional setting at Fontys University of Applied Sciences, The Netherlands. The data were collected and analysed according to a qualitative approach. The paper concludes that VCoPs are learning environments since these network-based learning communities push learners to take more control of their learning and provide tasks which are more contextualised and meaningful.
2017
This study examined Ukrainian language teacher notions, attitudes, feelings, and experiences related to participation in informal online Communities of Practice (CoPs) as an alternative means of professional learning. Findings from samples in Canada and Ukraine indicate opportunities for, and some challenges to, professional learning within virtual (online, Web-based) communities. In addition to traditional data collection methods, the study involved a novel case study analysis of two focus groups (4-6 teachers each), one in Lviv, Ukraine, which was physically co-located, and another in Edmonton, Alberta, conducted using the Adobe Connect online meeting platform. Group members in each city participated in a Repertory Grid activity, the aim of which was for participants to move towards consensus on elements and constructs they felt characterize informal online CoP experiences for professional learning-itself an exercise in communitybuilding (Gaines & Shaw, 2012b). A theoretical framework was developed to guide the investigation, called the "Autonomous Learning Framework for Informal Online CoPs (ALFIO-CoPs)," which helps to elucidate knowledge creation in informal online inquiry communities. The framework was used to address some of the factors which influence the broader informal online CoP experience for personally meaningful professional learning. The Ukrainian language teachers involved in this investigation strongly approved of the informal online CoP for professional learning, some even suggesting that it is the only distinct form of alternative online professional learning, while viewing other online networks and groups as more casual or personal in nature. As professionals, they recognized that emotional self-efficacy, technological self-efficacy, and technological pedagogy are uniquely supported in these communities, owing to such factors as community self-determination, mentorship, apprenticeship, and the ubiquity of the learning experience. Nonetheless, other factors, such as awareness of this form of professional learning, Internet access, time commitment, praxis issues, and professional recognition of the community experience were among the challenges to participation identified by the teachers involved in the study, and which warrant further research.
Connect to Learn: Assemblage of Pedagogies in Higher Education in a Community of Practice
The Open/Technology in Education, Society, and Scholarship Association Journal
In this paper, we report on the ways in which technology and scholarship of pedagogy emerge as interconnected within a technology-facilitated community of practice (CoP), for educators within various Faculties of Education in North American universities. The goal of the Community of Practice is to connect with and learn from one another, discussing, and reflecting on different types of pedagogical practices among members who teach in both graduate and teacher education programs in the onsite, blended, and online environments. We share analysis of interviews, and notes from CoP members’ feedback; how the CoP members made sense of their diverse teaching and social learning landscapes as well as emergent joint meanings. The results of the study suggest that the assemblage of new ideas and pedagogies can be enhanced by a relational trust. A highlighted role of technology in enabling communication and collaboration among CoP members is also discussed through the lens of connectivism.
Communities of practice: A sphere of influence enhancing teaching and learning in higher education
Power and Place: Refereed Proceedings of the Australian and New Zealand Communication Association Conference 2008, 2008
Queensland (USQ). He specialises in e-learning pedagogies, communities of practice, multimodal design, visual and multiliteracies. His research focuses on two main areas, how best to engage both students and staff in the learning process, as calibrators, and how to best use technology enhanced learning environments to augment learning opportunities for students, particularly those studying at a distance.
2017
This study examined Ukrainian language teacher notions, attitudes, feelings, and experiences related to participation in informal online Communities of Practice (CoPs) as an alternative means of professional learning. Findings from samples in Canada and Ukraine indicate opportunities for, and some challenges to, professional learning within virtual (online, Web-based) communities. In addition to traditional data collection methods, the study involved a novel case study analysis of two focus groups (4-6 teachers each), one in Lviv, Ukraine, which was physically co-located, and another in Edmonton, Alberta, conducted using the Adobe Connect online meeting platform. Group members in each city participated in a Repertory Grid activity, the aim of which was for participants to move towards consensus on elements and constructs they felt characterize informal online CoP experiences for professional learning-itself an exercise in communitybuilding (Gaines & Shaw, 2012b). A theoretical framework was developed to guide the investigation, called the "Autonomous Learning Framework for Informal Online CoPs (ALFIO-CoPs)," which helps to elucidate knowledge creation in informal online inquiry communities. The framework was used to address some of the factors which influence the broader informal online CoP experience for personally meaningful professional learning. The Ukrainian language teachers involved in this investigation strongly approved of the informal online CoP for professional learning, some even suggesting that it is the only distinct form of alternative online professional learning, while viewing other online networks and groups as more casual or personal in nature. As professionals, they recognized that emotional self-efficacy, technological self-efficacy, and technological pedagogy are uniquely supported in these communities, owing to such factors as community self-determination, mentorship, apprenticeship, and the ubiquity of the learning experience. Nonetheless, other factors, such as awareness of this form of professional learning, Internet access, time commitment, praxis issues, and professional recognition of the community experience were among the challenges to participation identified by the teachers involved in the study, and which warrant further research.
Developing communities of practice within and outside higher education institutions
British Journal of Educational Technology, 2008
Higher education institutions (HEIs) are largely built on the assumption that learning is an individual process best encouraged by explicit teaching that is, on the whole, separated from social engagement with those outside the university community. This perspective has been theoretically challenged by those who argue for a social constructivist learning theory and a more collaborative approach to learning. Information and communication technologies (ICTs) afford lecturers and students an opportunity for extending the boundaries of a learning experience, not merely beyond the lone individual, but beyond the limits of discipline boundaries within a specific university community and beyond the institution into the local community. This paper illustrates how a collaborative effort between lecturers and students from the Computer Science and Education Departments at Rhodes University, teachers from the local community, the provincial Department of Education and a non-governmental organisation developed into an unfolding virtual and physical community of practice which enabled ICT take-up in a number of schools in the Grahamstown District, South Africa. This discussion of what has become known as the e-Yethu project provides an example of how ICTs, underpinned by the insights of social constructivism, the notion of ‘community of practice’ and in particular Hoadley and Kilner's C4P Framework for Communities of Practice, can serve to help HEIs understand ways in which ICTs can provide opportunities for developing collaborative learning within HEIs, and between the HEI and the local community.