Research Anthology on Facilitating New Educational Practices Through Communities of Learning [1 & 2] 2020043484, 2020043485, 9781799872948, 9781799872955

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Research Anthology on Facilitating New Educational Practices Through Communities of Learning

Copyright © 2020. IGI Global. All rights reserved.

Information Resources Management Association USA

Research Anthology on Facilitating New Educational Practices Through Communities of Learning, edited by Association, Information Resources Management, IGI Global, 2020. ProQuest

Published in the United States of America by IGI Global Information Science Reference (an imprint of IGI Global) 701 E. Chocolate Avenue Hershey PA, USA 17033 Tel: 717-533-8845 Fax: 717-533-8661 E-mail: [email protected] Web site: http://www.igi-global.com Copyright © 2021 by IGI Global. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored or distributed in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, without written permission from the publisher. Product or company names used in this set are for identification purposes only. Inclusion of the names of the products or companies does not indicate a claim of ownership by IGI Global of the trademark or registered trademark. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Names: Information Resources Management Association, editor. Title: Research anthology on facilitating new educational practices through communities of learning / Information Resources Management Association, Editor. Description: Hershey : Information Science Reference, [2020] | Includes bibliographical references and index. | Summary: “While highlighting topics such as learning communities, teacher development, mentoring, and virtual communities, this book is essential for inservice and preservice teachers, administrators, teacher educators, practitioners, stakeholders, researchers, academicians, and students who are interested in how communities of practice tie into professional development, teacher learning, and the online shift in teaching”-- Provided by publisher. Identifiers: LCCN 2020043484 (print) | LCCN 2020043485 (ebook) | ISBN 9781799872948 (Hardcover) | ISBN 9781799872955 (eBook) Subjects: LCSH: Mentoring in education--United States. | African American universities and colleges--Faculty. | Professional learning communities. | Teachers--In-service training. Classification: LCC LB1731.4 .R47 2020 (print) | LCC LB1731.4 (ebook) | DDC 371.102--dc23 LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2020043484 LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2020043485

British Cataloguing in Publication Data A Cataloguing in Publication record for this book is available from the British Library.

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The views expressed in this book are those of the authors, but not necessarily of the publisher. For electronic access to this publication, please contact: [email protected].

Research Anthology on Facilitating New Educational Practices Through Communities of Learning, edited by Association, Information Resources Management, IGI Global, 2020. ProQuest

Editor-in-Chief Mehdi Khosrow-Pour, DBA Information Resources Management Association, USA

Associate Editors Steve Clarke, University of Hull, UK Murray E. Jennex, San Diego State University, USA Ari-Veikko Anttiroiko, University of Tampere, Finland

Editorial Advisory Board

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Sherif Kamel, American University in Cairo, Egypt In Lee, Western Illinois University, USA Jerzy Kisielnicki, Warsaw University, Poland Amar Gupta, Arizona University, USA Craig van Slyke, University of Central Florida, USA John Wang, Montclair State University, USA Vishanth Weerakkody, Brunel University, UK

Research Anthology on Facilitating New Educational Practices Through Communities of Learning, edited by Association, Information Resources Management, IGI Global, 2020. ProQuest

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List of Contributors

Ankrum, Julie W. / Indiana University of Pennsylvania, USA.......................................................... 225 Appleget, Carin / Creighton University, USA................................................................................... 557 Arredondo, Antonio / California State University, Channel Islands, Camarillo, CA, USA............. 302 Atiku, Sulaiman Olusegun / Namibia University of Science and Technology, Namibia................... 116 Barton, Denise H. / Wake Technical Community College, Raleigh, NC, USA..................................... 18 Bird, Jennifer Lynne / Florida Atlantic University, USA.................................................................... 91 Blonder, Ron / Weizmann Institute of Science, Israel........................................................................ 820 Bozkurt, Aras / Anadolu University, Turkey & University of South Africa, South Africa................ 347 Brown, Barbara / University of Calgary, Canada............................................................................ 456 Brown, Susannah L. / Florida Atlantic University, USA..................................................................... 91 Chae, Chungil / Pennsylvania State University, USA........................................................................ 267 Chauvot, Jennifer / University of Houston, USA.............................................................................. 713 Cochrane, Thomas / Centre for Learning and Teaching (CfLAT), Auckland University of Technology, Auckland, New Zealand............................................................................................. 325 Colby, Rebekah Shultz / University of Denver, USA......................................................................... 522 Colwell, Jamie / Old Dominion University, USA............................................................................... 536 Consalvo, Annamary L. / The University of Texas at Tyler, USA...................................................... 366 Coto, Mayela / Universidad Nacional, Costa Rica............................................................................ 191 Dagen, Allison Swan / West Virginia University, USA....................................................................... 225 del Rosal, Karla / Southern Methodist University, USA.................................................................... 622 Delello, Julie A. / The University of Texas at Tyler, USA.................................................................... 366 Dimmitt, Eric J. / Cardinal Stritch University, USA.............................................................................. 1 Dirckinck-Holmfeld, Lone / Aalborg University, Denmark............................................................. 191 Dun, Jian / Beijing Institute of Education, China.............................................................................. 800 Edge, Christi / Northern Michigan University, USA......................................................................... 422 Ehlen, Corry / CoCreata Consultancy, The Netherlands & Zuyd University of Applied Sciences, The Netherlands............................................................................................................................. 478 Fields, Ziska / University of Johannesburg, South Africa................................................................. 116 Fleener, Jayne / North Carolina State University, USA.................................................................... 800 Friedman, Jane / University of San Diego, USA................................................................................. 72 Friesen, Sharon / University of Calgary, Canada............................................................................. 456 Gairin, Joaquin / Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona, Spain.......................................................... 167 Gallagher, Melissa A. / University of Louisiana at Lafayette, USA................................................... 788 García-Valcárcel, Ana / University of Salamanca, Spain................................................................. 287 Gedik, Pinar Kocabas / Yildiz Technical University, Turkey............................................................. 104  

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Giering, Judith A. / University of Virginia, USA............................................................................... 395 Gürsoy, Serkan / Beykoz University, Turkey..................................................................................... 240 Hamond, Karen M. / New England College, USA............................................................................. 734 Han, Heeyoung / Southern Illinois University, USA.......................................................................... 267 Han, Seung-hyun / The University of Georgia, USA......................................................................... 267 Hennissen, Paul / Fontys University of Applied Sciences, The Netherlands..................................... 478 Hicks, Kimberly / Houston Independent School District, USA......................................................... 713 Hunger, Gail M. / University of Virginia, USA.................................................................................. 395 Jacobsen, Michele / University of Calgary, Canada......................................................................... 456 James, Cynthia C. / Kota Kinabalu District Education Ofce and Sabah State Education Department, Sabah, Malaysia............................................................................................... 637, 674 Jenkins, J. Jacob / California State University, Channel Islands, Camarillo, CA, USA................... 302 Jones, Megan / California State University, Channel Islands, Camarillo, CA, USA........................ 302 Katrnakova, Hana / Masaryk University, Czech Republic............................................................... 658 Kilgore, Whitney / University of North Texas, USA.......................................................................... 347 Lari, Pooneh / Wake Technical Community College, Raleigh, NC, USA............................................ 18 Lee, Kean Wah / School of Education, University of Nottingham Malaysia, Semenyih, Malaysia................................................................................................................................ 637, 674 Li, Jiacheng / East China Normal University, China........................................................................ 382 Lim, Doo Hun / University of Oklahoma, USA.................................................................................. 267 Lin, Dongmei / NaLong Primary School, China............................................................................... 382 Liu, Haixia / LuoGang Middle School, China................................................................................... 382 Liu, Judith / University of San Diego, USA......................................................................................... 72 Lu, Lianfang / University of Arkansas at Little Rock, USA............................................................... 800 Lu, Lingyun / Shanghai Normal University, China........................................................................... 491 Maiden, Jefrey / University of Oklahoma, USA................................................................................. 51 Martins, Ana / University of Kwazulu-Natal, South Africa............................................................... 147 Martins, Isabel / University of Kwazulu-Natal, South Africa............................................................ 147 Mena, Juanjo / University of Salamanca, Spain............................................................................... 287 Meyskens, Moriah / University of San Diego, USA............................................................................ 72 Mingquan, Yang / Beijing Normal University, China....................................................................... 800 Mitchell, Chrystine / York College of Pennsylvania, USA................................................................ 557 Mitchell, Claire / University of Wisconsin – La Crosse, USA........................................................... 575 Montgomery, Nancy / Southern Methodist University, USA............................................................ 622 Morewood, Aimee L. / West Virginia University, USA...................................................................... 225 Mupepi, Mambo G. / Grand Valley State University, USA................................................................ 411 Musgrove, Ann / Florida Atlantic University, USA............................................................................. 91 Myers, Perla / University of San Diego, USA...................................................................................... 72 Narayan, Vickel / Centre for Learning and Teaching (CfLAT), Auckland University of Technology, Auckland, New Zealand............................................................................................. 325 Ofemile, Abdulmalik Yusuf / University of Nottingham, UK............................................................ 595 Ortactepe, Deniz / Bilkent University, Turkey................................................................................... 104 Pape, Stephen J. / Johns Hopkins University, USA............................................................................ 713 Pereira, Orlando Petiz / University of Minho, Portugal.................................................................... 147 Powers, Jillian / Florida Atlantic University, USA.............................................................................. 91 Prosser, Sherri K. / Austin Peay State University, USA..................................................................... 713

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Raman, Lalitha / Jyoti Nivas College Autonomous, India.................................................................. 32 Robinson, Heather / University of North Texas, USA....................................................................... 347 Rodríguez-Gómez, David / Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Spain.......................................... 167 Salinas, Tara Ceranic / University of San Diego, USA........................................................................ 72 Sgoutas-Emch, Sandra / University of San Diego, USA..................................................................... 72 Skinner, Andrea M. / California State University, Channel Islands, Camarillo, CA, USA.............. 302 Suh, Boyung / The University of Georgia, USA................................................................................. 267 Suh, Jennifer M. / George Mason University, USA........................................................................... 788 Taylor, Valerie / Old Dominion University, USA............................................................................... 536 Van Ostrand, Ashley / California State University, Channel Islands, Camarillo, CA, USA............ 302 Visaiz, Ramon / California State University, Channel Islands, Camarillo, CA, USA...................... 302 Waldman, Ruth / Weizmann Institute of Science, Israel................................................................... 820 Ware, Paige / Southern Methodist University, USA........................................................................... 622 Wheat, Jennifer / Tangipahoa Parish School System, USA.............................................................. 767 Wolfe, Spencer / California State University, Channel Islands, Camarillo, CA, USA...................... 302 Yücelen, Murat / Yeditepe University, Turkey................................................................................... 240 Zheng, Xue / East China Normal University, China......................................................................... 382

Research Anthology on Facilitating New Educational Practices Through Communities of Learning, edited by Association, Information Resources Management, IGI Global, 2020. ProQuest

Table of Contents

Preface.................................................................................................................................................. xiv

Volume I Section 1 Considerations and Practices in Professional Communities Chapter 1 Professional Learning Communities and Adult Learning and Teaching: Best Practices in Building a Community of Learners........................................................................................................................ 1 Eric J. Dimmitt, Cardinal Stritch University, USA Chapter 2 Building Communities of Practice Through Faculty Mentorship Programs......................................... 18 Pooneh Lari, Wake Technical Community College, Raleigh, NC, USA Denise H. Barton, Wake Technical Community College, Raleigh, NC, USA Chapter 3 Application of Knowledge Management in University Research and Higher Education: An Experiment With Communities of Practice (COP)................................................................................ 32 Lalitha Raman, Jyoti Nivas College Autonomous, India

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Chapter 4 Professional Development for Classroom Teachers............................................................................... 51 Jefrey Maiden, University of Oklahoma, USA Chapter 5 Building Faculty SoTL Skills Through a Multi- and Interdisciplinary Writing Community of  Practice................................................................................................................................................... 72 Sandra Sgoutas-Emch, University of San Diego, USA Judith Liu, University of San Diego, USA Moriah Meyskens, University of San Diego, USA Tara Ceranic Salinas, University of San Diego, USA Jane Friedman, University of San Diego, USA Perla Myers, University of San Diego, USA

Research Anthology on Facilitating New Educational Practices Through Communities of Learning, edited by Association, Information Resources Management, IGI Global, 2020. ProQuest





Chapter 6 Leading Learning Communities with Creative Practice........................................................................ 91 Susannah L. Brown, Florida Atlantic University, USA Jennifer Lynne Bird, Florida Atlantic University, USA Ann Musgrove, Florida Atlantic University, USA Jillian Powers, Florida Atlantic University, USA Chapter 7 Teacher Identity (Re)Construction within Professional Learning Communities: The Role of Emotions and Tensions........................................................................................................................ 104 Pinar Kocabas Gedik, Yildiz Technical University, Turkey Deniz Ortactepe, Bilkent University, Turkey Chapter 8 Collaborative Approaches for Communities of Practice Activities Enrichment................................. 116 Ziska Fields, University of Johannesburg, South Africa Sulaiman Olusegun Atiku, Namibia University of Science and Technology, Namibia Chapter 9 A New Perspective in Competitiveness for Business Education: Communities of Practice – The Crystal Palace...................................................................................................................................... 147 Ana Martins, University of Kwazulu-Natal, South Africa Isabel Martins, University of Kwazulu-Natal, South Africa Orlando Petiz Pereira, University of Minho, Portugal Chapter 10 Communities of Practice for Promoting Organizational and Informal Learning in Public  Administration..................................................................................................................................... 167 David Rodríguez-Gómez, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Spain Joaquin Gairin, Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona, Spain

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Section 2 Online Communities and Tools for Virtual Collaboration Chapter 11 Professional Development to Promote Online Communication, Collaboration and Learning Among Faculty: A Community of Practice Approach......................................................................... 191 Mayela Coto, Universidad Nacional, Costa Rica Lone Dirckinck-Holmfeld, Aalborg University, Denmark Chapter 12 Conceptualizing Characteristics of Professional Learning in an Online Environment....................... 225 Aimee L. Morewood, West Virginia University, USA Julie W. Ankrum, Indiana University of Pennsylvania, USA Allison Swan Dagen, West Virginia University, USA

Research Anthology on Facilitating New Educational Practices Through Communities of Learning, edited by Association, Information Resources Management, IGI Global, 2020. ProQuest



Chapter 13 Efcacy of Organizational Learning and Social Capital in Online Communities of Practice: Dualities and Intersections................................................................................................................... 240 Serkan Gürsoy, Beykoz University, Turkey Murat Yücelen, Yeditepe University, Turkey Chapter 14 Enhancing Learner-Driven Informal Learning in a Virtual Practice Community: The Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) as a Learning Solution for Professional Development....................... 267 Chungil Chae, Pennsylvania State University, USA Boyung Suh, The University of Georgia, USA Seung-hyun Han, The University of Georgia, USA Heeyoung Han, Southern Illinois University, USA Doo Hun Lim, University of Oklahoma, USA Chapter 15 In-Service Teachers’ Use of ICT for the Promotion of Collaborative Professional Learning............. 287 Ana García-Valcárcel, University of Salamanca, Spain Juanjo Mena, University of Salamanca, Spain Chapter 16 Creating Virtual Communities That Work: Best Practices for Users and Developers of E-Collaboration Software.................................................................................................................... 302 Ashley Van Ostrand, California State University, Channel Islands, Camarillo, CA, USA Spencer Wolfe, California State University, Channel Islands, Camarillo, CA, USA Antonio Arredondo, California State University, Channel Islands, Camarillo, CA, USA Andrea M. Skinner, California State University, Channel Islands, Camarillo, CA, USA Ramon Visaiz, California State University, Channel Islands, Camarillo, CA, USA Megan Jones, California State University, Channel Islands, Camarillo, CA, USA J. Jacob Jenkins, California State University, Channel Islands, Camarillo, CA, USA

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Chapter 17 Nurturing Collaborative Networks of Mobile Learning Researchers and Practitioners...................... 325 Thomas Cochrane, Centre for Learning and Teaching (CfLAT), Auckland University of Technology, Auckland, New Zealand Vickel Narayan, Centre for Learning and Teaching (CfLAT), Auckland University of Technology, Auckland, New Zealand Chapter 18 Learning Communities: Theory and Practice of Leveraging Social Media for Learning................... 347 Heather Robinson, University of North Texas, USA Whitney Kilgore, University of North Texas, USA Aras Bozkurt, Anadolu University, Turkey & University of South Africa, South Africa

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Chapter 19 “I Found Myself Retweeting”: Using Twitter Chats to Build Professional Learning Networks......... 366 Julie A. Delello, The University of Texas at Tyler, USA Annamary L. Consalvo, The University of Texas at Tyler, USA Chapter 20 Achieving Rural Teachers’ Development Through a WeChat Professional Learning Community: Two Cases From Guangdong Province................................................................................................ 382 Xue Zheng, East China Normal University, China Haixia Liu, LuoGang Middle School, China Dongmei Lin, NaLong Primary School, China Jiacheng Li, East China Normal University, China Section 3 Use in General Teaching and Learning Chapter 21 Advancing a New General Education Curriculum Through a Faculty Community of Practice: A Model for Intentional Design............................................................................................................... 395 Judith A. Giering, University of Virginia, USA Gail M. Hunger, University of Virginia, USA

Volume II Chapter 22 Using Communities of Practice to Identify Competencies.................................................................. 411 Mambo G. Mupepi, Grand Valley State University, USA

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Chapter 23 A Teacher Educator’s Meaning-Making From a Hybrid “Online Teaching Fellows” Professional Learning Experience: Toward Literacy Practices for Teaching and Learning in Multimodal  Contexts............................................................................................................................................... 422 Christi Edge, Northern Michigan University, USA Chapter 24 Teachers’ Professional Learning Focused on Designs for Early Learners and Technology................ 456 Michele Jacobsen, University of Calgary, Canada Sharon Friesen, University of Calgary, Canada Barbara Brown, University of Calgary, Canada Chapter 25 The “Co-Creation-Wheel”: A Guiding Instrument for Sustainable Change – A Case History of “Communities of Practice” in Dutch Elementary Schools.................................................................. 478 Corry Ehlen, CoCreata Consultancy, The Netherlands & Zuyd University of Applied Sciences, The Netherlands Paul Hennissen, Fontys University of Applied Sciences, The Netherlands

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Chapter 26 Impact of Group Mentoring on the Professional Development of Early Childhood Teachers in a Shanghai Kindergarten......................................................................................................................... 491 Lingyun Lu, Shanghai Normal University, China Section 4 Use in Language Arts and Literacy Learning Chapter 27 Using Online Writing Communities to Teach Writing MOOCs......................................................... 522 Rebekah Shultz Colby, University of Denver, USA Chapter 28 Peer Review in Online Professional Communities to Support Elementary Disciplinary Literacy Planning............................................................................................................................................... 536 Jamie Colwell, Old Dominion University, USA Valerie Taylor, Old Dominion University, USA Chapter 29 Preservice Teachers Collaborating and Co-Constructing in a Digital Space: Using Participatory Literacy Practices to Teach Content and Pedagogy............................................................................. 557 Chrystine Mitchell, York College of Pennsylvania, USA Carin Appleget, Creighton University, USA Chapter 30 I Do and I Understand: Professional Learning Communities to Engage Learners in Authentic  Practice................................................................................................................................................. 575 Claire Mitchell, University of Wisconsin – La Crosse, USA

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Chapter 31 Reforming Pre-Service English Language Teacher Training Using Professional Community of Learning............................................................................................................................................... 595 Abdulmalik Yusuf Ofemile, University of Nottingham, UK Chapter 32 Teachers Learning to Teach English Learners in an Online Community of Practice in an Urban  District................................................................................................................................................. 622 Karla del Rosal, Southern Methodist University, USA Paige Ware, Southern Methodist University, USA Nancy Montgomery, Southern Methodist University, USA Chapter 33 Exploring a Transformative Teacher Professional Development Model to Engender Technology Integration in the 21st Century ESL Language Classrooms................................................................ 637 Kean Wah Lee, School of Education, University of Nottingham Malaysia, Semenyih, Malaysia Cynthia C. James, Kota Kinabalu District Education Ofce and Sabah State Education Department, Sabah, Malaysia

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Chapter 34 Integration of Videoconferencing in ESP and EAP Courses: Focus on Community of Practice  Interaction............................................................................................................................................ 658 Hana Katrnakova, Masaryk University, Czech Republic Chapter 35 Mobilisation and Enactment of Malaysian ESL Teachers’ Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge: From Professional Learning to Professional Practice...................................................... 674 Cynthia C. James, University of Cambridge, UK Kean Wah Lee, University of Nottingham Malaysia, Malaysia Section 5 Use in Science and Math Learning Chapter 36 Online Mathematics Teacher Education: Examples From Professional Learning Programs for Inservice Teachers................................................................................................................................ 713 Jennifer Chauvot, University of Houston, USA Stephen J. Pape, Johns Hopkins University, USA Sherri K. Prosser, Austin Peay State University, USA Kimberly Hicks, Houston Independent School District, USA Chapter 37 A Guide to Professional Learning for Secondary Mathematics Teachers........................................... 734 Karen M. Hamond, New England College, USA Chapter 38 Assessment Literacy Within Middle School-Level Math Professional Learning Communities......... 767 Jennifer Wheat, Tangipahoa Parish School System, USA

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Chapter 39 Preservice Teachers Decomposing Ambitious Mathematics Teaching: Video Analysis and Professional Learning Communities.................................................................................................... 788 Jennifer M. Suh, George Mason University, USA Melissa A. Gallagher, University of Louisiana at Lafayette, USA Chapter 40 Sustaining a Teacher Professional Learning Community in China Through Technology................... 800 Jayne Fleener, North Carolina State University, USA Lianfang Lu, University of Arkansas at Little Rock, USA Jian Dun, Beijing Institute of Education, China Yang Mingquan, Beijing Normal University, China

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Chapter 41 The Role of a WhatsApp Group of a Professional Learning Community of Chemistry Teachers in the Development of Their Knowledge................................................................................................. 820 Ron Blonder, Weizmann Institute of Science, Israel Ruth Waldman, Weizmann Institute of Science, Israel

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Index...................................................................................................................................................... xx

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Preface

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As the current educational landscape is facing rapid changes and advancements to keep up with modernday technologies and newfound student needs, teachers are turning to and relying on communities of learning to facilitate new educational practices, contemporary teaching methods, and updated modes of instruction. With the use of online communities and virtual collaboration occurring in all educational fields, from language arts and literacy to math and science, the means for teachers to share their knowledge, expertise, and work have become increasingly accessible and successful. Not only do these communities serve the greater purpose of student achievement and engagement, but they aid in the professional development of both pre-service and in-service teachers in an ever-changing educational climate and provide a sense of community and support for those involved. Examining current research, case studies, and applications of communities of learning for teachers in all fields of study at all stages in their teaching career and in all types of global classroom atmospheres can lead to a greater understanding of how these communities function, their goals, and the challenges and successes of their implementation in educational settings. Thus, the Research Anthology on Facilitating New Educational Practices Through Communities of Learning seeks to fill the void for an all-encompassing and comprehensive reference book covering the latest and most emerging research, concepts, and theories for how the use of communities of practice can benefit and enhance educational experiences for students and aid in the professional development of teachers in the current educational environment. This two-volume reference collection of reprinted IGI Global book chapters and journal articles that have been hand-picked by the editor and editorial team of this research anthology on this topic will empower in-service and pre-service teachers, administrators, teacher educators, professionals, students, researchers, and academicians with an understanding of how communities of learning function, the new tools and technologies used to implement them, and the discovered benefits and advancements of their use for modern teaching practices and methods. The Research Anthology on Facilitating New Educational Practices Through Communities of Learning is organized into five sections that provide comprehensive coverage of important topics. The sections are: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5.

Considerations and Practices in Professional Communities; Online Communities and Tools for Virtual Collaboration; Use in General Teaching and Learning; Use in Language Arts and Literacy Learning; and Use in Science and Math Learning.

The following paragraphs provide a summary of what to expect from this invaluable reference tool.  

Research Anthology on Facilitating New Educational Practices Through Communities of Learning, edited by Association, Information Resources Management, IGI Global, 2020. ProQuest

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Preface

Section 1, “Considerations and Practices in Professional Communities,” opens this comprehensive reference work with research on the fundamentals of professional learning communities and the latest advancements and benefits discovered from their implementation. The opening chapter of this reference work is “Professional Learning Communities and Adult Learning and Teaching: Best Practices in Building a Community of Learners,” by Prof. Eric J. Dimmitt of Cardinal Stritch University, USA, which provides strategies for building professional learning communities with adult learners and explores how adult learners will carry this experience back to their organizations as both followers and leaders. The next chapter, “Building Communities of Practice Through Faculty Mentorship Programs” by Profs. Pooneh Lari and Denise H. Barton of Wake Technical Community College, USA, discusses the practices and processes for developing and building effective mentoring programs for college faculty. The following chapter, “Application of Knowledge Management in University Research and Higher Education: An Experiment With Communities of Practice (COP),” by Prof. Lalitha Raman of Jyoti Nivas College Autonomous, India, explores the formation of communities of practice selected informally between peers within an academic research community and how this aids in collaborative learning. Another chapter, “Professional Development for Classroom Teachers,” written by Prof. Jeffrey Maiden of the University of Oklahoma, USA, provides a review of professional learning communities (PLCs), which may provide a venue for impactful, sustainable technology professional development. Next is the chapter “Building Faculty SoTL Skills Through a Multi- and Interdisciplinary Writing Community of Practice,” by Profs. Sandra Sgoutas-Emch, Judith Liu, Moriah Meyskens, Tara Ceranic Salinas, Jane Friedman, and Perla Myers of the University of San Diego, USA. It outlines strategies employed over the years and the evolution of the interdisciplinary group from a learning community to community of practice. The chapter “Leading Learning Communities With Creative Practice” by Profs. Jennifer Lynne Bird, Ann Musgrove, Jillian Powers, and Susannah L. Brown from Florida Atlantic University, USA, discusses leadership theories that support personal growth, caring, interpersonal communication, problem solving, and creativity. Another chapter, “Teacher Identity (Re)Construction Within Professional Learning Communities: The Role of Emotions and Tensions,” by Prof. Pinar Kocabas Gedik of Yildiz Technical University, Turkey and Prof. Deniz Ortactepe of Bilkent University, Turkey, reviews the literature on teacher professional identity in relation to communities of practice, imagined identity, and imagined communities. A concluding chapter, “Collaborative Approaches for Communities of Practice Activities Enrichment,” written by Prof. Ziska Fields of the University of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa and Prof. Sulaiman Olusegun Atiku of Namibia University of Science and Technology, Namibia, explores the role of communities of practice in knowledge management and how various collaborative practices can be used to enrich the activities of communities of practice in organizations. The chapter “A New Perspective in Competitiveness for Business Education: Communities of Practice – The Crystal Palace” by Profs. Ana Martins and Isabel Martins of University of Kwazulu-Natal, South Africa and Prof. Orlando Petiz Pereira of University of Minho, Portugal, focuses on the humanization perspective as communities of practice promote learning in business contexts. Closing this section is the chapter “Communities of Practice for Promoting Organizational and Informal Learning in Public Administration” by Profs. David Rodríguez-Gómez and Joaquin Gairin of Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona, Spain. It presents some of the results and proposals from an extensive study developed in two phases that focus on some key factors for promoting innovation with communities of practice in public administration. Section 2, “Online Communities and Tools for Virtual Collaboration,” presents tools and techniques for virtual collaboration and discusses the successes, challenges, and purposes of these online communities for professional development. The first chapter in this section, “Professional Development to

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xv

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Preface

Promote Online Communication, Collaboration and Learning Among Faculty: A Community of Practice Approach,” written by Prof. Lone Dirckinck-Holmfeld of Aalborg University, Denmark and Prof. Mayela Coto of Universidad Nacional, Costa Rica, uses Engeström’s activity theory model to highlight the tensions that arise in a professional development program oriented to change teaching practice through the introduction of ICT and a student-centered pedagogical approach. The next chapter, “Conceptualizing Characteristics of Professional Learning in an Online Environment,” authored by Profs. Aimee L. Morewood and Allison Swan Dagen of West Virginia University, USA and Prof. Julie W. Ankrum of Indiana University of Pennsylvania, USA, describes the intersection between documented research-based practices for effective professional learning and Garrison, Anderson, and Archer’s conceptual framework for effective online learning and engagement, known as the community of inquiry. The following chapter, “Efficacy of Organizational Learning and Social Capital in Online Communities of Practice: Dualities and Intersections,” by Prof. Murat Yücelen of Yeditepe University, Turkey and Prof. Serkan Gürsoy of Beykoz University, Turkey, deals with the evolution of communities of practice by considering two key components which facilitate knowledge sharing: organizational learning and social capital. The chapter “Enhancing Learner-Driven Informal Learning in a Virtual Practice Community: The Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) as a Learning Solution for Professional Development” by Prof. Doo Hun Lim of University of Oklahoma, USA; Prof. Chungil Chae of Pennsylvania State University, USA; Profs. Boyung Suh and Seung-hyun Han of University of Georgia, USA; and Prof. Heeyoung Han of Southern Illinois University, USA, aims to address how emergent learning platforms are equipped with new technologies and digital content that may benefit modern learning environments in regards to professional development, such as informal learning in virtual communities of practice. The next chapter, “In-Service Teachers’ Use of ICT for the Promotion of Collaborative Professional Learning,” by Profs. Ana García-Valcárcel and Juanjo Mena of University of Salamanca, Spain, explores the implications for teacher education programs and the actual limitations of teachers’ knowledge and use of ICT in practice. “Creating Virtual Communities That Work: Best Practices for Users and Developers of E-Collaboration Software” written by Profs. J. Jacob Jenkins, Ashley Van Ostrand, Spencer Wolfe, Antonio Arredondo, Andrea M. Skinner, Ramon Visaiz, and Megan Jones of California State University, Channel Islands, USA analyzes more than 1,500 survey responses to develop best practices for current users and developers of the seven most popular e-collaboration software programs today. Next is the chapter “Nurturing Collaborative Networks of Mobile Learning Researchers and Practitioners” by Profs. Thomas Cochrane and Vickel Narayan of Auckland University of Technology, New Zealand. It presents the development of a framework for supporting and facilitating collaborative networks of reflective practice using mobile social media. The chapter “Learning Communities: Theory and Practice of Leveraging Social Media for Learning” by Profs. Heather Robinson and Whitney Kilgore of University of North Texas, USA and Prof. Aras Bozkurt of Anadolu University, Turkey & University of South Africa, South Africa discusses the similarities and differences of three learning communities: communities of practice, professional learning communities, and professional learning networks. The following chapter, “‘I Found Myself Retweeting’: Using Twitter Chats to Build Professional Learning Networks,” by Profs. Julie A. Delello and Annamary L. Consalvo of The University of Texas at Tyler, USA, describes a mixed-method, multiple case study that examined ways in which synchronous educational Twitter chats were used to enhance graduate and undergraduate university student learning, to build professional networks, and to provide a loosely regulated means to achieving self-determined professional development goals. The final chapter in this section, “Achieving Rural Teachers’ Development Through a WeChat Professional Learning Community: Two Cases From Guangdong Province,” by Profs. Jiacheng Li and Xue Zheng of East China Normal University, China; xvi

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Preface

Prof. Haixia Liu of East China Normal University, China; LuoGang Middle School, China; and Prof. Dongmei Lin of NaLong Primary School, China, focuses on two rural banzhurens, Ms. Liu and Ms. Lin, from Guangdong Province, to explore WeChat groups’ influences on rural teachers’ development. Section 3, “Use in General Teaching and Learning,” reveals the latest research and case studies conducted to understand how new models for professional learning impact teaching methods, instructional design, student learning, and professional development of teachers in modern learning environments. This section begins with “Advancing a New General Education Curriculum Through a Faculty Community of Practice: A Model for Intentional Design” written by Profs. Gail M. Hunger and Judith A. Giering of University of Virginia, USA, which describes the learning design collaborative, a new model for instructional design built on the principles of intentional learning, authentic learning, and student engagement. The following chapter, “Using Communities of Practice to Identify Competencies,” by Prof. Mambo G. Mupepi of Grand Valley State University, USA, suggests that communities of practice can be integral partners in the effort to identify competencies, establish levels of proficiency that support common divisions of labor within industries, and distinguish the novice from the expert. Next is “A Teacher Educator’s Meaning-Making From a Hybrid ‘Online Teaching Fellows’ Professional Learning Experience: Toward Literacy Practices for Teaching and Learning in Multimodal Contexts” by Prof. Christi Edge of Northern Michigan University, USA, which identifies and describes tensions and transformations that contributed to professional learning and concludes with a discussion of how literacy practices in the design of frameworks for teaching and for learning may contribute to understanding how instructors read and make meaning from experiences in the context of professional learning. The next chapter, “Teachers’ Professional Learning Focused on Designs for Early Learners and Technology,” by Profs. Michele Jacobsen, Sharon Friesen, and Barbara Brown of University of Calgary, Canada, presents and discusses findings from a two-year case study on teachers’ professional learning to build upon research on early learning and technology for teachers’ professional learning in a community of practice and the development of classroom-based learning designs and the ongoing inquiry of teachers. The chapter “The ‘Co-Creation-Wheel’: A Guiding Instrument for Sustainable Change – A Case History of ‘Communities of Practice’ in Dutch Elementary Schools” by Prof. Corry Ehlen of CoCreata Consultancy, The Netherlands & Zuyd University of Applied Sciences, The Netherlands and Prof. Paul Hennissen of Fontys University of Applied Sciences, The Netherlands presents a case history undertaken in communities of practice for primary educators and demonstrates the “co-creation-wheel” as a guiding tool in an innovation team. This section concludes with the chapter “Impact of Group Mentoring on the Professional Development of Early Childhood Teachers in a Shanghai Kindergarten” by Prof. Lingyun Lu of Shanghai Normal University, China, which presents a study with insight into how group mentoring, a potentially optimal model, has exerted an influence on the teachers’ professional development and impacted teachers in a changing early childhood education context in China. Section 4, “Use in Language Arts and Literacy Learning,” discusses the use of online professional communities for teacher preparation, pedagogical approaches, and lesson planning for pre-service and in-service teachers focused exclusively within language arts and literacy. This section begins with the chapter “Using Online Writing Communities to Teach Writing MOOCs” by Prof. Rebekah Shultz Colby of University of Denver, USA, which outlines three pedagogical approaches for writing MOOCs: students could ask writing questions from professionals on similar writing websites, conduct qualitative studies of similar online writing communities to learn their underlying writing values, and participate in MOOCs that were organized to be communities of practice. The next chapter, “Peer Review in Online Professional Communities to Support Elementary Disciplinary Literacy Planning,” by Profs. Jamie

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Colwell and Valerie Taylor of Old Dominion University, USA, reports the results of a qualitative case study focused on elementary pre-service teachers’ perspectives on planning for disciplinary literacy using peer review in an online professional community. The following chapter, “Preservice Teachers Collaborating and Co-Constructing in a Digital Space: Using Participatory Literacy Practices to Teach Content and Pedagogy,” by Prof. Chrystine Mitchell of York College of Pennsylvania, USA and Prof. Carin Appleget of Creighton University, USA, considers how pre-service teachers can be reached through online collaboration for participatory literacy practice sharing through different tools, platforms, and resources. The chapter “I Do and I Understand: Professional Learning Communities to Engage Learners in Authentic Practice” by Prof. Claire Mitchell of University of Wisconsin – La Crosse, USA presents a pedagogical model that was implemented in an Introduction to Second Language Acquisition course in order to adequately prepare teacher candidates for their future careers as educators in a globalized society. Another chapter, “Reforming Pre-Service English Language Teacher Training Using Professional Community of Learning,” by Prof. Abdulmalik Yusuf Ofemile of University of Nottingham, UK, focuses on the potential of using professional community of learning to train pre-service teachers of English in communicative language teaching approaches. Next, the chapter “Teachers Learning to Teach English Learners in an Online Community of Practice in an Urban District” by Profs. Paige Ware, Karla del Rosal, and Nancy Montgomery of Southern Methodist University, USA reports on a study that investigated the knowledge and skills for teaching English learners that in-service teachers displayed during their participation in an online community of practice. The following chapter, “Exploring a Transformative Teacher Professional Development Model to Engender Technology Integration in the 21st Century ESL Language Classrooms,” by Prof. Kean Wah Lee of University of Nottingham Malaysia, Malaysia and Prof. Cynthia C. James of Kota Kinabalu District Education Office and Sabah State Education Department, Sabah, Malaysia, presents a case study that investigates a group of in-service teachers who adopted the IDDIRR instructional design model (introduce, demonstrate, develop, implement, reflect, revise) to develop technology-based lessons for their ESL classrooms. The chapter “Integration of Videoconferencing in ESP and EAP Courses: Focus on Community of Practice Interaction” by Prof. Hana Katrnakova of Masaryk University, Czech Republic is devoted to the use of videoconferencing technology and other social media tools for creating a community of practice communication within which authentic tasks and activities in multicultural ESP and EAP classes can be carried out. This section concludes with the chapter “Mobilisation and Enactment of Malaysian ESL Teachers’ Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge: From Professional Learning to Professional Practice” by Prof. Cynthia C. James of University of Cambridge, UK and Prof. Kean Wah Lee of University of Nottingham Malaysia, Malaysia, which is a review of a three-year journey into exploring the development, mobilization, and enactment of Malaysian ESL teachers’ technological pedagogical content knowledge through a professional learning community known as “Going Digital.” Section 5, “Use in Science and Math Learning,” closes this reference work with information on the latest technologies, theories, and roles of professional learning communities applied specifically for science and math education. Opening the final section of this book is the chapter “Online Mathematics Teacher Education: Examples From Professional Learning Programs for Inservice Teachers” by Prof. Jennifer Chauvot of University of Houston, USA; Prof. Stephen J. Pape from Johns Hopkins University, USA; Prof. Sherri K. Prosser of Austin Peay State University, USA; and Prof. Kimberly Hicks of Houston Independent School District, USA, which describes two online programs that impact teachers’ content knowledge, pedagogical content knowledge, and instructional practices in K-12 classrooms and discusses the outcomes, implementation, and design of each program. The next chapter, “A Guide to xviii

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Professional Learning for Secondary Mathematics Teachers,” by Prof. Karen M. Hamond of the New England College, USA, includes a literature review of relevant topics such as andragogy, brain research, self-efficacy, growth mindset, distributed leadership, and creating a professional learning community. Another chapter, “Assessment Literacy Within Middle School-Level Math Professional Learning Communities,” by Prof. Jennifer Wheat of Tangipahoa Parish School System, USA, identifies assessment literacy commonalities within middle school-level math PLCs and compares those commonalities across PLCs with different levels of student math growth. The chapter “Preservice Teachers Decomposing Ambitious Mathematics Teaching: Video Analysis and Professional Learning Communities,” authored by Prof. Jennifer M. Suh of George Mason University, USA and Prof. Melissa A. Gallagher of University of Louisiana at Lafayette, USA, details the specific affordances of the structured observation with video analysis in a math methods course in a teacher preparation program and how the clinically embedded coursework supported preservice teachers’ decomposition of ambitious teaching and bridge practitioner and academic knowledge. A concluding chapter, “Sustaining a Teacher Professional Learning Community in China Through Technology,” by Prof. Jayne Fleener of North Carolina State University, USA; Prof. Lianfang Lu of University of Arkansas at Little Rock, USA; Prof. Jian Dun of Beijing Institute of Education, China; and Prof. Yang Mingquan of Beijing Normal University, China, explores the evolution of a professional learning community of Chinese teachers over a multi-year period and discusses what has happened to these 16 teachers six years later, specifically considering how they may have used technology to further their development as master teachers. This reference work concludes with the final chapter, “The Role of a WhatsApp Group of a Professional Learning Community of Chemistry Teachers in the Development of Their Knowledge,” by Profs. Ron Blonder and Ruth Waldman of Weizmann Institute of Science, Israel, which analyzes chemistry teachers discourse in a WhatsApp group and describes the network, the interactions, knowledge sharing, and the needs of the participants. Although the primary organization of the contents in this work is based on its five sections, offering a progression of coverage of the important concepts, methodologies, technologies, applications, social issues, and emerging trends, the reader can also identify specific contents by utilizing the extensive indexing system listed at the end. As a comprehensive collection of research on the latest findings related to communities of practice, communities of learning, and professional learning communities, the Research Anthology on Facilitating New Educational Practices Through Communities of Learning provides in-service and pre-service teachers, administrators, professionals, students, researchers, and academicians with a complete understanding of how new educational practices are being disseminated and learned by the collaboration of teachers within professional communities of learning. Given the need for new educational tools, technologies, and classroom settings in today’s rapidly changing world, the place of professional learning communities in fostering and keeping up with these changes is a critical exploration that this extensive book investigates and addresses with the most pertinent research on teacher collaboration, professional development, and new educational practices.

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Section 1

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Considerations and Practices in Professional Communities

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Chapter 1

Professional Learning Communities and Adult Learning and Teaching: Best Practices in Building a Community of Learners Eric J. Dimmitt Cardinal Stritch University, USA

ABSTRACT In addition to providing strategies to build professional learning communities within an environment of adult learners, this chapter has the objective that adult learners will carry the principles of professional learning communities from their own learning experience back to their own learning organizations as both followers and leaders. In this way, and based upon the author’s own experiences, the learning and teaching strategies described here have impact beyond the adult learning classroom by infuencing how multiple type of organizations in the feld of business, K12 and higher education, public service, and non-profts learn, collaborate, and achieve results.

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INTRODUCTION Professional Learning Communities (PLCs) in any learning organization can be defined as a model that moves beyond ensuring that students are taught but rather students learn according to DuFour, Eaker, & DuFour in On Common Ground: The Power of Professional Learning (2005). PLCs were first developed and researched in the K12 educational systems. In this book devoted to fostering more effective learning and teaching strategies in adult education settings, the concept of Professional Learning Communities certainly can be applied to ensure adults are not just taught but also learn. The focus of PLCs on the three principles of learning, collaboration, and results (DuFour & Eaker, 1998; DuFour, Eaker, & Dufour, 2005) relate directly to the essential elements of adult learning as defined in foundational DOI: 10.4018/978-1-7998-7294-8.ch001

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 Professional Learning Communities and Adult Learning and Teaching

explanation of andragogy, The Modern Practice of Adult Learning; From Pedagogy to Andragogy by Malcom Knowles. The principles of andragogy or adult learning theory are self-concept, adult learning experience, readiness, orientation, and motivation (Knowles, 1980). In addition to providing strategies for instructors to build professional learning communities within an environment of adult learners, this chapter has the objective that adult learners will carry the principles of PLCs from their own learning experience back to their own work environments as both followers and leaders. This ideal of learning organizations, based upon the author’s own experiences and the learning and teaching strategies described here, has impact beyond the adult learning classroom by influencing how multiple type of organizations learn, collaborate, and achieve results in the field of business, K12 and higher education, public service, and non-profits. For the sake of this chapter, the term “adult learning environment” will denote any adult learning experience purposely designed to occur in the face-to-face classroom environment, a blended format with instructor providing instruction prior to the classroom experience (e.g., flipped teaching model), or a synchronous or asynchronous online format as frequently found in distance learning. The adult learning environment term seeks to encompass the number of learning modalities adults engage in today.

WHY MODEL PLCS IN THE ADULT LEARNING ENVIRONMENT?

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Just as classrooms of adult learners today are in need of new ways of engaging the students through effective instructional practices that activate learning, PLCs’ are designed to engage participants in the work that will lead to organizational successes. As this book on outcome based strategies for adult learners has proposed, teaching principles designed by instructors must be carefully planned and delivered in order to lead to successful learning by adults. The research and practices that have established decades of knowledge related to successful PLCs by researchers such as Rick duFour, Shirley Hord, and Kristine Hipp support this same principle of intentional practice by the instructor to meet the needs of the learner. To appreciate the role of PLCs in the learning environment of adult learners and also in the those same adults’ work environments, one must appreciate the connections that are possible. One must also appreciate that sometimes important elements of PLCs exist without the formal recognition of the PLC model within a work environment. Whatever the level of PLC dimensions in an organization, the use of PLCs in the adult learning environment is a systems thinking approach towards teaching and learning that recognizes the interconnectedness of the experiences of individuals in groups and organizations and how this influences future experiences for participants. As Peter Senge described in his seminal work, The Fifth Discipline: The Art & Practice of the Learning Organization (2006), It is no longer sufficient to have one person learning for the organization…to figure it out from the top and have everyone follow the orders of the “grand strategist.” The organizations that will truly excel in the future will be the organizations that discover how to tap people’s commitment and capacity to learn at all levels in an organization. Like the organizations described by Senge, adult learning environments that use PLCs must be places where all learners’ “commitment and capacity” must be present. This further assumes the change in the role of the instructor from the “grand strategist” to a facilitator of the learning process. This book and this chapter seeks to have instructors “truly excel” in their instruction of adult learners. 2

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 Professional Learning Communities and Adult Learning and Teaching

This shift of the instructor’s role, as also described in other parts of this book in terms of knowing thyself, establishing trust, and motivation theory in the classroom, is part of a change process that has been influencing adult learning throughout the last part of the twentieth century and well into this century. Based upon the ideas first proposed by Knowles’ definition of andragogy, the adult classroom has continued to change, or more likely is responding to the larger system to which it belongs. In other words, just as the world has evolved from an industrial age economy to an information age economy as Davidovich, Nikolay, Laugerman and Commodore described in Beyond School Improvement: The Journey to Innovative Leadership (2010) to what might now be described as an innovation based economy, the learning of adult learning has evolved too. For example, the adult learners of today are not the digital immigrants of the past but they are the digital natives of the present (Prensky, 2001). The PLC principles of learning, collaboration, and results fit well with not only what adult learners bring to the classroom but also what the adult learners can carry back to their organizations in terms of creating learning communities. To understand how the principles of PLCs can be used in the adult learning environment, one must look to the past, the mid-twentieth century in fact, and reflect upon Knowles principles of andragogy. Knowles’ (1980) principles for adult learners include the need to know the reason for learning and having input into the design of the learning, incorporating the significance of prior experience adults bring to the learning environment, embracing an orientation towards problem solving and relevancy in an adult’s learning experiences, and recognizing the internal motivation for learning that drives adults to engage in the learning in the first place. The background of PLCs also connects to the learning theories of such thinkers as Dewey, Thorndike, Bobbit, and Tyler. The role of these thinkers in shaping the learning environments through the nineteenth and twentieth century connects with Knowles’ principles of andragogy and has influenced PLCs. For example, the experiential learning theory and behavioral learning theory of these thinkers exists in the tenants of PLCs that will explored in this chapter, including the idea of a community of learners. As Glatthorn, Boschee, Whitehead, & Boschee (2015) state in Curriculum Leadership: Strategies for Development and Implementation, PLCs represent the contemporary example of a “community-based learning model” that view participants as “having unique insights that can improve education and accelerate student achievement” (p. 210). In the case described here, student achievement is sought by the adult learners in the K12 educational PLC setting, but these communities, as also created in the adult learning environment, are arguably appealing to the adult learning seeking new knowledge and skills based upon the principles espoused by Knowles of prior experience, problem solving, and motivation. Organizations such as K12 schools have utilized the PLC model in their organizations over the last thirty years or more. It is possible to view PLCs as part of the larger Communities of Practice (CoP) model as described by Lave and Wegner in Situated Learning: Legitimate Peripheral Participation (1991) that suggested that other types of organizations must engage all members as learners. This idea also aligns with the recommendations for outcome based adult learning presented in this chapter. In other words, the benefits related to adult learning must include social capital and knowledge management, with the factors related to CoPs: social presence, motivation, collaboration. These same principles are present in the PLC’s dimensions and, therefore, apply to organizations outside the educational field. While the elements of CoP are often defined in terms such as domain, community, and practice, these same elements are present in the PLCs model (See Table 1), and, therefore, the instructional strategies related to PLCs that are shared here are applicable to adult learners experiences both prior and after they are experienced PLCs in the learning environment.

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WHAT ARE KEY COMPONENTS OF THE PLC? Keeping the background on learning theory and the principles of andragogy and adult learning in mind, the components of PLCs must next be understood in order to begin the process of incorporating them into the adult learning environment as a strategy to produce meaningful outcomes. In other words, an instructor should consider the PLC components carefully in planning for instruction, facilitating instruction during learning, and assessing learner achievement. For this chapter, major contributors to this author’s ways of defining and applying the PLC model in the adult learning environment include authors Richard DuFour, Robert Eaker, and Rebecca Dufour’s work that began in the Lincolnshire, Illinois, and researchers like Kristine Kiefer Hipp and Jane Bumpers Huffman whose work was also centered on learning in K12 schools. These researchers and authors used the Six Dimensions of PLCs related to adult learning as defined by Shirley Hord in her work with Southwest Education Development Laboratory (SEDL) as part of the American Institutes for Research (AIR). Using the definitions provided by Hipp and Huffman (2010) in their work Demystifying Professional Learning Communities these six dimensions of PLCs’ appear in the adult learning environment as shared beliefs, values and vision; shared and supportive leadership; supportive structural conditions, supportive relational conditions; collective learning, and peer sharing of practice. The following chart describes each of these six dimensions in more detail how this appears in the adult learning environment. Table 1. Six Dimensions of PLCs and Adult Learning Environments (Adapted from Hipp and Huffman, 2010)

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PLC DIMENSION

APPEARANCE IN ADULT LEARNING ENVIRONMENT

Shared Beliefs, Values, Vision

This appears in the adult learning environment as a common understanding for functioning effectively in the classroom that is shared by the instructor and the students. This also includes common understanding of the expected outcomes of the learning shared between instructor and adult learners.

Shared, Supportive Leadership

In the PLC model, this means power, authority, and decision-making are distributed across the community. This appears in the adult learning environment as the learners have input into the instructional processes and activities leading to the expected outcomes.

Supportive Structural Conditions

In an adult learning environment, like a PLC, structural conditions such as time, place, and resources are evident. The instructor make conscious efforts for learning outcomes to be achieved through the management of these structures.

Supportive Relational Conditions

Like effective PLCs, this dimension requires the instructor both facilitate the development of and monitor the levels of respect and caring among the community, with trust as an imperative

Collective Learning

The instructor is intentional and determined to address adult learner needs and the increased effectiveness of the adult learners.

Peers Sharing of Practice

Just as in the PLCs in an organization, the instructor structures activities for the adult learners to gain feedback, and thus individual and larger systems improvement

Seeing the six dimensions of PLCs as they might appear in the adult learning environment provides additional understanding of how this community based learning model looks in the classroom.

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 Professional Learning Communities and Adult Learning and Teaching

WHAT DO PLC PRACTICES LOOK LIKE IN AN ADULT LEARNING ENVIRONMENT? Professional Learning Communities are present already in many organizations and may already exist in a small part in many current instructional settings designed for adult learners. For example, when a group of students assembles in response to a class project, they come together for a shared purpose (i.e., success on the assignment), shared supportive leadership (i.e., choosing a spokesperson for the group or assigning the task of the note taker) and choose supportive structural conditions (i.e., how the group will work together on the project outside class time, for example, using an online collaboration tool or meeting outside class). Recognizing how these PLC elements occur informally allows the instructor to focus on how to formalize and leverage these principles to create PLCs in the classroom that no only benefit the collective learning of the group but also allow the students to see how they might transfer these skills to other experiences in their life. This portion of the chapter will include a number of suggestions for instructional strategies for the adult learning environment. Most, if not all of the activities, have been utilized by the author in one way or another in his own instruction of adults. Of course every suggestion may be modified both to fit the needs of the instructor, the adult learners, the content and material, and other needs that might exist. What is important to keep in mind is the PLC framework presented in this chapter in the design of the instruction. It is important to highlight that the adult learning environment strategies described in this chapter do depend on the instruction consciously establishing a social presence in the classroom. Social presence is needed for the instructor to connect with and provide appropriate feedback for adult learners. Social presence is also required for the participants in a PLC. Social presence theory supports that social familiarity and strong human bonds are needed to push students to effectively and efficiently collaborate with others in a learning environment. This includes the instructor creating teaming and collaboration environments, for example, discussions and demonstrating instructor engagement and modeling (Fischer, 2014; Kebritchi, 2014; Martin, 2014; Mayes, 2011; Wang, 2015).

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BELIEFS, VALUES, AND VISION BUILDING STRATEGIES The following are some ideas to help learning communities, either small groups within the adult learning environment or the entire class as whole, develop shared beliefs, values, and vision for the learning taking place. The author wishes to give credit for the activities described and adapted in this chapter over many years of teaching adult learner to multiple resources that include but are not limited to Davidovich, et.al, 2009; DuFour & Eaker, 1998; DuFour & Eaker, 2005; Durarte & Synder, 1999; Hipp & Huffman, 2010; Hord et.al., 2010; and Senge, et.al., 1995. One activity entitled “Great Thinkers Shape Our Thinking” includes displaying some relevant and meaningful quotes from leaders in the area of study and having students choose one that represents a belief or value each finds resonates with them. For example, in a teacher education program, the instructor might choose quotes from thought leaders in the education field like Dewey, Brunner, and Piaget; a business finance program instructor would use quotes from successful entrepreneurs and industrialists ranging from Carnegie, Vanderbilt, and Walsh; a political science degree program instructor might incorporate insights from politicians from Lincoln, Kennedy, and Obama; and a non-profit program instructor from 5

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 Professional Learning Communities and Adult Learning and Teaching

Ghandi, Mandela, and Gates. The instructor’s goal is to select a wide variety of quotes that focus on the various theoretical perspectives in the field and a diversity of perspectives and viewpoints. These quotes can be given to the students as a handout or projected on a screen. If the purpose is to develop a common belief and vision statement for learning among the entire class, then activities like having students pair up and discuss the quote each chose with a peer, having those individuals that selected the same quote discuss together, or simply having students share in other ways is acceptable. The teaching point is initially for the adult students to understand the beliefs and values expressed through the quotation. This same initial process can be arranged within smaller professional learning communities nested within the class. The next step is to have every individual spend some time writing a few statements about the beliefs expressed followed by discussion about what ideas (i.e. values and beliefs) are present within the classroom. Finally, a process of writing a statements using sentence stems such as “We believe…”, “We value…”, and “Our vision for the class (or group) is…” is initiated. It is important to note that this type of activity also serves as a successful pre-assessment to determine the amount of prior knowledge among the students in the group. Part of effective in instruction goes beyond the planning and facilitating to be conscious about the formative and summative assessment that will occur. This particular activity works well as a formative assessment to inform future instruction in the adult learning environment. This “Great Thinkers Shape Our Thinking” activity also serves as an engaging method of team learning and team building. Team skills are an important element for adult learners to acquire because most organizations are expecting this skill to be applied in the workplace. While team skills are often discussed as important, a working definition which the author prefers is the one provided by Goold, Craig, Coldwell in The Student Experience Of Working In Teams Online (2008), “Team skills include the ability to communicate effectively with team members, to work collaboratively to solve problems, to negotiate with peers and resolve conflicts, and to engage with diverse team members” (p. 343). The value of the teaming approach in learning environments is to assist students in internalizing the process of consensus building that occurs among team members when engaged cognitive and social conflicts. There is additional commentary on modalities in adult learning environments later in this chapter related to the importance of teaming in the learning and work environment. While taking valuable instructional time to engage in such an activity early in the course or using group work might appear challenging, this type of adult learning resonates with Knowles (1980) tenants for adult learning. The why for learning is answered for the learners and motivation is established. Motivation is an important component of PLCs and learning in general. Motivational strategies are designed to assist the instructor in an adult learning environment to the shared vision, beliefs, supportive structures, and collective learning expected in the PLC model. Other successful activities for professional learning communities in the classroom include self-assessment and reporting of learning characteristics like those included in the True Colors, Myers-Briggs, and Strength Finders activities common in adult learning. Another common example is Kolb’s work on the type of learning that results in the creation of a personal learning compass (Hord, Roussin, and Sommers, 2010). The important element is making the individual differences and similarities evident with the learning community of learners, so that how each individual approaches learning can be assessed alongside the tasks and activities.

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 Professional Learning Communities and Adult Learning and Teaching

SHARED AND SUPPORTIVE LEADERSHIP STRATEGIES As referenced earlier, shared and supportive leadership in the adult learning environment means power, authority, and decision-making are distributed across the community. This appears in the adult learning environment as the learners have input into the instructional processes and activities leading to the expected outcomes. Instructors must recognize that adult learners have many preceding years of learning that may have been counter to the principles of shared and supportive leadership, so it can be necessary to identifying poor habits and practices in this area that might affect adult learning when it comes to sharing authority and power. One of the most effective methods of sharing authority and power in decision making around the adult learning environment is the use of “Exit Cards” and other activities throughout the course work. A few examples include: •

•

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•

•

•

Plus/Delta: The instructor or designated leader in the smaller professional learning group can lead a 3-4 minute debrief at the end of each learning session. The frst step is to collect what worked well during this particular time period, “The Plus”. The facilitator needs to keep the group focused on the positive experiences, making certain to record on a fip chart or other method for all participants to see in a positive light and language the progress and success of the learning community. Only after positives have been recorded can the facilitator change the focus of the conversation to the challenges and areas of improvement, “The Delta”, that the group identifes. It is important that as these items are recorded that they are worded in goal language in order to point towards how the group can learn more efectively together next time. Quick Write: A simple and easy way for the group to collect feedback as shared leadership it to collect a few sentences from each participant individually and then have each member process this information separately. This might be collected by having adult learners write feedback on the inside of their paper name tents being used in the classroom, through a shared document such as a Google doc or survey, etc. The author has seen this done successfully using small post it notes that are collected from all participants and passed around at the conclusion of class or group work time. It is key that the feedback be prompted with appropriate stems like “One way we can improve our learning is…and how we can is…” or “We were most successful as a learning community today when we…”. Square, Triangle, Circle: Using these three geometric shapes on the screen (for group processing) or on paper (for individual processing), learners provide one statement about recent learning that “squares” with their beliefs, one statement that is a “point” (think triangle) that they want to recall or apply in the future, and one statement about an idea or need that is still “circling” for them. These three statements can be used by the group to celebrate successes and also for shared leadership planning of upcoming learning. Red, Yellow, Green Light: Using the visual of a trafc light, learners state what the group needs to stop doing (red), should consider carefully or proceed with caution regarding in the near future (yellow), and what it needs to reinforce and do more of (green) in its work as a group. This information can be collected at the conclusion of learning community sessions either individually or as a group de-briefng. Exit Card or Ticket (Written or Oral): Similar to quick writes, this is the time tested method of feedback collection that is a motivation for learners to transition from the current learning environ7

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ment on to the next task, activity, etc. Individuals must either submit a written “ticket” or “card” to exit from the current work. This might be collected by a designated member of the learning community and compiled for the group to review prior to the next time together. A similar approach, where every member of the group must orally announce their feedback to the rest of community before departing from the learning community, can be efective. It is important to keep in mind clear and precise prompts that also model positive and motivational language for future learning together as outlined earlier. The author has often been amazed how learners remain even after they have shared because they want to hear what everyone says even though they are permitted to leave as soon as they have contributed their statement. This often speaks to the presence of shared leadership and collective learning elements at work, and the existence of the actions of community members can be recognized by the instructor to assess the presence of shared leadership. All these feedback activities require that the information collected during this process be used to reframe learning during the next opportunity. It is essential that actionable items gathered during the feedback process be used in a shared leadership approach and the changes are evident to all members of the professional learning community to demonstrate that shared and supportive leadership is taking place in the classroom. Instructors must take the time to meta-communicate about instructional choices that support this and the other dimensions of PLCs in the learning environment. Another teaching strategy that can assist in developing shared and supportive leadership in the adult learning environment is staging explicit activities around roles and responsibilities within the professional learning community. Too often roles are expected to emerge or evolve naturally or are instead assumed from prior experience. Taking time to discuss the roles and responsibilities for leadership in professional learning communities is essential. Relying on distributed or shared leadership theory principles of leadership as social influence articulated by Spillane in Distributed Leadership (2006), where leadership is co-facilitated among all participants in the PLC and leaders are influenced by followers just as they influence followers, it is worthy of conversations before a project or activity about roles. The instructor should construct opportunity that engages all students in communication around social influence using the following questions: Who takes responsibility of leadership work? How are those responsibilities arranged? How do these arrangements come to pass? How do individuals get constructed as influential leaders? (Spillane, 2006). The teaching strategy connected to this PLC framework involves having the class or small group as a learning group engage in planning, prior to even initiating work on any activity or project, around the four questions. One simple method is to have the PLC first identify expected tasks, project plan the tasks or sub-activities around timelines and deadlines, and identify leadership for each of these tasks with a clearly articulated rationale for the choice of that person to lead. As a result the leadership is distributed, clear understanding of the collective interdependence of the learners is established, and outcomes along with expectations are clarified and ownership for learning established.

STRUCTURAL AND RELATIONAL STRUCTURES STRATEGIES In an adult learning environment, like a PLC, structural conditions such as time, place, and resources are evident. The instructor makes conscious efforts for learning outcomes to be achieved through the management of these structures. Like effective PLCs, this dimension requires the instructor both facili-

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tate the development of and monitor the levels of respect and caring among the community, with trust as an imperative. One teaching strategy for adults is to regularly engage in norm check ins. Just as this may be common in the work environment, a check to meta-communicate not about the work or work being accomplished but instead how the work is being accomplished is important. This requires time setting norms at the beginning of the process. Norm establishment pairs well immediately after the vision and belief establishment described earlier. It is important that norms be written simply and be able for each member of the learning community to recall easily. Simple statements like “we will address conflict respectfully and in a timely manner” would be an example of a norm that may be important to a learning community. Often norms are connected to the structural and relational structures of PLCs such as time, resources, caring and respect. These structures can serve as a good starting point with a learning community in both establishing norms at the beginning of the work and also when meta-communicating on the learning community. Norms may need to be or should be revisited once put in practice. Experience has taught the author that this should be considered carefully and involve all members of the learning community in order to reinforce the shared leadership model. Another significant teaching strategy in the adult learning environment is to recognize the need for project planning in the learning communities. In other words, project planning (i.e, Gaant Charts, Visual Timelines) and taking time for the learning community to determine what technology and other tools will be used for successful project planning is essential. A number of web-based productivity tools (e.g., Microsoft Office) and other tools provide templates for PLCs to use easily and in ways that can be replicated, first in work in the adult learning environment and afterwards applied in the work environment. The author values the ADDIE process prevalent in the curriculum and instructional design process language: analyze, design, development, implementation, and evaluation. ADDIE can serve as a way for adult learners to have a structure to use in their processing in PLCs. A focused approach to purposeful planning answers the PLC dimension of structural and relational needs. As a facilitator of learning, the author has found using the saying “go slow to work fast” is a good axiom for the professional learning community. Based upon adults prior learning experiences, too often learning is a checking off of tasks rather than taking the time to explore and achieve the group experiences that PLCs bring to the classroom. It is important to encourage and allow time for the adult learners to engage in planning so that the other dimensions such as collective learning and shared leadership can manifest. It is also reasonable to meta-communicate within the PLC in the adult learning environment about theories related to group development. Group Development Theory, according to Tuckman in Developmental Sequence in Small Groups, includes four stages: Forming, Storming, Norming, and Performing (1965). As each stage implies, the group goes through a process of formation that takes time and needs to be recognized as part of the relational supports. In the responsibility of the adult learning facilitator to remind the learners that groups do not naturally reach the performing stage without going through the other three stages, and that trust may not truly develop until the third stage. Conflict resolution is a final teaching strategy related to relational support that a facilitator of adult learning needs to be in tune with and seek to engage in within a PLC. Conflict is a natural and expected part of any group process, and PLCs are no exception even with the consciousness of the six dimensions, norms, etc. The “third point” or “third location” approach suggested by Hord et. al (2010) is an effective way to address conflict in a PLC. By placing the conflict statement on flip chart paper, it not only 9

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helps make the conflict explicit and understood by all members of the PLC, but it also makes certain the focus is directed away from the individuals and owned by the entire group. Using the following steps: 1. 2. 3. 4.

5. 6.

Set the stage—on the first piece of a flip chart paper, clearly state the goal (in positive language) of the meeting related to the conflict on the right side of the paper (i.e., “Timelines are effectively met by all members of the PLC” or “Communication needs of all members of the group are heard”) Ask about the knowledge, skills, and dispositions that are needed to fulfill the goal. This helps clarify common understanding of the goal and the conflict in a more neutral way. On a second piece of flip chart paper placed the left of the first, write a description of the current situation. Focus on strengths, problems, opportunities, and threats that exist. Similar to a SWOT analysis, it is important to make certain that all members of the PLC are asked to contribute. Throughout the conflict resolution session (during the third step will likely be when tension rises most), it is important to keep the focus on the flip chart and the words, not the individuals, in order to manage and de-escalate emotions that might be present. When a disagreement on what is suggested to be recorded, it is important that the “third focus” on the flip chart be made, not directed towards individuals. On a flip-chart paper placed in between the two flipchart previously created, determine a “how” to bridge the gap between the current and desired state. The PLC should focus on the knowledge, skills, and dispositions that were earlier identified to reach the goal on the right flip chart paper. Make certain to check for understanding of the “how” that has been identified. A chance for questions, clarifications, and additional alternatives should be made before final meta-communication on how the process transpired. This final debriefing about how the “third focus” worked is an important part of the development of trust and respect in the PLC (Adapted from Hord, et.al., 2010).

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COLLECTIVE LEARNING STRATEGIES According to the working definition of collective learning in the adult learning environment (Hord et.al., 2010), all individuals in the class must be intentional and determined to address adult learner needs and the increased effectiveness of the adult learners. One such way to focus on collective learning is to create communication spaces for dialogue, not just discussion. Senge (2006) defines a difference between discussion and dialogue that is important to keep in mind in the adult learning environment. Discussion refers to talking about a topic with the purpose of having yourself heard by others. For instance, many class discussions in the adult learning environment are meant to serve as a check for understanding of the participant’s knowledge of the topic or their ideas created as a result of their readings or engagement in class activities. While this an important part of the learning experience, discussion as simply a sharing of ideas can often appear like a test of who is the smartest in the room or remembers the most from the resources provided prior to the class session. Outside the learning environment in the conference room or in other work place setting where discussion is expected, discussion appears as a game of interjecting your voice into the room to be heard or to prove to others that you have done your “homework” for the work assignment given or to prove to others that you are competent. For the collective learning, as defined in PLCs as meeting the learning needs of everyone, dialogue is required. The definition of dialogue comes from the Greek roots of dia (through or with each other) and logos (word). According to Senge, Kliener, Roberts, Ross, and Smith in the The Fifth Discipline Fieldbook (1994), “Dialogue can initially be defined as a sustained collective inquiry into everyday ex10

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 Professional Learning Communities and Adult Learning and Teaching

perience and what we take for granted” (p. 353). Dialogue described in the systems thinking language focuses not on the words expressed but the ideas that exist between the words, and the insistence that this form of communication is not about what is already known among the participants but instead revealing what is not known. In other words, dialogue, not discussion, is about new learning among the adult learners engaged in “a full appreciation of another not as an object in a social function, but as a genuine being (Senge, 2006). A further definition of dialogue in the adult learning classroom may be, People learn how to think together—nor just in the sense of analyzing a shared problem or creating new pieces of shared knowledge, but in the sense of occupying a collective sensibility, in which the thoughts, emotions, and resulting actions belong not to one individual, but to all of them together (Senge, et. al, 1994, p. 358).

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The challenge and reward of creating this collective learning in the adult learning environment is significant in modeling how the PLC dimension of collective learning applies beyond the classroom to opportunities in the students’ work and careers. Focusing on the listening skills of the adult learners as it relates to dialogue is essential. One activity that can be conducted in either a formal or informal way in the adult learning environment is the “blindfold” activity. This activity is also an important reminder about the role non-verbal communication plays in our desire to discuss and not always dialogue. In this activity in a face to face learning environment, students arranged in small groups close their eyes or wear blindfolds throughout a dialogue. As a facilitator of learning, the instruction must remain sensitive to the possible anxiety and safety of the students in the room. In the online environment, this can be accomplished by asking students to turn off their cameras and rely on audio only. Online students may be encouraged to not use any chat feature in the learning management system but instead allow their voices to be heard. The topic of the dialogue can be much more open ended than a typical classroom discussion with the instructor allowing the conversation to flow from initial stillness and quiet to creation of new ideas not expected (adapted from Blindfolds activity in The Fifth Discipline Handbook, 1994). Another effective technique to surface the collective learning of PLCs in the adult learning environment is the fishbowl. The fishbowl offers opportunity for individuals to both be actively engaged in a dialogue about a course topic or serving in a role of observing and listening carefully in order to assist the entire group in collective learning. It also supports a collective learning focus since participants are assigned partners. The standard format appears similar to these steps: 1. Assemble the room for a fishbowl discussion. Half of the class will begin seated in the inner circle (the fishbowl). When seated in the fishbowl, the primary responsibility is to engage in the dialogue about the topic of the event. 2. The partner of each team member seated in the circle will be seated in an outer circle in way that he or she can see and hear the partner seated in the inner circle. As observer, the primary responsibility in this role will be to support your partner by joining the fishbowl when appropriate and observing in terms of quality of dialogue. 3. The fishbowl will begin using “Big Questions” the group has used to prepare for the fishbowl. Any member of the discussion can initiate, and the discussion and dialogue will follow.

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4. After the first 10-15 minutes, partners should feel comfortable with exchanging places as a member of the fishbowl or as an observer. This can be done by simply leaving the circle or joining the circle.

Peer Sharing of Practices Strategies According to the working definition for this chapter on PLCs in the adult learning environment, peer sharing practices reflects how the instructor structures activities for the adult learners to gain feedback, and thus individual improvement and subsequent improvement among all the learners. Feedback is an essential element to the learning process. Carol Dweck, author of Mindset: The New Psychology of Success (2006), shared the importance of honest and constructive feedback in the learning process and how this assists with building confidence, not undermining confidence as some might expect. Likewise, in Radical Candor (2017), Kim Scott shared the importance of being clear and upfront in feedback with employees in order to not only serve the individual but also the entire organization. In order to create a sense of peer sharing of practices in the adult learning environment, two elements are important for the instructor to create. First, the role of coaching related to PLCs must be clearly defined. Second, protocols for reflection to guide the entire class or small groups must be clearly articulated and utilized Understanding the roles for coaching described here can be accomplished a few different ways. For example, the adult learners can be asked to further define these roles through examples from their personal and professional experiences, analyze what knowledge and skills relevant to these different types of coaches, challenges that might exist in the adult learning environment for this coaching, or even selfassess their abilities related to these coaching roles and set goals for improvement. The most significant part of this experience is for the adult learners to recognize these roles exist and the need to apply them in giving meaningful feedback to classmates for sharing practices. The following coaching roles in the adult learning environment have been adapted from Hord, et. al. (2010). Table 2. Coaching Roles for Providing Feedback (Adapted from Hord et. al., 2010)

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Coaching Role

Brief Description In Giving This Feedback, You…

Resource Provider

…suggest additional sources of information or resources that will assist the PLC in its learning and practice

Data Coach

…organize and analyze data associated with the topic to assist others in constructing new skills and knowledge

What/How Recognizer

…remind others about the knowledge and skills already part of the PLC and associated with the activity the PLC is engage in currently

Mentor

…serve as a critical friend and encourage relationship building among members of the PLC while focusing on the strengths of the individual or group

Facilitator

…serve as a reminder of the task at hand and the remind the PLC of group norms, use of effective communication, etc.

Catalyst for Change

…challenge the status quo of the group and encourage the group to “step outside the box” and explore possibilities

Mediator

…seek problem solving and discussion making when the PLC is struggling with an issues; this coaching role does not bring answers or solutions to the PLC but rather effective mediation and questioning skills.

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Another important peer sharing practices element is clear protocols for the reflection necessary for PLCs to engage in as part of the adult learning environment. In shaping the reflection, it is important to recognize whether the reflection will be reflection “for action” or “on action”. The former refers to forward thinking feedback on the goal or method to achieve the PLC goal. The latter refers to thinking backwards reflection about how it worked well, did not work well, and what might be done differently next time (Hord, et.al., 2010). The facilitator of adult learning will want to manage which of the two types of reflection is best suited for the timing of the PLCs work in the adult learning environment. A short but multi-step process of key questions is recommended to establish clear reflection protocols. Questions for reflection for action might center around the goal, how success will be measured, and the actions to achieve the goal. Questions for reflection on action center on explanation of what occurs, analysis of why occurred, interpretation of meaning, and actions for next time. (Hord, et. al, 2010).

COMMENTS ON MODALITY OF ADULT LEARNING INSTRUCTION The strategies described in this chapter are intended to work in any one of the multiple modalities for adult learning environments that exist today. The significance of online distance instruction is supported by the data related to the growth of online programming in higher education in the United States. According to Allen, E.I. and Seaman, J. (2015). Grade level: Tracking online education in the United States: • •

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• •

Increasingly, higher education academics leaders are reporting online learning as strategic: 49% (2003) to 71% (2015) Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) reports 71% of all institutions have some distance learning oferings Online enrollment in higher education is currently at 5,257,379 (2013) The two largest growth institutions are 4 year public and 4 year private non-profts.

While many of these strategies shared in this chapter were developed for a face to face learning modality, these instructional strategies are adaptable to an online distance learning environment or hybrid blended setting. The author encourages instructors in the adult learning environment seek the resources and knowledge available on instructional design principles available, either through institutions of higher education or elsewhere, since there are often benefits and challenges associated with any modality of the learning environment. For example, the nature of asynchronous learning in many online environments will need to be considered carefully in the many strategies for collaboration. At the same time, the importance of meta-communicating about the experiences and the importance of understanding roles is often highlighted in online instructional design but sometimes overlooked or not made as conscious in the face to face classroom. One important aspect that exits in all modalities though is the need for the instructor to develop social presence with students. This will allow the instructor to engage with students in ways that ensure the risk taking and application of the PLC dimensions in the classroom. Team skills are an important element for adult learners to practice and refine because organizations are expecting this skill to be applied in the workplace (Goold, et.al., 2008). The use of teams has increased significantly as organizations (both public and private) have turned more and more jobs over to team-based structures. A key to success with modern teams involves the continual use of information technology to support team activities such as 13

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setting clear goals, coordinating and negotiating with others, planning and managing work processes, and gaining decision-making skills. Teaming was further defined in this study as “groups of people who exist to perform organizationally relevant tasks, share one or more common goals, interact socially, exhibit task interdependencies, and are embedded in an organizational context that sets boundaries, constrains the team, and influences exchanges with other units in the broader entity” (Kozlowski & Bell, 2003, p. 334). The value of the teaming approach in adult learning environments, both face to face and online, is to assist students in internalizing the process of consensus building that occurs among team members when engaged cognitive and social conflicts.

COMMENTARY ON THE CHALLENGES OF PLCS IN ADULT LEARNING ENVIRONMENT No matter the modality, there may be criticism or opposition to some of the strategies described in this chapter, from either other instructors or the adult learners themselves. The author has found that sometimes individuals come to the adult learning environment with a sense of needing knowledge or skills rather than the dispositions that the PLC dimensions represent. There has been a long established tension in education between the need to know and the need to think differently, and how to spend or weigh valuable instructional time to accomplish these two needs. The author encourages the reader to consider how this focus on designing adult learning environments for new ways of thinking about beliefs, values, collaboration, and leadership needs to be a part of the adult learning environment when viewed alongside what has been shared here and what is known about adult learning needs. Table 3. Summary of Adult Learning Strategies Linked to PLCs

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PLC Dimension

Adult Learning Strategy Activities

Shared beliefs, values, vision

Thought Leaders Shape Our Thinking Self-Assessment and Reporting of Learner Characteristics Personal Learning Compass

Shared and supportive leadership

Exit Feedback Roles and Responsibilities Activities

Supportive structural relational conditions

Norm Check Ins Project Planning Strategies Meta-Communication Strategies Conflict Resolution Strategies (Third Point Approach)

Collective learning

Listening Activities Fishbowl Dialogue

Peers sharing their practice

Coaching Role Activities Forward and Backward Reflection Activities

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FINAL THOUGHTS: PLCS IN ADULT LEARNING ENVIRONMENT Professional Learning Communities (PLCs) are just as relevant in the adult learning environment as in the work environment. It is increasingly important that the dimensions of PLCs exist not only in organizations but be modeled in the adult learning environments. By giving adult learners a supportive and safe space to learn about and practice the six dimensions of PLC (i.e., beliefs, values, leadership, collaboration, shared practice and other elements), PLCs will be able to become a part of more organizations’ practices and DNA.

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Dweck, C. (2006). Mindset: The new psychology of success. New York, NY: Random House. Fischer, L., Gardner, J., Brinthaupt, T., & Raffo, D. (2014). Conditional release of course materials: Assessing best practice recommendations. Journal of Online Teaching and Learning, 10(2). Glatthorn, A. A., Boschee, F., Whitehead, B. M., & Boschee, B. F. (2015). Curriculum leadership: Development and implementation (4th ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

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Goold, A., Crain, A., & Coldwell, J. (2008). The student experience of working in teams online. In Hello! Where are you in the landscape of educational technology? Proceedings from Melburne, 2008, 343–352. Hipp, K. K., & Huffman, J. B. (2010). Demystifying professional learning communities: School leadership at its best. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield Education. Hord, S., Roussin, J., & Sommers, W. (2010). Guiding professional learning communities: Inspiration, challenge, surprise, and meaning. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin. Kebritchi, M. (2014). Preferred teaching methods in online courses: Learners views. Journal of Online Learning and Teaching / MERLOT, 10(3). Knowles, M. (1980). The modern practice of adult education: From pedagogy to andragogy. Wilton, CT: Association Press. Kozlowski, S., & Bell, B. (2003). Work groups and teams in organizations. In Comprehensive handbook of psychology: Vol. 12. Industrial and organizational (pp. 333 – 375). New York, NY: Wiley. doi:10.1002/0471264385.wei1214 Lave, J., & Wenger, E. (1991). Situated learning: Legitimate peripheral participation. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. doi:10.1017/CBO9780511815355 Lee, S., Bonk, C., Magjuka, R., Bude, S., & Xiaojing, L. (2006). Understanding dimensions of virtual teams. International Journal on E-Learning, 5(4). Martin, F., & Parker, M. (2014). Use of synchronous virtual classrooms: Why, who, and how? Journal of Online Learning and Teaching / MERLOT, 10(2). Mayes, R., Ku, H., Akarasriworn, C., Luebeck, J., & Korkmaz, O. (2011). Themes and strategies for transformative online instruction: a review of literature and practice. The Quarterly Review of Distance Education. 12(3). Retrieved from http://ies.ed.gov/ncee/edlabs National Center for Educational Statistics. (2015). Enrollment in distance education courses, by state: Fall 2012. Retrieved from http://nces.ed.gov/pubs2014/2014023.pdf Prensky, M. (2001). Digital natives, digital immigrants. Retrieved from http://www.marcprensky.com/ writing/Prensky%20%20Digital%20Natives,%20Digital%20Immigrants%20-%20Part1.pdf

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Scott, K. (2017). Radical candor: Be a kick-ass boss without losing you humanity. New York, NY: St. Martin’s Press. Senge, P., Kleiner, A., Roberts, C., Ross, R., & Smith, B. (1994). The fifth discipline fieldbook: Strategies and tools for building a learning organization. New York: Doubleday. Senge, P. M. (2006). The fifth discipline: The art & practice of the learning organization. New York, NY: Doubleday. Spillane, J. (2006). Distributed leadership. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. Tuckman, B. W. (1965). Developmental sequence in small groups. Psychological Bulletin, 63(6), 384–399. doi:10.1037/h0022100 PMID:14314073

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Wang, P. A. (2015). Assessment of asynchronous online discussions for a constructive online learning community. International Journal of Information and Education Technology (IJIET), 5(8), 598–604. doi:10.7763/IJIET.2015.V5.575 Wenger, E. (1998). Communities of practice: learning, meaning, and identity. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. doi:10.1017/CBO9780511803932

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This work was previously published in Outcome-Based Strategies for Adult Learning; pages 125-147, copyright year 2019 by Information Science Reference (an imprint of IGI Global).

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Chapter 2

Building Communities of Practice Through Faculty Mentorship Programs Pooneh Lari Wake Technical Community College, Raleigh, NC, USA Denise H. Barton Wake Technical Community College, Raleigh, NC, USA

ABSTRACT Building an efective mentoring program for community college faculty is a complex and multifaceted task. There are multiple layers of stakeholders and levels of involvement, which at times makes navigating the mentoring relationships challenging and complicates the decision of what types of information to provide to the faculty as part of their mentorship. A strategy for developing a successful mentoring program is creating a community of practice among faulty members to provide support, create dialogue, exchange best practices, and hopefully, create a process of collective learning in a community of practice, where faculty are open to receiving guidance and willing to engage in the process as part of the mentoring program with minimal resistance to learning. This article describes the practices and processes of a newly-formed faculty mentoring program at Wake Technical Community College and the aims to add to the body of literature of community college faculty mentoring, vocational training, learning resistance, and faculty development.

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INTRODUCTION Providing adequate, necessary, and just-in-time faculty development training and mentoring is important for the professional growth of faculty members. One of the main goals of providing faculty mentoring through more seasoned faculty is for the purposes of socialization and career development of the mentee (St. Clair, 1994). Specifically, that socialization allows the mentee to become familiar with the cultural and social norms of the institution and be able to establish professional relationship with other DOI: 10.4018/978-1-7998-7294-8.ch002

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Research Anthology on Facilitating New Educational Practices Through Communities of Learning, edited by Association, Information Resources Management, IGI Global, 2020. ProQuest

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 Building Communities of Practice Through Faculty Mentorship Programs

colleagues. This mentorship influences the career development of the faculty member by enabling them to become more robust and effective instructors, establishing them as experts in their field of practice, and developing a voice and professional identity. Educational institutions, in particular, utilize reciprocal learning relationships involving trust, respect, and commitment in mentoring faculty and providing them with needed support (Foundation & Newcomer, 2016). This supportive and collaborative work environment enables individuals to learn from each other and to demonstrate their competency as faculty members in all disciplines of education. It must be noted however, that not always is this mentorship a fluid process. As new faculty members are being instructed and mentored, some feel threatened in the sense of their lack of cognitive ability and self-efficacy (Colquitt, LePine, & Noe, 2000) and also, that what they know and the way they have worked previously is now questionable. Atherton (1999) states that one of the major characteristics of resisted learning is its supplantive nature, which means that the person feels threatened that the knowledge or skills which they have already acquired will be replaced. In these cases, the faculty tend to show resistance to this new learning and mentoring. Taylor and Lounsbury (2016) note that “learning resistance often resides at the intersection of the personal and the environmental” (p. 26). Taylor (2014) defines learning resistance as “a state in which a learner is not open to learning in a specific learning situation as demonstrated through either active rejection or passive disengagement” (p. 60). In order to better respond to the growing need of faculty to be more competent in pedagogy, technology, and possess higher levels of interpersonal skills for supporting student learning, success, and retention, Wake Technical Community College developed a 30-credit hour professional development certification program known as EPIC30 (eLearning Preparedness Initiative Across the College). Through these professional development sessions, the faculty are trained on pedagogy for teaching, use of Blackboard learning management system, universal design for learning, and accessibility. If faculty have been teaching online for several years, they have the option of becoming EPIC certified through submitting one of their courses for a blind, peer review process. Upon completing this certification program or successfully passing the peer review process, the faculty become certified online instructors. In terms of identifying mentors, curriculum deans discuss the mentoring opportunity with interested faculty and nominate qualified faculty to enter mentoring training. This training is composed of policies and procedures of the mentoring program, goal setting and time management, communication skills to build relationships, and conflict resolution skills development. Those who complete this training and are deemed fit to become mentors by their Dean enter the EPIC Mentoring Program. Using the eLearning Quality Standards rubric created by EPIC, the mentors guide the mentees who are new to teaching online to ensure they are delivering quality instruction in online courses. This study addresses how faculty can be persuaded to accept mentoring guidance through building and participating in communities of practice to socialize, gain new knowledge, find new professional opportunities, and exchange best practices with other faculty members. Additionally, it considers how new mentors can increase their expertise and better serve mentees while development of a community of practice is taking place. Wenger’s (1998) community of practice social learning frames this study through using mentoring communities of practice as a resource for faculty growth and development. The bodies of literature supporting this study are communities of practice, faculty mentoring, and community college faculty development. This qualitative study informs the practices and processes of the newly formed faculty mentoring program at Wake Technical Community College and adds to the body of literature of community college faculty mentoring and faculty development. It particularly supports

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Research Anthology on Facilitating New Educational Practices Through Communities of Learning, edited by Association, Information Resources Management, IGI Global, 2020. ProQuest

 Building Communities of Practice Through Faculty Mentorship Programs

the ongoing efforts of integrating new training methods associated with vocational education at the community college level. This study applies Cuddapah and Clayton’s (2011) Wenger’s community of practice theoretical framework to faculty development as part of a faculty mentoring program, similar to its previous application to new teacher professional development cohorts. It will also concentrate on the how faculty become effective instructors through building communities of practice through a mentoring program and how faculty mentors develop their expertise in mentoring new and less experienced faculty. It will also concentrate on the how faculty become effective instructors through building communities of practice through a mentoring program and how faculty mentors develop their expertise in mentoring new and less experienced faculty. Using Bandura’s (1997) social learning theory researchers show how new faculty learn from seasoned faculty through their role modeling of behaviors and communications within the mentoring relationship and how the mentoring program supports this process.

LITERATURE REVIEW

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Mentoring Skunk and Mullen (2013) define mentoring as a developmental and dynamic relationship used for the purpose of enhancing mentee outcomes and independence. This developmental process involves multiple stages, which includes preparing, negotiation, enabling, and closing (Kram, 1988). Due to the nature of the ongoing relationship, it requires time and effort for the mentor and mentee to get to know each other, build trust, for the mentee to become self-reliant, and eventually, become a peer. Establishing themselves as new members of a community requires thoughtful and deliberate action on behalf of the mentor. Vaill and Testori (2012) note that the support given to faculty new to teaching online should involve orientation, mentor support, and ongoing professional development. Generally speaking, there are two types of mentoring. These include psychosocial mentoring and career mentoring. Psychosocial mentoring is based on providing social and psychological support for the faculty member, while career mentoring is more geared toward supervisors supporting faculty in moving up in rank (Arora & Rangnekar, 2014). EPIC Mentoring Program is geared strictly towards psychosocial mentoring, as it is focused on improving teaching and learning versus preparedness for career advancement. Arora and Rangnekar (2014) found that psychosocial mentoring was a significant predictor of career resilience, while career mentoring was not a significant predictor of career resilience. Collard et al. (1996) define career resilience as “the ability to adapt to changing circumstances, even when the circumstances are discouraging or disruptive” (p. 33). They also define it as “the result or outcome of being career self-reliant” (p. 34). Both the psychosocial function and the career function support the mentee in development of competencies and promote a positive individual and employee sense of self (Rutti, Helms, & Rose, 2013). Given these findings, it appears that authentic, collaborative relationships bring out the best in the individual and assist them in goal achievement. The goal of EPIC Mentoring Program in supporting faculty is not only to serve as a precursor to teaching excellence and faculty development, but to also build career resilience. Mentoring mediates the effect of personal learning and has a significantly positive effect on mentee career development (Gong, Shih-Ying Chen, & Min-Lang Yang, 2014). Antecedents of mentoring support include proactivity, learning orientation, mentoring transformational leadership, affect-based and perceived similarity of mentor and 20

Research Anthology on Facilitating New Educational Practices Through Communities of Learning, edited by Association, Information Resources Management, IGI Global, 2020. ProQuest

 Building Communities of Practice Through Faculty Mentorship Programs

mentee, and structural support and supervisory mentoring (Ghosh, 2014). Other benefits of mentoring programs are increased productivity of faculty and organizational stability (Falzarano & Zipp, 2012). Studies have shown that faculty mentoring in an academic setting provides a way for faculty to increase their intellectual stimulation, experience job satisfaction, and gain both personal and career support. Furthermore, faculty mentoring is a professional development activity that enhances cognitive stimulation, which in turn benefits students through having confident and knowledgeable instructors. Faculty mentoring also provides job satisfaction in the sense that faculty become acculturated within the institution and their profession. The mentoring program allows for relationship building among novice and experienced faculty and provides avenues for creating communities of practice, where the faculty as a whole aim for higher standards of teaching practices, knowledge of pedagogy, exchanges of best practices, and creates an environment, where all faculty involved aim for and work toward common goals of personal and career support, growth and improvement and student success and retention (Ambar, Harvey, and Cahir, 2016). Through these communities of practice, social networks are also created, which will in turn provide opportunities for more dialogue and collaboration. Germain (2011) found that when adult development is facilitated through mentoring, the attachment style of the person affects success or failure of formal mentoring relationships. Germain defines the attachment theory perspective of mentoring as “the degree of functionality of a mentor–protégé formal match in an organizational setting” (p. 123). Being aware of the attachment style supports creation of better pairings of mentoring relationships. It also supports that physical proximity and attention from the mentor caregiver is important in the success of formal mentoring relationships.

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Communities of Practice In order for humans to acquire knowledge, they must come to understand and make meaning of what they have come across and are experiencing in their social environment (Wenger, 1998). As a process of learning, Wenger (1998) defines four components that assist faculty members through meaning making and making an experience their own. These components include meaning, as a way of talking about our individual and collective way of making meaning of our experiences; practice, as a way of talking about and sharing our perspective that can lead to mutual interaction; community, as a way of talking about social arrangements in which we define our valued self and worth and our participation is recognizable and valued; and identity, as a way of talking about how learning transforms who we are and “creates personal histories of becoming in the context of our communities” (p. 49). A person’s sense of self is linked to his or her feelings of belonging within a community (Smith, 2015) and when it is a community of practice, the concern by the mentor for the mentee’s comfort level and his or her acceptance as a new member is vital to the mentee’s sense of self. In creating a social environment for engagement and learning through communities of practice, the faculty members are provided an opportunity to create dialogue and interact and engage regarding what they have learned and their perspectives on this learning (Brown, 1994; Lave and Wenger, 1991). Lave (1998) notes that it is through these interactions and engagements that experiences are shared and communities are formed. Social experiences involve an exchange of ideas, insights gained, and awareness of self and lend support to the creation of an individual identity in the group, while concurrently developing the dynamics of a group or community. Wenger (1998) defines communities of practice as a group of people who share the same interests, have common goals and want to improve their practice through interacting and learning from each other. 21

Research Anthology on Facilitating New Educational Practices Through Communities of Learning, edited by Association, Information Resources Management, IGI Global, 2020. ProQuest

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Wenger, McDermott, and Snyder (2002) define communities of practice as “groups of people who share a concern, a set of problems, or a passion about a topic, and who deepen their knowledge and expertise in this area by interacting on an ongoing basis” (p. 7). This is similar to interaction as a community of practice in a mentoring program, where mentors and mentees will interact in order to learn, exchange ideas, and grow professionally Lave and Wenger (1991) state that in the process of participating in a community of practice, the participants move from the peripheral of the community in learning and discussion to the center for full participation in time as they get acquainted with the members of the community and begin to feel comfortable in participating in the group. This process is known as the legitimate peripheral participation. In a mentoring community of practice, the mentees are being coached by their mentor and through participation in their community of practice, they become acculturated and accustomed to their peers and move from the periphery to the center of participation. Lave and Wenger assert that

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Legitimate peripheral participation provides… a way to speak about the relations between newcomers and old-timers, and about activities, identities, artifacts, and communities of knowledge and practice. A person’s intentions to learn are engaged and the meaning of learning is configured through the process of becoming a full participant in a socio­cultural practice. This social process, includes, indeed it subsumes, the learning of knowledgeable skills. (1991, p. 29) In building the community of practice for the mentors and mentees as part of the EPIC Mentoring Program, faculty mentors and mentees meet through discussion boards on the Blackboard learning management system and in person as dyads paired to create a more intimate and meaningful relationship of support and sharing. As part of their ongoing training and development, mentors participate in roundtable discussions where they can share their experiences as new mentors, how they were approaching the mentoring relationship, and what they had uncovered that administration should know. Mentors also use Basecamp project management software as a means to communicate and maintain a repository of documents and discussions with other mentors. Lave and Wenger (1998) explain that the mentee as a newcomer should be allowed to participate in the community and be given guidance in how the community functions. The mentee’s legitimacy within the group will enable them to make mistakes and learn from them without consequences and, thus, turning them into learning opportunities rather than grounds for reprimanding. As the mentee moves towards the center of the community, their legitimacy gains strengths and they become more empowered (Lave & Wegner, 1991). The new faculty mentee eventually becomes part of the group and establishes a relationship with other seasoned faculty and through communication and guidance from faculty mentors move from the peripheries to become full participants of the community. Mentoring serves as a safety net for new faculty and allows them guidance as they walk the path toward becoming a legitimate member of the group. Through this visible, structured process the mentee gains confidence in their teaching practice and builds a friendship with a colleague. Participation in communities of practice is a vital aspect of adult learning as it allows for learning opportunities and spaces conducive to learning (Avis & Fisher, 2006). In the communities of practice literature, learning is viewed as a social activity that allows the learner, in this case the faculty mentee, to move from being a novice towards being an expert in their professional community (Brown & Duguid, 1996; Lave & Wenger, 1991; Wenger, 1998). It is noted that learning opportunities in communities of learning present themselves in authentic ways through encounters with other member, tools, tasks, and 22

Research Anthology on Facilitating New Educational Practices Through Communities of Learning, edited by Association, Information Resources Management, IGI Global, 2020. ProQuest

 Building Communities of Practice Through Faculty Mentorship Programs

social interactions (Schlager, Fusco, & Schank, 2002). Wenger (1998) explains that in communities of practice, the concept of learning must be reevaluated as “learning is an issue of engaging in and contributing to the practice of their communities” and for communities, “learning is an issue of refining their practice and ensuring a new generation of members” (p. 73). This evolving process presupposes that each individual gains applicable knowledge through interactions with others and learns and develops best practices to refine their teaching practice. Similarly, the faculty mentee members must negotiate their teaching and learning assumptions in accordance to the situation they are in and their interactions with other community members (Wenger, 1998). Their shared practice with students, colleagues and their community of practice is complex and diverse. These relationships include power struggles and dependence, pleasure, alliance and competition, collaboration, expertise, helplessness, success and failure, anger and tenderness, trust and suspicion, friendship and hatred, ease and struggle, authority and collegiality and many more (Wenger, 1998). Yet, managing their emotional state is vital to their progression into membership of the community. It is through “engagement in action, interpersonal relations, shared knowledge, and negotiation of enterprises” that communities allow for negotiated meaning in practice and transformation, which in turn affects people’s lives (Wenger, 1998, p. 85). In a community of practice, there must be a mutual agreement and engagement between the mentors and mentees and among both mentors and mentees. The mentors and mentees are engaged in actions and both mentor and mentee need to negotiate the meaning of what they have practiced and the actions they take towards each other.

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Faculty Professional Development To carry out the mission and vision of higher education, employees must be given professional development in the form of a well-developed mentoring program that includes adjunct faculty in order for them to become an active part of the system (Rogers, McIntyre, & Jazzar, 2009). Since online adjunct faculty have less access to resources than full-time faculty, assistance from the institution for development and training becomes important in attaining a sense of community and feeling a connection to peers. Furthermore, this is important to the institution because experienced faculty communicate the college’s culture and represents the knowledge base of the discipline (Smith, 2015). These strategies provide support to new faculty as they learn to navigate their new workplace. Moreover, these strategies allow faculty to execute their immediate mission of discovering and supporting the institutional goals and beliefs (Rogers, McIntyre, & Jazzar, 2009). In providing mentoring as a form of professional development, it lends itself to creating communities with mutual engagement of the participants. Wenger (1998) states that in these communities, individuals can interact with each and negotiate what these interactions and actions mean and within these groups, coherence and inclusion allows for members to have mutual relationships, hence, allowing for sustainability of the community. As part of this study, we look at how these communities and relationships are formed.

METHODOLOGY This study uses a two-pronged theoretical approach to explore building a community of practice through faculty mentoring. The first theoretical perspective is Bandura’s social learning theory (SLT) and involves learning from observing others or from environmental factors. Five core concepts associated with the 23

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 Building Communities of Practice Through Faculty Mentorship Programs

SLT framework include observational learning/modeling, outcome expectations, self-efficacy, goal setting and self-regulation (Bandura, 1977). Observational learning states that employees learn from a role model, outcome expectations are affected by whether employees think they will be rewarded or punished for an outcome. Self-efficacy is the employees’ belief that they have the ability to be successful. Having a positive assessment of your abilities is important to having high self-efficacy (Bandura, 1988). Goal setting involves the ability to set and work toward future goals, while self-regulation is the employee’s ability to control their thoughts, emotions, and actions. Setting realistic goals supports increases in selfefficacy (Bandura, 1988). The second theoretical perspective is the sociocultural theory introduced by Lave and Wenger (1991), which explains how sociocultural realities affect human lives and alter this reality with social actions through meaning, practice, community and identity (Wenger, 1998). The concept of legitimate peripheral participation was developed to explain how a new learner joining a community of practice learns from the group and moves from the periphery of the group to a full participating member over time. The new learners in this case are the mentees joining their mentoring community of practice and transform from novice to full participating, legitimate members of the community who are empowered and can contribute back to their community of practice. In the communities of practice social learning model, it is presumed that humans learn through social interaction and it is through these interactions and participation that humans become participating members (Wenger, 1998). The four components of meaning, practice, community and identity (Wenger, 1998) explain the process of how within the boundaries of a group, communities are formed, interactions taken place, meanings are made of experiences and learnings, and identities are formed. In this qualitative study, the mentors and mentees have participated in discussion boards as a community and the mentors have participated in roundtable conversations about their experiences as mentors, in essence establishing two communities of practice: one community for new faculty to learn from more seasoned faculty, and another for sharing, refining, and updating seasoned faculty’s knowledge, skills, and abilities as mentors. Both communities of practice establish their community and create the legitimate peripheral participation through socializing within the members of this group. These conversations were monitored and recorded. This qualitative research study design uses triangulation method to collect and analyze data. Three points of measurement were used and include discussion board postings within the Mentoring Orientation Class using for Spring 2017 semester where eight mentors and ten mentees communicated, evaluation of the mentoring program via SurveyMonkey® link embedded in this Mentoring Orientation Class, and the in person 2-hour focus group format mentor roundtable discussion held in March 2017. All mentors and mentees participated in the discussion board questions posted in the Mentoring Orientation Class showing a 100% participation rate, sixteen out of eighteen participants composed of both mentors and mentees completed the evaluation survey showing an 89% participation rate. Seven of the eight mentors participated in person and one mentor participated by submitting answers to the focus group questions within 24 hours of the mentor roundtable discussion via email to the Mentoring Coordinator showing a 100% participation rate. Review and analysis of the data occurred in May 2017 after the Mentoring Orientation Class and the Spring semester ended. Collecting data using discussion board posting was the best method to allow participants to narrate their thoughts, learnings, and feelings about the mentoring relationship, the eLearning Quality Standards rubric, and their progress toward EPIC 30 instructor certification. Qualitative data lends itself better to use when looking at thoughts and feelings about relationship building and progression of self-paced 24

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goals. It allows for inner thoughts and rationales to be revealed, where quantitative design only allows a measured response of what has occurred, but with no explanation as to why it has occurred. Having the SurveyMonkey® link contained in the class, but directing mentors and mentees to an outside website provided assurance of anonymity, so participants could express their true thoughts and feelings about the mentoring program. The mentor roundtable provided an opportunity to learn from other mentors’ views, thoughts, and feelings experienced as part of the mentoring process. The mentoring evaluation included fifteen questions consisting of both qualitative and quantitative questions. Two questions in the evaluation pertained to this study as it relates to communities of practice where mentors and mentees were asked what they had learned about themselves and what they had learned about their partner in the dyad. Analyzing this data and the narratives expressed by the participants allowed the researchers to identify the ongoing mentoring relationship development and learning process that occurred between mentors and mentees. It also allowed a unique perspective from mentors on how learning more about yourself and others can be an important component of mentoring and create commonality among those practicing mentoring. Part of developing a community of practice is allowing participants to build social connections within the parameters of their profession and pull in the new faculty members, those on the peripheral, into this group. Before new members can be fully integrated, the core group must be formed and have history of practice within a community approach.

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FINDINGS Through discussion boards, the mentors and mentees were able to introduce themselves by listing their name and including the subject area in which they teach, their credentials, and any hobbies or special interests they wanted to share with the others in the community of practice. Examples of hobbies and special interests listed included one faculty using a DNA database to research ancestry for individuals who have passed. Another example was a retired technology worker entering the teaching field who likes cycling, traveling, reading, and listening to blues music. One faculty member runs an art blog, another owns a photography business, while another was a self-described “huge” Dallas Cowboys fan. There were other faculty members who took care of pets, worked out, tended to gardens, participated in other physical activities, and were involved with taking care of their children. Another discussion board included questions about the rubric they were to use to ensure their course met our eLearning Quality Standards established by EPIC. Most faculty understood the rubric, but one faculty member expressed concern that for new faculty it may be difficult to follow and could be improved. The mentors were required to explain the rubric to their mentees and then both posted any questions that they had concerning how to read it and apply it to their online class. A third discussion board question concerned their progress on completion of EPIC 30 courses, as mentors are paired with mentees for the purpose of the mentee completing these courses in order to become certified as an online instructor. Mentees posted their progress ranging from just getting started and taking only one course to others who had completed 2 or more courses toward certification. Mentors replied with positive statements encouraging mentees to continue working toward completion. One question was asked twice, once as a discussion board and again on the mentoring program evaluation administered through the Blackboard class via a SurveyMonkey® link. Both mentees and mentors were asked what they had learned about themselves creating an introspective moment in order for them to become more aware of their thought processes and the meanings that they had created as they served 25

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 Building Communities of Practice Through Faculty Mentorship Programs

as mentors and mentees. Their comments ranged from: learning they had good listening skills, realizing they could offer practical advice, discovering they had good organizational skills, enjoying being a mentor, finding they were knowledgeable about accessibility, feeling they could be more assertive with their mentee, wanting to manage both expectations and capabilities, discovering they could handle one more thing on their plate, needing a calendar to manage time, learning better ways to respond to students, and discovering ways to make online education more dynamic and interesting for students. Another question from the mentoring program evaluation asked what they had learned about their dyad partner for the purpose of relationship building and awareness of others that they found positive to their mentoring experience. Responses included: learning the person was supportive, open, positive, and had different perspectives; confirming that colleagues have much to teach to a new mentee; realizing the mentee could have too much to do and get behind on tasks; expressing overconfidence; completing tasks on time, noticing that the mentee is an eager learner, working with cooperatively with faculty across different discipline areas and how this may make faculty more comfortable sharing; and realizing the pace of things may not reflect the expectations of the mentee and that is okay. Mentors who participated in the face-to-face roundtable discussions focused on gauging their thoughts and experiences as they were midway through the mentoring relationship. They expressed issues around conceptualizing the mentoring program and using the blackboard mentoring course. As part of this conceptualization of the mentoring program, ideas such as potential components of the program, program alignment with the college culture, and its future growth and development were discussed. The program was developed and the blackboard mentoring course served as an orientation to the mentoring program, as well as, a location to house documents, conduct discussions, and provided a means to communicate the evaluation survey link for the mentoring program. Notes were typed up and emailed to all mentors after the meeting. One mentor felt that she had been overwhelmed with the time commitment required to help a new faculty member, while other mentors commented that, on average, only one hour per week was needed to guide their mentee. Others expressed that more coordination between the adjunct program and the mentoring program was needed. Mentors agreed that more resources and advanced professional development would be very helpful to their professional growth and to their success as a mentor. Lastly, mentors were placed in a project management web application for the purposes of collaboration. As others join, they will be able to see previous conversations, comments, documents pertaining to mentoring, and create, post, and respond to discussion threads. This web application also allows goal setting with “to do” lists, allowing participants to create goals, assign tasks, and close out completed items. The findings of this study were aligned with the what Wenger called communities of practice (1998) ad Lave and Wenger’s (1991) legitimate periphery participation as there were a lot of interactions between the mentor and the mentee and a community was formed and within this community, there were many interactions between the faculty members across disciplines and the less experienced faculty were provided with the support and guidance needed to become full participating members of this community. These finding also support Bandura’s (1977) social learning theory by showing that mentees were provided with a role model in the form of mentors that supported them in learning more about the institutional teaching requirements. These same faculty mentors modeled how mentees should communicate with their colleagues. They also provided support for mentee’s goal-setting and self-efficacy by working with them to set goals and providing encouraging feedback concerning their progress toward EPIC 30 certification. Resistance to mentoring (Barrett, Mazerolle, & Nottingham, 2017) can occur when new faculty members have difficulty receiving feedback and experienced faculty are working under competing time 26

Research Anthology on Facilitating New Educational Practices Through Communities of Learning, edited by Association, Information Resources Management, IGI Global, 2020. ProQuest

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constraints that decrease their availability. While mentors are expected to continue to teach a full schedule, they also have projects, committee work, and professional development requirements to maintain their jobs at the college. These time constraints may limit the time they are available to mentor. Since mentees are new to the college, they are required to take the EPIC 30 courses while they teach and work with a mentor. Receiving feedback from their mentor should be in the form of developmental feedback, not constructive feedback. Principles of positive communication and positive regard for mentees are important to ensure they are open, not resistant to the feedback. The mentoring training class included training for mentors on positive communication and developmental feedback. Reciprocal engagement, time to commit to the relationship, and having both mentor and mentee motivated to develop effective communication is important to the quality of the mentor-mentee relationship.

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DISCUSSION AND IMPLICATIONS The introduction discussion board postings provided an opportunity for mentees and mentors to share some personal, non-work-related information and, therefore, humanized the mentoring relationship. Part of getting to know someone and building a relationship is self-disclosure. This first step in the EPIC mentoring sequence is to foster open dialogue with both the mentor and mentee as people, and establish both a personal and work identity. The goal is to create a personal relationship, positioning both parties as real people. Once the personal relationship is formed, transitioning to the mentoring relationship becomes easier, because the mentor and mentee have shared personal information and have started building trust and developing rapport. Tying the mentoring relationship to completion of tasks relevant to excellence in teaching helped the new faculty understand the importance of the mentoring relationship. Since the second discussion board required discussion of the rubric, it set the purpose and goal of the relationship and allowed the mentor to be positioned as the expert, while positioning the mentee as the learner. In order to create a sense of accountability, mentors reviewed the rubric with mentees, allowed mentees to ask questions for clarification, and set goals for achievement. Requiring mentees to list their progress toward completion of EPIC 30 courses ensured they were responsible for their progress. Using discussion boards to show the conversations provided others in the program a compass and level of comparison on their progress toward certification. This helped them compare themselves to others and gauge their performance in completion of this certification. Asking mentors and mentees to list what they had learned from their dyad partner disclosed valuable information that illustrated relationship building between mentor and mentee as a precursor to joining the community of practice as an excellent teacher. These comments revealed the importance of learning from others and interacting through a shared community perspective. It further illustrated how individuals can gain insightful knowledge about themselves through meaningful interactions and emerging relationships. Because these communications were visible to all participants in the mentoring program, communities could build organically. When both mentors and mentees were asked what they learned about their partner, the responses showed that relationships require learning from others and trusting that the other person is supportive. Learning and trusting others cultivates the mentoring relationship and moves those mentored into a closer proximity to the community of practice. It provides intimacy for the mentor/mentee relationship and, therefore, establishes a means to bring them into the fold of the group. 27

Research Anthology on Facilitating New Educational Practices Through Communities of Learning, edited by Association, Information Resources Management, IGI Global, 2020. ProQuest

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Using Blackboard to house the mentoring orientation and documents for the semester was an efficient and effective way to ensure the mentoring relationships were active and record responses. Although some faculty believed there was a better way to communicate, they understood the financial constraints at the college and were satisfied with the process. Using blackboard provided a visual of the development of the relationship and the progress being made. As these mentors are moved to Basecamp for further discussion, they will continue to develop a community of practice. These responses illustrate the value of mentoring and the need for a combination of introspective, and outward perspective, and relationship building in development of a community of practice. Each faculty member, both mentor and mentee, appreciated the professional development support, and were highly engaged in meeting the needs of each other. This reciprocal relationship provided psychosocial support for new faculty in navigating the college climate and helping them on becoming successful as a new faculty member and it provided seasoned faculty the opportunity to learn, grow, and develop others in pursuit of their self-improvement while giving back to their profession. As the mentee learns and becomes a contributing member in the community of practice, they continue developing relationships with others and readily and confidently feel included as an important organizational member. The implications related to this study are directly related to the training needs for faculty in vocational education at all levels of both secondary and post-secondary education. Throughout the history of vocational education, different disciplines have used job shadowing, internships, cooperative education and apprenticeships as a key focus for their students to learn and therefore, used multiple forms for mentoring students and colleagues in these situations. This study addresses learning resistance and how social learning theory established through mentoring can help overcome mentee resistance by allowing for development of their self-efficacy. It also supports this ongoing practice within vocational education and shows the progressive need to use modern tools with traditional practices.

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RECOMMENDATIONS AND CONCLUSIONS This study illustrated the importance of fostering a community of practice when establishing a mentoring program in an educational institution. The first recommendation is that institutions develop a comprehensive professional development program that includes training on key competencies needed to mentor, which include both soft and hard skills. Second, ensure that mentors are excellent instructors and have gained the highest level of competency in using the learning management system (or some other webbased project management software). They should be able to navigate the college culture and should be respected by their peers. In addition to technical and interpersonal skills, they should have skills in accessibility and universal design. These types of competencies have long been a part of vocation education When using mentoring as a professional development practice to develop a community of practice, it should be structured, have multiple points of communication, and allow mentors and mentees opportunities to disclose and discuss issues in a public forum. When likeminded colleagues can use discussion boards to articulate their experiences and view others going through the same relationship-building process, it allows them to compare their experiences with others within a safe, but social context. This supports social learning theory in transfer of knowledge, skills, and abilities from the role model to the mentee. It also challenges mentees to overcome learning resistance by utilizing a generative process that intersects environment with relationship. 28

Research Anthology on Facilitating New Educational Practices Through Communities of Learning, edited by Association, Information Resources Management, IGI Global, 2020. ProQuest

 Building Communities of Practice Through Faculty Mentorship Programs

Finally, this builds a community of practice where new and different ideas, ways of thinking, and innovation can emerge with the convergence of thoughts, feelings, and interpretations of the mentoring experience. The perspectives from multiple mentors was invaluable in making changes to the mentoring program to ensure that new faculty over time could join this group as an equal. Feedback from mentees was also used to make changes that address learning resistance and avenues to support self-efficacy. Future research should focus on communities of practice, mentoring theory, vocational training, learning resistance, and self-efficacy and its role in mentoring.

REFERENCES Ambler, T., Harvey, M., & Cahir, J. (2016). University academics’ experiences of learning through mentoring. Australian Educational Researcher, 43(5), 609–627. doi:10.100713384-016-0214-7 Arora, R., & Rangnekar, S. (2014). Workplace mentoring and career resilience: An empirical test. The Psychologist Manager Journal, 17(3), 205–220. doi:10.1037/mgr0000021 Atherton, J. (1999). Resistance to learning: A discussion based on participants in in-service professional training programmes. Journal of Vocational Education and Training, 51(1), 77–90. doi:10.1080/13636829900200070 Avis, J., & Fisher, R. (2006, July). Reflections on communities of practice, online learning and transformation: Teachers, lecturers and trainers. Research in Post-Compulsory Education, 11(2), 141151. doi:10.1080/13596740600768927 Bandura, A. (1977). Social learning theory. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall. Bandura, A. (1988). Organizational applications of social cognitive theory. [Retrieved from]. Australian Journal of Management, 13(2), 275–302. doi:10.1177/031289628801300210 Barrett, J. L., Mazerolle, S. M., & Nottingham, S. L. (2017). Attributes of effective mentoring relationships for novice faculty members: Perspectives of mentors and mentees. Athletic Training Education Journal, 12(2), 152–162. doi:10.4085/1202152 Brown, A. L. (1994, November). The advancement of learning. Educational Researcher, 23(8), 412. doi:10.3102/0013189X023008004

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Brown, J. S., Collins, A., & Duguid, P. (1989). Situated cognition and the culture of learning. Educational Researcher, 18(1), 3242. doi:10.3102/0013189X018001032 Collard, B, Epperheimer, J. W., & Saign, D. (1996). Career resilience in a changing workplace. Columbus: ERIC Clearinghouse on Adult, Career, and Vocational Education. Colquitt, J. A., LePine, J. A., & Noe, R. A. (2000). Toward an integrative theory of training motivation: A meta-analytic path analysis of 20 years of research. The Journal of Applied Psychology, 85(5), 678–707. doi:10.1037/0021-9010.85.5.678 PMID:11055143 Cuddapah, J. L., & Clayton, C. D. (2011). Using Wenger’s Communities of Practice to Explore a New Teacher Cohort. Journal of Teacher Education, 62(1), 62–75. doi:10.1177/0022487110377507

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Falzarano, M., & Zipp, G. P. (2012). Perceptions of mentoring of full-time occupational therapy faculty in the United States. Occupational Therapy International, 19(3), 117–126. doi:10.1002/oti.1326 PMID:22431303 Fountain, J., & Newcomer, K. E. (2016). Developing and sustaining effective faculty mentoring programs. Journal of Public Affairs Education, 22(4), 483–506. Germain, M. (2011). Formal mentoring relationships and attachment theory: Implications for human resource development. Human Resource Development Review, 10(2), 123–150. doi:10.1177/1534484310397019 Ghosh, R. (2014). Antecedents of mentoring support: A meta-analysis of individual, relational, and structural or organizational factors. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 84(3), 367–384. doi:10.1016/j. jvb.2014.02.009 Gong, R., Chen, S. Y., & Yang, M. L. (2014). Career outcome of employees: The mediating effect of mentoring. Social Behavior and Personality, 42(3), 487–501. doi:10.2224bp.2014.42.3.487 Kram, K. E. (1988). Mentoring at work: Developmental relationships in organizational life. London, UK: University Press of America. Lave, J. (1988). Cognition in practice: Mind, mathematics, and culture in everyday life. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. doi:10.1017/CBO9780511609268 Lave, J., & Wenger, E. (1991). Situated learning: Legitimate peripheral participation. New York, NY: Cambridge University Press. doi:10.1017/CBO9780511815355 Rogers, C., McIntyre, M., & Jazzar, M. (2009). Four cornerstones to mentoring adjunct faculty online. The International Journal of Educational Leadership Preparation, 4(1). Retrieved from http://files.eric. ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1068482.pdf Rutti, R. M., Helms, M. M., & Rose, L. C. (2013). Changing the lens: Viewing the mentoring relationship as relational structures in a social exchange framework. Leadership and Organization Development Journal, 34(5), 446–468. doi:10.1108/LODJ-11-0097 Schlager, M. S., Fusco, J., & Schank, P. (2002). Evolution of an online education community of practice. In K. A. Renninger & W. Shumar (Eds.), Building virtual communities: Learning and change in cyberspace (pp. 129–158). New York, NY: Cambridge University Press. doi:10.1017/CBO9780511606373.010

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Schunk, D., & Mullen, C. (2013). Toward a conceptual model of mentoring research: Integration with self-regulated learning. Educational Psychology Review, 25(3), 361–389. doi:10.100710648-013-9233-3 Smith, W. (2015). Relational dimensions of virtual social work education: Mentoring faculty in a webbased learning environment. Clinical Social Work Journal, 43(2), 236–245. doi:10.100710615-014-0510-5 St. Clair, K. L. (1994). Faculty-to-faculty mentoring in the community college: An instructional component of faculty development. Community College Review, 22(3), 23–36. doi:10.1177/009155219402200304 Taylor, J. (2014). Starting with the learner: Designing learner engagement into the curriculum. In V. C. X. Wang & V. C. Bryan (Eds.), Andragogical and pedagogical methods for curriculum and program development (pp. 55–80). Hershey, PA: IGI Global. doi:10.4018/978-1-4666-5872-1.ch004

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Taylor, T. E., & Lounsbury, J. (2016). Measuring learning resistance to workplace training. International Journal of Adult Vocational Education and Technology, 7(1), 25–38. doi:10.4018/IJAVET.2016010102 Vaill, A. L., & Testori, P. A. (2012). Orientation, mentoring and ongoing support: A three-tiered approach to online faculty development. Journal of Asynchronous Learning Networks, 16(2), 111–119. Wenger, E. (1998). Communities of practice: Learning, meaning, and identity. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. doi:10.1017/CBO9780511803932 Wenger, E., McDermott, R. A., & Snyder, W. (2002). Cultivating communities of practice: A guide to managing knowledge. Boston, MA: Harvard Business School Press.

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This work was previously published in the International Journal of Adult Vocational Education and Technology (IJAVET), 8(4); pages 1-12, copyright year 2017 by IGI Publishing (an imprint of IGI Global).

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Chapter 3

Application of Knowledge Management in University Research and Higher Education: An Experiment With Communities of Practice (COP) Lalitha Raman Jyoti Nivas College Autonomous, India

ABSTRACT

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Institutions of higher learning are continuously striving to create and sustain excellence. In this endeavor, one of the major initiatives is to harness the available inputs i.e., the in-house resources and put the same to optimal use. In organizations of higher learning, knowledge creation and dissemination are the assets of the institution. The Department of Commerce and Management at Jyoti Nivas College has initiated the formation of COPs .These COPs are created by the workforce among themselves. It is not handed down from the top level management. It fts into the framework of a ‘peer group’ which can function as an informal community of peers and which can evolve into an institutionalized forum for interactions that creates and generates knowledge. In these COPs parallel or concurrent thought process happens, wherein, decentralization increases, dependence on one person as source for ideas reduces. These communities’ sharing activity can be taken up at academic research community, researcher’s group on KM. It is a step towards collaborative learning.

INTRODUCTION The discipline of Change management deals primarily with human aspect of change. Change management is a structured approach for transitioning individuals, teams, and organizations from a current state to a desired future. Typically, the objective is to maximize the collective benefits for all people involved in the change and also to minimize the risk of failure of implementing the change. Change management DOI: 10.4018/978-1-7998-7294-8.ch003

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 Application of Knowledge Management in University Research and Higher Education

entails thoughtful planning and sensitive implementation, and above all, consultation with, and involvement of, the people affected by the changes. A conscious effort has been made to bring about change in the teaching organization through the application of Knowledge Management practices in the teaching learning and evaluation process.

BACKGROUND Knowledge management is the ability to create and retain greater value from core organizational competencies. In practice, KM encompasses identifying and mapping intellectual assets within the organization, generating new knowledge for competitive advantage within the organizations, making vast amounts of information accessible and sharing of best practices, and technology (Barclay & Murray, 1997). KM has a multiple approach dealing with all aspects of knowledge within the context of an organization, including knowledge creation, capturing, sharing, dissemination and internalization. Knowledge management tends to focus on creating and sharing collaborative knowledge that exists in organizations. However, a more holistic view of knowledge management is required. Holistic knowledge management consists of five main activities: creating, re-using, transferring, sharing and discarding. Creating; organizations should be knowledge creators, trying to generate new knowledge well ahead of others. Re-using; refers to transfer of knowledge within an organization. Transferring; moving knowledge across organizational boundaries; Sharing; after successful creation of new knowledge within the organization, it has to be shared with members within and across other teaching organizations and functions. Discarding; teaching organizations need to reflect on whether, they are imparting knowledge that is outdated. In such cases, it may be necessary to discard existing knowledge and promote new knowledge creation. Knowledge management focuses on building a knowledge community. It emphasizes communal sharing of knowledge, and building of better practice through community interaction. When constructing knowledge management frameworks, it is important to recognize the need to include and integrate the whole community. COPs refers to a group of people sharing a common interest or practice, whose purpose is to share knowledge and experiences, help each other to learn, act as a support network and sometimes as an informal center of excellence. The knowledge and skills gained in the community can be applied directly to the needs and issues of an organization through the members’ formal organizational roles and participation in teams.

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KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT Knowledge management refers to the management of explicit and tacit knowledge of an organization obtained from both internal and external source. The integrated core activities of KM namely – identification, acquisition, retention, utilization, creation and metrics support in synchronizing the KM components that is people, process and technology for the benefit of an organization.

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Engaged Knowledge Management Engaged knowledge management seeks to provide answers about how best to realign KM practices after having identified best practices. Current practices need to be improved due to discoveries of best practices of KM and due to the changes in the competitive environment that call for re-alignment.

Knowledge Management System Knowledge management system is the holistic approach to KM activities involving people, process and technology. ‘People’ are the bearers of knowledge, ‘process’ involves the identification of knowledge to metrics and all these supported by technology.

KM: A CROSS-DISCIPLINARY DOMAIN KM draws from a wide range of disciplines such as Cognitive, Management and Information Sciences and Economics as seen in Figure 1.

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Figure 1. KM as a field of Study

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 Application of Knowledge Management in University Research and Higher Education

KM is obtained from cognitive subjects like Psychology, Education and Learning, Epistemology, Artificial Intelligence, and Communication Theory. These disciplines give insights as to how we learn and know through improved tools and techniques for gathering or for transferring knowledge. Management subjects like Organizational Behavior, Human Resources, Change Management, Business Process Management, Customer Relationship Management, Enterprise Resource Planning and Supply Chain Management - give sufficient support to KM. These disciplines help KM in creating an ideal organizational culture for sharing knowledge and realizing people as the most valuable resource for the success of the KM system. Information sciences covering information retrieval, Ontological Engineering, Text Processing, Human-Computer Interaction, Classification Studies, Internet and Mobile Technologies, Digital Libraries are very useful for the practice of KM. A body of research and practice in classification and knowledge organization that makes libraries work will be even more vital as we are inundated by information in business. Tools for thesaurus construction and controlled vocabularies are already helping us manage knowledge. The subject of economics helps in KM metrics. Economics and KM are related in such a way that any system that is implemented needs to be monitored and measured for its success. The concept of cost and benefit of a KM system is well ascertained through the discipline of economics.

Role of KM Concept of knowledge is as old as human civilization but what is new is its added realization and significance in a hyper competitive era of liberalization, privatization and globalization. In recent years, the focus has shifted from physical production to knowledge creation as the engine of growth (Prusak, 2001). KM is being increasingly viewed as a discipline that provides competitive advantage to business enterprises. In years to come its role is expected to grow phenomenally. The role of KM is summarized in the following subheads: •

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•

•

Competitive Edge: Knowledge helps a frm acquire competitive edge. The unique knowledge which a frm is endowed with may be in the form of product features, service delivery, meeting customer needs, or fnancial wizardry. TCS, Wipro and Infosys have emerged as IT leaders because of the unique knowledge they possess. Similarly, old economy frms such as Tata Steel, Flour Corporation, Eureka Forbes, experience competitive edge through KM practice. Decision Making: Rational decisions are made on the basis of information. Vast data available in explicit form is converted to information and, knowledge is derived out of the same. Knowledge is a vital input for decision making in business enterprises. Days when decisions were intuitive based are over. In a competitive environment decision making should be knowledge based. But in the Indian scenario, decisions are still based on gut feelings and intuition. This practice may not continue anymore. As competition intensifes decisions are to be based on knowledge and not on intuition or gut feeling. Knowledge Sharing: KM requires application of information technology tools on the one side and change in attitude and behavior of people on the other side. The culture of an organization can facilitate or interfere with KM eforts. KM must establish a culture in which knowledge sharing is rewarded rather than hoarding knowledge. The form of reward might be something as simple as public praise for sharing knowledge or could be extended to include fnancial reward or promo35

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 Application of Knowledge Management in University Research and Higher Education

•

tion. An appraisal system could change its emphasis from pure performance appraisal to assessing how efectively a person has shared essential knowledge. A strong organizational culture can support the success of a KM system. Proactive: To meet the raising expectations from all stakeholders, companies need to be highly proactive and agile. KM ofers a set of ideas and insights that give it the potential to make it the most important subject of management. The introduction of KM practices has shown remarkable results, help difuse best practices, accelerate new product development, improve workplace design and increase the efectiveness of strategic planning process.

Approaches to KM Knowledge activities can be divided into two broad approaches: process-oriented and practice-oriented as depicted in Table 1.

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Table 1. Approaches to KM

Process-oriented KM practitioners opine that tacit knowledge can be brought out from the brains of people through formal interviews and meetings, codified, stored and reused profitably. This school grew out of the artificial intelligence movement, which branched into computerized knowledge-based systems driven by databases, in its efforts to treat knowledge as a set of data. Under this paradigm, KM takes the top-down, technology-focused approach. The other school believed that all the small, individually insignificant best practices scattered around an organization, add up to an enormous amount of knowledge, and therefore opined that KM must be bottom up and must foster knowledge by responding to the inventive, improvisational ways people actually get things done. It assumes that value-creating activities are not easy to pin down and that an organization operates in an unpredictable environment. The emphasis here is on practice rather than process. Hence managers need to take practice, practitioners, and the knowledge communities seriously. This requires two steps. First, managers need to know the nature, type and know where knowledge exists in an organization. Then if the knowledge seems valuable, they need to put it into wider circulation through appropriate social processes. (Brown and Duguid, 2000).

KM Process KM is the process through which firms create and use their institutional or collective knowledge (Amrit Tiwana 2001). It includes the process as shown in Figure 2.

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Figure 2. KM Process

Identification Identification is the starting point of a KM process. It involves determining skills and competencies that are most critical for the success of an organization, it identifies existing levels of expertise and steps to bridge the gap to improve expertise levels.

Acquisition The second step in the KM process identifies knowledge sources, both external and internal as mentioned earlier. This process involves acquisition of existing knowledge, skills, theories and experience, needed to create core competencies and knowledge domains. Knowledge capture strategies like organizational buy-in and employee buy-in takes place.

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Retention This process involves classification and storage of knowledge in appropriate electronic formats. Retention eliminates duplication of knowledge and determines relevance and value of knowledge to the knowledge domain. Tacit knowledge needs to be converted into explicit knowledge and formalized so that it can be retrieved for feature use.

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Utilization The fourth step in the KM process retrieves knowledge from repositories and makes it accessible to users in performing tasks, solving problems, making decisions, researching ideas and learning. Sharing of knowledge plays a predominant role here, Communities of Practice (COPs) are formed for communicating through person to person or through electronic media. In order to have easy access, retrieval and application of knowledge by a company, an integrated performance support systems will have to be built.

Creation This stage uncovers the new knowledge through the automated knowledge discovery and data mining tools. New knowledge is created by understanding the feedback of the clients/customers, benchmarking and best practices, data mining, visits and participation at seminars, research experimentation and industry workshops turn the KM system into a learning system for individuals, team and organizational learning.

Metrics This stage involves the measurement of the efficiency of the KM system and its ability to address the purpose of implementation. Three approaches, namely bench marking, house of quality and a balanced scorecard are in practice. In addition, companies have their own metrics being applied in order to measure the efficiency of the KM system. Benchmarking is an effort by companies that aim to emulate the way things are done best, anywhere within or outside their firm, industry or sector. House of quality is a technique to link customer needs to business process and internal decisions. The matrix is built in the shape of a house. The balanced scorecard provides a technique to maintain a balance between long-term and short-term objectives, financial and non-financial measures, lagging and leading indicators and between internal and external perspectives. In addition, companies have their own metrics being applied in order to measure the efficiency of the KM system.

BARRIERS TO KM SYSTEM

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Barriers in Implementation Implementation of the KM system involves proper mix of people, processes and technology for deriving the benefits from the system for achieving organizational excellence. However, the process of implementation throughout the organization needs preparation and setting up of the platform for launching the KM system. During this stage the common barriers encountered are as follows: (Thothari Raman, 2003): • • • • • •

Cultural resistance. Lack of participation by top management. Technology immaturity. Lack of utility to users. Cost of technology and process. Social barriers.

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Needs to be embedded into work fow due to executive time constraint.

Barriers to Effective Consumption of KM Systems It is important to note the factors that enhance or suppress the consumption of knowledge residing in KM system. The focus is on both explicit and tacit knowledge in the system (Kevin C DeSouza and Yukika Awazu, 2005). Barriers to consumption of explicit knowledge is affected by factors such as: • • • •

Competency and credibility of the contributor to the KM system. Proximity to access the KM system. Complexity, compatibility and relative advantage of the KM system. Acceptance depends heavily on the perception of benefts for the user.

Barriers to Consumption of Tacit Knowledge Generally tacit knowledge is approached through two ways – the first referred as knowledge maps, (similar to yellow pages of a telephone directory) – 1) knowledge seeker and knowledge provider locate each other and then enter into communication – 2) knowledge–facilitator provides communication between seekers and providers of knowledge for e.g. e-mails, chat rooms etc. Tacit knowledge barriers are not similar to the one faced in the explicit knowledge. The barriers are as follows (Kevin C DeSouza and Yukika Awazu, 2005). Fear of being known as an expert (E.g. A software engineer who is assigned a project based on past experience loses the chance to learn in a newer and challenging projects) • • •

Use of language and communication issues. Credibility of the knowledge if obtained from a stranger. Proximity to knowledge source.

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KNOWLEDGE LOSS Knowledge may be lost to an organization due to many reasons, some of them not obvious until the actual loss has occurred. An important function of KM is therefore to prevent that loss, and safeguard knowledge (John L Gordon and Colin Smith 1998). Common causes of knowledge loss are: •

•

An expert is overloaded, and cannot deal with all requests for a particular knowledge and expertise. In efect, the knowledge is lost to the problems triggering those requests. To prevent the loss, additional experts must be engaged, or, better still, knowledge transfer initiated from expert to practitioner The culture of a company does not encourage sharing of knowledge. Rewards are gained by keeping knowledge to oneself, maintaining the power that knowledge can confer. In such a case, ‘KM’

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• • • • •

includes the process of modifying the culture so that knowledge sharing is rewarded rather than knowledge retention. A culture of blame is in existence, which discourages individuals or groups developing their knowledge through experience of innovation and risk taking. Knowledge is available but lays dormant waiting for a catalyst to release it. For example, a person might be working in one context, yet possess substantial knowledge that might be far more useful in another context. Knowledge is rejected because of the ‘Not Invented Here’ Syndrome. Good ideas might be crushed because of this, and the knowledge and potential development of knowledge can be lost to the organization because it is not communicated or utilized. Knowledge may be lost to an organization through neglect. Neglect includes lack of challenges so that a person’s knowledge, expertise and skills become forgotten, extinct or obsolete. It includes lack of provision for acquiring new knowledge and experience. Knowledge may also be lost to the organization through retirement, redundancy, resignation or even through promotion. When a person is promoted, new responsibilities prevent the detailed application of knowledge in the original responsibilities.

A comprehensive KM system helps capture, store and disseminate knowledge when required, for the benefit of the individual, group and the organization as a whole. Knowledge loss to an organization can be reduced through peer coaching and mentoring practices.

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MAIN FOCUS OF THE CHAPTER COMMUNITIES OF PRACTICE (COPS) Communities of Practice (COPs) are groups of people with common interests who meet to share their insights in order to develop better solutions to problems or challenges. People choose to join these groups because they recognize the value of knowledge sharing. They encourage innovation, collaboration and the sharing of good practice. Knowledge evolves and grows as the COP stimulates thinking, sharing and challenging of concepts by others. Many of these groups function through formal or informal discussion, website forums or other forms of virtual networking. COP membership is often dynamic and spontaneous, created to solve a particular problem or from a desire to tackle an issue using the talent available. Some COPs may be quite short-lived, whereas others may be significant and on a long-term basis. Members may be drawn from those working on similar tasks. COPs require commitment, generosity and the development of a collectivist mentality. They succeed or fail based on the perceived value to the individual members. COPs may be significant sources of influence in an organization, as they can enhance knowledge creation, develop better practice, support and teach members, and instill a philosophy of learning and sharing in the larger teaching community.

CONTEXT FOR APPLICATION OF COPS Institutions of higher learning are continuously striving to create and sustain excellence at the individual level and at the organization level. In this endeavor, one of the major initiatives is to harness the available inputs the in-house resources and put it to optimal use. In organizations of higher learning, 40

Research Anthology on Facilitating New Educational Practices Through Communities of Learning, edited by Association, Information Resources Management, IGI Global, 2020. ProQuest

 Application of Knowledge Management in University Research and Higher Education

knowledge creation and dissemination are the assets of an institution. The Department of Commerce and Management, Jyoti Nivas College, Bengaluru has initiated the formation of COPs towards generation of ‘knowledge capital’.

OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY • • •

Implement change in the teaching learning process. Apply KM concepts in, teaching organization to achieve greater excellence. Implement the concept of COP in teaching, learning and evaluation process.

Modus of Operation of COP (A case study presentation at the Department of Commerce and Management, Jyoti Nivas College, India). COPs have been created for the faculty who teach same subject to different sections of students of the same class. (For e.g. Marketing Management, a paper taught in the third semester to students of B. Com A, B, C, Tourism & BBM). The COPs that are formed have a membership as small as two and there are communities with members as high as five. This variance is in accordance with the number of people teaching a paper. There are as many as thirty such communities. These groups meet at scheduled intervals. These meetings are used as fruitful time to discuss the pedagogy, problem solving and techniques of delivery of a particular paper along with the response/feedback of students in terms of understanding of the chapters taught. These sharing sessions help us in many folds: • • •

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•

To get an insight into the methodology used to teach a topic, examples used and so forth. It helps in giving feedback on what method or approach is most acceptable/appreciated by the students. For e.g. Role-play This also helps in peer coaching-which is a two-way advantage like: ◦◦ A teacher who has difculty in delivery gets help from one’s colleagues. ◦◦ In-house resources are put to optimal use. These sharing sessions also increase the spirit of camaraderie as it develops a spirit of sharing and healthy interpersonal relationship and team building. Interpersonal relationship gets reinforced because it is apparent that every member learns from the other and contributes, it does not stop at sharing, and it stimulates development of new ideas.

RESEARCH DESIGN Research design provides a direction to the researcher in carrying out the search action. The sequential process involved in the empirical study is drafted using Research Methodology concepts. The components of the research outline is illustrated in Figure 3. The components in the figure provide a detailed insight into the sequential process involved in any research. These processes are to be well understood by the research community undertaking research in Knowledge Management. The process is stated through the following eight steps:

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 Application of Knowledge Management in University Research and Higher Education

Figure 3 Research outline

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1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8.

Identify research gap by soliciting questions. Conduct a thorough study of the background to the gap. Formulate objectives and hypothesis. Apply research methodology. Conduct pilot study. Collect data through field work. Apply statistical tools for analysis. Report research findings.

The conclusions drawn after the research analysis may have theoretical or practical implications. These implications either contribute to the development of theoretical concepts or have practical application.

Research Phases It is generally appropriate to conduct research through the following four phases as shown in Table 2.

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Table 2. Research phases

Research Methodology Applied for Case Presentation The data presented here was obtained through primary source. A questionnaire was administered among the members of the community of practice in order to obtain first-hand information regarding the practice. The Department of Commerce in Jyoti Nivas College has 15 members and 14 have answered the questionnaire with a response rate of over 93%. The analysis is carried out using simple percentages to obtain the acceptance of the practice, and whether benefited in the discharge of responsibilities. The following sections depict the tables and graphs drawn while analyzing the primary data obtained along with the inferences drawn.

PROFILE OF THE RESPONDENTS Department: Commerce and Management The respondents mostly have post-graduation in commerce as their educational background, which is a pre-requisite for teaching commerce subjects. At least 42% have enhanced research skills through their M.Phil. programs and in isolation we see that three respondents have either completed B.Ed., NET or Ph.D.

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Table 3. Qualification of the respondents

Figure 4. Qualification of Respondents

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 Application of Knowledge Management in University Research and Higher Education

Table 4. Teaching Experience of the Respondents

Figure 5. Teaching Experience of the Respondents

Table 5. Courses taught by the Respondents

All the members are teaching the B.Com papers while 86% take classes both for commerce and management students and about 06 members teach B.Com, Tourism Management (TM). This is one of the main contributor towards exchange of ideas and sharing of expertise.

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EVALUATION OF THE COMMUNITIES OF PRACTICE The various activities engaged by the members are enumerated in the table and the graph above, it is very evident that COPs support the internal assessment activity however members agree to the fact that only framing syllabus is not the stand-alone activity performed by teachers. 1. An open-ended question relating to the sources of support obtained towards the fulfillment of the activities as stated in question one above was answered as follows by the respondents: a. Nearly 86% (12/14) felt the colleagues were the main source. b. Followed by 50% taking the support of library books, and c. Family, H.O.D, Internet, syllabus of other universities did provide additional support.

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2. All the respondents belonged to one or the other COP. (Nearly 30 COPs exist). 3. All the 14 respondents had a unanimous positive opinion regarding the benefit derived from the COPs. Although 50% of the respondents agreed to the fact that the communities met as frequently as once a week, there were at least 4/14 responses saying that almost every day they met to benefit more from the members. Nearly, 30% said once a month, and 21% - twice a semester indicated and depended on the kind of subject they taught. Table 6. Activities engaged by the Respondents

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Figure 6. Activities engaged by the Respondents

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 Application of Knowledge Management in University Research and Higher Education

Table 7. Frequency of the COP meetings

Figure 7. Frequency of the COP meetings

Knowledge sharing and knowledge transfer score over 90% as being supported by COP. While knowledge creation and re-use too are supported as agreed by over 64% of the respondents. Only 29% felt that COPs helped discard unwanted knowledge. 4. The most effective benefit after the formation of COPs has been stated below on the basis of maximum preference given by the respondents: a. b. c. d.

Knowledge sharing. Fosters healthy relationship with peers and sharing of responsibilities among team members. Uniformity in the delivery of subjects taught to various sections. Knowledge creation and assigning projects for internal assessment.

Apart from the above, respondents have experienced in the COPs that gaps in classroom teaching could be identified and this also helped in improving student performance.

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Table 8. KM supported by COPs

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 Application of Knowledge Management in University Research and Higher Education

Figure 8. KM processes supported by COPs

Table 9. Contribution of COPs

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Figure 9. Contribution of COPs

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 Application of Knowledge Management in University Research and Higher Education

The responses obtained for contribution of COPs further reinforces the statements given in question seven with over 90% vouching the development of healthy interpersonal relationship followed by fostering of peer coaching, enhancement in students learning (86%) and over (70%) agree that it contributes towards better individual teaching as well as evaluation process. While 64% of the respondents have felt that results of the students have improved.

Observations Made During the Study • • • • •

Application of the concept of COP at the specifc department. Number of respondents 14. Minimum qualifcation- Post graduation, while few respondents had MPhil and PhD to their credit. Nearly 80% of the respondents had expertise in teaching. All respondents had unanimous acceptance to the benefts of COP.

Interpretation of Findings • • • •

The respondents felt that the activities such as assigning the task and evaluation of the students for internal assessment was supported by COP. Majority of the respondents were of the opinion that peer members in the COP were the main support. The COPs met as frequently as one week. Knowledge sharing and knowledge transfer was totally supported by the COPs.

Solutions and Recommendations Communities do need a certain amount of nurturing to develop. The following steps may be taken to form a COP:

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• • • • • • •

Identify a core group of people with the motivation and commitment to get it started. Ensure that the group has a leader who can manage the context of the community. Hold regular meetings. Enlist the management support required. Ensure access to appropriate technology if required. Provide autonomy to the group to manage. Give importance to team building and provide support to new entrants.

FUTURE RESEARCH DIRECTION The COPs developed will continue to exist and will be working with much greater involvement of the members. The COPs can be further taken up at inter-college levels through portals developed and teachers teaching at these levels can have virtual participation and thereby develop collaborative learning and provide maximum inputs to students.

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IMPLICATIONS OF THE ABOVE STUDY TO THE RESEARCH COMMUNITY This experiment with COPs detailed above can be a reference for the researcher’s group to form the communities, share the resources that are perhaps available or known to one or two members only. Further this can be disseminated to the rest of the members thereby mutually benefitting from it. In a similar way the various statistical tools to analyze, industry connect, publication and the like are also possible to share. COPs foster healthy relationship with peers and sharing of responsibilities among team members. Other benefits of COP is that repetition of research work, duplication and rejection of the research work can be totally nullified.

CONCLUSION In conclusion, the objective of the researcher namely to implement change in the teaching organization, to apply KM concept in teaching learning and evaluation process is seen to be well achieved. The fact that the respondents have been able to realize a lot of benefit through the formation of COPs, brings about uniform delivery of inputs for students and many more are described through the charts and graphs. The results obtained through the study proves that changes can be brought in the teaching-learning process through the application of KM concepts to ultimately provide a better teaching, learning and evaluation process in a teaching organization. The formation of COPs support the teachers and builds in them the confidence to face the challenges of teaching the youth of the present day. COPs not only generate concurrent ideas also stimulates a process of thinking. Dependence on authority or higher ups for ideas decreases and develops independent thinking, which is useful in any activity.

REFERENCES Barclay & Murray. (1997). What is Knowledge Management. Knowledge Praxis. Brown & Duguid. (2000). The Social Life of Information. Harvard Business School Press. DeSouza & Awazu. (2005). Engaged Knowledge Managing Engagement with New Realities. Palgrave MacMillan. Gordon & Smith. (1998). Knowledge Management Guidelines. Applied Knowledge Research Institute.

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Raman, T. (2003). Knowledge Management a Resource Book. New Delhi: Excel Books. Tiwana, A. (2001). The Essential Guide to Knowledge Management e-business and CRM Applications. New Delhi: Pearson Education Asia.

ADDITIONAL READING Aswathappa, K. (2005). Human Resources and Personnel Management, VI Edition (p. 6). Tata: McGrawHill.

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Bontis, N. (2003). “Retain the Knowledge of an Outgoing employee”, HR review. March-April. Carl Davidson and Philip Voss. (2003). Knowledge Management-an Introduction to Creating Competitive Advantage from Intellectual Capital (p. 38). New Delhi: Vision Books. Cliff Figallo and Nancy Rhine. (2002). Building Knowledge Management Network-Best Practices Tools and Techniques for Putting Conversation to Work (pp. 61–62). Wiley Dreamtech India Pvt Ltd. Collins, H. (2001). Corporate Portals: Revolutionising Information Access to Increase Productivity and Drive the Bottom Line. New York: AMACOM. Davenport, T. H., & Prusak, L. (2000). Working Knowledge: How Organizations Manage What They Know. Boston: Harvard Business School Press. Ganesh Natrajan & Sandhya Shekar. (2000). Knowledge Management-Enabling Business Growth (1st ed., p. 21). New Delhi: Tata McGraw-Hill. Jones, G. R. (2000). Organisational Theory (2nd ed., p. 4). Addison: Wesley Publication Company. Karungati Srinivasa Murthy. (2003). Role of HR in Institutionalizing Knowledge Management in a Company (p. 6). Association of Knowledge Work. Madan Mohan Roy. (2003). Leading with Knowledge Management Practices in Global Infotech Companies (1st ed., p. 13). Tata: McGraw-Hill. Nonaka and Takeucha. (1995). The Knowledge Creating Company (p. 14). New York: Oxford University Press. Rao, P. L. (2004). Comprehensive Human Resource Management (p. 473). New Delhi: Excel Books. Venseng, C., Zanner, E., & Wayne Pace, R. (2002). The Contributions of Knowledge Management to Work Place Learning. Journal of Workplace Learning, 14(4), 138–147. doi:10.1108/13665620210427267

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This work was previously published in Enhancing Academic Research With Knowledge Management Principles; pages 92-114, copyright year 2017 by Information Science Reference (an imprint of IGI Global).

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Chapter 4

Professional Development for Classroom Teachers Jefrey Maiden University of Oklahoma, USA

ABSTRACT The professional development of teachers in instructional technology is of paramount importance. This chapter provides an overview of the topic, beginning with adult learning as a foundation. Teachers are adults, and any type of professional development, whether related to technology or not, should meet the needs of adult learners. The chapter subsequently provides a review of professional learning communities (PLCs), which may provide a venue for impactful, sustainable technology professional development. Next, teacher-led technology professional development and peer coaching are addressed, followed by a discussion of the use of the community, corporate, and university partnerships that may enhance professional development through symbiotic relationships. The chapter concludes with a discussion of virtual professional development, which may serve a dual purpose of enhancing professional development sustainability as well as modeling technology use for instructional purposes.

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INTRODUCTION Fundamentally, the quality of education reflects the interaction between a learner and a teacher, and therefore a primary focus of the organization should be enhancing the ability of teachers to positively influence learners. Educational organizations have witnessed significant growth in the availability of instructional technologies, both hardware and software, over the past few decades. However, if teachers are not prepared to effectively use these technologies to enhance the interaction with learners then the full potential of this investment in hardware and software may be less than fully realized. The professional development of teachers in instructional technology is of paramount importance. This chapter provides an overview of the topic, beginning with adult learning as a foundation. Teachers are adults, and any type of professional development, whether related to technology or not, should meet the needs of adult learners. The chapter subsequently provides a review of professional learning communities (PLCs), which may provide a venue for impactful, sustainable technology professional DOI: 10.4018/978-1-7998-7294-8.ch004

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Research Anthology on Facilitating New Educational Practices Through Communities of Learning, edited by Association, Information Resources Management, IGI Global, 2020. ProQuest

 Professional Development for Classroom Teachers

development. Next, teacher-led technology professional development and peer coaching are addressed, followed by a discussion of the use of the community, corporate, and university partnerships that may enhance professional development through symbiotic relationships. The chapter concludes with a discussion of virtual professional development, which may serve a dual purpose of enhancing professional development sustainability as well as modeling technology use for instructional purposes.

TECHNOLOGY PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT AS ADULT LEARNING Ultimately, professional development is about learning, and professional development of teachers (generally and for technology integration specifically) is connected to adult learning. Awareness of adult learning theory and andragogy may enhance the professional development experience for teachers.

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Adult Learning Theory Adult learning theory encompasses a variety of theories intended to explain and predict the processes in which adults learn. It is debatable whether or not andragogy, the pedagogy of adults (Knowles, 1980) is in and of itself an adult learning theory. Regardless, andragogy is a fundamental component of Adult Learning Theory and is worthy of discussion and summary. Prior to the twentieth century, learning theories were centered around how children learn; not until the early decades of the twentieth century that adult learning began to be studied professionally. Initially, inquiry about adult learning focused on whether or not adults could learn. In 1928, Thorndike, Bregman, Tilton, and Woodyard published Adult Learning (Merriam, 2001, p. 3), cited as the first book that provided research about adult learning. Most of the research conducted involved psychological and behavioral perspectives that did little to differentiate between adult learners and young learners. It wasn’t until the mid-twentieth century that adult learning research took a new approach. The inquiry shifted from “can adults learn?” to “how do adults learn and what is different about adult learning versus childhood learning?” This shift, occurring in 1968, is when andragogy emerged. Knowles, the pioneer of andragogy, defines five assumptions of adult learners (Knowles, 1980). These assumptions help researchers to understand adults as learners to better educate them. The five assumptions someone who (1) has an independentself-concept and who can direct his or her own learning, (2) has accumulated a reservoir of life experiences that is a rich resource for learning, (3) has learning needs closely related to changing social roles, (4) is problem-centered and interested in immediate application of knowledge, and (5) is motivated to learn by internal rather than external factors (Knowles, 1980). These assumptions spurred further thinking and research into how adults learn and the ever-emerging field of adult learning theory. Adults who have a self-concept that is developed, are better able to selfdirect their own learning and engage in learning without being dependent on a teacher. Adults also have the ability to draw from numerous life experiences which may help them learn. According to assumption (4), adult learners may not focus on content-based learning as much as children, but instead, strive to learn in order to solve a problem and apply their knowledge to the issue that needs resolving. Additionally, assumptions (3) and (5) indicate that adults have internal motivations to learn and they need to be involved in the learning process themselves instead of being told what they will be learning and how they will learn it. Since adults learn for their own self-awareness, they must be more involved in the learning process than children are in their learning process. If adults are not involved in what they 52

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 Professional Development for Classroom Teachers

are learning, they will be less likely to be invested in the process, and therefore will not benefit from the process as much as they could. Shortly after Knowles introduced andragogy, the study of self-directed learning emerged. The theory of self-directed learning originated from the work of Houle (1972), Tough (1979), and lastly Knowles (1980) himself (Merriam, 2001, p. 8). Self-directed learning occurs when individuals take responsibility for their own learning process by determining their needs, setting goals, identifying resources, implementing a plan to meet their goals, and evaluating the outcomes. This theory is often informal, and learning can take place inside or outside a traditional classroom setting making it easier in many ways for learners to acquire knowledge. Self-directed learning theory connects to andragogy in that the learners often learn for a specific purpose, not because they are being forced by an external factor such as a classroom teacher or instructor. Learning occurs when the student has a need for the acquisition of new knowledge (e.g., to solve a problem related to the learner’s job or profession). Walsh describes self-directed learning as “a means of targeting your learning to areas where you really have needs” (Walsh, 2017, p. 178). Transformational learning is a theory first popularized by Jack Mezirow, who described it as being “constructivist, an orientation which holds that the way learners interpret and reinterpret their sense experience is central to making meaning and hence learning” (Mezirow, 1991). The emphasis within this learning style is the ability to be self-reflective and self-aware. Teachers and leaders must be able to look at their own choices critically and determine whether they are best for student learning and achievement. Within the realm of staff development, technological upgrades to schooling can help enhance the transformational leadership model. Exposing teachers to new experiences is a central theme within the model. The theory of transformational learning can be broken down into two major subsections: instrumental and communicative learning (Mezirow, 1991). Instrumental learning uses problem-solving and real-life application of skills to help build confidence and professional competency in teacher. Communicative learning speaks more to the delivery of content and information. Learning communicatively means understanding how to express complex thoughts in a succinct manner and being empathetic to the potential reaction of others. Further, communicative learning helps to shape the conversation in mutually beneficial ways for participants. A good communicator is not only a good speaker in this instance but a good listener. Psychological transformational learning is a subset of transformational learning which deals with the understanding of self. Part of this form of transformational learning is allowing for creative space and ingenuity of individuals in their roles (Sagnak, Kuruoz, Polat, & Soylu, 2015). Administrators have an important role in placing teachers in their best instructional fit, as well as providing tools necessary to help them grow. However, psychological transformational learning requires teachers and leaders to look within themselves for new solutions to old problems. Sometimes this means that teachers will have to step outside of their comfort zones in order to truly embrace self-reflexivity and have the most profound impact on student possible. It takes a growth mindset and a willingness to admit that you are not perfect and have areas that can be improved to truly embrace this learning style. Convictional transformational learning encompasses a revision of the belief system of the learner. Through conventional learning, the way someone looks at situations, scenarios, and sections of humanity are changed. Similar to psychological transformational learning, part of conventional transformational learning is acquired through experiences. This learning theory also calls upon the student to challenge conventional wisdom and closely scrutinize their own personal biases and prejudices (Miller & Orr, 1980). When a learner has truly undergone conventional transformational learning, their view of the

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world is changed indefinitely. Within the context of education, teachers can change the way they view their craft. This could enhance their daily procedures, grading practices, views on student-teacher interaction or their complete dogma for teaching. The final component of transformational learning is behavioral transformational learning, which involves changes in lifestyle choices. As related to education, this may, for example, include a teacher prioritizing her/his job more highly, taking on more responsibilities in the school or making simple changes like going to sleep earlier on nights they need to work (Monge, 1972). Behavioral transformational learning changes are more likely to be an outgrowth of the professional relationships and job satisfaction of teachers than any staff development plan could encompass. However, ongoing staff development can be a contributing factor to the commitment a teacher has for their job. Subsequently, staff development can possibly help to catalyze behavioral transformational learning in a school staff setting. Andragogy, self-directed learning, and transformational learning all apply to the adult learner. Professions, such as teaching, require a tremendous amount of continual learning, training, and professional development as part of the job. Teachers must not only be masters of the content area that they teach, but they must also understand and apply a variety of knowledge in order to be successful in the workplace. Materials may change from year to year, standards may alter, and new technology and software may surface which all require teachers to expand their knowledge. Some of the topics that teachers must learn may not be optional, while others may be voluntary and self-directed. One could assume that much of the learning that a teacher does relates to Knowles’ assumption (4) of the adult learner (Knowles, 1980). This assumption states that the adult learner engages in learning in order to problem solve and that they apply their knowledge immediately.

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Applying Adult Learning Theory to Technology Staff Development Because adult learning processes can differ, it is important that when instructing and leading adults that elements of adult learning theories be used. Facets of the adult learning theory include being active in their learning, utilizing life experiences, being able to see the relevance, being practical, and encouraging collaboration. Research has shown that through these types of experiences that greater knowledge or skill can be obtained. In the arena of technology staff development, adult learning theories can be used to not only establish comfort with technologies but to also change perceptions, beliefs, and methods of teaching (Blanchard, LeProvost, Tolin, & Gutierrez, 2016). In an ever-changing environment that is technology driven, it is more important than ever to change the paradigm of teaching as it applies to technology. The International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) has created standards that push for both teacher and student integration of technology, but research suggests that many teachers are not prepared to integrate technology into their methods (Blanchard, LeProvost, Tolin, & Gutierrez, 2016). For the technology staff development to be effective, studies have shown that the training should be long term, be engaging, be individualized and the skills learned should match the objectives needed to be reached (Thomas et al., 2012). The ideal is a program longer than a year and closer to three years; less time can detract from a transformational experience and more replacement of traditional methods. Gerald Varma, Corlis, and Linn (2011) found that teachers needed long term support structures to be able to fully implement new technologies especially inquiry-based models. Teachers lacked the ability to design programs of instruction but rather they were able to use technology staff development to refine their technology-based curriculum. If the teachers were merely just given the tools without the proper staff development and support structures, the extent of the technology integration would be administrative 54

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task-based and not a transformative use of the tools. This long-term approach gave teachers the ability to meet the specific needs of a larger group of students. Over time, this method proves to be more effective and more sustainable for leaders to use with their staff. It is important for school leaders to understand the need to incorporate adult learning theories into technology staff development. Studies have shown that the effective integration of technology can transform the way we teach. Not change changing tools, but rather changing practices. It can cause a shift to more student-centered learning experience and change their beliefs about learning, changing the entire pedagogical structure (Blanchard, LeProvost, Tolin, & Gutierrez, 2016). Teachers need to be an engaged, active participant in staff development. Learning through the practice of the actual tools. Game-based learning practices that include active participation have been shown to change teachers’ perceptions of the effectiveness of the learning method and in turn increase the probability or frequency of its use in the classroom (Meredith, 2016). Adult learning methods create comfort and familiarity with technology leading to more reflective practices. As teachers are able to further reflect on their teaching practices, they gain invaluable information that can be used to be more retrospective in their craft. Self-correction and the ability to learn from one’s mistakes without constant oversight is a key competency for educators to develop. Overall, adult learning theory is a part of the evolution of teaching and learning. The way in which adults gain new skills and competencies has changed drastically in the last 25 years. The advent of technology integration as well as the advances in training methodology have helped to provide a framework for more reliable and effective staff development. As technology continues to gain an increased presence in schools, the trends in adult learning theory will continue to change. Leaders of today must be equipped with proper knowledge and tools to tackle the challenges of tomorrow. Developing a team of competent professionals helps to ease the workload on a principal. It is incumbent upon the principal to ensure that effective training and development strategies are used to help assemble the best group of teacher-leaders possible.

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The Use of Professional Learning Communities for Technology Professional Development Teacher professional development in the use of instructional technology may be part of a transformational learning experience in public schools. Administrators should provide staff with opportunities to explore various avenues of collaborative learning. Professional Learning Communities (PLC) are one of the more popular professional development tools implemented in many schools across the country because they can be helpful to improve classroom instruction and student achievement through collaboration and communication among teachers (Sims, & Penny, 2015). Professional development has been shown to produce positive outcomes for both teacher and student if the process is both efficient and includes enduring sustainability. However, traditional professional development, especially when provided as a one-shot limited learning opportunity may not be best suited for long term sustainable, transformational teaching behaviors that are linked to student growth. Consequently, PLCs may hold promise in technology integration because of the emphasis placed on collaboration and communication among teachers (Sims & Penny, 2015). Technology integration, particularly school security, may benefit because PLCs have broadened into Communities of Practice (COPs) and Personal Learning Networks (PLNs) that help more traditional PLCs prosper in the digital age.

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PROFESSIONAL LEARNING COMMUNITIES DEFINITION AND OVERALL IMPLEMENTATION Hawley and Rollie (2007) defined PLCs as, “committees committed to student learning and matters of teaching and learning” (p. 43). While PLCs do offer alternatives to formal professional development and can be used as classroom and professional strategies, they must first be based on three other elements. To be considered a true PLC, staff must ensure that students learn, sustain a culture of collaboration, and focus on results (DuFour, 2004). Combining all of these critical factors provides the strongest foundation for creating a successful, sustainable professional learning community. Cranston (2011) mentions three circles of professional learning communities that emphasize the importance of a PLC model. The first circle signifies the relationship that exists between teachers and children. The second circle symbolizes the relationship that exists between faculty, and the outer circle represents the relationship between the faculty and the community (Cranston, 2011, p. 60). The portion in which PLC development is most focused on is the second circle, the relationship among faculty. Hord (2005) elaborates by suggesting five characteristics necessary to produce productive and successful professional learning communities. The first of these is supportive and shared leadership in which the school administrator plays a vital role in the PLC. The administrator must actively participate in the PLCs and let the other staff members have input in the decision-making. It is important for the teachers to feel welcome in relevant meetings and to have a meaningful voice in relevant school-related issues. It is also important that all members of the staff, teachers, and administrators have a shared vision and set of values for all students and to be aware of what direction the school is headed. The vision of the school needs to be discussed and reviewed at the beginning of the year and periodically throughout the year. The staff should have an understanding of what goals the school has and is working towards achieving. Everyone needs to have the same understanding of what the school is trying to accomplish by conducting the PLC meetings. Another characteristic of successful PLCs, according to Hord (2005) is collective learning and the application of learning because it engages the staff to be active in the processes of seeking new knowledge and applying solutions to meet the students’ needs. This characteristic is important because it promotes reflection, which is critical in enabling teachers as they try out new ideas and practices (Beach, 2012). Teachers would be able to reflect on their students, themselves, and each other within the PLC time and continue this reflection in their regular day because it is an ongoing process. Supportive conditions are necessary to promote a supportive and collegial atmosphere. It is essential to have a common location in the school to have the PLCs where everyone attending feels comfortable to share and express their ideas and opinions. Allowing teachers and administrators to discuss and share their practices is the fifth characteristic of a productive PLC (Hord, 2005). The development of PLCs is not a clear step-by-step process. Districts and schools will develop the practice differently and in ways that come most naturally to their respective staffs based on the context in which the organization operates. According to DuFour (2004) PLC development ‘…requires the school staff to focus on learning rather than teaching, work collaboratively on matters related to learning, and hold itself accountable for the kind of results that fuel continual improvement” (p. 6). To maintain a successful PLC, teachers must remain committed to the cause and implementation while simultaneously holding other group members accountable for doing the same. Time, trust, and group size will frequently be a challenge for PLC development if group members do not share values and put the vision of the school at the forefront of their mission as a group. 56

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Professional Learning Communities and Technology Staff Development Certainly, there are many challenges to the integration of technology into education. Given the extreme rate of growth of digital technologies, schools and districts struggle to identify and keep up with formal professional development opportunities for their community of teachers. Mobile technologies and applications develop rapidly and are evolving at a faster rate than software designed to work with a more traditional laptop or desktop computers. However, to remain current in these developments a near constant form of professional development is needed for teachers to understand how to effectively and accurately use them during their instructional time (Jones & Dexter, 2014). Some of the ways to learn about using digital tools include actually utilizing currently available technology, having conversations with other teachers who are using technology, and working together as a school to integrate technology into the existing PLCs and into classrooms (Beach, 2012). According to Bush (2005), there are four steps that are necessary when looking to create an environment that will encourage faculty to use technology in education:

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1. Faculty need access to the basic tools of technology such as computers, software, networks, etc. 2. Faculty must be aware of the existence of these resources and understand the ways in which they can be applied to their work. 3. Faculty must acquire the skills needed to use technology resources in a way that are relevant to their work. 4. Faculty must apply the technology as appropriate (Bush, 2005). Informal COPs, defined by Jones & Dexter (2014) as “a group of practitioners who choose to come together to share information and work together on a problem of practice; it is because of their choice to assemble, rather than that they are organized by their school or district leaders, we consider them informal learning activities,” (p. 370), maybe an ideal technology professional development arrangement for teachers because their time is not controlled by pre-set times or organizational assignments and boundaries like that which they would experience during an organized workshop-type professional development day. Instead, COPs are formed between teacher cohorts who work with each other either physically or virtually and all involved in the cohort can have a say in what is learned and how the learning happens (Riverin and Stacey, 2008). Riverin and Stacey (2008), however, note that while peer learning in COPs can facilitate teacher collaboration, the effectiveness of the COPs is largely dependent on the participants’ learning, skills, and interactions, so without a knowledge base to ground all of the discussion it is not really effective. Although there is an abundance of resources available to teachers including chat rooms, lesson portals, websites developed for teacher learning, some of the tools can be quite difficult to learn and manage and without proper training, some may find it difficult to use them effectively and will not have the support in COPs that a more organized professional development system would have (Riverin & Stacey, 2008). Also relevant to technology professional development are PLNs. These might include blogs, wikis, Twitter, podcasts and other social media sites developed by technology-savvy teachers and are the result of increased social media presence everywhere. Richardson and Mancabelli (2011) observed that this type of community learning is different from COPs and traditional PLCs in that in PLNs, the participant can have a sense of anonymity because the platforms used have no connection to the participant’s organization (as cited in Jones & Dexter, 2014). The participant may use alternate login information, have 57

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an anonymous user name, and their participation can be voluntary. Nevertheless, PLNs are very useful because they can provide faster access to the latest trends in technology, and teachers can connect with each other across the globe, in real time, to share their progression or setbacks when learning new tools. Where PLNs fall short is in the fact that the “teachers who participate must have somewhat advanced knowledge of technology in order to utilize and navigate several different platforms” (Flanigan, 2011). Change can only happen when all stakeholders are committed to it. Changing in the way PLCs are effectively planned and managed when those interested in digital tools are committed to employing and using them and coming up with a plan that is strategically created to set up PLCs that will support key learning goals (Beach, 2012). In the twenty-first century, no matter which type of teacher learning happens, whether it is district-initiated, formal systems of PD and PLCs informal learning cohorts of COPs or teachers’ independent learning on PLNs, technology needs to play a substantive role.

Teacher-Led Technology Staff Development and Peer Coaching The changes of the 21st century have brought an array of new standards that teachers must strive to incorporate into their practice, and these standards include the implementation of technology into the classroom. More than simply using technology for administrative tasks or to enhance instruction, 21stcentury teachers are encouraged to find ways to use technology not just to supplement teaching, but to enhance learning and student outcomes. Students have a variety of technology at their fingertips, and schools must adapt to the ever-changing world of technology if they are expected to keep up with increasingly tech-savvy learners. Through risk-taking and experimentation, teachers can find exciting new ways to reach their changing student populations and increase academic achievement. What many teachers are lacking, however, is the time and the resources to successfully implement new technology into rich practices. Schools must make technology professional development a priority, and research has shown that the most successful ways to implement technology professional development is through creating staff development programs that are teacher-led and based on models of communities of practice and peer coaching. By allowing teachers to guide their own professional development, schools and districts may experience an increase in technology use for higher academic achievement within classrooms, as well as see the added benefits of an evolving faculty that is generally knowledgeable in both content and technology innovation.

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Teacher-Led Technology Staff Development Teachers need to perceive they have ownership over their own professional learning and professional growth. Professional development should give teachers an opportunity to use their own experience and expertise to continue to grow in their craft (Nolan & Hoover, 2011). The current perception is that the era of professional development days in which teachers sit in an auditorium and listen to a keynote speaker discuss the latest research studies has long passed. Instead, more schools and districts are investing in professional development programs that are teacher-led. These professional development programs include developing communities of practice, focus groups and committees, and peer mentoring and coaching (Papa & Papa, 2011). Teachers are more willing to engage in more professional development practices and are more likely to grow in their craft if given the opportunity to lead their own professional learning.

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Studies about effective staff development practices have generally concluded that practices learned in professional development are implemented 75% of the time when there is room for peer coaching, and practices are implemented 90% of the time when professional development training includes modeling, a presentation of theory, clear demonstrations, practice with feedback, and peer coaching teams with follow-up (Schrum, 1999). In each of these steps, teachers are the focus of the training, with each step providing an opportunity for the teachers to gain knowledge, resources, and experience in using the tools or practices being taught (Schrum, 1999). This kind of professional development is not always easy to plan, but school communities that invest the time and resources for these steps may witness a greater increase in teacher implementation. One of the most successful ways to implement lasting and effective teacher staff development is by building a community of practice (Armfield, 2011). This community understands the school-wide needs and goals and works together to collaboratively implement professional learning practices that benefit a wide array of teachers, students, and others within the school community (Armfield, 2011). By allowing a team of teachers to be the driving force behind the school’s technology professional development, more teachers may be willing to try new technology in their own practice. One mechanism for implementing teacher-led technology professional development is the establishment and use a technology staff development committee. The committee would ordinarily begin with a community needs assessment to ascertain the developmental needs of teachers (McCarthy, 2005). The technology staff development committee should then take the results of the needs assessment survey to plan technology staff development for the remainder of the year. While the technology staff development committee should spearhead any professional development, the important aspect to remember is that any technology staff development should be as teacher-driven as possible. Another form of teacher-led professional development that can be adapted to technology staff development may include lesson study (Hurd & Licciardo-Musso, 2005), in which teachers work together to develop a lesson based on research and the current goals of the school. This mechanism could easily be adapted into a technology professional development program centered around communities of practice or focus groups. Instead of choosing a subject-area concept, teachers could choose a form of technology to integrate into learning. Teachers could work together to develop a research-based lesson that could be adapted to any subject area, and then perform a lesson study on that particular lesson to weigh its worth in the learning environment (Hurd & Licciardo-Musso, 2005). While this type of teacher-led professional development could potentially be time-consuming, it could be a beneficial exercise for teachers to begin creating a database of easily adaptable technology lessons that could be shared with the entire school faculty.

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Peer Coaching Effective professional and staff development is an ongoing process throughout every school year. Having teachers sit passively during a meeting or presentation is a very limited mode of information transfer and does not engage in a meaningful way. Teachers are adult learners and in many ways are no different than the students who sit in their classrooms, and creating a mentoring environment is crucial for effective learning. This non-threatening, growth-centered environment allows for experimentation and risk-taking in a classroom without punitive measures. The collaborative conversations and relationships that are built will continue to provide developmental opportunities far beyond any moment. Schools must be intentional in separating the processes of supervision and evaluation; supervision is a model that 59

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 Professional Development for Classroom Teachers

promotes growth in a non-evaluative environment (Nolan & Hoover, 2011). Peer-coaching is a supervision tactic that promotes the practice of teachers providing reciprocal guidance and advice in real-time situations, either staged or in a live classroom. Utilizing peer-coaching as a form of staff and professional development is an effective and affirming method for growth. The development of a coaching atmosphere where all teachers see themselves as coaches is a cultural shift that must occur in a school for peer-coaching to be successful (Joyce & Showers, 1983). A culture which invites and accepts coaching takes time to develop in a school; mutual respect and trust, a sense of ownership, voluntary participation, and a collaborative spirit are conditions that need to be in place for peer-coaching to flourish (Nolan & Hoover, 2011). Adult learners take hold of their learning when there is a feeling of self-direction in the decision process. Pairing two teachers together does not guarantee coaching success. Parker, Kram, and Hall (2014) outline a 3-point plan to help facilitate positive peer-coaching relationships: build the relationship, create success, and internalize the skills. Sitting down with a teacher who may be unfamiliar is an opportunity to build a new relationship; teachers at this point find common ground and attempt to understand the other teacher’s situation and comfort level in the classroom. Incorporating authenticity into the relationship-building process is key to a successful pairing, since being open and vulnerable is just as important as being confident and respectful (Parker, Kram, & Hull, 2014). It is crucial to remember that the teacher who is teaching is the coach, and the observing teachers are the one being coached (Showers & Joyce, 1996). Understanding these roles at certain times is crucial so that a teacher’s space and perspective is aligned for the desired purpose, either to learn or to teach. When teachers participate in peer-coaching over an extended period of time, student engagement has risen alongside the teachers’ improvement. This engagement helps students process and practice content mastery skills which lead to higher achievement rates (Kohler, Crilley, Shearer, & Good, 1997). Teachers who effectively utilize peer-coaching and engage with their coaching partner set positive examples of collaboration for their students both directly and indirectly. If these practices are put on display, students are more likely to assimilate these concepts in the long term. The creation of peer-coaching teams as a whole improves faculty cohesion, focus, and increases more effective shared decision making within a school (Showers & Joyce, 1996). Peer-coaching can be a positive vehicle not only for enhancing professional development within a school, but also to increase positive outcomes from both teachers and students. Technology is constantly evolving, and people have become increasingly dependent on it. Schools must keep up with the evolution of society, and this requires teachers and staff to be well-equipped with the training and resources necessary to achieve higher student outcomes in the 21st century. Schools and districts must invest their time and resources into technology training that works. Teacher-led technology staff development and peer coaching are two successful ways that schools can continue the process of fully engaging teachers in the technology integration process. Coupled with training in using technology, schools should also begin the process of finding ways to incorporate technology into the professional development process. Integrating technology into professional development will not only make the process more efficient but can be one more way that teachers become familiar with the various aspects of technology and how it can be successfully incorporated into the learning environment. Technology is an ingrained part of our culture, and schools must fully and adequately adapt to our technology-driven society.

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TECHNOLOGY STAFF DEVELOPMENT PARTNERSHIPS Preparing teachers to integrate technology into the classroom should be a district or school priority (Mouza, 2008), and the organization must find a way to provide quality professional development for the faculty. The only way some districts or schools may afford to provide training is through a one-sizefits-all model even though it is not the most effective (Desimone, et.al., 2002). Professional development should be learner-centered, collaborative and hands-on because not all teachers are at the same technological level (Unger & Tracey, 2013). Teachers must be able to use technology in meaningful ways to extend student learning and not just as a substitute for current practices. The establishment of business, community or university partnerships may help to alleviate some of the reasons for the slow adoption of technology in the K-12 system.

Corporations and Schools Partnerships between schools and corporations are symbiotic relationships. Schools might be able to provide learning experiences and resources for students that they were unable to achieve alone due to budget issues. They are also able to provide teachers with education, in-services, and training on technology, so they can best meet students’ needs. At the same time, corporations are generating tax writeoffs by donating to education while fueling projects in subject areas that will benefit their company and workforce in the future. Students are taking part in activities and having technology and equipment that they would not have access to without a corporation’s help. This also provides experience and drives interest in subjects that will benefit the corporation in the future. The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation is a prime example of a corporation that places a high value on education and technology. This Foundation has gone to great lengths to build upon the technologies that are already utilized by students and teachers and transformed them to accelerate student learning. The Foundation has developed courseware that adapts to each individual student’s learning needs. At the same time, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation places a priority on teacher professional development. Teachers are taught how to compile and read data that is collected from the student’s coursework and use it to best help each student on an individual basis (Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, 2017). The Foundation also recognizes the importance of collaboration between education professionals and has created ways to accommodate this using technology.

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Communities and Schools Meaningful collaboration not only positively impacts educational institutions, but it also may serve to reform entire communities. Technology can also be utilized to assist teachers in reaching out to the community and to other professionals in order to best help students. Teleconsultations are one of the ways that this may be achieved. Bice-Urabad and Kratochwill, (2016) found that teachers who were able to engage in teleconsultations with specialists who were treating students for disruptive behaviors were able to decrease unwanted disruptive behaviors more successfully and at a faster rate than before. Teachers and specialist that communicated directly through teleconsultations were able to identify obstacles quickly, briskly resolved issues that arose, engaged in responsive feedback, and swiftly assessed intervention effectiveness. This led to an increase in teaching and learning in the classroom.

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Teleconsultations may also provide a platform for teachers to communicate with the other stakeholders in the community. All too often parents are unable to attend teacher conferences and other relevant school events. Teleconsultations allows teachers and parents to directly communicate even when one party cannot be physically present in the school. This form of communication permits teachers to show student work samples as well as present and explain data that has been gathered through assessments on students. Teleconsultations provides a platform in which every parent can be an active participant in their child’s education. Trujillo Bilingual Elementary School in Chicago is an outstanding example of how technology can reform schools and communities. Jose Sanchez, Trujillo principal, identified needs in the community and utilized technology to remedy them. Sanchez knew of instances when parents were being passed by for jobs or promotions based on two factors: They did not speak English or did not know how to use a computer. Sanchez designed and offered free courses using the school’s technology to meet the needs of the parents. These courses provided opportunities for the advancement of families in his school while simultaneously creating community buy-in with Trujillo Elementary. Sanchez also utilized resources within the community to create a “Computer Club” for the students at the school. The Computer Club assisted children in homework by providing resources that they most likely did not have at home. The students also learned software and programs that would help them in the future (Chen & Dym, 2003). Using technology at the Computer Club collaborations and connections were created between Trujillo Elementary School, local businesses, community institutions, and parents. As the community, students, and parents began to see the real benefits of technology in the classroom they began to inquire about why the teachers at Trujillo were not using the classroom technology on a regular basis to best meet the needs of the students. In turn, these connections pushed teachers to step outside their comfort zones, make time for technology and prompted them to use technology to best help their students.

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Universities Partnering with Schools The development of successful technology partnerships between universities and schools have the potential to increase the professional development of teachers and as a result increase student learning (Bartholomew & Sandholtz, 2009; Smolin & Lawless, 2011). Guskey (2014) describes professional development as systematic process of changing classroom practices of teachers, in their beliefs as well as attitudes, and affecting learning outcomes. These efforts to enact change as described by Guskey (2014) can be enhanced by the formation of a university-school partnership. The type of partnership developed is dependent on the goals of each institution. Some examples of types of partnerships include the formation of SMART Partnerships, preparing university teachers for the classroom, development of curriculum (STEM Education), and teacher professional development. The goal of a successful partnership, regardless of how it looks, should be an increase in student learning. While university and school partnerships can take many forms, effective models have some similar characteristics: Research-based, long-term involvement, built on professional community, and personal engagement (Crawford, Roberts, & Hickmann, 2008). One example of a successful partnership between a school district and nearby university took place in the Midwest. This particular school district was struggling to employ qualified teachers in subjectareas of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM). The district was an exceptionally large district consisting of 146,189 students, and 68.7% of those students classified as “economically disadvantaged” (Ferreira, 2007). In 1999, the National Science Foundation opened grant applications 62

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to PK-12 programs. The local administrators met with faculty members of the nearby university to create a proposal which would “enrich and enhance learning for middle school science and mathematics students” (Ferreira, 2007).

SMART Partnerships Universities have partnered with local K-12 districts for many years for placement of student teachers and other educational professionals. This has historically been one-sided for the gain of the university until recent partnerships that take into account the needs of the K-12 school as well (Walsh & Backe, 2013). SMART partnerships have arisen for that very reason. Districts and universities have come together to create a shared purpose in which they work together to create a learning environment that has information and communication technology incorporation in its foundation. SMART partnerships allow both the university and K-12 to gain and work together to accomplish the shared goal of improvement and greater use of technology to best meet the students’ needs. One of the most meaningful ways to incorporate technology and technological sciences into the classroom is through partnerships with outside organizations. Workbooks and textbooks are becoming obsolete because they simply do not meet the needs of the 21st-century learner. District administrators must be willing to go above and beyond to provide new technological resources to classrooms. Oftentimes, this means seeking outside assistance from others. When school districts partner with local organizations and businesses, the possibilities are endless. These partnerships not only result in more monetary resources but also result in meaningful relationships with community stakeholders.

VIRTUAL TECHNOLOGY PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

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Historically, teacher professional development training has included one-time or short duration events that might excite teachers, but also may render them less than fully prepared (Kesson & Henderson, 2010). A utopian alternative is to provide teachers with fully continuous, long-term instruction that includes expert assistance and concomitant aid, resulting in useful and sustainable professional development. Clearly, such a scenario, if carried out at the maximum level of utility, is both costly and highly time intensive (Borko, 2004), rendering it nearly impossible to render as a realistic support mechanism for teachers (Elges, Righettini, & Combs, 2006). A more realistic option is to provide virtual professional development, given the growing sophistication of technological resources to support such an alternative (Appana, 2008). Virtual professional development may also parallel the growing emphasis on using technology in the classroom.

Virtual Learning Communities One of the more popular ways of providing long term sustainable teacher development is through the use of Virtual Learning Communities (VLCs), which are similar in concept to PLC’s. A primary benefit of using VLCs is flexibility in terms of time for attendance, choices of learning options, and the ability to deal with varying learning styles. Such flexibility may foster individualized learning coupled with teacher engagement, which could promote the acquisition of new knowledge and skills as well as improvement of instructional practices (Owen, 2014). Another important beneficial feature is that VLCs 63

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enable ease of accessibility in terms of enabling teachers to access strategies for improving instruction anytime and anywhere. Virtual learning communities may provide enhanced opportunity for teachers to extend their learning and further master their teaching skills through continued education, and by connecting with resources beyond their local school or community (Rolando, Salvador, Souza, & Luz, 2014). Such resources could include learning networks that promote a sense of community and social interaction, across video and live streaming lessons, for example, enabling participants to dialogue about issues of mutual interest and to receive real-time feedback during the learning process (Owen, 2014). These online virtual interactions have the potential to transform professional development into a focused, purposeful and useful resource for improving teaching and learning (Flagg & Alying, 2011). Virtual Learning Communities promote open collaboration and discussions, authentic learning, and sharing of resources through a convenient, personalized and task-oriented format (Sugar & Slagtervan Tryon, 2014). Generally, studies have concluded that teachers who use such a model from online courses have developed teaching skills that may translate into improved learning for students (Polly, Martin, & Wang, 2016). The existence of VLCs may enhance traditional professional development by enabling teachers to connect online with teachers in other learning organizations, across communities, states, and countries. Virtual learning communities also may provide sustained ongoing support for teachers throughout the school year, a feature of effective professional development, as supported by the National Staff Development Council (McConnell, Parker, & Eberhardt, 2013). The National Commission on Teaching and America’s Future supports the utilization of learning communities for teacher professional development. Utilizing PLCs for virtual professional development is effective for all teachers, and specific grade levels to use as a collaboration tool. It is also very effective for STEM content given the limited number of STEM teachers in smaller, often more rural districts (McConnell, Parker, & Eberhardt, 2013).

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Effectiveness of Virtual Professional Development Virtual learning communities are typically self-directed, and participants should be self-motivated lifelong learners to glean maximum effect. Sullivan et.al., (2013) suggest that a self-directed learning style is necessary for these communities to flourish because of the vast amount of information that must be evaluated. Self-motivated life-long learners are more capable of utilizing the tools, support, and information in an effective way to communicate, collaborate and learn. The most critical characteristic of a lifelong learner within a virtual learning community is the ability to engage voluntarily. Online discussion boards are a perfect example of this; a self-directed, life-long learner will recognize the importance of this tool and have a higher level of voluntary engagement over a learner who may not be as self-directed. A learner who does not respond to peers, engage in online activities, and actively participate freely would not be considered a self-motivated life-long learner. Success in an online community is dependent upon the level of engagement put forth by its members. There is little research investigating the effectiveness of virtual professional development on teacher’s classroom practice (Fisher et al., 2010). A substantial proportion of research about the use of technology for staff development focuses primarily on the level of participant satisfaction with a professional learning program, which indicates little of the effectiveness of the practice.

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There is a growing emphasis on education for teachers to use more technology in their classrooms, both to expose and train students to use it, and because students increasingly respond well to the use of technology. Teachers, like students, may respond favorably to technology-rich professional development (Warren & Holloman, 2005).

CONCLUSION Certainly, there is a strong need for appropriate, sustainable professional development for teachers to use technology to enhance instruction. There is substantial theoretical and empirical research demonstrating that technology may be an effective instructional tool when used appropriately. Utilizing such strategies as partnerships, PLCs and virtual networking, relying on teacher-led training and development all undergirded by appropriate adult learning theory may be beneficial for teachers who have the hardware and software resources but may not understand effective instructional technology practices, and for technology savvy teachers who wish to hone their skills. Effective professional development is critical to improving education, and this is certainly true in instructional technology.

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This work was previously published in Leveraging Technology to Improve School Safety and Student Wellbeing; pages 206-226, copyright year 2020 by Information Science Reference (an imprint of IGI Global).

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Chapter 5

Building Faculty SoTL Skills Through a Multi- and Interdisciplinary Writing Community of Practice Sandra Sgoutas-Emch University of San Diego, USA

Tara Ceranic Salinas University of San Diego, USA

Judith Liu University of San Diego, USA

Jane Friedman University of San Diego, USA

Moriah Meyskens University of San Diego, USA

Perla Myers University of San Diego, USA

ABSTRACT

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Cultivating a community of faculty to support Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL) work at universities can be challenging. There are many obstacles to overcome—obstacles such as how to sustain such eforts over time. The Center for Educational Excellence set out to design a strategic plan designed to address certain barriers to SoTL work and to create a long-standing community of practice for a SoTL group of faculty members—a group that has lasted over nine years to date. This chapter outlines strategies employed over the years and the evolution of the interdisciplinary group from a learning community to community of practice. The stories of past and present members are included along with advice on how others may have successful programs at their universities.

INTRODUCTION Can you imagine a mathematician reading and providing valuable feedback on a piece of theater pedagogy—or a sociologist truly engaging with physics education work? That is exactly what we experience as members of a Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL) community. What started as a series DOI: 10.4018/978-1-7998-7294-8.ch005

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Research Anthology on Facilitating New Educational Practices Through Communities of Learning, edited by Association, Information Resources Management, IGI Global, 2020. ProQuest

 Building Faculty SoTL Skills Through a Multi- and Interdisciplinary Writing Community of Practice

of workshops designed to help faculty members think about assessing student learning and designing SoTL research transformed into a sustained and vibrant writing and learning community that has stood the test of time. Being part of the SoTL group gave me an opportunity to learn about this area of scholarship through reading and providing feedback on the work of the other group members. I was able to see how to implement research projects in the classroom. I was motivated not only to continue my work on my first SoTL project but to also try new techniques in the classroom. (Associate Professor in Mathematics) The statement above is from a member of a long-running (since 2010) multi- and interdisciplinary SoTL writing community of faculty members that was organized by the Center for Educational Excellence (CEE), the development center for faculty across campus. This community meets monthly during the academic year to discuss its members’ SoTL project development and writing projects, and the output of the group has resulted in dozens of scholarly papers, presentations, chapters, and proposals (see Appendix 1 for a sample list of publications resulting from the SoTL group). This chapter provides a glimpse into the origins of the community; a detailed description of how the multi and interdisciplinary writing process functions; insights into how this community has evolved over the years to support sustainability; and a list of suggestions for other teaching and learning centers or institutions that would like to pursue similar initiatives on their campuses. The chapter is divided into major themes highlighting faculty members’ stories of their experiences and the writing group’s impact both on the participants’ scholarship and the participants’ professional development. We also discuss the numerous opportunities that have evolved as a result of an initiative that started with just a few workshops ten years ago.

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CREATING A SoTL SPACE This fruitful collaborative group started as an effort to generate interest in teaching and learning research at the university. The University of San Diego (USD) is an independent, medium-sized Catholic institution that is primarily focused on undergraduate programs in Arts and Sciences, Business, and Engineering. USD also has several graduate programs including Peace Studies, Leadership and Educational Sciences, Nursing, and Law. As with many primarily undergraduate institutions, faculty members spend a large percentage of their time teaching, and they put an emphasis on innovation in the classroom. At the same time, demands for scholarship and academic excellence are steadily increasing. So, why is SoTL work not associated with necessary professional development for all faculty members? Why do so few institutions and faculty members see the value of supporting and investing resources in SoTL (Chick, 2018)? Often, the answer is that there is simply a lack support to pursue SoTL or insufficient understanding of pedagogical research (Lueddeke, 2003). It is an unfortunate truth that SoTL work is often not highlighted or is seen as less impactful than more “traditional” disciplinary scholarship (McKinney, 2006; Webb, 2019). Pedagogy journals, despite being peer-reviewed and rigorous, do not typically appear on the lists provided by rank and tenure committees of what constitutes research publication leading to tenure and promotion (Segalla, 2008). Often junior faculty are discouraged from this type of research, and those that do want to engage in SoTL work do not necessarily have the training on SoTL or on how to apply for Human Subjects approval when the research subjects are their students. This potential lack of skills and awareness to take on SoTL projects (Weimer, 2006) can be a deterrent to the pursuit of SoTL work, 73

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but this is where the SoTL writing community comes in. The SoTL writing group provides a supportive community with opportunities for faculty members to develop an understanding of SoTL research and to engage in innovative and high-impact teaching and much-valued research (Gilpin & Liston, 2009). Furthermore, others have documented the potential for SoTL work to transform institutions and elevate the learning environment (Hutching, Huber, & Ciccone, 2011). To specifically address the need for support and guidance in SoTL work, the CEE implemented a three-tiered strategy over ten years ago. The first tier consisted of holding open discussions and panels featuring faculty members who were already engaged in various types of SoTL work and who had a track record of publishing in reputable outlets. Events were well-attended and generated interest among several faculty members. These events helped raise awareness on campus and stimulated interest in SoTL, but raising awareness was often not enough to propel change in the culture and behavior (Christiano & Neimand, 2017). The CEE staff knew that more needed to be done in order to move the needle on what was happening on campus to provide faculty members with the skills, motivation, and efficacy necessary in order to move forward with SoTL. To address the gaps in knowledge concerning research methodology and project development, the second level of the strategy was designed to train faculty members in how to do SoTL work. The CEE invited experts in the field to come to campus and assist faculty members in their professional development. Several day-long workshops on topics ranging from project design, to assessment of student learning (Welch, 1999), to the creation of critical reflection assignments (Ash & Clayton, 2004) were organized. The CEE also collaborated with other campus units to bring in scholars from particular areas that aligned with the values of our institution—areas including Catholic social teaching, course-based community engagement, and contemplative pedagogy. Following these training efforts, as the third step, the CEE invited faculty members to be a part of a SoTL learning and writing community facilitated by the CEE. The CEE chose the learning community approach as faculty learning communities and writing groups have been found to have a profound impact (Moore, 2018; McKinney, 2013) on supporting faculty members’ success (Heinrich & Oberleitner, 2012; Lancaster et al., 2014; Lee & Boud, 2003; Nugent et al., 2008). Interested faculty members from a variety of disciplines and levels of experience across campus signed up to be part of the group, which started as a cohort-based faculty learning community. This specific formulation was the result of an initial plan to meet for the year as a multi-disciplinary peer-led group who would provide structured feedback and support to one another to combat what Cox (2004) described as the “isolation, fragmentation, stress, neglect, or chilly climate in the academy” (p. 8) experienced by many in the group. Over time, this group offered support and strategies that went beyond research feedback. The initial call for participation for this SoTL group included the following intended goals of the writing/learning community: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5.

To gather a group of faculty members interested in learning more about SoTL and methodologies; To provide a supportive space for exchange of ideas around student learning and teaching; To have structured review of faculty members’ work products related to SoTL; To offer accountability to help reach individual goals for productivity; and To educate ourselves in the basic tenets of SoTL—and to help mentor and educate other faculty members in this area.

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Most of these goals still guide the work of the group today, but they have been modified through the years to meet the needs of the group’s individual members and the type of diverse materials we examine. The flexibility also supports the work of faculty members according to their own development and status and contributes to the sustainability of the community. Below is a quote from a faculty member which outlines some of the specific development needs addressed by the SoTL group: When I joined the SoTL writing group, I was a pre-tenure faculty member in a department known for its dysfunction. I was becoming more confident as a teacher, and yet I did not have formal spaces for discussing the craft of pedagogy with colleagues in my field. The SoTL group was a wonderful opportunity for me to learn about teaching tactics in other disciplines, to discuss the highs and lows of teaching, and to become exposed to the journals publishing in the scholarship of teaching, including those within and outside my field of theology/ethics. The SoTL group modeled inclusive community and fostered the leadership development of women on campus, building networks of support that helped me navigate department politics. (Assistant Professor of Theology and Religious Studies, now Associate Professor)

EVOLUTION FROM LEARNING COMMUNITY TO COMMUNITY OF PRACTICE

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I am not sure that I would have been as successful or as motivated to think about my teaching in the way that SoTL pushes me to do. This group has been such a supportive and welcoming experience. I can’t say enough about how I have grown. (Professor of Psychological Sciences) Initially, the SoTL group was organized specifically for faculty members with interests in pedagogical scholarship (Richlin & Cox, 2004) to network with colleagues and provide and receive feedback on SoTL work. The community evolved into so much more than a typical writing group. For example, many of the individuals in the group became involved in interdisciplinary projects because of their exposure to each other’s work. The development of courses, scholarly presentations and publications, grant proposals, collaborative projects with community partners, and international outreach initiatives are some examples of work generated over the years. Members have come and gone (for various reasons), but a core group of faculty members continue to meet and critique, support, and assist in the creation, execution, and dissemination of SoTL projects. To date, around 60% of members are from the original cohort. Following the knowledge-building of the learning community, the SoTL group intentionally evolved into a Community of Practice. Communities of Practice (CoP) are defined as “groups of people who share a concern or a passion for something they do and learn how to do it better as they interact regularly” (Wenger, 2011, pg.1). CoP are rooted in learning theory and are comprised of practitioners who are actively engaged in a particular exploration to help spread knowledge and innovation (Wenger, 1999). The SoTL group scheduled regular monthly meetings, set ground rules and expectations, and documented individual goals for the academic year. The CoP ranged from 6 - 12 people at any given time with a total of 30 faculty and their collaborators participating over the years. At the beginning, the group was comprised of an even balance of pre-tenured, associate, and full professors from the College of Arts and Sciences and the School of Business. Through the years, the group included non-tenure track faculty as well.

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The process was simple, and accountability measures were designed to be lighthearted to help build a sense of collegiality and cooperation rather than one of competition and criticism. Individuals signed up to present their work, and everyone was responsible for coming prepared by reading the work and preparing written feedback. This feedback was then discussed in a round-table format to be sure that the author got the full range of suggestions and often new ideas surfaced from the general discussion. If a member could not attend, they would send the feedback over email. Over the years, the group added celebrations including end-of-semester white elephant gift exchanges and potluck meals to build a true sense of community. The quotes presented throughout this chapter exemplify the value and impact on teaching approaches this CoP has had for the individuals involved. The group members share their personal growth and increased awareness of various pedagogical approaches. Researchers have found that CoPs can help to shift the culture within institutions particularly with regard to teaching and learning (Foulger, 2005; Gannon-Leary & Fontainha, 2007). Since this group is a CoP instead of a more traditional writing group, it has helped to support faculty members’ development efforts in SoTL across campus. Members have been part of trainings, panels, and workshops designed to build capacity and to spread the word on the mechanics and importance of research in teaching and learning. This chapter is illustrative of such a collaborative effort to disseminate the group’s work to the larger community. Another interesting aspect of this group is that most of the members implement community engagement work in their courses, and, therefore, a lot of what is discussed focuses on the intersection of community-based research and SoTL. I love learning about the work my SoTL colleagues are doing in other departments around campus. The group inspires me! I have received wonderful feedback on projects that definitely enhanced the final products. (Professor in Mathematics)

CHARACTERISTICS AND GOALS FOR SUCCESS

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I would say that having interdisciplinary feedback helps me/us find the “holes” in our work. Having eyes on what we are writing from outside our own discipline allows us to write better and more nuanced cases/papers/presentations. As a result of my time in SoTL (since May 2010), I have received invaluable feedback and have published many cases with teaching notes and articles. (Professor of Management) This quote is just one of the many examples of how, from the beginning, this group was designed to be unique. Faculty members come from a diversity of disciplines and types of SoTL projects. Faculty members from Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM), Theater, Community Engagement, Theology and Religious Studies, Social Sciences, and Business have been a part of this community. The multidisciplinary nature of the group provides interesting opportunities to learn about a wide range of research methods and pedagogical approaches used in various disciplines (Moore, 2018). The knowledge gained from learning multiple approaches across disciplines allows members the ability to communicate to a larger audience of readers and scholars than just those within their own areas of expertise (Baskerville & Goldblatt, 2009). Flexibility is key in this CoP. We have seen members leave and return over the years, and we are always eager to welcome new people. These transitions, although they change the composition of the group, have consistently been beneficial. Members who leave often do so as a result of changing com76

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mitments, but they always express how much they miss the group and still show up at our celebrations when possible. Their absence allows for someone new to join, and this benefits us all with new insights. No matter who is currently participating, the group remains strong and committed. This sustainability is partially due to the productivity of the group but is also in part due to the celebrations and collegiality built over the years. Members have also become each other’s supporters and champions. For example, they have become mentors for the tenure process, references for applications, sounding boards to address challenges, and nominators for awards. Having an entity that oversees, organizes, and schedules the SoTL meetings is crucial to help make things easier for very busy faculty. Although the nature of the CoP includes a lot of flexibility, incorporating some structure and leadership is essential for success and sustainability (Muller, 2006; Wenger & Synder, 2000). The CEE provided the resources, space, logistics, and environment to ensure the continuation and success of this community in accomplishing collective and personal goals year after year.

BRIDGING THE SILOS: COLLECTIVE COLLABORATION This SoTL CoP was able to bring faculty from disparate disciplines together to address both teaching practice and writing. Below we offer examples from business and sociology to highlight the myriad benefits this group provides.

School of Business Perspective

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Similar to most universities, in the School of Business, we operate in silos. The SoTL Community of Practice provides a means to bridge these silos and work together in a collaborative manner. At the same time, we have created a community of people who support each other in their academic, professional, and personal achievements and frustrations. I love meeting with this community to get constructive feedback on my work and to get perspectives from different disciplines. We also each have our strengths that we contribute to the group. (Clinical Professor of Management) In the field of business, many active research-focused faculty members participate in groups with individuals from a similar discipline and meet on a regular basis to get feedback and constructive criticism on their research. For example, an entrepreneurship faculty member might present research on innovation and get feedback from faculty members in accounting, finance, international business, and operations. This provides a means to bridge the silos in the areas of business and subsequently improve the ultimate research product. Both the discipline-focused peer-mentoring groups, and the broader business-focused research forums (inter-professional mentoring) provide excellent methods to exchange ideas and feedback for discipline-focused research (Lait, 2011). These groups are in line with research that suggests that participation in peer mentoring groups helps forge scholarly identify, which leads to learning by all engaged (Driscoll et al., 2009; Mullen, 2005). Case studies with teaching notes are often used as pedagogical tools to enhance learning (Hammond, 1976) in the business classroom. Case writing can be challenging for a variety of reasons. First, it is essential to tell a story of interest to the students. The best cases engage the students in a nuanced discussion by offering unique situations faced by businesses with challenges that have a variety of potential solutions. Second, the writer must ensure that sufficient information is presented in the body of 77

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the case so that students can answer the discussion questions. Third, and perhaps most challenging, is writing the teaching note. This is a completely separate document that not only offers potential answers to all discussion questions, but also a list of all courses and topics where the case may work; suggested readings and multimedia resources; class activities; and a timeline for how to approach the case in the context of a course. SoTL is especially helpful in the tricky process of case writing. The SoTL CoP provides a means to get feedback and incorporate ideas from different disciplines (Gannon-Leary & Fontainha, 2007). This ultimately enhances the final product and improves learning outcomes (Lowry, Curtis, & Lowry, 2004). The suggestions of a theater faculty member to tell a good story, combined with having a sociologist who consistently helps come up with “sexy” titles, allow us to implement different approaches to writing that we simply do not have access to in a school of business. The group also allows us to see what is missing and what is superfluous in our case writing. Cases are all about balance, and providing too much information in a case can take away from the learning potential. The SoTL group helps shine a light on where there is too much information and where the case is underdeveloped. Additionally, SoTL can help create novel ways of exploring a case with students. Since each teaching note requires the inclusion of some sort of class activity to help students engage with the case material, the group can generate insightful activities that students truly enjoy. The different ways of thinking offered by each member create an invaluable contribution to the cases.

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Sociology Perspective Writing is initially a solitary endeavor. As an art and a craft, pieces of writing can convey so much more than content—they also convey meaning, emotion, and style. As contemporary writers such as Stephen King and Anne Lamott so eloquently share, writing is a process that demands dedication, commitment, and fearlessness in perfecting the craft (King, 2000; Lamott, 1994). Writing can be as intimidating as it can be liberating because in the end, it requires the writer to actually produce something tangible. That production also necessitates writing again and again: As you write, so shall you rewrite; for even the most prolific and gifted writer cannot do a “one-off”. Good writing entails taking a great idea and turning it into a compelling story that can impart knowledge and wisdom while captivating the reader’s attention. Writers must consider for what audience they are writing, including the publication parameters as well as the reader. These requirements, then, in some sense, dictate the style of writing needed. In academia, writing that results in publication is a measure of one’s professionalism by contributing to a field of discipline. For the sociologist, writing entails using research skills, evoking a “sociological imagination”, and deepening a field of study. The process begins with an inspiration that sparks the writer to delve deeper into a topic by searching for materials that support that nascent idea. Once written, however, that piece must go through a cycle of review, feedback, revision, and editing in order to hone the piece into something that is much better than the original. Finally, what began as a solitary endeavor ends as a more collaborative effort. As such, writing is both personal and public. Writing takes courage in that it must be put out for public review, and it places us in the vulnerable position of being judged by strangers. Having a SoTL group serves an important function by providing invaluable feedback on a piece prior to sending it off to a potential publisher. Our group’s diverse disciplines allow us to be “naïve” but intelligent readers. This multidisciplinary, multi-dimensional group provides insightful comments, suggestions, and genuine sup-

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port for all of us, helping to remove disciplinary blinders we may not be aware we have. Having reviewers from outside one’s discipline truly helps us refine our work because the suggestions and feedback result in much stronger pieces of writing.

LESSONS LEARNED: STRATEGIES FOR DEVELOPING A SUSTAINABLE AND PRODUCTIVE COMMUNITY OF PRACTICE IN SoTL Below, we outline strategies that others can use when establishing a SoTL group. Our approach and suggestions stem from our own evolution from a learning community to a CoP and are based in the literature as well as our experiences over the years. An important note is that participants are not paid, so funding requirements are minimal. There is the time of staff in the CEE to organize meetings and some minor funding for food at times. The group meets in the CEE conference room, so there is not a lot of coordination for space that needs to take place. For more detailed notes on our specific approach, please see Table 1. Table 1. How we developed the SoTL CoP Remember the Big Strategic Picture Targeted Faculty Development: Through a three-step process, we launched outreach initiatives across campus. A large part of this strategy was to raise awareness of what SoTL work looks like and why the research in this area should be supported as other research agendas are. Bringing noted scholars such as Patti Clayton and Marshall Welch to campus to share their work was an excellent first step, but more support was necessary. Through targeted outreach, the CEE recruited faculty already working in SoTL to speak at various events across campus. This helped raise the awareness of and respect for this type of work. Alignment with Mission and Values: Our university has a new strategic plan that included “engaged scholarship” as one of the pillars. Striking while the iron is hot can produce momentum in shifting culture. Therefore, the SoTL group is currently reengaging with the broader community about SoTL in order to align with the new strategic plan and build momentum. SoTL in the retention, promotion, and tenure process: Although SoTL work on our campus is inconsistently supported across the university, the two largest units, the College of Arts and Sciences and the School of Business, have recently rewritten tenure and promotion policies to include SoTL work as valued and encouraged. Highlight SoTL work on campus: Ensuring that SoTL faculty are consistently mentioned in university-wide publications goes a long way. This practice has helped our university become a Carnegie-classified as well as an Ashoka change-making designated institution. The Community of Practice

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Make it multidisciplinary: Including a diversity of disciplines in the group was absolutely crucial to enhancing broader engagement and understanding of SoTL work. The opportunity to break down silos is one that many faculty members appreciated the most about the community. Nurture a non-competitive, cooperative, and caring environment: We achieved building a supportive environment through a number of ways. First, we had a schedule of whose work would be presented with the expectation that the piece would be sent to all members of the SoTL group at least one week prior to the scheduled meeting so that all would be prepared for the discussion. If a scheduled presenter was unable to keep to the schedule, the penalty exacted was to bring something sweet to eat. Instead of reviewing a written piece, the presenter was encouraged to verbally discuss the proposed piece of writing and was provided feedback nonetheless. Second, coffee and snacks were always available during the meeting time to help stave off any caffeine deprivation and/or hunger pangs; this helped brighten the mood. Providing feedback in person not only gave the presenter an opportunity to practice presenting ideas but it also created a synergetic space for reviewers to add new comments, insights, and suggestions for revision. Titles for the work frequently emerged during these sessions. Presenting the work live also helped the writer consider other forms of disseminating the information—such as proposing a conference panel, being a conference presenter, or participating in an on-campus lecture series. Several conference papers, panels, poster presentations and workshops were launched as a result of the initial SoTL review.

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Table 1. Continued Be flexible about the writing: We reviewed many “non-traditional” works including a proposal for a new major in Behavioral Neuroscience. We also opened up the meeting to non-community members, on occasion, when there were co-authors who were interested in hearing the group’s feedback. These opportunities exposed other faculty members, students, and community partners to the community and created a collaborative spirit of all being “in this together”. Our group morphed from being solely focused on reviewing articles or chapters on pedagogy to covering all aspects of academic writing. Thus, we reviewed grant proposals, conference abstracts, theoretical treatises, book and article proposals, revise and resubmit suggestions, keynote speeches, and conference presentations. This flexibility enormously expanded my field of knowledge by exposing me to aspects of other disciplines, which I would never have had otherwise. Younger colleagues may feel intimidated by or a burden to more senior faculty members by asking them to review their work. Creating a space for genuine collaboration can help all writers become bold not only in their writing but also in their presenting skills and teaching. The process of providing constructive criticism helps writers become more reflective on what they are doing. This, in turn, expands our abilities to imagine better ways of conveying our ideas. (Professor of Sociology) Leadership and Ownership Have a convener: Our group tried several methods—each member taking responsibility to organize one meeting; one member taking responsibility for an entire semester; a rotation system amongst the members; and the presenter organizing the meeting. This somewhat willy-nilly approach proved to be untenable in actual practice. In the end, what worked best was when the convener was the director of the CEE who was not only competent but also efficient and organized. Not only did she have the staff to help organize the schedules, but we also met in the center’s meeting space. She took the lead to gather the data to create a schedule for the entire semester. Setting such a specific schedule ensured that we had a time and place to meet and fostered a sense of commitment to the group. Ideally, members of the group should be prepared to present during each semester. The CEE has also set up a literature review of SoTL references from across disciplines to help support faculty members scholarship in this area; all faculty members can use this for their research. Promote love of learning and development of knowledge: During some meetings, we didn’t have any SoTL work to review from the group. We would still meet to discuss other projects we were working on and to bounce ideas about future research off of one another. Find a mentor/Be a mentor: The CoP model has been particularly useful for mentoring junior faculty. Several faculty members were lucky enough to form mentoring relationships that went beyond SoTL. They met regularly outside of the SoTL gatherings. These productive meetings took place off-hours at the university and at our homes. The senior faculty member provided feedback for potential submissions to scholarly journals as part of tenure review, as well as written comments on the junior faculty members’ actual tenure materials Accountability: It is required that the assigned person submit their work a week prior to our meetings in order to give time for people to review it. We also expect people to come prepared to critique and give input. However, as mentioned earlier, we have created a “punishment” of having to bring baked goods to the group. We have rarely had anyone miss their deadlines over the nine years since the group’s inception. This may be because of the feeling of community that has been developed so that we hold each other accountable and want to make sure we are there for each member. Recognition Celebrate: Over the years, we have added fun elements to build collegiality and support the non-competitive environment of the group. The “punishment clause” for not presenting during one’s “turn” morphed into a once-a-semester “White Elephant” gift exchange and potluck celebration—one in December and one in May. Not only are they fun, but they also serve to celebrate our efforts and successes during the year. These celebrations also inspire us to continue in the group and to rededicate ourselves to the writing process. Our celebrations have brought much-needed relief to our usually serious and stress-filled professions. And although each member, over time, has been productive because of the work of this Community of Practice, these moments of celebration are keys to its longevity and success.

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Compile and maintain a list of all publications: Not only does this show us exactly what we have accomplished, but it is a way to show others what is possible via SoTL work.

The Bigger Strategic Picture Targeted Faculty Development Taking a developmental approach to achieving goals and launching outreach initiatives across campus is key, but raising awareness was not enough to change the culture of the institution. It is also important to have champions and influencers on the side of SoTL. When other faculty members see people they admire and view as mentors giving testament about how participation in a learning community serves as

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a professional development opportunity and provides academic success supporters (Hutchings, Huber, & Ciccone, 2011), their interest is piqued and they see the potential in engaging in this type of work.

Alignment With Mission and Value It is imperative that SoTL work is aligned with your institute’s mission and values (Holland, 2005). This is especially true if your institution is undergoing a new strategic planning process. Examine how engaged scholarship and SoTL development might align with these new plans. How does the context of your institution support SoTL work, or do you need to do some work beforehand to get buy-in?

SoTL in the Retention, Promotion, and Tenure Process Despite the fact that every national academic organization has a section on pedagogy, writing about teaching and learning is not uniformly valued (Webb, 2019). Academic units frequently determine whether or not scholarly works on pedagogy “count” towards retention, promotion, and tenure (Reinke, Muraco, & Maurer, 2016). Department chairs and deans of academic units may need to be convinced that SoTL publications should count and that they are indeed an important aspect of our professional lives. However, increasingly, chairs and deans across the country are counting SoTL publications, and individual rank and tenure committees are increasingly acknowledging the importance of this type of work.

Highlighting SoTL Work on Campus Publicizing SoTL work in university-wide publications is an important means of highlighting faculty members who are dedicated to honing their teaching. Additionally, it puts the institution in a good light— especially when it is recognized as being a leader in teaching as well as in research. It is important to cultivate a good working relationship with those on campus responsible for publications that highlight faculty members’ achievements. Featuring faculty members who have received awards for their pedagogical pursuits and publications places an institution in the positive limelight it desires.

The Community of Practice

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Make It Multidisciplinary Having a multidisciplinary CoP can provide faculty with a learning opportunity that expands the knowledge base and encourages the formation of collaborative teaching and research projects (Oborn & Dawson, 2010; Stevenson, Duran, Barrett & Colarulli, 2005). Learning different methodologies and approaches to research and pedagogy helps to expand one’s skills and broaden one’s ways of knowing. Having a diverse group also allows for the creation of interdisciplinary projects that may not happen organically.

Nurture a Non-Competitive, Cooperative, and Caring Environment Rooted in the literature about CoP is the fact that such approaches to faculty development can provide a nurturing and cooperative environment to support faculty success and institutional change (Klein & Connell, 2008; O’Sullivan, 2007). Create a laid-back atmosphere that includes snacks, if possible, and 81

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leave time for conversation about non-research life. Having members really know one another helps develop a stronger sense of community.

Be Flexible About the Writing SoTL work can occur in a variety of contexts: conference presentations, cases, grant proposals, institutional review board proposals, chapters, and book proposals are all potential outlets so be willing to stray from “typical” journal articles in the context of the group. The most productive SoTL groups deal with faculty members with many different types of projects, at different stages of their careers, and in different disciplines (Weimer, 2006).

Leadership and Ownership Have a Convener Having some leadership structure is essential for success (Wenger & Synder, 2000). Using an established organization on campus (like the CEE) with someone specifically in charge of the SoTL planning will yield the best results. If your institution does not have a faculty development or teaching and learning center to assist, see if there is an equivalent administrator who would be willing to organize things, or whether members of the community could rotate duties. Setting dates ahead of time, designating space, and setting personal goals at the beginning of each academic year ensures that there will always be something to review and that people looked at their schedules to see what works. Sending reminder emails is also important and falls under the umbrella of the convener. Members of the community turn to this individual for leadership and support.

Promote Love of Learning and Development of Knowledge Many academics became professors because they love to learn. Operating in a discipline, academics become experts in a particular subject area. However, a Community of Practice bridging silos across campus provides an opportunity to not only create a community but also to continue that exploration and journey of learning (Wenger, 1999). A SoTL CoP provides an opportunity to be continually reminded of the benefits and joys of learning from different perspectives.

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Find a Mentor/Be a Mentor Mentoring relationships are only natural in CoP (Heinrich & Attebury, 2010). Working closely with a group fosters professional and personal relationships that go a long way to breaking traditional disciplinary and academic divisions. Ensuring that there is a diversity of levels of experience allows more senior faculty to gravitate towards mentorship of the more junior faculty. These relationships can also make junior faculty aware of the opportunities they did not know existed such as the high-impact practice of incorporating community service-learning.

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Accountability At the beginning of each semester, assign people to present what they are working on based on their writing goals. Ensure a specific schedule is established and maintained for meetings and feedback so authors get comments in a timely manner. Should members be unable to meet in person, establish alternative ways to send feedback.

Recognition Celebrate Building community is more than having a set of common goals. Encourage a few times a year where members can come together to enjoy each other’s company and acknowledge the work that was done. Recognizing each other and providing a break from the grind of academic life is part of creating a successful SoTL group.

Compile and Maintain a List of All Publications Keeping a complete list of all publications that emerge from the SoTL community can serve not only as a historical record but also as a continuously evolving document as new publications are added. This helps when making the case for the viability of SoTL research across a multitude of disciplines.

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OUR CHALLENGES AND YOUR FUTURE DIRECTIONS As our group continues to evolve we have faced particular challenges. Scheduling meetings has become more challenging, so the group reduced the number of meetings to once a month (for the first six years the group met every three weeks). Additionally, we have adapted to include online feedback via Google Docs for those occasions when we cannot find a time that everyone can meet. The online platform allows us to continue critiquing and giving input even when one or more members cannot physically be present. The group has also grown smaller, and efforts to bring in a new generation of scholars into the fold are underway. It has been challenging to recruit and raise interest in this area because of changes in administration and the expectations for faculty members. Newer faculty members come in with greater demands for scholarship in their disciplines, including finding money to support their work. This takes time away from engaging in what is still often seen as being “less” important work. Members today tend to be post-tenure or adjunct/ non-tenure-based faculty members. Targeting nontenure-track faculty members is important to the success of any program, given the rising number of these faculty members in our ranks. Moreover, this population of faculty members tends to do the bulk of teaching, especially in general education areas. Yet, as our group keeps looking to engage new members, going back to our roots by starting from the beginning and training a whole new set of individuals who are interested in SoTL work is of paramount importance. A key initiative is elevating mentors to help train new faculty members and to reach out to departments and schools that have not had members participate. In several ways, we have taken many steps forward but need to go back to our roots in order to outreach to a broader audience. This next academic year, the 83

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CEE will sponsor a new SoTL learning community as a means to find other academics on campus who are interested in pedagogical research and who might potentially be interested in becoming a part of the existing Community of Practice. After all, the CEE started this group almost ten years ago through a similar initiative with great success, and any challenges are well worth the struggle—considering the accomplishments we have made on our own and collectively as a group. Challenges aside, this group has been truly transformational for past and present members. We encourage you to pick the elements of what we have done that will work at your institution and start your own SoTL Community of Practice. Be prepared to read and learn things far outside of your discipline and enjoy the amazing supportive community that develops as a result.

REFERENCES Ash, S. L., & Clayton, P. H. (2004). The articulated learning: An approach to guided reflection and assessment. Innovative Higher Education, 29(2), 137–154. doi:10.1023/B:IHIE.0000048795.84634.4a Baskerville, D., & Goldblatt, H. (2009). Learning to be a critical friend: From professional indifference through challenge to unguarded conversations. Cambridge Journal of Education, 39(2), 205–221. doi:10.1080/03057640902902260 Chick, N. L. (2018). SoTL in action: Illuminating critical moments of practice. Sterling, VA: Stylus. Christiano, A., & Neimand, A. (2017). Stop raising awareness already. Stanford Social Innovation Review, 33–41. Retrieved from https://ssir.org/articles/entry/stop_raising_awareness_already Cox, M. D. (2004). Introduction to faculty learning communities. New Directions for Teaching and Learning, 97, 5–23. doi:10.1002/tl.129 Driscoll, L. G., Parkes, K. A., Tilley-Lubbs, G. A., Brill, J. M., & Bannister, V. R. P. (2009). Navigating the lonely sea: Peer mentoring and collaboration among aspiring women scholars. Mentoring & Tutoring, 17(1), 5–21. doi:10.1080/13611260802699532 Foulger, T. (2005). Innovating professional development standards: A shift to utilize Communities of Practice. Essays in Education, 14(1), Article 1. Retrieved from https://openriver.winona.edu/eie/vol14/ iss1/1

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Gannon-Leary, P., & Fontainha, E. (2007). Communities of Practice and virtual learning communities: Benefits, barriers and success factors. eLearning Papers, 5, 20-29. Gilpin, L. S., & Liston, D. (2009). Transformative education in the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning: An analysis of SoTL literature. International Journal for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning, 3(2), 11. doi:10.20429/ijsotl.2009.030211 Hammond, J. S. (1976). Learning by the case method. Harvard Business School. Case 9-376-241. Retrieved from http://projects.iq.harvard.edu/files/sdpfellowship/files/hbs_casemethod_overview.pdf Heinrich, K. T., & Oberleitner, M. G. (2012). How a faculty group’s peer mentoring of each other’s scholarship can enhance retention and recruitment. Journal of Professional Nursing, 28(1), 5–12. doi:10.1016/j.profnurs.2011.06.002 PMID:22261599 84

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Henrich, K. J., & Attebury, R. (2010). Communities of practice at an academic library: A new approach to mentoring at the University of Idaho. Journal of Academic Librarianship, 36(2), 158–165. doi:10.1016/j.acalib.2010.01.007 Holland, B. (2005, July). Scholarship and mission in the 21st century university: The role of engagement. In Proceedings of the Australian Universities Quality Forum (pp. 11-17). Academic Press. Hutchings, P., Huber, M. T., & Ciccone, A. (2011). The Scholarship of Teaching and Learning reconsidered: Institutional integration and impact. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass. King, S. (2000). On writing: A memoir of the craft. New York, NY: Scribner. Klein, J. H., & Connell, N. A. (2008). The identification and cultivation of appropriate Communities of Practice in higher education. Communities of Practice: Creating Learning Environments for Educators, 1, 65-81. Lait, J., Suter, E., Arthur, N., & Deutschlander, S. (2011). Interprofessional mentoring: Enhancing students’ clinical learning. Nurse Education in Practice, 11(3), 211–215. doi:10.1016/j.nepr.2010.10.005 PMID:21093376 Lamott, A. (1994). Bird by bird: Some instructions on writing and life. New York, NY: Pantheon Books. Lancaster, J. W., Stein, S. M., MacLean, L. G., Van Amburgh, J., & Persky, A. M. (2014). Faculty development program models to advance teaching and learning within health science programs. American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education, 78(5), 99. doi:10.5688/ajpe78599 PMID:24954939 Lee, A., & Boud, D. (2003). Writing groups, change, and academic identity: Research development as local practice. Studies in Higher Education, 28(2), 187–200. doi:10.1080/0307507032000058109 Lowry, P. B., Curtis, A., & Lowry, M. R. (2004). Building a taxonomy and nomenclature of collaborative writing to improve interdisciplinary research and practice. The Journal of Business Communication, 41(1), 66-99. Lueddeke, G. R. (2003). Professionalising teaching practice in higher education: A study of disciplinary variation and ‘teaching-scholarship’. Studies in Higher Education, 28(2), 213–288. doi:10.1080/0307507032000058082

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McKinney, K. (2006). Attitudinal and structural factors contributing to challenges in the work of the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning. New Directions for Institutional Research, 2006(129), 37–50. doi:10.1002/ir.170 McKinney, K. (2007). Enhancing learning through the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning: The challenges and joys of juggling. San Francisco, CA: Anker. Moore, J. L. (2018). Writing SoTL: Going public for an extended audience. In N. L. Chick (Ed.), SoTL in action: Illuminating critical moments of practice (pp. 119–126). Sterling, VA: Stylus. Mullen, C. A. (2005). The mentorship primer. New York, NY: Peter Lang. Muller, P. (2006). Reputation, trust, and the dynamics of leadership in Communities of Practice. The Journal of Management and Governance, 10(4), 381–400. doi:10.100710997-006-9007-0

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Nugent, J. S., Reardon, R. M., Smith, F. G., Rhodes, J. A., Zander, M. J., & Carter, T. J. (2008). Exploring faculty learning communities: Building connections among teaching, learning, and technology. International Journal on Teaching and Learning in Higher Education, 20(1), 51–58. O’Sullivan, M. (2007). Creating and sustaining Communities of Practice among physical education professionals. New Zealand Physical Educator, 40(1), 10–13. Oborn, E., & Dawson, S. (2010). Learning across Communities of Practice: An examination of multidisciplinary work. British Journal of Management, 21(4), 843–858. doi:10.1111/j.1467-8551.2009.00684.x Reinke, J., Muraco, J., & Maurer, T. W. (2016). The state of the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning in family science. Family Science Review, 10; Advance online publication. Richlin, L., & Cox, M. D. (2004). Developing scholarly teaching and the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning through faculty learning communities. New Directions for Teaching and Learning, 2004(97), 127–135. doi:10.1002/tl.139 Segalla, M. (2008). Publishing in the right place or publishing the right thing: Journal targeting and citations’ strategies for promotion and tenure committees. European Journal of International Management, 2(2), 122–127. doi:10.1504/EJIM.2008.017765 Stevenson, C. B., Duran, R. L., Barrett, K. A., & Colarulli, G. C. (2005). Fostering faculty collaboration in learning communities: A developmental approach. Innovative Higher Education, 30(1), 23–36. doi:10.100710755-005-3293-3 Webb, A. S. (2019). Navigating the lows to gain new heights: Constraints to SoTL engagement. The Canadian Journal for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning, 10(2). doi:10.5206/cjsotl-rcacea.2019.2.8173 Weimer, M. (2006). Enhancing scholarly work on teaching and learning: Professional literature that makes a difference. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass. Welch, M. (1999). The ABCs of reflection: A template for students and instructors to implement written reflection in service-learning. NSEE Quarterly, 25(2), 1, 23–25. Retrieved from https://digitalcommons. unomaha.edu/slceeval/16 Wenger, E. (1999). Communities of Practice: Learning, meaning, and identity. Oxford, UK: Cambridge University Press.

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Wenger, E. (2011). Communities of Practice: A brief introduction. Academic Press. Wenger, E. C., & Snyder, W. M. (2000). Communities of Practice: The organizational frontier. Harvard Business Review, 78(1), 139–146. PMID:11184968

KEY TERMS AND DEFINITIONS Case Study: A process or record of research in which detailed consideration is given to the development of a particular person, group, or situation over a period of time.

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Center for Educational Excellence (CEE): The CEE is the faculty development center at the University of San Diego. Community of Practice: A Community of Practice is a group of people who share a concern or a passion for something they dd and learn how to do it better as they interact regularly. Faculty Learning Community (FLC): FLCs are is a group of trans-disciplinary faculty of size 6-15 or more (8 to 12 is the recommended size) engaging in an active, collaborative, yearlong program with a curriculum about enhancing teaching and learning and with frequent seminars and activities that provide learning, development, transdisciplinarity, the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning, and community building. Interdisciplinary: Relating to more than one branch of knowledge. Multidisciplinary: A group of people who share a concern or a passion for something they do and learn how to do it better as they interact regularly. Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL): A systematic inquiry into student learning which advances the practice of teaching in higher education by making inquiry findings public.

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This work was previously published in Evidence-Based Faculty Development Through the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL); pages 78-95, copyright year 2020 by Information Science Reference (an imprint of IGI Global).

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APPENDIX Sample References From Some Members of SoTL Group (in Descending Order)

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Interdisciplinary Collaborative Efforts Within the Group Sgoutas-Emch, S. A., Baird, L., Camacho, M., Friedman, J., & Lord, S. (2016). Fostering success to support a cohort /cluster of women in STEM at the University of San Diego. NSF ADVANCE/ GSE Program Workshop. Sgoutas-Emch, S. A., Nayve, C., Liu, J., & Loggins, J. (2016). Supporting seasoned practitioners by bridging community engagement, social change and scholarship. New Orleans, LA: IARSLCE. Sgoutas-Emch, S. A., Baird, L., Myers, P. Camacho, M., & Lord, S. (2016). We’re not all white men: Using a cohort/cluster approach to diversify faculty hiring in STEM. Journal of Thought and Action, 32(1), 91–107. Advancement of female faculty: Institutional climate, recruitment, and mentoring (AFFIRM), National Science Foundation. $599,414 awarded during the 8/15/11–7/31/16 period. Ehrich, K., Ceranic, T., & Liu, J. (2014). Business unusual: Transforming business school curricula through community engagement. Metropolitan Universities Journal, 25, 111–124. Sgoutas-Emch, S., Ceranic, T., Liu, J., & Zarate, S. (2014). Preparing faculty for the scholarly work of civic engagement. New Orleans, LA: International Association for Research on Service Learning and Community Engagement Conference. Lord. S., Camacho. M., Myers, P. Sgoutas-Emch, S., Baird, L., & Friedman, J. (2014). Interactive theatre to engage faculty in difficult dialogs: First implementation. Madrid, Spain: Frontiers in Education (FIE) conference. Baird, L., Friedman, J., Lord, S., Camacho, M, Myers, P., & Sgoutas-Emch, S. (2014). Using mixed methods to assess campus climate for faculty and develop programming for retention. Washington D.C: ADVANCE NSF conference. Baird, L., Boyd, M., Friedman, J., Hubbard, L., Lord, S., Myers, P., & Sgoutas-Emch, S. (2013). AFFIRM’s mentoring inside out: A pilot project for early career female faculty. Washington D.C: ADVANCE NSF conference. Ehrich, K., Ceranic, T., & Liu, J. (2012). Business unusual: Transforming business school curricula through community engagement. Chattanooga, TN: Paper presented at the Coalition of Urban and Metropolitan Universities. Ehrich, K., Ceranic, T., & Liu, J. (2012). Business unusual: Transforming business school curricula through community service-learning. Seattle, WA: Workshop at the 15th Annual Continuums of Service Conference. Ehrich, K., Ceranic, T., & Liu, J. (2011). Beyond the bottom line: Incorporating service learning in a business school. Poster presentation. San Diego, CA: 14th Annual Continuums of Service Conference.

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Psychological Sciences Sumner, S., Sgoutas-Emch, S. A., Nunn, L., & Kirkley, E. (2017). Implementing innovative pedagogy and a rainbow curriculum to expand learning on diversity. InSight: A Journal for Scholarly Teaching, 12, 94–119. Guerrieri, K., & Sgoutas-Emch, S. (2016). Immersions in global equality and social justice: A model of change. Engaging Pedagogies in Catholic Higher Education, 2(1), Article 4. Sgoutas-Emch, S. A. (2011). Dilemmas working on the politics of community: Lessons from community service learning and health psychology. In C. Cress and D. M. Donahue, Democratic dilemmas of teaching service learning: Tensions, trials, and triumphs. Sterling, VA: Stylus Press.

Business Management Meyskens, M., Shi, Ruixia, & Munshi, A. (Submitted). JD.com. International expansion of the Chinese e-commerce powerhouse. Case study. Meyskens, M., Christensen, R., & Marquez, P. (2019). Social entrepreneurship competitions: Hoping for funding and gaining valuable experience in the process—An exploratory study. New frontiers in entrepreneurial finance research. New Jersey: World Scientific Publishing. Meyskens, M., & Auch, N. (2013). An exploratory study of social venture competitions: Value creation at the individual, venture and societal levels. Theory and Empirical Research in Social Entrepreneurship. Northhampton, MA: Edward Elgar Publishing.

Sociology

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Liu, J. (2016). Reflections on skipping stones to diving deep: The process of immersion as a practice. Engaging Pedagogies in Catholic Higher Education, 2(1). Retrieved from http://dx.doi. org/10.18263/2379-920X.1011 Liu, J. (2016). Supporting seasoned practitioners by bridging community engagement, social change and scholarship. Presentation at the International Association for Research on Service Learning and Community Engagement (IARSLCE) Conference. New Orleans, LA: IARSLCE. Liu, J., Darby, M., & Leppard, E. (2019). Learning by growing: The promise of public sociology. Panel at the Pacific Sociological Association (PSA). Oakland, CA: PSA.

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Theology and Religious Studies

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Browning, M., & Reimer-Barry, E. (2013). Preaching, sexuality, and women religious: Listening to prophetic voices at the margins of religious life. Theology and Sexuality, 19(1), 69–88. Reimer-Barry, E. (2013). Reflecting on fieldwork in Tijuana: Embodied ethnography and lingering concerns [roundtable discussion]. Practical Matters: A Transdisciplinary Multimedia Journal of Religious Practices and Practical Theology, 6(Spring 2013). Retrieved from http://www.practicalmattersjournal.org/issue/6/centerpieces/reflecting-on-fieldwork-in-tijuana Reimer-Barry, E. (2013). Changemaker in the making? Moral development in the college classroom. Action Research Conference. University of San Diego: School of Leadership and Educational Sciences. Reimer-Barry, E. Faculty Innovation in Teaching Grant, 2014–2015. Reimer-Barry, E. Center for Educational Excellence Travel Grant, 2014.

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Chapter 6

Leading Learning Communities with Creative Practice Susannah L. Brown Florida Atlantic University, USA Jennifer Lynne Bird Florida Atlantic University, USA Ann Musgrove Florida Atlantic University, USA Jillian Powers Florida Atlantic University, USA

ABSTRACT Refective leadership stories from various felds including, instructional technology, education and humanities guide the reader to refect upon practice. Leadership theories that support personal growth, caring, interpersonal communication, problem solving, and creativity are discussed (Bass, 2008). Furthermore, the authors describe how creative leaders can use Communities of Practice (CoPs) as a mechanism to share and build knowledge, solve problems, and foster professional growth and development.

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INTRODUCTION And the day came when the risk to remain tight in a bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom. – Anais Nin Leaders in all fields including education benefit through the application of creative strategies while simultaneously building strong learning communities. In a global society, virtual learning teams are essential for connecting human capital at all levels. A variety of learning community models supported by creative leadership is necessary to meet diverse demands to today’s society. Key literature relating to DOI: 10.4018/978-1-7998-7294-8.ch006

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the models of creative leadership, transformative leadership, and communities of practice is synthesized; practical models are then shared to provide real world applications and narratives of reflective practice and creative expression. Reflective narratives focus on leadership theories that support personal growth, caring, interpersonal communication, problem solving and creativity, (Bass, 2008; Csikszentmihalyi, 1990; Goethals, Sorenson, & MacGregor Burns, 2004; & Noddings, 1992). Communities of practice (CoPs) are a type of learning community made up of “groups of people informally bound together by shared expertise and passion for a joint enterprise” (Wenger & Snyder, 2000, p. 139). The authors describe how creative leaders can use CoPs as a mechanism to share and build knowledge, solve problems, and foster professional growth and development.

BACKGROUND Leadership and Communities of Practice When we are no longer able to change a situation, we are challenged to change ourselves. – Viktor Frankl In today’s global information society knowledge is an asset that needs to be managed strategically (Wenger, 2009). Increasingly, creative leaders are using the Communities of Practice (CoPs) approach to learning as a knowledge management tool. According to Kislov, Harvey and Walshe (2011) CoPs can be used to analyze and facilitate knowledge sharing in a wide range of organizational settings, including, business, education, information technology and healthcare organizations.

Carla’s Connection Dilemma

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Carla is the Director of Professional Development in a large, geographically dispersed school district. The district recently implemented a grant-funded program to pilot a digital science curriculum using tablet computers in 20 third grade classrooms. The grant was awarded under the premise that the school district would establish a professional learning community to engage the participating teachers in ongoing collaboration, share ideas about best practices, and address challenges that arise from the use of the new digital tools. Participating teachers have such diverse schedules that they can only commit to one face-to-face meeting per semester. Carla is concerned that waiting so long to connect may result in the teachers’ forgetting to share information that may be critical to the success of the program. Faced with this dilemma, she reviews several articles on current trends in workplace learning which address how to build knowledge sharing communities among key human resources set apart by distance.

Using Communities of Practice as a Knowledge Management Tool Communities of practice come in a variety of forms including traditional, organizational, and virtual CoPs (Kirkman, Cordery, Mathieu, Rosen, & Kukenberger, 2013). Traditional CoPs, as defined by Wenger (2009) as “groups of people who share a concern or a passion for something they do and learn how to do it better as they interact regularly” (Wenger, 2009, p. 1). These groups may be formal or informal and are made up of three components:

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1. A domain, 2. A community, and 3. A practice. The domain refers to the common interests that bring the CoP together (Wenger, 2009). According to Swift (2014), “The central feature of a CoP is the relationship that develops between the members, enabling learning to take place within a culture of support, trust, and mutual understanding (p. 28). Creative leaders can also use communities of practice as a knowledge management tool. Organizational CoPs (OCoPs) were described by Kirkman et al. (2013) as “more formalized, purposeful, and bounded forms of CoPs” (p. 333). OCoPs can exist within a business unit, stretch across divisional boundaries, or even thrive with members from different companies (Wenger & Snyder, 2000). Moreover, when geographic distance impedes participation, online, or virtual CoPs (VCoPs) can be formed (Kirkman et al., 2013). Now more than ever leaders need creative ways to facilitate Communities of Practice (CoPs), as the world has become one large distributed network of information. To be informed and knowledgeable, the educator of tomorrow must serve as a knowledge broker and operate as a part of a larger consortium of learners to cope with the amount of information that will be available (Bryan & Musgrove, 2003). As Thomas Friedman (2005) author of The World is Flat, which includes a brief history of the twenty-first century, wrote: It is now possible for more people than ever to collaborate and compete in real time with more other people on more different kinds of work from more different corners of the planet and on a more equal footing than at any previous time in the history of the world – using computers email, fiber optic networks teleconferencing and dynamic new software. When you start to think of the world as flat or at least in the process of flattening we are now connecting all the knowledge centers on the planet together into a single global network. (p. 8) The workforce is global. Today the stock market rises and falls not only due to forces in America, but also in reaction to the economic climate of all major countries in the world. Due to the globalization of the workplace, it is also anticipated that we will need more individuals who can work across cultures and countries in a host of industries and organizations using the various smart technologies (Bryan, 2013). Wenger and Snyder (2000) proposed that successful managers bring the right people together, provide an infrastructure in which communities can thrive, and measure the communities’ value in nontraditional ways.

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21st Century Leaders Creatively Manage CoPs Fallah (2011) suggested a distributed leadership model for CoPs as they require different types of leadership to support and facilitate rather than just ordering for the accomplishment of the tasks. This distributed model of CoPs requires a different type of leadership to support and “facilitate” rather than just “ordering for accomplishment of the tasks.” The leadership in CoPs is similar to Lakomski (2008) declared as “an emergent self-organizing property of complex systems” (p. 159). A comprehensive study by Borzillo, Aznar and Schmitt, (2011) investigated membership status in CoPs as either core, active or peripheral. The study disclosed a five-phase evolving model of CoPs with newcomers joining and some long-standing core members choosing to end participation (see Table 1). 93

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Table 1. Five-phase evolving model Phase

Description

Awareness

Peripheral members become aware of a specific knowledge subtopic within the CoP about which they wish to learn more.

Allocation

Core members begin to consider peripheral members who return regularly to the CoP and who contribute to discussion as an active member.

Accountability

Active members become accountable by presenting a practice and their field of expertise at larger learning events.

Architectural

Members evolve into fully active members to core member.

Advertising

Core members validate a subtopic and publicize or advertise their subtopic to create momentum.

(Adapted from Borzillo et al., 2011)

CoPs to OCoPs back to CoPs The lines are now blurred between different forms of CoPs. They may start face-to-face or online and change back and form in the open 21st century environment. Professional development is a foundation at all levels of the education community. CoPs both formal and informal naturally form at professional conferences. Conference participants become a distributed system as they meet face-to-face and create professional relationships that continue online. For our communities to remain vibrant, we must learn how to leverage our intellectual capital and use the various tools of the information age to create communities of practice, both face-to-face and online, that use social networks to not only share collective knowledge, but also create it (Bryan, 2015).

Phylise and Frank’s Creative Solution

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Phylise and Frank, while attending an Online Learning Consortium (OLC) conference, decided they wanted to create a learning space where you could get hands on experiences with innovative uses of technology tools. They took this idea to the organization, which was immediately supported. Three years later, what was named the Technology Test Kitchen (TTK) is one of the favorite areas of all of OLC conferences. The TTK CoP consists of a team of technology chefs who are instructional designers, eLearning administrators, and faculty members from all around the country. This distributed group works over email using a shared google drive to create technology recipes to be shared at every conference. The leadership and the community chefs change to some extent from conference to conference to allow new ideas, talents and perspectives, but the core concept remains, providing an opportunity to come, play and learn in a hands-on welcoming environment.

Leading with OCoPs: The Case of The Originals Wenger and Snyder (2000) contented that leaders cannot mandate CoPs due to their organic, spontaneous, and informal nature. However, CoPs may be cultivated by providing the infrastructure to support them through organizations becoming OCoPs (Wenger & Snyder, 2000). One example of an OCoP that has blossomed from such support is a group of leaders from the Palm Beach County Early Care and Education (ECE) community that call themselves The Originals.

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In 2012, the Institute of Excellence in Early Care and Education (IEECE) at Palm Beach State College partnered with the county’s ECE system to develop and co-facilitate OCoPs at all levels (Wilkinson & Sibley, 2015). According to Mary Sibley, an Instructional Designer at the IEECE who coordinates the effort, The Originals are the first of several OCoPs for ECE leaders established in the county (M. Sibley, personal communication, September 25, 2015). The group meets regularly to share knowledge such as tips and tools for implementing curriculum and assessments, the county’s ECE center quality rating system, and solves leadership dilemmas (M. Sibley, personal communication, September 25, 2015). Members of The Originals have also formed additional OCoPs in their own centers. They use facilitation skills gained through National School Reform Faculty training to create “trust-based, learning organizations within which teachers and leaders share different approaches to similar issues, gather new ideas form one another to ease frustrations and dilemmas, and enjoy personal support, creative collaboration and innovation” (Wilkinson & Sibley, 2015, p. 5). For example, Sibley described a particular dilemma in which a teacher had a social relationship with the mother of a student. The center director was having a difficult time trying to get the teacher to understand the difference between her personal and professional relationship with the mother. She took the dilemma to an OCoP meeting that resulted in a creative solution. The group came up with the idea to create a video about the difference between personal and professional interactions with parents. The center director showed the video at a staff meeting and the teacher changed her behavior right away. The video was so effective that it is now shown as a part of orientation for new staff (M. Sibley, personal communication, September 25, 2015). According to Wegner (2009), CoPs are not merely clubs or networks of connections between people; they have an identity defined by a shared domain of interest. The Originals have formed an identity so strong they created their own logo that is pictured in Figure 1.

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Figure 1. The Originals logo

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Making Global Connections with VCoPs According to Barnett, Jones, Bennett, Iverson and Bonney (2012), Virtual Communities of Practice (VCoPs) have been shown to be highly effective at improving knowledge sharing in large organizations. With over 400,000 employees International Business Machines Corporation (IBM) is one of the world’s largest multinational corporations. It is also home to numerous VCoPs known simply as “Communities.” Communities may be either internal or open to public membership and are hosted on the company’s social network platform called IBM Connections. Some of the features of Communities include file sharing, wikis, blogs, and bookmarks. According to one IBM employee, the online tools “allow practitioners to collaborate and exchange ideas centrally, but on their own terms in a sort of on demand fashion” (J. Ley, personal communication, September 30, 2015). For instance, members can post questions to forums to request assistance with the resolution and share tools or documents to assist others with either common or challenging tasks related to the communities’ subject matter. VCoPs may serve as useful knowledge management tools, but they also have some limitations. First, it can be challenging to find the right resources or experts since membership in a particular group is not mandatory. Another issue can be community bloat. According to Ley, “when you make it too easy to create communities, everyone wants to have their own and moderation of the creation of them may be necessary” (J. Ley, personal communication, September 30, 2015). Finally, finding the time to participate in communities is yet another challenge. Research on the use of social media tools in VCoPs supports the notion that leadership is essential to the effectiveness of VCoPs (Annabi, McGann, Pels, Arnold & Rivinus, 2012). Annabi et al. (2012) offered a framework for leaders to improve alignment of VCoPs with business objectives by using three levels of social media updates. At the first level, leaders participate in tagging discussions, documents, and exchanges that occur within their own CoP. The second level involves the use of Rich Site Summary (RSS) feed updates to provide other leaders with highlights of recent activity within other CoPs. At the third level, it is recommended that leaders maintain a blog to share the current progress and nature of CoPs across the organization. Creative strategies applied by 21st century leaders keep members of CoPs connected and actively engaged. Earlier in this chapter we met Carla, a professional development director faced with the challenge of creating a professional learning community for a group of geographically dispersed teachers. After reading about the strong sense of group identity that can develop among OCoPs that meet face-to-face like The Originals and the potential for leaders to foster effective VCoPs using social media tools, Carla has come to the conclusion that the solution to her dilemma is to create a hybrid CoP. Reflecting upon creative leadership experiences allows for unexpected outcomes in unique situations. Leaders should inspire others to move forward with common goals which in turn benefit all involved.

Artists’ Models for Creative Leadership How does an artist guide a brush across a canvas? As a bristle brush digs into the viscous pool of cerulean blue and splays across the canvas to indicate bright summer sky, a creative leader flows with the creative work to achieve best results. The painter Robert Henri said that, “Art is a result of a grip on the fundamentals of nature, the spirit of life, the constructive force, the secret of growth, a real understanding

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of the relative importance of things, order, balance” (1984, p. 226). This realization of creative guidance is reflected in a creative leadership approach.

Approaches to Creative Leadership Learning and working communities that embrace creative practice benefit from leaders who understand the amount of time, effort, work, and risk involved when developing new ideas, actions and products. Sternberg (2010) explains “if we want to encourage creativity, we need to promote the creativity habit” (p. 397), which leads to creative behaviors and characteristics. Leaders who recognize creative habits and encourage those who model creative characteristics reap the benefits of unique perspectives (Beghetto, 2006, p. 449). Therefore, a creative person will continue to exhibit creative behaviors if a leader models and supports this type of working relationship. Batey and Furnham (2006) describe creativity as associated with four concepts: the person (you are creative), cognition (creative thinking), environment and its effects (creative learning environment positively supports creativity), and products (creative result). The creative process occurs when original ideas evolve into unique products connecting people within a specific context who exhibit these characteristics. These characteristics are illustrated in the concept map designed by the authors of this chapter. (see Figure 2).

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Figure 2. Characteristics of a creative leader

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It is the creative leader’s role to understand the context and help others to consider the effects of context upon their creative work. Strengths of colleagues must be recognized in order to guide the learning or working community.

Susan’s Creative Challenge Susan wanted to improve a community garden program for inner city youth. She approached an artist, biologist, teacher, and community engagement director. The diverse group met and discovered more in common than originally thought. As the creative leader, Susan placed these individuals in a working community and understood each person’s creative strengths while envisioning the success of the collaboration. Creative leaders know that honoring time, effort, work, and risks taken by those involved in a working community is vital to the success of the group. Creative leaders take in to consideration that risks may lead to failure, which if handled appropriately may galvanize a group to continue working until a solution is discovered and embrace their role as explorers and visionaries. The collaboration resulted in the development of a unique interdisciplinary environmental education curriculum for at-risk youth. This leadership example valued inspiration, intellect and bringing individuals together as a cohesive whole, which is central to the transformative leadership model (Bass, 2008).

Transformative Leadership through Heart Maps and Reflective Journals I am not what happened to me. I am what I choose to become. – Carl Jung Creative leadership relates to transformational leadership through valuing inspiration and intellect. Bass (2008) explains transformational leadership through the combination of four components: activating intellect, valuing individualism, recognizing charisma, and motivating through inspiration. With this in mind, transformational leadership may be associated with creativity. Research relates increased creativity (individual and group) to transformational leadership (Gong, Huang, & Farh, 2009; Jung, 2000; UiHaq et al., 2010). Passion for the vision, which is shared by creative leaders and the working community, provides for intrinsic motivation (Jung, 2000), which has been found to be a key component of creativity. Often working communities exceed the leader’s expectations, which can be attributed to inspiration, commitment, motivation and inspiration (Howell & Avolio, 1993). However, transformative leaders sometimes get swept away in the activities of an organization and need to take a moment to reflect.

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Jennifer Leads with Heart Maps Jennifer has become too involved in trying to think of a brilliant idea that she can no longer see the larger picture of how her research team’s current goals relate to their vision and values. It’s time to reflect and remember the things which really matters to her. She remembers she won’t be able to help her team write a new research story if she can’t help herself, so she needs to practice self-care and find her way back to her creative self by drawing a heart map (see Figure 3).

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Figure 3. Jennifer’s Heart Map

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Reflective Strategies for Creative Expression Heifetz (1994) argues, “leadership is both active and reflective. One has to alternate between participating and observing” (p. 252). But how can leaders stop moving? During the routine of a busy schedule, one method people can use to remind themselves of people and things they value is to create a heart map. Heard (1999) instructs her students, “Today, I’d like you to make a map of all the important things that are in your heart, all the things that really matter to you. You can put: people and places that you care about; moments and memories that have stayed with you; things you love to do, anything that has stayed in your heart because you care a lot about it” (pp. 108-109). To create a heart map, draw a heart on a sheet of paper. In the heart, write the names of beloved people, places, and things. Heart maps can be a simple sketch or an intricate work of art. The important thing is to make the items in the heart map as much a part of life as possible. All organizations endure times of struggle, but heart maps help leaders remember not to make work their lives. Another powerful strategy for reflecting happens when a person opens a journal and begins writing in a notebook. The page will not argue, which frees the author to write a list of goals, vent about frustrations, celebrate successes, or process thoughts and feelings. Goldberg (2007) believes, “writing is the act of reaching across the abyss of isolation to share and reflect” (p. xxi). Writing provides not only a place to reflect, but also a space to develop new ideas to share with others. Moreover, new ideas lead to finding a way to implement the goals of an organization. Beck (2012) explains, “Wayfinders, by definition, create paths where there are none and find destinations no one knew were there” (p. 280). Journal writing and heart maps enable leaders to envision an idea and then make that vision reality. Using writing as a method of reflection helps leaders rewrite their stories. Enayati (2015) reminds people to pay attention to the stories they tell themselves because, “there are stories that serve us. And stories that don’t. What are the stories that you repeat to yourself over and over again? How mindful are you of your unspoken mantras? What are the threads that run through your everyday and eventually,

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your entire life?” (p. 8). Writing can make people aware of their narratives to know which stories need rewriting. Ideally, writing should become about the journey, not the destination. But ideas help no one if they stay in the pages of a journal. Eventually the leader must stop reflecting and return to action to implement a new strategy. By alternating reflection with action, leaders develop a dream and share that dream with others to make it become reality. Transformative leaders leave an organization better than when they found it. Starratt (1993) states, “transformational leaders enable subordinates to find fulfillment from striving for and achieving the high goals and purposes the leaders set for them” (p. 9). Transformative leaders contribute to a CoP because they enable everyone to invest in the community’s shared vision and values, while simultaneously establishing goals and a sense of purpose. One example of this is when Sandberg (2013) writes of the Harvard Business School, “they laid out a new, communal definition of leadership: ‘leadership is about making others better as a result of your presence and making sure that impact lasts in your absence.’ They held students responsible for the impact their behavior had on others” (p. 157). And the ripple effect continues.

FUTURE RESEARCH DIRECTIONS How can we prepare future generations to work using the leadership approaches described in this chapter? Consider how diverse and creative teams are designed to enhance each member’s expertise ensuring unique results. The beauty of creative leadership approaches is that they blur boundaries between virtual and in person work to seamlessly connect for success. Learning communities serve as a platform for people to adapt their skills to embrace technology tools. Future research directions must consider new technology tools, which are ever changing; thus, people can utilize technology encouraging creative practice and supporting meaningful change.

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CONCLUSION Creative leadership strategies support learning communities that embrace innovative practice and can be transformative. Research (Heifetz, 1994) suggests that transformative leaders should alternate reflection with action in order to better visualize solutions to complex leadership problems. CoPs serve as an arena for solving such leadership dilemmas. Reflection in large part guides a creative leader’s actions and empowers them to better help others to transform ideas into reality. Rapidly advancing technologies are continually changing the leadership landscape. Leaders have to be creative and transformative in order to adapt strategies and guide others in this fast paced world.

REFERENCES Annabi, H., McGann, S. T., Pels, S., Arnold, P., & Brinckerhoff, C. R. (2012). Guidelines to align communities of practice with business objectives: An application of social media. Proceedings of the 45th Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences (pp. 3869-3878). 10.1109/HICSS.2012.297

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Barnett, S., Jones, S. C., Bennett, S., Iverson, D., & Bonney, A. (2012). General practice training and virtual communities of practice-a review of the literature. BMC Family Practice, 13(1), 87. doi:10.1186/14712296-13-87 PMID:22905827 Bass, B. M. (2008). The Bass handbook of leadership: Theory, research and managerial applications (4th ed.). New York, NY: Free Press. Batey, M., & Furnham, A. (2006). Creativity, intelligence, and personality: A critical review of the scattered literature. Genetic, Social, and General Psychology Monographs, 132(4), 355–429. doi:10.3200/ MONO.132.4.355-430 PMID:18341234 Beck, M. (2012). Finding your way in a wild new world. New York, NY: Free Press. Beghetto, R. A. (2006). Creative self-efficacy: Correlates in middle and secondary students. Creativity Research Journal, 18(4), 447–457. doi:10.120715326934crj1804_4 Borzillo, S., Aznar, S., & Schmitt, A. (2011). A journey through communities of practice: How and why members move from the periphery to the core. European Management Journal, 29(1), 25–42. doi:10.1016/j.emj.2010.08.004 Bryan, V. (2013). The power, peril, and promise of information technology to community education. In V. C. Bryan & V. C. X. Wang (Eds.), Technology use and research approaches for community education and professional development (pp. 1–23). Hershey, PA: Information Science Reference. doi:10.4018/9781-4666-2955-4.ch001 Bryan, V., & Musgrove, A. (2003). Creating virtual learning teams with blackboard. Presented at the 14th International Conference for the Society of Information Technology & Teacher Education, Albuquerque, NM. Csikszentmihalyi, M. (1990). Flow: The psychology of optimal experience. New York, NY: HarperCollins. Enayati, A. (2015). Seeking serenity. New York, NY: New American Library. Fallah, N. (2011). Distributed form of leadership in communities of practice. International Journal of Emerging Sciences, 1(3), 357–370. Friedman, T. (2005). The world is flat. New York, NY: Farrar, Straus, and Giroux. Goethals, G., Sorenson, G., & MacGregor Burns, J. (Eds.). (2004). Encyclopedia of leadership: A-E (Vol. 1). London: Sage Publications. doi:10.4135/9781412952392 Copyright © 2020. IGI Global. All rights reserved.

Goldberg, N. (2007). Old friend from far away. New York, NY: Free Press. Gong, Y., Huang, J. C., & Farh, J. L. (2009). Employee learning orientation, transformational leadership, and employee creativity: The mediating role of employee creative self-efficacy. Academy of Management Journal, 52(4), 765–778. doi:10.5465/AMJ.2009.43670890 Heard, G. (1999). Awakening the heart. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann. Heifetz, R. A. (1994). Leadership without easy answers. Cambridge, MA: The Belnap Press of Harvard University Press.

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Henri, R. (1984). The art spirit. New York, NY: Harper and Row. Howell, J. M., & Avolio, B. J. (1993). Transformational leadership, transactional leadership, locus of control, and support for innovation: Key predictors of consolidated-business-unit performance. The Journal of Applied Psychology, 78(6), 891–902. doi:10.1037/0021-9010.78.6.891 Jung, D. I. (2000). Transformational and transactional leadership and their effects on creativity in groups. Creativity Research Journal, 13(2), 185–195. doi:10.1207/S15326934CRJ1302_6 Kirkman, B. L., Cordery, J. L., Mathieu, J., Rosen, B., & Kukenberger, M. (2013). Global organizational communities of practice: The effects of nationality diversity, psychological safety, and media richness on community performance. Human Relations, 66(3), 333–362. doi:10.1177/0018726712464076 Kislov, R., Harvey, G., & Walshe, K. (2011). Collaborations for Leadership in Applied Health Research and Care: Lessons from the theory of communities of practice. Implementation Science; IS, 6(64), 5908–6. PMID:21699712 Lakomski, G. (2008). Functionally adequate but casually idle: Wither distributed leadership. Journal of Educational Administration, 46(2), 159–171. doi:10.1108/09578230810863244 Noddings, N. (1992). The challenge of care in schools. New York, NY: Teachers College Press. Sandberg, S. (2013). Lean in. New York, NY: Alfred A. Knopf. Starratt, R. J. (1993). The drama of leadership. London, England: The Falmer Press. Sternberg, R. J. (2010). Teaching for creativity. In R. A. Beghetto & J. C. Kaufman (Eds.), Nurturing creativity in the classroom (pp. 394–414). New York, NY: Cambridge University Press. doi:10.1017/ CBO9780511781629.020 Swift, L. (2014). Online communities of practice and their role in educational development: A systematic appraisal. Community Practitioner, 87(4), 28–31. PMID:24791455 UiHaq, I., Ali, A., UmerAzeem, M., TahirHijazi, S., MasoodQurashi, T., & Quyyum, A. (2010). Mediation role of employee engagement in creative work process on the relationship of transformational leadership and employee creativity. European Journal of Economics Finance and Administrative Sciences, 25(1), 94–101. Wenger, E. (2009). Communities of practice: A brief introduction. Communities, 22(57), 1–5.

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Wenger, E. C., & Snyder, W. M. (2000). Communities of practice: The organizational frontier. Harvard Business Review, 78(1), 139–146. PMID:11184968 Wilkinson, M., & Sibley, M. (2015, March). Communities of practice in Palm Beach County. NSRF Connections, 4-5.

KEY TERMS AND DEFINITIONS CoP: A type of learning community created to connect expertise and meet a common goal.

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Creative Leadership: Utilizes all aspects of creativity in work contexts including: creative strengths, unique perspectives, supportive environment, and original results. Heart Map: A visual where the author draws a heart and in the heart writes the names of people, places and things that bring happiness. Illustrations may be added. Journaling: The writing process where authors capture their ideas on paper and sort through thoughts and feelings. OCoP: CoP supported through an organization’s infrastructure. Transformative Leadership: The combination of four leadership components: activating intellect, valuing individualism, recognizing charisma, and motivating through inspiration. VCoP: CoP conducted virtually through various technological means.

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This work was previously published in the Encyclopedia of Strategic Leadership and Management; pages 1379-1390, copyright year 2017 by Business Science Reference (an imprint of IGI Global).

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Chapter 7

Teacher Identity (Re) Construction within Professional Learning Communities:

The Role of Emotions and Tensions Pinar Kocabas Gedik Yildiz Technical University, Turkey Deniz Ortactepe Bilkent University, Turkey

ABSTRACT

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The research on teacher professional identity mostly focused on the process of teacher professional identity formation, the characteristics of teacher professional identity according to the teachers themselves as well as the researchers, and the representation of professional identity through teacher narratives in written and spoken discourse (Beijaard et al., 2004). However, there is much to explore in teachers’ tensions and emotions regarding the issues between teacher cognition, and personal and professional sides of teacher identity (Day & Leitch, 2001). In this chapter, we have reviewed the literature on teacher professional identity in relation to communities of practice, imagined identity, and imagined communities. Various defnitions of emotions and tensions as well as their roles in teacher professional identity construction have been presented and relevant studies on teacher identity construction, emotions and tensions have been discussed.

Teacher development, in-service education and training, staff development, professional development and lifelong learning are only some of the terms coined to describe the need for educational improvement through various activities teachers engage in. While there is no consensus on the definition of these terms and the qualities of effective professional development programs, the role of the teachers as active DOI: 10.4018/978-1-7998-7294-8.ch007

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agents of change has been widely acknowledged. It is not only that teachers are now perceived as key initiators of change, but also they are “often the preferred source of ideas for other teachers” (Fullan, 2007, p. 75). Thus, collegiality, in other words, teacher interaction/collaboration in the form of mutual support is seen as a strong determinant of educational change (Fullan, 2007). This purposeful interaction in the form of sharing and jointly developing teaching/learning processes calls for Lave and Wenger’s (1991) notion of legitimate peripheral participation, a framework that explores the multiple identities and levels of participation in a community of practice. Since the mid-1990s, teacher communities of practice and professional learning communities have been two important concepts explored to see the extent to which they facilitate teacher learning, professional development, and school improvement at large (Liu & Xu, 2013). As McLaughlin and Talbert (2001) indicate, “a collaborative community of practice in which teachers share instructional resources and reflections in practice appears essential to their persistence and success in innovating classroom practice” (p. 22). In that sense, teachers are no longer consumers of knowledge but reflective practitioners whose theories and practices benefit each other (Kumaravadivelu, 2003). In such a framework where teachers are at the center of educational change, teacher professional identity is an important concept to be discussed as it encompasses teachers’ beliefs, roles, practices as well as motivation and commitment to change. In this chapter, we will review the literature on teacher professional identity in relation to communities of practice, imagined identity, and imagined communities. Various definitions of emotions and tensions as well as their roles in teacher professional identity construction will be presented and relevant studies on teacher identity construction, emotions and tensions will be discussed.

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THE PROCESS OF IDENTITY (RE)CONSTRUCTION Identity has gained importance in many fields as an analytical tool to understand human-behaviors in general, and teaching and learning processes particularly in education. According to Gee (2000), the concept of identity refers to “being recognized as a certain kind of person in a given context” (p. 1). Thus, identity should be evaluated in relation to particular contexts rather than described through fixed attributes such as gender, race and social group. Li (2011) emphasizes the role of context in identity construction as it “reflects how individuals see themselves and how they enact their roles within different settings” (p. 5). Adams and Marshall (1996) also state that interactions with the other members in one context have an impact on the understanding of identity, thus each context creates its own impact on identity construction. Based on the perception of identity as a fluid and unstable construct depended on context and shaped by interaction with others, identity (re)construction is seen as a dynamic process changing from one context to another, and even leading individuals to develop more than one identity in one particular context (Danielewicz, 2001; Gee, 2000). Bullough (2005) also highlights that “identity formation is not a passive but a dynamic affair, that involves a giving and a withholding which simultaneously alters oneself and one’s context, with the result that alternative identities may form” (p. 146). Gee (2000) presents these multiple, but interrelated identities as follows. The first way of viewing identity, nature-identity, is related to the internal state or a fixed attribute of a person, which is independent from an individual effort. People acquire such identities without any efforts such as being a twin (Gee, 2000). The second perspective, institutional perspective is perceived 105

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Table 1. Four ways to view identity Process

Power

Source of Power

Nature-Identity: a state

developed

from forces

in nature

Institution-Identity: a position

authorized

by authorities

within institutions

Discourse-Identity: an individual trait

recognized in

the discourse/ dialogue

of/with “rational” individuals

Affinity-Identity: experiences

shared in

the practice

of “affinity groups”

(Adopted from Gee, 2000, p. 3)

as a type of identity which is owned through authorities’ decision about a person’s position such as being recognized as a teacher or an academic in an institution (Gee, 2000). The third perspective is discourse-identity, which emerges in one’s conversations with his/her acquaintances whose interpretations or perceptions influence one’s own perception of his/her identity (Gee, 2000). As the last perspective, affinity-identity is formed by social enterprises in “affinity-groups” (Gee, 2000, p. 12). According to Danielewicz (2001), different identities are constructed as a result of internal (selfevaluation) and external (other people’s evaluation) processes, which occur after an active engagement in a wide variety of discourses. These processes occur unsystematically, but in a way that inform each other to develop one’s identity (Danielewicz, 2001). Adams and Marshall (1996) also propose that identity is the naturally-met requirement of being a human as everyone wants to feel different from others. However, this identity formation is not a one-way process because people and the other living systems in their social environment mutually construct their identities and shift their natures accordingly (Adams & Marshall, 1996). Before moving on to the next section, we would like to sum up the few points emerging from the socially-constructed definitions of identity mentioned above:

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1. Identity (re)construction is an evolving or changing process dependent on contexts and social relationships, and 2. One’s identity (re)construction should be evaluated in regards to its social functions as identities are co-constructed and exist beyond the boundaries of self.

COMMUNITIES OF PRACTICE: IMAGINED COMMUNITIES AND IMAGINED IDENTITIES As we discussed so far, identity (re)construction is a relevant process for any social practices that take place within a community of practice (Wenger, 2010). More specifically, as people engage in the social activities of their communities, they construct and reconstruct their identity (Wenger, 1999). There are two dimensions of our belonging to communities of practice, participation and nonparticipation, both of which contribute to the identity construction (Wenger, 1999). Participation, in that sense, refers to “the social experience of living in the world in terms of membership in social communities and active

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involvement in social enterprises” (Wenger, 1999, p. 55). On the other hand, ‘nonparticipation’ is also relevant to identity construction as Wenger (1999) states: We not only produce our identities through the practices we engage in, but we also define ourselves through practices we do not engage in. Our identities are constituted not only by what we are but also by what we are not. To the extent that we can come in contact with other ways of being, what we are not can even become a large part of how we define ourselves. (p. 164) According to Wenger (1999, 2010), as people engage in communities of practices, they develop relationships of identification as a way to make sense of both the social system and their position across the whole system. These three modes of identification (i.e., modes of belonging) to a community of practice can be named as engagement, imagination, and alignment. Engagement is a process of “active involvement in mutual processes of negotiation of meaning” (Wenger, 1999, p. 173), that is, an actual experience in practice. Imagination is the construction of an identity no matter if one actively engages in social practices or not, that is, beyond the boundaries of engagement. As the last mode, alignment refers to the accommodation of one’s engaged practices to the nature of the community of practice (Wenger, 1999). In other words, people can engage in activities within a community of practice; however, their practices should align with the existing practices within the community. Drawing from Wenger (1999), Kanno and Norton (2003) discuss the notion ‘imagined communities’ referring to “groups of people, not immediately tangible and accessible, with whom we connect through the power of the imagination” (p. 241). Both language teachers and learners, in that sense, can construct an imagined identity through their practices targeting an imagined community, and thereof; develop a higher investment for the target language and a sense of belonging to the target language culture (Pavlenko & Norton, 2007).

PROFESSIONAL TEACHER IDENTITY CONSTRUCTION

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As the focus of many studies (e.g., Beijaard, Meijer & Verloop, 2004; Flores & Day, 2006; Lasky, 2005; Sutherland, Howard & Markauskaite, 2010; Wilkins, Busher, Kakos, Mohamed & Smith, 2012), teacher professional identity refers to “how teachers define themselves to themselves and to others” (Lasky, 2005, p. 901). In most studies, teacher identity is defined as a continuous process of negotiating between one’s personal self with one’s professional self when becoming a teacher (Beijaard et al., 2004). Based on their review of contemporary conceptions of self and identity, Rodgers and Scott (2008) highlight four aspects of identity formation. These are; 1. That identity is dependent upon and formed within multiple contexts which bring social, cultural, political, and historical forces to bear upon that formation; 2. That identity is formed in relationship with others and involves emotions; 3. That identity is shifting, unstable, and multiple; and, 4. That identity involves the construction and reconstruction of meaning through stories over time. (p. 733)

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While the concept of identity was intensively examined by the researchers in psychology and philosophy in the 20th century, teacher identity has emerged as a new research interest in second language teacher education in the last decade (Beijaard et al., 2004). Thus, language teacher education lacks sufficient knowledge in terms of teacher identity construction which provides information about teaching and learning processes for a variety of reasons (Beauchamp & Thomas, 2009; Olsen, 2008; Sachs, 2001). First, learning about the process of teacher identity construction gives insights into what teachers bring to the classroom with them, and how teaching practice is influenced by it. Furthermore, knowing about teacher identity not only sheds light on the meaning making processes of teachers in teacher education programs (Beauchamp & Thomas, 2009), but also informs teacher educators in terms of how novice teachers develop as a teacher and the challenges awaiting them in their new workplaces. Varghese, Morgan, Johnston and Johnson (2005) highlight the significance of investigating teacher identity as follows: From two different directions (sociopolitical and sociocultural dimensions), then, it became apparent that in order to understand language teaching and learning we need to understand teachers; and in order to understand teachers, we need to have a clearer sense of who they are: the professional, cultural, political, and individual identities which they claim or which are assigned to them. (p. 22) In that sense, we can talk about teacher identity construction within professional learning communities where the community provides a platform for professional development. However, constructing an identity is not an easy task since identity cannot be readily-adopted; on the contrary, it requires enhanced opportunities to effectively participate in social communication (Coldron & Smith, 1999). For clarity, teacher professional identity construction is bound to diverse factors such as social domains in which teachers can establish relationships with others by their own efforts or through socially-framed practices in professional learning communities. Zare-ee and Ghasedi (2014) list four categories of factors affecting teacher professional identity construction:

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These factors include historical factors related to personal experiences such as early childhood experiences or early teacher role models; sociological factors related to what surrounds a prospective teacher, what parents expect of her, or where she stands compared to a native speaker; psychological factors related to the significance of self-perception in TPI formation; and cultural factors related to (student) teachers’ perceptions and notions of professional community in their geography, of government policies, of language education policies, and of power and status issues. (p. 1993) To summarize, teachers’ professional identity construction is a complex, multi-faceted and sociallyconstructed phenomenon, and bound to various cultural, social, perceptional as well as affective issues such as emotions and tensions experienced within professional learning communities.

EMOTIONS IN TEACHERS’ PROFESSIONAL IDENTITY CONSTRUCTION The role of emotions on human behavior has been investigated in many fields in social sciences such as psychology, sociology, psychobiology, philosophy, anthropology, cultural studies or feminist studies. In parallel to this trend, in recent years, there has been a considerable amount of interest in examining educational settings from the perspective of emotions as well (Zembylas, 2003). The interest in research108

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ing emotional labor in teaching is twofold. First, teaching and learning not only involves “knowledge, cognition, and skill” (Hargreaves, 2001, p. 1056), but also “a considerable amount of emotional labour” (Schutz & Zembylas, 2009, p. 3). Second, the high number of teachers leaving their jobs, students’ poor performance and the poor quality of education in general not only lead to negative emotions experienced in educational settings (Schutz & Zeymblas, 2009) but also a result from them. According to Schutz, Hong, Cross and Osbon (2006), the term emotion refers to “socially constructed, personally enacted ways of being that emerge from conscious and/or unconscious judgments regarding perceived successes at attaining goals or maintaining standards or beliefs during transactions as part of social-historical contexts” (p. 344). In that sense, emotions are perceived as analytic tools for exploring teachers’ workplace and indicating how they cope with challenges, change, and their experiences at large (Kelchtermans, Ballet & Piot, 2009). According to O’Connor (2008), “the idea of identity refers to the means by which individuals reflexively and emotionally negotiate their own subjectivity” (p. 118). Thus, the role of emotions in teaching and teacher identity, and its effects on teachers’ personal lives have been examined by many researchers (e.g., Day & Leitch, 2001; Zembylas, 2005). The concept of identity and emotions are so intertwined that they reveal each other’s meanings both “on a conceptual and personal level” (Zembylas, 2003, p. 214). In other words, all factors influencing emotions are also relevant to the concept of identity to the same degree. Teacher emotions and the way teachers make sense of them become more evident in discourses with surrounding people; that is, emotions are continually (re)constructed with other emotions during interactions with other people (e.g., teachers, administrators, and students) in school settings. Zembylas (2003) explains the relationship between emotions and teacher professional identity as follows:

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Emotions find expressions in a series of multiple features, and they encounter other emotions and expressions that profoundly influence most aspects of a teacher’s professional life and growth. Teacher identity is largely a constituted outcome of this continuing dialogue with students, parents, and colleagues. (p. 223) It is this professional interaction with the members of their community of practice that leads teachers to reify their emotions in specific discourses. That’s why, different emotions may appear towards the same event or student in class for different teachers. The diversity in these feelings can stem from the socio-cultural context in which teachers’ reactions are shaped (Sutton & Wheatley, 2003). On the other hand, it is also suggested that there are some moments when almost all teachers react the same way. For example, positive emotions such as happiness and satisfaction are experienced upon seeing student progress, and pride and pleasure appear when visited by former students (Sutton & Wheatley, 2003). In terms of negative emotions, teachers feel frustrated and angry in response to students’ bad manners in class and violation of school rules (Sutton & Wheatley, 2003). Zembylas (2003) mentions two issues in relation to the role of emotions in teacher professional identity: 1. Apart from being relevant to personal traits or psychological aspects, emotions are also considered as political and social experiences as the outcome of the teaching occupation, and 2. Conventional dichotomies such as public/private and emotion/reason have a basis on political control and power relations.

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Therefore, emotions are not only personally constructed, but also shaped by the external sources such as cultural values, norms, social relationships and power relationships in different contexts (Zembylas, 2003). For example, the fact that teachers do not have a voice in determining the curricula, educational approaches, methods and techniques to be implemented after the state-mandated educational reform in the United States can lay the groundwork for negative emotions like anger and shame on teachers owing to the power relations in educational settings (Schutz et al., 2006). Thus, teachers’ feeling powerless or lack of control can lead to emotions of vulnerability, indicating the interplay between emotions and power relations (Schutz et al., 2006). In their study with student-teachers, Timoštšuk and Ugaste (2012) suggest that emotions have positive effects in promoting “problem-solving, objectivity and creativity in the choice of multiple instructional stages” (p. 431), and negative emotions like disappointment can be easily suppressed with the help of a continuous and strong emphasis on positive moments in one’s teaching practice. In short, emotions are not only an indispensable part of one’s identity but also play an important role in cognitive activities and teaching processes. As decision-making processes are directly related to emotions as well as power relations in professional communities (Zembylas, 2003), it is inevitable to examine the role of emotions in teachers’ decision-making processes and teaching practices when evaluating professional identity or a professional role (O’Connor, 2008).

TENSIONS IN TEACHERS’ PROFESSIONAL CONSTRUCTION Most teachers experience tensions in the process of their professional identity construction (Pillen, Beijaard, & Brok, 2013) especially if there is a dissonance with teachers’ personal wants, beliefs and the demands of the teaching profession, making professional identity construction a challenging process (Beijaard et al., 2004). According to Pillen, Brok and Beijaard (2013), professional identity tensions refer to:

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… internal struggles between aspects relevant to the teacher as a person and the teacher as a professional. Such tensions may challenge a teacher’s personal feelings, values, beliefs, or perceptions and, as a consequence, they are often not (easily) resolvable. (p. 86-87) Therefore, teachers’ attempts to balance their understanding of the occupation and the actual demands of the teaching profession can appear as professional identity tensions (Pillen et al., 2013). However, coping with tensions is not always easy since this dissonance “can lead to friction in teachers’ professional identity in cases in which the ‘personal’ and the ‘professional’ are too far removed from each other” (Beijaard et al., 2004). As far as novice teachers are concerned, coping with tensions seems more difficult as they may not be able to benefit from the tensions as part of their professional identity development, especially if there are not enough consultancies and guidance for them within their professional learning communities. In terms of novice teachers’ tensions in professional identity construction, Pillen et al. (2013) propose four more tensions along with nine tensions that have been already reported in the literature and group them under three themes. The list of all tensions according to their themes is presented in Table 2. Apart from the themes presented in Table 2, Pillen et al. (2013) have categorized their participants under six profiles: “teachers struggling with (views of) significant others, teachers with care-related tensions, teachers with responsibility-related tensions, moderately tense teachers, tension- free teach110

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Table 2. Three themes and corresponding professional identity tensions Theme

Tensions

2. The changing role from being a student to becoming a teacher

Feeling like a student versus being expected to act like an adult teacher (Fuller & Bown, 1975; Volkmann & Anderson, 1998) Wanting to care for students versus being expected to be tough (Fuller & Bown, 1975; Shapira-Lishchinsky, 2011; Volkmann & Anderson, 1998) Feeling incompetent of knowledge versus being expected to be an expert (Fuller & Bown, 1975; Katz & Raths, 1992; Volkmann & Anderson, 1998) Wanting to invest time in practising teaching versus feeling pressured to invest time in other tasks that are part of the teaching profession (Fuller & Bown, 1975; Kälvemark et al., 2004) Feeling treated like a student versus wanting to take responsibility as a teacher (Pillen et al., in press)* Feeling like a peer versus wanting to take responsibility as a teacher (Pillen et al., in press)*

5. Conflicts between desired and actual support given to students

Wanting to respect students’ integrity versus feeling the need to work against this integrity (Kälvemark et al., 2004; Shapira-Lishchinsky, 2011) Wanting to treat pupils as persons as a whole versus feeling the need to treat them as learners (or vice versa) (Berlak & Berlak, 1981) Experiencing difficulties in maintaining an emotional distance (Fuller & Bown, 1975; Veenman, 1984)

6. Conflicting conceptions of learning to teach

Experiencing conflicts between one’s own and others’ orientations regarding learning to teach (Alsup, 2006; Rajuan, Beijaard, & Verloop, 2007) Being exposed to contradictory institutional attitudes (Hatch, 1993; Olsen, 2010; Smagorinsky et al., 2004) Feeling dependent on a mentor (colleague/supervisor) versus wanting to go one’s own way in teaching (Pillen et al., in press)* Wanting to invest in a private life versus feeling pressured to spend time and energy on work (Pillen et al., in press)*

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*Tensions that were not found in the literature, but were mentioned by two or more of the interviewees.

ers, and troubled teachers” (p. 96). More specifically, they suggest that teachers’ belonging to one of the categories listed above may be dependent on the types of settings that they work in. For example, while most primary school teachers are reported as they had more care-related tensions; most of the troubled teachers were general secondary school teachers in their study. Therefore, they have suggested using these profiles as an analytic tool to examine tensions in teachers’ professional identity construction (Pillen et al., 2013). On the other hand, tensions are not totally considered as negative since prospective teachers’ various tensions can function as a trigger to construct a better identity (Alsup, 2006). Therefore, tensions can be one of the constructive components of teacher identity construction as a result of its stimulating function. However, there is a need for “a mentorship or support for negotiating the dissonance” (Alsup, 2006, p. 183) when tensions are too powerful to cope with. For example, tensions can be beneficial at times as they help gain important teaching skills such as classroom-management or lesson planning (Smagorinsky, 2004). On the other hand, too many tensions between the imagined teacher identity and the demands of real practices of teaching profession can cause negative emotions in the workplace, thus decrementing the process of professional identity construction.

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DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION In this chapter, we have presented the concept of identity along with its various definitions. Then, identity has been related to communities of practice, imagined communities and imagined identities. Next, teacher professional identity, emotions and tensions have been defined, and their relevance to teacher professional identity construction has been presented. Furthermore, studies on teachers’ professional identity construction and the role of emotions and tensions in this process have been provided. The research on teacher professional identity mostly focused on the process of teacher professional identity formation, the characteristics of teacher professional identity according to the teachers themselves as well as the researchers, and the representation of professional identity through teacher narratives in written and spoken discourse (Beijaard et al., 2004). However, there is much to explore in teachers’ tensions and emotions regarding the issues between teacher cognition, and personal and professional sides of teacher identity (Day & Leitch, 2001). Professional learning communities and in-service teacher educators should be informed about teacher emotions and tensions to provide support for both novice and experienced teachers as negative emotions and tensions can lead to destructive effects such as teacher dropouts in teacher training or even quitting their jobs (Pillen et al., 2013). We also suggest that teacher professional identity construction should be studied in relation to tensions and emotions experienced in professional learning communities through interviews and journals in a longitudinal design so that we can gain better insights into teacher professional development.

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Sutherland, L., Howard, S., & Markauskaite, L. (2010). Professional identity creation: Examining the development of beginning pre-service teachers understanding of their work as teachers. Teaching and Teacher Education, 26(3), 455–465. doi:10.1016/j.tate.2009.06.006 Sutton, R. E., & Wheatley, K. F. (2003). Teachers emotions and teaching: A review of the literature and directions for future research. Educational Psychology Review, 15(4), 327–358. doi:10.1023/A:1026131715856 Timoštšuk, I., & Ugaste, A. (2012). The role of emotions in student teachers professional identity. European Journal of Teacher Education, 35(4), 421–433. doi:10.1080/02619768.2012.662637 Varghese, M., Morgan, B., Johnston, B., & Johnson, K. A. (2005). Theorizing language teacher identity: Three perspectives and beyond. Journal of Language, Identity, and Education, 4(1), 21–44. doi:10.120715327701jlie0401_2

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Wenger, E. (1999). Communities of practice: Learning, meaning, and identity. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. Wenger, E. (2010). Communities of practice and social learning systems: The career of a concept. In C. Blackmore (Ed.), Social learning systems and communities of practice (pp. 179–198). London: Springer. doi:10.1007/978-1-84996-133-2_11 Wilkins, C., Busher, H., Kakos, M., Mohamed, C., & Smith, J. (2012). Crossing borders: New teachers co-constructing professional identity in performative times. Professional Development in Education, 38(1), 65–77. doi:10.1080/19415257.2011.587883 Zare-ee, A., & Ghasedi, F. (2014). Professional identity construction issues in becoming an English teacher. Procedia: Social and Behavioral Sciences, 98, 1991–1995. doi:10.1016/j.sbspro.2014.03.633 Zembylas, M. (2003). Emotional teacher identity: A post structural perspective. Teachers and Teaching: Theory and Practice, 9(3), 213–238. doi:10.1080/13540600309378 Zembylas, M. (2005). Teaching with emotion: A postmodern enactment. Greenwich, CT: Information Age Publishing.

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This work was previously published in Facilitating In-Service Teacher Training for Professional Development; pages 86-97, copyright year 2017 by Information Science Reference (an imprint of IGI Global).

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Chapter 8

Collaborative Approaches for Communities of Practice Activities Enrichment Ziska Fields https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5353-1807 University of Johannesburg, South Africa Sulaiman Olusegun Atiku https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9364-3774 Namibia University of Science and Technology, Namibia

ABSTRACT This chapter explores the role of communities of practice (CoPs) in knowledge management (KM) and how various collaborative practices can be used to enrich the activities of CoPs in organisations. The objectives of the chapter are frstly to defne and explain the role of CoPs as a form of social and team networks in KM, secondly to identify the role and importance of collaborative approaches, specifcally focusing on collective learning, creativity, innovation and problem-solving in CoPs and how these impact on the KM process, and thirdly to make recommendations to enhance the collaborative approaches to ultimately enrich the activities of CoPs in a digital age in organisations. Recommendations are made that management needs to support the forming and activities of CoPs in KM strategies, and that a suitable organisational structure and culture are needed to stimulate and support collaborative approaches to enrich the activities of CoPs.

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INTRODUCTION The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD, 1996, p.7) defines knowledge-based economies as “economies which are directly based on the production, distribution and use of knowledge and information”. Powell and Snellman (2004) explain that a knowledge economy uses knowledge-intensive activities, there is a greater reliance on intellectual capabilities, and it is critical to manage knowledge effectively and efficiently at various levels in society, especially at an organisational level. DOI: 10.4018/978-1-7998-7294-8.ch008

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Currently a technological revolution is taking place that is altering the way people live, work, and relate to one another (Schwab, 2016). The technologies that underpin the Fourth Industrial Revolution, also referred to as Industry 4.0, are having, and will be having, a major impact on organisations and are creating opportunities for generating and disseminating new forms of knowledge across organisations. Various organisations however do not fully understand what is required to create, manage, access and use knowledge to achieve organisational objectives (Williams, 2016). Yet, knowledge is a critical resource for organisations. Sir Francis Bacon declared, “Knowledge itself is power” in 1597 after he realized the importance of knowledge (QuoteHD, 2017, p.1) and Brooking (1999, p.18) added, “Knowledge is a business weapon”. It can be said that knowledge is an important source of competitive advantage in organisations and societies, especially the implementation of knowledge, which led to the development of knowledge economies. However, the full impact of the technological revolution on knowledge economies is not yet known, and should be considered when knowledge is generated and disseminated in organisations specifically. Knowledge management (KM) has its roots in a number of different disciplines, which include Information Science, Management Science, Computer Science, Economics, Sociology, Human Resource Management, Philosophy, and Psychology (Jashapara, 2011). Definitions of KM are also developed based on these different roots, which gives the concept of KM a multidisciplinary nature. Kamhawi (2012), states that KM is a multidisciplinary concept that can increase intellectual capital and enhance organizational performance. For this chapter, KM can be defined as the “organization’s knowledge creation and conversion mechanisms; organizational memory and retrieval facilities; organizational learning; and organizational culture” (Frost, 2012, p.1). According to Saito (2015), KM refers to the capability of an organisation to deliver a competitive advantage due to the origin and nature of the organisation’s processed information, as well as its knowledge transfer and sharing processes that reconstruct and recombine knowledge. Saito (2015) explains further that various information and communication technologies need to be used to support these processes from a managerial, innovative and learning perspective. In addition to the complexity of the concept of KM, the thinking in most organisations has been that knowledge is only of value if it adds to the bottom line and business leaders expect that the acquisition of the right knowledge should produce benefits immediately (Murray, 2002). The benefits can only materialize if business leaders focus on and take ownership of KM initiatives; if they do not rely on technology only; and if they create proper structures and strategies to capitalize on knowledge assets. However, it is important to take note of the fact that knowledge in the Fourth Industrial Revolution is no longer the main source of a competitive advantage for organisations due to the development of intelligent machines and artificial intelligence (Seidman, 2014). The development of intelligent machines and artificial intelligence is and will lead to high automation that will rapidly alter the ways people interact, work and share information (World Economic Forum, 2017). There are organizations that are changing their thinking about knowledge, human capital and KM as drivers of the future (Botha, 2007). These organisations are realizing that human creativity, passion, character, and its collaborative spirit cannot be fully programmed into software yet, which can make these the sources of competitive advantage and superiority in the fourth industrial revolution. This realization makes this chapter important because knowledge production, transfer and sharing will still be important if it can be linked to what makes humans special – their collective creativity and innovation to learn, generate and share knowledge and their collaborative efforts to solve problems. The main aim of this chapter is to explain how collaborative approaches can enrich the activities of CoPs in KM to create a competitive advantage focusing on innovative knowledge products. To achieve the main aim of this chapter, three objectives were identified, namely: 117

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• • •

To defne and explain the role of CoPs as a form of social and team networks in KM; To identify the role and importance of collaborative approaches, specifcally focusing on collective learning, creativity, innovation and problem-solving in CoPs and how these impact on the KM process, and To make recommendations to enhance the collaborative approaches to enrich the activities of CoPs in a digital age in organisations.

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BACKGROUND This chapter’s background starts with the introduction of the World Wide Web (WWW) in the mid-1990s as it created a worldwide repository of knowledge and enhanced connectivity to generate, find, select, store, measure, manage, protect, sell and share knowledge. This innovative technological development affected the world to such an extent that people need to constantly improve human machine interfaces to enhance the effectiveness and efficiency of communication and sharing information (Botha, 2007). Today the impact of the WWW and machine intelligence have grown to such an extent that a new industrial era has been created - the Fourth Industrial Revolution, also referred to as Industry 4.0. This has led to the integration of machine-based information processing and living organisms to enable knowledge exchange between the human body and machines in a sensory experience. Computers are starting to access the human mind and soon humans will be sharing information and knowledge with fellow humans and non-human thought co-processors (Botha, 2007). Artificial intelligence (AI) techniques and heuristic methods (for example machine learning, data mining, cluster analysis, pattern recognition) are growing and enabling better problem solving and knowledge discovery. The concept of AI is however still poorly suited for creativity, planning, “cross-domain” thinking, and aspects where human interaction are needed (Lee, 2017). So what does this mean then for KM? Knowledge is the most valuable asset that humans have and plays a key role in the development and advancement of humankind. The WWW, machine learning and AI for example are changing the way humans collect, share and manage knowledge, as well as how technology are used in knowledge management. New ways need to be explored to still provide humans and organizations with a competitive edge over technological developments like AI. KM has been described as a key driver of organisational performance (Bosua & Venkitachalam, 2013). Kamhawi (2012), states that KM is one of the most important resources for the survival and prosperity of organizations. The focus of KM is to “connect people, processes, and technology for the purpose of leveraging knowledge” according to Omotayo (2015:3). KM is also used as a synonym for the “management of work practices” which improves the sharing of knowledge in an organization (Nonaka et al., 1996 cited in Liao, Chuang & To, 2011:728). Skyrme (2001) cited in López-Nicolás and Mero˜no-Cerdán (2011:502) defines knowledge management (KM) as “the explicit and systematic management of vital knowledge – and its associated processes of creation, organisation, diffusion, use and exploitation”. Information and Communication Technologies (ITCs) is seen as critical enablers and foundational elements of KM as ITCs facilitate collaboration between people and teams. From these definitions, KM is critical for organizational effectiveness, efficiency and survival, and links people, processes and technology together to create a competitive advantage by levering knowledge. An interdisciplinary and strategic perspective is required to manage the multidisciplinary nature of KM and its continuous cycle of knowledge creation, capture, evaluation, storage and sharing. Jashapara 118

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(2011, p.14) defines KM from this interdisciplinary perspective as “the effective learning processes associated with exploration, exploitation and sharing of human knowledge (tacit or explicit) that use appropriate technology and cultural environments that enhance an organization’s intellectual capital and performance”. Tacit knowledge is knowledge is found in the minds of people and based on a value system and is intuitive (Botha, 2007). Tacit knowledge is very important as it determines the knowledge used in creating solutions to problems. Explicit knowledge is revealed easily through verbalization and categorising knowledge, and can be codified in a knowledgebase (Botha, 2007). Figure 1 shows the various dimensions of KM as evident in Jashapara’s (2011) definition. From the figure, four key dimensions can be identified namely strategy, culture, organizational learning and systems and technology. Managers need to know what they want to achieve and understand the importance of intellectual capital when they develop organizational strategies. Managers also need to develop a culture that will enable knowledge sharing and trust. This can be done by focusing on change management interventions and implementing a culture that supports human interaction. Management also need to enable organizational learning where employees can explore, exploit and share knowledge. Using CoPs for example can enhance organizational learning. Finally, KM cannot be implemented successfully without suitable systems and technology. Figure 1. Dimensions of knowledge management

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Source: Jashapara (2011, p. 14).

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To manage knowledge effectively, especially in the Fourth Industrial Revolution where the complexity of knowledge increases, the understanding of critical knowledge functions is important. These knowledge functions include for example, knowledge of a particular job, who knows what in a company, how to get things done in an organization, the history and business customs, and how to approach a particular problem that is difficult to solve (Brooking, 1999). With these knowledge functions, other aspects are also important, namely human centred assets, the management of human capital and their knowledge in an organization, especially to avoid the use of outdated information and to capture tacit knowledge. Human centred assets are costly, however the investment is important, because these assets cannot be copied easily by competitors due to the uniqueness of each human asset in terms of their knowledge, experience, values and skills. The challenge for an organization is that it does not own its human centred assets (Brookings, 1999) and these assets often take their tacit knowledge with them when they leave. The strength of organizations is therefore in its people (Currier, 2010) and organizational leaders need to look for ways to manage the “temporariness” of these human centred assets (Brevis and Vrba, 2014, p.54). It is important to note that a lot of experts (human centred assets) in an organization does not guarantee that the organization will be successful, but rather the way in which these human centred assets’ competencies, capabilities and knowledge are utilized that will determine the success of an organization. It is also important that human centred assets be codified to enable an organization, with various knowledge owners, to own it as an infrastructure asset, for example a Knowledge Management System (KMS). This is not easy to do. To set knowledge in motion and to innovate more successfully requires that knowledge owners collaborate with other knowledge owners to create novel and usable knowledge and value to customers by learning together (Wenger-Trayner & Wenger-Trayner, 2015). The collaboration process is a practice (referred to a CoP) that requires the constant flow of idea generation, idea and information evaluation, learning, social and virtual knowledge networks, as well as specific tools to ensure that knowledge becomes a catalyst for change and innovation (Omotayo, 2015). CoPs access and utilise the tacit knowledge embedded within the minds of organizational members (Jashapara, 2011). This enables greater organizational and collaborative learning in the KM process, because CoP are formed due to the concern or passion for a topic that members share to enhance their knowledge of the topic. For this reason, the focus of this chapter is to explore CoPs as collective sources of knowledge to create a competitive advantage focusing on the members’ collective learning, creativity, innovation and problem solving. According to Gibbons (1998) cited in Botha (2007:28), knowledge production refers to “a complexity of ideas, methods, values and norms that controls the diffusion of the structure of specialisation to more and more fields of enquiry and ensure their compliance with what is considered sound scientific practice”. This chapter focuses on generating ideas through creativity, because the basis of successful knowledge generation and transfer lies in generating good ideas (Botha, 2007; Johannesson, 2008; Liao & Wu, 2009). Botha (2007:28) explained that “a new mode of knowledge production is trans-disciplinary and has the following characteristics where knowledge is produced in the context of application; the trans-disciplinary mode; in an environment where heterogeneity and organizational diversity dominate; in the context of enhanced social accountability; and is evaluated against a more broadly based system of quality control”. This explanation of the new mode of knowledge production seems to still be relevant today because knowledge generation and innovation mostly occur where people with specific specialised knowledge are confronted to share knowledge outside their domains of their own disciplines. KM needs to deal with these multidisciplinary environments and ensure that organizations obtain the value from the knowledge transfer processes. This chapter therefore describes team knowledge of communities of 120

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practice (CoPs), as it links to the fact that people with specific specialised knowledge need to share their knowledge inside and outside their domains due to the multidisciplinary environments organizations are exposed to. In addition, according to Tovar (2016), it is difficult in the volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous (VUCA) global environment to predict the future, in addition people and organizations are exposed to huge amounts of information and interconnectivity never experienced before. He indicates that this will require that leaders’ change their mind-sets and examine critically how those organizations collect and share information and knowledge.

COMMUNITIES OF PRACTICE IN KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT Humans and organizations have to network with each other to enable greater understanding and sensitivity for what is going on in communities and organizations. Botha (2007) uses the social structure of elephants to explain this team network. Botha (2007, p.144) explains that elephants often “operate in small groups that have co-existed over a period of time and, through extensive communication, have developed a common sense of purpose and a desire to share survival-related knowledge and experience. Elephants communicate over long distances using ultrasound. They are always aware of what others in the herd are doing and even the old bulls that do not walk with the herd anymore are connected over distance”. This sensitivity and deep understanding of the context of knowledge can be used effectively in the creation and management of team networks like CoPs. Before explaining what CoPs entail, it is important to first highlight ‘community’ as a concept. Simon (2015) defines a community by place (geography), by attribute (identity), and by passion (affinity). Verwey (2016) describes a community as a group of people with common interests and explains that their interactions and behaviours are often actions based on shared expectations, values, beliefs and meanings. To explain the concept further, Verwey (2016, pp. 36-38) developed a table to indicate the various characteristics of a community (see Table 1). Table 1. Community characteristics

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Characteristics

Description

A community has fuzzy boundaries

When an identified community is a company, its boundaries appear to be simple at first because the pattern of human interaction consists only of the relationship between the members of that organisation. However, people in the organisation also interact with people outside the company, which makes the boundary of that company less precise.

Communities can be within communities

Companies usually consist of different divisions, departments or functions, and may even have parts that are situated in different countries.

Communities move

The community residents may be physically mobile or virtual workers.

A community is more than the sum of the parts

The community has a life of its own that goes beyond the sum of the lives of all its residents. All the social or cultural elements of a community, from its technology to its shared beliefs, are transmitted and stored by symbols.

A community is a superorganism or system

A community is like a super-organic organism built up by learned ideas, expectations and behaviour of human beings. The organism lives and functions even though its members come and go. An individual is subject to a different set of forces than the community where he or she lives.

Communities are not homogenous

Communities are full of factions, struggles and conflicts, based upon differences in gender, religion, and access to wealth, ethnicity, class, educational levels, income, ownership of capital, and language.

Source: Verwey (2016, pp. 37-38).

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Table 1 shows that a community is actually a “cultural organism” because a community consists of interrelated and cultural interdependent dimensions (Verwey, 2016, p. 39-42), as explained below: • • • • • •

The technological dimension refers to its capital, tools, skills and ways of dealing with the physical environment. The economic dimension indicates the various ways and means of production and allocation of scarce and useful goods and services. The political dimension shows the various ways and means of allocating power, infuence and decision-making. The institutional dimension refers to the ways in which people act, interact and react, and how these people expect others to act and interact. The aesthetic values dimension focuses on the structure of ideas that people have about good and bad, right and wrong that justify how people explain their actions and show that their actions are based on their social values and upbringing. The belief-conceptual dimension is another structure of ideas that people have about the world and their role in the world, as well as shared beliefs about how this universe came to be, how it operates and what is reality.

From the above, it can be said that a community is a group of people who shares knowledge and learn from each other, which links it well to the concept of communities of practice (CoPs) as a form of team networks and team knowledge.

Communities of Practice as a Form of Social and Team Networks

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Communities of practice vary in forms and can be small or large, local or global, interact face-to-face or online, exist within an organisation or come from various organisations, and are either formally recognised and supported with a budget or completely informal and even invisible (Wenger-Trayner & Wenger-Trayner, 2015). Wenger (2000, p. 229) describes a CoP as “the basic building blocks of a social learning system because they are the social ‘containers’ of the competences that make up such a system”. Jashapara (2011) defines a CoP as people who share a concern or a passion for a topic and want to enhance their knowledge in the area by interacting with other like-minded or experienced people on an ongoing basis. Resnick and Mejia (2007) further explain that a CoP is an application of social networks where groups of people within a common professional domain and geographically dispersed connect, learn, collaborate and share knowledge. Wenger and Snyder (2002, cited in Jashapara, 2011) explains the characteristics of a CoP as follows: • • • • •

It is an informal grouping. The purpose is to develop members’ capability and to build and exchange knowledge. The members select themselves. The passion, commitment and identifcation with the group expertise hold the group together. It lasts as long as there is interest in maintaining the group.

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Wenger-Trayner and Wenger-Trayner (2015) summarise the characteristics of a CoP as the domain, the community and the practice. A CoP has a shared domain of interest, a commitment to the specific domain, and shared competence that distinguishes members from other people (Wenger-Trayner & Wenger-Trayner, 2015). Members of a CoP value their collective competence and learn from each other in this shared domain. A community is created when members (also known as practitioners) engage in joint activities and discussions on an ongoing basis (Eckert, 2006). They build relationships that enable them to learn from each other, although they do not necessarily work together on a daily basis. They also develop a shared repertoire of resources (which can be referred to as a shared practice) over time, which include their experiences, stories, tools, and ways of addressing recurring problems (WengerTrayner & Wenger-Trayner, 2015). It is the combination of these three characteristics equally that forms and enriches the CoP. The members develop their practice through a variety of activities, which are highlighted in Table 2. Table 2. Activities of communities of practice Activities

Examples of Questions Asked During Activities

Problem solving

“Can we work on this design and brainstorm some ideas? I’m stuck.”

Requests for information

“Where can I find the information?”

Seeking experience

“Has anyone dealt with a similar issue? Who has knowledge about this issue?”

Reusing assets

“I have a proposal I wrote for a client last year. I can send it to you and you can easily tweak it for this new client.”

Coordination and strategy

“Can we combine our efforts to achieve a better result?”

Building an argument

“How do people in other countries do this? Armed with this information it will be easier to convince my managers to make some changes.”

Growing confidence

“Before I do it, I’ll run it through my community first to see what they think.”

Discussing developments

“What do you think of the new system? Does it really help?”

Documenting projects

“We have faced this problem five times now. Let us write it down once and for all.”

Visits

“Can we come and see your operation/ programme? We need to establish one in our organisation.”

Mapping knowledge and identifying gaps

“Who knows what, and what are we missing? What other groups should we connect with?”

Source: Wenger-Trayner & Wenger-Trayner (2015, p. 1).

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Serrat (2014, p. 7) adds the following characteristics of a CoP to those put forward by Wenger-Trayner and Wenger-Trayner (2015): • • •

Structure, which refers to formal and informal relationships and the crosslink between organisational units and organisations; Mandate, which defnes the sector or thematic focus of a CoP due to resource implications and the self-commitment by members; and Motivation, which indicates the personal interest and priority that members assign to the CoP daily.

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Eckert (2006) accentuates that two conditions of CoPs are crucial in its meaning, namely (1) the shared experience over time, and (2) a commitment to shared understanding. Eckert (2006) further explains that the participants collaborate in placing themselves as a group with respect to the world around them, their common interpretation of other communities, and of their own practice with respect to those communities. Resnick and Mejia (2007, p. 1714) see CoPs as social networks which are “groups of people within a common professional domain, often supported through a company Intranet, to facilitate fluid communication and collaboration of geographically dispersed professionals”. They explain that CoPs provide an opportunity for like-minded professionals to communicate, share best practices, and collaborate, which increases the productivity of knowledge workers and achieves effective distributed cognition and enhanced collaboration. From the above descriptions of CoPs, the value and link to KM become evident, which the World Bank supports, as its sees CoPs as the main component of a KM strategy (Jashapara, 2011). CoPs according to Botha (2007, p. 145), can help managers and organizations to: • • • • • •

Learn faster than the competition; Spread and develop better practices faster; Connect knowledge into self-organizing and knowledge sharing professional networks; Create and use web-based repositories containing proven and new approaches to problems; Foster cross-functional and cross-divisional collaboration; and Increase the ability of members to initiate and contribute to projects across organizational boundaries. In the next section, the structure, value and functions of CoPs are explained.

STRUCTURE, VALUE, AND FUNCTIONS OF COMMUNITIES OF PRACTICE The basic structure of a CoP, according to Serrat (2014), consists of a three parts. The first part is the core group that manages the CoP in terms of the agreed coordination mandate and provides administrative support to the CoP. The second part is the inner circle that serves as a steering committee and meets once or twice a year. The third part is the outer circle that welcomes and supports interested members and contributors. Figure 2 illustrates the basic process that takes place in a CoP (Veillette, 2012) which Botha (2007, p. 146) highlighted as the “evolutionary cycle” of a CoP. The process consists of the following activities:

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• • • •

Members spontaneously come together due to their common purpose, a declared or tacit need for more knowledge and shared passion. After the natural self-organizations take place, the community establishes itself as a physical community when members are co-located or a virtual community is created. Once the physical community is established, the CoP is formally recognized. The basic structure as explained by Serrat (2014) above is developed to ensure the wellbeing of members, the continuation of a CoP and to allow for new members and volunteers to be selected. Members start building trust in order to share tacit knowledge in the CoP. The sharing of tacit knowledge amongst members leads to the development of shared practice.

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• • •

The shared practice creates collective intelligence that becomes explicit knowledge, which enhances KM in organizations. CoPs can evolve and may even overlap among CoPs with similar interest felds or they may merge to form larger communities. CoPs mature and may be disbanded if the CoPs are no longer making valuable contributions or accomplished its purpose.

Figure 2. The process in a community of practice (CoP)

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Source: Veillette (2012, p.1).

A CoP has value for the members and their organisations in the short and long term (Serrat, 2014). For its members, the short-term value includes access to expertise that can help members with work challenges in a fun and meaningful way, and the long-term value includes personal development, professional identity, marketability, collaborative advantage, and reputation. For the organisation, the short-term value includes problem solving, knowledge sharing, reuse of resources, synergies across units, and functions that can save time, and the long-term value becomes evident in the organisation’s innovative capacity, the development of new strategies and strategic capabilities, retaining talent and keeping abreast of the VUCA environment. Other direct benefits that have been identified by Jashapara (2011) include the following: • •

The development of individuals as they get a sense of identity, confdence and trust through meeting like-minded individuals who share similar ideas and problems, which improve practice; The provision of forums to facilitate knowledge creation and knowledge sharing;

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• • • •

The development of the creativity of its members because they are allowed and encouraged to think diferently and to question the status quo; The integration of collective knowledge in the form of a collection of stories that incorporate the tacit knowledge of members; A focus on strategy, faster problem solving, professional skills development, transferring best practices, and refective practice; and The recruitment and retention of the best talent and expertise

In addition to the value and direct benefits of CoPs, Serrat (2014, p. 4) identified six functions of CoPs that enhance the KM processes in organisations: • • • • • •

Filtering information that is important for the practice; Amplifying ideas to make them more widely understood; Investing and providing the resources to enable members to carry out their activities; Convening in bringing diferent people and groups of people together; Community building by promoting and sustaining collective values and standards; and Learning and facilitation to help members to carry out their activities

To achieve the required structure, the value and fulfil a CoPs functions, care should be taken when a CoP is started and a fitness test should be conducted.

COLLECTIVE LEARNING AS A COLLOBORATIVE APPROACH TO ENRICH COMMUNITIES OF PRACTICE

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Organisational and collective learning is part of and necessary in KM processes in organizations. According to Bruton and White (2011), learning and knowledge are related and interconnected. These authors explain that learning involves the gathering of knowledge from various internal and external sources, and knowledge involves the insights and experiences gained from gathering and converting data into information. Knowledge can therefore either be explicit (written down as rules or guideline) or tacit (comes from experience and is internal to an individual). Doole and Lowe (2005) state that four organisational values are necessary for effective learning organisations: • • • •

A Commitment to Learning: The degree to which an organisation values and promotes learning; Open-Mindedness: The degree to which an organisation is willing to evaluate its practices and processes critically and its openness to new ideas and knowledge; A Shared and Motivating Vision: The organisational focus on learning, how this is communicated to create a sound understanding of the market and a competitive advantage; Intra-Organisational Knowledge Sharing: The sharing of collective knowledge and learning practices amongst diferent departments and extended partners

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In creating a learning organisation, an organisation needs to develop a comprehensive learning strategy, which integrates KM as part of the strategy. For an organisation to be successful, organisational learning should be used to formulate future strategies to ensure continuous improvement and new competitive paradigms. This is not easy, but important. Doole and Lowe (2005) explain that organisations develop their learning capabilities to sustain their competitive advantage over the long term. Due to their learning capabilities, organisations can minimise the impact of VUCA business threats, and develop rapid company responses to exploit emerging opportunities. This requires that managers make fundamental changes in the way they think and move away from the existing cultural paradigms. Their focus should be on developing knowledge sources and learning that cannot be copied or matched easily by competitors, and this consist of three stages: (1) gathering data and information; (2) transferring and sharing information through communication; and (3) enabling learning in the organisation (Bruton & White, 2011). Table 3 highlights what should happen at these three stages and the critical questions that should be asked at each stage. Table 3. Stages of organisational learning Stage

Gathering information

Transferring and sharing processes

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Enabling learning

Critical Questions

Implementation

Where are we now?

Internal factors and the organisation’s environment should be scanned to gather information about competitors, trends in technology, internal tasks, processes, skills, and resources. This will identify critical issues, which can then be monitored to determine the impact of the issues and the changes needed.

Where do we want to be?

The organisation should change its goals according to the information and learn from the information gathered to become better and more competitive.

Which information must be shared?

Free exchange of information across and between all levels and functions within the organisation should take place. The value of formal and informal networks where knowledge and information are shared should also be recognised.

Who will be responsible to share the information?

Organisational leadership should encourage free exchange by all, open dialogue and it should create a culture that encourages meaningful interaction.

How will information be shared?

Combining information from different sources is important as it leads to breakthroughs. Interconnectivity must be encouraged and projects should be left in plain sight to allow everyone to examine these projects and make suggestions. Communication channels must be fluid and personal types of communication must be used.

Is the information used effectively to meet the learning needs of the correct individual when needed?

Sharing the right information at the right place with the right person at the right time to make the right decision is vital. The focus should be on effective information sharing across the organisation.

When can people work on their ideas and application of information to the tasks they are to accomplish?

Time should be made available for people to work on their ideas and to apply their learning and knowledge gained. Time is needed for creativity and innovation.

Source: Adapted from Bruton and White (2011).

Learning is essential if managers and organisations want to remain competitive and sustainable. Table 4 is helpful to ensure that the right questions are asked and that certain activities need to be prioritised to ensure that organisational learning can take place. It is, however, necessary to explore the types of learning and how organisations can be structured for learning specifically as these have an impact on knowledge management.

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Types of Learning and Building Learning Organisations The type of learning used in organisations relates to whether the organisation obtains technology through internal innovation or external acquisition (Bruton & White, 2011). For example, according to Bruton and White (2011), the interpretive learning approach is used in innovative organisations that develop new technologies internally. The systematic learning approach is used in organisations that acquire technology externally through acquisitions or alliances. Doole and Lowe (2005) indicate that one should also consider signal learning where an organisation monitors its position in the global market to enable that the organisation adapts to and tests the appropriateness of its strategic decisions. They also indicate that 3R learning (reflect, re-evaluate and respond) occurs in anticipation of critical events occurring in the organisation’s markets. These approaches to learning, which are presented in Table 4 (note that these are not the only approaches and that there are many more), focus on the following five elements: (1) the nature of the information, (2) the primary goal, (3) actions to take, (4) what the organisation wants to learn and (5) the results of each approach. Most organisations emphasise one type of learning. Table 4. Learning types in organisations Characteristics Nature of Information Needs Primary Goal Actions to Take What the Organisation Wants to Learn

Results

Characteristics Nature of Information Needs Primary Goal Actions to Take What the Organisation Wants to Learn

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Results

Characteristics Nature of Information Needs

Interpretive/innovative learning approach Ambiguous, unknown, need more interaction Creating new knowledge and meaning Sense making, creative action, exploiting successes, and learning from failure Information that creates new knowledge Reduction of ambiguity and undertaking creative and innovative actions throughout the organisation Distribution of information to all levels in all directions Development of creative insights due to multiple viewpoints Looking at new ways to apply known information Systematic learning approach Uncertainty, search more for information that exists. Reducing uncertainty Collect data, analyse data, share information, and look for potential deviations. Information that indicates the reasons for acquisition are invalid A clearer understanding of how potential partners/ functional areas can integrate with each function in the organisation Specialists that understand potential synergies and problems associated with blending people, processes and resources to facilitate the adoption of best practices Setting a clear guideline with which to interpret the potential success if the acquisition of technology takes place Development of guidelines to ensure that lessons learnt remain useful in the near future and to periodically review the value of the knowledge in relation to the environment Signal learning approach Information that signals the likely changes and ambiguities in global markets

Primary Goal

Monitoring and maintaining a position in global markets

Action to Take

Use real-time indicators rather than the traditional lag indicators.

continues on following page

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Table 4. Continued What the Organisation Wants to Learn

Information that leads to the understanding of the indicators that should be monitored in the markets so the right signals can be picked up

Results

Control over the organisation’s delivery of its strategies Establishing control mechanisms to ensure objectives are achieved Development of mechanisms that justify investments made and that show how these add value to shareholder/owner value

Characteristics Nature of Information Needs Primary Goal

3R learning approach Information in anticipation of, or in response to, critical events occurring in an organisation’s markets Reinvention of the organisation

Actions to Take

Reflect on the demise of traditional markets, question status quo, develop new ways of looking at the VUCA environment, evaluate the new learning, and respond with newly developed strategic thinking.

What the Organisation Wants to Learn

New ways of competing to maintain their differentiated competitive advantage or guide the organisation towards strategic innovation

Results

Quicker response times due to advance knowledge of key events and flexibility to reconfigure operations and reallocate resources quickly Collaboration amongst employees Reduced impact of events in a turbulent environment

Source: Bruton and White (2011, p. 298) and adapted from Doole and Lowe (2005, pp. 34-39).

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The VUCA environment requires that organisations adapt quickly by observing and monitoring the environment and becoming learning organisations. Learning organisations continually improves through its capability to learn from its experiences and the willingness of employees to apply knowledge in making decisions or influencing others in the organisation (Kuratko, Morris, & Covin, 2011). Underlying the learning process is the organisation’s ability to find, organise, process, store, interpret, share and act on the information. Senge (cited in Brevis & Vrba, 2014, p. 19) identifies five new ‘competent technologies’ that are vital for building a learning organisation as it breaks free from bureaucratic thinking. Such thinking would enable managers to organise their organisations according to the requirements of the environment – an approach that is critical in this learning process. These ‘competent technologies’ of Senge are “systems thinking – looking for cyclical processes; personal mastery – commitment to lifelong learning; mental models – challenging deeply ingrained assumptions; shared vision – creating an aim with which employees can identify; and team learning – the fundamental learning units in modern organizations” (p. 19). According to Brevis and Vrba (2014, p. 20), in addition to these ‘competent technologies’, learning organisations should do the following: • • • •

Scan the external environment and pick up variations. Question, challenge and change operating standards and systems. Allow an appropriate strategic direction and pattern of organisation to emerge. Evolve designs that allow organisations to become skilled in the art of double-loop learning (the process of learning to learn that encourages a ‘double look’ at a situation by questioning the relevance of operating standards).

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If organisations are to learn and want to use learning and knowledge to improve future performance, a systematic effort to get and use facts in a social context is important. The problem is that most organisations do not have systematic methods to ensure learning. This can be due to key people leaving the organisation or being reassigned, for example (Kuratko, Morris, & Covin, 2011). CoPs can help organisations in these systematic efforts and create a suitable social context. McGrath (2001, cited in Kuratko, Morris & Covin, 2011, p.431) explains that highly innovative projects require high levels of exploration and teams, like CoPs, and should be given more autonomy in setting goals and in conducting operations. Group feedback is also important in the creation of systematic methods to ensure learning. Group feedback, for example in a CoP, can turn the negative effects of power differences into opportunities for learning. Learning gives an individual a social context of being an integrated part of a community. Learning and the creation of new knowledge therefore take place within the social context of a community (for example a CoP). Frost (2010) summarises the links between CoPs, learning and knowledge as follows: • • • • •

Learning is a social phenomenon. Knowledge is integrated into the culture, values, and language of the community. Learning and community membership are inseparable. People learn by doing and therefore knowledge and practice are inseparable. The best learning environments are created when there are real consequences to the individual and his/her CoP.

Therefore, learning, KM and CoPs are all important when organisations want to create a competitive advantage. In addition, creativity, innovation and problem solving also form part of the collaborative efforts in an organisation and are linked to learning, KM and CoPs.

COLLECTIVE CREATIVITY AND INNOVATION AS A COLLABORATIVE APPROACH TO ENRICH COMMUNITIES OF PRACTICE Collective learning, creativity, innovation and problem solving can be seen as a creative exchange (Fleischmann & Hutchinson, 2012) because multi-disciplinary and multi-industry perspectives that enhance the generation and evaluation of knowledge sources can be generated. Creative exchange fosters debate and dialogue amongst stakeholders while acknowledging the differences in culture, communities and industries.

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Collective Creativity and Innovation Botha (2007) states that generic objectives for the formation of CoPs include the creation of opportunities to share ideas amongst stakeholders and CoP members; to generate and harness new ideas and to accelerate innovation due to the CoP’s focus on commercialization. This means that creativity and innovation are part of the knowledge generation and transfer process. The challenge is often to know where ideas come from, how to constantly generate ideas, how to harness ideas, how to make ideas exploitable for organisations, and how to ensure that ideas are of high quality and quantity, as well as how these ideas add value to the business of the organisation. As explained earlier, creativity is and will become even

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more important in the Fourth Industrial Revolution and more focus needs to be placed on the concept. It is however important to first understand what creativity is. Fields and Bisschoff (2014) indicate that creativity is often misunderstood due to inconsistencies concerning the definition of creativity and various methodologies used to explain what creativity is. Irrespective of various views regarding creativity, it remains one of the greatest potential sources of competitive advantage in the Fourth Industrial Revolution (Amabile, 2011). Creativity, according to Sternberg (2006, cited in Hadzigeorgiou, Fokialis & Kabouropoulou, 2012) is due to the complex chemistry between intellectual abilities (i.e., problem finding, seeing problems in novel ways), domain-specific knowledge, personality traits (i.e., self-efficacy, risk-taking, a tolerance for ambiguity), motivation and the environment. This explanation clearly indicates the complexity of creativity and why it is still a challenge to programme creativity into machines. Survival of organisations in the modern economy is largely dependent on the creative capabilities of individuals and teams as collectives. Parjanen (2012) defines collective creativity as social interactions that lead to new discoveries, which would not be possible at an individual level. Collective creativity is greater than the sum of individual creativities. CoPs are “incubators of innovation” (Botha, 2007, p.149). Creativity needs to take place before innovation can occur. Innovation is the result of turning a creative idea into a product or service that customers will buy due to the value it creates. Innovation relies on the recombination of many existing patterns or solutions and produces new solutions, which offer more or a new value to customers. Collective innovation provides more and quicker opportunities for commercialization to take place. Collective creativity and innovation work best when people from diverse backgrounds and expertise contribute to implementing new ideas. Therefore, managing collective creativity and innovation can be very important in the KM efforts in organisations and can lead to breakthroughs in learning, thinking and problem solving in the Fourth Industrial Revolution specifically as well. Management support for team learning and knowledge sharing in CoPs make collective creativity possible that can lead to innovation. Findings from Bissola and Imperatori (2011) indicate that collective creativity and innovation is a function of group dynamics in CoPs, idea generation efforts and managerial resolutions. A learning culture that supports knowledge exchange through interactions within or between CoPs is crucial in collective creativity and innovation (Yoon, Song, Lim, & Joo, 2010). Technology plays an important role in generating and storing the collaborative intelligence amongst work groups (CoPs) that are geographically dispersed (Faraj, Jarvenpaa & Majchrzak, 2011). Collective creativity in organisations and CoPs specifically, according to Articles (n.d.), enhances interpersonal relationships and team efficiency, increases workplace engagement and interaction, as well as workplace problem solving and productivity. Collective creativity and innovation therefore has important roles to play in KM and CoPs and help to find creative and innovative solutions to problems. Collective creativity and innovation requires horizontal and vertical communication and CoPs help to support the exchange process (Gong, Kim, Lee, & Zhu, 2013). A CoP’s team activity and the ways knowledge is stored and retrieved are some of the important elements in building team creativity and innovation.

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COLLECTIVE PROBLEM SOLVING AND ITS ROLE IN KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT AND COMMUNITIES OF PRACTICE Fisher (n.d.) explains that the term ‘communities of interest’ refers to a collective concern to resolve complex problems and this concern brings together stakeholders from different CoPs. These complex problems are often difficult to solve when traditional problem-solving processes are used and are referred to as ‘wicked problems’, according to Camillus (2008). Wicked problems have ten properties that distinguish them from hard, but ordinary problems (Rittel & Ebber, 1973, cited in Camillus, 2008, p. 3-4): • • • • • • • • •

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•

It is not possible to write a well-defned statement of the problem. The search for solutions never stops. Choosing a solution to a wicked problem is a matter of judgment. There is no test of a solution to a wicked problem as solutions can generate unexpected consequences and these consequences make it difcult to measure their efectiveness. Solutions to wicked problems have consequences that cannot be undone. Wicked problems do not have an exhaustively describable set of potential solutions, nor is there a well-described set of permissible operations that may be incorporated into the plan. Every wicked problem is essentially unique and is substantially without precedent; experience does not help you address it. Every wicked problem can be considered a symptom of another problem. A wicked problem involves many stakeholders, who all will have diferent ideas about what the problem really is and what its causes are. Problem solvers dealing with a wicked issue are held liable for the consequences of any actions they take, because those actions will have such a large impact and are hard to justify.

Wicked problems therefore require CoPs to explore these problems and to find suitable ways to resolve them due to their collaborative passion and expertise to do so. According to Hong and Page (2004, p. 16385), a problem-solving team from a diverse population randomly selected (like a CoP) outperforms a team comprised of the best-performing agents in efforts to solve wicked problems. CoPs help people and organisations to solve wicked problems through collaborative knowledge creation, organisational and collaborative learning, and collective creativity and innovation. Organisational and collaborative learning is especially critical in solving wicked problems and plays an important role in strategic thinking. Collaborative problem solving starts with the documentation of interchange content and objectives by verifying customers’ current/future needs and developing sustainable models in line with the global requirements (Aarikka-Stenroos & Jaakkola, 2012; Kirschner, Buckingham-Shum, & Carr, 2012). Collective problem solving sets the pace for CoPs’ discovery-driven learning in the act of creating collective intelligence (Hill, Brandeau, Truelove, & Lineback, 2014), which is key to new products or services development and KM. A general framework for collective problem solving has been identified by Whetten and Cameron (2016, pp. 343-344) and consists of six guidelines that can be used by CoPs to solve wicked problems: •

Determine the overarching goals frst to foster a climate of collaboration as members of the CoP focus on what they share in common and their mutual benefts involved. The question asked in this step is “What common goals support these discussions?”

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• • •

• •

Focus members’ attention on solving the problem as opposed to focusing on other members and or their positions. The question asked in this step is not focused on the person but should rather be something like, “That is an unreasonable position, don’t you think?” Focus on the members’ interests as problems are redefned to get to the heart of the other members’ needs their specifc positions. The facilitator can comment as follows in this step: “Help me understand why you advocate that position.” Generate creative solutions using various creative thinking techniques to try to generate as many options as possible to enhance collaboration. The facilitator needs to encourage participation and use the following statement: “Now that we better understand each other’s underlying concerns and objectives, let’s brainstorm ways to satisfy all our needs.” Shift thinking from “getting what I want” to “deciding what makes most sense” by using fairness and an open, reasonable attitude to evaluate alternatives. The question asked in this step is “What is a fair way to evaluate the merits of our arguments?” Defne success in terms of real gains rather than unrealised expectations by judging the value of the proposed solutions against reasonable standards. The question asked in this step is “Does this outcome constitute a meaningful improvement over current conditions?”

These guidelines can resolve interpersonal confrontations in a collaborative manner and support the four phases of collaborative problem solving: (1) identify the problem, (2) generate solutions to the problem, (3) formulate an action plan and obtain buy-in and agreement, and (4) implement the solution and review it to ensure that it solved the problem (Whetten & Cameron, 2016, p.344). It is important for CoPs to know how to approach a particular problem that is difficult to resolve. This type of knowledge comes with experience and confidence that the CoP can solve the problem even if the members do not currently understand how to do so. Brooking (1999) proposes that the psychometric abilities, analytical skills, knowing what type of knowledge is valuable, leadership, self-awareness and spiritual strength of members can enable CoPs to solve wicked problems.

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SOLUTIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS The value of collaboration through CoPs is derived through the cross sharing of knowledge and quick market intelligence, which enables CoPs and organisations to extract future trends (Botha, 2007). This value is important to ensure that organisations remain able to compete in an automated world where human collective learning, creativity, innovation and problem solving become a source of competitive advantage. The focus of this section is on how KM, CoPs, and collaborative approaches can be managed in organisations to enhance human interaction, creativity and cross-domain thinking that cannot be programmed into computers. This section will focus on the following recommendation areas:

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Overcoming Barriers to KM Boyes (2016) identified barriers that impact on effective knowledge sharing and transfer in organisations that hampers the effective use of KM. These barriers are: • • • • • • • • •

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•

The lack of trust among individuals; The lack of rewards; A culture of high power distance, low individualism, higher masculinity, and high uncertainty avoidance; A heavy workload; A lack of and change in technology and social web tools; A lack of top management support, poor leadership and a lack of organisational commitment; The degree to which employees feel obliged to the organisation and the inability of an individual to exploit and external sources of knowledge; The lack of resources; The absence of discussion boards and socialization among colleagues, as well as coordination and fnally; Ambiguity and uncertainty in the workplace.

These barriers often prevent creative and innovative knowledge products reaching the marketplace. To overcome these barriers, managers and knowledge workers need to be aware that they need to build trust in the organisation first. Trust does not happen overnight and is earned over time. Open communication can be a good starting point to develop trust in an organisation. People are also not always willing to share their knowledge due to various reasons. Organisations need to recognize peoples’ fears that if they share their knowledge they will lose their influence and power. Some people also paid a lot of money and made many sacrifices to obtain certain types of knowledge, which could make them very protective over the knowledge that they have. If people do not see the value for sharing their knowledge in tangible and intangible benefits, organisations can struggle to access the tacit knowledge of its people. Providing rewards when people share their tacit knowledge and expertise to develop others can be used as a way motivate people to share their knowledge. Organisations need to be aware that organisational cultures can hamper any effort to access and manage knowledge. A culture of high power distance, low individualism, higher masculinity, and high uncertainty avoidance will be a barrier in KM. Management will therefore need to identify the existing organisational culture and develop a culture that will foster KM efforts and strategies. KM requires a lot of social and team networking. Heavy workloads, ambiguity and uncertainty in the workplace can prevent people from being able to socialize, to build networks and to share tacit knowledge.

Forming Effective Communities of Practice Resnick and Mejia (2007) and Serrat (2014) identify six actions that are necessary to form a CoP. These actions are different in nature and in terms of practical application; however the authors of the chapter feel that both sets of actions are critical prerequisites of forming effective CoPs. Table 5 indicates these actions and key activities per action.

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Set strategic context

Educate

Get going

Integrate

Support

Encourage

• Create technological infrastructure that allows a group of professionals to interact. • Develop the organizational culture and management policies in an open source fashion. • Provide adaptable and flexible leadership. • Support deliberation and collaboration through reputation management, privacy, and security protection. • Allow members to effectively complete their jobs through collective knowledge sharing and thus reducing the amount of information that any individual must have. • Match interest and expertise of members with different communication sources. • Use one on one, many-to-many and physical communication methods. Use technology such as Internet and Intranet portals that can support many user activities that enhance the value of membership. Manage information influence and social pressure to enhance effective collaboration. • Increase the total amount of information that becomes part of the deliberation process to reduce the effects of information influence by mandating that all information and opinions be contributed prior to deliberation. • Each person should record his or her initial hypothesis and the pros and cons prior to deliberation. These can be submitted before other views are shared. • This policy can be enhanced further by maintaining the anonymity of these contributions, at least until members have had a chance to influence the deliberation. • Allow participants to make bets or trade shares based on predictions of future events. • Introduce bias when members bet based on their opinions of other members’ future bets, rather than the actual event outcome.

Management policies

Communication support

Networking support

Overcoming challenges to collaboration

Deliberation support

Prediction markets

Source: Adapted from Resnick and Mejia (2007, p.1715-1718) and Serrat (2014, p.8-10).

Actions

Resnick & Mejia (2007) Key Activities

Actions

Table 5. Prerequisites for forming effective communities of practice

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• Encourage participation. • Value the work of the CoP. • Publicize success.

• Identify needs and define infrastructure without undue reliance on complex technology. • Provide process support, coaching and logistical assistance.

• Integrate the CoP in the organization processes. • Identify and remove barriers. • Align key structural and cultural elements.

• Gather the core group to initiate the start the process. • Identify prospective members • Help members to organize initial value-adding activities and get pilots going. • Encourage members to steward their knowledge.

• Conduct workshops about the CoP’s approach. • Explain how CoPs are self-defined and self-managed. • Establish a language and place for the CoP.

• Identify critical developmental challenges. • Create a strategic value proposition. • Enunciate the need to leverage knowledge.

Key Activities

Serrat (2014)

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The effectiveness of a formed CoP can be tested according to Serrat (2014) by looking at the domain, membership, norms and rules, structure and process, flow of energy, results, resources and values. The whole idea of forming a CoP is to enhance collaboration, which is a component of KM and enables an organisation’s employees, partners and customers to create, manage and share intellectual and knowledge based assets (Govil, 2007). KM and collaboration in CoPs are therefore related from a people and dependency perspective, and both add value to each other. Wenger (2000 cited in Jashapara, 2011) recommend that the following six design features can help organisations to cultivate and enhance CoPs, namely: • • • • • •

Events are needed to build a team spirit and create a sense of purpose; Leadership is needed and it is a good idea to use multiple leaders; Trust and dialogue need to be enhanced to create a greater connectivity; Members should not be too large as it can decrease participation; Responsibility should be taken for the various collaborative approaches being used in the CoP; and A culture should be created by producing documents, tools, stories, symbols and websites.

To achieve effectiveness in a CoP, organisations need to also structure themselves to generate value from their intellectual and knowledge based assets. This enables organisations to deal with the unexpected, being spontaneous and creative, taking risks and collaborating with people (Brevis & Vrba, 2014). It also requires all employees to contribute to the strategy, tactics and capabilities of the organisation. The challenge however for most organisations is to determine how to tap into this collective knowledge resource (Currier, 2010). It helps a great deal if organisations and managers support the CoP process by providing the right tools and processes to integrate CoPs in the knowledge management culture of the organisation. In addition, performance standards similar to those for projects should be created to measure the overall performance and success of the CoP.

Structuring for Knowledge Management and Communities of Practice

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An organisation’s design affects its ability to access and store knowledge and to foster collaboration. Therefore, an organisational design has a direct impact on the formation of CoPs and how the members learn, create, innovate and solve problems. This section will recommend how an organisation can structure itself for KM and CoPs. There are generally four types of organisational structures according to Miller (1986 cited in Kuratko, Morris & Covin, 2011): •

•

Simple Structure: The power is at the top and bureaucratization, specialization and diferentiation are low. Information systems are informal, technology is simple, competition is extreme, there is little innovation, and research and development taking place. This structure is not good to encourage collaborative learning, creativity, innovation and problem solving. Machine Bureaucracy: There are many formal rules, policies and procedures and specialization is extensive and diferentiation is moderate. Cost controls and budgets apply to information systems, technology is used, competition is high and there is almost no innovation, research, and development-taking place. This structure is not good to encourage collaborative learning, creativity, innovation and problem solving.

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•

•

Organic: Personnel and task forces are integrated via mutual adjustment to encourage extensive specialization and very high diferentiation. The power is centralized around scientists, technocrats and middle managers. Information systems are informal and open communication is encouraged, technology is sophisticated, competition is moderate and innovation, research, and development are very high in an efort to innovate its diferentiation. This structure good to encourage collective learning, creativity, innovation and problem solving. Divisional: Bureaucratic structure managed by divisional executives to encourage extensive specialization and high diferentiation. Information systems are mostly used as management information systems, technology and competition varies, innovation, research, and development are low to moderate. This structure is not good to encourage collaborative learning, creativity, innovation and problem solving.

It appears that the organic structure is the best for collaboration, because it encourages an open and free flow of information throughout the organisation; authority and decisions making are based on the expertise of individuals; cooperation, participation and group consensus are used frequently; and the organisation is able to adapt to change quicker (Kuratko, Morris & Covin, 2011). The authors recommend that organisations should create organic organisation structures to enhance their KM efforts, which supports collaboration and the creation of CoPs. It is however also important to identify a suitable organisational culture for an organic organisational structure.

Building a Culture for Knowledge Management and Communities of Practice While KM efforts and CoPs involve teams, it typically begins with an individual. Organisations therefore need to create a working environment that encourages dedicate employees to come up with ideas, to find ways to overcome challenges, to accept responsibility and to willingly collaborate with each other. The culture of an organisation influences everything that individuals do because organisations are social environments and have various strategies for determining inclusion and reinforcing identity (Kuratko, Morris & Covin, 2011). There are four organisational prototypes, which are important for the context of this chapter: •

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• • •

Process Culture: Little or no feedback is provided to employees and they fnd it difcult to determine how they are doing. The hierarchy is tight, failure is avoided at all cost, processes are stifing and employees are cautious and avoid getting involved or volunteering himself or herself. This culture is not suitable for collaboration, KM or CoPs. Tough Person/ Macho Culture: Very competitive environment with high personal risk and quick feedback, fnancial stakes are high for success and failure, and employee turnover is high. This culture is not suitable for collaboration, KM or CoPs. Work Hard/ Play Hard Culture: Fun and action is the rule, employees take few risks, quick feedback is provided, action-orientated and there is a strong customer focus and sales orientation. Probably the most suitable culture for collaboration, KM or CoPs. Bet-the-Company Culture: High-risk, slow feedback due to deliberations because of the risk involved, clear-cut hierarchy, pressure is ongoing however, major technological breakthroughs and high-quality inventions are created. This culture can be useful in KM and CoPs.

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Atiku and Fields (2016) state that a culture, facilitated through learning and development of the workforce, can culminate in business sustainability in the knowledge-based global economy. They also confirm that the development of new products in line with customers’ current and future needs require creativity, innovation, and proactive capabilities best acquired or developed through continuous learning and development exercises both within and outside the organization. Collaboration also supports the view of collectivism, rather than individualism, because KM, CoPs and collective learning, creativity, innovation and problem-solving starts at an individual level, but it requires a motivated, coordinated group of individuals, each with their own skills to be truly valuable for the organisation. Collaboration requires sharing, a concern for group welfare and subordination of personal interests to the goals of the group. Collectivism ensures greater synergies; provide a network of social support and shared responsibility and rewards (Kuratko, Morris & Covin, 2011). Structure and culture are important when collaboration is considered in organizations to develop KM strategies, CoPs, learning, creativity, innovation and problem solving. Change is not easy; however, it is critical to ensure that organisations remain sustainable and competitive in the Fourth Industrial Revolution. In the next section, recommendations will be made to develop and manage collective creativity and innovation in organisations.

DEVELOPING AND MANAGING COLLECTIVE CREATIVITY AND INNOVATION Successful knowledge generation and transfer depend on the generation of good ideas. The challenge is to get people to constantly generate creative ideas and their ability to identify the best ideas and to turn those into value for customers and the organisation. The following can be done to improve the idea generation process according to Botha (2007): • • •

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• •

Everyone must know the mission, objectives and goals of the organisation to ensure that ideas are aligned with the business of the organisation; The culture of the organisation should encourage people to share ideas and they need to know how to submit ideas, how feedback will be provided, how they will be rewarded and they need to trust management with their ideas; It is advisable to appoint a person to manage ideas in terms of creativity and innovation, and to appoint small trans-disciplinary teams to evaluate ideas; Encourage people to talk to customers to generate ideas of how more value can be created; and Form CoPs to generate ideas and to re-evaluate shelved ideas at regular intervals.

Four key elements are fundamental in managing collective creativity and innovation in organisations according to Parjanen (2012). The first element is strategy. Organisations need to develop policies to support collective creativity and collective learning and creative thinking techniques are important to develop in achieving these policies (Anderson, Potočnik, & Zhou, 2014). The second element is leadership (Parjanen, 2012). The leadership structure should support collective creativity and encourage collaboration in the organisation (Zhang, Tsui, & Wang, 2011). Thirdly, the way information is collected and distributed within a KM system will determine the success or failure of collective creativity (Bissola, & Imperatori, 2011; Parjanen, 2012). The last element is the organisational culture. In the previous section, the authors indicated that the Work hard/ Play hard and Bet-the-company cultures are the most suitable for KM and CoPs collaboration. The organisation culture needs to support continuous 138

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learning and knowledge sharing at all levels within the organisation (Anderson, Potočnik, & Zhou, 2014). This requires a proper alignment of strategic goals, leadership structures, collaboration approaches and shared values within an organisation (Chen & Chang, 2013). The next section highlights some recommendations for managers to enhance collective learning, creativity, innovation and problem solving in CoPs as part of a KM strategy.

ROLE OF MANAGEMENT TO DEVELOP COLLABORATION IN ORGANISATIONS The top management team and functional managers will normally be responsible for strategizing to make the recommendations a reality. However, it is very important for management to work in partnership with employees at all levels to get their ideas and buy-in and to enhance collaboration from the start. Top management can also include collaboration with creative companies to help develop creativity (Fields & Atiku, 2017) and innovation amongst employees at all levels in the organisation. Table 6 provides a summary of focus areas and actions that are relevant to developing collaboration in organisations. Table 6. Developing collaboration in organisations

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Focus Area

Actions Required

Strategy

• Develop a vision-directed, organisation-wide reliance on collaboration that purposefully rejuvenates the organisation and encourage CoPs, learning, creativity, innovation, problem solving and intrapreneurship. • Align strategy to technology utilisation that requires specific budget and resource allocations with a focus on socialisation and teamwork in the organisation. • Develop a strategy for innovation and include budgets, resource allocations and a research and development department. • Identify and build dynamic core and competitive competencies at a strategic level.

Structure

• Develop an organic structure. • Ensure a flexible structure to make adaptation easy • Emphasise personal interaction and face-to-face communication, frequent meetings, use of committees and CoPs. • Implement sensitive information-gathering systems for anticipating and monitoring the external environment. • Flatten the structure of management between the bottom and top in any division-size unit. • Aim for one-third employee ownership. • Ensure work teams are largely self-managed.

Culture

• Develop a combination of work hard/play hard and ‘bet-the-company’ culture to develop learning and innovative culture. • Institutionalise constant change and focus on the envisioned future through shared learning and performance standards.

Human-centred assets

• Recruit and select collaborative employees. • Train and develop employees for a collaborative environment. • Make change part of employees’ mind-sets (thinking/understanding), behaviour (capability), and motivation (emotional/intuitive capability). • Instil the desire in employees to be part of a CoP and to be creative and innovative. • Invest in and reward human-centred assets for collaborative efforts publically. Reward short-term with bonuses and long-term with equity. • Provide time for people to be creative and to work in teams. • Identify and develop critical roles and responsibilities in a collaborative setting. • Ensure that employees get regular feedback on their performance to guide and reinforce collaborative behaviour.

continues on following page

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Table 6. Continued Focus Area

Actions Required

Leadership

• Create top positions for knowledge management and innovation. • Develop leaders to be intrapreneurial, creative, innovative and supportive to identify creative approaches and recognise employees. • Communicate a broader definition of the organisation’s business. • Challenge employees to define the organisation’s opportunities from the perspective of an innovation model (not only market- or technology-driven). • Openly articulate alternative and plausible future scenarios. • Question dominant logic (the way managers conceptualise business and make critical resource allocation decisions).

Technology

• Effectively use new technologies. • Train employees to use the latest technologies. • Constantly scan the environment for the latest technological developments. • Open channels of communication using technology. • Ensure information technology security.

Source: Authors’ compilation (2017).

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In addition to these recommendations, mention must be made of Brevis and Vrba’s (2014) submission that organisations need to ensure that their employees update their knowledge and skills constantly to stay on top of new job requirements and the effects of automation due to the Fourth Industrial Revolution. It seems as if temporary work groups are replacing permanent work groups and that they consist of employees and CoPs from different departments and organisations to meet changing work assignments and job functions. New developments in KM technologies, which fuse KM with collaborative and social tools, are now opening new possibilities to capture knowledge and collaborative efforts in organisations. Collaborative KM is used to develop organisational intelligence using a software environment where people work online and continuously contribute to the collective knowledge of the organisation (Gruber, 2015). To make collective KM successful, organisations need to motivate participation by supporting online environments for collaborative work and related KM technologies. Leggett (2012) suggests that organisations should invest in a collaborative content hub rather than a knowledge base. A content hub can help to capture and share content easily, everyone (employees and customers) will be able to recommend information, information flow can be controlled and routed to ensure compliance, and reports can be generated to identify content usage and gaps. The best part of a content hub is collaboration, proactive, in-process content delivery and integration with listening tools and text analytics platforms (Leggett, 2012). Figure 3 illustrates a collaborative content hub in the form of a tree.

FUTURE RESEARCH DIRECTIONS The full impact of the Fourth Industrial Revolution is not yet known and ongoing research will be required to determine how collaboration efforts change by using the specific lens of this chapter – collective learning, creativity, innovation and problem solving and its role in KM strategies and CoPs. Another important aspect to consider is the impact of intelligent computers and artificial intelligence on KM. New KM tools should also be tested and constantly developed as new technologies are developed for organisations. Research will become critical when robots, especially in terms of tacit knowledge being

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lost and the impact that will have on organisations in the future, replace more people. One thing is certain: people remain an important resource in organisations, and their knowledge, creativity, innovation, ability to learn and unique ways of looking at wicked problems should become part of the KM strategy and development of all organisations as these elements cannot yet be easily programmed into software. Figure 3. Collaborative content hub Source: Leggett (2012).

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CONCLUSION In this chapter, the importance of KM in organisations was explored, with particular focus on the concept and role of CoPs in organisations as part of their KM efforts. CoPs play a critical role in developing a competitive advantage for organisations due to their passion and their collaboration to learn from each other, to use their collective creativity, innovation and problem-solving skills that enable CoPs to solve wicked problems, gain access to tacit knowledge and enhance members’ commitment to teams and the organisation. The chapter has highlighted the complexity involved in collaboration in general, as well as specifically from a KM perspective and when CoPs are formed and used. In addition, learning, creativity, innovation and problem solving are also not straightforward concepts that can easily be

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implemented and used in KM efforts. Members of CoPs should trust each other first and realise that the team’s achievements are more important than individual goals and views about other members in the team. Only when this happens can CoPs start to collaborate and share. Another obstacle in KM could be an organisation’s structure and/or culture. The chapter indicated what types of structures and cultures exist and which ones are most suitable for collaboration in KM efforts and teamwork in CoPs. However, an organisation’s structure and culture cannot be changed overnight; such a process requires much effort from everyone in an organisation. Recommendations have been made to highlight what can be done to build a more collaborative organisation.

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KEY TERMS AND DEFINITIONS Collective Creativity: Collective of creative people working as a team to create new and novel ideas and solutions. Communities of Practice (CoPs): Social networks where groups of people within a common professional domain and geographically dispersed connect, learn, collaborate and share knowledge. Creative Exchange: Debate and dialogue amongst stakeholders while acknowledging the differences in culture, communities and industries. Creativity: The capacity to solve problems and satisfy needs by developing novel and useful solutions. Innovation: The implementation and commercialisation of new and problem-solving ideas, practices or products through which change is brought about. Knowledge Economy: An economy based on the production, distribution and use of knowledge and information. Knowledge Management: The capability of an organisation to deliver a competitive advantage due to the origin and nature of the organisation’s processed information, as well as its knowledge transfer and sharing processes that reconstruct and recombine knowledge.

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This work was previously published in Knowledge Integration Strategies for Entrepreneurship and Sustainability; pages 304333, copyright year 2018 by Business Science Reference (an imprint of IGI Global).

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Chapter 9

A New Perspective in Competitiveness for Business Education: Communities of Practice – The Crystal Palace Ana Martins https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9271-2114 University of Kwazulu-Natal, South Africa Isabel Martins https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5095-7028 University of Kwazulu-Natal, South Africa Orlando Petiz Pereira https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4635-2696 University of Minho, Portugal

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ABSTRACT Organizations are currently living through profound changes while dealing with the prevailing rate of information change and innovation. Alternative ways of educating organizations highlight the strategic importance of humanization in organizations. Humanization is the stabilizer of productivity and communities of practice (CoPs) – the tools which enable employees to act in this space. Organizations that nurture CoPs embrace learning, are sensitive, tolerant, and cooperate. CoPs are nurtured by cooperation while disregarding both competition and egotism. Strategic variables emerge in this context which leads to the paradigm shift focusing on trust, voluntary sharing, employees’ selfessness, and shared leadership. Knowledge in an organization and within each employee is viewed as complementary and not a substitute or as an issue of contention. Knowledge sharing is a necessary condition to improve both organizational performance and its attractiveness. The importance of CoPs in this chapter focuses on the humanization perspective as CoPs promote learning in business contexts. DOI: 10.4018/978-1-7998-7294-8.ch009

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Research Anthology on Facilitating New Educational Practices Through Communities of Learning, edited by Association, Information Resources Management, IGI Global, 2020. ProQuest

 A New Perspective in Competitiveness for Business Education

INTRODUCTION

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This chapter aims to discuss the importance of Communities of practice (CoPs) to promote learning in business contexts. Extant theories are reflected on to demonstrate the relevance of various constructs in fostering sustainable cross-cultural business education, namely, social capital, culture, emotional capital, knowledge and distributed leadership. In the current turbulent economy, given the fact that new capitals have arisen in organizations and society as well, soft skills also considered interpersonal and employability skills, should be viewed as complementary and not as rivals to job specific skill sets. If these are seen as rivals, mistrust emerges as well as a whole range of other challenges linked with change in attitude, behavior as well as paradigm. For decades individuals were pressurized by organizations to abandon their own personalities and instead to become that what the organization deemed necessary to become. This premise deprived the individual from his/her own personality and in so doing, dehumanized the organization. However, nowadays, individuals are living through a paradigm shift, which has impact on leadership, motivation and humanization in the workplace. Motivation policies, profit sharing policies and various productivity sources are important criteria that promote humanization in the workplace. Motivation has become the driving force in the workplace, which compels people to act. Motivation has a double perspective, namely, (i) intrinsic, as well as (ii) extrinsic. The former emerges from within the individual, while the latter is the result of a quest for satisfaction. Even though technique and technology have not changed human nature, however, in time their evolution has produced new approaches on productivity, performance, efficiency, team spirit and organizational sustainability. In the new order of global competitiveness that which motivates people has become of vital importance. Motivation is achieved through valuing people, and encouraging them to take on initiatives, to adopt a more entrepreneurial stance as well as a greater capacity to delegate authority and promote change. This intrinsic motivation, a legacy value par excellence, which transforms into a competitive advantage driving force, leads to a positive correlation between trust and mindset of individuals. In this context, learning, CoPs and knowledge transfer are part of the necessary conditions albeit are not sufficient for a shift in paradigm. For this reason, this chapter has the following structure: the authors outline an analysis in loco of CoPs as a tool for relationships between people, activities and an improved diffusion and utilization of knowledge in organizations. The dynamics of management with CoPs is further discussed taking motivation as the thread, which allows for sharing organizational, individual and assets with intangible value. The chapter highlights new tools as well as new methods, for example, those of training, coaching and mentoring and their impact on both professional and individual performance with a direct relationship to organizational and individual happiness. Finally and adopting a holistic perspective, this theme is related to the shift in paradigm, to one which is more humanized, more constructive, more inclusive and leads to increase in happiness.

COMMUNITIES OF PRACTICE AND LEARNING: A HOLISTIC INTERACTION In the current globalized business world, flat organization structures create CoPs, according to Nonaka (2006) and Roberts (2006). Organizations innovate by creating dynamic capabilities from effectively managing knowledge, developing their human capital with the support of structural capital to create knowledge, leading to creativity and innovation (Powell & Snellman, 2004; Cunningham, 2002; Lave & Wenger, 1991; Prahalad & Hamel, 1990; Edvinsson & Malone, 1997). 148

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The Communities of Practice Construct Lave and Wenger (1991, p. 98) define CoPs as “a system of relationships between people, activities, and the world; developing with time, and in relation to other tangential and overlapping communities of practice”. Wenger (1998a, 1998b) expands the dynamic action of CoPs, which entails practice (which activities are performed) and identity (who the members are). Zhang and Watts (2008) further revisit Wenger’s theory regarding the effect of a shared history of learning and corroborate that the power of knowledge that CoPs have is a result of the practice and identity. In CoPs, individuals share their tacit knowledge and this leads to innovation. These bundles of resources enable the organization to differentiate itself from competitors, in line with the resource-based view of the firm (Barney, 1991). Interpersonal relationships are based on trust, a key element to encourage both knowledge management (KM) and motivate individuals to share their knowledge (Young & Tseng, 2008). Individuals need to develop their individual knowledge first and then share it to the group. Social capital produces economic capital from the individuals’ personal relationships. This can occur when the organization provides a culture based on trust, allegiance and loyalty, an intangible capital in contemporary organizations, “which is a nexus of intellectuality, appeals to different ways of being and ennobling attitudes. Therefore, social, financial, relational, and emotional capitals are strategic in nature despite the underlying resistance towards its acceptance on the part of the economic agents” (Martins et al., 2016, p. 151). Social capital is “the sum of potential and actual resources embedded within, available through and derived from the network of relationships developed by an individual and social unit” (Nahapiet & Ghoshal, 1998, p. 242). CoPs with high performance can encourage social capital and hasten the flow of knowledge, leading to greater efficiency. Moreover, CoPs can “help influence the business outcomes/employee productivity of the organization” (Jagasia et al., 2015, p. 6). According to Davenport and Prusak (2000), practices in CoPs include the finding of, sharing, transferring, archiving knowledge, as well as generating tacit knowledge, all part of the practice-based approach to knowledge creation. CoPs are essentially considered self-organizing systems, to develop and advance by means of several stages classified according to different levels of interaction between members and types of activities, according to Wenger (1998). The five stages of development include namely, (i) ‘potential’, (ii) ‘coalescing’, (iii) ‘active’, (iv) ‘dispersed’ and (v) ‘memorable’. Wenger (1998a, 1998b) substantiates that the practices that the community carries out illustrate the individual understanding that participants have varying results and practices will change according to different external contextual influences, demands and limitations that cause the community to be developed based on accomplishing its practices. Wenger and Snyder (2000) reinforce the significant characteristic in a CoP’s spontaneous formation in that people are informally bound together due to their shared expertise. Under the leaders’ intervention, the act of sharing knowledge may result in differences; moreover, the surroundings and attributes of communities are considered indispensable factors in the plurality of work. According to Nahapiet and Ghoshal (1998), when social capital is combined and changed it enriches intellectual capital. This social capital entails a triple dimension, namely, structural, cognitive and relational. These dimensions, when mixed with intellectual capital, create a new intellectual capital. Relational capital and trust influence and contribute to the creation and continuous improvement of knowledge. This is only possible when learning is prevalent in the workplace and supported by CoPs.

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Communities of Practice and Learning According to Jakovljevic, Buckley and Bushney (2013, p. 1108), the CoP construct “has found a number of practical applications in business, organizational design, government, education, professional associations, development projects, and civic life”. According to Wenger (1999), CoPs are voluntary and regarded vital knowledge resources, which are not easy to identify in organizations. Wenger (2006) corroborates that CoPs entail practices developed by means of (i) problem solving; (ii) attracting information; (iii) acquiring experience, harmonization and synergy; (iv) deliberating developments; (v) keeping a record of project mapping knowledge as well as identifying gaps. Organizational memories are also embedded in CoPs, which are a means for situated learning of practice to take place and hubs for innovation. Wenger (2006) postulates three fundamental characteristics necessary to create a CoP, namely, (i) the domain, (ii) the community and (iii) the practice are the three characteristics that are essential in creating a CoP. These characteristics are expanded, thus, (i) the domain: a CoP has a shared domain of interest that outlines its identity. This reveals the CoP is more than a network of connections among people or a club. Commitment to this domain enables membership which nurtures a shared competency among the CoP members who are distinguished from other people; (ii) the community: members of the CoP ensue their domain interest by sharing information and knowledge, participating in collaborative undertakings and dialogues with each other; (iii) the practice: members of a CoP are viewed as practitioners who develop a shared range of resources, namely, stories, tools, experiences, approaches of tackling repetitive problems. This shared practice requires time with continuous and supported interaction. Furthermore, Wenger (1998) identifies characteristics of a CoP include engaging mutually in social procedures resulting in developing a shared range of understandings, artifacts, practices, traditions, routines, rituals and ways. In addition, Wenger (2006) postulates that CoPs are considered clubs, groups with a specific theme and learning networks. According to Bouchamma and Michaud (2011) as well as Gola (2008), mentoring and coaching are considered formal processes that facilitate CoP activities to improve certain areas of learning. The informal aspects of CoP occur during study life where CoPs enable learners to be empowered and to share and shape tacit knowledge. Therefore, Wenger, McDermott and Snyder (2002) corroborate that CoPs enable individuals to develop practical skills, content knowledge and attitudes. The social learning theory of Bandura (1977) thrives in CoPs and the individuals’ attention, memory and motivation, go beyond cognition and behavior. Context and culture are also influencing factors in CoPs, according to Lave and Wenger (1991). Situated learning highlights knowledge sharing and skills in CoPs arising from social interaction between members. In view of the fact that CoPs are made up of unplanned social structures, critical theory also works well in this environment given that emotional reflections, enthusiasm and power perform a vital part in understanding the influence these constructs have on an understanding of CoPs in higher education. The following table depicts the differences between the old and the new learning models. The personality of individual members in CoPs is relevant in feedback and feed forward loops and also to individual performance styles. Bruner (1996) corroborates that learners create new ideas or concepts grounded on their past/current knowledge where the facilitator inspires learners through active dialogue to discover principles.

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Table 1. Old vs new models of learning Old Model: Cognitive Teaching Classroom Teaching Individualized – Pupils learn from teacher Planned in curriculum Learning is a Mechanistic, cognitive process of transmission and absorption of ideas

New Model: Constructivism Learning In loco Observation/watching Peripheral/incidental participation Learning from other learners Informal - driven by the task Learning is about understanding how to behave and what to do and is an identity change

Source: Authors, adapted from Cox (2005)

Universal criteria of health, happiness and well-being, longevity are part of all cultures. Cultures need to nurture these core values. This chapter focuses on the construct of spirituality without religion associations. Individualistic cultures promote higher subjective and individual well-being that results from the grander freedom of choice. Yet, this individualism can have pricey and negative spillovers for the organization and society as well. Organizations should include universal values in their strategy; the triple bottom line includes people (equity), the planet (environment), and profit (economy). Chen (2014) substantiates that organizations should strive to balance and harmonize opposing dynamics by going beyond the notion of stakeholders and integrate social welfare, internal competition and cooperation among its individuals. An “integrative, balanced and relational approach to management [that] is benefits the greater community” (Chen, 2014, p. 24).

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Spiritual Intelligence Emboldens Learning There are various intelligences that have a constructive inspiration on learning, these include: spiritual intelligence, social intelligence, emotional intelligence and cultural intelligence. Spiritual intelligence enables the individual to acquire applicable learning (Amram & Dryer (2007). Zohar and Marshall (2000) corroborate that the individual is in tune with his/her entireness and integrity when the level of spiritual intelligence is high. Spiritual intelligence enables an individual to cultivate self-esteem, completeness, achieve goals, fulfillment and ambitions. A learner will experience self-respect and creativity in his/her life when engaged in a learning experience that is facilitated by a professor that is also imbued with high levels of spiritual intelligence. Therefore, a learning environment filled with mutual trust and respect nurtures active learning. Social intelligence is another type of intelligence that could be of value in cross-cultural learning contexts (Thorndike & Stein, 1937). Albrecht (2006) substantiates that social intelligence is considered a requirement for professors in educational settings. Additionally, Thorndike (1920, p. 229) validates that “the ability to understand and manage men and women, boys and girls, to act wisely in human relations”. Furthermore, the narrow scope of social intelligence is perceived as entailing knowledge of social situations, possibly termed social cognition or social marketing intelligence; the wider view of social intelligence is “our ability to be socially aware and to manage our relationships intelligently: the ability to pick up on emotions in other people and to work out what‘s really going on with them; to appreciate another person‘s perspective; to understand and appreciate the impact of your communication on others; to cultivate rapport and be attuned with a broad diversity of people; to manage interactions effectively; to

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engage with others for mutual benefit” (Subramanian, 2016, p. 129). Boyatzis (2000) postulates that these types of intelligences are not permanent; indeed, these intelligences are adaptable and can be cultivated. Proponents of the emotional intelligence construct include various theorists, among which are, Papez (1937), Pribram (1970), Wayne Payne (1985); a decade later, Goleman (1995) revived the concept. More recently, Bar-on (2007) considers that emotional intelligence creates a learning community that is innovative, valuable, flourishing and especially humane. In addition, individuals who have higher level of emotional intelligence acquire a sense of creativity; develop discernment for reasonable thinking; and ability to handle their anxiety as well as being capable to generate fine relationships with others. Emotional intelligence is therefore considered as an incentive for the individual to satisfy various needs, such as, emotional, spiritual, physical as well as psychological. Singh (2006) and Mayer et al. (2000) substantiate that this intelligence enables individuals to communicate with others in order to reach mutual understanding. Sharp (2001) agrees that emotional intelligence plays a pivotal role in learners’ thought processes as well as in their academic success. Cultural intelligence is associated with the particular characteristics that arise from various geographical and ethnic circumstances. The strategy of globalization has further highlighted this issue (Earley & Ang, 2003). Cultural intelligence enables an individual to cope with cross-cultural contexts.

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CoPs and Their Relationship With Power The biggest criticism in relation to learning and labor relations is centered on the issue of power being at the heart of the labor relations (Coopey, 1998) and is typified in the employees who perform a subordinate role in relation to managers. The underlying issue here is that managers are unwilling to share power. The very nature of organizational learning is therefore, inherently shaped by labor relations characteristics. Attitudes and emotions are intrinsic factors in learning and invoke the concept of defensive routines (Argyris, 1990), resulting in a negative characteristic of learning because these defensive routines produce withdrawal of feelings of security and competencies. In this way, organizational, individual and group learning are rich with emotional character. The predominant balance of power, of existing values (Coopey & Burgoynne, 2000), of norms (Salaman, 2001) and practices, is questioned through learning and change. This scenario inhibits the questioning of norms, which may result in negative behavior as well as unwillingness to learn. Vince (2001) postulated that politics, power and emotions are intimately linked. For Lave and Wenger (1991), learning is filled with the constructing of identity, through which the learner becomes a different person in relation to the system of relationships wherein learning occurs. Therefore, in order to analyze this type of learning, it is necessary to take into account the political and social aspects as well. Identity is related to positions of structure, interpretations, reactions to glean understanding about how people learn in the workplace, taking into account the way in which individual freedom can affect and be affected by both the processes of learning as well as the way in which that learning is manifested (Lave & Wenger, 1991). The relationship between identity and learning lies within interpretative hermeneutics. Learning is a broad concept and is related with acquiring knowledge, as well as with protecting intellectual capital in the quest to understand who we are and what potential we hold in order to contribute both to our self-development and to that of others. In order to create the necessary conditions for learning, it is necessary to conceptualize the politics construct, which has two essential elements. Firstly, it is necessary that this political activity be open and free so that it can furnish the necessary psychic security where people are able to express themselves without fear. Secondly, in so doing, individuals experience a raise in understanding of the situation that 152

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led them to talk about their relationships with others. Fulop and Rifkin (1997) deal with these issues in their analysis of ‘learning spaces’. Within these learning spaces, trust relationships can flourish in such a manner that individuals may lose their fear and open themselves to others and are subsequently, more predisposed towards letting go of their self-proclaimed, possessive space. A learning space emerges when individuals accept that no point of view and/or no single reality is necessarily the dominating one; where managers are not the holders of a privileged vantage point and where concepts such as ‘to be incorrect’ are always questioned (Fulop & Rifkin, 1997). The central issue therefore is how to create a space where people can learn, and through this learning, the organization can flourish. Coopey (1995) suggests this is possible in his analysis of methods that may be used for creating learning spaces and how these are connected with the concept of politics. In so doing, Coopey and Burgoyne (2000) establish a link between the concepts of creative dialectics, making decisions, and strategies of unlearning existent knowledge, with a relearning, questioning of that which is already known and lastly with the possibility of establishing dynamic equilibrium between unity and disunity in order that continuous learning can be facilitated without destabilizing the organization. Coopey and Burgoyne (2000) are of the opinion that legitimate political activity may well create the necessary conditions for learning spaces, wherein individuals bring a wealth of self-knowledge – with their respective social and ethical criteria, to the workplace and relationships therein. This metaphor of politics in the workplace is widely used by various authors, for example, Brown and Duguid (1991). This metaphor helps towards a better understanding of the dynamics inherent in the learning process. In addition, this metaphor also facilitates an understanding of how and where learning is possible as well as the act of modifying actually makes learning possible. Coopey and Burgoyne (2000) suggest a type of politics that may act as midwife and as trustee of flexible and innovative organizational forms. Furthermore, Coopey and Burgoyne (2000) consider politics as being inextricably linked with organizational learning practices. In addition, politics are also intimately linked with ideas, with themes and perspectives of values, and meaning of organizational learning. This political perspective enables an understanding of the learning processes, which in turn, leads to two perspectives, namely (i) the political act perspective, which includes the physical space of selfknowledge, leading to work based knowledge. This political act encourages flexible and innovative organizational forms (Brown & Duguid, 1991) as well as reframing; and the perspective of (2) learning, which results from open political spaces arising from agents in society at large. The political implications inherent in these strategies of creating learning spaces include the following, (i) creative dialectic, (ii) informed decision making, (iii) unlearning, (iv) reframing, and (v) dynamic equilibrium – which includes change and continuity, consensus and disagreement, commitment and indifference. Creative dialectic and informed decision-making essentially refer to creation of spaces, which stimulate forms, situations, discourse ideas to reduce moral and social risk and increase participants’ wish to experiment in communicative actions, according to Habermas (1989). As Figure 1 shows, organizational learning is supported by a complex, intricate and interacting environment. These interdependent links are highly visible and fortified. These interdependencies should be capitalized on in order to increase the organization’s attractiveness as well as increasing internal satisfaction. This may lead to greater cooperation and support without any inhibitions or fears, where freedom of thought and action prevails, values that are inherent to organizational capital. Collective gains, with freedom of thought and action are a fundamental rule, take precedence over individual gains, which are not part of this process. In this context, many problem-solving ideas arise, regardless of their quality, to improve the process and/or the product. 153

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Figure 1. A pluralistic view of organizational learning Source: Martins (2013)

These ideas then progress towards a qualitative filter in the learning process in order to separate all idiosyncrasies from those ideas which may eventually, in the medium or long term, be considered as pathways to organizational innovation, interconnectivity, informal relationships and learning practices. Moreover, this process also reminds organizations of how important KM is in view of it being a nexus for organizational learning.

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The Dynamics of Knowledge Management, CoPs and Trust Thomas, Kellogg and Erickson (2001) postulate that knowledge management(KM) is made up of a collection of strategies to capture, organize and retrieve information indicating the concepts of databases, documents, inquiry discourse, and data mining. Extant literature indicates the value that CoPs have in KM. According to Yang and Wei (2010), CoPs can be regarded as a platform for KM, which influences organizational performance and sustainability. Nevertheless, this research disregards the communication and interaction between community members. Cabrera and Cabrera (2005) explore how to encourage knowledge sharing (exchanging knowledge, information, skills and expertise among people in a family, a community or an organization), and recommend a thorough appreciation regarding multiple strategies and practices in CoPs; these strategies include, work design, learning, training and development as well as organizational culture. Furthermore, Hildreth and Kimble (2000) consider tacit knowledge especially important in CoPs because this knowledge includes valuable context-based experiences that are challenging to capture, codify and store. Jagasia et al. (2015, p. 5) postulate that “effective functioning of CoPs for skill transfer, skill development, and skill enhancement”. Moreover, KM is cultivated when there are interpersonal trust relationships, which actually motivate employees to share their knowledge (Martins

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et al., 2016). In addition, Reychav and Sharkie (2010) also maintain that knowledge sharing is outside the employee’s job description; this activity tends to be optional and is therefore challenging to manage. According to the extant literature, Kimmerle, Cress and Hesse (2007) posit that individuals that are part of a CoP and that have higher interpersonal trust levels towards others in that community tend to demonstrate more cooperation on exchanging information and knowledge with others, as compared to those with lower trust levels. Lazaric and Lorenz (1998, p.3) argue that the trust construct encompasses three dimensions, namely, (i) a member’s individual belief rather than behavior, (ii) beliefs about others’ probable behavior, and (iii) pertaining to situations where the complex relationship impedes the interdependence to accomplish contingent contract enforced by a third party. A critique of the CoPs approach claims that the lack of trust is considered one of the shortcomings because “without trust, members of a CoP might be reluctant to share knowledge” (Roberts, 2006, p. 628). Furthermore, mutual trust between members is a precondition to reaching deeper mutual understanding between members in a shared cultural and social context (Roberts, 2000). Wathne, Ross and Krogh (1996) indicated that trust encourages a higher degree of openness boosting collaboration, teamwork resulting in effective knowledge transfer. There is a fundamental mutuality between the constructs of trust and communication. According to Cabrera and Cabrera (2005), open communication has a positive influence social capital and its relational facets, drawing special emphasis on mutual trust and collaboration. Communication is considered a rich medium of information exchange, which promotes social networking and is fundamental to achieve a relationship based on trust. Brown and Duguid (2001) postulate a distinction concerning the role of leadership in CoPs in organizations. Leadership enables knowledge transfer in the organization because it supports changing practices between communities. CoPs have unique leadership styles. Furthermore, Wenger et al. (2002, p. 49) assert that CoPs are successful due to a specific factor which is “their ability to generate enough excitement, relevance, and value to attract and engage members’ due to their property of voluntary-formation”. Therefore, interaction invigorates CoPs. Moreover, management cannot create a CoP; according to Roberts (2006) albeit, management can promote and nurture CoPs to develop extemporaneously. Moreover, flexible strategies enable leaders to improve their performance in the different CoPs they find themselves.

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THE SHIFT IN PARADIGM The holistic construct considers the complex nature of organizations by distancing from the mechanistic, reductionist opinion that Descartes and Newton held. Additionally, this “holistic construct also entails the shift from classical to the quantum paradigm” (Martins et al., 2015, p. 240). Furthermore, the mechanistic, Newtonian paradigm emphasizes the separateness nature of entities, which was adopted by Fredrick Taylor (1916) in the Scientific Management Theories. Those organizations that adopt the Newtonian paradigm tend refute change. These organizations have a tendency to be inflexible and are dependent on bureaucratic principles. A mechanistic culture predominates in Newtonian categories and the machine metaphors in both contemporary thinking and organizations (Martins et al., 2015). Table 2, summarizes fundamental concepts that entail the shift in paradigm.

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Source: Martins et al. (2015)

Philosophical Orientation Business environment Organizational metaphor Mission/Purpose Organizational purpose and leadership Types of knowledge Assumptions about employees Major values

Table 2. Shift in paradigm

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Knowledge Management/ New Paradigm Ontology and epistemology Uncertainty and chaos Innovation disruption Living organism Emphasis on human capital: Customers, employees, society Network participatory;Power is delegated and decentralized, ensures others are deal with challenges; Entrepreneur, interested in innovation and creativity; Managers/leaders see themselves as suppliers; Focus on internal as well as external clients; Deeply concerned with the team ensuring the needs of the team are met Tacit/subjective insight and intuition Sharing of all information occurs Holistic; Inner oriented; Jobs to fit people; Diversity; Believes in decision-sharing, facilitates group decision making, never impose own opinions; Has a vision/ awareness of working in teams and therefore the results are shared with others; Win-win situation; Those individuals who have decision-making roles are seen as leaders and facilitators Consciousness; Spirituality and relationships; Collaboration; Community; Sustainability; Continuous learning and improvement

Scientific Management/Newtonian Paradigm/ Old Paradigm Positivism Orderly, predictable sequence of events Static state of being Machine Optimal financial return to stockholders Hierarchical command and control; Bureaucrat, solely reliant on rules and regulations with a view totally focused inwardly on the organization; Power is based on position; Power is centralized Managers are perceived as authority personified; Focuses only on his/her hierarchical authority; Thinks all subordinates must work for him/her Objective and explicit/ formal and systematic Information is centralized Compartmentalized; Outer oriented; People of all fit jobs; Homogeneity; Believes to be solely responsible for everything in the organization; When things rum well claims all merits, but when things turn out wrong blames others; Win-lose situation Rationality; Materialism and consumerism; Competition; Individualism; Exploitation of nature efficiency

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Sackmann (1991) substantiates that culture comprises three perspectives, i.e., holistic, variables and cognitive. The holistic perspective integrates cognitive, emotional and behavioral cultural aspects into a united component. There are numerous definitions of culture but not one has been harmonized. There is some “commonality in the myriad definitions in that culture includes diverse forms of thinking, feeling and reacting; culture is essentially transmitted via symbols” (Martins et al., 2015, p. 241). Variable perspective highlights the cultural expressions, i.e., physical and psychological behaviors, artifacts and practices, and their analogous meanings as well. According to this perspective, culture is defined as an outcome of behavioral norms or in line with how things are made. The cognitive perspective is associated to particular elements considered fundamental to culture specifically, concepts, plans, beliefs, values and norms. Consequently, culture is regarded as a “social construction with rules that guide perceptions and thoughts” (Martins et al., 2015, p. 241). Schein (1997) corroborates that organizational culture is typified by basic assumptions, core values and beliefs. Culture entails a framework which enables interpreting what is happening in the context as well as approaches the organization takes on to solve related to problems of both external adaptation and internal integration. Gagliardi (1986) supports the notion that culture is considered a unique identity of a particular organization. Culture affords significance to activities accomplished in organizations. According to Quinn (1984), the competing value framework, known as the CVF model, facilitates an insight into the connection between the constructs of learning, culture, motivation, leadership and creativity in organizations. Cameron and Quinn (2005) sustain the notion that culture is composed of diverse symbols, language rules and feelings that are ethnocentric in nature. The organizational culture construct is concomitant with the functional perspective of the sociological framework. The influence of national culture on individual behavior is well established and the differences between eastern and western cultures are purposeful (Hofstede, 1980). It is perceived that western cultures tend to have direct opinions when discussing a topic, they tend to be more individualist and self-centered, and while on the other hand, Eastern cultures tend to be more collectivist (Martins et al., 2014). Kaplan and Norton (2004) corroborate that organizational culture is one of the main pillars that support organizational success. According to these theorists, culture enables employees to understand the organization’s vision, mission and its essential values. Therefore, the organization needs to instill this mindset in its employees so that all are in agreement with the organization’s strategy. These theorists further reflect on tangible and intangible assets to highlight that intangibles have a direct influence on the organization’s financial performance. Moreover, these theorists also maintain that raising the level of trust and client satisfaction hold a direct correlation with the holistic development of the organization’s internal client, namely, employees. Indeed, the organization’s intangible assets harness the quality of strategy and its implementation. In this way, Kaplan and Norton (2004) maintain that organizational success is directly aligned with policies organizations have regarding their intangible assets. The greater the gap between the organization’s strategy and its policies concerning intangible assets, the smaller will be its sustainable development. Thus, Kaplan and Norton (2004) further sustain that intangible assets entail three categories, namely, human capital, information capital and organizational capital. Table 3 depicts these categories. Vikaraman, Mansor and Hamzah (2017) support the abovementioned perspective. Furthermore, these theorists are of the opinion that it is as important that organizations invest in their human capital (their employees) as this means investing in physical, technology and financial capital. Simons (1995) maintains that many problems that managers have to deal with daily are related to the adequate management of these capitals in order to obtain greater flexibility, innovation and creativity. This theorist further 157

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Table 3. The genus of intangible assets Human Capital Learning and Growth Perspective

▪ Skills ▪ Training ▪ Knowledge

Information Capital ▪ Systems ▪ Databases ▪ Networks

Organizational Capital ▪ Culture ▪ Leadership ▪ Alignment ▪ Teamwork

Source: Authors, adapted from Kaplan and Norton (2004)

highlights that individuals need to be motivated to search for new ways to respond to daily challenges. However, this may reveal sides to internal conflict, namely, creativity and control, and the need to reconcile both aspects too. Additionally, Simons (1995) corroborates that managers, in a competitive and dynamic context, should not waste time nor effort in decentralized tasks, such as, ascertaining whether individuals are performing their roles adequately according to what is expected. Control can be considered as a way of un-controlling the organization. Different types of organizational control are viewed as ways to tune and balance creativity with control itself. What is fundamental is that the individual be committed. To ensure this, the organization needs to continuously create creates value by promoting improved customer service. Creativity is a strategic path, which enables organizational learning, according to Simons (1995). The four levels of control that lead to creativity include, namely, (i) to contribute, (ii) to do right, (iii) to achieve and (iv) to create, as Table 4 demonstrates. Table 4. Four levels of control that lead creativity Potential To Contribute To do right To achieve To create

Organizational Blocks Uncertainty about purpose Pressure or temptation Lack of focus or of resources Lack of opportunity or fear of risk

Managerial Solutions Communicate core values and mission Specify and enforce rules of the game Build and support clear targets Open organizational dialogue to encourage learning

Control Lever Belief systems Boundary systems Diagnostic control systems Interactive control systems

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Source: Authors, adapted from Simons (1995)

Therefore, telling employees what to do is thwarting their creativity. Instead, it is more sensible to let the employee know what not to do and to provide means of searching for alternatives for daily challenges (Simons, 1995). However, this theorist emphasizes that mutual trust is necessary to fortify relational capital, to achieve creativity and organizational success. Interactive controlling systems are important and should be implemented in organizations. Organizational development includes the dynamic process of innovation, which directly influences the organization and its competitors as well (Teza et al., 2015). Innovation is regarded as an imperative because organizations need to adapt and respond to demand that is more selective. Therefore, innovation is the key to sustainable competitiveness. Sharing ideas and knowledge is a source of efficiency and of production too, as long as groups are well identified and willing to reflect about this (Paulus & Yang, 2000). Moreover, Kaplan and Norton (2004) have an interesting stance as these theorists corroborate that all functions in the organization are important regardless of the level of the individual being white, blue or pink. This perspective thus 158

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indicates that all individuals are part of a live system that works on the principle of the toothed wheel because an individual’s performance necessarily depends on the previous individual. However, these theorists maintain that there are particular individuals that exert a greater impact than others on the organization’s strategy. All individuals, regardless of their level, need to develop their behavior and attitude in search for competencies that are more in tune with the organization’s strategy, which also presupposes that the actual organization needs to engage in a similar effort to improve the organization’s culture. This course of action favors the acquisition of skills that facilitate learning thus making the individual’s knowledge available for sharing with other employees and the organization at large. In this regard, Elmquist (2008) maintains that the innovation capacity complements with the absorption capacity to generate new capacity. Special emphasis is given to innovation and productive efficiency. However, when organizations accept that innovation can disturb its technology this leads to flaws and failure. Indeed, innovation is undeniably a source of competitive advantage (Tushman & Nadler, 1986) despite it being a non-linear process (Cheng & van de Ven, 1996). These theorists allude to chaos situations inherent in innovation. They further maintain that innovation teams deal with chaos during the initial phases of the actual innovation process. However, the same does not occur during the final phase of the process. External factors may condition the development process and implementing innovation as such. Chaos enables the individual to become consciously aware of the fact the innovation process is non-linear, thus unpredictable and disordered. This enables the individual to perceive organizational learning through a non-linear lens and amid unstable conditions. Over the last few decades, the business world has changed unexpectedly. In this regard, Moreira (2011) highlights four main changes, namely, technological change; internationalization of the economy; demassifying the market; market accessibility. These changes urge the need to reflect about the existing organizational paradigm to pinpoint any obstacles that may prevent adapting to the current market. This inability to adapt may arise from disregarding internal and external innovation sources. Internal sources are vital to adapt easily to organizational structure, to create a culture of learning, to implement an appropriate climate to apply, produce and adsorb knowledge. These ingredients are an integral part of the paradigm, which entails knowledge creation and absorption, which should view the organization as an iceberg where the underwater part, which is not visible to the naked eye, is the capital, per excellence, which entails the intangible assets and which add value to the organization.

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CONCLUSION The importance of CoPs in this chapter focuses on the humanization perspective as CoPs promote learning in business contexts. Accordingly, organizations should invest in humanization to ensure that magnetism, given that organizational performance is highly dependent on group knowledge and less dependent on individual knowledge. Humanization has a high regard for the individual, CoPs may well reinforce organizational power. CoPs also enable organizations to become more intelligent and to access humane feelings. This is in sharp contrast to those organizations which are based on hard labor from their workforce and thereby ignore inspiration, creativity and harmony. Innovation enables an organization to create products that foster greater competitiveness and prominence. Moreover, organizational success depends on both external and internal factors. Innovation should be the organization’s DNA thus enabling them to deal with competition based in low prices. Innovation enables organizations to unleash themselves from the past and to engage in change especially that of 159

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their DNA. Sustainable success depends on these factors and which enable organizations to avoid falling into the trap of attractive high profits it may be experiencing in the present. Innovation also enables the organization to react to the thriving and intense competition, to the declining life cycles of products, which protects economic units of production. In this way, organizational change should be embraced so as to implement profound social innovation in order to fulfill innovation cycles and to reposition economic influence units of production into a constant state of change. This is a positive and delightful process when individuals are in tune with the vast array of values that are part of social capital and when these combine with cultural, social, emotional, spiritual and intellectual capitals as a whole. The reflection of extant literature clearly revealed that the following questions can be posed: What is the predominant current culture in the organization? Is this culture in tune with the new organizational demands? How is intellectual capital perceived in the organization and what is its relevance? Is there a new way to redefine the organization’s mission in order to align it with new intangible assets? What is the strategic importance of organizational learning and what is its role in adding value to the organization’s sustainable longevity? What paths and tools are needed to implement learning processes in cross-cultural contexts? Addressing these questions will enable organizations to adopt a more humanized, decentralized and collaborative stance. This context will be easily achieved if it takes into account intangibles and overt assets. Thus, in the current volatile environment, it is imperative to further reflect on the organizational culture and implement a new one because productivity and competitiveness rely on culture. It is necessary to narrow the organizational culture loops both with social capital and humanizing values in order to ensure the workplace is friendlier, more enthusing and inviting the individual to be committed toward the organization. It becomes imperative to be cognizant that organizational learning is the performance anchor. Therefore, identifying, applying and capitalizing different learning methods are an essential condition for organizations. CoPs are fundamental because they provide the ways and means to create, use, and share the knowledge. It is important that organizations perceive the various types of assets and their diverse routes in order to better group tangibles with the intangible assets. Knowledge about how to distribute power among individuals is vital. This fosters accountability towards actions and strengthens commitment, contrary to the thought that power distribution weakens the organization. The paradigm change should start from within the organization, visualizing a constructivist model, which substitutes the rational and cognitive model. The new model is aware of the new organizational capitals, namely, social, emotional and spiritual which will indeed foster organizational sustainability and longevity.

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KEY TERMS AND DEFINITIONS Communities of Practice: Is a system of relationships between people, activities, and the world, developing with time. These are nurtured by cooperation while disregarding both competition and egotism. Communities of practice (CoPs) are the tools which enable employees to act in the organizational space; focus on the humanization perspective; and promote learning in business contexts. Knowledge Management: Is based on an epistemological and ontological philosophical orientation. It is based on tacit/subjective insight and intuitive type of knowledge. KM is made up of a collection of strategies to capture, organize, and retrieve information indicating the concepts of databases, documents, inquiry discourse, and data mining. Social Capital: Draws special emphasis on mutual trust and collaboration. It is the sum of potential and actual resources entrenched and derived from the network of relationships developed by an individual and social unit.

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This work was previously published in the Handbook of Research on Cross-Cultural Business Education; pages 48-67, copyright year 2018 by Business Science Reference (an imprint of IGI Global).

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Chapter 10

Communities of Practice for Promoting Organizational and Informal Learning in Public Administration David Rodríguez-Gómez Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Spain Joaquin Gairin Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona, Spain

ABSTRACT

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Professional development of the members of any organization is a key and essential factor to promote innovation and, ultimately, the improvement of public organizations. Communities of practice is one of the leading strategies used to promote knowledge management processes aimed at generating organizational and individual and informal learning. This chapter presents some of the results and proposals from an extensive study developed in two phases which focus on some key factors for promoting innovation in public administration. The frst phase tries to identify some of the mechanisms that facilitate or hinder learning, organizational and informal, in public organizations. The second phase is focused on analysis of knowledge management practices through communities of practice in public administration. The results enable us to suggest some proposals and future research lines aimed at improving both organizational and informal learning, along with innovations that contribute to improving the public administration.

INTRODUCTION Innovation is an indispensable requirement for Public Administration (Bason, 2018), since it must respond to a rapidly changing context, needs and demands. The aim is to achieve a model of public administration in accordance with the citizens and social organisations demands, which would provide effective, efficient, sustainable responses. The changes to be promoted not only affect the general orientation of DOI: 10.4018/978-1-7998-7294-8.ch010

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Research Anthology on Facilitating New Educational Practices Through Communities of Learning, edited by Association, Information Resources Management, IGI Global, 2020. ProQuest

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 Communities of Practice for Promoting Organizational and Informal Learning in Public Administration

the administrative structure, which should be aligned with the European 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development but must continue to focus on key issues such as transparency, public ethics, periodic review of actions and implementation of effective systems of accountability (Arenilla, 2017) closely linked to the activities of its human resources. The innovation capacity of any organisation is directly linked to its learning capacity and, consequently, to the professional development of its workers (e.g., Brix, 2017; Choi & Chandler, 2015; Rodríguez-Gómez, 2015). Individuals’ professional development is fundamental for the development of any organisation. If we consider learning organisations as those that facilitates the learning of all its members and continuously transforms itself, we are highlighting the value of learning as the fundamental basis of the organisation. The development of the organisation is based on the development of people and their ability to incorporate new ways of developing their tasks. Learning can thus be considered as a necessary requirement that enables the achievement of organisational goals, as an organisational element that acts as a tool at the service of the organisational needs, as part of the strategy that places the organisation in an advantageous situation in the face of possible changes or as the essence that justifies the training and learning proposals in organisations. In recent years, the increasing interest among organisational practitioners and scholars in searching for and applying alternative strategies and policies to promote professional development, and therefore organisational learning and organisational improvement, has been reflected in the appearance of multiple studies about Informal Learning (IL), Knowledge Management (KM) and Communities of Practice (CoPs) as an strategy to promote innovation (e.g., Dolinska & d’Aquino, 2016; Goodyear, & Casey, 2015; Inkinen, Kianto & Vanhala, 2015). Strategies promoting workplace informal learning are contributing the most to the professional development of the workers and impact more clearly on their daily professional activity (e.g., Manuti, Pastore, Scardigno, Giancaspro & Morciano, 2015). Workplace informal learning requires a constant interrelation among workers (e.g., Greenhow & Lewin, 2016), thus justifying the development of strategies such as Knowledge Management and, specifically, communities of practice. However, as we already highlighted in a previous publication (Rodríguez-Gómez & Gairín, 2014), while most studies are focused in for-profit organisations, little attention has been given to the use of IL, KM and CoP in the public administration. Based on an organisational learning approach, this study addresses this gap in the literature by examining the factors that affect organisational learning in the public administration. Particularly, the study describes informal learning processes and strategies used by public administration workers and identify factors affecting communities of practice success in the public administration. This chapter presents some of the results and proposals from an extensive study developed in two phases which focus on some key factors for promoting innovation in public administration: organisational learning, informal learning and communities of practice. The first phase tries to identify some of the mechanisms that facilitate or hinder learning, organisational and informal, in public organisations. The second phase is focused on analysis of knowledge management practices through Communities of practice in public administration1. First, we address the need for ongoing training, individual and organisational learning as a crucial requirement for fostering systematic innovation processes in organisations. Secondly, based on the existing literature, we present knowledge management and CoP as one of the organisational strategies that enables organisations to foster informal learning processes. Once the theoretical background is completed, some results about Organisational Learning Culture, Informal learning strategies and conditioning fac168

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 Communities of Practice for Promoting Organizational and Informal Learning in Public Administration

tors of Communities of Practice in the Catalan Public Administration are briefly presented. The chapter closes with several proposals targeted at improving the development of organisational learning, informal learning and CoPs in the public administration, notes on future research and a brief conclusion on the study developed. The underlying idea of the whole approach is that the improvement of organizations in the 21st century must consider actions that allow combining personal development, professional development, institutional development and social development (Gairín, 2011), through functioning systems that, starting from problems or social challenges, look for suitable answers from the implication and collaboration of the professionals involved.

BACKGROUND Currently, in such a dynamic and volatile context, innovation is not enough; rather organisations must also equip themselves with structures that enable them to constantly develop innovation processes (Birkinshaw, Hamel & Mol, 2008). This chapter upholds CoP and knowledge management processes enable us to promote individual (informal) and organisational learning and consequently innovation and improvements in organisations (Rodríguez-Gómez & Gairín, 2015; López-Nicolás & Meroño-Cerdán, 2011). Individual and organisational learning are necessary in promoting innovation processes in any kind of organisation, and in turn systematic innovation processes are a required by today’s society (Malloch et al., 2011). We are referring to formal learning (e.g., courses, seminars) but also to informal learning as learnings that workers develop through their workplace experience and that is associated to a development of their professional skills (Cofer, 2000, Lohman, 2005 and 2009). We cannot forget that the situation and the context of each organisation is usually different, even if we are in the same socio-cultural context. The impact of the environment, the special way in which its components are related, the differentiated action of the management, the way of developing the organisational process, the institutional history itself and their concerns in relation to improvement, make up differences and give a unique and particular personality to each institution. In any case, whatever the characteristics of the organisation, the development of organisational learning processes and knowledge management are related to the definition and operationalization of a management structure that ensures the generation and ongoing use of existing and developed knowledge. Specifically, it is necessary to have (Espinoza, 2000):

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• • •

Institutional resources to feed a culture that assimilates and promotes training and investment in intellectual capital (values, purposes, objectives, policies, plans, projects); The promotion of an organic organisational structure, in which each organisational unit or department works in an interconnected way with other units or departments, in order to increase the capacity to face the diverse and varied factors of the environment; Technological systems for the interconnection of production agents and knowledge management. It is about fostering the creation of a network of spaces and equipment that allow communication and transaction.

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As suggested, the need to promote individual and organisational development and improvement in organisations, and especially in the public administration, is what has fostered knowledge management and the implementation of Communities of Practice. CoPs are viewed as more viable alternatives than the traditional conferences, seminars, workshops, face-to-face courses and online courses, which reflect the informative interests of the public administration itself more than meeting professionals’ needs. Thus, we approach training and learning proposals that are much more closely linked to the institutional project (mission and vision) and to processes of constant revision and improvement in the organisation. In these cases, the learning is indirect and links professional development, personal development and the development or improvement of the organisation.

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INNOVATION, INDIVIDUAL LEARNING AND ORGANISATIONAL LEARNING The concern for innovation is a constant in most organisations, including those that fall under the umbrella of “public administration” (e.g., Bryson, Crosby & Bloomberg, 2014, Mergel & Desouza, 2013, Osborne & Brown, 2011). However, the strategies to develop this innovation have not always been the most appropriate, if we consider the persistence of very bureaucratic organisational models and the enormous resistance to flexible systems of operation. For many years, efforts have focused on the innovative capacity of individuals. Such orientation, boosted by the scientific field of departure (most researchers were psychologists concerned about individual behaviour), has not produced results in the real practice, because the improvements disappear when certain people leave the institutions or when their effort is absorbed for the institutional dynamics. We must remember that professional performance takes place in an institutional and organisational framework that is more than the additive sum of its components. Individual approaches do not usually achieve effective changes, since the structures remain, often, intact, are not transformed, and what pretends to be a dynamic element can be seen as an invasion of the existing stability and generate antibodies with respect to what is aims to. In front of specific experiences, a certain stability is sought. Effective innovation is the one that manages to institutionalize best practices, generating commitments that guarantee its permanence over time, its extension to other users of the organisation and the profitability of efforts. Assuming the collective dimension of change means understanding the need to strengthen organisational structures and collective actions that allow new demands to be considered and the institutionalization of improvements to be made possible. The improvement is, in this context, the result but also the excuse to encourage debate and reflection, which helps people and organisations to improve and maintain their commitments. It is also an opportunity, if we want our organisations to work for the future and adapt to the social function that corresponds to them. The collective perspective requires understanding the organisation of the institution in which you want to innovate in order to understand innovation itself. It is necessary to analyse the organisational properties of the institution and its influence on the behaviour of the different members, thus discovering the set of facilitating or impeding factors of the intended change and understanding the structural and dynamic aspects of the institution, both in its internal dimension and in its projection and external relations. In any case, it is not only about understanding, systematizing and confronting innovative experiences, but also taking advantage of the opportunity to collectively search for the meaning of what is done and the consequences of the way it is done. In this sense, rather than encouraging change, “it is about putting value on notices to navigators to fix attention on the understanding of reality and doing well what is owed” (Domingo, 2013, p.9). 170

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It is change or innovation institutionalization and crystallization that allows us to talk about organisational learning, if we are careful to systematise what we learn and the willingness to apply it to new situations and moments. As we have already suggested, individual learning is the key to organisational learning, and one of the means to promote it is by investing in professional development. In this context, changes are needed in the organisation of work and in the role of agents, which require the revision of professional competences within the framework of an organisational context more flexible and more organic. Two of the key issues in the study of professional development have been precisely the context in which it should be promoted (i.e., inside or outside the organisation) and the activities that facilitate a real change in the behaviour of the members of the organisation (i.e., chatting with colleagues, attending courses, searching the internet, mentoring, reading specialized literature, etc.). In this sense, interest has grown in the study of professional development in the workplace (e.g., Cosnefroy & Buhot, 2013, Gamrat et al., 2014, Horn & Little, 2010) and the promotion of informal and social learning processes (Mawhinney, 2010; Melber & Cox-Petersen, 2005; Richter et al., 2011). Within the framework of the trend to promote “lifelong learning”, informal learning processes in the workplace are becoming increasingly important (Lin & Lee, 2014). Between 75% and 90% of the learning acquired in the workplace turns out to be informal and is usually generated through interaction with other people (Hart, 2014). Recent studies demonstrate the preference of workers towards less formalized forms of training (Hallyday-Wynes & Beddie, 2009). In 1999, Dale and Bell (1999) already identified the many benefits of developing informal learning processes in the workplace: flexibility, employability, adaptability of learning to context, rapid transfer to practice and performance. Marsick (2009) gives us some questions that contribute to unify the conception and practice of informal learning: • • • • • •

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• •

Informal learning is always defned in contrast to formal learning, although it is always in continuous interaction; Informal learning can be studied by examining learning activities and processes; It is difcult to establish links between informal learning and results; The personal characteristics of individuals determine their way of learning; The context afects in a determining way the learning practices; Relationships, and all the factors that condition them, are fundamental for creating communities of social and informal learning; Organisational factors infuence the climate for learning; Knowledge management can become a bridge between individual and collective processes of informal learning.

Currently, these processes of informal and social learning are being strongly strengthened by the introduction of technology, specifically, the social media in work contexts. This type of technology eliminates a large part of the barriers existing between apprentices and trainers, thus fostering the creation of more informal, collaborative and interactive learning environments (Bozarth, 2010). These are the same technologies that are driving the effective development of CoPs and, consequently, of Knowledge Management as strategies to promote individual learning in the internal framework of organisations.

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COMMUNITIES OF PRACTICE FOR KNOWLEDGE CREATION AND MANAGEMENT The perspective of sharing and disseminating existing knowledge links up with KM processes and has been the target of interesting analyses in recent years (e.g., Lin, 2011; Rashman, Withers & Hartley, 2009; Sinclair, 2006; Wiig, 2002). The goal is to take advantage of the experience and competence that professionals participating in organisations have accumulated over the years. From a KM approach, knowledge is created through a process of continuous, dynamic interaction between personal or collective tacit or explicit knowledge, which includes moments of socialisation, externalisation, combination and internalisation of knowledge. Thus, individual knowledge is updated and bolstered inasmuch as there is community interaction that crosses personal, organisational, sectoral and social boundaries. Interactivity is the axis across which knowledge is built. This is not simply an exchange of information; rather the participants begin to interact by formulating and writing down their ideas, leading to a fruitful dialogue, generating active learning, expanding their points of view and considering them from different perspectives. This knowledge, which is so important for personal development, must be socialised and managed so that it can serve other individuals and organisations. Behind good knowledge management there is a convergence of experiences like creating and using a bank of experiences, promoting knowledge-creation groups on specific professional challenges, disseminating and debating projects, promoting exchanges with other institutions, creating networks for developing ideas and conferring meaning on the commitment to improve the organisation and its setting. KM is therefore a fundamental strategy to promote the revision and constant improvement of the public administration, as it combines personal/professional development and organisational development. Additionally, it should do this while respecting the conditions of contextualisation and reinforcing collaborative work and reflection on the problems and challenges posed by professional practice (Gairín & Rodríguez-Gómez, 2010). There are numerous studies in the fields of both business and the public administration that confirm that the creation of networks and CoPs fosters knowledge creation processes and professional development (Jeon, Kim & Koh, 2011; Kimmble & Hildreth, 2005; Klein, Connel & Meyer, 2005; Leinonen & Järvelä, 2006; Ragachari, 2011; Rodríguez-Gómez & Gairin, 2015; Schenkel & Teigland, 2008; Zang & Watts, 2007). As we have noted before (Gairín, Rodríguez-Gómez & Armengol, 2012) “from a relational approach, knowledge is understood as a socially constructed resource and, therefore, Knowledge Creation and Management processes should be concentrated on social relations and/or professionals who connect the different agents involved. In this sense, it is obvious that organisational solutions, such as Communities of Practice (CoPs), that foster those relations are an interesting proposal to promote KM” (p. 334). Ever since their advent, CoP have quickly been integrated into organisational management and design, since they provide a new approach for handling knowledge in organisations which revolves around people and social structures. This enables the members of the organisation to learn from each other. Wenger (2007) mentions some of the features that explain organisations’ interest in CoPs as a means of developing strategic capacities: •

They enable practitioners to take collective responsibility for managing the knowledge they need, thus acknowledging that if they have the right structure, they are better poised to do so.

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• • •

They create the perfect link between learning and performance, since the people in the CoP are also members of other organisational units. The participants can address both the dynamic and tacit aspects of sharing and creating as well as the more explicit aspects. They are not limited by formal structures. The connections among their members extend beyond geographic and organisational boundaries.

The kind of relations that can be forged between CoPs and the organisation are quite varied and can range from a total lack of recognition of the CoP by the organisation to its total institutionalisation (Despres & Chauvel, 2000). The integration of CoPs into organisations implies consideration of the four challenges to cultivating CoPs proposed by McDermott (2001): •

• • •

Management: The focus should be on important aspects for the organisation and its members, by fnding a respected member of the organisation to coordinate the community, ensuring that people have the time and willingness to participate in it and basing the community on the organisation’s core values. Community: Getting key leaders involved; developing personal relationships among the members and developing a passionate/highly involved core group, creating forums for thinking together and systems for sharing information. Technology: Facilitating access and contributions from the community. Personal: Generating a real dialogue on important, timely topics.

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The importance of CoPs for KM processes within organisations is based on their ability to totally integrate the knowledge and lessons into its social practices without treating them as isolated processes divorced from the day-to-day reality. Likewise, the usefulness of CoPs in KM processes depends not only on the knowledge they can share but also on other basic factors like a shared identity and values. If these elements are in place, knowledge processes are facilitated, and communication of tacit knowledge is simplified, since their existence generates the social conditions and trust needed for knowledge creation and management (Hislop, 2005). Finally, we should bear in mind that the effective development of a CoP implies theoretical and practical mastery of the processes involved in the mediation, creation and dissemination of individual and collective knowledge and the participation of diverse agents with a clear delimitation of responsibilities that ensures that the processes unfold correctly and therefore that the CoP and KM strategies will be successful (see Gairín, Rodríguez-Gómez & Armengol, 2012).

METHOD The results that we show here are a synthesis of some of the main results from a larger exploratory project which main objective was to examine the factors that affect organisational learning in the public administration. To address the main objective of the study, a mixed method approach is used (Creswell, 2018). The first phase was a quantitative study, collecting survey data from a representative sample of 943 workers of the Catalan Public Administration (3.1% S.E. and confidence level of 95%). The specific purpose of 173

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this first phase was to identify the strengths of the organisation and the areas of greatest strategic impact in relation to organisational learning. The data collection was done through a questionnaire that combined the instrument on informal learning used by Margaret C. Lohman (2005) and an adaptation of the questionnaire on learning organisations by Karen E. Watkins and Victoria J. Marsick. The dimensions that make up this second part of the questionnaire, according to the proposal of Marsick and Watkins (2003) are the following: create continuous learning opportunities, promote inquiry and dialogue, encourage collaboration and team learning, create systems to capture and share learning, empower people toward a collective vision, connect the organisation to its environment, provide strategic leadership for learning, financial performance, knowledge performance. The second phase explored further the information gathered in phase one, combining quantitative and qualitative research strategies to ensure the comparison of data based on principles of convergence and confirmation of findings, thus improving the quality of research (Baxter & Jack, 2008). The aim of the second phase of the study was twofold: (1) to analyse the knowledge creation and management procedures through CoPs in the Catalan Public Administration; and (2) to develop intervention protocols and quality standards. The CoPs studied belong to the Catalan Centre for Legal Studies and Specialised Training2 (CEJFE) and the Catalan Health Protection Agency (APS). Informants selection entailed identifying four successful CoPs (two from the CEJFE and two from the APS) and four non-successful CoPs (two from the CEJFE and two from the APS). The CoPs were selected following successful criteria (i.e., intensive interaction, stable group, production). A survey was conducted with a purposive sample of n=175, forty of whom (32 participants and 8 moderators) were also interviewed. Parallel to the use of the questionnaires and interviews, further knowledge was gained of the eight CoPs chosen through documentary analysis and two focus groups. Table 1. Description of the sample of individuals interviewed Organism

Communities of Practice Social educators at penitentiary centres

Department of Justice (CEJFE)

Legal librarians

Legal archivists

Criminological jurists

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Time/temperature binomial in the food industry

Health Protection Agency

Post-mortem inspection manual and opinions on fresh meat for the ovine-cabrum, bird and swine species Electronic administration: Implementation and development of the pilot plan Design of an online communication tool and its management targeted at official slaughterhouse veterinarians

Interviewees 4 participants 1 moderator 4 participants 1 moderator 4 participants 1 moderator 4 participants 1 moderator 4 participants 1 moderator 4 participants 1 moderator 4 participants 1 moderator 4 participants 1 moderator

TOTAL INTERVIEWEES: 40 participants (32 are participants and 8 are moderators)

Source: own data

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Organisational Learning in Public Administration The first phase of the study focuses on understanding organisational and informal learning in public administration. Table 2 shows the main characteristics of the sample. As we can see, the main profile of the sample is characterised by being: a middle age professional, mostly public servants, with over 18 years of service in public administration, predominance of female gender, predominance of university studies, greater presence some departments and with a high percentage (67.4%) of professionals working in medium or higher levels of the public administration.

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Table 2. Characterisation of the sample Age (m)

47.9

Sex (%) Male Female

35.0% 65.0%

Level of studies (%) Primary or equivalent level Vocational Training Short-cycle tertiary education Bachelor’s or equivalent level Doctoral, Master’s or equivalent level

3.6% 2.3% 26.7% 42.5% 24.9%

Department (%) Presidency Governance and Institutional Relations Economy and Knowledge Education Health Home affairs Territory and Sustainability Culture Agriculture, Livestock, Fishing, Food and Natural M. Social Welfare and Family Company and Occupation Justice Others

5.2% 8.0% 9.1% 1.4% 4.7% 6.6% 3.4% 5.4% 7.6% 4.7% 35.0% 8.4% 0.5%

Years working in the Administration (m)

18.1

Years of seniority in the current job (m)

7.8

Contractual situation (%) Public servant Indefinite contract workforce Interim staff Temporary workforce Eventual personnel Others

71.4% 6.0% 19.0% 2.5% 0.3% 0.8%

Professional category (%) Subaltern or subaltern Administrative or administrative assistant Administrative or administrative Medium technician or medium technique Technician or superior technique Intermediate or responsible directive Directive or directive Senior

3.5% 14.7% 14.4% 15.3% 24.8% 22.7% 4.1% 0.5%

Source: own data

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Regarding Organisational Learning, the adaptation of the questionnaire by Watkins and Marsick (1993) has proved valid for the Catalan context and Public Administration, opening perspectives for comparative studies of results between different contexts and for analysing behaviours of specific variables3. The qualification that deserves the factors related to the organisation that learns and to the change in the organisational performance barely exceed the average score of the scale from 1 to 6 considered; only the factors of “Financial Performance” and “Inquiry and Dialogue” exceed the average score of 3, being 3.4 and 3.3, respectively. These values ​​indicate that the organisations analysed perform actions in the line of organisational learning, although they are still far from being in the best conditions, and the same questionnaire gives us clues about the actions that could be linked to higher levels of development. The same results could be used to analyse the advances or setbacks that, in successive applications and in this regard, could be identified. The statistical relationships identified as significant point out that all the factors related to “the learning organisation” are closely related and, specifically, the “learning culture” has a very high relation with a large part of the factors analysed. The factors of the dimension “the learning organisation” have a greater relationship with the organisational performance factor. However, the correlation of all of them is linked to strategic leadership for learning and the culture of learning. On the other hand, the use of regression models allows identifying the most significant factors: • • •

The factors of inquiry and dialogue, connecting with the organisation and systems to capture learning explain 68% of the variance of continuous learning. The factors of inquiry and dialogue, empowering people, systems to capture learning and connect with the organisation explain 73% of the variance of collaboration or team learning. The factors of strategic leadership for learning, collaboration and team learning, connecting with the organisation and systems to capture learning explain 31% of the variance in organisational performance.

From a more analytical perspective, it should be noted that there are no statistically significant differences in the results based on independent variables such as gender, age or level of studies. Likewise, the significant relationships found are related to the following factors: •

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• • • •

The strategic leadership and the dialogue of those in charge is greater than that of the average technicians during the apprenticeship. Administrative assistants make greater use of systems to capture learning than average technicians. The institutional managers make a greater use of learning with the purpose of empowering themselves than the one made by middle and higher technicians. Institutional managers connect more with the organisation through learning than media technicians. The culture of learning is greater in the institutional responsible than the one that have the average technicians and superiors.

Secondly, in terms of informal learning processes and strategies, the results show that “internet search” (85.5%), “collaboration with other colleagues” (77%) and “informal conversations with colleagues” (71.6%) are the activities that public administration workers most often use to learn something new in their workplace.

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If we analyse the factors that can inhibit informal learning in organisations, the results show that lack of time or distance between colleagues is not usually a barrier that hinders the development of informal learning processes. In fact, the data show that the type of activities most affected by this lack of time is “self-learning through external courses” (46.1%) and “training in the organisation” (42.9%). In the case of distance with other colleagues, it is precisely the activities that require synchronic presence the most affected: “collaboration with other colleagues” and “general conversations and meetings”. On the other hand, the scarce economic compensation and the recognition of the people who are involved and promote this type of informal learning in the workplace are two of the main barriers. Finally, when we ask workers about informal learning activities that they consider most effective for their professional development, “collaboration with other colleagues” is considered the most effective activity in 27% of cases, followed by “training in the organisation “, prioritized by 17% of workers.

FACTORS AFFECTING CoP SUCCESS IN THE PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION

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Results from the first phase of the study show that collaboration with other colleagues, informal chats or general conversations and meetings are some of the more used and effective strategies for promoting workplace learning in public administration. In this sense, the CoP seems to be an excellent strategy for fostering all these kinds of interactions among public administration workers, since the essence of any CoP is the interaction and co-creation of knowledge among the participants. The results from the second phase allowed us to identify several success factors for the CoPs which have been grouped into four broad dimensions: organisational context (i.e., material resources, organisational culture, managerial support); community dynamics (i.e., participants’ engagement, the role of moderators); participants’ individual attributes (i.e., attitudes, prior training, prior experiences); and results of the community (i.e., usefulness, spreading of results, improvement of the organisational climate). The first of these dimensions, which refers to the organisational context, takes into consideration how the organisation may foster the implementation of CoPs. In this sense, the factors considered include the availability of resources for carrying out the work of the CoP, either in the guise of meeting rooms, computer equipment, when the CoP is conducted online, or a combination of both. Also related to this dimension are factors linked to the organisational culture and the facilities provided by the environment for sharing knowledge, with hierarchical superiors being a key factor in encouraging the involvement of the members of the CoP in the activities that it requires. Thus, for example, some of the interviewees mentioned the following: They [the bosses] don’t put up any impediments... I tell my boss, “I have a meeting tomorrow or I have a meeting whenever”, and there’s never any problem, I go off to the meeting from the CEJFE. So I stress that there is [organisational support], because if not they would put up some sort of impediments (participant). Likewise, within this dimension it is also important to consider the incentives that the organisation has made available to compensate the participants for their work in the CoP. The study revealed that even though rewards through hours of training tend to be the most common for the participants, recognition of the authorship of the projects or the fact that the organisation puts up no impediments to participating in the CoP can also be considered compensation, as can endorsing the value the products 177

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that the CoPs generate by disseminating them or facilitating their application. Two of the moderators interviewed expressed this: There was a lot of external dissemination. We held talks in the College of Educators, we have presented papers at education conferences... and this means that other people are made aware of the work done in the CoPs (moderator). Every time an informative note or a press note was published on a product generated in a CoP, its source was made clear. We have striven to link them so that everyone knows that the initial work presented jointly with others has gained recognition and a positive result: it was applied (moderator). The dimension on the community dynamics of the CoPs considers the role that all its members should play. Thus, while the participants should show an interest in the topic and contribute to the activities underway, the moderator should play a key role in ensuring that the CoP is successful. His or her main functions should be to guide the participants towards the goals set, to reinforce the relationships among the members of the CoP and to give everyone the chance to express their opinions and contribute their knowledge. Positive relations among the members of the CoP are a key factor in achieving the goals set. The participants’ explicit vision of the moderators confirms this: The moderator’s leadership is very important... she should convey passion. This is very important (participant). In my experience, the moderator was very pleasant. Every now and then she would send you an email asking, “Hey, how is it going?” and this would make you get your feet back on the ground. I think that the person who is behind it coordinating or moderating it should have this ability to motivate people, and every now and then they should give you some tool or spur you along (participant). However, sometimes the participants believed that the moderators were not thoroughly trained enough to play their role properly, which led to an extra effort in carrying it out, and even frustration.

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I was told that I was in charge of coordinating the project we’re doing now and that I had to gather the contributions from email, process them and explain them to everyone at the meeting... You try to motivate people, but it’s complicated, it’s hard. Being a moderator is hard (moderator). The third dimension of analysis, which focuses on the personal aspects of the participants in the CoPs, stresses their motivation towards the processes generated inside the CoP. Motivation mainly rises when the people involved in the CoP see that the results to be attained will be useful for improving and easing their day-to-day work. We must also take into account that the tie between the CoP and the participants’ previous training and knowledge is a factor that can determine their attitude towards the work they are asked to perform in the CoP. Some of the most common comments from participants were: I spend lots of time on it outside work, but I think that’s a good thing... professionally and personally I have felt rewarded (participant).

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When you call a meeting, some colleague always comes after having worked all night long. That is truly an inhuman personal effort that not everyone does. That’s why we have to take advantage of it when the desire is there, because there are some very motivated people!! (moderator). The last dimension analysed, the results of the CoP, is linked to the factors that determine the usefulness of the CoP’s products for the organisation, which tends to be related to the participants’ opportunity to use what they have created to improve their day-to-day jobs. The results are also considered to be successful if they can be used by other members of the organisation, a factor that the interviewers claim is achieved when the institution disseminates the results internally. In this regard, we received the following comments: The fact that the project is fully applied and helps to really improve part of our job is the best recognition. Explicitly, no notes of appreciation were sent... sharing referents is itself recognition from the organisation... recognition that the work you did is truly useful (moderator). [The product] is fully adapted to our group. The fact that we did it ourselves is very important, because it’s not something that came from an external institution, from external professionals who have nothing to do with us or with our day-to-day jobs. It is directly applicable (participant). Finally, one of the most important collateral results of CoPs was the improvement in the climate, meant as an improvement in relations inside the professional collective and gaining awareness as a professional collective. Finally, the CoPs’ ability to contribute to the training of their participants is a further result of success. Now I know almost all the educators; I have worked with almost all of the educators of Catalonia or shared something with them. Plus, you gradually form friendships and understanding... and now I know that if I have a specific problem I can call someone. You get in touch with many people (participant). The network of contacts that you create via the CoP really helps to exchange knowledge, and you learn a lot from your colleagues, and not only by speaking about things specifically in the group but also in the workplace, which creates a much better feeling! (participant).

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SOLUTIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS As we have seen throughout this chapter, the creation of Communities of Practice aims, to a greater or lesser extent, to foster professional self-reflection and dialogue among colleagues with the ultimate goal of improving professional practice and promoting organisational learning and improvement. CoPs also bring about the exchange of experiences by sharing proposals and products and creating new knowledge. Therefore, the need arises to shape a professional culture based on collaboration, that is, a culture whose core elements include communication, shared work, the exchange of professional practices, collective reflection and the quest for solutions to common problems. However, collaboration is not, nor should it be, the fundamental goal of any organisational intervention; rather it is the strategy to achieve certain ends. The goal is to shift from the organisation as a mechanical structure to regarding it as a space of 179

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collaboration at the service of both the institution’s mission and the development of the professionals who work there. Some other issues related to organisational development that should be considered to enhance innovation processes in public administration would be: • • • • •

• • •

Organisational Learning is the result of external and internal commitments. It is necessary to adapt external changes to internal purposes and vice versa. Innovation and OL make their way in the framework of each culture. The culture of each institution acts as a factor of identifcation, which requires knowing it before acting and respecting its rhythm and context. Institutional managers must be sensitive to the change process, assume their need and lead the process. Also, if the advisors exercise the function that is requested, they have time and preparation, they can be essential in processes of change. A defnition of a project, some goals and tasks are needed before beginning a process of change. The strategy is planning, which is enriched when there has been a systematic process of prior investigation and refection. Participation of all those involved in the change is always essential. We can never be good with everyone, but we can always move forward with what we have. On the other hand, prescribed changes may be necessary (due to external demand or internal need) when you do not want to do things diferently. Preserving is easy and is related to the existence of resistance to novelty; therefore, more than big changes, it is preferable to start with small changes. Resistance is inevitable but good technical work consists in detecting it and diminishing its potential against change. Successful changes are always associated with their impact on the organisation, its processes and results.

Likewise, beyond the development of operative strategies linked directly to the limitations identified in the study conducted, the approach of the Communities of Practice in the public administration, and therefore of the dynamics and collaborative culture they entail, depends on the existence of a series of basic conditions: •

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• • • •

Placing people at the core of organisations. In fact, we can talk about the development of organisations via people and the development of people via their activity within organisations. Respecting people by accepting their diversity and shouldering shared commitments. First, we must have minimal rules which are respected, and secondly, we must ensure respect for diferences in approaches and personal means, which are the cornerstone of collective enrichment. Allowing everyone access under equal conditions, which is coherent with open participation and horizontal operating structures. Fostering commitment to the operating models decided upon by the group and responsibility towards the decisions taken, coupled with ethics in actions. Making headway in the management innovations needed and providing tools that foster modern, fexible environments for both sharing experiences and creating and managing collective knowledge.

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• • •

Making institutional changes that facilitate their development thanks to the existence of a culture that is favourable to changes and the demands of collective functioning. Searching for efective models for its functioning, which include the use of collaborative work strategies. When using strategies, we cannot neglect the people that apply them, and especially the coordinators, as the individuals who spur exchange, as well as their capacity to structure and ft the interactive contexts by their selecting and applying given strategies.

CoPs will always be possible as long as these minimal conditions are in place, which should be joined by others related to their effectiveness: shared goals; respect and mutual trust; cooperative effort; shared power; the contribution of the varied talents, perspectives and resources of the members; the generation of products; and shared accountability. Somehow, Communities of Practice are identified with the search for answers and learning on the problems posed by professional practice, while also being associated with dynamic processes of knowledge creation and management. In short, we should work towards a reconsideration of the public administration which, among other aspects, frames the institutional context as a venue for innovation, develops structures and procedures for collaborative activity and broadly affects the key role of persons within organisations, the use and usefulness of ICTs and ethical considerations in all collective activities.

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FUTURE RESEARCH DIRECTIONS Workplace learning in collaborative environments such as CoPs fosters spaces where discussions among participants are promoted when exploring concepts that they aim to clarify or problematic situations that they wish to resolve, combining situations and social interactions that can contribute to effective personal and group learning. The factors of positive interdependency, interaction, individual contribution and personal and group skills promote learning which is largely supported on informal exchange processes, as shown in their ability to boost closeness and openness, interpersonal relationships, integration and group motivation while also diminishing feelings of isolation and fear of criticism and feedback. Cairns (2011) warns us that while the concepts associated with Communities of Practice, based on the “peripheral legitimate participation” relationship, have been useful as a point of departure for reviewing the theory and practice using elements of learning at the workplace, it is also necessary to go beyond these approaches if we want the theory and research into learning in the workplace to continue to move forward in the 21st century. The problem is not merely one of conception but primarily one of development. The goal is to further explore the models and alternative strategies that enable professionals to work together collaboratively and to ensure that their collaboration generates positive results and effects for the individuals and the organisation. In this sense, it is possible to advance and study two fundamental aspects that can contribute to guarantee the success and survival of this type of strategies within the framework of public administration. On the one hand, maintaining the CoPs as meta-structures supposes, in most cases, an unsustainable effort over time. Thus, it is essential to clarify what type of organisational structures can accommodate the regular functioning of the CoP without the elements that guarantee its proper functioning (e.g., flexibility, mutually sustained relationships, motivation, etc.) are conditioned or affected by the rest of the structural elements. The goal is to continue to move towards full assimilation of the principles and 181

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dynamics of knowledge management and specifically of Communities of Practice in the structure of the public administration. Therefore, the ultimate objective must be to inquire into the procedures needed to move towards the disappearance of those Communities of Practice as merely exceptional strategies created ad hoc. On the other hand, considering that people are the protagonists of any of the organisational initiatives that we intend to undertake to promote innovation and organisational development, we can advance in the study of individual or personal aspects (e.g., personal or professional determination, predisposition to learning, resilience, self-regulation of learning processes and professional activity, among others) that largely determine the predisposition of workers to be involved in processes that lead to their professional development.

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CONCLUSION The results presented here should serve to promote a debate on the meaning, usefulness and effectiveness of the mechanisms currently related to the promotion and development of learning in public organisations; also, to understand new forms of institutional training and functioning and to reinforce a culture change that promotes innovation and, ultimately, the improvement of the organisation in itself and in relation to the functions that it has socially assigned. This chapter adds to our understanding of Organisational Learning, Informal Learning and CoPs in the public administration. The results show that the design and development of any of these strategies must consider not only organisational factors, but also other factors linked to the personal characteristics of the participants and how the final results will be used. However, the results must be understood as an initial approach to the characterisation of OL, IL and the success factors of CoPs in the Catalan Public Administration. Organisations linked to the public sector tend to have certain connotations and behaviours that explain the need to perform and delve more deeply into specific studies. As public service organisations, their reference is the needs expressed by their users, which are not always the real needs or the most appropriate needs from the perspective of rationality or long-term policies. Likewise, their employees tend to have permanent contracts which are strictly regulated in terms of their duties and rights, which, coupled with the high degree of job stability, hinder and condition collaboration processes and involvement in new ways of organisation and developing professional activities. Thus, it should come as no surprise that under these circumstances we can find CoPs stimulated by the organisation based on economic rewards for the knowledge managers and consideration of the activity as training, with all the advantages and disadvantages that can be associated with the ‘gradual bureaucratisation’ of KM structures. The rigid structures of the public administration also hinder the personal recognition of informal learning and its incorporation into the organisational operations. The assignment of roles by departments, services, units or other structures and the rigidity of job classifications and the assignment of tasks clearly hinder the promotion of individuals based on the knowledge they have instead of merely on their academic degrees or administrative status. Likewise, staff members’ greater involvement and efficiency in their job does not have a direct relationship with the pre-established categories and the rigid promotion systems that exist and are protected. Again, dysfunctions are identified between hierarchical organization models, focused on the compliance and control of the norm, and models more focused on the real problems and on the collaborative contribution of ideas and answers regardless of the hierarchical level where the professionals are located in the organization. 182

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Our results and conclusions should serve to elaborate and apply a catalogue of recommendations that the authorities and services could use to improve the institutions and a greater integration of public service workers in their respective organisations. In short, it is about fostering a context that facilitates organizational learning based on an adequate management of resources and the existence of a favourable climate and culture, oriented to the provision of the public service that justifies the existence of the Public Administration. In a certain way, it is about overcoming the tendency towards bureaucratization and complacency of the administrative models, making them more flexible and focused on the ends and not only on processes and norms. In any case, it is about acting reflectively and without losing sight of the internal and external motivations to which the changes must obey. The challenge remains to build and develop organisations according to the needs of people and society. Possible advances (as evidenced by existing good practices), although we face the complexity of the process of change itself and the effects on organisational development (demotivation of staff, disorientation in the delimitation of goals, loss of working conditions, etc.) has the turbulence of external contexts related and exacerbated by the deep economic and financial crisis of some countries. We must also consider the particularities of public management systems and their necessary openness to compatibility processes between different countries, at least in large block environments (for example, countries of the European Union).

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ADDITIONAL READING Anderson, D. L. (2016). Organization development: The process of leading organizational change (4th ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. Anderson, M., & Jefferson, M. (2018). Transforming Organizations. Engaging the 4Cs for Powerful Organizational Learning and Change. London, UK: Bloomsbury Business.

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Beckford, J. (2015). The Intelligent Organisation: Realising the value of information. New York, NY: Routledge. doi:10.4324/9781315727028 Bryson, J. M. (2018). Strategic planning for public and nonprofit organizations: A guide to strengthening and sustaining organizational achievement. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons. Dixon, N. M. (2017). The organizational learning cycle: How we can learn collectively. London, UK: Routledge. doi:10.4324/9781315554945 Freedman, A. M. (2016). The Wiley-Blackwell handbook of the psychology of leadership, change, and organizational development. West Sussex, UK: John Wiley & Sons.

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Laloux, F. (2014). Reinventing organizations: A guide to creating organizations inspired by the next stage in human consciousness. Brussels, Belgium: Nelson Parker. North, K., & Kumta, G. (2018). Knowledge management: Value creation through organizational learning. Cham, Switzerland: Springer. doi:10.1007/978-3-319-59978-6 Renz, D. O. (2016). The Jossey-Bass handbook of nonprofit leadership and management. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons. doi:10.1002/9781119176558 Wadell, D., Creed, A., Cummings, T. G., & Worley, C. (2013). Organisational change: development and transformation. Hampshire, UK: Cengage Learning.

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KEY TERMS AND DEFINITIONS Community of Practice: A group of people working in the same domain of knowledge and/or profession which promotes collaborative process involving the social construction of knowledge with the purpose of finding solutions to their common professional problems. CoP Moderator: The moderator is responsible for guiding the project towards the objectives established. As the host, facilitator and organizer of the community of learning, he/she is responsible for the online space being a meeting space where it is possible to generate information, construct new knowledge and promote synergies which drive the transformation of reality. Knowledge Management: An organizational strategy that promotes and facilities systematic processes to take advantage of the existing knowledge and create new knowledge with the goal of professional and organizational development and the generation of a competitive advantage for the organisation and its individuals. Informal Learning: A kind of personal learning, often unplanned and at times unconscious, that results from interacting with a context or environment. Innovation: A process through which changes in an organisation are promoted and institutionalized. It usually entails advantages in terms of job performance or personal satisfaction that make it attractive for both individuals and organizations. Organizational Learning: Process of detection and correction of errors, through which we share and develop knowledge, we exchange ideas, processes and mental models, acquire new skills and develop new behaviors that contribute to the improvement of our own organization. Professional Development: A series of activities organized and aimed at achieving professional growth in knowledge, skills and workplace involvement. It usually includes the activities of selection, training, mentoring and evaluation and is related to the result of job assessments, career plans, promotional systems and job transitions. Workplace Learning: A kind of learning that takes place at work and results from the interactions among the people who work in the same place.

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ENDNOTES 1



2



3



Project funded by the Catalan School of Public Administration (GAP/2944/2010) with the participation of some members of the Organisational Development Team at the Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona (EDO: http://edo.uab.es), including Joaquín Gairín (Coord.), David Rodríguez-Gómez, Aleix Barrera-Corominas and Miren Fernández de Álava,, and with the cooperation of Jesús Martínez Marín from the Centre for Legal Studies and Specialised Training and Daniel Giménez Roig from the Health Protection Agency. Autonomous administrative organism of the Catalan Department of Justice, created by Law 18/1990 of 15 November, in order to develop specialised training and research in the field of law and justice. The results presented here can be reviewed in more detail in Gairín, J., & Rodríguez-Gómez, D. (2015). La realidad del aprendizaje organizativo en la administración pública catalana. Revista Vasca de Gestión de Personas y Organizaciones Públicas, 8, 8-23.

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This work was previously published in the Handbook of Research on Implementing Knowledge Management Strategy in the Public Sector; pages 198-220, copyright year 2019 by Information Science Reference (an imprint of IGI Global).

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Section 2

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Online Communities and Tools for Virtual Collaboration

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Chapter 11

Professional Development to Promote Online Communication, Collaboration and Learning Among Faculty: A Community of Practice Approach Mayela Coto https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4558-3671 Universidad Nacional, Costa Rica Lone Dirckinck-Holmfeld Aalborg University, Denmark

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ABSTRACT Based on a critical re-reading of a study of a community of practice approach to professional development, this chapter uses Engeström’s activity theory model to highlight the tensions that arise in a professional development program oriented to change teaching practice through the introduction of ICT and a student-centered pedagogical approach. Despite the community of practice potential, there are many tensions that inhibit this type of professional learning. These tensions can be summarized in four broad categories: institutional structures (division of work), the institutional culture (rules), levels of engagement (diferentiations within the community), and faculty readiness (in the appropriation of tools and new pedagogy). By analyzing, in greater depth, the tensions, our goal is to refect again in the design principles and to further elaborate on developing a professional development strategy based on a community of practice approach that can be used in broader contexts.

DOI: 10.4018/978-1-7998-7294-8.ch011

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 Professional Development to Promote Online Communication, Collaboration and Learning Among Faculty

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INTRODUCTION To contribute to today’s innovation-driven economy, universities must integrate new teaching and learning approaches that allow students to develop skills such as collaboration, problem solving, and critical and creative thinking (Adams et al., 2018). These challenges, together with the principles of long-life learning, online learning and blended learning, imply new demands for faculty, who must be prepared to face the growing expectations of being competent, both in terms of promoting the development of these new skills in the students as in the integration of content, pedagogy and technology (Crawford, 2008; Wall, 2013). In general, the task of preparing faculty to meet these challenges relies in faculty professional development programs. Literature stresses that these programs must address changes in beliefs, knowledge, and habits of practice, in order to achieve changes in the quality of teaching and learning (Gibbs & Coffey, 2004; Light & Calkins, 2008; Ödalen, Brommesson, Erlingsson, Schaffer, & Fogelgren, 2019). Literature also shows that traditional professional development (event-based, one-hit training workshops) has been shown ineffective in supporting change in teaching practices. These shortcomings have provoked an interest towards community inspired models. In the last decade, research has shown that communities of practice (Wenger, 1998) can be a catalyst to improving faculty’ professional practice (Coto, 2010, 2014; Lantz-Andersson, Lundin, & Selwyn, 2018; Patton & Parker, 2017; Schlager & Fusco, 2004; Sherer, Shea, & Kristensen, 2003) . The notion of building learning communities has become a very valuable mean for engaging faculty in meaningful and effective professional learning (Barab, Kling, & Gray, 2004; Macià & García, 2016; MacPhail, Patton, Parker, & Tannehill, 2014; Patton & Parker, 2017; Wing Lai, Pratt, Anderson, & Stigter, 2006). In addition, the technological infrastructure currently available in many higher education institutions has the potential to create online and distributed learning environments that can facilitate and extend the professional development of teachers (Lock, 2006). Despite its potential, there are many obstacles that inhibit this type of professional learning. Many of the faculty members do not have the knowledge, experience and skills necessary to work as productive members of a community of practice. They are very pressured by time, with the growing demand for teaching and research, and do not always receive incentives or support from the institution to participate in professional development activities (Coto, 2010, 2014; Powell & Bodur, 2019; Tsiotakis & Jimoyiannis, 2016). Further in a resource constraint setting, there may be additional challenges with respect to access to IT, Wi-Fi and Internet, and fewer experiences with the use of IT tools for teaching and learning. This chapter is based on previous studies (Coto, 2010, 2014) that has its roots in the interlacing of two main theoretical areas: professional development (PD) in higher education and learning in communities of practice (CoP). In this chapter, and responding to a fifth phase of the design-based research methodology - Dissemination and adoption in broader contexts- (Coto, 2010; Reeves, 2006), we will revisit the data but this time we will use activity theory (Engeström, 1987; Engeström, 2001) to analyze the tensions and contradictions that have been identified in the first analysis of the data, in order to broaden the application of the design principles. As such we will be looking into “secondary contradictions emerging between constitutive components of an activity system” (Sannino & Engeström, 2018, p. 49).

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 Professional Development to Promote Online Communication, Collaboration and Learning Among Faculty

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THEORETICAL BACKGROUND The professional development (PD) of teachers is a fundamental mechanism to improve teachers’ competences, innovate teaching methods and promote new skills in students (González & Skultety, 2018; Light & Calkins, 2008; Prenger, Poortman, & Handelzalts, 2017; Wake, Dysthe, & Mjelstad, 2007; Zhang & Liu, 2019). The PD must be purposefully conceptualized, carefully implemented and used in a meaningful way to support teacher growth and change (Loughran, 2014). The rapid development of information technology has changed the form, the content, the resources and the environment in which the professional development of teachers is carried out (Unwin, 2015). Online learning has broken the boundaries of time and space, and teachers can access online learning activities anytime and anywhere, which has the potential to effectively resolve the conflict between their workload and their professional development processes (Chen, Chen, & Tsai, 2009; Ching & Hursh, 2014) and at the same time, can encourage them to learn new values ​​and practices through participation in new forms of activity (Coto & Dirckinck-Holmfeld, 2008). Communities of practice (CoP) are a specialized form of PD (MacPhail et al., 2014). They seek to break the walls of solitary and individualistic professional practice (Byrk, 2016) and create spaces where teachers learn from one another, promoting professional growth (Barab, Baek, Schatz, Scheckler, & Moore, 2008; Hadar & Brody, 2010; Schlager & Fusco, 2004). The CoPs are significant, have a purpose and revolve around authentic tasks (Lock, 2006; Patton & Parker, 2017; Wing Lai et al., 2006). The CoP framework is based upon social or situated learning theory (Lave & Wenger, 1991). Wenger et al. (2002) define a community of practice along three dimensions: a domain of knowledge that creates a common ground and sense of common identity, a community of people who care about the domain and create the social structure that facilitates learning through interactions and relationships with others, and a shared practice that the community shares, develops, and maintains to be effective in its domain. Other researchers have proposed similar definitions for CoP. Barab et al. (2004) define communities of practice as “a persistent, sustained social network of individuals who share and develop an overlapping knowledge base, set of beliefs, values, history and experiences focused on a common practice and/or mutual enterprise” (p. 55). When the members of a community do not necessarily share working contexts, nor are they geographically close, the communities of practice are called online or distributed communities (Wenger et al., 2002) which means that they depend on technology to connect the communities members, support work teams, build knowledge repositories, build a sense of community, encourage participation, foster identity and presence and offer online tutoring and instruction. Online and distributed communities are more challenging to keep alive. In addition, a distributed CoP usually needs a formalized structure to organize activities that would enable doing, becoming, experience and belonging for the members (Schlager & Fusco, 2004).

THE RESEARCH SETTING The research scenario in the study was the National University (UNA) in Costa Rica, specifically the regional campuses. UNA is the second largest public university with around 20,000 students, 1800 academic staff and 1700 administrative staff. Besides the central campus in Heredia, UNA has several campuses throughout the country. Even though they are an important part of the university, many of 193

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 Professional Development to Promote Online Communication, Collaboration and Learning Among Faculty

the institutional efforts are placed on the central campus where most students and faculty staff are concentrated, thus the institutional initiatives usually take longer to reach the regional campus. The PD programs are not the exception. At the regional campuses, many teaching staff is hired by short terms and part-time contracts. They carry out a variety of different tasks (academic, outreach, administrative) within the regional center, so time is a scarce resource for them. They usually do not have access to PD processes that take place mostly in the central campus. The participants in the study were a group of 27 teachers from five geographically distributed campuses who have diverse fields of knowledge and diverse approaches to teaching and learning as results of their own professional experiences and context. Given the geographical distribution of the regional campuses, the study used networked technologies for two purposes: (1) contributing to the reduction of space and time barriers favoring the interaction among faculty; and (2) supporting a more sustainable and scalable teacher PD program within the institution (Schlager, Fusco, & Schank, 2002). The learning environment was designed as a framework for flexible and blended learning, rich in challenges and interactions around ICT and the philosophy and methodologies of problem and project-based learning (PBL), and teachers were considered as the main agents of their PD. For a comprehensive presentation, design, analysis and results please look into Coto (2010). For this chapter, we use, in a partial way, a set of data from the original study, but we analyze it with a new theoretical lens (activity theory) in order get deeper insights into the dynamics of the findings, and to highlight the tensions that can hinder or act as springboards for a PD process. In our use of tensions, we use this in line with Engeström’s use of disturbances and conflicts, but also his use of innovative attempts to change the activity (Engeström, 2001). In the graphic representations of the activity systems, we use a heart to symbolize the dynamics, while tensions such as disturbances and conflicts are symbolized using a kind of lightning or a cross.

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THE RESEARCH APPROACH Design-based research (DBR) is a methodology originated in the pragmatic paradigm. The Design-Based Research Collective (Design-Based Research Collective, 2003, p. 5) defines it as “an emerging paradigm for the study of learning in context through the systematic design and study of instructional strategies and tools”. In achieving its aims of improving educational designs and advancing understanding of learning, DBR draws on the full range of social science research methods, combining a variety of quantitative and qualitative approaches (Barab & Squire, 2004; Sandoval & Bell, 2004). The main sources of data for the study were online discussions, face-to-face meetings, and reflection workshops. The information was collected through questionnaires, interviews, workshops and participant observation. Given the strong online component of the intervention, over a period of ten months, online observation was carried out almost daily. All recorded sessions (face-to-face meetings, interviews, and workshops) were transcribed for data analysis. Online forum discussions were downloaded into text files. The textual data available for participant observation research include postings in discussion forums, e-mails, chat room interactions and produced artifacts. All the data gathered was analyzed through a recursive process to generate codes. Through the process of coding, collecting, grouping and organizing the data, several codes emerged that were grouped into networks or theme groups (all the details in Coto (2010)). 194

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 Professional Development to Promote Online Communication, Collaboration and Learning Among Faculty

The DBR approach has a cyclical nature where each phase informs the next phase and, in turn, each phase can result in modifications of all the phases illustrating the iterative refinement nature of the approach. DBR runs through four phases: i. “Analysis of practical problems by researchers and practitioners”; ii. “Development of solutions with a theoretical framework”; iii. “Evaluation and testing of solutions in practice”; and iv. “Documentation and reflection to produce design principles”, where researchers refine, add, and discard principles that comprise their understanding of the experience (Reeves, 2006). For this chapter, the authors expand the DBR model with a fifth phase called v. “Dissemination and adoption in broader contexts” that deals explicitly with analyzing whether the proposed design principles can effectively support teachers, from other contexts, in the process of transforming their teaching practices through the introduction of technology and PBL. In order to broaden the application of the design principles, we analyze the tensions and contradictions that have been identified in the first analysis of the data, using Engeström activity theory (2001). The tensions and contradictions can be found: (1) within the elements (for example, tools, subjects); (2) between elements (e.g. a subject and a rule); (3) between a central activity at one point in time and a central activity later on; and (4) between activities (Engeström, 2014). To perform the analysis, the authors, separately, explored the data and drew the representation of the activity systems for each of the components. Then, they compared their findings and built a common understanding. This method increases the validation of the findings.

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DESIGNING A PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PROCESS WITHIN THE FRAMEWORK OF A COMMUNITY OF PRACTICE In this study, the design of a professional development environment entails the provision of facilities to enable and support the belonging of faculty staff to a distributed community of practice. The point of departure of the study is the premise that engagement in social practice is the fundamental process by which we learn and become who we are (Wenger, 1998), hence becoming a member of an emerging teaching focused on ICT collaborative pedagogies- community of practice should be both a process of identity construction, and a process of competence acquisition. Participation in a community of practice involves action and connection, as Wenger stated, it “combines doing, talking, thinking, feeling and belonging” (1998, p. 56). In this regard, the participation of the faculty staff in the PD is seen as not just engagement in a set of activities, but as a process of being participant in a new teaching- learning practice and constructing an identity in relation to this practice. The literature suggests that we cannot create a CoP for PD goals. However, Wenger (1998) argues that while you cannot design the learning you can design for learning. Wenger’s conceptual architecture for learning provides a framework in which we can design a social learning space that affords the evolution of a CoP. This framework is expressed in terms of four basic dimensions that entail issues of meaning, time, space and power. Wenger captures these aspects with four dualities: reification and participation; designed and emergent; local and global; and identification and negotiability. In terms of the design of the PD program, the dualities are analytical tools that can give a better understanding of the process of design for a community. •

Reifcation/Participation: This duality creates two kinds of afordances for negotiating meaning as it concerns the need of creating a balance between resources for learning (reifcation) and the 195

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 Professional Development to Promote Online Communication, Collaboration and Learning Among Faculty

•

•

•

activities that make use of those resources (participation). In the context of the PD learning space, this dimension means bringing together a group of faculty staf through online and physical spaces and providing them with a balance between opportunities of participation and resources they will use in support of this participation. The negotiation of meaning evolves around core concepts, such as the introduction of technology in teaching practices, and student-centered pedagogical approaches (PBL). Designed/Emergent: Wenger (1998) emphasizes that “there is an inherent uncertainty between design and its realization in practice, since practice is not the result of design but rather a response to it” (p. 233). Within the study, a conscious efort was put into the design of tasks, spaces and organization that enables university teachers to engage in dialogues, discussions, project work and negotiations (Goodyear, Jones, Asensio, Hodgson, & Steeples, 2001). This duality involves allowing teachers to negotiate how they transform the design in ways that are meaningful to them; thus the ultimate goal of the design will be to create a space for continued negotiability among all the members of the community (Brosnan & Burgess, 2003). Local/Global: This duality refers to how a CoP relates with the rest of the world, through creating continuities across boundaries. The challenge in designing for a community with a focus on change is to create a balance between meeting the teachers’ and immediate needs and a more global institutional change agenda (Barab et al., 2004). The core concepts and practices that must be negotiated need to have local signifcance to each teacher (and each regional campus) but at the same time be of global relevance to all teachers in the community and to the university community in general. Identifcation and Negotiability: The identifcation/negotiability duality refers to the degree to which members identify with the community and the extent to which they are empowered to shape the community, and as such it has an efect on the formation of the identity through the mix of participation and non-participation (Wenger, 1998). For the goals of PD programs this duality is very important. Teachers were invited to new practices; thus, they were able to decide whether to identify or not with the community practices and consequently whether to participate or not in it.

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PRESENTATION OF FINDINGS There were two types of data sets that contributed to this study. One set was comprised by the interviews and workshops which included spoken face-to-face discussion information, and the second set was drawn from observations, discussion forums and questionnaires, including only written information. This chapter presents the results related with the overall patterns of (A) participation, (B) engagement and identification with the community, and (C) learning.

Participation in the Community The next sections will further analyze the issue of participation in three manifestations: online participation (including group work), face-to-face participation, and the development of the pedagogical intervention. This analysis will be using activity theory, and especially Engeström’s graphical representation of the second generation of activity theory (Leontjew), as the lens.

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Online Participation Participation in online activities comprises participation in chats, blog reflection, discussion forums, and group work. This section examines each of them. Chat Conversations 21 faculty members participated over time in 23 chat sessions. There was an average of five participants in each session, with a maximum number of participants of 14 and a minimum of two. The synchronous nature of the chat allowed direct interaction with everyone in the virtual room and the social space that was recreated were extremely valuable to the formation of a community identity. Participation in the chats was high at the beginning of the intervention, but then fell almost to a zero. Some of the reasons for the decline were: (1) the messy nature of the talks was overwhelming for some faculty who could not follow the flow of conversation; (2) some faculty, mainly from Coto Campus and the Marine Biological Station frequently experienced connection problems that hindered their participation; and (3) the chat sessions were transformed by some of the participants in a place in which to share all kinds of topics, such as weather, politics and national events. For other participants, those issues were irrelevant; therefore, they were unwilling to invest their time in this activity. These tensions and contradictions are illustrated in Figure 1.

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Figure 1. Online participation: Chat

Some of these tensions (the messy communication) are related to the tool (chat) or to the appropriation of the tool and the specific design of the chat-function in Moodle. Other tensions were related to the division of work, where especially the lack of a stable ICT infrastructure becomes a problem. This influences the balance and interactions between the participants in the community, making it especially difficult for the faculty staff from some of the regional campuses (Coto Campus and the Marine Biological Station) to participate actively. The third kind of tensions are related to the interpretation of social community. Though there was a shared understanding that core participation in a CoP both concerns

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social as academic communication as it has to do with identity transformation, it turned out that some of the participants did not engage in the social communication. As these participants withdraw from participating in the chat it influences their participation in the community, and therefore the importance of the chat for community building. Blog Reflection The blog was conceived as a space of personal reflection on the learning process, as such its value as an activity was considered very high, both from the viewpoint of the learning experience at individual and community level. The personal blog was aimed at providing an ability to trace the individual learning through the entire process. However, the faculty was rarely willing to use the blogs. The entry of the blog with more participants (22) was regarding a personal presentation, and the entry with fewer participants (1) referred to blended learning. It does not mean that the faculty did not reflect on their learning process, just they were not engaged in keeping a personal blog. The process of reflection mainly took place in the co-located meetings and in the discussion forums that were considered meta-reflection spaces. The tensions in the use of blogs is illustrated in Figure 2:

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Figure 2. Online participation: Blogs

We interpret the lack of use of the blog as primarily a tension between doing personal and community learning reflection in a semipublic and virtual space. Even the blog from a didactical design is expected to support the individual participants and the community to reflect and externalize the learning experience, it seems as this way of communicating was unfamiliar for most of the participants. When it comes to use the blog to present themselves, 22 participants responded to this task. This supports the interpretation that the staff were able to use the blog, however not for the intended external reflection.

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Discussion Forums There were a total of 12 discussion forums. By nature, four of them were considered reflection forums, and the remaining eight targeted a specific subject domain, such as Project-based learning; UNA pedagogical model; Modalities of learning: challenges and limitations; and Design of educational materials. Each one of the twelve forums lasted between one and two weeks. It is worth noticing that peripheral participation in the online discussion forums was an activity that requires time. Table 1 shows the individual pattern of participation for each member in the discussion forums. It considers the “core” participation, meaning producing a post, and the “peripheral” participation, meaning reading but not writing. It is possible to deduce that all participants visited the community at some point and were able to see the discussions. There was a high diversity in participation, from almost null participation (P2 and P19) to 100% participation (P8). It is also possible to appreciate that, in general, individual participation (marks with “1”), in online activities is higher than peripheral participation (marks with “0”). Research suggests that there are typically three distinct levels of participation in communities of practices: (1) The core group who participates intensely in the community and typically takes on leadership roles; (2) the active group who attends and participates regularly, and (3) the peripheral group who, while they are passive participants in the community, still learn from their level of involvement. Typically, this latter group represents most of the community (Lave & Wenger, 1991; Wenger et al., 2002). Table 1 shows that three participants (P8, P11 and P16), stood out as successful and engaged community members. These faculty members were considered the core participants in this study. The active participation online is considered a good indicator to be considered in determining the category of “core group”, because it was in the online environment where most discussion, negotiation of meanings and sharing took place. Regarding the active group who attended and participated regularly, seven faculty members can be considered to belong to this group: P1, P3, P7, P12, P14, P15, and P22. The last one can be considered a good example of an active participant. She began very enthusiastically in the community and took a leading role in her group. However, she felt and declared herself as not akin to online communication, and promptly she stopped her participation in the discussion forums. Despite this, she found her way within the community and became one of the most active participants in face-to-face meetings (Coto, 2014). The last group, the peripheral one, is formed by members who even though they were peripheral participants in the community, still might learn from their level of involvement. Twelve participants belong to this group: P2, P4, P5, P6, P9, P10, P13, P17, P18, P19, P20 and P21, and they represent the biggest group within the community. From this group, there were four members who withdrew from the study in the early stages (May to June): P5, P17, P18, and P20, so they did not participate in the pedagogical innovation project. P18 is a case that may illustrate the process of a participant who had a peripheral participation while he was in the community and who finally decided to terminate his participation in it. In general, the discussion fora worked well, and the participants were able to use them as intended (Figure 3). Three groups of users evolved and could be identified (core group, active group, and peripheral group), however the analysis also reveals that this different levels of participation in the forum discussions may produce some tensions among the individuals. Some of the core participants, which took up the leadership in the forums expressed disappointment with the other participants not contributing enough. Our interpretation is, that participating in the online fora is one way of expressing membership and contributing to the building of the community, however the core members are also depending on

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Table 1. Individual participation in the discussion forums Faculty Members

Participation Over Time in the Discussion Forums * #1

P1

1

P2

0

P3

#2

#3

#4

#5

#6

1

1

1

#7

#8

0

1

0 1

P4

1

1

1

#11

0

1

0

0

1

P6

0

1

1

0

P7

1

1

0

1

1

1

P8

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

0

P9

0

P10

1

1

1

1

P11

1

0

1

1

P12

1

P13

1

0

0

0

P14

1

1

0

0

P15

0

0

1

1

P16

1

1

1

1

1

1

#12 1

25

1

0 0

1

1

P5

13 1

4 2

0

1

1

0 1

0

0

1

1

0

1

#10

0

1

P17

#9

Total Number of Postings

0

1

1

1

5

1

16

1

1

82

1

1

24

0

5 21

0

1

1

1

1

1 1

1

7

1

1

1

13

1

15

1

0

1

1

0

0

1

0

0

1

0

1

1

11

1

1

1

1

1

1

48

1

P18

1

0

P19

0

0

P20

0

1

1

0

P21

1

1

1

1

P22

1

1

1

1

0

8 1

6 0 12 10 0

1

1

7

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(Coto, 2014) * For participants who were members of the community for more than three months 1 – active participation (writing a contribution) 0 – passive participation (just observing)

the active members, and the peripheral members in order to stay “tuned”. At the same time writing and contributing in foras were for the participants a new way of communication, which prerequisite not only the operational skills to use forums as well as a stable ICT infrastructure (which especially was missing in the Coto and Puntarenas campus), but also a readiness and competences to act in the online fora, and to express yourself about academic and social issues in a new mode of communication. The aim of using the communication fora was for the faculty staff to become familiar with and a necessary way of communicating and discussing among the participants, as they were distributed in space and time. Many of the participants were able to use the communication fora as a shared space for academic and social discussions, however it also produced (new) boundaries between the members of the community. One very clear example of these new boundaries was the participant (P22), who in the beginning was actively participating in the forums, but suddenly stopped. With regards to the online communication she

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 Professional Development to Promote Online Communication, Collaboration and Learning Among Faculty

Figure 3. Online participation: Discussion forums

became a peripheral participant, however what we shall see later was, that she in the f2f communication took up the leadership, and in the overall CoP belong to the core group. Four people, who had not participated in the forum discussions withdrew from the PD program. Especially P18 expressed that the entrance level (the ability to use the online communication for academic and social activities) was too demanding, and the overall PD process too demanding and abstract. He expressed that it was conflicting with his heavy demands of work as a faculty member.

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Group Work Group work was another activity designed to be carried out mainly in the online environment. The groups were established to create mutual dependencies between the participants and to support the individual construction of meanings through the construction of shared understanding, negotiation, confrontation and commitment (Dirckinck-Holmfeld, Jones, & Lindström, 2009). The groups were also organized intercampuses to enable participants to truly experience by themselves the learning process using networked technologies. This decision was aligned with the principle of constructive activity (Gallant, 2000) which suggests that in order to increase the opportunities for change, faculty should experience the teaching and learning conditions they plan to create for their own students.

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In addition, group work was considered fundamental for the design of the pedagogical intervention that the participants would implement with their students. The groups were envisioned as the places where members discuss, analyze and take decisions. However, there were a lot of organization and coordination problems, as well as misunderstandings and difficulties with setting up agreements. The activity in each group was very irregular, and even though the group members were visiting the group online space regularly, they were, in most cases, unable to make decisions, and consequently little progress happened. The tensions emerged in online group work is shown in Figure 4.

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Figure 4. Group work: Online and distributed participation

Community members argued lack of familiarity with the technology including lack of skills in asynchronous and synchronous communication and lack of skills in order to use the platform for group work. Moreover, they argued for lack of group culture including the practice of sharing, giving peersupport and lack of commitment to accomplish work. At the individual level, they also explained lack of motivation and time as reasons for why the distributed group work was not as productive as hoped for. Moreover, one argued, that it was a mistake to divide them into groups, when they were just becoming comfortable as a community. It was evident that working in virtual and distributed teams across the regional campuses required skills not inherent in the participants.

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In general, the data for online participation suggests a general pattern of higher ability to participate to those members with greater technology experience and background. The inability for the groups to work in an effective way was a factor that negatively influenced academic participation and weakened the cohesion among members of the community and even led some faculty to leave the community.

Face-to-Face Modality Group Work Once discovered that the online group work was not working as intended, the group work was moved to the local campuses in a face-to-face modality (see tensions in Figure 5). The intention of this change was to preserve the practice of sharing and peer-support beyond the online means. The new strategy worked well in three campuses: Nicoya, Liberia and Puntarenas. The participants supported each other in the process of designing and implementing the pedagogical intervention. In the other two campuses, Perez Zeledon and Coto Brus, the support that took place between the members of the group was quite low. Those who made progress in the program were working in rather individual ways. Taking Nicoya’s group as an example, it was clear that while the faculty members were not participating much online, they were gaining value from the community. They worked as a sub-community, where they read the suggested material, discussed it in their group, and used it in their classrooms to extend their teaching repertoire. So, the Nicoya’s group work is an example of a practice based on sharing, caring and peer-support, while the groups in the two campuses, Perez Zeledon and Coto Brus not managed to get it to work - even after the groups were organized in a face-to-face modality.

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Figure 5. Group work: Face to face participation

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This contradiction between the groups and the community may be explained by the concepts of weak and strong ties (Granovetter, 1983; Wang, Lu, Ester, Wang, & Chen, 2016). At the CoP level the faculty members are connected in somehow weaker ties than in the group work, where they become very depending on each other. And when it does not work due to the uncertain competences in distributed, online group working or as shared commitment in the f2f group work, the individual learner becomes isolated. However, there is maybe a didactical design issue in the overall PD approach to consider, which may have reinforced this problem. With references to Dirckinck-Holmfeld, Jones, & Lindström (2009) there may be an ambiguity between the motive for the group work and the dependencies, which the groups may produce. When organizing for collaborative project groups as in PBL, the idea is that the participants share a project and a shared enterprise, however as the pedagogical intervention were not a shared project, it might - as also one of the participant express - be questioned if they really needed the local groups as they felt that they got more support from the community than from their local group. So, it might be worth considering the relations between the individual, the groups and the community and when and why to integrate groups. Especially forced distributed groups across regional campuses demands competences in online group work.

Face-to-Face Participation Table 2 shows overall faculty participation in the six face-to-face meetings that took place during the intervention. Two of these meetings were global meetings in Heredia with all participants, and the other four were carried-out in each of the regional campuses. Table 2. Participation in face-to-face meetings Face-to-Face Meeting

Number of Participants

February

24

March

27

June

17

August

15

October

14

November

15

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(Coto, 2014)

The data shows that participation in face-to-face meetings was very regular which confirm the preferences of many community members for face-to-face communication. All in all, face-to-face communication in the seminars were perceived as very important for the academic and social discussions and reflections on the innovation of the teaching practices, and also to motivate the faculty members to engage in the community and to stay motivated. The participants in general like the f2f modalities based on a mix of presentations, design workshops and discussions as they provide a dynamic and “ready-athand” environment for discussions and learning, which was within the comfort-zone of the participants. Further, the attendance mirrors engagement, which makes it transparent for the community members to experience the community engagement.

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The tensions in the face-to-face participation and modality are illustrated in Figure 6.

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Figure 6. Global face to face participation

In general, the regularity in the face-2-face activities underlines the need for a blended learning approach, However, there were tensions with respect to time and the faculty workload. A sub-group (P11, P14 and P16), always expressed a preference to communicate in an environment that encourages debate beyond the physical limitations. For these members, online communication offers the flexibility not previously available to carry out collaborative learning activities; however, the three of them were competent in using technology as a means of communication. The differences between online participation and face-to-face participation may be illustrated by P2. He participated in all face-to-face meetings but had not written a post in ten months (see Table 1). In general, time was the most important factor that hinders participation. In most cases, there was always a tension between faculty workload at the university, personal time and time for PD. Daily activities at the university often interfered with the activities proposed in the community. Faculty members were struggling to bring the community into their daily routine. Normally, many of them did not have serious problems with attending face-to-face meetings but found that time for online participation was much more difficult for them.

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The Development of the Pedagogical Intervention The literature points to the importance of providing opportunities to implement what is learned (Gallant, 2000; King, 2003; Lawler & King, 2001) and in DBR interventions are also a mean to create new knowledge and to learn from practice, as an intervention in practice always will reveal some unforeseen stepping stones. As a further strategy for integrating knowing, acting and being, each participant designed, implemented and evaluated a pedagogical intervention in their classrooms in order to enhance some aspect of their educational practice. The activity was highly situated and authentic, and 15 out of the 18 community members who completed the PD program, were able to go through the complete process. They pursued diverse goals in the design of their pedagogical interventions, such as motivating students (P14); making a more participatory course (P2 and P4); promoting reflection and analysis (P12); fostering collaborative work (P22); improving learning through the use of technological tools (P7 and P10); developing fundamental topics through the use of blogs (P1); and using technological tools to develop a project about local tourism (P3 and P6). The innovations were carried-out in courses from areas such as Education, Literature, Environmental studies, Tourism, Administration, Language, and Biology. The tensions emerged during this activity are illustrated in Figure 7.

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Figure 7. Pedagogical intervention

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Findings show that this was the activity as most of the faculty staff participated in. Despite of some problems related to time and perhaps energy constraints of busy professionals, this approach was highly successful in creating practical relevance for their learning. By being capable of making changes [with diverse levels of complexity] in their teaching, the community members felt empowered in their practice, role and future perspectives. Further, for the community, the interventions served as a pool of practical experiences which it was meaningful to engage in and connect to.

Engagement and Identification With the Community Engagement defines who belongs to the CoP (Wenger, 1998). Through the engagement in discussions and collaborative work, faculty members were confronted with the necessity to negotiate their current multiple practices and experiences. The new theoretical knowledge and practical training in ICT and PBL gave them methodological skills which had an impact on their professional practice. However, each participant found a unique place and identity within the community, and it was framed by their engagement and identification with the community. Table 3 indicates the faculty members’ perceptions about their engagement with the community. Table 3. Engagement with the community Totally Agree

Agree

Disagree

Totally Disagree

NR

Interest and positive attitude toward the topics

41.67

33.33

8.33

8.33

8.33

Participation in activities has been constant

8.33

41.67

25.00

16.67

8.33

Sharing of experiences, histories and ways to solve problems with other members

8.33

66.67

8.33

8.33

8.33

Exchanging of resources with the other members

16.67

41.67

16.67

16.67

8.33

Responsibility and commitment with the learning activities

16.67

41.67

25.00

8.33

8.33

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(Coto, 2014)

The data comes from the final questionnaire and was answered by twelve participants. The community has a defined area of knowledge and practice (ICT+PBL) that shapes the domain and establishes the common ground which gives members the motivation to meet, discuss and share. From the data it can be concluded that 75% of faculty showed interest in the topics that were discussed and thus in the domain of the community. It also can be seen that only 50% of the members stated that they participated regularly in the diverse proposed activities. This is important, because participation in a CoP requires regular interactions to contribute to the development of the domain and the practice. In connection with the exchange of experiences and sharing of resources, the data show that 75% of the them were willing to share stories, experiences and ways of solving problems, but only 58% of them participated in resource sharing. One possible explanation for this situation is that it in this context it usually requires less time for faculty to share their stories and everyday experiences than to find additional resources. Furthermore, sharing of resources usually requires more technological skills. Maybe the sharing of stories is also more meaningful to the community and more ready-to-hand, than the focus on sharing of additional resources.

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The final item in the Table 3 indicates how faculty themselves valued their responsibility and commitment to the learning activities. The data show that only 58% of them said they had assumed responsibility for participation in learning activities. However, this value is strongly influenced by the feelings of members about their general lack of online participation, since as discussed above, the average rate of participation in the face-to-face activities was high, plus 15 of 18 faculty members were able to design, implement and evaluate an educational intervention in their classrooms. This situation reflects how they created a strong link between participation in the online website and their participation and commitment as members of the community. Because members did not participate online as much as they would have liked, their perception of commitment to the community was weakened. The tensions that arise in the process of engagement to the community are illustrated in Figure 8.

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Figure 8. Community engagement

In general, commitment was an issue that generated some controversy. Some members believed that a strong and steady commitment is necessary for PD to be effective and for the community to be productive. Others felt that the way to make a commitment should be flexible, so people need to be able to contribute when they can and as they can. The former was critical of those who did not contribute regularly and thoroughly. These issues of commitment are characteristic of a CoP. If a community is seen as voluntary, which Wenger express in many of his writings, the organic development of the community will show if the strongly committed or the ones, which find commitment to be more flexible will emerge as the core members. However, as a PD strategy, we will recommend making the requirements for commitments even more explicit, for the participants to be confronted with this even before entering the community. Double standards may create confusion and frustration in the community.

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Wenger (1998) points out that an important condition to be able to negotiate meaning is identification. As such, identification influences learning and on the formation of the identity through the mix of participation and peripheral-participation. Table 4 indicates the self-perception of participants regarding their identification with the community. The data come from the final questionnaire and was answered by twelve participants. Table 4. Identification with the community Totally Agree

Agree

Disagree

Totally Disagree

NR

Feel part of the community

58.33

25.00

16.67

0.00

0.00

The community offers a safe and trust space to express freely

50.00

33.33

0.00

8.33

8.33

My contribution is important and valued by other members of the community

58.33

16.67

8.33

8.33

8.33

Positively value shared learning with community members

75.00

8.33

8.33

0.00

8.33

Belonging to the community allows to improve professional practice

66.67

25.00

8.33

0.00

0.00

(Coto, 2014)

The tensions regarding the identification to the community are illustrated in Figure 9.

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Figure 9. Community identification

From the data, it appears that 83% of the members felt that they were part of the community. Because it was a distributed community, it is important to consider that the inability to negotiate meanings can create an identity of nonparticipation and marginality, and this may be the case for some participants. Regarding trust and the value of contributions, 83% of faculty believed that the community offered a

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safe and trusty space to express freely. This trust could be seen in the open and free way in which they presented their thoughts, questions, and doubts in the learning activities. It is important to note that, in some cases, there was an existing degree of trust among the participants of the local campus and participation in the community promoted the consolidation of this trust. Despite the faculty feeling free to express themselves, only 75% of them reported that their contributions were valued by the other members. This situation can be associated with lack of reciprocity. A community thrives on reciprocity, “on giving back”, and in widespread participation in community building efforts (McDonald et al., 2003). When faculty members participated in a discussion and received no response from the other members, they felt that their contributions were not valuable enough for the others to bother to participate. For active participants, fairness dictates that one needs to give back something of comparable value. The lack of reciprocity had a negative effect on motivation and social engagement and, to some degree, devalued the learning process, clearly affecting the cohesion of the community. As non-participation discouraged some academics to participate, the daily and active participation of other academics also discouraged participation. P8 was the academic with highest participation in the community. He attended all the face-to-face meetings and participated in online discussions almost daily. Furthermore, he made many contributions to the community, such as complementary readings, supporting references, and conceptual maps. This very central participation provoked conflictive feelings in some participants. Given the geographical distance among campuses, the establishment of relationships among participants was complex. However, despite the difficulties, 83% of the participants appreciated the interaction and the shared learning with colleagues. This could be noticed in some of the answers to the question “What we did well as a community?”, where 8 out of 14 academics mentioned aspects such as sharing and support of each other; sharing new experiences; sharing ideas; and sharing practices. About 92% of faculty asserted that belonging to the community allowed them to improve their professional practice. The community favored the development of expertise, which in turn was transferred to the classroom and influenced teaching and learning processes. Through the design, implementation, evaluation and communication of findings about their pedagogical innovations, the participants provided strong evidence of how learning in the community had an impact on their professional practice.

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Learning Into a Community of Practice A central conviction in communities of practice, is that learning is a social process that involves building connections: connections between what is being learned and what is important to the learner, connections between what is being learned and those situations in which it is applied, and connections among the learner and other learners with similar goals (Barab et al., 2004; Hadar & Brody, 2010; Prenger et al., 2017). The community was an opportunity to learn with and from colleagues and there was a growing understanding of the acquisition of new knowledge, skills and competences. The members were engaging in opportunities to learn, share and engage in professional discussions with their colleagues. These opportunities were identified as valuable and, in some cases, as crucial for faculty who work in remote locations and who do not have many opportunities to participate in professional learning activities. In some sub-communities, especially Liberia and Nicoya, the participants have benefitted from working closer to their colleagues, they learned to work as a community, they engaged in supporting each other and in sharing expectations and experiences.

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Literature also suggests (Layne, Froyd, Simpson, Caso, & Merton, 2004; Loughran, 2014; Zhang & Liu, 2019) that providing faculty with opportunities to explore, discuss and reflect about their teaching conceptions and practice, enabled them to become less resistant towards different pedagogical approaches. The participants in this study were required to think and act, in some depth, about their teaching over a 10 months’ time frame. This is a much longer period than the regular PD processes, and it is considered, as also identified by Gallant (2000) that this longer period of engagement contributed to creating continuity in their learning through an ongoing, and incremental process. Table 5 shows how participants experienced the PD process, in terms of their learning. Table 5. Learning in the PD process Totally Agree

Agree

Disagree

Totally Disagree

NR

The PD process allows me to develop skills to integrate technology into my teaching practice

41.7

50.0

8.3

0

0

The PD process allows me to develop skills for incorporating new pedagogical approaches in my teaching practice

75.0

8.3

16.7

0

0

What I have learned is applicable to my academic work

83.3

0

16.7

0

0

The development of the pedagogical innovation allows me to apply what I learn in the PD process

66.7

25.0

8.3

0

0

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(Coto, 2014)

Learning is a process that changes people. The central issue in learning is becoming a practitioner, not learning about practice (Wenger, 1998). A key outcome of learning, in the context of social learning, is a way of being, of being a type of person in a specific practice context, it is a process of reconstructing identity (Kirkup, 2002; Warhurst, 2006). Through their participation in the community of practice, sharing experiences and negotiating meaning as they were developing new skills to integrate technology into their teaching, and for incorporating new pedagogical approaches,, the community members gradually shifted from the periphery of the practice to the establishment of an identity in the core of the community. Being part of “something bigger” was a strong motivation for most faculty, they feel connected to others and feel that they are contributing to improve teaching practice at institutional level. However, a few of the participants disagree on the learning experience regarding new pedagogical approaches and the application to their academic work. There may be several explanations. However, one explanation may be that the focus on the online tools took up too much attention and the design for community engagement were so demanding related to their other academic obligations, that it was not efficient for them with respect to these dimensions. Figure 10 shows the tensions that emerged in the PD process In summary, the community framework provided the participants with the necessary social interaction environment for collegial learning and dialogue. Their interaction allowed different perspectives on topics and issues and they found it interesting and supportive to interact in the group. In most cases, it appeared that their thinking and practice changed. Hence, even though the participants faced obstacles, they learned as a response to participating in the community, what can be considered as significant and meaningful learning for the development of their competence. Further they became capable of setting new pedagogical objectives and integrating PBL and ICT for student learning, and to carry out actions

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Figure 10. Community learning

and operations to make it happen (Kaptelinin & A. Nardi, 2006). They succeeded in creating interventions in the classroom engaging the students in new ways of teaching and learning, and mastering ICT to a certain operative level to be able to communicate in online fora, using chat etc. As such the communities of practice approach is not only a productive PD approach, however, may influence the teaching and learning beyond the teachers CoP.

DISCUSSION OF THE FINDINGS: CHALLENGES AND TENSIONS

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The PD model proposed in this study represented a multiple challenge for the participants. They were asked to do things that most of them were not used to doing. First, they had to revisit their beliefs and values about teaching; second, they had to engage in student-centered approaches (PBL), third, they had to work collaboratively; and fourth, most of this collaborative work took place via online technology. In navigating through all these challenges, the participants experienced problems. These tensions can be summarized in four broad categories: institutional structures (division of work), the institutional culture (rules), levels of engagement (differentiations within the community), and faculty’ readiness (in the appropriation of tools and new pedagogy).

Institutional Structures (Division of Work) Within the institutional structures, this study identified the following obstacles: lack of time and access to technology. Most of the participants in this study felt that their workload was so demanding that they could not do what they had to do in the community within reasonable time. Despite the efforts to make the PD program more manageable, the issues of time and workload remained a problem for many participants. The research literature (Chen et al., 2009; Ching & Hursh, 2014; Lock, 2006; Tsiotakis &

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Jimoyiannis, 2016) and the results of this study suggest that the establishment of extra and necessary time for continuous PD in a CoP approach is very difficult. In a resource constraint setting, the lack of access to adequate technological resources is also another factor that affected the PD. 96% of the participants had computers at home, but only 65% of them had Internet access at home, so they depended on institutional facilities to participate in online activities. However, while the access to technology and the internet was fairly stable in some campuses, in other campuses, the participants experienced continuous problems with the access to the Internet. This influenced not only the individual faculty staff, but also the dynamic in the community, as access to the internet becomes a new boundary. A distributed learning CoP is deeply depending on stable and strong internet connectivity.

Institutional Culture (Rules) The institutional culture in which the community is embedded can act as an obstacle to community development (Lock, 2006). In this study and despite the participants’ motivation, the insular way in which many faculty members used to work affected the transition to a collaborative environment. It became evident that cross-institutional group work was difficult, and, to some extent, it diminished rather than strengthened the community cohesion. Another consequence of this trend towards individualism is that the faculty members do not have references to compare their experiences. They rarely know what happens in the classrooms of other colleagues. This study proposes that references are essential to convert abstract ideas about the quality of teaching in specific actions. To some extent, the community approach proposed by this study contributes to diminishing the problem of lack of references and examples of good practice. These perspectives add complexity to designing for a community, because in order to be alive, a community needs the development of relationships, active participation and productive interactions among members. In line with Preece et al. (2004) the study found that for faculty to work in a collaborative way, a redefinition of the institutional culture is needed. The project demonstrated that faculty finds it very valuable and meaningful to learn new skills by participating in a community of practice. However, for this to become an institutional strategy, this approach should be backed up and reified in the rules and policies of the institution. How can the institution value and facilitate a community orientation? How to develop policies and incentives to support a community of practice approach. For the transition to occur, it is vital that the faculty receive support and incentives from the institution (MacPhail et al., 2014; Patton & Parker, 2017; Warhurst, 2006).

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Levels of Engagement Another tension that was identified by the study as an obstacle for the PD process was the levels of engagement in the learning activities. This study has found that the ways in which the faculty participated and the level of sophistication of their contribution varied considerably from one to another. The core members tended to be the ones who were fully engaged in their PD, despite other work activities. The other participants showed difficulty maintaining a regular participation, so, in some cases they failed to become active members of the community. Those who felt less comfortable with technology also found that the time needed to resolve technical issues was disappointing, which contributed to their peripheral position in the process. 213

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There were also differences in the responses of the members to the learning activities, especially in the discussion forums. The core and most active participants tended to write longer and more complex ideas, while less-active and peripheral members wrote shorter and simpler contributions, although there were exceptions. Although these differences were acceptable within the spirit of communities of practice, findings show that this can be problematic in the context of faculty PD processes. The complex and extensive contributions of some members tended to create feelings of insecurity and inadequacy in some of the less active participants. This contrast in the levels of participation must be handled sensitively in order to avoid serious damage to community cohesion. Although peripheral participation is considered legitimate (Lave & Wenger, 1991; Palloff & Pratt, 2005; Wenger, 1998), and to some extent, it was agreed among UNA participants that it was valid for them to interact at different levels, depending on particular circumstances, in the dynamics of building a community, the lack of participation did have some effect. In the community, continuously passive participants were viewed as non-contributors and became a source of frustration for the visibly active participants. The community as a unit needed active participants to add value for all members in order to support learning, engagement, and the long-term sustainability of the community. In an online community, engagement as active participation is easier to recognize as the online communication traces the engagement, and this may establish new boundaries in the community. In the institutional strategy for supporting COPs this issue of levels of engagements must be addressed.

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Faculty’ Readiness The findings show that face-to-face sessions of any sort were found very valuable by the participants in building relationships as well as in working through technical issues. Many of the participants had a lack of confidence in the use of technology, and this situation could even be worst in a resource constraint setting. The study addressed this gap through the initial training and ongoing support of the facilitator. However, for some faculty, the learning curve was so long and so frustrating that they gave up the community after two or three months of belonging to it. Several authors (Ching & Hursh, 2014; Eib, 2002; Killion, 2000; Salmon, 2004; Unwin, 2015), argue that in designing distributed communities of practice, it cannot be assumed that the faculty staff are familiar with online participation. From the quality dialogues that took place in the workshops it was evident that it was necessary to foster a culture of online communication and learning among participants. Some of them did not feel fully comfortable with online communication. The behavior of those members in the online part of the PD program was an indicator that additional conditions were necessary before they were able to significantly interact online. In order to participate effectively in an online environment, the faculty need to be self-motivated, self-confident, have the required technological and communicative skills, and not least a supportive and efficient virtual infrastructure However, we also need to acknowledge, that what it means to be self-confident vary among the participants. The institutions must therefore consider how to support faculty to become self-confident in these new forms of communication and learning.

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REFLECTIONS ON THE DESIGN OF THE PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM In the following, we present and discuss the principles around the four dualities and the tensions that emerged in the findings.

Duality: Participation and Reification From the analysis it could be seen that the structures of participation chosen in the design were both an incentive and a hindrance to participation. All participants acknowledge the importance of face-toface activities, even for many of them it was time-consuming to attend, while some of the participants expressed a need for more training especially on how to use the virtual learning environment. Among factors that diminished online participation were time, technical competences and the lack of a culture of online learning and communication, as well as a low bandwidth in some locations. However, what was stressed again and again was the institutional reification and lack of time allocated for really engaging in the TPD and the community building. The most important and challenging reification made by the participants was to design a pedagogical innovation. This reification was a central facility for supporting engagement, imagination and alignment (Wenger, 1998). It allowed them to create alternative teaching/learning scenarios, envisioning new trajectories and, in many cases, pushing their own boundaries. The reification of the members’ learning processes in an educational project seems highly satisfactory. This process required the full commitment of the participants and the integration of their own knowledge and experiences, and in that sense, as has also been identified by Ollila and Simpson (2004) they gained more opportunities for PD than in other less demanding activities - such as readings. However, the first organization of the interventions in groups across the regional campuses was an example of reification, which hinders participation. And for some members it needed a lot of repair work to get them back to the community approach.

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Duality: Designed and Emergent During the intervention, there was a constant interplay between the theoretical ideas and the practical requirements for designing a situation viable in the UNA context. Furthermore, the chosen method for this investigation –design-based research- supports the recursive movement between the theoretical ideas and the practical requirements. Dealing with institutional resources (mainly the facilitator’s availability of time) as well as with the participants’ schedules, needs, expectations and their competences (technical and cultural) to communicate through technology, drove us to refine the design and revisit our understanding of the underlying theories. So, one learning to draw is the need to plan for a continuous adjustment of the initial design, which naturally comes from the transformation of the learning environment as it was experimented for the faculty within the institutional context.

Duality: Local and Global PD must be aligned with the institutional mission and should promote institution-wide dialogues (Sorcinelli, Austin, Eddy, & Beach, 2006). A CoP relates with the rest of the world, through creating continuities across boundaries. The design in this study encouraged the exchange of knowledge and 215

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experiences among participants at two levels: locally in the same campus and globally with faculty from other regional campuses at UNA. It is very distinct that the exchange of knowledgeability among members that came from different local communities promoted learning not only at the individual level but also for the whole community. The pedagogical innovations designed, implemented and evaluated by the participants (in diverse contexts, condition, targets group, and areas of knowledge) were a boundary object that created continuities across boundaries and allowed the expanding of knowledge. They also enforced UNA’s policies about the use of ICT in teaching and about a pedagogical model focused in a student-centered and lifelong learning approach, and therefore in fact not only aligned to the institutional mission (Sorcinelli et al., 2006), but also pushed for a possible direction. The local and global duality can also be a duality between the ongoing practice and global views on the new methodologies and theories. For sure the pedagogical design based on the principles of CoP, PBL and blended learning “disturbed” the local practices, however overall seen, the community approach supported a respectful, trustful and caring environment which supported the individual faculty staff to engage, learn and belong in a situated manner possible for him/her with respect to other obligations, skills and engagement.

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Duality: Identification and Negotiability The initial source of participants’ identification with the community was the domain of the community itself. All faculty staff that accepted the invitation to be part of the community was eager to innovate their practice. In this respect, the community offered an opportunity to envision possible futures trajectories within the university. As well, the cultivation of the distributed CoP as part of a model for PD was conceived as a strategic and innovative initiative within the university. For the participants, this was important, the members were proud of belonging to the community; they considered themselves as pioneers and leaders who were contributing to changing institutional teaching practices. Ollila and Simpson (2004)) state that the connection between PD, identification and negotiability is strong. According to them, the members identify more with the community when they have more opportunities to negotiate its practice. However, not all participants had the same levels of participation in the renegotiation process. Poor or little participation in the online activities provoked the perception of an inability to contribute to the community, and consequently their feelings of ownership over the community’s enterprise were weak. In conclusion, the community members assumed different levels of participation, the participants closer to the core of the community were able to identify with and develop a feeling of belonging to the community to a greater extent that those with a peripheral role. However, maybe an important reflection is, what makes members to core members of the community are not necessary equivalent with how well they handled the digital tools and the online communication, however a more subtle, dynamic and complex negotiation going on in the community also reflecting the individuals identification, engagement and belonging to the community. Overall, the design principles behind the four dualities were productive, however a redesign may consider how to design for a greater flexibility and belonging in the “big group”, and in the smaller working groups (project groups). Following the principles of community of practice, we should avoid forced working groups, however, develop flexible ways of establishing working groups based on the organic dynamics among the participants. The findings value face-to-face modality groups, however when the it-infrastructure becomes more elaborated in all campuses, it might support new working groups constellations. However, there is no doubt in the findings, that some face-to-face activities are 216

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urgent for a community of practice. Further, the findings support that the primary focus should still be on the “big group” in order to provide for an overall alive community (Wenger et al., 2002), where the negotiation of meaning and identity work can take place.

CONCLUSION

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The central postulate of this study was that a CoP approach offers potential as an option for effective faculty PD. The community created the social context for collegial learning and dialogue in which faculty constructed an identity in relation to a new practice. It contributes to expanding professional and personal networks, fostering a culture of sharing among faculty and reducing isolation. It also provided a safe place to make mistakes, to experiment, and to explore, discuss, reflect and re-conceptualize their conceptions and values about teaching practice. It offered faculty learning opportunities of doing, belonging and becoming, transforming the process of learning in a process of identity formation and not just an accumulation of skills and information. From the findings, it can be concluded that the impact of community membership on faculty members’ learning was complex and provoked many tensions. It was different for each participant depending on their levels of participation, engagement, identification and empowerment to negotiate and shape the practice. However, in general, belonging to the community helped the faculty develop a sense of expertise as they participated in peer-to-peer learning. Learning and change did take place and faculty members became more knowledgeable of their practice and gained an impact on the institutional practices. Overall, the theory of communities of practice and the way Coto (2010) has conceptualized and applied the theories of social and situated learning in a specific context have provided detailed insights and understandings into how professional teacher development and learning is a participatory process that involves more than acquiring skills and detached knowledge. As such the findings support the research which stresses that PD programs must address changes in beliefs, knowledge, and habits of practice, in order to achieve changes in the quality of teaching and learning (Gibbs & Coffey, 2004; Hadar & Brody, 2010; Light & Calkins, 2008; MacPhail et al., 2014; Patton & Parker, 2017; Prenger et al., 2017; Smyth, 2003). And further, that COPs provide a safe and trustworthy base for dealing with the interwoven dimensions of theory and practice through socially mediated reflections and constructions. Further, the findings support that a community of practice model may help to overcome the shortcomings of the traditional PD strategies of event-based, one-hit training workshops, and transmission from experts (sometimes consultants) to faculty as described by Lock (2006) and Schlager & Fusco (2004). A community model is favoring several principles: • • • • • •

A long-term engagement and a gradual development and transformation of the learning culture; Interwoven training, learning, application and not least ownership Acquiring new skills through a process of identity building Building on each other member as experts and mutual participation Developing digital scholarship through identifcation and negotiability Learning from outside and linking to the global communities through theories and experts, however refecting and localizing these inputs in their context;

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The study confirms the community of practice as a strong and productive approach to PD, which integrate PD as continuing learning in the everyday practice of a community. To sustain the model, institutions should reflect and develop strategies on how to facilitate for PD as a community of practice. These strategies should reflect on the four dualities as discussed above: • • • •

Participation and reifcation Designed and emergent Local and global Identifcation and negotiability

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The four pairs of dualities are linked and interdependent. In order to apply this approach in other contexts, the designers and initiators must reflect upon the dualities and if they can be deployed and appropriated within the culture of the given institution in a balanced and dynamic manner. Can and will the institution support this dynamic and emerging approach of participation and reification, designed and emerging?, how to balance the design to achieve the professional development goals while it is embedded in the informal and voluntary nature of participation in a community?, should a professional development model let members define the power and direction of the community, or should we design more structured ways of organization and learning for the sake of the professional development goals?. And do the participants agree to contribute to and to engage in the collaborative participation in a community, and are they willing to contribute to and give to the community along with learning from peers based on principles of mutual learning, trust, identification and engagement? And, are they willing (both peers, facilitators and the institution) to allow and support for the different levels of engagement that the participants showed in this study?. Do they allow members to engage in the learning activities in very different levels without diminishing the learning outcomes for the whole community? And, whether it is possible to offer different learning pathways for participants without diminishing the sense of shared community. On a more tangible level, the designers of the PD program and the institution must reflect upon the conditions for the faculty staff for participating and engaging in the program. How to compensate for them, so they get time to engage with the community? How to ensure that all in the community have a fair access to the use of digital tools and the internet? And finally, how to make it possible to provide extra resources and situated help to the ones who are not used to working in an online and technology rich environment? If these conditions can be met, the CoP approach might be a promising approach to teacher professional learning as it provides for “the experience of doing, becoming, and belonging”.

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ADDITIONAL READING Booth, S. E. (2012). Cultivating knowledge sharing and trust in online communities for educators. Journal of Educational Computing Research, 47(1), 1–31. doi:10.2190/EC.47.1.a Britt, V. G., & Paulus, T. (2016). Beyond the four walls of my building: A case study of #edchat as a community of practice. American Journal of Distance Education, 30(1), 48–59. doi:10.1080/0892364 7.2016.1119609 Brown, R., & Munger, K. (2010). Learning together in cyberspace: Collaborative dialogue in a virtual network of educators. Journal of Technology and Teacher Education, 18(4), 541–571. Coutinho, C. P., & Lisboa, E. S. (2013). Social networks as spaces for informal teacher professional development: Challenges and opportunities. International Journal of Web Based Communities, 9(2), 199–211. doi:10.1504/IJWBC.2013.053244 El-Hani, C. N., & Greca, I. M. (2013). ComPratica: A virtual community of practice for promoting biology teachers’ professional development in Brazil. Research in Science Education, 43(4), 1327–1359. doi:10.100711165-012-9306-1

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Goodyear, V. A., Casey, A., & Kirk, D. (2014). Tweet me, message me, like me: Using social media to facilitate pedagogical change within an emerging community of practice. Sport, Education and Society, 19(7), 927e943. . doi:10.1080/13573322.2013.858624 Mackey, J., & Evans, T. (2011). Interconnecting networks of practice for professional learning. The International Review of Research in Open and Distributed Learning, 12(3), 1–18. doi:10.19173/irrodl. v12i3.873 Smith, S. U., Hayes, S., & Shea, P. (2017). A critical review of the use of Wenger’s Community of Practice (CoP) theoretical framework in online and blended learning research, 2000-2014. Online Learning, 21(1), 209–237. doi:10.24059/olj.v21i1.963

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Tseng, F.-C., & Kuo, F.-Y. (2014). A study of social participation and knowledge sharing in the teachers’ online professional community of practice. Computers & Education, 72, 37–47. doi:10.1016/j. compedu.2013.10.005

KEY TERMS AND DEFINITIONS Communities of Practice: A group of people who share an interest and are willing to invest time and effort to learn and to share experiences and ways to improve their practice. Distributed Community of Practice: A community of practice that uses online means and face-toface meetings for communication. Dualities: A pair of elements that are present in different degrees, it could be understood as a creative tension between the elements. In terms of design for learning, a duality can provide room for innovation and change. Faculty Professional Development: A process through which faculty receive formal and informal training. Identity Formation: In the context of a community of practice, identity formation is an integrated component of learning. It is constructed through processes of engagement in practice and negotiation of meaning. Online Participation: Includes participation in activities that take place through online means, such as chats, blog reflection, discussion forums, and group work.

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This work was previously published in Enriching Collaboration and Communication in Online Learning Communities; pages 103-136, copyright year 2020 by Information Science Reference (an imprint of IGI Global).

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Chapter 12

Conceptualizing Characteristics of Professional Learning in an Online Environment Aimee L. Morewood West Virginia University, USA Julie W. Ankrum Indiana University of Pennsylvania, USA Allison Swan Dagen West Virginia University, USA

ABSTRACT This chapter describes the intersection between documented research-based practices for efective professional learning and Garrison, Anderson, and Archer’s conceptual framework for efective online learning and engagement, known as the community of inquiry (CoI). A social constructivist perspective is used to align the features of efective professional learning (e.g., duration, collaborative participation, active learning, coherence, and content focus) with the three CoI presences (e.g., teaching, social, and cognitive presences). Practical examples of online tools, for both synchronous and asynchronous online professional learning oferings, are discussed and implications for practice and research are presented.

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INTRODUCTION The physical “brick and mortar” classroom is starting to lose its monopoly as the place of learning (Nguyen, 2015, p.309). As suggested in the quote above, face-to-face instruction delivered in a physical classroom is no longer the primary platform for ongoing continuing education. For decades, the education field has witnessed the growth of online instruction as the delivery platform has gained a foothold in education and continuous DOI: 10.4018/978-1-7998-7294-8.ch012

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 Conceptualizing Characteristics of Professional Learning in an Online Environment

professional learning opportunities for teachers. Upon completion of formal teacher preparation courses and after securing employment in schools, teachers are required to participate in on going professional learning (PL) opportunities throughout their careers. Some of these opportunities are offered through their school district but teachers also seek out individualized professional learning opportunities. Some ways teachers engage in PL, include book studies, student data conversations in professional learning communities, and graduate coursework. Given the variety of formats in which teachers can participate in PL, research has focused on the characteristics to establish common themes nested within effective PL opportunities (Bean & Ippolito, Dillon et al., 2011; Bean & Morewood, 2011; Morewood, Ankrum, & Bean, 2010; Parsons, Ankrum, & Morewood 2016; Penuel, Fishman, Yamaguchi, & Gallagher, 2007; Taylor, Raphael, & Au, 2011; Taylor et al., 2005). It has been twenty years since Abernathy (1999) touted online learning’s presence by stating, “online learning is not the next big thing; it is the now thing” (p. 36). Online learning opportunities in education are more available than ever to support teachers’ professional learning. Various online professional learning opportunities include for-profit institutional and organizational offerings, non-profit higher education institutional offerings (i.e., traditional coursework and non-credit granting work), state mandated and operated experiences (Zygouris-Coe, Yao, Tao, Hahs-Vaughn, & Baumbach, 2004), professional organizations (e.g., International Literacy Assocation) and district and school level offerings. Further, social media tools (e.g., Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, podcasts, etc.) are also a way for teachers to continue their professional learning. As schools struggle to design and implement high-quality, meaningful, cost-effective experiences, the traditional models of PL seem not only dated but in most cases ineffective. School level planners are wise to look to online options for delivery of strategic, content-focused learning opportunities. Further, as additional options outside of traditional school-based PL emerge, teachers who prefer personalized experiences are provided choices within a wide range of online experiences, both to fulfill mandatory school requirements and/or to fulfill more intrinsically inspired learning needs. The focus of this chapter is an exploration of the intersection between widely acknowledged and implemented research-based practices of effective PL and a conceptual framework for effective online learning and engagement called the Community of Inquiry (CoI) (Garrison, Anderson, & Archer, 2000). Our goal in writing this chapter is to present a model for PL providers to guide online PL as a promising practice for teacher growth and thus, student achievement as well. The model we present in this chapter updates our original conceptual frame (Morewood, Andkrum, & Swan Dagen, (2017) and discusses how active engagement is present across all three CoI presences.

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LITERATURE REVIEW Effective PL Substantive research on teacher learning and PL is available in the field. The focus of the body of research on PL is quite varied, including concepts such as workshop implementation, peer-coaching, and book study groups. Regardless of the type of PL, there is robust research in the field focusing on specific characteristics associated with effective PL. According to Desimone (2009) effective PL opportunities must:

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• • • • •

Have a strong content focus Integrate active learning opportunities Provide coherence across the curriculum Occur over a duration of time Allow for collective participation among participants

The characteristics of effective PL described by Desimone (2009) are repeated in the extensive body of research across the field (i.e., Bean & Morewood, 2011; Darling-Hammond, Wei, Andree, Richardson, & Orphanos, 2009; Dillon et al., 2011; Morewood, Ankrum, & Bean, 2010; Parsons, Ankrum, & Morewood, 2016; Taylor et al., 2011; Taylor et al., 2005). A primary condition of effective PL opportunities is a strong content focus. For example, teacher interest in PL is more meaningful when teachers are vested in the topic and when the content is a targeted research-based practice, which can readily be incorporated into the participants’ classroom instruction. In addition, active learning/engagement opportunities during the PL are essential. Teachers should have opportunities to engage in their learning, rather than act as passive recipients of information. Teachers need to recognize how the learning constructed through PL is relevant to their instruction (i.e., coherence). Further, participants in PL benefit the most when they engage in the PL for multiple hours over a long duration of time. Finally, collective participation suggests that teachers need to be able to discuss what they learn with their colleagues and engage in reflective feedback throughout the duration of the PL. Along with understanding the characteristics of effective PL, there must be knowledge of how PL impacts student learning. Desimone (2009) presents a conceptual framework on the cycle of teacher change through PL and how this change may impact student learning. This fluid framework for teacher change consists of four components. First, teachers engage in PL activities, causing an increase in teacher knowledge. This increase in knowledge changes teachers’ beliefs about teaching and learning, which may cause teachers to modify their instruction. Because of the change in instruction, student learning may be positively impacted. This conceptual framework is recursive, in that all four of the components are continually influenced by the context, culture, leadership, and current policy. It is important to recognize that the five critical features of effective PL (previously described) are nested within the first piece of Desimone’s conceptual framework: teachers engage in PL activities. It is here, that PL providers must be cognizant of the content focus, active learning, coherence, duration, and collective participation.

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Online Learning Online learning opportunities are abundant and open the doors to learning beyond geographical boundaries. The Online Learning Consortium (OLC) (2015) states that over the past two decades the Internet has made it possible for adults to continue learning in order to stay productive in their fields. Further, research by Seaman, Allen, and Seaman (2018) indicates that enrollment in distance education courses has increased for the last fourteen years. OLC (2018) reports that 5.8 million people engage in online coursework. This statistic demonstrates the presence that online learning has in our educational system. Online learning opportunities may be structured in two ways: synchronous or asynchronous. A synchronous learning opportunity is one that engages users through live meetings, either text-based or video-based. This requires all participants to be present at a designated time to engage in the learning opportunity. An example of a synchronous learning opportunity is when members use a specific platform, such as Zoom ®, GoToMeeting ®, or Google Meet ®, to participate through live video to engage with and 227

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acquire content. In contrast, an asynchronous learning opportunity allows participants to engage in their learning at different times and can use both text and video components. Text based discussion boards are a good example of how PL group members participate in asynchronous online learning. Regardless of the whether or not the PL opportunity is set up with synchronous or asynchronous activities, deepening knowledge is the desired outcome of the PL. When considering the impact that online PL opportunities have on teachers’ knowledge, the findings of Means, Toyama, Murphy, Bakia and Jones’ (2010) seminal meta-analysis of effective online instruction are noteworthy. This research suggests that those enrolled in online learning environments “performed modestly better, on average, than those learning the same material through traditional face-to-face instruction” (p.xiv). This seminal piece continues to be one of the most cited meta-analysis because of its rigorous and systemic standards (Lack, 2013). Research demonstrates a possible link between teachers’ engagement in online PL and student learning. Shaha and Ellsworth (2013) state that when teachers are actively engaged in online learning opportunities (in both quality and quantity) student achievement increases. Research also indicates that teacher’s content and pedagogical knowledge are increased when they participate in online PL (Magidin De Kramer, Masters, Dash, Dash, & Russell, 2012). Fishman et al. (2013) report no significant difference in teacher learning when comparing online and face-to-face PL; learning occurs in both contexts. Further, this research team indicates that both teachers participating in the PL and the students of these teachers made significant gains in content knowledge. Moon, Passmore, Reiser, and Michaels (2014) responded to Fishman et al.’s findings by stating that while this information comparing online and face-to-face learning opportunities is an important asset to the field, more research is needed to closely explore the intricacies of online opportunities and teacher learning. Moon et al. suggests that online PL be aligned with the literature on effective PL, reiterating that subject matter is important, active participant engagement is necessary, and the learning must be connected to teacher practice.

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Providing Professional Learning Opportunities in Online Contexts PL providers have many informal and formal roles within our educational system. For example, a PL provider can be an internal resource (e.g., literacy coach, school level administrator) or external resource with a formal job title (e.g., a district/county level PL Coordinator, consultant, and higher education faculty) or an internal resource with an informal role (e.g., teacher leader). The learning needs of PL providers are similar to the teachers with whom they work in the area of online instruction. PL providers need opportunities to learn about effective uses of technology to guide their facilitation of teacher learning. For example, in order to facilitate continued learning for the teachers with whom they work Steinert, McLeod, Boillat, Meterissian, Elizov, and Macdona (2009) suggest that those providing PL also require support to grow in professional and personal areas. Clearly, PL providers who teach online should not be expected to design and implement effective online instruction without participating in professional learning opportunities to grow in the area of instructional design (Palloff & Pratt, 2013). Online instruction is most effective if done through research-based pedagogy (Means, Toyama, Murphy, & Baki, 2013). This means that PL providers need to understand how different elements of instructional design impacts the learning, how the engagement of the PL provider impacts the learners, how peer engagement among the learners impacts the learning environment, and how different presentations of content impacts the learners. In order for PL providers to have a more clear understanding

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of these facets of online learning, PL providers can benefit from opportunities to engage as learners in instructional environments that replicate their teaching environments; this provides them with both learner and instructor perspectives (Elliott, Rhoades, Jackson, & Mandernach, 2015).

Social Constructivism Social constructivists assert that knowledge is gained through interactions with others by integrating new information with existing information (Tracy & Morrow, 2017). Social interactions in online learning contexts may vary from traditional modes of interaction. Traditionally, social constructivism implies being with others; however, this is not necessary in an online environment when activities may also be completed asynchronously. It is because of this absence of physical presence in distance education that Garrison and colleagues explored and developed the Community of Inquiry (CoI) (Garrison, Anderson, & Archer, 2000).

Community of Inquiry The roots of CoI are grounded in Dewey’s (1938) work on experienced based learning, which aligns with the components of the Social Constructivist Theory. The CoI discussed in this chapter is a process model that focuses on online learning communities. Specifically, Garrison et al. (2000) developed the CoI model to support the pedagogy of online discussion boards in distance education courses. The researchers recognized a need to understand the interactive elements within online discussion board conversations. The three foundations identified in this model include social presence, cognitive presence, and teaching presence. Social presence describes how participants in an online community relate to one another (i.e., feeling connected). Cognitive presence is defined as, “the extent to which learners are able to construct and confirm meaning through sustained reflection and discourse” (Swan & Ice, 2010, p. 1). Finally, teaching presence suggests that learning is impacted by the design of the course and the instructor’s facilitation of the other two presences. This model proposes that it is the interaction of these three presences that allows for learning in online environments to occur. Online PL providers ought to have an understanding of the CoI framework in order to effectively design and implement effective online instruction (Paquette, 2016).

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OUR EXPERIENCES As professionals in higher education, we have all led and participated in online learning opportunities. Collectively we have taught online graduate and undergraduate courses, participated in statewide online learning, and led school and statewide online PL. Our experiences have varied across these different opportunities and these variations are what piqued our interest in the intersection of the characteristics of effective PL (Desimone, 2009) and the conceptual framing of the CoI (Garrison, et al., 2000).

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CONNECTING CHARACTERISTICS OF EFFECTIVE PL WITH THE COI Because of our varied online experiences, we explored the alignment between effective PL and CoI through a critical lens focused on increasing teacher knowledge (Figure 1). We examined the alignment of Desimone’s (2009) five characteristic of effective PL (duration, collective participation, active learning, content focus, and coherence) with the CoI’s three presences (teaching, cognitive and social). Specifically, we reviewed the five characteristics of effective PL to better understand how these characteristics supported the three presences in online learning communities. What we noticed was that active learning was present along all three CoI presences through the lens of engagement. Throughout effective professional learning opportunities, the facilitator and students were engaged in various aspects to deepen content and pedagogical knowledge; therefore, the characteristic of active engagement spans all three of the presences. As displayed in the figure, the teaching presence of an online learning community provides structure for the learning community; therefore, it allows for social and cognitive presences be established and supported. We view teaching presence as the over-arching presence, with the social and cognitive presences being nested within the teaching presence (Figure 1). Teaching presence provides the structure for the online learning and therefore, establishes the meeting timeline and requirements (i.e., duration). Further, the PL element of collective participation is best supported within social presence. Content focus and coherence are aligned with developing a sense of cognitive presence given the focus of understanding and knowledge building in these three characteristics. Finally, active engagement straddles social and cognitive presence since this characteristic supports both of these presences.

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Figure 1. Aligning effective PL characteristics and CoI framework

Now that we have drawn theoretical and research-based connections between the CoI and the characteristics of effective PL, it is important to consider practical applications for each presence and the effective PL characteristics associated with it. Further, given that there are a variety of ways to engage in online learning, it is necessary to think of these practical applications with both synchronous and asynchronous online activities. Below we will explore practical synchronous and asynchronous examples (see Table 1) for each of the three presences while also considering the five features of effective PL.

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Table 1. Practical examples within CoI presences and containing PL characteristics Presences with PL Characteristics

Practical Examples

Teaching Presence with Duration and Active Engagement

Synchronous Community Meetings Asynchronous Discussion Boards

Social Presence with Collective Participation and Active Engagement

Synchronous Video-Conferencing Meetings Asynchronous Audio Chats

Cognitive Presence with Coherence, Active Engagement, and Content

Synchronous Facilitated Mini-lessons Asynchronous Voiced Mini-lessons

Teaching Presence With Duration Teaching presence, which supports social and cognitive presence in this conceptual model, includes active engagement by the instructor and instructional design elements. According to research, when the instructor actively engages in the course (i.e., is present in the online community) student participation increases (Blackmon, 2012). This is important to the CoI concept of “teaching presence” because the instructional design, including learner responsibilities, of the online learning situates how the instructor facilitates the other two presences (e.g., social and cognitive) and dictates the learning within an online community. The instructional design of the online community supports the types of interactions the instructor has with the students and the peer interactions that will occur over time. When teachers engage in multiple hours of learning over a length of time, they are more likely to gain knowledge. While it is important for the instructor to be actively engaged in the course, facilitation of online learning is enhanced when instructors possess a growth mindset (Dweck, 2006). Since learning for both the instructor and students can occur as different instructional challenges arise, online instructors must be comfortable with the ambiguity of different technology tools and instructional design elements, Whiteside (2015) suggest that online learning “is challenging because instructors and learners are toggling among the different media, which requires a lot of adaptability” (p. 16). It is important to note that Rockinson-Szapkiw, Baker, Neukrug, and Hanes (2010) found no statistical difference for students using asynchronous and synchronous technologies in the area of teaching presences. This is important for PL providers to recognize as they organize and structure online learning opportunities. Two examples of teaching presence are synchronous community meetings and asynchronous discussion board participation:

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•

•

Synchronous Community Meetings: This example allows the participants in the PL to meet with the instructor in a one-on-one session. These meeting times may be predetermined at the beginning of the PL (i.e., ofce hours) or be facilitated through an as-needed basis (i.e., individual meeting requests). Either way, these sessions occur live between the instructor and participant (both are actively engaged) and occur over the length of the PL opportunity. Asynchronous Discussion Boards: Discussion boards are tools often used in online learning communities (Garrison et al., 2000). A discussion board allows for a prompt to be posted and then for participants to respond to the prompt. These responses are completed through a typed response. The use of discussion boards allows topics to be revisited as needed throughout the duration of the PL opportunity. Also, participants are able to generate thoughtful responses to prompts because they have time to think through their response versus “shooting from the hip” in

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a live conversation. The instructors of the PL are also aforded opportunities to craft thoughtful responses to participants; this can further engage the participants in the conversation, clarify any misunderstandings, and is an opportunity to provide teachers with additional resources. Both the students and the instructor have the opportunity to engage in the learning process through this technology tool. Again, working to design an online course, through a growth mindset, will afford the PL provider opportunities to try new technologies to increase teacher engagement.

Social Presence With Collective Participation and Active Learning Collective participation, a characteristic of effective PL, is embedded in the social presence of the CoI model. In terms of the CoI, when participants feel more connected to one another learning increases (Garrison, et al., 2000). Similarly, research on effective PL suggests that teachers learn more when they feel they are part of a group, because their learning is supported (Desimone, 2009). Both social presence and collective participation focus on participants’ need to be members of the online learning community. Social presence was the only presence where using a combination of asynchronous and synchronous technologies demonstrated a statistically significant difference in learning (Rockinson-Szapkiw, Baker, Neukrug, & Hanes, 2010). This is logical given that social presence focuses on creating a sense of community for those involved in the learning. Using a variety of online tools allows for the PL participants to engage with their peers and the PL facilitator in multiple ways; thus, creating multiple paths of communication. Social presence requires participants to be active members in the learning community. Active engagement in the PL sessions does not allow for the participants to be passive recipients of information (Desimone, 2009). When participants engage in the PL activities they are actively learning. The following online tools provide examples of how to engage online learners in collective participation activities and strengthen social presence in the PL: •

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•

Synchronous Video-Conferencing Meetings: Video conferencing tools are available in both paid (e.g., Zoom ®) and free-to-use platforms (e.g., Google Meet ®). Using live video-conferencing allows the instructor and participants to not only engage in real-time conversations but to also observe the social cues of facial expressions and body language within a conversation. These live attributes are helpful when working to create a structured and supportive online learning environment. Asynchronous Audio Chats: This online tool may not be as well-known or used as other tools in online learning communities. Examples of audio chat platforms include VoiceThread® (purchased option) or Voxer® (free option). An audio chat works in basically the same manner as a text-based discussion board; however, instead of typing a response the participant makes an audio recording of his/her response and then posts this in the online forum. Everyone in the group is able to hear and respond to the recorded posting. Again, this tool allows the participant to add additional details that they may not include in a text-based discussion. To further develop the social presence in an online learning community, the voice recordings allow the person posting to include diferent expressions, such as enthusiasm for a topic, into his/her responses. The added expression that is present in an audio chat gives the listeners a better understanding of tone, which helps to know how the responder feels about the topic.

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Cognitive Presence and Coherence, Active Learning, Content Focus Cognitive presence is a deepening of background and newly learned knowledge (Swan & Ice, 2010). This component of the CoI aligns with coherence, active engagement, and content knowledge in the research on effective PL. Coherence is described as the relevance and value of the information to the teacher; in other words, how the teacher sees the information aligning with work in his/her classroom, school, district/county, community, and own professional learning goals (Desimone, 2009). As previously mentioned, Desimone (2009) suggests that active learning must be an aspect of the PL for true engagement and knowledge growth to occur. In addition, the content knowledge within effective PL research suggests that the participant must value the content of the PL to engage in the learning opportunity (Desimone, 2009). All three of these PL are aligned with the construct of cognitive presence through the construction of meaning. While both synchronous and asynchronous tools are available to support teacher learning, Rockinson- Szapkiw, Baker, Neukrug, and Hanes (2010) indicate that there is no significant difference in the level of cognitive presence when using a combination of these tools: •

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•

Synchronous Facilitated Mini-Lessons: Facilitating participants’ learning by providing information on the topic is the instructor’s role. When an instructor holds a live session (with or without video capabilities) they aim to deepen the participants’ knowledge and support cognitive presence. Live mini-lessons of material can be an interactive method that enables the instructor to actively engage the participants through questioning during the mini-lesson. Further, as the instructor describes the content information he/she may integrate examples from the group member’s individual professional backgrounds. When the instructor is aware of the participants’ backgrounds, strengths and needs, then he/she can successfully suggest connections between the content and participants’ professional experiences or previously discussed content. This creates coherence within the online learning community. Asynchronous Voiced Mini-Lessons: Another way to provide content in an asynchronous online community is by creating voiced mini-lesson presentations. These brief voiced lessons consist of content presentations on slides (e.g., VoiceThread®) with commentary that provides additional information about a topic or audio based (e.g. podcasting). Just as in synchronous lessons, instructors can provide content that is relevant to the group by tying the topics to specifc professional experiences of the participants. This requires the instructor to be well-informed regarding the participants’ professional experiences, especially since all of the content and connections to the participants must be planned in advance since the voiced lectures are reviewed independently. Active engagement is encouraged in voiced mini-lessons through guided prompts, embedded hyperlinks to additional resources and/or content, and intentional pauses to allow time for refection.

DISCUSSION I applaud Dr. XXX on her knowledge base, the organization of this course, her ability to create a safe learning environment for each of her students where she was able to build a community of learners by supporting us, encouraging us to engage in reflection about best practices as well as our own current practices, and helping us think critically about important topics in regards to teaching reading. I LOVED

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this course! It wasn’t a chore to complete the assigned tasks but rather a true blessing knowing that the information learned will be (and already has been!) applied in my own classroom. Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! (Personal communication, December 2014) As we think about different conceptual frameworks when offering and engaging in online PL, we must keep the end goal in mind: teacher learning that results in student learning. As social constructivists we believe that teacher learning is deepened through opportunities to engage with one another regarding content and personal/professional experiences. Online learning communities provide these engagement opportunities so that teacher learning and instructional change can occur. The quote above, from a school-based, online participant demonstrates how the social constructivist underpinnings of an online graduate literacy course created a space for learning to be supported through conversations with the instructor and her peers. Further, this response provides some context for how each of the CoI presences impacted the learning of this participant. If we dissect this participant’s response further, it is evident that the characteristics of effective PL are also present in this response. Indeed, this participant discusses the organization of the course (teaching presence/duration), the creation of a community of learners (social presence/collaboration), and her engagement in reflection of best practices along with application to current classroom practices (cognitive presence/active engagement, coherence, and content). This online learning community participant was supported in her learning, and states that, as a result, change in her practice did occur; thus indicating that her students’ were impacted. This response aligns well with Desimone’s (2009) fluid conceptual framework on teacher change. In this response, the participant indicates that she engaged in online PL activities, increased her knowledge, her beliefs about reading instruction were impacted, and so she changed her instruction because of new knowledge and understanding of the content. While it cannot be determined from this quote whether student learning was positively impacted, it seems likely that this would be the case. Given the popularity and possibilities, professional learning opportunities will continue to be offered online. In order to continue to develop teachers as learners through new and existing technologies, PL providers must think critically about PL characteristics and the online presences in the CoI model. Our conceptual stance of both frameworks allows PL providers an opportunity to better understand the alignment and then plan accordingly to fit teachers’ needs. Still, even in the best-designed online experience, developers may still struggle with issues of evaluating participants’ engagement and participation, growth, and application to daily classroom teaching. When we think about the next steps in online learning PL, we categorize these steps into two tracks: research and practice.

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IMPLICATIONS FOR RESEARCH There are many directions that research in online instruction could take; however, based on our experiences we feel that there are some specific topics that most impact online instruction. First, research needs to focus on more specific details of online learning such as access and instructional design of online PL. Wilson (2013) suggests that research on online PL needs to focus on scale issues, such as provisions of effective PL to broad audiences in various timeframes. Further, additional research is needed in all three of the presences (i.e., teaching, social, and cognitive) in regards to online learning in both synchronous and asynchronous contexts (Paquette, 2016). Research should focus on the features and instructional design of the PL opportunities so that teacher learning is 234

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impacted (Moon et al. 2014). Elliott, Rhoades, Jackson, and Mandernach (2015) suggest that educators (e.g. classroom teachers) who engage in online instruction must feel supported in their learning. Our placement of PL characteristics within the three presences (Garrison, Anderson, Archer, 2000) does support teacher learning; however, more research is needed in this area. Research is being published on the presences as bounded constructs. For example, Whiteside’s (2015) work looks specifically at how social presence impacts online learning. While research such as this is needed in the field we are suggesting that the next step is additional research to further tease out how all the simultaneous interplay of the three presences influences teacher learning in online environments. Finally, research is needed to critically examine how online learning opportunities provide equitable learning opportunities to those beyond the immediate proximity of a college or university (OLC, 2016). Educators in rural areas are more able to access a variety of PL offerings and graduate programs through technology. Research in the area of access, affordability, and equity of opportunity are important research areas once embedded in the construct presented in this chapter.

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IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE In addition to the implications of this work for research, we also suggest implications for practice. We strongly advocate for the continued publication and discussion of research on online learning and PL so that PL providers are current in effective practices. This information will support PL providers as they consider the conceptual frameworks from both online learning research and effective PL research. Both of these areas must converge when online learning opportunities are planned for teachers. Various online tools (e.g. including those using independent activities, live streaming, etc.) must be explored to support the social constructivists stance and the facilitation of the information by providing participants opportunities to actively engage in their learning. PL providers who incorporate online learning communities into their PL efforts must be vigilant in their efforts as life-long learners to keep abreast of new and emerging technologies and research in order to offer teachers meaningful experiences. One tool for aligning effective PL and online learning opportunities for teachers is the Learner-Centered Professional Learning (LCPL) (Polly & Hannafin, 2010). This framework provides PL facilitators with an outline to use focusing on the strengths, needs, and beliefs of participants. In addition, Polly and Hannafin state that technology can support this approach to effective PL by providing teachers with opportunities to be reflective, deepen content and pedagogical skills, participate in on-going, collaborative conversations with others, focus on student learning, and be invested in their learning because of the ownership this model suggests. Again, using the LCPL and the constructs presented in this chapter, will allow PL providers to plan accordingly when working to meet teachers’ learning needs. Another practical implication of this work is the acknowledgment that online PL providers have different challenges and learning needs as they continue to grow as professionals (Elliott et al., 2015). PL providers must continue to learn as well, so that they are able to design and implement the most effective professional learning opportunities for the participants with whom they work. This takes resources (i.e., time and funding) as well as a growth mindset (Dweck, 2006). It is important to note that some PL providers are transitioning their face-to-face content to online environments. Ching, Hsu, and Baldwin (2018) suggest that those who are transitioning PL or coursework from a traditional environment to an online environment need opportunities to learn about effective online instruction. It is imperative that throughout this transition that they understand the three presences 235

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of the CoI and garner the support they need to make this change. As this transition occurs, Gregory and Salmon (2013) suggest adapting the content where possible, contextualize the information so that it is authentic, provide mentoring opportunities for those involved in this process, and encourage those who are effective at providing online learning opportunities to advocate and support others who are entering this type of learning context. We believe that online professional learning is a useful mode of professional learning for all educators. It is important for PL providers to understand research-based characteristics of PL and theoretical underpinnings of online learning in order to conceptualize, create, and deliver effective professional learning experiences.

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This work was previously published in the Handbook of Research on Educator Preparation and Professional Learning; pages 14-27, copyright year 2019 by Information Science Reference (an imprint of IGI Global).

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Chapter 13

Efficacy of Organizational Learning and Social Capital in Online Communities of Practice: Dualities and Intersections Serkan Gürsoy Beykoz University, Turkey Murat Yücelen https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7482-4721 Yeditepe University, Turkey

ABSTRACT

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This chapter deals with the evolution of communities of practice by considering two key components which facilitate knowledge sharing: Organizational Learning and Social Capital. Dualities and intersections between the building blocks of these two components are investigated by discussing organizational learning in its explorative and exploitative forms, while considering social capital in its bridging and bonding forms. As a critical contemporary step of evolution, information and communication technologies are also elaborated in order to examine the impact of constant and instant tools on these facilitators of knowledge sharing. The study aims to derive proxies among these components of organizational learning and social capital in order to design an integrated framework that refects the nature of online communities of practice.

INTRODUCTION Be it individuals or communities, all entities that constitute the contemporary business environment are witnesses to the globalization of the world incessantly occurring everyday by means of new channels and forms of communication, and they have become an integral part of the digitalized world by handling the internet and other media conduits which eliminate the limitations of internal constraints posed by DOI: 10.4018/978-1-7998-7294-8.ch013

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 Efficacy of Organizational Learning and Social Capital in Online Communities of Practice

boundaries. In parallel with individuals who are able to act globally, communities also have the inherent ability to cross over boundaries. Communities are also able to comprise all related participants of the global environment by establishing efficient channels and impelling them to be part of the evolution. As an example, Intel Corporation, while terminating its long lasting investment and R&D research collaboration in Cambridge, moved on to launch the Intel Labs Europe project which encompasses a multitude of partnerships dispersed among EU countries, with the main intent of fostering open innovation. The University of Cambridge, chair of Cambridge University’s School of Technology, Ian White, declared (Sherriff, 2006) after severing the profound relationship that while the closure of the Cambridge research lab is unfortunate, their researchers will continue to work together, even though they are dispersed across the EU and beyond. In contemporary terms, these groups of geographically dispersed participants, in other words groups of individuals who share their experiences and expertise within the same or similar professional spheres, are called communities of practice (CoP). Literally, the first conceptualization of this term was introduced by a cultural anthropologist, Jean Lave and an educational theorist and computer scientist, Etienne Wenger in 1991. In their book, “Situated Learning: Legitimate Peripheral Participation (Learning in Doing: Social, Cognitive and Computational Perspectives)”, the subject of community of practitioners receives much attention especially due to the evolving nature of learning, namely from apprenticeship to situated forms. Their assumption “that members of the community have different interests, make diverse contributions to activity and hold varied viewpoints” unseals new explorative opportunities not only for the concept of situated learning but also for CoP. Even only paraphrasing a small anecdote from the acknowledgements section of their book can be helpful here for highlighting the role of CoP in learning. In the acknowledgements part, they are grateful both to organizers and participants for the opportunity to discuss the idea. This discussion opportunity provides a collaborative basis not only for personal or professional development of the individual members, but also for further elaboration of the idea by sharing knowledge, expertise, experiences and best practices in a particular domain of common interests (Lave & Wenger, 1991). Presently, literature has increasingly engaged in expanding the implications of such opportunities (Wenger, McDermott, & Synder, 2002) by the inclusion of knowledge sharing activities held in online spaces. In other words, as a subject matter of the knowledge management field, CoP are one of the critical resources creation mechanisms of contemporary organizations, especially because they facilitate the establishment, management and access opportunities regarding unrestricted knowledge repositories. For the organizations (reaping the benefits of CoP), the notion underlined here is the critical importance of the optimization of resources (or trade off) between exploring and exploiting efforts for not throwing up the sponge in a competitive environment. From the beginning of the industrial revolution to the days of information age, knowledge based competition has pushed business organizations to become co-located structures not only in cities but also in countries in order to fill their knowledge gaps while struggling to turn their accumulated knowledge into value. Even though knowledge considered as the most strategic resource generating competitive advantage (Grant, 1996) is not a new perception, rapid evolution in such critical aspects as the means of communication, the shared content, and the diversity in the sources of knowledge, render the issue to reconsideration. Focusing these aspects necessitates to deal with the changes in such fundamental conceptualizations about knowledge; e.g. sources of knowledge (where it appears) or forms of knowledge (how it appears). Not surprisingly, CoP is at the intersection (or it is a playground) of these conceptualizations due to a well-known fact: Development in an organization’s knowledge base is highly correlated with the development of its intangible assets

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rather than physical ones. More succinctly, as an intangible asset, intellectual capital mostly based on human resource practices plays a key role as a source of knowledge. When the issue becomes about human resource practices which can be mostly conducted in informal ways, organizations need to find some ways to formalize the outputs. However, reluctant to compromise on informality, organizations are not ready enough to build and to manage CoP formally. Even though CoP is an old concept1, especially recent developments in information and communication technologies (ICT) (e.g., the introduction of Web 2.02) provided them freedom from location based structures, as well as being instrumental in sobering up their organizations to overcome the managerial paradox of formalizing informality. Instead of a paradox, it can be better to term this process as “optimization.” As a consequence of the structural specificities of these communities in which members mostly interact informally, managing or supervising them may destroy much of their natural advantages and spontaneous benefits. From some aspects, these phenomena may remind us of the “The Truman Show”, a movie directed by Peter Weir in 1998, where the entire life of Truman Burbank takes place within an arcological (artificially created ecology) dome equipped with thousands of cameras that monitor his whole life. While in the movie, Truman is the only person not awakened about his life while being watched and serviced for audiences, in CoP, the heart of the matter is the need for all members to be watched. Thus, to preserve the natural atmosphere of the community, instead of cultivating and/or ruling them, managers may need to consider harvesting the benefits of the natural atmosphere that produces knowledge and practices formally or informally. This chapter initially presents the progress of evolution (Evolution of CoP) of individuals’ actions and CoP from location based to dispersed forms by considering knowledge sharing practices. In line with this evolution, enablers of change, in other words the expansion and changing nature (Characteristics of CoP for Knowledge Sharing) of CoP, are presented within the context of organizational learning (Explorative and Exploitative Forms of Organizational Learning in CoP) and social capital (Bridging and Bonding Forms of Social Capital in CoP) which is regarded as a critical catalyst for knowledge creation in communities. The Role of ICT for CoP is devoted to the role of ICT in between organizational learning and social capital by monitoring the effect of instant and constant tools separately. The use of CoP for knowledge sharing is herein considered as an indispensable environment for both organizational learning and social capital. Finally, in Section 5, the role of ICT as an enabler of change is discussed and presented with the aim of providing some strategic implications for organizations. An integrated framework of this study is presented in Figure 1 wherein the numbers correspond to the sections of this chapter.

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EVOLUTION OF COP Even though the concept of CoP was introduced more than two decades ago by Lave & Wenger (1991), its history probably begins with cavemen meeting to discuss better ways/techniques for hunting or any other collective actions they perform. In early human history - let us say before the medieval ages - trading (Larson, 1979) was one of the main issues for which people met frequently to discuss about their shared interests or common issues. In Ancient Rome, the idea of collegia opificum (Walbank, Astin, Fredriksen, & Ogilvie, 1989), associations of interested players intending to access and control resources can be given as an example to early guild-like associations that were meeting to secure their future. As the first knowledge based structures, these groups - confraternities of textile workers, carpenters or incorporations of metalworkers - were the source of art, as well as being mysterious about their crafts. By 242

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Figure 1. Integrated framework of the concepts used in the study

serving some sort of social purpose (celebrating together, acting together) and business function (trading, training, exchanging) together, these groups were operated by members in line with such dramatic values embedded in their interactions. By acting together and helping each other, members could find various solutions for their common problems. They shared their experiences, insights, advices and aspirations to develop their techniques or to minimize their future risks. These early communities became platforms for collective learning, creating or designing, and sources of personal satisfaction by developing shared understanding and a sense of belonging to an interest group. In the Middle Ages, guilds were serving similar values for artisans or merchants throughout Europe. Within the grant of an authority, they were getting together around a value for professional association, trade union, cartels and so forth. The profile of these practitioners was determined by such special classes as lawyers, architects, physicians and others who were the bodies of practical and theoretical knowledge in service of the elites (Larson, 1979). When the contrast between specialist elites and practitioners would become more visible, these classes had turned into institutionalized centers of learning as associations for students, teachers or guilds of learning. As a consequence of the functional process of resource accumulation, the value of these communities had reached an unprecedented scale because of the introduction of written documents which facilitated the spread of information by eliminating the mandate of face-to-face communication. In those days, public resources tended to be monopolized easily not only by monarchs, but also by a castle of scribes with unique powers vested in them. It is then easy to derive that all unique bodies of knowledge appearing in a class society could be monopolized by their creators and possessors. The value generated by those societies was exploited by small elites/guilds on whom specialists depended for their existence. Even though the fall of guilds can be addressed to the end of 15th century, they lost their influence in its entirety during the industrial revolution. Instead of moral attachments provided by symbols, myths or rituals in guilds, utilitarian attachment began to make people get together in modern organizations (Etzioni, 1961, cited in Kieser, 1989). Presumably, guilds reacted to economic crises by reinforcing their cartels (Kieser, 1989), while CoP expanded themselves to all classes and people. On the other hand, the transition of institutions from guilds to manufactories is also closely related with the evolution of the market for production factors, labor and capital.

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In a nutshell, the institutional mechanisms of communities and labor markets coevolved. While division of labor had been implemented in the craft shops of monasteries in the early Middle Ages, together with the Renaissance, they evolved into special workplaces for urban dwellers. Sider (2005) claims that urban development –mostly presences with social unrest- was a large part of society during the Renaissance. Kieser (1989) noted that the transition of craft shops of monasteries to urban workhouses was triggered by the idea of engaging criminals and work dodgers with legally paid employment. This transition provided an opportunity to bring production capacities under the control of especially merchants who constituted a larger portion of urban population. It also provided another opportunity for the community because new organizational forms emerged due to the failure of medieval economic thinking which acclaimed restrictive rules. The new era of economic thinking did not only legitimize profit making but also prepared an atmosphere for more relaxed, geographically extended, technically improved communities. During the 18th century, improved communication and mobility together with rapid urbanization put an end to the isolation of the large numbers of provincial practitioners and shifted them up towards communities of professionals. When centered on shared practices, these communities which were built upon informal and personal bases could also be regarded as the “emergence of CoP”. From the beginning of the industrial revolution, communities had started to develop their unique characteristics most importantly as the body of knowledge and practice within co-located boundaries of the office, city or country. Together with the rise of industrialization, locally organized practicing and learning has been gradually replaced by well-trained labor force practicing and learning in a strong societal environment. The larger CoP reformed themselves through the formation of apprentices. However, as a means of learning, apprenticeship began to lose its impact on learning in developing western economies and turned to a kind of guise for using cheap and unskilled labor. Even though situated learning (learning in situ) deals with the character of human understanding and highlights the importance of relationships between learning and the societal institutions, it was not enough to serve an acquisition of knowhow or abstract knowledge which are needed in an industrialized society and production processes. Lave & Wenger (1991) conceptualize situated learners as a certain kind of co-participants of work that are helpful for the acquisition of skills (but not abstract knowledge) by providing interactive and productive roles. This means that learners still need to possess the ability of transforming and reapplying knowledge. At this point, it is handy to recall Brown & Duguid’s (1991) statements: There is an opposition perceived between working, learning and innovating. They underlined a gap between precepts and practice. While the precepts implies formal descriptions of work (procedures) and learning (subject matter), the practice implies actual practice (including abstract knowledge). Abstract knowledge makes actual practice meaningful not only because it increases productivity, but also in the sense of boosting creativity and innovation. In order to understand the value of “abstract knowledge”, just remember Marx’s statements on alienation of labor from work, process or from other labors. He contributes a famous description of this at the beginning of Capital (1965): A spider conducts operations that resemble those of a weaver, and a bee puts to shame many an architect in the construction of her cells. But what distinguishes the worst architect from the best of bees is this, that the architect raises his structure in imagination before he erects it in reality.

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He explains the situation of individuals. As social beings, they have to enter into relationships with each other regardless of their personal choices because of the necessity to work together to obtain what they need to live (Marx, 1844). Society does not consist of individuals, it is the sum of connections and relationships in which individuals find themselves (Marx, 1973). When society assigns a particular value to abstract knowledge in terms of the details of the practice which are nonessential, unimportant and detached from practice, this may distort intricacies of the practice and impedes individuals to enact and to be inspired. To overcome this deficiency, organizations are in search of effective ways of training, educating and supporting their members with proper techniques and technologies. However, practice is central to comprehend work related issues and needs to be well understood, engendered - through training - or enhanced - through innovation - (Brown & Duguid, 1991). For example, In Orr’s (1996) study, “Talking about machines: An ethnography of a modern job”, conducted on copy machine technicians, during meals, coffee breaks or while performing some other activities together, technicians’ informal discussions took place in natural social interaction. The volume and nature of discussion supports knowledge transfers from more experienced technicians to the new ones. The notion of “legitimate peripheral participation” (Lave & Wenger, 1991) shifts learning process from apprenticeship to collective and participatory learning. In order to overcome probable handicaps in apprenticeship (e.g., individual mentoring instead of group mentoring, excessive importance of pedagogy and teacher, stress of traditional way of doing versus necessity to innovate), legitimate peripheral participation offers some particular ways of learning by enabling learners engaged with others’ practices and experts, and by distributing knowledge among co-participants. Succinctly, a community of practice reproduces itself through the reformation of apprenticeship and situated learning. In parallel with these structural and cognitive changes in the communities, knowledge which is needed to survive in a competitive business environment has become an increasingly crucial asset since the beginning of the industrial revolution. Organizations have been facing the problem of managing and creating knowledge to become more flexible which is needed for responding effectively to changing business forms, from local to co-located. Instead of characterizing organizations as machines, the new metaphors tend to image organizations as organisms, brains, cultures, political systems and so forth (Morgan, 1977) because of the changes in information and energy patterns in the environment. When these patterns coupled with the developments in logistics and communication, sourcing of components and raw materials has been moved to low-cost areas around the world. Expectedly, this mobility is followed by transferring support services and other functional bodies of the company such as their call centers to cheap areas. Mirvis (1996) expresses the situation clearly: Since all life forms are subject to entropy, the problems of adaptation, conceptualized as the maintenance of equilibrium and “fit” of the organism with its environment, became a central concern to theorists. Sure, it was a central concern, not only for theorists, but also for managers in companies and organizations. There had already been international trade activities since earlier times (e.g., East India Company in London to develop trade with the spice island in south-east Asia in 1599 or Dutch east India Company engaged in the same business as a rival). Their established practices on formal bases expanded by advancements in machinery and communication towards semi-formal bases due to their operations across the world, in various cultures and conditions. Behind the transition from local to dispersed business activities and from formal to semi-formal workforce structures, there can be found some dynamics such as globally dispersed customers and suppliers and the necessities to work in real time and on-demand. Factors forcing/motivating firms to operate internationally and/or globally are the subject of another discussion, however it is helpful to know the main axes in order to comprehend the dynamics of the 245

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transition of CoP towards dispersed forms. One of the conceptualizations was introduced by Yip, Loewe, & Yoshino (1988) as a model reflecting the factors that drive globalization in particular industries. According to this model, four axes catalyze internalization and globalization: Market factors, economic factors, environmental factors and competitive factors. These factors can be exemplified respectively as the global customers and distribution channels, sourcing efficiencies across the world and differences in country costs, falling transportation costs and improving communication, and finally, global moves of competitors and competitive interdependence among countries. In order to adapt to these new conditions, organizations are also renovated by specifying duties, dividing work and authority and exerting control overseas. In time, organizational roles are learned by members and role behavior becomes habituated (Mirvis, 1996). Lower costs, faster transactions and telecommunications, make inter-firm alliances and homogenization of work styles easier and smoother. This means that the global economy also refers to the integration of producers and customers within a network structure. Advances in technology can also be perceived as drivers of the new economy – knowledge economy - or global economy in the sense of changes in the traditional meaning of workforce. The workforce of the knowledge economy is characterized by groups of individuals interacting and mobilizing within communities. They are also engaging the problems of adaptation to rapid changes in the market. Within this environment, the capacity to innovate is the most important element in gaining and sustaining competitive advantage (Santos, Doz, & Williamson, 2004). Thus, the process of innovation not only depends on the capacity of organizations to use and to share knowledge (Kodama, 2005) but also requires better access to knowledge resources. Upon this basis, organizations began to transform themselves towards becoming learning organizations. They also needed to transform the situation of learning and working, towards interrelated instead of separated activities. Thus, their members, as lifelong learners in a learning process, make the creation and use of knowledge meaningful and (Marsick & Watkins, 1999) facilitate knowledge sharing for performing their tasks better and more efficiently (Huysman & Wulf, 2006). Wenger (1998) discusses learning processes in three levels as for individuals, for communities and for organizations. While learning for individuals is an issue of engaging in and contributing to the practices of their community, it is an issue of refining practices and ensuring generations of members for the community. Beyond these perceptions, for organizations, learning is an issue of sustaining interconnected CoP. Thus, enabling an environment for the members to reap the benefits of networking can be one of the effective ways to facilitate learning for the organization. Generally, members tend to form networks of expertise naturally for their personal and professional learning, collaborating and for problem solving. Briefly, it can be said that the industrial revolution has also reinforced a learning revolution, at least in Western economies since the beginning of internationalization. During the time of industry (industrial age), companies/organizations plodded away to control natural resources. In other words, these kinds of companies/organizations are known as resource-based organizations (Senge, 1993). It was the way, taken up seriously, to have bigger market share or to have bigger range of influence especially on resources. It is not difficult to say simply that the way is still valid but the perception of the resource is not. With the rise of the information age, organizations have begun to have and to use of knowledge effectively as if it is the most valuable resource. Practically, there can be found a tradeoff here in between tangible resources (e.g., physical capital) and intangible resources (e.g., knowledge capital). It is a substantial change if the knowledge era is compared with the industrial era, when tangible assets played a distinctive role. Presently, organizations still try hard to control knowledge resources; because of this they are now called as knowledge-based organizations.

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Consequently, the expanding nature of trade and business operations, when coupled with industrial development followed by improvements in communication infrastructures, render these groups of individuals in CoP interconnected and priceless in todays’ economy. The rising stress of competition and globalization makes these business operations knowledge-based and develops greater reliance especially on networking and practicing. As a research strand, CoP is kind of a meeting point for researchers working on organizational learning and social capital in the field of knowledge management.

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CHARACTERISTICS OF COP FOR KNOWLEDGE SHARING CoP has been utilized by organizations as a component of their purposes or strategies in which members come together formally or informally to discuss about recent concerns and/or to find solution to common problems. Their activities are mostly about learning, sharing knowledge and improving practices. Within a collaborative environment, learning takes place outside formal classroom environment. Even though CoP have various definitions, they all have common terms: collaborative environment, informal networks of professional practitioners, shared understanding, and specific knowledge domain. Onge & Wallace (2003) express their observations on CoP by a typology in three categories as; informal, supported, and structured. While informal CoP involve loosely organized members having common needs for improving their practices, in supported ones, members have more purposeful focus on developing new knowledge for their future practices. In structured CoP, members collaborate and learn within a purposefully generated content for contributing to an organization’s development. The fact lying behind all these attachments is shared identity (Wenger, 1998) which magnetizes members. This fact also causes a kind of duality for reaping the learning benefits: CoP can be a place where individuals learn from each other or CoP can be a place for collective improvement in the performance of collective practices. The notion of this duality makes sense when focused on organizations trying to find a balance between exploration and exploitation in organizational learning. As discussed in the previous section, the distinction between exploration and exploitation is fed by the distinction between abstract knowledge and actual practice. To overcome these dualities or constraints, organizational learning and social capital are two critical components of the knowledge management field. They help organizations not only to interact with their environment but also to preserve and develop its core competencies. However, both components have changing and dynamic natures since ICT becomes vital (not as an option) even in our personal daily lives. These dynamics force organizations to rethink their policies in order to sustain the functionality of these two key components. To sum up, this section explores linkages between individual learning and organizational learning as a central issue for overcoming the duality of exploration and exploitation at individual, organizational and inter-organizational levels. The knowledge flow among these distinct levels (explorative way) ought to be turned into value (exploitative way) for sustaining competitive advantage. The first section deals with organizational learning while second section covers social capital within the frame of CoP.

Explorative and Exploitative Forms of Organizational Learning in CoP Brown & Duguid (1991) base their research which is about the relationship between organizational learning and CoP on two central terms introduced by Bourdieu (1973): modus operandi (the productive activity of consciousness) and opus operatum (structured structure). Modus operandi can be simplified 247

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as the distinct or particular way of operation while modus operatum means an unvarying or habitual method of procedure (Allen, 1991). Bourdieu constructs his theory on an old issue involving objectivist and subjectivist debates. In 1845, with “The Theses on Feuerbach”, Marx had criticized materialism (objectivism) which does not perceive human activity as practice, in a subjective way for the sensible world. On the contrary, idealism takes into account human activity in the sense of activity in an abstract way. Briefly, this critique is about habitus and the individual as human being: The habitus not only constrains practices, it is also a result of the creative relationships of human beings. Bourdieu (1977) explains habitus as invention or inventive dimension which depends on knowledgeable and creative actors. Thus, individuals are not the pure objects of the structures, they also have relative freedom to act (e.g., trial and error) for being creative and self-conscious. Within this context, Bourdieu perceives a practice as valuable when it is a praxis3. As it can be detected easily in between the lines of this explanation, the critical bottleneck lies here as to act freely or to act prescriptively. When organizational learning is remarked as the social process of cultivating practitioners from individuals engaged in knowledge sharing within a social context, the social construction of identity becomes critical. Organizations are still in search for a balance between sharpening and blunting their individual members’ distinctive abilities. Researchers Lave & Wenger, (1991) Brown & Duguid (1991) attempt to work on this matter by investigating organizational learning from a community perspective. Legitimate peripheral participation covers both individual and community learning by linking individual to community culture (Lave & Wenger, 1991). Further investigation by Brown & Duguid (1991) refers canonical and non-canonical practices. While the former implies an adherence to formal rules and procedures, the latter implies the informal routines that dominate day to day procedures. Brown & Duguid (1991) suggest that strict canonical focus inhibits problem solving capabilities of the organization. However, non-canonical focus as unstructured dialogue, particularly through storytelling, leads to innovation and problem solving. Similarly, Levitt, & March (1988) claim knowledge externalization process as the interpretation of events/practices. In other words, they propose a transition from tacit knowledge to explicit knowledge by highlighting three classical observations: Behavior in an organization is based on routines, organizational actions are history dependent and finally organizations are oriented to targets. Within the frame of these observations, they mention that organizations are seen as learning by encoding inferences from history into routines that guide behavior. Routines (forms, rules, procedures), independently from individuals, can be transmitted through socialization, education, training, imitation and so forth. They can also be recorded in a collective memory. However, the change in routines depends on interpretation of the history. Routines lead to favorable outcomes; but they are treated as fixed. A competency trap (Levitt & March, 1988) emerges here because routines may also lead to maladaptive specialization if newer ones are better than the older. Therefore, interpretations of experience need to be supervised by organizations for benefiting from individual learners. Organizations need to develop collective understanding to interpret history or experiences. They also need to focus on keeping these interpretations inside the collective or organizational memory. Levitt & March (1988) suggest to record all (rules, procedures, beliefs and cultures) in documents, accounts, files and rule books. The process of transforming experience into routines may have been a costly process almost three decades ago and it was sensitive to the cost of information technology. Even though today’s technology provides giant advances when compared with the situation of those times, the amount of transfer cost still depends on the amount of tacit portion. The gap is still existent between individual learning and collective memory. Nonaka (1991) states this gap by setting a bridge between individual learning and organizational learning; the well-known knowledge

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conversion process from tacit to explicit. In the model (Nonaka, 1994), knowledge can be distributed with the help of information technologies once it goes through externalization processes. When information is interpreted by an individual, it turns into knowledge (Schoenhoff, 1993). By considering knowledge as a dynamic human process of justifying personal belief toward the truth, Nonaka & Teece (2001) deal with two types of knowledge as explicit and tacit. They state that explicit knowledge can be expressed in formal and systematic language and shared in the forms of data, scientific formulas, specifications, manuals and such. On the other hand tacit knowledge emerges together with some cognitive barriers which makes the expression difficult (Hinds & Pfeffer, 2003). Because it is learned through experience and held at unconsciousness or semi-consciousness level (Polanyi, 1966 cited in Hinds & Pfeffer, 2003). Knowledge creation as the result of a complementary process of interactions between tacit form and explicit form transcends the boundary between individual and individual or between individual and community. This process can be observed in two directions from community to individual (macro level) or from individual to community (micro level). In order to comprehend the process of knowledge creation for the organization, one of the best choices is to focus on three elements introduced by Nonaka (1991) and constructed by Nonaka & Takeuchi (1995) and finally elaborated by Nonaka et al. (2001). These elements are known as the SECI process, ba and knowledge assets. The SECI process involves four steps as socialization (tacit to tacit), externalization (tacit to explicit), combination (explicit to explicit) and internalization (explicit to tacit). These four steps of knowledge conversion helps an organization to create its own knowledge repository and to diffuse knowledge among its members. Briefly, it is a process that can be reiterated as the interpretation of an individual’s mind by the organization to locate articulated knowledge and the interpretation of an organization’s mind by an individual. With more emphatic words, it resembles the process of raining circle: Knowledge drops that are condensed from the individuals’ lands vaporize towards the organizations’ atmosphere and fall back again onto individuals’ lands in drops. The authors (Nonaka & Teece, 2001), describe socialization process as the conversion process of new tacit forms through shared experiences. They exemplify this process by mentioning traditional apprenticeship in which learners are guided and educated by experts (not by written documents). Moreover, socialization process refers to the process of interacting, spending time with other members, observing, imitating and practicing with others in a collective environment. CoP are particularly effective environments for running the socialization process thanks to experience-based characteristics. Saint-Onge & Wallace (2012) clearly spot CoP as a place where tacit knowledge will surface naturally and be shared with the people who really need to know it. As we touched upon previously, in the community of Xerox technicians as CoP, exchange of tacit knowledge took place within the context of storytelling. For organizations, storytelling not only helps to develop shared understanding but also to convert tacit form to explicit knowledge if and when the owner can codify what she knows. The process of articulation of tacit knowledge, externalization, means translation of justified true beliefs to symbols, images, letters or written documents. Unavoidably, when tacit knowledge is externalized (is made explicit), a risk of losing some portions of it may emerge. However, for the rest of it, knowledge becomes available for articulation and can be shared by others even across the world’s dispersed members. The success in externalization mostly depends on the sequential use of metaphors (Nonaka et al., 2001). All these solidifying efforts help tacit knowledge to permeate its cognitive barriers. This is also closely linked to Levitt and March’s arguments about history dependent learning by interpreting previous experiences. This interpretation might be verbal, written or symbolized in such various ways: drawing, modelling or prototyping. 249

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Combination process deals with knowledge transformation from an explicit form to another explicit form by converting, editing or processing it towards more systemic and complicated sets of new knowledge. It is a matter of synthesizing derived knowledge of an explicit form, from tacit forms with various sources, and making it ready to disseminate among the members of the organization. The use of database and IT networks help to facilitate this conversion by sorting, categorizing or linking acquired explicit knowledge with previous sources. This process also implies an integration (Yeh, Huang, & Yeh, 2011) or embodiment (Nonaka, 1991) of fragmented knowledge bodies into organizations’ knowledge systems. Finally, the last step of knowledge conversion, internalization is described as a process of embodying knowledge into tacit form. Because of the critical position of the role of the individual, it is closely related to learning by doing (Nonaka, 1994). When individuals combine or reconfigure explicit knowledge databases in action or practice, they link the circle by gaining their own new tacit knowledge. Internalization can also be perceived as an assimilation process of explicit knowledge by interpreting and then applying it in practice. Internalization also implies a process of recirculating organizations’ set of combined knowledge repository by adding new insights. The process of this conversion from one form to another - from tacit form to explicit and finally tacit again - helps organizations mostly to create new knowledge. On the other hand, each step may have some missing links: For instance; socialization process which needs to be supported by new knowledge keepers (e.g., individual having new/distinct stories) and the limits of conversion process from tacit to tacit is confronted with absorptive capacities of individuals. The risk of knowledge inertia may emerge unless the members meet other members from the outside of boundaries, and their absorptive capacity is supported by adequate amounts of explicit knowledge (observing, imitating, listening may not be enough to have abstract knowledge). As previously alluded to, externalization process of conversion may have been limited by the amount of symbols or methods used/known by people. Codification/solidification of tacit knowledge also has some risks concerning the translation which may be unintentionally far from the truth. We might learn just the documented history and old stories. However, this may probably not be the whole truth or all the history. They are merely a collection of someone’s interpretations. One more example can be given about the combination process which needs to use an important dose of tacit knowledge (Adler, 1995). Not only the combination process, but all other processes of conversion need almost the same amount of tacit knowledge, as well. This approach makes SECI model seem as if it is blocked by some other knowledge type required for running knowledge conversion processes. The other elements of the process between individual and organization is filled by ba and knowledge assets. Since knowledge has a context specific character which means, it may differ as to how, where or when it is used, and the character of participants have critical importance to trigger a knowledge creation process. According to Nonaka & Takeuchi (1995), ba refers to a shared context in which knowledge is shared, created and utilized. They also cite Suchman (1987) who proposes knowledge which cannot be understood without situated cognition and action. Social, cultural and historical contexts are important for individuals (Vygotsky, 1986) because such contexts give the basis for one to interpret information to create meanings. As Friedrich Nietzsche argued, `there are no facts, only interpretations’. Ba is a place where information is interpreted to become knowledge (Nonaka et al, 2001).

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Ba refers to a platform (physical or not) where interactions emerge between participants who are motivated around similar driving forces such as shared problems, shared practices, or shared benefits and so on. Ba is also a complicated and ever-changing platform without boundaries. However, the term of duality we used in previous sections, reappears here with respect to crucial importance of shared language, shared understanding and shared cognition for enabling ba. At the first glance, ba and CoP have similar meanings. However, Nonaka et al., (2001) state some differences between these two terms:

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…community of practice is a place where the members learn knowledge that is embedded in the community, ba is a place where new knowledge is created. While learning occurs in any community of practice, ba needs energy to become an active ba where knowledge is created. The boundary of a community of practice is firmly set by the task, culture and history of the community. Consistency and continuity are important for a community of practice, because it needs an identity. As may be well remembered, the concept of “shared identity” was at the core of all these discussions. Because the boundary of ba is not constant, it is quickly and easily reformed by participants, it is not constrained by history or experiences, and shared identity does not exist in ba. It can be expressed that no shared identity means no limits caused by shared identity. Moreover, authors (Nonaka et al., 2001) underlined the level of change in CoP as mainly micro (change in individual composition – new participants are becoming full participants) while ba changes at both levels: micro and macro where the new members not only change the composition, but also change ba itself. They propose four types of interaction as (1) originating ba; face to face interaction between individuals, (2) dialoguing ba; a collective face to face interaction, (3) systemizing ba; collective virtual interaction and finally (4) exercising ba; face to face interaction between individuals. When these types of interactions overlap with the four steps of new knowledge creation (SECI), it makes sense. For instance, within the platform of originating ba, individuals can be socialized by sharing their experiences, stories, ideas or mental models. Then, in dialoguing ba, they can convert their shared contexts to models derived by common terms. This platform works for externalization and it makes face-to-face meetings necessary. Later, in systemizing ba, virtual interactions can be used for combining externalized knowledge with other various open sources. Virtually, on electronic networks, documentation and articulation have critical meaning here in the sense of not being limited by a boundary. Finally, in exercising ba; individuals have a chance to interpret articulated knowledge over the network by exercising on it in order to use it in action. Consequently, the last element of the process is knowledge assets which means factors enabling “the knowledge creation process” to work properly. These are inputs, outputs and moderators (Nonaka et. al, 2001). The authors give trust as an example for enabling the process to function. As a last step of knowledge conversion process between individual and organization, they offer four types of knowledge which make organizations overcome the duality of learning or acting. These knowledge types are; experiential, conceptual, systemic and routine. While the first; experiential knowledge assets are composed of handson experiences among the individuals within the organization, the second; conceptual knowledge assets, are about the knowledge that can be articulated by symbols or images or written language. Systemic knowledge assets also refer to explicit knowledge formed in manuals, models, design, specifications and so forth. Finally, routine knowledge assets imply the knowledge routinized in actions or practices in the form of certain patterns or exercises used by organizational members.

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Bridging and Bonding Forms of Social Capital in CoP While the concept of social capital has been revisited by a multitude of researchers originating from various fields in the last century, it still does not have one single definition that embraces all facets of the intrinsic and applied implications that it encompasses (e.g., Hanifan, 1916; Jacobs 1965; Bourdieu, 1983; Coleman, 1988; Fountain, 1998; Nahapiet & Ghoshal, 1998; Woolcock, 1998; Putnam, 2000; Cohen & Prusak, 2001). It has by now been widely articulated that social capital is a catalyst for developing knowledge capital between people by fostering the exchange of information and knowledge sharing. Nahapiet and Goshal (1998) presented social capital in three distinct dimensions: A series of connections between people (the structural dimension); trust and reciprocity (the relational dimension); and common context and understanding (the cognitive dimension). Similarly, two distinct categories of social capital have been pinpointed by Daniel, Schwier, & McCalla, (2003), namely a structural dimension referring “to the fundamentals of the network such as types of ties and connections and the social organization of the community”, where the second dimension is the content dimension of social capital which “includes the types of norms, trust, shared understanding and those variables that hold people together.” As eloquently stated by Lesser & Prusak (2000), CoP play an indispensable role in managing and transferring knowledge. The authors attribute value to CoP because “they foster the development of social capital, which in turn is a necessary condition for knowledge creation, sharing and usage.” In turn, Lesser & Storck’s (2001) definition of a CoP in an organizational setting encompasses the structural and cognitive dimensions of social capital: “a group whose members regularly engage in sharing and learning, based on their common interests.” The authors argue that while a lot of attention has been given to face-to-face interaction between people in analyzing social capital in CoP, there is no reason why distributed CoP whose participants utilize ICT tools should not be considered as part of the general definition of classical CoP. In fact their analysis of seven CoP reveals that the usage of ICT tools such as knowledge repositories, discussion databases and e-mail systems provided a boost to the structural dimension of social capital by giving community members the opportunity to “reveal” their expertise to others, and to obtain knowledge both internally and from external sources. This opportunity should remind us Wenger’s words in his acknowledgement section expressing gratitude to all the participants for providing an opportunity. At this point, it is easier to understand why he thanks them and how this opportunity boosts knowledge sharing. Robert, Dennis & Ahuja (2008), propose that the structural dimension of social capital is particularly helpful when the face-to-face communication channel is not an option. ICT usage also contributed to the relational dimension (obligations, norms, trust and identification) of social capital because community members could actively manage shared spaces, and begin evaluating and judging the trustworthiness and reciprocity of others based on members’ contributions in the form of shared knowledge artifacts. In addition, Lesser & Storck (2001) observed taxonomies being developed in the knowledge repositories, by means of establishing common mechanisms for structuring and storing the collective memory of the community members. This observation can also be considered as positively influencing the cognitive dimension of social capital which is characterized by a shared context, meaning and understanding. Based on these propositions, it can be assumed that distributed or online CoP provide a suitable environment for developing social capital. The working definition for social capital in virtual learning communities suggested by Daniel et al. (2003) supports this viewpoint by comprising all three proposed dimensions:

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… common social resource that facilitates information exchange, knowledge sharing, and knowledge construction through continuous interaction, built on trust and maintained through shared understanding. When analyzing how online CoP (oCoP) contribute to social capital development, another categorical approach proposed by Woolcock (1998) can also be helpful. Accordingly, social capital has three forms: bridging, bonding and linking. Putnam (2000) relates the first two of these to Granovetter’s (1973) classification of weak ties and strong ties, respectively. Bridging social capital has an external connotation, in the sense that it suggests building weak ties with people who can be assumed to be different and who did not know each other before establishing a relationship. This results in information being transferred/shared by otherwise distinct external sources/communities, without having intimate relations. Bonding social capital, on the other hand, works inwards (has an internal orientation) based on strong ties established among people who know each other and focus on the same interests. Though the potential lack of diversity implies less new/different information being exchanged, bonding social capital also indicates “thick trust”, solidarity, emotional support, and stronger interpersonal relationships/ connections (Kavanaugh, Reese, Carroll, & Rosson, 2005). It may be suggested that it is more common to see bonding social capital in highly cohesive communities where knowledge flows relatively more fluidly among members who trust each other. There exist some researchers in the literature who investigated how the structural, cognitive and relational mechanisms trigger sustainable interactions in CoP. For instance, Inkpen & Tsang (2005) researched direct ties among individuals in order to realize the effect of interaction by focusing on relational and cognitive dimensions. According to the authors, these dimensions are mediators of knowledge exchange among members of a community. Therefore, it can be stated that weak ties provide a setting which allows more search for, and better access to, new information and resources (Granovetter, 1973). On the other hand, strong ties lead to more search for, and better access to, redundant or familiar information and resources (Hansen, 1999). This conceptualization leads us to set up a link between dimensions and forms of social capital, as well as organizational learning activities. In a nutshell, structural dimension can be perceived as an opportunity to develop relational and/or cognitive social capital if the participants continue to meet frequently. Thus, it can be derived that developing relational social capital provides grounds for nourishing bridging ties. These are highly eligible for explorative activities in organizational learning. On the other hand, cognitive social capital provides grounds for nourishing bonding ties. These ties are helpful to organizations for exploitative activities. Bonding and bridging ties can be effectively utilized by organizations to overcome the potential struggle posed by the duality between learning and acting or in other words, exploration and exploitation of knowledge. The distinction between exploration and exploitation can be clarified as the process of exploitation entails the deepening of a firm’s core knowledge, while exploration implies a process broadening into non-core areas. Both for the exploration and exploitation process, networks and clusters offer opportunities and mechanisms by representing social capital (Burt, 2000). While bonding social capital maintains the combination of trust and social cohesion in the community (Coleman, 1988) and enables members to receive social support from other members, it may limit the access to new connections overtime by making the members too dependent to the group (Woolcock & Narayan, 2001). On the other hand, bridging social capital provides access to new connections across the organizational boundaries. With the help of weak ties, bridging social capital provides trust and cohesion among members in different communities (Granovetter, 1973). Moreover, bonding social capital provides strong ties between members, facilitating forms of intergroup interaction and collective 253

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action, while bridging social capital provides ties between groups and other actors and organizations (Woolcock & Narayan, 2000). Briefly, bonding social capital refers to a trusting relationship between members in a single community (e.g., social capital in criminal gangs), bridging social capital refers a trusting network of relationships between members of different communities and between communities (e.g., social capital between sport clubs). At this point there is a need to revisit Granovetter (1973), who stresses that bonding and bridging social capital are correlated with strong and weak ties by maintaining existing relations (bonding) and extending networks or facilitating mobility (bridging). In this context it can be supposed that ICT may have a positive effect on the creation of bridging social capital while maintaining or reducing bonding social capital. A countless amount of information is being produced by the minute in the virtual environment. The speed, volume and quality (trustworthiness) of the knowledge being shared are key especially in professional work related issues, specifically in planning and strategic decision making processes in organizations which may be fast or slow learners. Due to strong ties which imply intense emotional ties over a long period of time with high frequency contact and reciprocity (Wellman, 1982, cited in Kavanaugh et al., 2005), it can be suggested that bonding social capital embedded in oCoP will be a facilitator in the sharing of high quality and trustable knowledge among community members, although the content may lack diverse viewpoints. On the other hand, weak ties provide the opportunity to obtain new and diverse knowledge from external sources that may not be as trustworthy because of the short term nature of the relationship which by definition lacks emotional attachment and mutuality. Norris (2002) reports that the results a survey conducted among internet users, overall contact with different types of online groups like unions, community associations, and sports clubs, served both bridging and bonding functions, where the experience for reinforcing bonding was slightly higher overall. It is interesting to note that %50 percent of respondents had at one time or another used the internet to contact a trade or professional association – that can be considered in the realm of oCoP – and the same online group was reported by %24 of the respondents as the most frequently contacted among all other types of online groups investigated (Norris, 2002). It can thus be proposed that oCoP provide a virtual environment which fosters the development of strong networking ties, consequently strengthening bonding social capital, and creating a learning environment where effective knowledge sharing and mutual learning can be nurtured among participants based on feelings of trust and reciprocity. It should still be recognized that trust will build over time and its strength will depend on the frequency and quality of the information being shared. Lesser & Storck’s (2001) analyses suggest that distributed online communities are also instrumental in fostering bridging social capital, in the sense that they more often than not transpire organizational boundaries in the search for external knowledge by improving external linkages.

THE ROLE OF ICT FOR COP Especially in the last two decades, the skills and capabilities of individuals have been increasingly noticed in terms of their ICT competencies. The ability to use ICT is no longer just important for practitioners in the ICT sector, but has become fundamental for everyday working practices. ICT have blended into the rhythms and routines of everyday working life. The skills needed here are not only technical, but more importantly, informational: skills that enable individuals to access, to process and to interpret information in useful ways. Within this frame, ICT can be considered as an important enabler in knowl254

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edge management (Davenport, 1997; Ruggles, 1998; O’Dell & Grayson, 1998). In other words, ICT facilitates knowledge transfer not only through the exchange of data but also the exchange of knowledge. Nonetheless, this requires a double transformation process from knowledge to information and then to data, and back from data to information, and finally, to knowledge. Bolisani & Scarso (1999) claim that the transfer of knowledge (especially in the tacit form) often requires proximity between the transmitter and the receiver. For example, videoconferencing and virtual chat rooms may aid the transfer of tacit knowledge by enabling virtual proximity between players, while the transfer of information (especially the codified form) can be distributed worldwide with the touch of a button. The close relationship between knowledge sharing and social capital within the context of organizational learning directs a growing attention to the fundamental impacts of ICT on social capital (Blanchard & Horan, 2000; Wellman, 1997; Franzen, 2003; Uslaner, 2000; DiMaggio, Hargittai, Neuman, & Robinson, 2001; Hampton & Wellman, 2003; Quan-Haase & Wellman, 2004; Huysman & Wulf, 2006; Ellison, Steinfield, & Lampe, 2007). This attention to the impact of ICT on knowledge creation and skill diffusion makes clear that the ability to create, share and utilize knowledge is continuously upgraded by the advancement of ICT. While research communities are engaging in the clarification of blurred issues, fields of business have emerged to provide ICT services with a variety of solutions for organizational processes. ICT provides solutions for interaction, collaboration, learning and/or exploration as well as exploitation (Andersen 2004; Gilsing & Nooteboom, 2004; Nooteboom, 2004). In parallel with these advancements in organization, ICT introduces some other opportunities for organizations in the sense of possessing and managing their social assets (Millen & Patterson, 2003). Use of ICT in a virtual environment, including online communities, builds social norms and assets in geographically dispersed communities as well as location-based communities. With regard to CoP, online communities can be framed as a community which uses networked technology, especially the Internet, to establish collaboration across geographical barriers and time zones. An online community’s main goal is to serve as a common ground for individuals who share the same interests as one another. Online communities exist according to the identification of an idea or task, rather than physical proximity. Members are organized around an activity, and they are formed when need arises (Squire & Johnson, 2000). Because the members cannot see each other, group norms are not dominant as much as in traditional communities, thus allowing for greater individual control. Therefore, researchers pointed out that online communities do not appear to be intimate social groups (Wellman, 1997; Cummings, Butler, & Kraut, 2002) and this causes a decrease in social capital (Putnam, 2000). On the other hand, analyses indicate that understanding an individual’s full set of social behavior is crucial to examining her network relations, and building more effective software to support communication and social capital (Cummings et al., 2002; Preece, 2002). The value of the concept of social capital is to identify certain aspects of social structure by their function (Coleman 1988). Similarly, identifying certain functions of online social structure may be helpful to understanding the social phenomena. Online communities can either be location-based, in which the electronic group is centered on the geographic locale, or dispersed, in which the electronic group is not (Blanchard & Horan, 2000). Location-based communities can also be defined as the individuals assembled around a central location who mostly communicate via intranet-based networks, while the members of a dispersed community mostly refer to a group of individuals from the outside of an organization, such as partners and third party players (Blanchard, 2004). Members of location-based communities mostly have a chance to meet face-to-face when they need to or in a regular fashion, and they mostly know each other directly or indirectly. Nonetheless, members of a dispersed community meet mostly online and they don’t know each 255

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other in the real-world. Blanchard (2004) stresses that most members of location-based communities mostly indulge in both ways of interaction (face-to-face and online), and these communities are denser than dispersed communities. A higher level of social capital can be found in location-based communities when compared with dispersed ones, in terms of the easy flow of norms and trust in densely connected networks (Coleman, 1988). Similarly, Blanchard & Horan (2000) state that dispersed communities may decrease the social capital in location-based communities because they may decrease the density of the social networks of relationships in that community. With regard to the isolation effect of online communities on individuals (Putnam, 1995), members of dispersed communities may develop their own social capital in their online communities instead of developing it in their location-based communities if they sustain their online relationships within the existence of socio-emotional rewards (Blanchard, 2004). On the other hand, Wellman, Hasse, Witte, & Hampton (2001) found a positive correlation between the participation in online communities and the participation in traditional communities. According to the authors, participation in a dispersed community may not decrease some forms of social capital. In particular, increased Internet use is associated with an increase in civic group participation and it is significant because it may be a sign of increased activity in location-based networks of relationships. Although it has been argued that dispersed communities can decrease social capital and location based communities can increase it, this is not an accepted fact because of the fuzziness about the individuals who are developing a sense of community by interacting online (Blanchard, 2004). With regard to the dimensional approaches to social capital, Pigg & Crank (2004) consider the functions of ICT supporting communication in various forms as well as information storage, retrieval, analysis and sharing. Each of these elements can be operationalized by means of software in a variety of forms with applications currently available in online communities. Considering ICT in two forms as information tools and communication tools may become necessary especially because of the fact that social capital is built upon “instrumental” and “expressive” information forms (Pigg & Crank, 2004). Beyond the information function, communication includes both cognitive and affective contents. Therefore, the written message itself is meaningless without considering both content and context (Raber & Budd, 2003). Along with these matters, ICT tools need to be formulated in line with their formats and content that communicate both the affective and cognitive elements (Pigg & Crank, 2004). Researchers attempted to classify ICT applications in line with the relationships facilitated among users (Pigg & Crank, 2004). They think it is the format of ICT that structures social ties between persons and connects them to activities. Altheide (1994) illustrates the relevance of organizational IT and formats for societal activities in which IT formats and an organizational context create an effective environment for problem solving which, in turn, creates a format and organizational solution appropriate to the societal context and activities of the entire process. According to the author, different formats, but the same information and communication technologies brought together allow “doing it” and “reporting it.” On this basis, internet usage has created different formats for information technology that enables a flow of communication that isn’t passive, but is a two-way transaction such as: e-mail, chatting and the use of social software. With regard to this classification DiMaggio et al. (2001) express that online communities interacting via the Internet have some differences when compared to earlier technologies. The internet offers different modes of communication (broadcasting, individual searching and group discussion) and different kinds of content (text, audio, visual images) in a single medium. Within this context, Quan-Haase & Wellman (2004) propose the use of social capital in two complementary meanings as social contact and civic engagement. They mention that social contact reflects interpersonal communication patterns, including visits, encounters, phone calls and social events, while civic engagement reflects the degree to which 256

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people become involved in their community, both actively and passively, including such political and organizational activities as political rallies or book and sports clubs. Pigg & Crank, (2004) differentiate between the information and communication functions. They propose that the communication function is multi-faceted and interactive, including text, audio and video, and it may as well be in real-time (as in VOIP) or asynchronous or archival/historical. According to them, the communication function refers to the acts of transmitting information of different types, e.g., ideas and feelings, from one person to another. The information function is complex because Internet-based information transfer can take place using a variety of features of the network (Pigg & Crank, 2004). The information transfer can be “active” in that people share information using various communication features of the Internet including e-mail and video conferencing, or it can be passive, based on one person’s search for resources on the Internet and using, for example, its archiving or knowledge management capabilities. Based on these challenges for classifying ICT in sense of its format and the role in users’ relations, Yuan, Zhao, Liao, & Chi (2013) consider the role of ICT tools for knowledge sharing. They gather ICT in three groups; communication tools, social media and long standing tools4 . While communication tools means functioning simply as a channel, social media tools generate knowledge sharing between users. Web 2.0 is one of the critical advancements for empowering ICT to generate two-way/interactive/mutual knowledge sharing within a community. Together with the introduction of this interactive environment, new possibilities such as distribution lists, photo directories, and advanced search engines, wikis, forums and more platforms can support online linkages with others to build new forms of social capital (Resnick, 2001). Kaplan & Haenlein (2010) define social media as “a group of Internet-based applications that build on the ideological and technological foundations of Web 2.0 and that allow the creation and exchange of user-generated content.” Some of the important properties5 of social media that make these platforms different than traditional media can be listed here as quality, space, frequency, accessibility, usability, immediacy and permanence. Beyond these properties, Vossen (2009) defines Web 2.0 in four dimensions. These are the social dimension, infrastructure dimension, functionality dimension and the data dimension. These dimensions technically are related with the Nonaka’s (1994) process of knowledge sharing as socialization, externalization, combination and internalization. With regard to Nonaka’s (1994) statement about socialization – the process of creating tacit knowledge through shared experience - social dimension, is described as the software for sharing user-generated content or collaborative use of it (Vossen, 2009). This description of social media tools -Social Networking Sites (SNS) - refers to the applications for the interactions among users in which they create, share, and exchange information and ideas in online communities and networks. Another process of knowledge sharing is externalization -the conversion of tacit knowledge to explicit knowledge - (Nonaka, 1994), makes Wikis a conversational technology within the frame of meaningful dialogues (Andreano, 2008) externalizing practitioners experiences for submitting it to the Web 2.0 platforms (McAfee, 2006). According to Andreano (2008), wiki technology allows users to directly interact with the content they encounter. If a user using a best practices manual, for example, comes across a problematic or inaccurate piece of information, she can immediately edit the wiki to reflect her own recent experience. If another user finds something wrong with this edit, this other user can similarly change what appears on the wiki. The process of combination -the reconfiguration of existing information for having new knowledge by sorting, adding, re-categorizing, and re-contextualizing - (Nonaka, 1994), appears as forums in Web 2.0 technology (McAfee, 2006). Forums allow the users of the organization to arrange information and describe it in a way that makes sense to them and will aid them in their future discovery of relevant knowledge artifacts. It also serves better search functionality and the use of user-created tags (Andreano, 257

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2008). The final process defined by Nonaka (1994) is internalization -conversion of explicit knowledge into tacit knowledge. For this process, Web 2.0 serves as blogs allowing users to express themselves through storytelling and narrative (Du & Wagner, 2006). The authors state that the process of expressing knowledge via blogs actually helps a content owner to construct knowledge because the conversation serves to refine and clarify knowledge of which the knower might have been unaware. Consequently, the emergence of the Internet opens a new era of interaction by offering not only communication technologies but also new social aspects for daily life and business environment. Together with the various communication and social media tools, the Internet has extended the way of interaction among people to the era of interaction among users in such communities. With the rapid development in technologies and tools, it initially became a mediator of real world relations, but later it defined these relations with its own dynamics. Recent findings about the impact of ICT on social capital tend to support positive relationships between the constructs by underlining the sense of community in virtual spaces and enhancing its offline relations (Hampton & Wellman, 2003). Along with these findings, it can be derived that the impact of ICT on social capital depends on the type of technology selected by individuals and tools for interaction.

FUTURE RESEARCH DIRECTIONS In order to reap the benefits of knowledge sharing in CoP more effectively, exploration and exploitation activities facilitated by organizations might be designed in accordance with the knowledge types created and articulated in the community. For example, experiential knowledge which derives from hands on experiences of an individual could be targeted by organizations as part of explorative activities, while conceptual, systemic and routinized knowledge created by individuals could be aligned with exploitative activities. The substance for future research in this field lies within the dynamics of knowledge conversion occurring in oCoP. Thus, other dualities embedded in these dynamics need to be visited. Some unanswered questions:

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• • •

Which types of knowledge are served by bridging form of social capital in oCoP? Which types of knowledge are served by bonding form of social capital in oCoP? How do ICTs boost the cognitive dimension for facilitating bonding forms within the existing differences in identities between oCoP and CoP?

In the context of rapid and mostly unpredictable developments regarding CoP and ICT infrastructure, various dimensions branch out from the components of social capital, organizational learning and ICT. For instance, the form of social capital emerging in online communities needs to be reworked continuously by incorporating upcoming trends and technologies in ICT. As it has been presented in this study, oCoP may be emerge in both location based and dispersed forms. Regardless of the form of social capital, individuals interacting in the community mostly represent themselves as virtual identities. This means that there is no distinction on the basis of demographics, instead the diversity of the members may be reflected by their experiences and tenures. This example provides clues for future research directions, such as the undiscovered dualities in the identity representation of the members in oCoP. In addition, emerging types of knowledge need to be considered especially for oCoP. This new knowledge form is

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codified and be articulated as well as representing the cognitive characteristics of the creator. Finally, further dualities between knowledge types (i.e., tacit knowledge in CoP versus synthetic knowledge in oCoP) need to be dwelled upon in the future.

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CONCLUSION CoP is a well-known concept for the knowledge management field. The popularity of the concept is mostly fed by the changing dynamics and composition of institutions and conditions. The evolution of CoP has been presented inappropriate detail to represent the changes in these dynamics. While CoP meant location based formations at the beginning, the concept turned into dispersed formations over time. This transition can be perceived as a breakthrough due to the changes of purposes, domains, identities and so forth. As time passes and different dynamics evolve, defining CoP is going to become more difficult. There is a need for reconceptualization of CoP in line with their changing nature. For example, availability of ICT not only for business operations but also our personal operations redefine our environment in terms of concept and context. At a micro level, most of us reserve much of our time for accessing knowledge what we need. At the macro level, organizations reserve a good portion of their resources for accessing our personal knowledge repositories. When organizational learning is perceived within the context of exploration and exploitation activities, organizational knowledge sharing dynamics necessitate such socio-organizational settings (i.e., social capital) as norms, culture, meanings, trust, common understandings and so forth. From this viewpoint, building and sharing social capital among CoP primarily help organizations to utilize internalized knowledge more effectively and productively together with the support of externalization efforts for diffusing, storing or sharing it. However, organizations are confronted with a duality of exploration and exploitation. In this study, the attempt to balance these two components of organizational learning was one of the central issues for elaborating the changing nature of CoP and social capital. In order to overcome the struggle between learning and acting, organizations follow particular models to harmonize explorative and exploitative activities in a contextual sphere to generate organizational learning. SECI, ba, and knowledge assets are some of the well-known models to convert individual knowledge into organizational knowledge and vice-versa. Moreover, in order to sustain competitive advantage, organizations use ba for setting effective networking especially in online spaces. As presented in this study, these two models, together with knowledge assets, make CoP and Social Capital highly important for the competitiveness of business firms. Today’s business models (e.g., geographically dispersed workplace formations) and advanced ICT infrastructures offer various opportunities for exploration and exploitation, as well as opportunities for internalization and externalization of knowledge. For instance, recent advancements in ICT engaged by oCOP provide some ways to reduce uncertainties and information asymmetries in transactions by handling and serving accessible data over networks. Sensors can collect and store various routines, procedures, acts, conversations and so on, thus serving users/organizations when needed. Online spaces make it possible to share these vital resources globally and make them available for the accession of every organizational member. However, the contrast between technological advancements and the organizational setting become clearer, especially because of the relatively slower responses of organizations to their rapidly changing environment. Besides the new opportunities of ICT supported cooperation for the generation of new knowledge and content sharing, organizations may need to realize and solidify

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some unresolved issues about organizational learning and their knowledge management processes. In order to make individuals knowledge (including tacit forms) in oCoP accessible for all the community or to codify transferred knowledge for reaping the benefits of its tacit aspects, organizations need to know how to set and serve social capital among all their agents.

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KEY TERMS AND DEFINITIONS Bonding Social Capital: A form of social capital enabling its owners to utilize their existing resources by serving them a collaborative sphere (tight environment, synergy, trust, ability, opportunity, collaborative sphere, etc.). Bridging Social Capital: A form of social capital enabling its owners to access new resources by serving them new ties mostly from outside (the boundaries). Communities of Practice (CoP): Groups of individuals coming together and interacting around a common interest in order to improve their interrelated practices. Constant ICT: information and communication technologies helping individuals to transfer their coded knowledge asynchronously. Dispersed Communities of Practice: Groups of individuals who are geographically dispersed and interact online with relation to their shared interests in order to improve their interrelated practices. Exploitative Form of Organizational Learning: Process of creating and utilizing new knowledge within the organization as a whole. Explorative Form of Organizational Learning: Process of accessing new knowledge which exists in the environment. ICT: Information and communication technologies helping individuals to transfer or store their coded knowledge. Instant ICT: information and communication technologies helping individuals to transfer their coded knowledge synchronously. Location-Based Communities of Practice: Groups of individuals who are geographically together using ICT to interact with relation to their shared interests in order to improve their relevant/interrelated practices. Online Communities of Practice (oCoP): Groups of individuals using ICT to interact in relation to their shared interests in order to improve their relevant/interrelated practices.

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Organizational Learning: Process of gathering and diffusing new knowledge within the organization as a whole. Social Capital: A form of intangible capital emerging within a group of individuals interacting for their shared purposes.

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ENDNOTES 1



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e.g., Academie Francaise (1635), Royal Society of London (1660), Academie des Sciences (1666) and Accademia dei Dissonanti di Modena (1683) The term Web 2.0 was coined in 1999 to describe web sites that use technology beyond the static pages of earlier web sites. The process by which a theory, lesson, or skill is enacted, embodied, or realized. “Praxis” may also refer to the act of engaging, applying, exercising, realizing, or practicing ideas. The authors also consider long-standing tools such as databases and digital archives that allow searching or communicating with document contributors; hence, their value for developing awareness of expertise distribution and social capital is limited. They report that more than half of their interviewees who use long-standing tools reported that their contributions to these databases were mandated by managers and hence may not contain as many details as when the contributions were more voluntary. According to authors, the lack of contextual information of knowledge stored in such databases calls for the integration of other ICT tools (Yuan et al., 2013). Quality: In industrial (traditional) publishing—mediated by a publisher—the typical range of quality is substantially narrower than in niche, unmediated markets. The main challenge posed by content in social media sites is the fact that the distribution of quality has high variance: from very high-quality items to low-quality, sometimes abusive content. Space: both industrial and social media technologies provide scale and are capable of reaching a global audience. Industrial media, however, typically use a centralized framework for organization, production, and dissemination, whereas social media are by their very nature more decentralized, less hierarchical, and distinguished by multiple points of production and utility. Frequency: the number of times an advertisement is displayed on social media platforms. Accessibility: the means of production for industrial media are typically government and/or corporate (privately owned); social media tools are generally available to the public at little or no cost. Usability: industrial media production typically requires specialized skills and training. Conversely, most social media production requires only modest reinterpretation of existing skills; in theory, anyone with access can operate the means of social media production. Immediacy: the time lag between communications produced by industrial media can be long (days, weeks, or even months) compared to social media (which can be capable of virtually instantaneous responses). Permanence: industrial media, once created, cannot be altered (once a magazine article is printed and distributed, changes cannot be made to that same article) whereas social media can be altered almost instantaneously by comments or editing (Morgan et al., 2012).

This work was previously published in Geopolitics and Strategic Management in the Global Economy; pages 96-122, copyright year 2018 by Business Science Reference (an imprint of IGI Global).

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Chapter 14

Enhancing Learner-Driven Informal Learning in a Virtual Practice Community: The Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) as a Learning Solution for Professional Development

Chungil Chae Pennsylvania State University, USA

Seung-hyun Han The University of Georgia, USA

Boyung Suh The University of Georgia, USA

Heeyoung Han Southern Illinois University, USA

Doo Hun Lim University of Oklahoma, USA

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ABSTRACT Professional development is an individual’s lifelong learning process. Accessing knowledge in an unfamiliar domain (however necessary for professional development) can be limited within traditional higher education and training settings because addressing immediate needs is expensive and time consuming. Active learners often seek new channels of information in order to fulfll learning needs. One example is the Massive Open Online Course (MOOC). Even though many research studies have emphasized the importance of understanding how technology and digital content lead to changes in the learning context, particularly with respect to informal learning and communities of practice (CoP), there is a notable gap about this issue in the professional development area. This book chapter aims to address this research void by exploring how emergent learning platforms are equipped with new technologies and digital content that may beneft modern learning environments in regards to professional development, such as informal learning in virtual CoPs. DOI: 10.4018/978-1-7998-7294-8.ch014

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Research Anthology on Facilitating New Educational Practices Through Communities of Learning, edited by Association, Information Resources Management, IGI Global, 2020. ProQuest

 Enhancing Learner-Driven Informal Learning in a Virtual Practice Community

INTRODUCTION

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Professional development is viewed as an individual’s lifelong learning process. Learning needs are defined based on personal learning gaps and career goals. As technology changes and work practice standards are renewed, professionals need to keep their knowledge and skills updated. For this, professionals continue to gain new knowledge and skills formally or informally through daily work practices and interactions in a community of practice and build a formal record of individuals’ certificates, credits, and credentials. This learning process is lifelong journey, called continuing professional development. Accessing knowledge in a relatively unfamiliar domain (however necessary for professional development) can be limited and difficult in traditional higher education and training settings because they are expensive and time consuming for addressing their immediate needs for practice. Active learners often seek new channels of information in order to fulfill learning needs. Through technological developments and the emergence of social network service platforms, an alternative learning phenomena has been reported, combining online communities of practice and learner-driven informal learning processes (Cain & Policastri, 2011; Park, Heo, & Lee, 2011; Pimmer, Linxen, & Gröhbiel, 2012; Stewart, Sidebotham, & Davis, 2012; Waldron, 2009). Oftentimes, the acquisition of knowledge for professional development requires structural instructions on account of the sheer volume and complexity of the learning materials. This situation is a paradoxical one, as participants in the professional online community tend to have innovative online curriculum options. One example is the Massive Open Online Course (MOOC). Although such emergent learning phenomena underscore the importance of understanding how technology and open accessibility to digital content lead to changes in the learning context, particularly with respect to informal learning and communities of practice (CoP), there is a notable gap about this issue in the professional development literature. In order to understand the process of professional development using MOOCs in a CoP context, this chapter elaborates on concepts and ideas by answering the following questions: (1) what is the current understanding of the literature on informal learning, communities of practice, and MOOCs and its relevance to professional development, (2) what are the factors to be considered to best utilize MOOCs in professional development practices in multiple levels of learning environments, (3) how are different case studies illuminating the effective use of MOOCSs within various online CoPs as a learner-driven informal learning tool or as a process to accelerate their professional development practices and outcomes, and (4) what are the implications of the findings from the literature and practices and suggestions for the effective application of the MOOCs as a professional development strategy?

UNDERLYING COMPONENTS OF PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT IN A DIGITAL CONTEXT Informal Learning Informal learning is defined as a form of learning which occurs incidentally, on an as-needed basis, and is driven by a particular learner without a formal structured classroom setting (Callanan, Cervantes, & Loomis, 2011; Cook & Smith, 2004; Marsick, Volpe, & Watkins, 1999; Nisbet, Lincoln, & Dunn, 2013; Noe, Tews, & Marand, 2013; Straub, 2009). The study by Marsick et al. (1999) revealed the characteristics of informal learning as a process of experience and action, feedback seeking, and reflection, which is 268

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initiated with an intent to learn. In many cases, employees acquire most of their work-related knowledge and skills on the job or through their interactions with peers. A study conducted by Noe et al. (2013) emphasized that informal learning has the “potential for more meaningful learning experiences than formal training” (Noe et al., 2013, p. 248). By tracing the historical root of informal learning, Callanan et al. (2011) discussed that the focus of informal learning should be on five dimensions, rather than its format (formal vs. informal) or location (in school vs. out of school), including: “(1) non-didactive, (2) highly socially collaborative, (3) embedded in meaningful activity, (4) initiated by learner’s interest or choice, and (5) removed from external assessment” (p. 646). Their analysis on informal learning emphasized the social and cultural aspects of the learning process in real-life practice, which is learner-centered, collaborative, experiential, and formative. Informal learning embedded in real-life activities involves complex authentic problems (Callanan et al., 2011; Marsick et al., 1999). A profession’s informal learning in daily routines does not have a clear boundary of its own practices. In fact, there are multiple professionals who work together and learn along the way as they achieve their work goals. For example, patient care in a hospital involves inter-professional collaboration among many professionals, such as doctors, nurses, social workers, physician assistants, pharmacologists, etc. Their learning and working cannot be isolated within their own profession but must occur through constant interactions with others. Noting the importance of informal learning in professional development in health care, Nisbet et al. (2013) argued that informal learning is occurring for every staff member on health care teams. Informal learning does not occur simply by following a curriculum but by meeting the patients’ and organizations’ needs in patient care. In other words, working and performance in inter-professional daily practice is a crucial environment for informal learning. Nisbet et al. (2013) also connected informal learning to the concept of community of practice by explaining workplace ‘learning’ and workplace ‘working’ in terms of how context and work communities play crucial roles in creating meaningful learning. Using Senge’s (1990) organizational learning theory, Nisbet et al. (2013) emphasized workplace ‘learning’ rather than workplace ‘working’ in a community of practice. According to their explanation, system changes are necessary to achieve patient safety and quality of care. In order to achieve these goals, triple-loop learning that allows people to share and apply what they have learned to different situations is more important than single-loop learning or double-loop learning. Learning from errors or failure, which is often informal learning, becomes the right moment that an entire system can learn and change to improve their quality.

Community of Practice

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Coined by Lave and Wenger (1991) in their seminal book, Situated Learning, the term, a community of practice (CoP), has been recognized as a key educational concept. According to their definition, a community of practice is a set of relations among persons, activity, and world, over time and in relation with other tangential and overlapping communities of practice. A community of practice is an intrinsic condition for the existence of knowledge, not least because it provides the interpretive support necessary for making sense of its heritage. Thus, participation in the cultural practice in which any knowledge exists is an epistemological principle of learning. The social structure of this practice, its power relations, and its condition for legitimacy define possibilities for learning (i.e. legitimate peripheral participation). (Lave & Wenger, 1991, p. 98)

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Later, Wenger et al. explained CoP as “groups of people who share a concern, a set of problems, or a passion about a topic, and who deepen their knowledge and expertise by interacting on an ongoing basis” (Wenger, McDermott, & Snyder, 2002, p. 4). Other researchers also navigated the concept of a CoP and provided their own definitions. For example, Hara (2000) viewed a CoP as “informal [social] networks that support professional practitioners to develop a shared meaning and engage in knowledge building among the members” (p. 11). Later, Hara and Schwen (2006) discussed five attributes of CoP containing: “(1) a group of professional practitioners, (2) development of shared meaning, (3) informal social networks, (4) a supportive culture (i.e., trust), and (5) engagement in knowledge building” (p. 96). Considering the definitions and attributes of a CoP, a CoP becomes a process, environment, and methodology in which ordinary daily activities and an accompanying learning experience occur to practitioners. Learning in a CoP does not focus on factual knowledge based on formal education but a situated understanding of practice through informal learning in a context and becoming a professional through legitimate peripheral participation in daily activities. Therefore, knowledge resides within authentic social relations of a CoP.

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Virtual Environments and Social Platforms Learning environments continue to change. Moreover, diverse platforms emerged concurrently with such learning channels of computer-mediated communication, as learning tools for the online professional community, including Facebook, LinkedIn, and Google+ (Cain & Policastri, 2011; Dong, Cheema, Samarasekera, & Rajaratnam, 2015; Park et al., 2011; Pimmer et al., 2012). On account of rapidly growing computer-mediated communication (CMC) technology and the popularity of social network platforms, implications of informal learning practices have expanded to professional communities, which have adopted online social network media platforms as communication channels (Cain & Policastri, 2011; Dong et al., 2015; Pimmer et al., 2012). These online professional communities can be regarded as CoPs, because they are based on shared practice and a reflection of “the interaction of multiple convergent and divergent trajectories” (Wenger, 1998, p. 154). Moreover, there is a motivation for mutual social interaction and shared goals, rather than a community in terms of pre-determined social categories (Cho, 2016). In an online professional community, participants often seek information that relates to their work and/or a learning opportunity that enhances their skills and knowledge for professional development purposes (Dong et al., 2015). Thus, the learning that occurs within an online CoP often happens incidentally, but it is, nevertheless, closely related to a learner’s work and professional development. Although these platforms provide an environment and tools that facilitate interactions among participants in collaborative informal learning, some types of knowledge require structured instruction due to its volume and/or complexity. Considering commonality and the unique contribution of virtual environments to professional development, there are overlapping areas of each component that represent a focused area of combination. Professional development components regarding digital and virtual environments, for example, are formed by informal learning and communities of practice. Virtual environments and social network services provide a virtual social space that accommodates the activity of informal learning and communities of practice. Narrowing down communities of practice and virtual environments, these two components are based on interprofessional practice and activity. Without the existence of communities of practice, social platforms would limit its function. For communities of practice, virtual environments and social

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Figure 1. Professional Development Components in Digital and Virtual Environments

platforms reduce temporal and geographical barriers in learning practices and activities. Informal learning activities and interprofessional transactions could be enhanced by the accessibility feature of virtual environments and social platforms.

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MOOCS AS A DIGITAL LEARNING PROCESS Considering the relatively short history of MOOCs, an acronym first coined in 2008 by “Stephen Downes and George Siemens’ connectivist distributed peer learning model” (Baturay, 2015, p. 427), the idea of enacting professional development through virtual environments and social media was quite novel. As its acronym suggests, MOOCs are regarded as a learning platform—massive, open, online courses. The most significant difference between MOOCs and a conventional online learning platform is that a MOOC is designed to be open and broadly accessible (Baturay, 2015). In professional development studies and practice, learning through social space emerged as an important factor considering learning and performance and professional development perspectives, such as increased interest in informal learning and communities of practice. Traditionally, professional development through informal learning and communities of practice was bounded within individual organizations. However, advancements in communication and information technology via the Internet has facilitated the expansion of these boundaries. In addition, the emergence of social media enables the utilization of MOOCs’ digital contents within virtual environments for professional development.

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Higher education literature identifies a MOOC as a professional development tool or process for teachers (Manning, Morrison, & McIlroy, 2014; Salmon, Gregory, Lokuge Dona, & Ross, 2015; Stephens & Jones, 2014; Vivian, Falkner, & Falkner, 2014). However, more investigation is necessary to extend it to other professions. Although Beigi, Wang, and Shirmohammadi (2015) introduced MOOCs as a vocational opportunity in the context of human resource development (HRD) practices, there is still a distinct research gap in understanding how MOOCs could be successfully implemented in professional work settings. MOOCs have been conceptualized into two models: xMOOCs and cMOOCs (Baturay, 2015; Siemens, 2012 as cited in Vivien et al., 2014). xMOOCs are online courses focusing on the delivery of content and assessment just like a traditional classroom. cMOOCs focus on online communities facilitating connectivity and interactions among participants. While MOOCs generally aim for accessible online learning environments, there has been criticism that the existing models of MOOCs are simply a teacher-centered online version of a textbook without meaningful social learning and active problem solving opportunities (Baturay, 2015). The criticism and potentials of MOOCs for professional development requires revisiting several concepts. First, the format of learning should be discussed. While professionals usually engage in formal coursework, the nature of professional development in communities of practice is informal. Most professional development requires flexible just-in-time learning processes where professionals can seek necessary support while engaging in daily practices. Second, the structure of instruction and assessment can be reconsidered. Highly structured and teacher-centered courses would not necessarily work for professionals involved in busy daily practices. The current model of MOOCs, providing certificates based on assessment, may fit for university settings but not the needs of professionals, whose concerns are performance in their daily practices. Actual performance outcomes in duties and tasks should be considered as learning outcomes, not the completion of a course. Lastly, the nature of knowledge should be aligned with the nature of the CoP. Social relations, participation in practice, and collaborative work should be the nature of knowledge for which MOOCs should aim, not factual knowledge. Yuan and Powell (2013) provide different factors that influence learners’ motivation in MOOCs, including “future economic benefits, development of personal or professional identity, challenge and achievement, enjoyment and fun” (p. 9). These factors presume that learners have different motivations for participating in MOOCs. On matters related to supporting lifelong learning or gaining subject matter understanding for professional development, it is important to consider jobs and career requirements at the individual level. Some learners joined MOOCs either for purposes of improving their prospects in the workplace or for enhancing skills, which may boost career opportunities. In organizations, MOOCs can provide mechanisms for individual career development and appropriate opportunities for training. To fully make this happen, individual training and development should link to and cascade from its organization strategy (Beigi et al., 2015). At the organizational level, a MOOC is an innovative and iterative model whereby organizations align their employees’ education with organizational strategy. By using MOOCs, HRD professionals in organizations can design a learning roadmap to develop a set of knowledge and skills along with organizational goals. In short, it helps organizations to support and enhance organizational performance.

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MOOCS’ LEARNING ENABLERS AND PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT COMPONENTS Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) result from the notion that education should be open to the public and that “knowledge should be shared freely, and the desire to learn should be met without demographic, economic, and geographical constraints” (Yuan & Powell, 2013, p. 6). Despite its popularity, research revealed that the completion rates of MOOCs did not exceed 20% (Gamage, Fernando, & Perera, 2015). Therefore, identifying the factors to consider for best utilizing MOOCs in professional development practices is necessary. Considering two distinguishing characteristics of MOOCs—open access and online platforms for large numbers of learners—seven core categories are identified from previous research (e.g., Butcher & Wilson-Strydom, 2014).

Learner Attitude A number of researchers suggest that learners’ attitudes matter in the success of MOOCs (Arbaugh & Duray, 2002; Piccoli, Ahmad, & Ives, 2001). By design, MOOCs mainly rely on the use of online platforms for learners. Using the Internet, learners participate in discussion forums and learn through peer interactions (Rodriguez, 2013). The logic is that, when learners have a more positive attitude toward MOOCs, their attitudes will be more likely to make them satisfied and effective in their learning experience (Piccoli et al., 2001). Also, since MOOCs are running based on e-Learning environments, fears of the Internet and computer usage would certainly restrict learner satisfaction (Piccoli et al., 2001). In fact, previous research demonstrated that emotional fear of MOOCs leads to negative learning outcomes (Sun, Tsai, Finger, Chen, & Yeh, 2008).

Self-Efficacy Self-efficacy refers to individuals’ inclination toward a particular functional aspect (Bandura, 1977). In this regard, self-efficacy in using MOOCs can be defined as learners’ abilities to evaluate and use MOOCs to achieve learning goals. Learners with high self-efficacy are more confident in accomplishing learning goals and improving upon their achievement. Joo, Bong, and Choi (2000) argue that self-efficacy is the most significant factor in predicting the effects of searching in a network-based learning environment. The results of Wang and Newlin (2002) show that students with higher self-efficacy are more likely to adopt network-based learning and to earn significantly higher academic performance levels.

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Interpersonal Interaction Researchers emphasize the importance of social interaction within a learning community (Young & Bruce, 2011). Many researchers agree that interactive instructional design is an essential factor for improving learning satisfaction and success (Jiang & Ting, 1998; Nahl, 1993; Schwartz, 1995). The social influence of a learners’ attitudes toward MOOCs may influence others’ perceptions for developing their own coordinated patterns of behaviors by observing others’ actions (Schmitz & Steinfield, 1990). For example, Peltier, Drago, and Schibrowsky (2003) reviewed the literature on online education and emphasized interpersonal issues, including student-to-student interactions, student-instructor interactions, and instructor support and mentoring. In an empirical study, Marks, Sibley, and Arbaugh (2005) found 273

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that positive influences of both the instructor-student interaction and student-student interaction on students are learning effectiveness. That is, interpersonal interaction leads to students’ engagement and is inclined to increase motivation. Also, studies found that the interactions among students may increase levels of learning retention in a course (Khalil & Ebner, 2014; Miltiadou & Savenye, 2003). In MOOCs settings, motivated learners gained subject matter knowledge and skills based on social experience with others (Yuan & Powell, 2013). Thus, interactions in discussion forums and posts exert positive effects on students’ motivation to complete the course (Wen, Yang, & Rosé, 2014).

Course Design The design quality of MOOCs is important in order for learners to guarantee effective learning outcomes (Piccoli et al., 2001). Considering collaborative learning in MOOCs, interactive communications on the discussion forums of online platforms can assist learners to gain conceptual knowledge of the subject matter (Leidner & Jarvenpaa, 1995). Particularly, information delivery, by using multimedia presentation for course materials, helps learners establish learning outcomes effectively and motivate continuous online learning (Piccoli et al., 2001).

Perceived Usefulness and Easiness The theoretical framework of a technology acceptance model (TAM) is very appropriate for predicting and assessing users’ tendencies to accept technology in MOOCs. TAM identifies perceived usefulness as the degrees of work improvement in learning effects because of the adoption of such a system. The presumption is that the more learners’ perceive usefulness, the more positive their attitudes are toward MOOCs. MOOCs provide learning materials based on network technology, and, as such, the network’s and technology’s quality more generally represents important factors (Piccoli et al., 2001). Findings of empirical research by Webster and Hackley (1997) show that the reliability of a network transmission is key to students’ learning outcomes. The technology acceptance model (TAM), when applied, facilitates technology use in courses, delivering media in MOOCs. This adoption positively influences learners’ attitudes, and, it consequently improves their learning experiences and satisfaction (Arbaugh & Duray, 2002; Wu, Tsai, Chen, & Wu, 2006).

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Evaluation Proper feedback mechanisms are important to e-Learners. Gamage et al. (2015) argue that it is necessary for the success of MOOCs to have collaborative assessment, mastery of the content, periodic assessment in courses, and regular reviews of learners’ achievements. In particular, the use of different evaluation methods in MOOCs leads learners to believe that their learning efforts are properly assessed. Therefore, it is helpful to have more or diversified assessment tools and methods along with feedback from the assessment. Considering the characteristics of seven core areas, each element has associations to the components of professional development using MOOCs in virtual and social environment (See Figure 2). The area of self-efficacy, learner attitude, and perceived usefulness is an individual cognitive area that is bonded with informal learning, community of practice and mashed-up MOOCs digital contents. Each individual’s 274

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Figure 2. Learning Enablers and Professional Development Using MOOCs Digital Learning contents in virtual social environment.

self-efficacy and learning attitude form purpose and motivation of participation in community of practice. Perceived usefulness toward MOOCs contents influences the frequency of activity and increases the likelihood of adaptation of MOOCs contents to professional development as digital contents. On the other hand, course design, ease of technology use, and evaluation are mostly associated with MOOCs contents and social platform as virtual environment. Interpersonal interaction happens in social space. In social learning perspective, interpersonal interaction is learning process that is bounded with individual and instructional part. Virtual and social network platform provides a place for the interpersonal interaction that allows digital learning transaction easily. Interpersonal interaction in a community of practice is a format, and it is also a social space for informal learning.

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MOOCS UTILIZATION CASES In this section of the chapter, we discuss cases of MOOCs incorporated into the professional development processes of teachers. In his article about the potential of MOOCs application in educational reform, Newton (2015) notes a deficiency in traditional professional development practices concerning their lack of changes over the generations and continued use of ineffective instruction methods, for instance, usual PowerPoint presentations and stories about classroom strategies. To transform the old professional development processes of teachers, Newton suggests that teachers should use MOOCs, so they can improve their teaching capacity by learning how other instructors are teaching the MOOC platform. Findings from a pilot program conducted by an online professional learning platform company support Newton’s idea. Teachers who participated in the company’s interactive online professional development program showed a significant increase in teaching competency through the online learning and coaching experiences (Newton, 2015). Although even founders of Coursera or Khan admit that MOOCs have limitations when it comes to helping learners acquire non-cognitive skills, such as collaborative ability or morality (Green, 2013), such a finding from the pilot program denotes the importance of utilizing an online platform (i.e., MOOCs) to address the non-cognitive skills gap in teachers’ professional development practices. The following case of a digital K-12 teacher training project finds sufficient evidence of MOOC-incorporated professional development opportunities.

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Digital Learning Transition MOOC-Ed Case To describe a new approach in the professional development of K-12 teachers using MOOCs, Kleiman, Wolf, and Frye (2013) reported the development, implementation, and results of the Digital Learning Transition (DLT) Massive Open Online Course for Educators (MOOC-Ed) project, steered by a partnership between the Friday Institute for Educational Innovation at North Carolina State University and the Alliance for Excellent Education. Recognizing the ineffectiveness of traditional professional development practices (e.g., instruction in arduous multiple day workshops) in both cost and quality aspects, the two organizations initiated the MOOC-Ed project to provide quality professional development opportunities for K-12 teachers at scale, incorporating both cost-effectiveness and personalized learning experiences. Some unique features of the project include teachers getting “self-directed, supported, flexible, yet structured learning opportunities” during their professional development processes (Kleiman et al., 2013, p. 1). The project team designed the MOOC-Ed courses to support K-12 teachers in the following three areas: (1) comprehending the prospects of K-12 digital learning, (2) evaluating the process and goals of participants’ schools and districts, and (3) preparing participants to attain new targets. Moreover, the MOOC-Ed courses included learning units covering content areas such as (1) imaging the future of participants’ schools, (2) teaching and learning culture changes, and (3) understanding, planning, and leading the DLT. Pursuing a flexible and accessible model of professional development, the MOOC-Ed project team incorporated six principles to make the project more effective: (1) personalized and self-directed learning, letting the participants decide the goal, activities, and resources of the learning process, (2) support from peers through engagement in discussions and peer-reviewed projects and involvement of multiple stakeholders, (3) use of actual problems and projects from workplaces, (4) empirical evidence based learning, (5) case study methods and interaction with the leaders from the real schools and districts that experienced these cases, and (6) a ubiquitous learning environment that allows users to access the MOOC-Ed system regardless of the time or regional boundaries. Aligned with the principles, MOOCEd courses are offered to users through a unique course format. Some of the features that ensure the flexibility of users’ learning styles are the availability of course resources in both text and multimedia format from various educational institutions (e.g., the U.S. Department of Education), engaged learning activities with peers and a national expert panel on different projects and discussions, and crowdsourced ideas and strategies to be incorporated into schools and districts. Between April 4th and May 26th, 2013, out of 2,665 registered individuals from 50 states and from 68 countries, participants viewed 96,404 web pages of course contents spending 2,300 hours, 962 people created 2,822 discussions in the online forum (Kleiman et al., 2013, pp. 3-4). To gauge the success of the MOOC-Ed project, the team used both mid-term and end-term surveys using a Likert-scale from 1 (not at all true) to 5 (very true). Overall, the survey results indicated fairly good ratings, ranging from 3.9 to 4.5. The following are the essence of each of the four questions and mean values of four of the surveys: (1) participants meeting their learning goals (3.9), (2) the extent to which participants can personalize their learning experiences and feel engaged (above 4.0), (3) participants’ gaining new knowledge and insights (4.3), and (4) participants’ intent of recommending the MOOC-Ed to colleagues (4.5). Aiming to improve the effectiveness of the MOOC-Ed project, Kleiman et al. (2013) discussed lessons learned from evaluating the project: (1) to continue running the MOOC-Ed project to address the need for professional development considering a variety of participants from all over the world, (2) to provide a variety in the selection of courses, resources, and discussions to serve diversified participant groups, (3) 276

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to maximize the flexibility of course competition to provide more flexibility to users, (4) to encourage participation of homogeneous groups (e.g., schools, districts, states, etc.), and (5) to accommodate the personalized learning goal setting process. In addition to the project team’s evaluation of the quality and success of the DLT MOOC-Ed, Kleiman et al. (2013) also discuss critical themes garnered from participants’ discussions and comments about their online learning activities and policy level factors that can enhance the effectiveness of the professional development activities. First, concentrating on learning goals and outcomes is more important than technological elements and their utilization in digital learning. Second, a “student-centered focus” should be at the center of transformational digital learning transition in K-12 learning, rather than focusing on just speeding up or digitalizing current educational activities (Kleiman et al., 2013, p. 4). Third, professional development opportunities must be identified, implemented, and sustained. Fourth, fostering leadership accelerates digital learning experiences and involves multiple stakeholders (i.e., teachers, administrators, and districts) in the digital learning process. These findings are not only directly related to understanding the key idea of digital learning transition processes and the use of MOOCs in the processes, but they also give K-12 teachers and learners insights into the advancement of digital learning strategy and policies essential for making it happen.

A MODEL FOR USING MOOCS AS PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT IN COPS’ INFORMAL LEARNING As we mentioned earlier, using MOOCs’ digital learning content for professional development as a more socially integrated form of learning is in its early stage of development. However, more informal and social forms of learning in virtual environments have been accelerated in practices, and the perspectives of the gap between practice and scholarship have been reduced, as well. Thereby, we suggest an integrative model by reviewing related literature on professional development components, such as informal learning, communities of practice, and virtual and social platforms, MOOCs as digital learning environments, and a case from MOOCs’ implementation for teachers’ professional development.

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Figure 3. Mashed-Up MOOCs’ Contents and Their Applications to the Learning Community

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Before we move on to a discussion of the integrative model, it is necessary to identify how the learning community, such as a CoP, can use MOOCs’ contents in what ways. MOOCs include many different courses on different subjects. First, MOOCs can be utilized for individualized learning paths. When individual learners take a MOOC course for his/her own professional purpose, each individual has different developmental needs for their professional specialty. In meeting the needs, the wide range of MOOC courses and contents allow them free choice of learning experiences. Second, MOOCs extend individuals’ learning from courses to informal learning via virtual social platforms. In social platforms, learners from various organizations share not only their daily routines but also their perspectives with others. Participants, who have specific knowledge, specialties, and work experiences, often establish a virtual community. Some learners, who have positive learning experiences and perceive the usefulness of passing on information, share their own learning and knowledge within the virtual community. As a reward, their visibility and prestige in the community are enhanced. They might suggest courses that they previously took to others, who have been seeking similar knowledge and learning contents, or provide a seminar or a workshop in order to share their own learning experiences. Thirdly, MOOCs can be utilized in systematic ways. Learners in CoPs establish their own learning contents by mash-up. As we identified earlier, MOOCs’ contents are bound in a curriculum aligned to the instructor’s intentions and plans. However, in traditional university course settings that focus on the delivery of curriculum contents, it would be hard to satisfy learners’ needs for immediate feedback in virtual learning communities. As a digital form of the learning contents, MOOCs’ contents are relatively easy to mash-up based on a learner’s objectives and learning needs. In MOOCs learning environments, a group of learners in CoPs establish their own learning roadmaps by evaluating segments of learning contents from multiple MOOCs courses. Lastly, MOOCs can be utilized as a just-in-time assistant to professionals’ developmental practices. Knowledge and skills that learners can obtain through MOOCs should be situated in such environments so that the knowledge is connected to their practices. Decontexualized knowledge and skills have limited implications for professionals. In overcoming this limitation, it is essential to bring about a paradigm shift in the MOOCs’ learning processes by embracing and locating individual professionals’ work practices as a centrally situated learning activity and modularizing and redesigning learning contents as a supporting mechanism for their work practices. In this vein, the evaluative aspect of MOOCs should be reconsidered moving from the assessment of mastering learning contents toward the application of learned knowledge to practice. As shown in Figure 4, an integrative model is illustrated from our integrated review of literature and cases using MOOCS. As the model indicates, many components, including informal learning, communities of practice, virtual environments and social platforms, and mashed-up MOOCs contents as individualized learning paths, were woven in with one another. In the model, combinations of pairs of components represent focused areas. In the relational map of the different components, the basic three components are bound by individualized learning paths. First, in the model, two components of informal learning and communities of practice form the professional development area. Activities and participation in a community of practice facilitate informal learning among members. As a result, an individual’s learning experience is stimulated. On the other hand,, informal learning increases members’ social interaction and learning application via communities of practice. This creates a virtuous cyclical process. In this situation, MOOCs (both digital learning contents and social networks) provide flexible open access to resources and facilitate collaborative learning and practice activities via communities of practice. These processes represent an extended 278

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Figure 4. Integrative Model of MOOCs as Digital Learning Contents for Professional Development in Virtual and Online Learning Environments

professional development that social aspects of learning emphasize even more. Considering MOOCs that encapsulate the philosophy of connectivists’ distributed peer learning model and social networking platforms, professional development with social learning perspectives can be extended outside of organizational boundaries. Second, the combination of informal learning, virtual environment, and social platform components represents interprofessional learning as a focused area. The virtual environment and social platform provide an environment where multiple professionals can gather and access the platform that stimulates collaborative learning activities among professionals. Participants from diverse professional backgrounds often provide multiple perspectives and know-how, which become rich resources that can be utilized for their complex professional practices. Third, the combination of communities of practice, virtual environments, and social platforms shapes the practice area. Seamlessly connecting real work practice to the learning activities of a community of practice in a virtual environment becomes the central element of this model. Through the social platform, more validated learning contents from the specific live domain knowledge are accumulated throughout communities of practice. Moreover, validated learning contents through the collective effort can be rearranged to support participants’ just-in-time application to their practices.

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As an illustration of this integrative model, the following scenario is plausible. There is a situation that a new technique of data analysis is regarded as promising but not ready to be incorporated into an organization, and the pool of experts is not mature enough yet. Meanwhile, within a social networking platform, people who have a similar interest in that new analytic technique form a specific learning group. Within the group, first, they may share their knowledge and information about the new technology with others. This group is not exclusive, but the specific interest of this specific domain knowledge lures other professionals from diverse organizations. Here, more diversity may also increase the complexity such as diverse perspectives and applications of the new technique. Some members of the learning community took a MOOC course that is necessary for understanding the new technique. Each of the members who took different MOOC courses discuss their learning experiences and knowledge within the learning community through the social networking platform (informal learning segment), and they form a learning roadmap and outline learning objectives. They decide to re-organize the segment of MOOC learning contents based on what they learn from each other. The other members of the learning community participate in the learning activity with the rebuilt MOOCs learning contents that were mashed-up. During the process, more learning activities occur, and the learning contents are accumulated within the learning community. Each member of the learning community goes back to his or her own organization and spreads the idea and knowledge within the organization. Although we suggested a learning model and scenario, the learning process would be more spontaneous and dynamic rather than following a linear course.

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DISCUSSION AND FUTURE RESEARCH DIRECTIONS For discussion, the three key elements of a CoP need be revisited in considering MOOCs: domain, practice, and community (Wenger et al., 2002). Domain, the area of knowledge, is one of the key elements of a CoP, because it becomes the common ground for participants. However, there are some misconceptions that professionals will work on one disciplinary domain. In real work, the domain itself is complex, and there are multiple professionals who gather and work together to solve a problem. For example, the domain knowledge of a CoP of health care is not merely medical knowledge but all knowledge related to patient care, which involves many people from different areas, such as social workers, insurance companies, nurses, physical therapists, pharmacists, doctors, schools, and family members. The topics of the MOOCs should embrace this complex nature of a domain. The second element, practice, is related to a pedagogical design of MOOCs. Having professionals take away from their daily practices to take courses does not fit with the notion of a CoP and informal learning. Professionals’ daily work activities should be a context for their learning. And, a question should be investigated as to how MOOCs can organically be integrated into their daily practices. A one model fits all situation should be redirected to a more individualized learning process where authentic communities of practice are embraced. Lastly, the inter-professional nature of a community should be investigated. The work practice of a professional is inherently inter-professional. Considering the complex nature of domain and situated practices, it would be worthwhile to understand how MOOCs can be utilized for building communities and relations within a profession and among professions. The case of the Digital Learning Transition MOOC-Ed reported by Kleiman et al. (2013) is evidence of the successful utilization of MOOCs in professional development practices regarding the capacity of a single learning platform that can handle a huge number of participants efficiently and successfully, 280

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ensuring some degree of flexibility and sufficient mobility. In fact, K-12 administrators and educational policy makers should also remark upon the downside of such a digital learning transition in regards to teachers’ professional development. First and obviously, digital environments tend to prevent both emotional and physical interactions among participants, which can diminish motivations for peer learning or opportunities for professional networking. Second, participating teachers’ intermittent participation in online learning activities can hinder their learning outcomes. In traditional professional development workshops, where teachers usually get away from their schools or offices, they can fully focus on their learning processes with face-to-face interactions with peers for some tangible learning results (e.g., written documents about or presentation materials with teaching strategies). However, in a digital environment, people can easily get distracted by interruptions, such as on-going tasks in a classroom or at home, as well as they can feel little or no responsibility to peers who are also participating in the online class. Overcoming such impediments must be considered when identifying, implementing, and improving MOOC incorporated professional development projects. A consideration of a hybrid format (i.e., online learning activities followed by a regional off-site meeting) can be an alternative and complementary method to ensure both the scalability of online training and the true interactivity of teacher-learners in the professional development process. The social learning model using digital learning content via social platforms outside an organization that we suggested is still beneficial to organizations based on a network theory perspective, such as the weakness of strong ties (Granovetter, 1973) and brokerage and structural holes (Burt, 1992). Granovetter (1973) identified that the people tend to give out their job information to people with whom they are not familiar. Although strong ties in a network are beneficial for having a strong social support, the information that the people offer each other in a support system has to be homogenous. In other words, an individual’s opportunity and information is ‘constrained’ by overlapping relationships (Burt, 1992). Therefore, information from associations with weaker ties, who might work for different organizations, would be heterogeneous. This indicates social learning activities outside of an organization by the organization’s members could bring new perspectives to the organization. Expanding the ideas stemming from the integrative model of MOOCs we presented so far, future studies on the topic of how this model maintains the reliability and validity of relationships among the comprising components and areas may benefit other researchers and audiences. First, one of the future study scopes should investigate the relationships between the three different components (informal learning, community of practice, and virtual environment and social platform) whether each of the paired relationships is truly established or not through an empirical approach. Second, each of the compounding relationships that the three components shape for the three focus areas should be tested and verified. Third, a serial testing of the reciprocal relationships among the three components and the three areas should be performed to verify the appropriateness and fit of the entire model. Last but not least, once the appropriateness of the integrative model is verified, it should be tested with different target groups to establish the external validity of the model. In this way, more research findings will facilitate the practices of MOOCs’ applications in addressing the various professional development needs of teachers.

CONCLUSION This chapter reviewed and discussed the current body of literature on professional development and introduced best practices from selected case studies to answer the following research questions: (1) what 281

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is the current understanding of the literature on informal learning, communities of practice, and MOOCs and their relevance to professional development, (2) what factors should be considered to best utilize MOOCs in professional development practices in multiple levels of learning environments: individual, organizational, and inter-organizational network levels, (3) how are different case studies illuminating the effective use of MOOCs within various online CoPs as a learner-driven informal learning tool or process to accelerate professional development practices and outcomes, and (4) what are the implications of the findings from the literature and practices and suggestions for the effective application of MOOCs as a professional development strategy? In answering these questions, we hope our review and synthesis of the literature and related cases provide meaningful illustrations and practical applications for teachers and practitioners in improving their professional development activities in various educational fields.

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KEY TERMS AND DEFINITIONS

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Community of Practice: Community of Practice (CoP) is a learning community engaged in a collaborative learning process of the ongoing refinement of practice and expertise through apprenticeshiptype learning. Computer-Mediated Communication: CMC refers to the human interaction occurs through the various types of technologies and electronic devices for connecting virtually. Double-Loop Learning: A reframing learning process to change its present values and assumptions with creativity and critical thinking. Informal Learning: Informal learning is the unstructured, boundary-less, and ubiquitous learning embedded in our lives. Mashed-Up Contents: In general, Mash-up is a strategy to make a set of contents from different sources. Therefore, a mashed-up content is a unit of contents that is built upon contents from diverse source. For example, photos in google map and internet news feed service is exemplary. MOOC: A Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) is an interactive course for delivering learning content over the Internet to a large number of people. Organizational Learning: Organizational learning is a dynamic reciprocity between learning processes at individual and group level, and a process of modifying the norms and values embedded in organizational processes and structures. Single-Loop Learning: A learning process that enables the organization to carry on its current strategies, policies, and procedures without critical reflection. Social Platform: A social platform is a network-based technology that enables the design, development, and ultimately production of social media solutions and services. Triple-Loop Learning: A interactive learning process of reflecting on how we learn and transforming individual attitudes and viewpoints.

This work was previously published in the Handbook of Research on Digital Content, Mobile Learning, and Technology Integration Models in Teacher Education; pages 207-226, copyright year 2018 by Information Science Reference (an imprint of IGI Global).

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Chapter 15

In-Service Teachers’ Use of ICT for the Promotion of Collaborative Professional Learning Ana García-Valcárcel University of Salamanca, Spain Juanjo Mena University of Salamanca, Spain

ABSTRACT

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Information and communication technologies (ICT) are often rendered as key tools in the promotion of teachers’ collaborative learning. Their use enables teachers to complete assignments, solve problems, or create products together. The content of this chapter is based on the information published in a previous research study by the authors. In that study, they aimed at describing teachers’ use of ICT towards collaboration from a triple perspective: what they believe (teachers’ opinion), what they know (teachers’ knowledge), and what they do (teachers’ use). A questionnaire and interviews were the instruments to collect data. Some results pointed out that teachers used ICT to promote collaboration on a regular basis, but it is limited to the knowledge they have on particular tools, which is acknowledged to be intermediate. The most important implication for teacher education programs is considering the actual limitations of teachers’ knowledge and use of ICT in practice to set a more accurate starting point to promote collaboration through technologies.

INTRODUCTION Educational Research has shown how collaboration plays a key role for effective teaching (McLaughin & Talbert, 2006). Collaborative teaching implies exchanging ideas and working together in small groups to meet a specific goal. In other words, “sustained teacher collaboration about instructional strategies, curDOI: 10.4018/978-1-7998-7294-8.ch015

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 In-Service Teachers’ Use of ICT for the Promotion of Collaborative Professional Learning

riculum, students, and assessment, as well as general collaboration is the primary vehicle for continuous improvement of teacher practice, for sharing accountability, and collective responsibility” (Killion, 2015). Collaborative learning activities typically include debates, group projects, case-study discussions, role-playing exercises, personal essays, shared stories and multiple-goal activities. Collaborative learning among teachers has its foundation in communities of practice (Lave &Wenger, 1991; Wenger, 1998) by which teachers engage in a shared enterprise over time. ‘The key mechanism for individual and group learning comprises access to observing and then participating in the practices at the core of the community’ (Levine &Marcus, 2010). Scharff &Brown (2004) also report the efficacy of creating Learning Communities based on socio-cultural learning principles (Vygotsky, 1978), since they provide a mutually supportive framework for teachers. Collaborative learning allows teachers to progress beyond what they are able to learn alone by observing or learning from teacher education programs. Traditionally, four types of collaboration have been distinguished to take place in schools (Little, 1990): (1) storytelling and scanning, (2) aid and assistance, (3) sharing and (4) joint work. The first two are based on a collaboration relation among the participants (Monereo Font & Durán, 2003) and characterized by a low level of interdependency and collective autonomy (–traditional perspective) whereas the latter two are based on constructed knowledge (Scardamalia & Bereiter, 1994) and represent the highest level of collaborative work (Hernández, González & Muñoz, 2014). Therefore, collaborative skills to be acquired need time to be interiorized (Rigelman &Ruben, 2012) as well as engaging in reflection (Wells, 2001), systematic inquiry (Ball & Forzani, 2010) and practical knowledge (Paulus, Woodside & Ziegler, 2010). But most importantly is that collaboration depends heavily on other factor: the context where it is taking place (Wenger, McDermott & Snyder, 2002). The conditions for collaborative teacher learning may differ considerably between schools that, ultimately, may lead to different types and amounts of learning activities (Bakkenes, Vermunt, &Wubbels, 2010). The information to be presented in the following lines of the chapter basically reproduces a research study that was published in the Journal of Information Technology Research (JITR) in García-Valcárcel & Mena (2016). Please see references.

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THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK Educational research has emphasized the study of teachers’ collaborative work mediated using ICT. Traditionally, this line of research has been approached under the name of Computer Supported Collaborative Learning –CSCL-(Garrison, 2006; Kirschner, 2002; Palloff & Pratt, 1999; Oakley et al., 2004; Rubia, 2010) In the last five to eight years the vast majority of collaborative processes mediated through ICT have begun to rely on the use of the so-called web 2.0. not only in the sharing of knowledge but also in its online co-construction (Little, 1990). The ultimate promise is that web 2.0. and web 3.0 tools will increase ways of collaboration in the classroom (Pérez & Delgado, 2012) because they promote students’ collaborative learning (Pérez Mateo, Romero & Romey, 2014; Domingo, Coscollola & Marquès, 2011) and create the expectation of a change in teaching practices (Crook, 2012). In essence it implies a combination of technology (the relationship between the design of technology and the use of technology); affordances (affordances constrain the ways in which technologies can possibly be written or read); institutions (implementation of collaborative learning in the schools), and

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infrastructure (the provision of ICT as related to organizational and institutional factors) (Jones, DirkinckHolmfeld & Lindstrom, 2006). Although it has been argued that there is a scarcity of baseline information about collaboration mediated through ICT and a lack of tools and measures to examine the processes involved in CSCL (Gress, Fior, Hadwin & Winne, 2010), many researchers have reported that using technology in collaborative professional environments promotes complex learning in in-service teachers (Dillenbourg, 2002;Pontecorvo, 2007; Livingstone, 2012; James, 2013) and better qualifies preservice teachers to learn the profession (Jirotka, Procter, Rodden & Bowker, 2006; Dobber, Akkerman, Verloop & Vermunt; 2012). For instance, Gorghiu, Lindfors, Gorghiu and Hämäläinen (2011) created an on-line course addressing methods for experienced secondary school teachers in order to integrate face-to-face and web-based learning tools with a view to determining how participants use ICT in their teaching activity. Fifty-seven teachers assumed different on-line tutor roles for their students –pedagogical, managerial, technical and social- on a virtual platform. They mainly performed pedagogical roles -i.e., supporting learning processes by providing instructions, focusing on relevant content, and guiding and motivating learnersand managerial roles, i.e., administering the courses and tracking learners’ progress. Those roles were demonstrated to be more efficient when carried out in collaboration with other teachers. Social tutoring (i.e., supporting students’ feelings, motivation or integration) and technical tutoring (i.e., solving problems related to ICT) were less used by the schoolteachers. Wegerif (2006) employed evidence from case studies to value teachers’ collaborative learning around ICT in Primary Schools in the UK. In that study, they used exploratory talk with teachers, a type of talk in which questions were asked, alternatives explored and reasons given. The method was devised to assess the effectiveness of the way groups were talking together using Reven’s Standard Progressive Matrices (Wegerif, 1996). The evidence suggests that dialogic theory offers a possible solution to the problem of how to conceptualize general thinking skills for collaborative learning. In other words, teachers’ conversations promote the learning of general thinking skills. On the other hand, Schoor & Bannert (2010) investigated to what extent motivation influences student teachers’ learning activities and knowledge acquisition during collaborative work. Two hundred graduate students participated in the study. It was hypothesized that current motivation (in terms of self-efficacy, instrumentality, beliefs, attainment value, goal orientation, interest, intrinsic task value, costs of expectancy and value components) would influence both learning activities (i.e., chats, forums, etc.) and knowledge acquisition in a positive way. The results from questionnaires indicated that only the goal orientation dimension was associated with knowledge acquisition. The expectancy and value components of current motivation were not related either to the observed learning activities or to knowledge acquisition during collaborative learning but were partly associated with learning activities and knowledge acquisition during individual learning. Dobber, Akkerman, Verloop & Vermunt (2012) also evidenced that collaborative research processes play a determinant part teachers’ knowledge elaboration. Two groups of student teachers were videorecorded following a university teacher education program and two inquiry processes were analyzed: elaboration (a process of exchange, consideration, and integration of information) and decision making (making a choice about a certain matter). In one group, the participants found a balance between elaboration and decision making whereas the other group had difficulties to engage in dialogic exchanges and decision-making choices. This led to the conclusion that both inquiry processes are crucial features for collaboration. In a similar vein Simon, Anderson, Hoyer & Su (2004) investigated the use of Tablet PCs to promote active learning in computer science. They noted that the sharing of different students’ (or groups of students) spontaneous attempts to solve problems ‘provided an opportunity to point out 289

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 In-Service Teachers’ Use of ICT for the Promotion of Collaborative Professional Learning

common mistakes and allowed comparison of different approaches to the same problem’ and that ‘the instructor also received immediate feedback on whether or not students understood’ (p. 215). Finally, Tolmie and Boyle (2000) suggest that having knowledge about other participants involved in a community (i.e., knowledge about how they work and about their earlier experiences and ideas) promote collaborative work mediated (or not) by ICT. However teachers’ collaboration processes entail complex work dynamics that do not always allow for benefiting from it in terms of professional learning. According to Ann, Kim & Kim (2007), there are at least five challenges that prevent an optimal stage from being reached in collaborative working: (1) Fear of plagiarism; (2) lack of recognition within the team; (3) effort (it demands time and involvement); (4) assessment (it is difficult to accurately identify each team-worker’s contribution); (5) technical support (using online approaches may be actively avoided due to unfamiliarity or because of administrative overheads and the accompanying risk of technical problems). Strijbos and Fischer (2007) provided another five major challenges of collaborative learning research: (1) the multilevel challenge: How to deal with effects and dependencies at individual level and at group level: (2) the convergence/divergence challenge: Mutual influence of learning partners in one group but at the same time difficulties in determining whether their contributions become similar over time; (3) the segmentation and coding challenge: Since content analysis is frequently used in collaborative learning research, thorough methods must be deployed; (4) the fusion of hybrid methods challenge. Combining two frequently applied but different methods; (5) the situational challenge. Most approaches emphasize the crucial role of context in collaborative working. Kreijns, Kirschner & Jochems (2003) added another last challenge: trust. Group participants will not share their tentative ideas unless they trust other group members and feel a sense of belonging. Therefore, collaboration often remains shallow due to the lack of effective group support. Dirkx & Smith (2004) express this as a ‘struggle with the development of a sense of interdependence and intersubjectivity ‘ (p. 134). Furthermore ICT alone are unable to promote more efficient collaborative work (Engel & Onrubia, 2010) not even by adopting critical thinking or reflecting upon their use in practice. Accordingly, collaborative networking needs support in order to prevent superficial results. More than two decades of research suggest that teacher collaboration matters for teachers’ work. However, relatively little research has focused on how different types of teacher collaboration afford different types of teacher learning. Moreover, a variety of studies highlight the importance of analyzing teachers’ attitudes towards ICT in improving collaborative relationships and how they represent their work through artifacts of practice mediated by language (i.e., peer observation, lesson plans, diaries, written reports, etc.). (Contreras, Arancibia & Cárcamo, 2009; Levine & Marcus, 2010). However, few studies have related teachers’ attitudes to their actual knowledge and the uses of such ICT in the improvement of collaborative work. For that reason the present study aims at examining the role of ICT in the promotion of Collaborative learning (CL) by investigating primary and secondary in-service teachers at whose schools regional ICT scores are high or very high according to the Spanish Administration. In particular we shall look at a threefold relationship: (1) what teachers think (teachers’ perceptions) about the use of ICT to improve CL; (2) what teachers know about ICT (their knowledge about technological tools and techniques, and (3) what teachers do: which ICT resources and methodologies they employ in practice to promote collaborative relationships. Additionally, we shall explore whether having previous collaborative experiences with colleagues will lead to a broader use of ICT in the teaching practices. Our hypothesis is that professional experi290

Research Anthology on Facilitating New Educational Practices Through Communities of Learning, edited by Association, Information Resources Management, IGI Global, 2020. ProQuest

 In-Service Teachers’ Use of ICT for the Promotion of Collaborative Professional Learning

ence in the use of collaborative work strategies through technological resources might determine the methodology that teachers use. Distinguishing which of the three above teachers’ levels (think, know, do) is most prevalent (Lave & Wenger, 1991) in in-service teachers is important because it is widely assumed that using ICT for collaborative learning activates connectivist learning

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METHODOLOGY The study focused on teachers from 5th and 6th grades in Primary Education and 1st and 2nd grades of the Spanish secondary education levels (student ages between 10-14 years). The schools they worked in were accredited as highly qualified schools in the use of ICT by the Regional Government of Castile and Leon (Spain). Primary and secondary schools are classified in 5 levels of performance in the use of ICT (level 1= very low; level 2= low; level 3= average; level 4= high and level 5= very high). The schools with a high level (levels 4 and 5) have the following characteristics: Technological equipment and infrastructures with an average of 80%- 100% use coverage for educational and administrative processes; on-going innovation projects in the schools aimed at the integration of ICT and teachers’ training courses in the use of ICT at the schools. Currently, the number of schools under this qualification is 148. Although we assumed that all primary and secondary schools might work collaboratively using ICT, we randomly chose from those high performing schools since they are representative institutions of best practices in technology-enhanced learning environments Keppell, Suddaby & Hard, 2015). The data gathered for this research come from all the teachers in the population. The answers obtained determined the size of the sample: 185 in-service teachers. Three variables were considered in García-Valcárcel and Mena’s (2016) study: (1) Teachers’ opinion on ICT as a way to promote (or not) Collaborative Learning (What teachers think); (2) Mastery of ICT tools and strategies for Collaborative Learning (What teachers’ know); (3) ICT methodology and resources used by teachers for Collaborative Learning in the classroom (What teachers do). The data collection instrument was a 34-item questionnaire aimed at assessing the influence of ICT in teachers’ collaborative work. The questionnaire was divided in three parts (sub-questionnaires) according to the three variables: Teachers’ perceptions about how ICT promote Collaborative Learning: TP-Q (10 items); Teachers’ knowledge about ICT resources and strategies: TK-Q (12 items); and Teachers’ use of resources, methodology and strategies: TU-Q (12 items) To study teachers’ opinion on ICT as a way to promote (or not) Collaborative Learning’ variable, a 10-item sub-questionnaire (TP-Q) was used. The TP-Q collected information about the benefits of ICT in processes of collaborative work (4 items) and the possible limitations related to the time invested and assessment (6 items). The items had the same 5-point Likert-type scale, allowing expression of the degree of agreement or disagreement within the statement of the item. The scale ranged from 1 (completely in disagreement) to 5 (completely in agreement). For the first dimension a semi-structured interview was also used to expand on the information from the questionnaire. In the interview, reference was made to five major aspects: (1) Activities developed in collaboration based on a joint project; (2) resources and materials employed; (3) Collaborative experiences with ICT; (4) benefits of using ICT in collaborative networks; (5) drawbacks of using ICT in collaborative network. For the second dimension, the TK-Q was employed to evaluate the knowledge of the teachers about different methodological strategies and resources that allow collaborative work to be carried out using ICT. These scales were also answered on a five point Likert scale. Finally, and for the 291

Research Anthology on Facilitating New Educational Practices Through Communities of Learning, edited by Association, Information Resources Management, IGI Global, 2020. ProQuest

 In-Service Teachers’ Use of ICT for the Promotion of Collaborative Professional Learning

third dimension, information about the methodological strategies and resources used by the teachers in their teaching activities was collected via the TU-Q, in which different collaborative work strategies were presented so that the teachers could indicate which ones they used. The TU-Q items had a dichotomous format since the answers were not exclusive. The procedure for collecting data was based on the following phases: Phase 1: Construction of the questionnaires, the interview protocols, and ethical consents.; Phase 2: Selection of the schools and teachers who participated in the study; Phase 3: Application of the questionnaires and interviews; Phase 4: Data analysis. The questionnaires were built as ad hoc tools for the proposed objectives and were uploaded onto an on-line platform so that the teachers of the selected schools (with accreditations of 4 and 5 in ICT) could assess them during the 2012-2013 academic year. The data analysis was based on a mixed methodology (Johnson & Onwuegbuzie, 2004; Paterson & Pentland, 2008) in which both quantitative (i.e. questionnaires) and qualitative (i.e. interviews) analytical methods were employed. This combined approach was adopted because it was the one that was best adapted to the descriptive nature (non-experimental) of the study (Cohen & Manion, 1989). For the questionnaires, descriptive statistical analyses were conducted for the three variables considered. Furthermore, an inferential analysis was conducted to estimate the differences in the use of ICT among teachers who had more or less experience with respect to collaborative work (TU-Q). Statistical methods such as Student’s t test for comparing the means of two independent samples, Phi coefficient and Chi-square test were used to explore this relation. Regarding the qualitative analysis, a content analysis of the ‘benefits and limitations’ that had emerged in the interviews was performed. Topical analysis (Grounded Theory Analysis; Corbin & Strauss, 1990) was used to analyse teachers’ answers to the open-ended questions, which were divided into utterances (Crasborn, Henissen, Brouwer, Korthagen & Bergen, 2011) and then grouped in categories following an inductive process of a two- and three-level hierarchy.

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RESULTS Regarding the first objective: (1) what teachers think, they believed that technological tools facilitate the implementation of projects; they allow time and information management to be optimized; they facilitate the monitoring and follow-up of students’ work and they allow this to be updated. All the means were above four on the scale, except for an item referring to the work of each student, which had a score of 3.76 As for the limitations, the teachers reported that the time required for this activity, both for the teachers (who should plan it and follow it up) and for the students, were critical factors. With regard to the interviews, a total of 144 comments were collected about the positive aspects of working collaboratively and 61 about associated problems. The usual length of these comments ranged from one sentence to four. Each comment was assigned to a general topic. Table 1 details the analysis of the comments referring to positive aspects. Generally speaking, the professional dimension –teaching work- (47 declarations; 32.6%) was declared to be a stronger motivator to enhance the use of ICT for teaching collaboration, especially the interchange of ideas (23; 15.9%) and co-working (24; 16.6%). On the other hand, it seems that collaborative learning is facilitated by the elements of simplicity (7.5%), versatility (8; 5.5%) and operational functioning (6; 4.1%). The technical dimension of the ICT, that is to say, how to use them in classroom was valued 292

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 In-Service Teachers’ Use of ICT for the Promotion of Collaborative Professional Learning

in 26 of the utterances (18.05%) whereas the personal and social dimension was less considered to be a motivator for the use of ICT (21; 14.58%). In fact, the personal commitment (5; 3.47%) and equity (6; 4.1%) were the aspects less addressed within the last dimension. With regard to limitations, the sample of teachers in this study perceived twice as few negative aspects in the use of ICT to motivate collaborative networks. However, as shown in Table 2, there were some topics that they found particularly challenging. Table 1. Positive aspects of ICT use to promote collaborative work Dimensions

Categories 1.1.1.Relation with colleagues

1.Professional dimension (teaching work) (47; 32.6%)

1.1.2.Exchange of ideas 1.1.Interaction

1.1.3.Mutual work

1.2.1.Materials 1.2.Materials and methodologies 1.2.2.Methodology

1.3.1.Time

2.Technical dimension (ICT use) (26; 18.05%)

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1.3.Time and spaces management

1.3.2.Space

2.1.1Convenience 2.1.ICT ease of use 2.1.2.Simplicity

2.2.1.Versatility 2.2.Efficiency of use 2.2.2.Operativity.

Participation with more teachers

f

%

6

4.16

Possibility of having more meetings.

3

2.08

Share information and experiences

15

10.41

Know what colleagues are doing

2

1.38

Continuous updating

6

4.16

Performing joint actions

3

2.08

Follow-up of tasks/projects

5

3.47

Distance working (synchronous and asynchronous

3

2.08

Efficacy of the elaboration of knowledge.

7

4.86

Creation of new materials for class

5

3.47

Saving costs of printed documents and other costs.

2

1.38

Creation of programs and tools.

5

3.47

Development of new methodologies.

2

1.38

Better quality in giving classes

2

1.38

New perspectives in teaching methods.

5

3.47

Immediacy of communication.

14

9.72

Schedule flexibility

3

2.08

Absence of physical space (virtual meetings)

2

1.38

Easy coordination of face-to-face meetings

2

1.38

In coordinating work.

3

2.08

In sharing ideas

3

2.08

ICT are accessible tools (available at work and at home)

9

6.25

ICT are intuitive tools

2

1.38

Multitude of technical applications-

3

2.08

The ICT used are valid for many levels.

5

3.47

ICT are very valid tools for collaborative work

2

1.38

ICT allow doubts to be solved efficiently.

4

2.77

continues on following page

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Table 1. Continued Dimensions

Categories

3.Personal and social dimension. (21; 14.58%)

3.1.1.Interest 3.1.Motivation 3.1.2.Disposition 3.2.1.Assumption of democratic values

3.2.Equity

3.2.2.Other perspectives 3.3.1.Involvement in collaborative work

3.3.Comittment

3.3.2.Involvement in work in general

f

%

Working collaboratively with ICT can be exciting

4

2.77

ICT are attractive

1

0.69

More time dedicated to ICT (by teachers) than to other matters.

3

2.08

Tendency to evaluate ICT positively.

2

1.38

More respect for the diversity of opinions

2

1.38

Tolerance towards the work of others

2

1.38

Evaluation of the knowledge of others

1

0.69

Broad scope of outlooks

1

0.69

Need to perform the tasks corresponding to each participant.

2

1.38

Evaluation of work carried out by others.

1

0.69

Greater commitment to work

1

0.69

1

0.69

144

100

Higher degree of professionalism.

Total In García-Valcárcel and Mena (2016).

Table 2. Drawbacks of ICT for collaborative work

1. Lack of knowledge in using ICT

2. Problems in personal relations

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3. Lack of interest

4.Technical problems

5.Organizational problems.

Categories

f

1.1. Low level of teacher training.

6

% 9.83

1.2. Different levels of knowledge among colleagues.

4

6.55

1.3. Lack of knowledge about ICT tools.

4

6.55

2.1. Poor relations with other colleagues (i.e., jealousy)

7

11.47

2.2. Appropriation of the work of others.

2

3.27

2.3. Lack of human contact.

3

4.91

2.4. Different perspectives.

1

1.63

3.1. Lack of motivation.

3

4.91

3.2. Non-involvement.

8

11.94

3.3. Too much effort.

1

1.63

4.1. Handling of computers or other devices (i.e., IDB).

3

4.91

4.2. Connectivity and network problems.

3

4.91

5.1. Preparation of teaching materials.

4

6.55

5.2. Excessive teaching load (more work at home).

7

11.47

5.3. Difficulties in reaching consensus about shared work schedule.

5

8.19

61

100

Total In García-Valcárcel and Mena (2016).

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 In-Service Teachers’ Use of ICT for the Promotion of Collaborative Professional Learning

Table 3 shows that teachers feel that they do not always get involved in the use of ICT (8; 11.9%) and when they do it, they should invest more working hours (7; 11.4%) and this can elicit dysfunctional relationships among colleagues (i.e. jealousy) (7; 11.4%). However, the distribution of frequencies is relatively homogeneous among the five major categories. It is to be remarked that greater difficulties are found in organizing the materials and time for collaborative learning when using ICT. The teachers from the sample foresaw fewer difficulties with technical issues such as computer handling (3; 4.9%). Table 3. Knowledge of technological resources for collaborative work

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Resources

Mean

SD.

1. e-learning platforms (i.e., Moodle or similar)

3.29

1.19

2. Blogs

2.88

1.07

3. Wikis

3.35

1.22

4. Social networks (i.e., Edmodo)

3.14

1.26

5. On-line office suites (i.e., GoogleDocs)

2.84

1.20

6. Shared files (i.e., Dropbox)

2.77

1.32

7. Shared web sites (i.e., GoogleSites)

3.08

1.22

8. On-line audiovisual presentations (i.e.,SlideShare)

2.79

1.22

9. Video repositories (i.e.,Youtube)

2.34

1.15

10. On-line conceptual maps (i.e., Cmaptools. Popplet)

3.26

1.35

11. Shared photo albums (i.e.,Picassa)

2.50

1.25

12. Social markers (i.e., Delicious)

3.51

1.28

Total

2.98

.86

In synthesis, the variables analyzed show that the participant school teachers maintain a positive assessment of the use of ICT as efficient tools for supporting collaborative work and at the same time they point out certain limitations to these strategies, such as the time required and the evaluation of the results achieved by each student. As for (2) what teachers know the results show that the knowledge of teachers is moderate and does not reach the mean value of the scale (Table 3). The best-known tools were those related to social markers (3.51 ± 1.28), online conceptual maps (3.26 ±1.35), wikis (3.35 ± 1.22) and e-learning platforms (3.29 ± 1.19). Video repositories and blogs were less known by teachers as tools to promote collaborative networking. Finally, with respect to (3) what teachers do (i.e., teaching resources and pedagogical strategies that teachers used to foster collaborative work) it may be seen that the search for resources on the Internet (85; 48.6%) and the preparation of a subject topic for class by the students (64; 34.6%) were the most frequent activities. Working towards solving teachers’ problems or collaborating on common projects were activities used by around 25% of the teachers in the sample (see Table 4) On calculating the items chosen by each subject, it is interesting to note that 48% of the teachers did not use any of the listed strategies or resources, whereas 44% of them used between 2 and 5, or even more (7%).

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 In-Service Teachers’ Use of ICT for the Promotion of Collaborative Professional Learning

Table 4. Teachers’ use of pedagogical strategies for collaborative work (n=185) Methodological Strategies

N

%

1. Working on projects

45

24.3

2. Problem solving assignments

51

27.6

3. Preparation of a subject topic for class

64

34.6

4. Internet search for resources

85

45.9

5. Working on Webquest

23

12.4

6. Discussion in forums

15

8.1

7. Wikis created by classroom students and teachers

12

6.5

8. Group blogs

32

17.3

9. Compilation of glossaries

10

5.4

10. Work in social networks

12

6.5

11. Playing electronic games

22

11.9

12. No strategy used.

88

47.6

In García-Valcárcel and Mena (2016).

A further analysis of the data led us to differentiate two very different collective groups between the teachers studied. The first group would show a high degree of coherence between their conceptions about the potential of collaborative learning and the use of ICT for such purposes (formed by teachers who implement ICT collaborative work in practice), while the second group would comprise teachers who would show a clear degree of incoherence between their conceptions and their teaching practice. However, the teachers who expressed a good evaluation of the potential of ICT for collaborative learning did not use any resources or strategies for this purpose.

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DISCUSSION In this study three dimensions of in-service teachers’ positioning towards ICT implementation in school collaborative networks were scrutinized: teachers’ opinion (think), teachers’ technical knowledge (know) and teachers’ actual use in practice (do). These three aspects are often studied in Teacher Education research but not in an intertwined form within the same sample of study. This work shows the discrepancies between what the teachers of this study think, know and do in collaboration by means of the use of ICT. Firstly, teaching and learning with ICT clearly improves collaboration according with the teachers’ beliefs. In other words, collaborative working methods were valued highly by teachers to achieve professional competencies sin ICT tools were seen as great facilitators. Virtual spaces provide the opportunity to share resources and have updated and well-organized information. In particular they are permanently available. This helps in the development of projects in which different students or teachers are involved and can interact in a flexible way without spatial or temporal limitations. ICT are now becoming polyvalent tools that allow the development of a large number of teaching activities in which participation is becoming a basic element of the process of constructing knowledge: debates, discussions of cases or simulations in the sense suggested by Hilz & Turoff (2002). At the same

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 In-Service Teachers’ Use of ICT for the Promotion of Collaborative Professional Learning

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time, they offer the possibility of continuous training spaces for teachers and of updating based on sharing the situations and problems that emerge in educational practices with their colleagues, giving rise to virtual communities for practice, as pointed out by Wenger (1998) and Levine and Marcus (2010). Secondly, it was evidenced that teachers’ daily practice brings some limitations in the use of ICT for collaborative learning, essentially two aspects can be questioned: namely, the time involved in the development of such activities and the difficulty in evaluating the involvement of each of the students in the work carried out and the repercussions of this on the acquisition of knowledge and skills. Regarding these issues, teachers seem to develop their curricular proposals under a certain social pressure (from both the school itself and from students’ families) to fulfil the program established and, in many cases, must commit to completing the modules explained in text books that are assumed to be the official and basic curriculum. Accordingly, the time invested in the development of projects, in which the teacher must dedicate ‘extra’ time for planning and follow-up and the students must dedicate considerable time and effort to complete the tasks set them, is considered a key element that may inhibit teachers when attempting to set up a working methodology in less traditional classrooms, more focused on collaborative learning though ICT. Many authors have addressed this issue, such as García, Gros and Noguera (2010). Other types of limitation observed have to do with the lack of familiarity with ICT tools, difficulties in peer relations, lack of interest and involvement in the development of innovative teaching projects, technical problems that may arise in on-line courses and in the use of certain applications, problems of organization, etc. These findings fairly coincide with those reported by Authos, 2014). These limitations might explain why in educational contexts with sufficient technological resources –as the schools selected in the present study- present a very limited use of ICT along with teaching methodologies that have not been transformed in the direction of more collaborative and dynamic learning processes (An, Kim & Kim. 2008). Thirdly, regarding the technical knowledge teachers shown of ICT, it is to be recognized that prior experience of teachers in collaborative learning activities mediated by ICT is strongly related to teaching practices. This should lead us to reflect on the strategies used in teacher training, which require not only a theoretical knowledge of the teaching methods that can be applied to achieve the aims of collaborative learning but also in-context experience with ICT tools: i.e., participation in virtual communities, networks and projects. Accordingly, we agree with the ideas reported previously by other colleagues (Ball and Forzani. 2010; Rigelman & Ruben. 2012; Scharff & Brown. 2004) regarding the interest in fostering communities of practice through the emerging technologies with a view to generating new experiences and perspectives about ICT as dynamic tools for new ways of learning in tune with attitudes of progress and research in education.

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Ball, D. L., & Forzani, F. M. (2010). What does it take to make a teacher? Phi Delta Kappan, 92(2), 8–12. doi:10.1177/003172171009200203 Cohen, L., & Manion, L. (1989). Research Methods in Education (3rd ed.). London: Routledge. Contreras, P., Arancibia, M., & Cárcamo, L. (2009). Hipermedios y cooperación: la Web 2.0 y su incidencia en los procesos educativos [Hypermedia and cooperation: Web 2.0. and its influence in educational processes]. In M. Segura & B. Onetto (Eds.), Diálogos Culturales II. Interfaces Viciadas, comunicación visual y otras mediaciones (pp. 177-221). San José de Rio Preto: Bluecom. Corbin, J., & Strauss, A. (1990). Grounded theory research: Procedures, canons, and evaluative criteria. Qualitative Sociology, 13(1), 3–21. doi:10.1007/BF00988593 Crasborn, F., Hennissen, P., Brouwer, N., Korthagen, F., & Bergen, T. (2011). Exploring a two-dimensional model of mentor teacher roles in mentoring dialogues. Teaching and Teacher Education, 27(2), 320–331. doi:10.1016/j.tate.2010.08.014 Crook, C. (2012). The Digital Native in Context: Tensions Associated with Importing Web 2.0 Practices into the School Setting. Oxford Review of Education, 38(1), 63-80. Dillenbourg, P. (2002). Over-scripting CSCL: The Risks of Blending Collaborative Learning with Instructional Design. In P.A. Kirschner (Ed.), Inaugural Address, three Worlds of CSCL. Can We Support CSCL? (pp. 61-91). Heerlen: Open Universiteit Nederland. Dirkx, J. M., & Smith, R. O. (2004). Thinking out of a bowl of spaghetti: Learning to learning in online collaborative groups. In T. S. Roberts (Ed.), Online collaborative learning: Theory and practice (pp. 132–159). Hershey, PA: Information Science Publishing. doi:10.4018/978-1-59140-174-2.ch006 Dobber, M., Akkerman, S. F., Verloop, N., & Vermunt, J. D. (2012). Student teachers’ collaborative research: Small-scale research projects during teacher education. Teaching and Teacher Education, 28(4), 609–617. doi:10.1016/j.tate.2012.01.009 Domingo Coscollola, M & Marquès, P. (2011). Classroom 2.0 Experiences and building on the use of ICT in teaching. Comunicar: revista científica iberoamericana de comunicación y educación, 37, 169-175.

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Engel, A., & Onrubia, J. (2010). Patrones de organización grupal y fases de construcción del conocimiento en entornos virtuales de aprendizaje colaborativo [Group patterns and knowledge construction phases in virtual collaborative learning]. Infancia y Aprendizaje: Journal for the Study of Education and Development, 33(4), 515–528. doi:10.1174/021037010793139608 García, I., Gros, B. Y., & Noguera, I. (2010). La relación entre las prestaciones tecnológicas y el diseño de las actividades de aprendizaje para la construcción colaborativa del conocimiento [ICT and learning activities design relation for the construction of collaborative knwoledge]. Cultura y Educación, 22(4), 395–418. doi:10.1174/113564010793351867 García-Valcárcel, A., & Mena, J. (2016). Collaborative learning and ICT use: What in-service teachers think and do in their classrooms. Journal of Information Technology Research, 9(1), 1–17. doi:10.4018/ JITR.2016010101

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García-Valcárcel, A., & Mena, J. (2013). Recursos tecnológicos para la enseñanza e innovación educativa [Technological resources for teaching and innovation]. Madrid: Síntesis. García-Valcárcel, A., & Mena, J. (2014). Las TIC en el aprendizaje colaborativo en el aula de Primaria y Secundaria [ICT for collaborative learning in Primary and Secondary Education]. Comunicar, 42, 65-74 Garrison, D. R. (2006). Online Collaboration Principles. Journal of Asynchronous Learning Networks, 10(1), 25–34. Gorghiu, G., Lindfors, E., Gorghiu, L. M., & And Hämäläinen, T. (2011). Acting as tutors in the ECSUT on-line course - how to promote interaction in a computer supported collaborative learning environment? Procedia, 3, 579–583. Gress, C., Fior, M., Hadwin, A., & Winne, P. (2010). Measurement and assessment in computer-supported collaborative learning. Computers in Human Behavior, 26(5), 806–814. doi:10.1016/j.chb.2007.05.012 Hernández, N., González, M., & Muñoz, P. (2014). La planificación del aprendizaje colaborativo en entornos virtuales [Collaborative learning design in virtual envoronments]. Comunicar, 42(21), 25–32. Hiltz, S. R., & Turoff, M. (2002). What makes learning effective? Communications of the ACM, 45(4), 56–59. doi:10.1145/505248.505273 PMID:12238525 James, R. (2013). ICT’s participatory potential in higher education collaborations: Reality or just talk. British Journal of Educational Technology, 1–14. doi:10.1111/bjet.12060 Jirotka, M., Procter, R., Rodden, T., & Bowker, G. (2006). Special issue: Collaboration in e-research. Computer Supported Cooperative Work, 15(4), 251–255. doi:10.100710606-006-9028-x Johnson, R. B., & Onwuegbuzie, A. J. (2004). Mixed Methods Research: A Research Paradigm Whose Time Has Come. Educational Researcher, 33(7), 14–26. doi:10.3102/0013189X033007014 Jones, C., Dirckinck-Holmfeld, L., & Lindstrom, B. (2006). A relational, indirect, meso-level approach to CSCL design in the next decade. Computer-Supported Collaborative Learning, 1(1), 35–56. doi:10.100711412-006-6841-7 Keppell, M., Suddaby, G., & Hard, N. (2015). Assuring best practice in technology-enhanced learning environments. Research in Learning Technology, 23, 1-DOI:. doi:10.3402/rlt.v23.25728 Killion, J. (2015). High-quality collaboration benefits teachers and students. The Learning Professional, 36(5), 62-64. Copyright © 2020. IGI Global. All rights reserved.

Kirschner, P. A. (2002). Three Worlds of CSCL. Can We Support CSCL. Open University of the Netherlands. Kreijns, K., Kirschner, P. A., & Jochems, W. (2003). Identifying the pitfalls for social interactions in computer-supported collaborative learning environments: A review of the research. Computers in Human Behavior, 19(3), 335–353. doi:10.1016/S0747-5632(02)00057-2 Lave, J., & Wenger, E. (1991). Situated Learning: Legitimate Peripheral Participation. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. doi:10.1017/CBO9780511815355

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Levine, T., & Marcus, A. S. (2010). How the structure and focus of teachers’ collaborative activities facilitate and constrain teacher learning. Teaching and Teacher Education, 26(3), 389–398. doi:10.1016/j. tate.2009.03.001 Little, J. W. (1990). The persistence of privacy: Autonomy and initiative in teachers’ professional relations. Teachers College Record, 91(4), 509–536. Livingstone, S. (2012). Critical reflections on the benefits of ICT in education. Oxford Review of Education, 38(1), 9–24. doi:10.1080/03054985.2011.577938 McInnerney, J., & Robert, T. S. (2004). Collaborative or cooperative learning? In T. S. Roberts (Ed.), Online collaborative learning: Theory and practice (pp. 203–214). Hershey, PA: Information Science Publishing. doi:10.4018/978-1-59140-174-2.ch009 McLaughin, M. W., & Talbert, J. E. (2006). Building school-based teacher learning communities: Professional strategies to improve student achievement. New York: Teachers College Press. Monereo Font, C. Y., & Durán, G. (2003). Entramados métodos de aprendizaje cooperativo y colaborativo [ Coopertative and collaborative learning methods]. Barcelona España: Edebe. Oakley, B. R., Felder, M., Brent, R., & Elhajj, I. (2004). Turning student groups into effective teams. Journal of Student Centered Learning, 2(1), 9–34. Palloff, R., & Pratt, K. (1999). Building Learning Communities in Cyberspace: Effective Strategies for the Online Classroom. San Francisco: Joseey-Bass. Paterson, M., & Pentland, W. (2008). The Use of Hermeneutics in a Mixed Methods Design. Qualitative Report, 13(1), 116–134. Paulus, T. M., Woodside, M., & Ziegler, M. F. (2010). ‘I tell you, it’s a journey, isn’t it?’ Understanding collaborative meaning making in qualitative research. Qualitative Inquiry, 16(10), 852–862. doi:10.1177/1077800410383124 Pérez, M. A., & Delgado, Á. (2012). De la competencia digital y audiovisual a la competencia mediática: Dimensiones e indicadores [From digital and audiovisual competence to media competence: dimensions and indicators]. Comunicar, 39, 25–34. doi:10.3916/C39-2012-02-02

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Pérez-Mateo, M., Romero, M., & Romey, T. (2014). La construcción colaborativa de proyectos como metodología para adquirir competencias digitales [Collaborative projects elaboration as methodology to acquire digital competences]. Comunicar, 42(21), 15–24. Pontecorvo, C. (2007). On the conditions for generative collaboration: Learning through collaborative research. Integrative Psychological & Behavioral Science, 41(2), 178–186. doi:10.100712124-0079017-8 PMID:18193519 Rigelman, N. M., & Ruben, B. (2012). Creating foundations for collaboration in schools: Utilizing professional learning communities to support teacher candidate learning and visions of teaching. Teaching and Teacher Education, 28(7), 979–989. doi:10.1016/j.tate.2012.05.004

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Rubia, B. (2010). La implicación de las nuevas tecnologías en el aprendizaje colaborativo [ICT implications in collaborative learning]. Tendencias Pedagógicas, 16, 89–106. Scardamalia, M., & Bereiter, C. (1994). Computer support for knowledge-building communities. Journal of the Learning Sciences, 3(3), 265–283. doi:10.120715327809jls0303_3 Scharff, C., & Brown, H. (2004). Thinking through computing: The power of Learning Communities. Computer Science Education, 14(4), 297–320. doi:10.1080/0899340042000303456 Schoor, C., & Bannert, M. (2011). Motivation in a computer-supported collaborative learning scenario and its impact on learning activities and knowledge acquisition. Learning and Instruction, 21(4), 560–573. doi:10.1016/j.learninstruc.2010.11.002 Simon, B., Anderson, R., Hoyer, C., & Su, J. (2004). Preliminary Experiences with a Tablet PC Based System to Support Active Learning in Computer Science Courses. ITiCSE 2004: Proceedings of the 9th Annual Conference on Innovation and Technology in Computer Science Education, 213–217. 10.1145/1007996.1008053 Strijbos, J. W., & Fischer, F. (2007). Methodological challenges for collaborative learning research. Learning and Instruction, 17(4), 389–393. doi:10.1016/j.learninstruc.2007.03.004 Tolmie, A., & Boyle, J. (2000). Factors influencing the success of computer-mediated communication (CMC) environments in university teaching: A review and case study. Computers & Education, 34(2), 119–140. doi:10.1016/S0360-1315(00)00008-7 Vygotsky, L. S. (1978). Mind in society: The development of higher psychological processes. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. Wegerif, R. (2006). A dialogic understanding of the relationship between CSCL and teaching thinking skills. Computer-Supported Collaborative Learning, 1(1), 143–157. doi:10.100711412-006-6840-8 Wells, G. (2001). The case for dialogic inquiry. In G. Wells (Ed.), Action talk and text: Learning and teaching through inquiry (pp. 171–194). New York: Teachers College Press. Wenger, E. (1998). Communities of Practice: Learning, Meaning, and Identity. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. doi:10.1017/CBO9780511803932

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Wenger, E., Mcdermott, R. A., & Snyder, W. M. (Eds.). (2002). Cultivating communities of practice: A guide to managing knowledge. Boston: Harvard Business School Publishing.

This work was previously published in Global Implications of Emerging Technology Trends; pages 130-144, copyright year 2018 by Information Science Reference (an imprint of IGI Global).

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Chapter 16

Creating Virtual Communities That Work:

Best Practices for Users and Developers of E-Collaboration Software Ashley Van Ostrand California State University, Channel Islands, Camarillo, CA, USA

Andrea M. Skinner California State University, Channel Islands, Camarillo, CA, USA

Spencer Wolfe California State University, Channel Islands, Camarillo, CA, USA

Ramon Visaiz California State University, Channel Islands, Camarillo, CA, USA

Antonio Arredondo California State University, Channel Islands, Camarillo, CA, USA

Megan Jones California State University, Channel Islands, Camarillo, CA, USA

J. Jacob Jenkins California State University, Channel Islands, Camarillo, CA, USA

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ABSTRACT The use and import of virtual collaboration (VC) has increased at an exponential rate. Despite its potential advantages, however, VC continues to be hindered by feelings of distrust, detachment, and even isolation among virtual team members. For each of these reasons, the present study analyzed more than 1,500 survey responses to develop best practices for current users and developers of e-collaboration software. More specifcally, this study used an expanded variation of Vorvoreanu’s (2008) Website Experience Analysis (WEA) to explore participants’ views of the seven most popular VC programs in use today: Basecamp, Dropbox, Google Drive, iDoneThis, Join.me, Skitch, and Skype. Qualitative results of this study revealed the signifcance of (1) name recognition, (2) interpersonal facilitation, (3) clarity/simplicity, (4) cost consideration, and (5) mobile accessibility. The study’s results were then used to develop fve corresponding implications for both users and developers: (1) increased integration, (2) expanded physicality, (3) supplemental training, (4) fnancial entrée, and (5) utilized fexibility. DOI: 10.4018/978-1-7998-7294-8.ch016

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Research Anthology on Facilitating New Educational Practices Through Communities of Learning, edited by Association, Information Resources Management, IGI Global, 2020. ProQuest

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 Creating Virtual Communities That Work

In today’s globalized society, the use and import of virtual collaboration (VC) continues to increase at an exponential rate (Kock, 2005; Maznevski & Chudoba, 2000). VC allows team members to form around professional expertise without the restriction of physical proximity, thus, saving employees the time and expense of having to travel between distinct locations (Lipnack & Stamps, 2000). Virtual teams composed of people from across the globe can also result in increased cultural and technical diversity (Griffith & Neale, 2001), as well as the ability for members to work around the clock via asynchronous processes (Solomon, 2001). In addition, work produced virtually is more easily archived and evaluated because of the electronic trail left behind by results, comments, and interactions (Gibson & Cohen, 2003). Despite each of its potential advantages, however, VC is not without its share of drawbacks (Cassivi, Lefebvre, Lefebvre, & Leger, 2004). As Berry (2011) writes, “The use of virtual teams adds complexity for management in many organizations because virtual teams are sociological and social systems just as is any team, but virtual teams also have their work processes intertwined with technological systems” (p. 192, see also Maznevski & Athanassiou, 2003). The primary shortcoming of virtual work stems from a lack of physical presence by/among its team members, resulting in feelings of exclusion and even isolation (Berry, 2006; Cohen & Gibson, 2003; Timmerman, 2000). For this reason, Kirkham et al. (2002) found team members were less satisfied by virtual work, Klein and Barrett (2001) found members were less likely to prioritize virtual work, and Hinds and Weisband (2003) found members were less willing to share information during a project’s initial stages due to their lack of face-to-face interaction (Gergle, Kraut, & Fussell, 2013; Tarmizi, 2006; Jenkins, 2012). Due to the increased use and import of VC, combined with the deficiencies that continue to plague its successful utilization in the modern workplace, this study analyzed 1,505 survey responses to develop best practices for current users and developers of e-collaboration software. More specifically, this study used an expanded variation of Vorvoreanu’s (2008) Website Experience Analysis (WEA) to explore undergraduate students’ views of the seven most popular VC programs in use today: Basecamp, Dropbox, Google Drive, iDoneThis, Join.me, Skitch, Skype, (Sharma, 2015; see also Hyatt, 2015). We begin this process by offering a brief review of VC, including its primary advantages and disadvantages. Next, we outline the study’s methodology and reveal its qualitative results: the significance of (1) name recognition, (2) interpersonal facilitation, (3) clarity/simplicity, (4) cost consideration, and (5) mobile accessibility. We conclude by discussing five corresponding implications for both users and developers: (1) increased integration, (2) expanded physicality, (3) supplementary training, (4) financial entrée, and (5) utilized flexibility. As VC’s popularity continues to increase in today’s workplace, it is vital for empirical studies such as this to help organizations use their online resources more efficiently. Some organizations’ very survival may depend on it – especially those within high-velocity business environments, which rely on ecollaboration for strategic and operational purposes (Fink, 2007; see also Maznevski & Chudoba, 2000). It is also vital for studies like this to offer guidance for current and future designers of VC software in order for them to gain/retain their competitive advantage in the market place (Berry, 2011). For each of these reasons, it is our hope that this study’s results and implications will increase user satisfaction, efficiency and effectiveness, while simultaneously outlining next steps for software developers who hope to be(come) industry leaders in the field of e-collaboration.

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VIRTUAL COLLABORATION Virtual collaboration (VC) is defined as team members located in more than one geographic location who strive toward a common goal through the use of communication technology (e.g., Kock, 2000, 2008; Konradt & Hoch, 2007; Peters & Manz, 2007). The origins of VC trace itself to the late 1970s, beginning with early research into multiuser spaces and collaborative systems (Tate, Hansberger, Potter, & Wickler, 2014). By the late-1980s, the phrase cooperative learning was coined to describe instructional approaches that allowed students to work together online (Breen, 2013). During the late-1990s, I-Rooms became a popular way to define computer-mediated environments used for intelligent interaction, and by the mid-2000s both virtual worlds and virtual collaboration environments were created to “supplement the existing social web with virtual spaces that provide a means for the simultaneous presence of individuals” (Tate, Hansberger, Potter, & Wickler, 2014, p. 2-3; Bosch-Sijtsema & Sivunen, 2013). Today, there are a myriad of terms and definitions used to describe VC processes: groupwares (Munkvold & Zigurs, 2005), online environments (Breen, 2013), collaborative technology (Wainfan & Davis, 2004), virtual teams (Townsend, DeMarie, & Hendrickson, 1998), virtual employees (Chen, Volk, & Lin, 2004), virtual organizations (Mowshowitz, 1997), virtual applications (Newman, 2014), digital work (Meares & Sargent, 1999), and learning networks (McKinney, McKinney, Franiuk, & Schweitzer, 2006), to name but a few. Although each of these terms shares certain characteristics, such a diverse range of terminologies has also resulted in a wide range of types, each with its own set of specific advantages and disadvantages. The present section outlines each of these realities in turn.

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Types of Virtual Collaboration There are two general types of VC: synchronous and asynchronous (Hastings, 2009). Synchronous collaboration allows users to communicate with one another in real-time; asynchronous collaboration allows users to communicate at different stages and at different times. Specific examples of synchronous collaboration include chat rooms, white boarding, instant messaging, application sharing, as well as web, audio, and video conferencing. Examples of asynchronous collaboration include blogs, email, online surveys, shared databases, discussion boards, as well as streaming audio and video narratives. Despite the common distinction between synchronous and asynchronous collaboration, modes of e-collaboration often fall into more than one category. The use of email, chatrooms, discussion boards, instant messaging, and shared databases – for example – can be either asynchronous or synchronous depending on their application (Wainfan & Davis, 2004, p. 4). Similarly, virtual team members can utilize multiple types of collaboration technology simultaneously. Teams can also use each type in various ways and to varying degrees. Consequently, the style and degree of VC processes used typically depend upon a team’s particular task at hand, as well as their organizational needs and limitations: Tools like instant messaging, Web conferencing, and whiteboard sharing are more appropriate for synchronous work, as they allow fast communication for participants in the same virtual location. Time zones and work schedules will dictate whether a team relies mostly on synchronous or asynchronous tools. (Hastings, 2009, p. 7)

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For each of these reasons, Wainfan and Davis (2004) move beyond the synchronous-asynchronous binary in order to classify e-collaboration into three distinct categories: videoconferencing, audioconferencing, and computer-mediated communication. Videoconferencing includes group and desktop video conferencing. Meanwhile, audio-conferencing includes phone calls and conference calls, and computer-mediated communication includes email, chatrooms, discussion boards, instant messaging, shared databases, and so on (p. 4). Each of these categories transcends the limited dichotomy that is often perpetuated between synchronous and asynchronous communication, while also speaking to the wide variety of ways in which VC is utilized today.

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Advantages of Virtual Collaboration The four most commonly cited advantages of VC include the ability for virtual teams to (1) work together at different times and (2) in different locations, as well as VC’s potential to (3) reduce travel expenses, and (4) increase members’ access to diverse ideas, knowledge, and experiences. For each of these reasons, e-collaboration is most beneficial within fields and professions that rely heavily on group work (Kock, 2000). Without VC, it can often be challenging to organize a time when all team members are able to participate (see Kock, 2013; Pallot, Martinez-Carreras, & Prinz, 2010). In contrast, virtual team members are able to “communicate, collaborate, and create outputs irrespective of time and space, because they are not bound by temporal constraints or geographical location as are most face-to-face teams” (Berry, 2011, p 188). In addition to overcoming scheduling conflicts, the second advantage of VC is its ability for team members to be located across the office, the country, or even the world. Such teams can work together while rarely, if ever, meeting face-to-face (Berry, 2011; Fink, 2007). Even for team members located within driving distance of one another, VC allows them to avoid vehicular traffic and other challenges that accompany transportation. As a result, valuable time that would have been spent traveling can be used for more productive tasks. VC also has the advantage of reducing or eliminating travel expenses. As Dawson and Clements (2004) write, “Teams can now work as effectively virtually as they can face to face – saving time, travel costs, and long-distance charges... Organizational boundaries become meaningless” (p. 51). For this reason, VC is especially advantageous for professionals who travel nationally and internationally to work with clients. Furthermore, by reducing/eliminating travel expenses, VC allows professionals to focus more of their resources on the specific client or service being provided. With scheduling conflicts, geographical location, and travel expenses no longer an obstacle, virtual teams can easily be comprised of members that span the globe. Karpova, Correia, and Baran (2008) comment on this reality: “Another benefit of using virtual collaboration is the ability to bring together heterogeneous participants and expose students to a diversity of cultures, opinions, and communication styles” (p. 45). As a result, users of VC software are more likely to be exposed to a larger variety of ideas, perspectives, and approaches; they often gain an enhanced ability to build arguments, sense-make, position-take, and reach group consensus. With physical location no longer a prohibiting factor, teams and businesses can also collaborate with clients, employees, and individuals form around the world who might have specific skills that meet their exact needs. In this way, virtual teams can form around professional expertise without the prerequisite of physical proximity.

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Disadvantages of Virtual Collaboration In spite of its advantages, VC is still hindered by a number of potential drawbacks. Four of the most commonly cited shortcomings include (1) unclear group processes, (2) insufficient relationship development, (3) technical limitations/frustrations, and (4) general feelings of distrust. Virtual teams often lack the knowledge to develop clear group processes, thus, hindering the team’s ability to reach its highest potential (de Vreede & Briggs, 2005; Munkvold & Zigurs, 2007). This reality is due to the fact that teams often assume it is unnecessary to spend additional time developing a shared understanding of how they will achieve their goal (Dittman, Hawkes, Deokar, & Sarnikar, 2010). As a result, members are left to figure out this crucial detail on their own (see Boettcher & Conrad, 2010; Breen, 2013). The lack of clearly communicated group processes is especially problematic since the nature of virtual work actually requires more defined roles and courses of action than traditional face-to-face work teams – not less. In addition to the need for more clearly communicated group processes, studies have also shown that relationship development stalls within virtual contexts. Many team members fail to understand the importance of developing camaraderie prior to engaging in collaboration processes (Dittman, Hawkins, Deokar, & Sarnikar, 2010). In other instances, time constraints simply do not allow for these relationships to develop naturally over time. Virtual teams are often required to assemble rapidly and to disassemble just as quickly once its goals are reached (Munkvold & Zigurs, 2007). Relatedly, virtual group members are also disadvantaged by a dearth of nonverbal communication. In the words of Konradt and Hoch (2007): “Lack of face-to-face interaction in virtual teams and the impact of electronic communication media exert a strong influence on social processes and effective collaboration” (p. 24). The use of body language, facial expressions, and tone of voice that normally accelerate relationship development among individuals are harder to create in virtual settings. A lack of face-to-face interaction can be augmented by the use of video collaboration platforms and audio exchanges, but these are not without their own potential drawbacks, which lead to the technical limitations/frustrations of VC. The third shortcoming of VC is technical limitations/frustrations (Markus, 2005). In order to explore the role of technology in e-collaboration, Butson and Thomson (2014) developed a prototype web-based networking environment to see what tools and features students preferred. This web-based virtual platform provided students the opportunity to interact using synchronous and asynchronous tools. Their results provided great insight into students’ disinterest with VC: “Students did not work collaboratively and struggled to use the web-based tools to advance their learning” (p. 1449). Despite having all the tools to collaborate in both a synchronized and asynchronized manner, the students defaulted to work individually offline. Butson and Thomson’s study illustrates how the struggle to learn and use VC technology can often lead to frustration. It can also cause certain team members to become disillusioned with an online platform, causing collaborators to disengage and potentially hindering the team’s ability accomplish their set goals. Finally, feelings of distrust are a commonly cited disadvantage of VC. A study conducted by Iacono and Weisband (1997), for instance, demonstrated direct correlations between the development of trust in virtual teams and their ability to be efficient, meet deadlines, and be socially present for one another. Trust can increase confidence and security among team members, as well as encourage open and free information sharing (Jarvenpaa, Knoll, &, Leidner, 1998). Trust also fosters cooperative problem solving, while weak ties lead to a higher frequency of misunderstandings: “Misunderstanding is common in online communication due to the difficulty to process social and emotional cues” (Breen, 2013, p. 265). Without these social cues to process, messages between sender and receiver can be easily misconstrued, 306

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causing potential conflict amongst group members. In turn, this conflict can cause members to disengage, resulting in decreased output and productivity. The present study seeks to address each of the disadvantages that continue to plague VC – unclear group processes, insufficient relationship development, technical limitations/frustrations, and feelings of distrust – by exploring collaborative software through the lens of Vorvoreanu’s (2008) Website Experience Analysis (WEA). By examining the seven most popular programs in use today, this study culminates with best practices for both users and developers of VC software.

WEBSITE EXPERIENCE ANALYSIS Much research has been devoted to the topic of VC. A proper use of theory in the study of e-collaboration, however, is still unclear (see Jenkins, 2012, 2014). Furthermore, the majority of current website analyses are content-driven, overlooking experiential and interactive role(s) of the observer. Vorvoreanu (2008) comments on this reality by writing: Most [website analyses] use a content-analytic approach to examine the websites. They provide valuable insight into message content and strategies, but do not address the process of interacting with websites or the nature of a website experience that builds and maintains relationships. (p. 226) Given the lack of experience-centered analyses in current literature, this study used an expanded variation of Vorvoreanu’s Website Experience Analysis (WEA) to examine user experiences with seven specific VC websites.

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Research Instrument First outlined by Vorvoreanu (2008) and derived in part from Prominence-Interpretation Theory, WEA measures a visitor’s experience in five distinct areas: trust, dialogue, openness, commitment, and involvement. Each of these areas is assessed with a pair of items, one quantitative and one qualitative. The first quantitative item asks participants a Likert-type question about their experience with the website; participants respond by ranking the website on a scale from one to ten (1 = not at all; 10 = very much). The second qualitative item asks each participant to explicate their first response by identifying what feature(s) of the website caused them to respond in the way they did. This particular study used an expanded variation of WEA that is more suited for the interactive and results-based nature of VC websites. The present study still measured participants’ experience across WEA’s five distinct areas of trust, dialogue, openness, commitment, and involvement; however, the study’s questionnaire focused upon the software’s perceived use and utility. In effort to determine the level of trust felt toward a particular website, this study’s survey asked: “Would you trust using this website for an important project?” and to explore how well each site facilitated dialogue, the survey asked: “Do you feel this website does a good job of fostering dialogue and interaction among its users?” In order to measure perceived levels of openness, our survey asked: “Do you feel this website does a good job of allowing coworkers to share information?” to measure commitment it asked: “Do you anticipate using this site 5-10 years from now?” and to measure involvement it asked: “Does this site help facilitate involvement from its users?” (For a complete copy of the questionnaire used, please refer to Appendix 1). 307

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Research Procedure After receiving IRB approval, this study surveyed 500 undergraduate students both in-person and online. Initial participants were recruited in-person via convenience and snowball sampling. They were explained the study’s scope and overview, and then offered a physical copy of the study’s aforementioned questionnaire. Virtual participants were subsequently recruited through email and social media platforms. After being explained the study’s scope and overview, these participants were sent an online survey, along with a hyperlink that directed them to a Google Form. All participants were given a minimum of one week to record their responses. Of the seven websites examined, each participant completed an average of 3.01 individual surveys. Consequently, a total of 1,505 anonymous surveys were gathered for subsequent coding and analysis. In order to develop practical implications, the present study focuses upon these survey’s qualitative results, which were analyzed by coding each response in search of dominant themes. An intensive reading of our individual coding was clumped and re-coded until a tree of large-order and small-order themes emerged from the data (Lindlof & Taylor, 2011). The subsequent process focused on theorizing, a procedure Morse (1994) describes as “the constant development and manipulation of malleable theoretical schemes until the ‘best’ theoretical scheme is developed” (p. 32). In effort to validate our readings, each author also worked together to sensemake our preliminary data (see Weick, 1988, 1995), and to recontextualize our results for the purpose of developing best practices.

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Research Participants The participants surveyed for this study were undergraduate students enrolled in one of 25 colleges/ universities across southern California. (For a complete list of schools included, please refer to Appendix 2). Participant ages ranged from 18 to 62, with an average age of 23.3. Of the 500 undergraduate students surveyed, 302 self-identified as female and 197 as male, with one participant declining to respond. Students from all grade levels were surveyed, with the majority of participants identifying as seniors (N = 311). Participants came from various ethnic/racial backgrounds: White/Caucasian (222), Hispanic/ Latino (161), Asian (52), Black/African American (49), and Middle Eastern/Persian (16). Participants also represented a total of 33 majors, namely Communication (114), Business (101), Psychology (74), Computer Science (54), Nursing (44), and Biology (40). Finally, participant grade point averages ranged from 4.0 to 1.9, with an average GPA of 3.2. Although it has long been noted that a disproportionate number of studies rely on undergraduate students (see Jenkins, 2012), this population was especially appropriate for the present study. Not only are current undergraduate students known as the “internet generation” (Milner, 2010), but they also represent society’s future workforce and consumer base. Thus, it is vital to explore communication processes of the millennial generation in order to develop best practices for users and developers of VC software.

Qualitative Results Due to the increased significance of VC in our modern workplace, this study used an expanded variation of Vorvoreanu’s (2008) Website Experience Analysis (WEA) to analyze 1,505 survey responses in the five distinct areas of trust, dialogue, openness, commitment, and involvement. The qualitative results of this study revealed five specific findings – one for each of WEA’s five foci: (1) name recognition, (2) 308

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interpersonal facilitation, (3) clarity/simplicity, (4) cost consideration, and (5) mobile accessibility. The present section discusses these five thematic results in more detail; the following section concludes by offering five corresponding implications (see Table 1).1 Table 1. Corresponding measures, results, and implications WEA Measure

Thematic Result

Practical Implication

Trust

Name Recognition

Increased Integration

Dialogue

Interpersonal Facilitation

Expanded Physicality

Openness

Clarity/Simplicity

Supplementary Training

Commitment

Cost Consideration

Financial Entrée

Involvement

Mobile Accessibility

Utilized Flexibility

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Theme #1: Name Recognition Within the context of this study, organizational trust refers to the level of confidence users have in a website’s ability to consistently perform at a high level (Jenkins, 2012; McKnight & Chervany, 2000). To that end, the present study asked participants whether they trusted using each of the VC websites for completing an important project. The most common response to this question highlighted the value of name recognition, with a large majority of participants (N = 388) referring to their familiarity – or unfamiliarity – with certain software programs. Participants’ awareness of a software program and/or its maker was shown to result in higher levels of trustworthiness and, therefore, a higher likelihood that they would feel comfortable using the website. The two specific programs with the highest levels of trust were Google Drive and Skype, with respective scores of 8.53 and 7.14 on a Likert-type scale from 1-10. While explaining her trust of Google Drive, one participant wrote, “I trust Google and know it well and have used it many times, so I’m comfortable with it” (white female). A second participant responded similarly by commenting, “I like Google and they have always made their products easy to use and get help with… I think it will be available for a long time since it’s powered by Google” (white male). Participants responded likewise toward Skype by using the adjectives “familiar,” “popular,” “reputable,” “well known,” and “well established” to express the level of trust they felt toward the video conferencing software. Conversely, several participants commented on their lack of familiarity with certain programs, resulting in lower levels of trust felt toward the VC software. When expressing her views of Join.Me, for instance, one participant reported, “I’ve never heard of this site before which makes me a little uncomfortable to use it” (Hispanic/Latina female). In response to Dropbox, another participant not only lamented that she had “never heard of it before,” but also contrasted her inexperience with Dropbox to the aforementioned familiarity with Google: “I don’t know why anyone would use [Dropbox] over Google Docs.” Despite the importance of name recognition and its effect upon participants’ levels of trust toward a particular program, iDoneThis was paradoxically disparaged for its apparent attempt to capitalize on Apple’s use of a lowercase “i” (e.g., iPod, iTunes, iPhone). iDoneThis’ use of an “i” at the beginning of its name was perceived by some participants as an attempt to fabricate familiarity among potential users, characterizing the attempt as “shallow” and even “dishonest.” One respondent clearly commented,

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“The [iDoneThis] website seems sketchy because it tries to infer its associated with Apple in the name but I don’t think it is” (white female). Consequently, the results of our analysis suggest that a software’s name recognition cannot result from simple rebranding, but rather must originate through increased and repetitious integration into the users’ life over time – a distinction that is further developed within this study’s first implication.

Theme #2: Interpersonal Facilitation This study’s second theme, interpersonal facilitation, referred to participants’ desire for genuine dialogue and communal interaction, defined by Vorvoreanu (2008) as “the inverse flow of information… an indicator of two-way communication” (p. 238). In total, 327 of this study’s 500 respondents referred to the benefit of face-to-face communication. In regard to how well it fostered dialogue and interaction among its users, Skype was again the quantitative outlier, scoring 8.60 on a scale from 1-10. The six remaining sites averaged 6.32 in this same category, with Skitch receiving the lowest overall average of 5.25. One primary reason participants rated Skype so highly in the area of openness was because of its video-sharing platform. Participants reported enjoying the ability to see their virtual team members, even when they were unable to meet physically. Participants’ qualitative responses also correlated this ability to see one another with higher levels of motivation, as well as lower levels of confusion and miscommunication. One participant specifically commented on the way Skype increased his motivation to participate in VC projects by writing, “I’m more likely to care and get things done when I can see who I’m working with, and they can actually see me” (white male). Meanwhile, more than two-dozen respondents referred to the way synchronous video helped to “clarify,” “simplify,” and “explain” communication processes among virtual group members. The significance of interpersonal interaction supports previous research conducted by Berry (2006), Timmerman (2000), Kirkham et al. (2002), and Cohen and Gibson (2003), to name but a few. Each of these scholars cite a lack of physical presence as one of VC’s primary shortcomings. Despite this importance, however, not all websites are able to integrate video sharing features into their design. For that reason, this study’s discussion section further outlines alternative ways for users and developers to increase physicality among group members.

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Theme #3: Clarity/Simplicity In effort to measure participants’ perceived levels of openness, this study asked whether each website did a good job of allowing group members to share information. The most common response to this inquiry invoked a need for clarity/simplicity. Adjectives such as “easy,” “simple,” “efficient,” “straightforward,” and “user friendly” were used by a slight majority of participants to commend specific websites. Altogether, 254 of the 500 participants referred to this reality by praising how easy it was to navigate Basecamp, Join.Me and Google Drive, while simultaneously criticizing Skitch, Skype and iDoneThis. One participant explicitly referred to the simplicity of Basecamp, and its ability to aid virtual group members: “It seems like it would be easy to write in and point to specific areas of a project, making it easy for other people to see what needs to be changed or stay the same” (Hispanic/Latina female). Another participant reported on his view of Join.Me by writing, “It’s easy and reliable. [The] interface is user friendly, and the software is compatible with almost all devices… it would be easy to share information with others”

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(white male). And yet another survey participant responded similarly about Google Drive: “I feel like the simplicity works in its favor to make it something easily adaptable for the work world” (white female). An emphasis upon clarity and simplicity serves to highlight the need for VC software that is uncluttered and streamlined in its design. In fact, participants of this study seemed more interested in understanding a software’s purpose quickly, lest they become frustrated or lose interest, than they were in comprehending a software’s full depth of options and functionality. This reality was especially evident when those options and functions were unclearly communicated to the user, as evidenced by one participant’s critique of Skitch: “A lot of stuff going on here… confusing” (African American male). Similarly, a second participant disparaged Skype for being “too involved” (Hispanic/Latino male), and a third participant criticized iDoneThis for having “too many options to choose from” (white female).

Theme #4: Cost Consideration Ledingham and Bruning (1998) characterize organizational commitment as the decision to maintain a relationship with the general public. Consequently, cost consideration emerged as the participants’ primary consideration when anticipating whether they would still be using a website in 5-10 years. Nearly 1/3 of participants who did not foresee using a particular program in the future cited cost as their main determinant: “It costs money to join” (African American female, in response to Join.Me); “It cost money and not many people use it” (Hispanic/Latino male, in response to iDoneThis); and “I don’t like paying for things that could be done for free” (white male, in response to Basecamp). In contrast, a substantial number of participants who predicted using Google Drive for years to come specifically referred to its complimentary access: “No cost” (white female), “It’s free and easy to use” (white female), and “Google Drive doesn’t cost anything… so I can see myself still using it in 10 years” (white male). The impact of cost consideration upon whether or not students perceived themselves as longstanding customers highlights the tension between short-term and long-term considerations. Developers of VC software can seek immediate financial retribution from university-aged students, or they can seek to build the groundwork now for a professional relationship well beyond the university – a tension that is again explored within this study’s subsequent implications section.

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Theme #5: Mobile Accessibility Finally, organizational involvement is indicated by an effort to facilitate relational ties (Ledingham & Bruning, 1998). In this regard, the present study asked participants whether a website helped to facilitate involvement from/among its users. The fifth theme that subsequently emerged was mobile accessibility, in the form of either downloadable applications or site optimization for cell phones. This proved to be the case for all seven websites examined in our study, as each site offered users an optimized version of itself on either IOS or Android platforms. The two primary reasons respondents lauded mobile accessibility was for its ability to make communication easier and faster. According to one participant: “Being able to access [Basecamp] on any device makes it easy to stay in contact with others” (white female). A second participant responded similarly about Dropbox by writing, “The aspect of phone use plus laptop or desktop us makes it easy for users to interact” (Hispanic/Latina female), and a third participated added, “The fact that [Join.Me] can be used through an application on a phone will make it easier for anyone to use it and access it” (white male). Additional survey responses highlighted the ability for mobile accessibility to increase users’ rate and 311

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speed of communication, making it more convenient for them to collaborate, problem solve, and finish tasks on time. To this end, participants described iDoneThis as “swift,” “quick,” and “rapid,” while others described Google Drive as “fast,” “speedy,” and “efficient.” One participant further elaborated on the speed and efficiency of Google Drive: I am able to quickly respond to the users of this site through mobility use. That’s what makes it so unique, because you can take out your cell phone and connect with users of this site. Mobility is the way to go… In today’s world it is a must… to be fast and accessible [from] anywhere. (African American female)

PRACTICAL IMPLICATIONS FOR USERS AND DEVELOPERS We conclude this study by discussing five powerful implications for both users and developers of VC software: (1) increased integration, (2) expanded physicality, (3) supplementary training, (4) financial entrée, and (5) utilized flexibility. Each of these implications corresponds to this study’s five thematic results outlined in the previous section, as well as the five specific areas outlined by Vorvoreanu’s (2008) Website Experience Analysis: trust, dialogue, openness, commitment, and involvement.

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Implication #1: Increased Integration The importance that participants of this study placed upon name recognition reveals the need for increased integration by both users and developers of VC software. As one respondent succinctly put it, “iDoneThis? Never heard of it” (white male). This reality not only sheds light on how a program such as Google Drive was able to garner 240 million active users within six short months of its initial launch (Protalinski, 2014), but also reinforces the significance of branding – a contemporary buzzword in personal and organizational development (see Lair, Sullivan, & Cheney, 2005). Howard Schultz, the CEO of Starbucks, comments on the import of organizational branding by writing: “A great brand raises the bar... whether it’s the challenge to do your best in sports and fitness, or the affirmation that the cup of coffee you’re drinking really matters” (Daye, 2006, par. 1). Schultz’s commentary highlights the specific value of brand awareness (i.e., consumer ability to recognize a brand under differing conditions), as well as attitudinal branding (i.e., brand ability to evoke a particular emotion or sentiment). His observations also stress the ubiquitous nature of branding in modern society, and its ability to influence everything from fitness to coffee. As previously mentioned, however, iDoneThis was paradoxically disparaged by this study’s participants for its semblant effort to coopt Apple’s promotion of the lowercase “i” as a product prefix (e.g., iPod, iTunes, iPhone). Certain respondents perceived iDoneThis’ similar use of a lowercase “i” as “shallow,” “surface-level” and even “dishonest,” with one participant noting: “The [iDoneThis] website seems sketchy because it tries to infer its associated with Apple in the name but I don’t think it is” (white female). Responses such as this reveal that name recognition cannot result from superficial or one-dimensional attempts at (re)branding. Instead, genuine brand awareness must be developed over time through prolonged and sustained integration into users’ daily lives. Specific suggestions for increasing the brand awareness of VC software – and therefore increasing name recognition and feelings of trust among potential users – include formal agreements with colleges and universities, as well as partnerships with social media sites like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. 312

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Formal agreements with community colleges and four-year universities will allow software developers to get their products in front of more students, helping to familiarize those students with the product’s name and functionality over time. By becoming a university-wide file sharing service, for example, a software program like Dropbox would be instantly integrated into the day-to-day of thousands of students’ lives, increasing its capacity to compete with its more commonly recognized competitor: Good Drive. An alternative way to improve brand awareness via increased integration is by partnering with social media sites like Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram. A staggering 96% of college students today report using Facebook (Martin, 2015). Meanwhile, 80% of college students use Twitter, 73% use Instagram, 48% use Pinterest, 40% use LinkedIn, 40% use Vine, 29% use Google+, and 29% use Tumblr, (Viner, 2014). Statistics such as these evidence students’ awareness and familiarity toward these web applications, as well as their login procedures. Thus, integrating user profiles from existing social media into online VC programs can make the initial registration process quicker and more streamlined, while simultaneously utilizing the name recognition associated with these social media websites in a way that makes new users feel reassured.

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Implication #2: Expanded Physicality A deluge of previous research has shown the primary drawback of VC to be its lack of physical interaction among members (e.g., Berry, 2006; Timmerman, 2000; Kirkham et al., 2002; Cohen & Gibson, 2003). Without being able to perceive the nonverbal communication that accompanies typical group work – body language, facial expressions, etc. – it is often difficult for meaningful relationships to form among virtual team members. Consistent with previous findings, this study revealed a lack of physical interaction to be a primary hindrance toward genuine dialogue and communal interaction (see Vorvoreanu, 2008). Skype alleviated much of this concern through its video sharing platform; however, not all websites are able – or even advised – to infuse the use of video technology. Rather, users and developers of VC software should consider alternative ways to expand the physicality felt among virtual team members. Specific suggestions for doing so include the use and integration of avatars, virtual worlds, group bios, and third party social networks. Recent studies have shown avatars to increase the level of personal responsibility virtual team members bring to their work, resulting in higher levels of work performance and greater levels of social bonding. This reality is especially evident when a person designs her/his own avatar: “Your identity mixes in with the identity of that avatar and, as a result, your visual perception of the virtual environment is colored by the physical resources of your avatar” (Swayne, 2013, par. 3). Taken one step further, avatars within the context of massively multiplayer online worlds (MMOWs) like Second Life, The Sims, Minecraft, or even World of Warcraft offer virtual team members an entire virtual world in which to interact. Kock (2008) defines virtual worlds as “environments created by technology that incorporate virtual representations of various elements found in the real world… [:] virtual human beings with whom one can interact, virtual physical environments that include land and oceans, and virtual objects like chairs and tables” (p. 1). Kock goes on to discuss the unique opportunity virtual worlds offer their team members to established shared patterns of behavior, which result in a potential for increased efficiency and productivity. To this end, the developers of Second Life claim more than 1,400 organizations currently use their virtual environment to hold meetings and training sessions (Tutton, 2009). Such an approach to virtual worlds offers a sense of place to dispersed users, as team members are able to gather together in a digital coffee shop, huddle around a digital fireplace, or walk through a digital park. 313

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Our final two suggestions for increasing physicality are the creation of individual bios and the incorporation of social media networks. While these implications do not offer users a sense of physicality or place in the way avatars and virtual worlds do, they still increase social ties among virtual group members by sharing interests, hobbies, and background information with another (see Granovetter, 1973, 2004; as well as Wenger, 1998, 2004). Social ties are generally defined as information-carrying connections between people. Such ties can be characterized as “strong,” “weak” or “absent,” depending on the type and frequency of interpersonal interaction they entail (see Figure 1).

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Figure 1. Social ties among virtual group members

The development of strong social ties among VC users is important because they can counteract feelings of distrust (Iacono & Weisband, 1997). Strong social ties also correlate to higher levels of group efficiency, increased problem solving, and the ability for virtual teams to meet established deadlines. Conversely, weak ties correlate to a higher likelihood of frustration and misunderstanding (Breen, 2013). In effort to strengthen the social ties among virtual team members, teams can create personal bios. These bios can be shared in a myriad of ways: during the group’s initial meeting or on the organization’s website. This information can also be collected and redistributed by the group’s leader as a simple Word or PDF document. Meanwhile, the creation of a group page on social networking sites like Facebook or Google+ can instantaneously familiarize team members with one another through publicly shared photographs, status updates, etc. In this way, social networking sites serve as a way to capitalize on each of the aforementioned implications without having to create any new or additional material. In other words, team members can use their existing profile picture as a readymade avatar, their online profile as a readymade bio, and so on.

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Implication #3: Supplemental Training In response to a website’s level of perceived openness, respondents rarely mentioned the need for increased transparency or additional opportunities to interact with the software developers. Rather, this study’s most commonly cited need was that of clarity/simplicity. Said differently: participants rarely associated a website’s perceived level of openness with what it said, but rather with its ability to visually communicate that information in a clear and concise manner. As a result, developers of VC software must recognize the importance of crisp, clean, and uncluttered design. Intricate and overly complex approaches to problem solving should also be avoided in favor of one-button solutions and easy to use applications. Meanwhile, users of VC software must also seek to increase levels of clarity and simplicity via supplement training (Warkentin & Beranek, 1999). Specific and easy-to-implement suggestions for supplemental training consist of tip sheets, online tutorials, in-person workshops, real-time help, designated personnel, and refresher courses. A simple one-page tip sheet can be created by the project’s manager or an IT professional in order to offer others an overview of the VC software being used, to address commonly asked questions, and so on. Distributed in advance of the software’s implementation, this would not only help to clarify and simplify its use, but would also serve as a reference later in the process. Similarly, online tutorials can easily be created by managers or IT professionals using a free program like Screencast-O-Matic to introduce a product to new group members, and/or to proactively address any anticipated questions. Online tutorials can also be disseminated using the precise software program in question as a way to introduce new users to the particular technology. In addition, each of these materials – tip sheets and online tutorials – can be used to formulate an in-person workshop. Workshops lack the ability to be used later as a reference point in the way tip sheets and online tutorials can. Their low-tech format can also serve to contradict the application and “spirit” of VC software. For these same reasons, however, in-person workshops can help to orientate and assimilate novice users who are aversive to a particular technology. The face-to-face nature of in-person workshops also allows opportunities for more organic and free flowing conversation, in which users’ questions can be resolved directly. The next two suggestions for supplemental training (real-time help and designated personnel) can also serve to persuade those who are reluctant to use a new or unfamiliar technology for collaborating online. Both of these suggestions can be accomplished virtually or face-to-face. Yet even when done virtually (by having an assigned person “on call”), they both offer a certain level of personal connection, as users are able to communicate with a physical person instead of referring to an aforementioned tip sheet or online tutorial. Finally, refresher courses are yet another suggestion for supplemental training. As technology evolves, so does the need for continued learning. Meanwhile, users who have completed a workshop or other training session in the past are often reluctant to seek further help, or to admit they do not know certain information. In this way, refresher courses offer “reentry points” for both new and current users of VC software. By covering the software’s basics, as well as any additional changes or developments, team members can help to proactively avoid much of the apprehension that accompanies virtual work.

Implication #4: Financial Entrée It should be of little surprise that cost consideration emerged as this study’s primary consideration when anticipating whether or not college-aged participants will still be using certain software in 5-10 years. In 315

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fact, nearly 33% of respondents who did not foresee using a particular program in the future cited cost as their main determinant. Consequently, the need for developers to profit financially from their work creates an inherent tension with college students who cannot pay for their programs. One potential solution to this quagmire is to consider avenues for financial entrée. In this way, developers of VC software can reach new clients now while they are still in college, in hopes of fostering long-term (i.e., paying) customers for their product in future years. Dropbox has sought to do this in recent years by lowing its prices and adding additional tools that make it easier for individuals to store files in the cloud (Newman, 2014). Although price reductions are a fine start, subtler approaches to offering financial entrée include tiered pricing, free trial periods, and free access for current students. Tiered pricing can be used to offer a lite version of VC software with limited functionality at a discounted rate. Meanwhile, free trial periods can offer either a lite or full version of the product at no cost for 4.5-9 months (a duration of time that aligns with most students’ semester-based academic schedule). Finally, free access for current students can be confirmed through the use of a university email address, and can again offer either a lite or full version of the product for a predetermined trial period. Each of these suggestions take into account the students’ concern over cost consideration by offering entry points that keep their long term earning potential in mind. Thus, by addressing the barrier of price now, developers of VC software can nurture dividends for years or even decades to come.

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Implication #5: Utilized Flexibility This study’s final theme revealed the value of mobile accessibility. In response to whether a website helped to facilitate involvement from/among its users (i.e., organizational involvement), participants lauded mobile accessibility for its ability to make communication processes easier and faster. For this reason, we offer the suggestion for developers of VC software to prioritize their development and implementation of mobile apps. Rather than seeing a program’s mobile iteration as a limited or secondary version of its full site, developers should seek to maximize their program’s mobility, seeing it as an equal – if not leader – in the future life of their program. Even more significant than our suggestion for developers to forefront mobile applications, however, is our suggestion for users to consider additional ways in which they can capitalize on the perceived benefit(s) that participants cited with mobile accessibility: namely, the freedom they felt to collaboration on the go, on their own terms, and on their own time schedules. Konradt and Hoch’s (2007) analysis of leadership functions within virtual teams revealed the importance of flexibility-related work roles. Consequently, users of VC software must capitalize on the freedom and flexibility that e-collaboration inherently offers. Rather than supervising virtual team members in the same way one might supervise a physical work team, for example, users of online VC programs should avoid time stamping work and allow team members to work from a location of their choice. An additional way for managers to utilize the flexibility of VC software is to consider a Results Only Work Environment (ROWE). The Results Only Work Environment (ROWE) is a human resource management theory that measures employee output, as opposed to correlating salary and compensation to the number of hours an employee works (Ressler & Thompson, 2010). By focusing solely upon whether or not an organization’s well defined goals have been met, ROWE allows leaders to overlook insignificant details related to employees’ daily routines, while simultaneously affording higher levels of freedom and autonomy to those employees to accomplish their goals in a time and manner that they prefer. With ROWE, virtual team members need not “clock in” or “clock out” like traditional employees. Nor are they expected to work 316

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eight hours a day over the course of five consecutive workdays. Instead, during the course of a typical week virtual team members of ROWE should be expected to complete whatever tasks or duties are appropriate for that duration of time – nothing more, nothing less. They should subsequently be evaluated by their results, and left free to utilize VC software in order to accomplish those results in whatever time arrangement they deem fit.

CONCLUSION Despite its limitations, the potential advantages of VC make it a vital tool for any organization hoping to gain or maintain a competitive advantage in today’s increasingly globalized society (Cassivi, Lefebvre, Lefebvre, & Leger, 2004; Maznevski & Chudoba, 2000). For that reason, this study analyzed more than 1,500 survey responses in order to develop best practices for current users and developers of VC software. Perceptions of the seven most popular VC programs in use today (Basecamp, Dropbox, Google Drive, iDoneThis, Join.me, Skitch, and Skype) revealed the significance of name recognition, interpersonal facilitation, clarity/simplicity, cost consideration, and mobile accessibility. Based upon these results, we concluded the present study by outlining five corresponding implications: increased integration, expanded physicality, supplementary training, financial entrée, and utilized flexibility. As exhaustive as this study is, future researchers are encouraged to augment our efforts to develop practical implications for users and developers of VC software. Namely, more quantitative research is needed to compliment this study’s qualitative approach. Future research could be conducted, for instance, to quantify the participants’ desire for increased interpersonal interaction via path analysis and/ or structural equation modeling (see Kock, 2010, 2013). Other potential avenues for future quantitative researchers include a cost analysis for financial entrée, as well correlations between name recognition and user satisfaction, mobile accessibility and user duration, etc. By building upon this study’s results, each of these suggested research topics will help to further increase user satisfaction, efficiency and effectiveness, while simultaneously outlining next steps for software developers who hope to be(come) industry leaders in today’s burgeoning field of e-collaboration.

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ENDNOTE 1



Although the results and discussion sections of this study focus on its qualitative data, a concise table of quantitative results for each website is also included within Appendix 3.

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This work was previously published in the International Journal of e-Collaboration (IJeC), 12(4); pages 41-60, copyright year 2016 by IGI Publishing (an imprint of IGI Global).

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APPENDIX 1: VOLUNTARY SURVEY Age: ______ Gender: _______________ Race/Ethnicity: _______________ Major: _____________ Overall GPA: __________ Grade Level: ________________ College/University: _______________________________________________________ Have you ever taken an online course? (please circle one) Yes No Have you ever collaborated virtually for schoolwork? (please circle one) Yes No Have you ever collaborated virtually outside of school? (please circle one) Yes No Directions: Please begin by visiting each of the following websites: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7.

Basecamp: www.basecamp.com Dropbox: www.dropbox.com Google Drive: www.google.com/drive iDoneThis: www.idonethis.com Join Me: www.join.me Skitch: www.evernote.com/skitch Skype: www.skype.com

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Browse each site until you have formed a full opinion about its effectiveness for virtual collaboration. Finally, complete one of the following questionnaires for each website visited. This study is voluntary; the results are anonymous. You are indicating your desire to take part in this study by completing the following questionnaire. Which website do your responses below refer to? (please circle one) Basecamp Dropbox Google Drive iDoneThis Join.Me Skitch Skype 1. Would you trust using this site for an important project? (not at all) 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 (very much) 2. What about this website makes you feel this way? 3. Does this site do a good job of fostering dialogue and interaction among its users? (not at all) 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 (very much) 4. What about this website makes you feel this way? 5. Does this site do a good job of allowing group members to share information? (not at all) 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 (very much) 6. What about this website makes you feel this way? 7. Do you anticipate using this site 5-10 years from now? (not at all) 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 (very much) 8. What about this website makes you feel this way? 9. Does this site help facilitate involvement from/among its users? (not at all) 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 (very much) 10. What about this website makes you feel this way?

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APPENDIX 2: LIST OF COLLEGES/UNIVERSITIES REPRESENTED 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. 20. 21. 22. 23. 24. 25.

California Lutheran University California State University Channel Islands California State University Fullerton California State University Long Beach California State University Northridge California State University Poly Pomona California State University San Marcos Fullerton Community College Moorpark College Oxnard College Pepperdine University Redlands University San Diego State University San Francisco State University San Jose State University University of California, Los Angeles University of California, Riverside University of California, San Diego University of California, Santa Barbara University of San Diego University of San Francisco University of Southern California Valley College Ventura College West Coast University

APPENDIX 3: TABLE OF QUANTITATIVE RESULTS Table 2. Qualitative results

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Website

WEA Measure Trust

Dialogue

Openness

Commitment

Involvement

Basecamp

7.00

5.90

7.00

5.76

7.55

Dropbox

6.00

5.70

6.84

7.12

7.56

Google Drive

8.53

6.66

8.00

8.96

7.55

iDoneThis

6.40

7.30

6.10

5.55

7.48

Join.me

5.42

7.10

7.86

5.80

7.50

Skitch

6.95

5.25

5.90

7.00

6.90

Skype

7.14

8.60

6.24

7.42

6.68

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Chapter 17

Nurturing Collaborative Networks of Mobile Learning Researchers and Practitioners Thomas Cochrane Centre for Learning and Teaching (CfLAT), Auckland University of Technology, Auckland, New Zealand Vickel Narayan Centre for Learning and Teaching (CfLAT), Auckland University of Technology, Auckland, New Zealand

ABSTRACT

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In this article, we present the development of a framework for supporting and facilitating collaborative networks of refective practice using mobile social media. Developed throughout a two-year collaborative mobile learning project #NPF14LMD, the framework has subsequently been used to support two wider international networks of mobile learning researchers and practitioners. The #NPF14LMD project was a national project comprised of three universities and three polytechnics across New Zealand. One of the goals of the #NPF14LMD project was to create a collaborative network of practice across the six institutions participating in the project. The network provided a support and communication structure linking the six institutional communities of practice, enabling sharing of their experiences and a sense of belonging to a wider national and international community. This article outlines the use of mobile social media to facilitate the #NPF14LMD network, and the subsequent application of this framework to support two international networks.

1. INTRODUCTION Scaling and supporting mobile learning initiatives beyond individual practitioners and localised case studies has been one of the key impediments to mainstream adoption of mobile learning in higher education (Parsons, 2014; Punie, 2013). The lessons learnt from the several large scale mobile learning projects have had limited long-term impact on mainstream teaching and learning environments (Traxler, 2016a, DOI: 10.4018/978-1-7998-7294-8.ch017

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 Nurturing Collaborative Networks of Mobile Learning Researchers and Practitioners

2016b). Mainstream adoption of mobile learning informed by the lessons learnt from the last 16 years of research and practice is hampered by an ever-increasing rate of technological change. However, we believe that one of the keys to support the integration of mobile learning across mainstream education is the need for practical frameworks to support collaboration between mobile learning researchers and practitioners (Laurillard, 2007, 2012), and technology stewards (Cochrane, 2014; Wenger, White, & Smith, 2009). Such frameworks will support the exploration of mobile learning to facilitate new pedagogical strategies within a wide variety of educational contexts. Alongside the development of mobile devices has been the rapid development of social networks and social publishing platforms that are increasingly designed around mobile devices to facilitate sharing and show casing of user-generated content and user-generated contexts. As Cook and Santos (2016) argue, this confluence of mobile devices and social networks leads to three elements of state of the art mobile learning:

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1. The ability to use social media and apps to enable new patterns of connected social, learning and work-based practices. 2. Design research allows us to engage in inquiry surrounding the transformative possibilities for m-learning. Particularly, designing for ‘m-learning’ at scale is a big challenge. 3. Participants in new mass communications are now actively engaged in generating their own content and contexts for learning. (Cook & Santos, 2016, p. 3) Reeves (2015) makes the case that establishing “consortia of collaborating researchers, practitioners, and funding agencies focused on the most salient problems facing education may realise much greater impact” (Reeves, 2015, p. 618). The mobile learning research community in New Zealand is small (Cochrane, 2013; Cochrane, Narayan, & Oldfield, 2015), with researchers and practitioners spread across the country and across institutions, leading to discussions in 2013 around the potential of establishing a national community of practice of mobile learning researchers and practitioners. Thus, we explored establishing a network to support best practice in mobile learning. These were some of the key drivers behind the establishment of the #NPF14LMD project. The National Project Fund 2014 Learners and Mobile Devices (#NPF14LMD) project was the largest scale mobile learning in higher education project undertaken at a national level in New Zealand to date (Frielick et al., 2014). The #NPF14LMD project drew upon the authors’ experiences of reimaging professional development as communities of practice (Cochrane, Black, Lee, Narayan, & Verswijvelen, 2012; Cochrane & Narayan, 2012; Cochrane, Narayan, & Oldfield, 2013), and the wider literature surrounding establishing and nurturing collaborative networks and communities of practice (Jameson, 2011; Learning and Skills Network, 2009; Wenger, McDermott, & Snyder, 2002; Wenger et al., 2009; Wenger, White, Smith, & Rowe, 2005). The development of supporting communities of practice (COP) was identified as a critical success factor for transforming pedagogy via mobile social media (Cochrane, 2014), and thus the project was initially framed around creating a network of COPs from six tertiary education institutions across the country. The project encompassed 54 researcher practitioners and over 1000 students across New Zealand over the period 2014-2015. The #NPF14LMD project was predicated upon the growing ubiquity of mobile device ownership, forecasted in International Telecommunications Union statistics (2014). In 2015 undergraduate student ownership of smartphones (92%) exceeded student ownership of laptops (91%) (Dahlstrom, Brooks, Grajek, & Reeves, 2015). These statistics were confirmed for the New Zealand context through the #NPF14LMD project student survey completed in 2015 (Frielick & Whitehead, 2017). Participation in 326

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the #NPF14LMD project involved lecturers integrating the use of mobile social media within the courses they were teaching over 3 semesters in 2014 through to the end of 2015. Participants were encouraged to ground their mobile learning project designs on relevant learning theory. Key learning theories and frameworks that informed the project design included, but were not limited to: connectivism (Siemens, 2004), social constructivism (Head & Dakers, 2005; Vygotsky, 1978), rhizomatic learning (Cormier, 2008), the conversational framework (Laurillard, 2007), authentic learning (Herrington, Reeves, & Oliver, 2009), constructive alignment (Biggs, 2003), heutagogy (Hase & Kenyon, 2007; Luckin et al., 2010), and three levels of creativity (Sternberg, Kaufman, & Pretz, 2002). The relevance of these learning theories to the #NPF14LMD project network design are explored further in section 3 of this paper. The project was grounded upon the wide body of research literature surrounding mobile learning, and involved the compilation and sharing of a categorized custom literature review (Aguayo, Cochrane, & Narayan, 2017). We drew upon the work of leading mobile learning researchers such as: Sharples et al., (2007) – connecting mobile learning practice to learning theories, Traxler (2010) – focusing upon BYOD approaches, Cook (2009) – exploring the mobility of the learner, Pachler et al., (2010) – exploring the socio-cultural impact of mobile learning, and Kukulska-Hulme (2010) – exploring mobile learning as a catalyst for new pedagogies. Throughout the development of the project participants were encouraged to explore the unique affordances of mobile devices to enable innovative pedagogical strategies within their own discipline contexts. We agree with Bannan, Cook and Pachler (2015) that “The nature of learning is being augmented and accelerated by new digital tools and media, particularly by mobile devices and the networks and structures to which they connect people” (Bannan et al., 2015, p. 1). Bannan, Cook and Pachler (2015) highlight eight mobile device affordances, to which we provide examples of the types of applications the project participants were encouraged to explore: • • • • •

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• • •

Collaborative and communicative potential; for example, Twitter, Skype Interactivity and nonlinearity; for example, Google Now, Virtual Reality Distributed knowledge construction; for example, Google Plus, Google Docs Multimodal knowledge representation; for example, YouTube, Vine, Vyclone Authentic/contextualized/situated material, interaction, tasks and settings; for example, Augmented Reality Multi-functionality and convergence; for example, speech recognition such as Siri Portability, ubiquity, personal ownership: for example, Smartphones User-generated content and contexts: for example, ePortfolios such as Behance

As the project was a collaborative network of diverse communities of practice, mobile social media was used to facilitate collaboration and communication, and curate user-generated content. Thus, informed by Cormier’s concept of rhizomatic learning the project coordinators focused upon designing triggering events throughout the life-span of the project to generate participant discussion and sharing of practice between the project COPs.

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2. METHODOLOGY Our project aimed to create a collaborative partnership between tertiary researchers and practitioners in several Polytechnics and Universities throughout New Zealand, establishing a network of communities of practice (COP) sharing their experiences of exploring the potential of mobile learning within their own local discipline contexts. The project was co-funded by AKO Aotearoa and the participating institutions, with a combined budget of $300000NZ over two years. The project was predominantly practice-based aiming to inform improved student learning outcomes.

2.1. Research Questions Two overall project research questions formed the basis for the foundational concepts underlying the #NPF14LMD collaborative network. • •

RQ1: Will learners’ mobile devices deliver innovation, inclusion, and transformation—the main potential benefts for learners? If so, how? RQ2: What is the ‘framework for enhanced learning and institutional change’ that will deliver these benefts?

2.1.1. Research Question 1 The mobile learning research literature indicates that innovation (Kukulska-Hulme, Sharples, Milrad, Arnedillo-Sanchez, & Vavoula, 2009; Parsons, 2013), inclusion (Attewell, Savill-Smith, & Douch, 2009; Traxler, 2010), and transformation (Lindsay, 2015; Pachler et al., 2010; Puentedura, 2006) are key benefits of mobile learning. The network was designed to allow sharing of practice that explored these benefits from a variety of contexts and approaches. Sharples (2013) summarises the range of approaches taken by mobile learning initiatives as a scale from enhancing curriculum-led classrooms to informal highly mobile learning environments (Figure 1), and the #NPF14LMD projects encompassed this range (#NPF14LMD, 2017d).

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Figure 1. Mobile learning dimensions from classroom-led to informal highly mobile, based on (Sharples, 2013, p. 6)

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Cook and Santos (2016) describe three aspects of state of the art mobile learning research: (1) the ability to use social media and apps to enable new patterns of connected, social, learning and workbased practices; (2) design research around the transformative possibilities of mobile learning; (3) a focus upon user/learner generated content and contexts. Basing the #NPF14LMD collaborative network around the use of mobile social media was one way to approach innovation (facilitate new pedagogies), inclusion (facilitate open access to all participants), and transformation (from the social use of mobile social media to the educational use).

2.1.2. Research Question 2 The collaborative network was developed as part of a model framework for practice and institutional change that we envisioned that the project practitioners might apply within their own contexts. Facilitating lecturer professional development and providing a supporting technological infrastructure were core elements of the framework. We borrowed concepts from Puentedura’s (2006) educational technology adoption framework (SAMR – Substitution, Augmentation, Modification, Redefinition), and all the participating researchers and practitioners were supplied with an iPad mini and an iPhone each to personalise and facilitate access to the use of mobile social media in their own contexts. We did not remotely manage or image participants’ devices as we wanted to simulate a BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) environment. Jameson et al., (Jameson, Ferrell, Kelly, Walker, & Ryan, 2006) emphasise the critical nature of developing trust within networks and communities. Building trust within a new collaborative network of researchers and practitioners who did not know all the other participants was a key goal of the use of social media within the #NPF14LMD network. The research sub-question related to both the two main project research questions that this paper explores is: How can we use mobile social media to facilitate and sustain the #NPF14LMD network?

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2.2. Participants The selection of project participants was a three-stage process. The first stage involved the invitation of project local coordinators from the six institutions by the project co-leader. Potential participants were identified by their previous experience of mobile learning research and practice within the New Zealand tertiary education sector. Participants who accepted the invitation to participate then gained institutional approval to sign the collaborative project fund application. Upon acceptance of the project proposal by the national funding body (AKO Aotearoa) the second stage involved the invitation of local practitioners (lecturers) from each institution to participate in the project by the local coordinators. All the project coordinators and local practitioners were then supplied with an iPhone 5S and an iPad mini2. The final participant selection stage involved the local practitioners inviting their own students to participate in the project through implementing the integration of mobile learning in their courses. Students used their own devices (BYOD) when participating in the project. Ethics consent for the participating lecturers was approved through the lead institutions ethics committee consent process. Each institution was responsible for acquiring local ethics consent for the participating students. The project participants were drawn from a wide range of discipline contexts, including: Paramedicine, Game development, Public Health, Communication Studies, Occupational Health, Performance for Screen, Computing, Pre-service Teacher Education, Carpentry, Business, Zoology, and Early Child Care Education. Two of the project COPs were based within a single discipline, while four COPs were interdisciplinary. This gave the project a wide base of participant experiences. 329

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3. #NPF14LMD NETWORK FORMATION The #NPF14LMD project spanned two years from 2014 to 2015. The timeline of the key milestones around the formation and development of the collaborative network was across four main phases:

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1. Formation of the collaborative network a. October 2013: Initial expression of interest with invited coordinators from the 6 institutions b. December 2013: Acceptance of project proposal for AKO Aotearoa funding c. February 2014: Initial meeting of project coordinators and administration team d. February 2014: Mobile social media Ecology Of Resources introduced (Google Plus, Twitter…) e. May 2014: Local COPs established at each institution 2. Initiating the implementation of the collaborative network a. August 2014: First iteration of mobile social media projects in practitioners courses b. September 2014: Webinar series introduced c. November 2014: Sharing of project progress with the MINA2014 and Ascilite2014 conferences 3. Maturing of the collaborative network a. March 2015: Project coordinator roadshow – meeting with all local COPs b. March 2015: Launch of the Mobile Social Media Learning Technologies cMOOC (Mosomelt) as an optional COP support framework (Cochrane, Narayan, & Burcio-Martin, 2015; Cochrane, Narayan, Burcio-Martin, Lees, & Diesfeld, 2015) c. March 2015: Second iteration of integrating mobile social media in practitioner courses 4. Sharing of practice from the network of case studies a. July 2015: Virtual Symposium b. July 2015: ISATT2015 Conference c. August 2015: Third iteration of integrating mobile social media in practitioner courses 5. Dissemination of project progress and outcomes a. November2015: TERNZ2015 Conference b. November2015: MINA2015 Conference c. December2015: Ascilite2015 Conference d. February 2016: Wrap-up of #NPF14LMD project and release of final project report published A key strategy was to model the use of the mobile social media tools we were exploring throughout the project, and create an environment that could facilitate sharing of ideas and practice across the geographically disperse participants. We based the design of the #NPF14LMD social network around the concepts of social constructivism (Vygotsky, 1978), nurturing communities of practice (Wenger, 1998; Wenger et al., 2002; Wenger et al., 2009), connectivism (Siemens, 2004), and rhizomatic learning (Cormier, 2008). The #NPF14LMD network connected teams of researchers and practitioners across six institutions nationally. Cormier’s concept of rhizomatic learning decentralises learning environments and refocuses the role of the teacher from deliverer of content to a designer of an ecology of resources and triggering events that enable learner discussion and creativity. Drawing upon Luckin’s (Luckin, 2008) concept of a learner centred ecology of resources and Pachler, Bachmair and Cook’s (2010) socio-cultural ecological concept, Cook et al., (2013) argue that mobile social media can bridge the socio-cultural milieus of everyday life and education, and thus we based our ecology of resources upon 330

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a collage of mobile social media. The choices of the elements of this collage of mobile social media was based upon what we believed to be best practice at the time of the development of the project. Each element of the ecology of resources was chosen based upon its ability to integrate within and support our core network activities. Each element of the ecology of resources enables sharing and collaboration of user-generated content, forming a sustainable ecosystem to facilitate and nurture the collaborative network with minimum external technology support required. Through the implementation of this ecology of resources we attempted to model the concepts of social constructivism, nurturing communities of practice through connectivism and rhizomatic learning within the #NPF14LMD collaborative network. There were six main elements that emerged within an ecology of resources to support the project: (1) a community-driven hub and discussion forum (connectivism), (2) collaboration and communication channels (social constructivism), (3) opportunities for sharing practice (rhizomatic learning), (4) a way of linking the local communities of practice into the wider network (brokering communities of practice), (5) a repository for project documentation (drawing upon the principles of constructive alignment), and (6) building a BYOD infrastructure strategy (enabling all elements of the collaborative network). An ecology of resources was developed consisting of a core suite of mobile social media tools including:

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1. Community Hub a. A Google Plus Community with 60 members http://bit.ly/1zP2S0T b. A social media hashtag #NPF14LMD c. A collaborative participant Google Map 2. Collaboration a. Twitter – generating a network of 126 users and almost 700 conversations 3. Sharing Practice a. Google Plus Hangouts b. A series of open access Webinars broadcast live and archived on YouTube (http://bit. ly/1IAJRKWv) 4. Supporting Local COPs a. ePortfolios b. Face to face weekly meetings 5. Project Documentation a. A Google Drive folder of project documents 6. BYOD Infrastructure a. Participating practitioners were supplied with an iPad Mini and an iPhone 5S as personal devices Other key collaboration strategies included participation in presenting at a variety of symposia and conferences across New Zealand and Australia (Cochrane, Frielick, et al., 2015; Cochrane et al., 2014; Frielick, Cochrane, Narayan, Moyle, & Oldfield, 2015; Heap et al., 2015). Participation in these symposia and conferences also served to generate a broader network of interest in the project and conversations on social media that linked a global network of interested followers of the project. Figure 2 illustrates the #NPF14LMD project ecology of resources (EOR).

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Figure 2. #NPF14LMD project ecology of resources

4. Analysing the #NPF14LMD Collaborative Network In this section we analyse the #NPF14LMD project through exploring the six core elements of our ecology of resources (EOR) framework: establishing a network hub, collaboration, sharing practice, facilitating local COPs, collaborative project documentation, and enabling this EOR through a BYOD strategy.

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4.1. Establishing a Network Hub The design of the NPF14LMD network was built upon principles from Connectivism (Siemens, 2004): this involved linking a national network within a global network of mobile learning researchers and practitioners. One of the core goals of the collaborative network was to explore how mobile devices and social media could enable and facilitate new pedagogies such as Heutagogy (Hase & Kenyon, 2007; Luckin et al., 2010): that focuses upon building learner capacity rather than merely competence through a focus upon supporting learner self-determination and negotiation of the learning environment and outcomes. Thus the #NPF14LMD project network EOR provided multiple channels for sharing and collaboration, including an email list serve. This ecology of resources provided participants with several options for

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collaboration to choose from, with the Google Plus Community serving as a central hub from which to find the various project resources and collaboration channels and was a core means of brokering the practice of each individual community of practice within the network (Figure 3).

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Figure 3. Screenshot of #NPF14LMD Google Plus Community

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The ability to create calendar events and schedule reminders for upcoming events such as webinars within the G+ Community was very useful for helping to coordinate interaction within the network of the project. Because we wanted to model open practice and allow for project interaction from a potentially global community of mobile learning experts we decided to make all the project social media platforms public, but contribution was by invitation only. The email list serve and project documentation folder were kept closed to the participants only for more private sharing within the network. Within the first three months of establishing the project there were over 80 posts on the Google Plus Community, with 35 comments on these posts, and 44 #NPF14LMD Twitter hashtag users active creating 182 tweets. In July 2015 we convened a virtual symposium (http://bit.ly/1SSxSup), whereby project participants collaboratively created a map of their local project locations across New Zealand, and embedded project presentations and reflective VODCasts into this map (http://goo.gl/maps/c09S0). The map was arranged as several layers, including a layer for the project coordinators, and a layer for each participating institution. There were 39 contributors to the collaborative project map, with 32 videos embedded within it, creating a geolocated multimedia overview of the various educational contexts explored throughout the project. Created and shared in July 2015 the #NPF14LMD participant Map had 534 views between July 2015 and December 2015.

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4.2. Collaboration We attempted to embed a culture of collaboration within the #NPF14LMD project network based upon social constructivism (Head & Dakers, 2005; Vygotsky, 1978): for example, basing the wider project around collaborative curriculum design within each individual COP, and learner-generated team projects rather than a pre-determined template or particular format. One of the core tools within our EOR used to support collaboration was the use of Twitter. The project coordinators, as the more experienced peers, modelled the use of Twitter to create a professional network for the project participants. Twitter interactions using the #NPF14LMD project hashtag were graphically analysed via TAGSExplorer (Hawksey, 2011). TAGSExplorer utilizes a Twitter hashtag search to tabulate a Google Spreadsheet from which various data analysis functions are automated, with the data available at http://bit. ly/1OQkB2s and an initial network diagram screenshot as at February 2014 shown in Figure 4. In Figure 4 TAGSExplorer analysis represents individual Twitter users as individual nodes, with conversations between the individuals represented by dashed lines for mentions, and retweets represented as solid lines. The density of twitter conversational interaction is shown by the visualisation of Twitter replies, mentions and retweets that is illustrated as a growing network of conversations recorded in a time-lapse video https://youtu.be/XFeKrAXbgIA. The time-lapse video illustrates the growth of the Twitter network around the project, highlighting that the network grew in reach and confidence around specific critical incidents such as conferences and symposia where project participants shared their experiences and practice. Twitter was also a key tool to nurture the network – as practitioners joined Twitter (mostly for the first time as a result of the project) they were welcomed into the network, and peer feedback was given through likes and retweets of ideas and practice shared via the Twitter hashtag. A snapshot of the TAGSExplorer visualization after almost two years of the project (December 2015) is shown as a cumulative network diagram in Figure 5, where the largest nodes are the most prolific twitter conversationalists using the project hashtag #NPF14LMD. Figure 5 shows the growth of the #NPF14LMD project user network over the two years of the project, from an initial 12 core users (Figure 4) to 122, and 182 conversations (Figure 5) to 662. 334

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Figure 4. #NPF14LMD project TAGSExplorer analysis February 2014

Analysis of the key network nodes indicated by TAGSExplorer shows that the top Twitter conversationalists for the project include not only the project coordinators, but also several practitioners within the top 20. The project leaders featured prominently through modeling the use of Twitter throughout the project, encouraging and generating conversations around the project activities and sharing resources between the six project teams.

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4.3. Sharing Practice We attempted to model the network activity around shared participant practice based upon the principles of rhizomatic learning (Cormier, 2008): for example, utilising a decentralized structure and designing the network activities around ‘triggering events’ to facilitate participant discussion and sharing. These triggering events were responsive to participant needs and their projects throughout the overall project, and arose out of weekly discussions among the project coordinators via regular video conferences. The Google Plus Community formed a hub for linking the shared mobile social media EOR activity around the project. The use of the Google Plus Community was optional for the project participants although all participants were encouraged to contribute at some level. Significant activities included a weekly project coordinators video Hangout (for example: http://bit.ly/20zcErm), a series of webinars with

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Figure 5. #NPF14LMD project TAGSExplorer analysis December 2015

invited guests, a series of project report webinars, a virtual symposium, shared links to project resources and research, and sharing of presentations at six conference during the project, collated in Table 1. The global reach of the project is illustrated by a map of Twitter geotagged tweets (http://bit. ly/1Qbjn5b), shown in Figure 6, with tweets originating predominantly from New Zealand, Australia, the United Kingdom, USA and Canada.

4.4. Collaborative Project Documentation Biggs (2003) concept of constructive alignment guided our design of collaborative project documentation: for example, aligning the design of the network activities with the goal of modeling the educational

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Table 1. Summary of #NPF14LMD project sharing of practice activity Webinars http://bit.ly/1IAJRKW

13 Live streamed and archived videos

Collaborative Google Map participants http://goo.gl/maps/c09S0

39 participants, 32 embedded videos

MINA2014 Conference Twitter activity

http://bit.ly/1mjDAIW

Ascilite2014 Conference Twitter activity

http://bit.ly/1PGrTI8

2015 Roadshow G+ Photos

http://bit.ly/1KwFYHP

ISAAT2015 Conference Videostar

http://bit.ly/1VY1J45

TERNZ2015 Conference Twitter activity

http://bit.ly/1L59CPd

Ascilite2015 Conference Twitter activity

http://bit.ly/1oeQb1E

use of mobile social media. A collaborative Google Doc was used to create the Webinar and project report schedules (http://bit.ly/1K4eGsh), these were live-streamed as Hangouts On Air for synchronous participation, and archived on YouTube for asynchronous viewing. The webinar series topics included: • • • • • • •

Collaborative mobile flm production The afordances of the open web Being an open educator Qualitative research approaches A journey from skeptic to digital ninja Maori learners and pedagogies Mobile pedagogies The series of mid-2015 project report Hangouts were collated in a YouTube playlist.

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4.5. Facilitating local COPs We leveraged Wenger et als., (2009) concept of technology stewardship to guide the facilitation of the local COPs. The activity of these COPs was focused upon the context of higher education through exploring the concepts of the Conversational framework (Laurillard, 2001, 2007): for example, encouraging discussion between learners and more expert peers, and Authentic learning (Herrington et al., 2009): for example, designing project shared activities around real world pragmatic scenarios. Two examples of the discipline based case studies within the #NPF14LMD project network include the use of mobile technologies within a performance for screen course (Brannigan, Walsh, Graham, & Cochrane, 2015), and the integration of mobile social media within a game development course (Kenobi & Cochrane, 2015). The performance for screen case study explored the use of mobile screen mirroring displays within a live performance space to create new forms of interaction, and to enable students to rapidly record and critique one another’s’ performances using their mobile devices to capture the performance and then play back the performance for instant critique and evaluation via the large screen. This case study also explored the potential of mobile augmented reality to enhance live performances. The performance for screen students created individual Wordpress.com blogs as online journals of their learning and eportfolios, and their lecturers curated these blogs using the mobile application Flipboard on their iPads. In the game development case study MOAs were used for screen casting to model and

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Figure 6. Map of Twitter geotagged tweets for #NPF14LMD

demonstrate game designs from students’ laptops and mobile devices. Third year students modeled their design and development processes to first year students using these screen-mirroring technologies. The game design project also evaluated and implemented the use of social media project management apps (for example: Trello, Slack, and Basecamp) and Google Plus Communities to stream-line game development project timelines, goals, student team management, resource sharing, discussion forums, and lecturer feedback. The instant notification of updates and announcements via the mobile apps on their own devices facilitated a faster and more effective team environment.

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4.6. Enabling the EOR Through a BYOD Strategy A BYOD strategy enabled all elements of the collaborative network, including supporting Creativity (Kaufman & Sternberg, 2007; Sternberg et al., 2002): for example, building upon the concept of three levels of creativity that move along a continuum from replication, incrementation, and reinitiation. This was aligned with the SAMR educational technology adoption model (Puentedura, 2006): where replication aligns with substitution and augmentation of current practice, incrementation aligns with modification of current practice, and re-initiation aligns with redefining the possibilities for new practices. This was achieved through supplying the participating educators with their own iPhone and iPad, and the development of large mobile screens to support the infrastructure of the projects by enabling the small personal screens of mobile devices to become collaborative group presentation tools via wireless screen mirroring. We nicknamed these custom designed screens MOAs: Mobile Airplay Screens (Cochrane & Munn, 2016; Cochrane, Munn, & Antonczak, 2013). The platforms chosen for our EOR were chosen to support multiple device platforms, and to be accessible via mobile Apps on a range of mobile devices.

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5. DISCUSSION 5.1. Project Research Questions The focus of this paper is not upon answering the overall project research questions per se, rather the focus is on how the project network was nurtured and supported throughout its lifespan. The key findings of the project with respect to the research questions are summarized in various outputs (#NPF14LMD, 2017b), including conference posters and symposia (#NPF14LMD, 2017a), the project funding website summary (Frielick et al., 2014), and an interactive online report (#NPF14LMD, 2017c) in which the key findings are summarized under two foci: for teachers, and institutions.

5.1.1. Key Findings and Practical Strategies for Teachers 1. Teachers should have access to the mobile devices that their learners do. 2. Teachers should have their technological and pedagogical development supported through a community of practice model. 3. Teachers should be empowered to experiment with new tools and not be afraid to fail 4. The mobile device should be approached as part of a shift in pedagogy and assessment where technology is integrated with good teaching practice and learning theory. 5. A close collaborative and inclusive learning environment enables teachers to work alongside learners with the implementation of mobile devices. 6. The use of mobile devices allows for engagement both inside and outside the classroom

5.1.2. Key Findings and Recommendations for Institutions 1. Teachers should have access to mobile devices that their learners do 2. There should be robust infrastructure to support current needs as well as encouraging innovation and experimentation with new technology and spaces 3. There should be a robust digital strategy that accounts for the needs of the implementation of mobile devices, access to mobile devices by learners and how users and considers values that are often overlooked in policy and strategy.

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5.2. Nurturing the Network The project participants were drawn from a wide variety of discipline contexts and represented a wide range of prior mobile learning experience. It took significant time for many project participants to gain confidence with using and interacting actively with the project social media EOR. One of the key initial barriers for many participants was the use of publically viewable social networks and protocols around the use of social media within educational contexts. For many participants, the project was their first foray into active participation on these social networks. A series of project roadshows in March 2015 at each participating institution was effective at mediating the concept of the mobile social media EOR supporting the network (http://bit.ly/1KwFYHP). The introduction of a project email list serve was aimed at providing a foundational communication and discussion forum for the project participants, however it was only ever used as an announcement channel for project administration purposes. A core group of 339

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project coordinators and practitioners made regular active use of the mobile social media channels, while others lurked passively on the periphery of this core group, with some preferring to keep their project activity private to themselves and their students via institutionally managed systems such as Mahara and Moodle. However, as participant confidence with the educational use of mobile social media grew throughout the project we began to see several practitioners create their own versions of social media ecology of resources to support their students and classes. Each of these ecologies was made up of a unique blend of social media and institutional tools that were suitable for each context. The final online interactive project report contains many examples of practitioner reflections (#NPF14LMD, 2017d). The project report evidences that participants theoretically grounded their use of mobile social media from a variety of learning theories and frameworks. These theoretical perspectives provided a rich foundation from which to build the educational use of mobile social media within the various curriculum contexts, described within the case studies covered by the final project online report. There were different institutional and infrastructure barriers and enablers experienced within each institution, however working with the institutional IT support services to provide a robust wifi network for the project participants was a common theme. For example: there were many posts shared in the G+ Community with ideas and hints from the participants regarding ways of implementing wireless screen mirroring from mobile devices. While initially part of the project plan, the provision of MOAs: Mobile Airplay Screens (Cochrane, Munn, et al., 2013), for each institution exceeded the available project budget and were limited by the practicalities of supply and transportation to each institution, hence each institution explored their own wireless screen-mirroring solution. The use of a common social media hashtag (#npf14lmd) enabled a sense of connectivity and conversation between the geographically disperse six groups. Twitter and the Google Plus Community proved to be the key conversational curation points. Critical incidents in the use of social media to support the collaborative network included the development of the weekly webinar series, practitioner reports via Google Plus Hangouts, a virtual symposium with presentations linked via a collaborative Google Map, and collaborative presentations at several conferences throughout the project. Individual case studies and outcomes are available at http://mobilelearners.nz/. The identification of issues surrounding practitioner awareness and adoption of mobile social media led to the development of the MOSOMELT cMOOC as an agile and flexible response to provide a framework for professional development (Cochrane & Narayan, 2016; Cochrane, Narayan, & Burcio-Martin, 2015). One of the limitations of the #NP14LMD project approach was the relegation of the importance and potential impact of reflective practice informed by peer reviewed research, as the project funding body were primarily interested in generating practical evidence of improved outcomes for students, reified in innovative teaching practice. The development of the MOSOMELT cMOOC provided a practical opportunity to support both the sharing of teaching practice and the development of reflective research profiles and participation via encouraging participants to establish professional profiles on social research networks such as Researchgate, Academia.edu, and engage with Altmetrics (Cochrane, Narayan, & Antonczak, 2015; Cochrane, Narayan, Antonczak, & Burcio-Martin, 2016).

6. FUTURE DIRECTIONS The #NPF14LMD project is now completed, but the impact of the collaborative network that has resulted is ongoing. Many of the core #NPF14LMD participants were invited to become members of 340

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the Ascilite mobile learning Special Interest Group (Australasian society for computers in learning in tertiary education mobile learning SIG), established in 2016. The Ascilite mobile learning SIG aims to bring together interested researchers and practitioners across the Australasia region and globally, to deepen our understanding of the impact and potential of mobile learning in higher education (https:// ascilitemlsig.wordpress.com/about/). The SIG focuses upon design-based research as a methodology, and heutagogy as a foundational pedagogy. Thus, the Ascilite mobile learning SIG links a broader range of participants within a specific mobile learning research interest. The Ascilite mobile learning SIG applies and refines many of the elements of the support framework developed out of the #NPF14LMD project. The collaborative network support framework is also being used to support the development of further mobile learning research projects based around generalizing the Mosomelt cMOOC that was developed to support the #NPF14LMD project. The CMALT (the Certified Member of the Association for Learning Technology) cMOOC project (https://www.researchgate.net/project/CMALT-cMOOCDeveloping-a-scalable-lecturer-professional-development-framework) links six national and three international institutions in developing cMOOCs for professional development.

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7. CONCLUSION In this paper, we have explored the impact of the use of a mobile social media EOR to facilitate and sustain the #NPF14LMD network over the two years of the collaborative project. The use of mobile social media to support the #NPF14LMD collaborative network enabled both active and passive participation as an opt-in form of facilitating sharing and collaboration throughout the two years of the project. Four of the six participating groups became regular contributors to the national collaborative network, while the other two groups lurked on the periphery of the network. A significant benefit of the use of social media to support the project network was the ability to create a global impact and awareness around the project and to link global experts in mobile learning into the network. This allowed the core members of the project to broker the activities and outcomes of the project to a wider global network through conference publications and presentations and the option of following or participating in the project via the project social media hashtag. Another significant benefit was the development of participants’ confidence in becoming mobile social media users and the development of professional and educational practices that they could then model to their own students, and explore integrating into the curriculum. Via development of a cMOOC to support the professional development of the #NPF14LMD project participants we have established a simple EOR framework that can be applied to supporting other collaborative networks of educational researchers and practitioners, inspired by Reeves’ call for “expanding educational design research through the establishment of consortia of collaborating researchers, practitioners, and funding agencies focused on the most salient challenges faced in education today” (Reeves, 2015, p. 613).

REFERENCES Aguayo, C., Cochrane, T., & Narayan, V. (2017). Key Themes in Mobile Learning: Prospects for LearnerGenerated Learning Through AR and VR. Australasian Journal of Educational Technology, 33.

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Cochrane, T., & Narayan, V. (2012). DeFrosting Professional Development: Reconceptualising Teaching Using Social Learning Technologies. Research in Learning Technology, 19(Suppl. 1), 158-169. doi:10.3402/rlt.v19s1/7796 Cochrane, T., & Narayan, V. (2016). Evaluating a Professional Development cMOOC: MOSOMELT. In S. Barker, S. Dawson, A. Pardo, & C. Colvin (Eds.), Show Me The Learning. Proceedings ASCILITE 2016 Adelaide (pp. 139-150). University of South Australia, Adelaide, Australia: Ascilite. Cochrane, T., Narayan, V., & Antonczak, L. (2015, November 19). Mobile Learning, Altmetrics, and SOTEL. Paper presented at the 5th Mobile Creativity and Mobile Innovation Symposium, RMIT University, Melbourne, Australia.

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Cochrane, T., Narayan, V., Antonczak, L., & Burcio-Martin, V. (2016, April 19-20). Modelling Open Practices in Professional Development: Creating a culture of open social scholarship. Paper presented at the The 7th Open Educational Resources Conference, OER16: Open Culture, University of Edinburgh, UK. Cochrane, T., Narayan, V., Brannigan, R., Frenchman, K., Nicholson, E., Rutherford, S., . . . Neill, C. (2014). #NPF14LMD AUT University Case Studies. Paper presented at the Rhetoric and Reality, proceedings of the 31st Ascilite Conference, Otago Polytechnic, Dunedin. Poster retrieved from http:// ascilite2014.otago.ac.nz/posters/ Cochrane, T., Narayan, V., & Burcio-Martin, V. (2015). Designing a cMOOC for Lecturer Professional Development in the 21st Century. In J. Keengwe & G. Onchwari (Eds.), Handbook of Research on Active Learning and the Flipped Classroom Model in the Digital Age (pp. 378–396). Hershey, PA: IGI Global. Cochrane, T., Narayan, V., Burcio-Martin, V., Lees, A., & Diesfeld, K. (2015, November 29 – December 2). Designing an authentic professional development cMOOC. Paper presented at the 32nd Ascilite Conference Globally connected, digitally enabled, Curtin University, Perth. Cochrane, T., Narayan, V., & Oldfield, J. (2013). iPadagogy: Appropriating the iPad within pedagogical contexts. International Journal of Mobile Learning and Organisation, 7(1), 48–65. doi:10.1504/ IJMLO.2013.051573 Cochrane, T., Narayan, V., & Oldfield, J. (2015). Emerging technologies in New Zealand: A pedagogical framework for mobile social media. In V. Bozalek, D. Ngambi, A. Amory, J. Hardman, D. Wood, & J. Herrington (Eds.), Activity theory, authentic learning, and emerging technologies: Southern perspectives (pp. 126–143). New York: Routledge. Cook, J. (2009). Phases of mobile learning. In Joint European Summer School on Technology Enhanced Learning, May 30 - June 6. Retrieved from http://www.slideshare.net/johnnigelcook/cook-phases-ofmobile-learning Cook, J., Pachler, N., & Bachmair, B. (2013). Using social network sites and mobile technology to scaffold equity of access to cultural resources. In M. Repetto & G. Trentin (Eds.), Using Network and Mobile Technology To Bridge Formal and Informal Learning (10 ed., pp. 31-56). Oxford: Chandos Publishing. doi:10.1016/B978-1-84334-699-9.50002-1

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Cook, J., & Santos, P. (2016). Three Phases of Mobile Learning State of the Art and Case of Mobile Help Seeking Tool for the Health Care Sector. In D. Churchill, J. Lu, T. K. F. Chiu, & B. Fox (Eds.), Mobile Learning Design (pp. 315–333). Springer Singapore. doi:10.1007/978-981-10-0027-0_19 Cormier, D. (2008). Rhizomatic education: Community as curriculum. Innovate, 4(5). Retrieved from http://davecormier.com/edblog/2008/2006/2003/rhizomatic-education-community-as-curriculum/ Dahlstrom, E., Brooks, C., Grajek, S., & Reeves, J. (2015). ECAR Study of Undergraduate Students and Information Technology, 2015. Retrieved from http://www.educause.edu/library/resources/2015student-and-faculty-technology-research-studies Frielick, S., Cochrane, T., Aguayo, C., Narayan, V., O’Carrol, D., Smith, N., . . . Wyse, P. (2014, April 12). Learners and mobile devices (#NPF14LMD): A framework for enhanced learning and institutional change. Retrieved from https://akoaotearoa.ac.nz/learner-mobile-devices

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Kenobi, B., & Cochrane, T. (2015). Innovative Pedagogy in Game Design. In S. Frielick (Ed.), LTDF 2014 ebook (pp. 79–81). Auckland University of Technology: Centre for Learning And Teaching. Kukulska-Hulme, A. (2010). Mobile learning as a catalyst for change. Open Learning: The Journal of Open and Distance Learning, 25(3), 181–185. doi:10.1080/02680513.2010.511945 Kukulska-Hulme, A., Sharples, M., Milrad, M., Arnedillo-Sanchez, I., & Vavoula, G. (2009). Innovation in mobile learning: A european perspective. International Journal of Mobile and Blended Learning, 1(1), 13–35. doi:10.4018/jmbl.2009010102

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Laurillard, D. (2001). Rethinking University Teaching: a framework for the effective use of educational technology (2nd ed.). London: Routledge. Laurillard, D. (2007). Pedagogcal forms of mobile learning: framing research questions. In N. Pachler (Ed.), Mobile learning: towards a research agenda (pp. 33–54). London: WLE Centre, Institute of Education. Laurillard, D. (2012). Teaching as a design science: Building pedagogical patterns for learning and technology. New York: Routledge. Learning and Skills Network. (2009). MoleNET2009(30 July), MoleNET web site. Retrieved from http:// www.molenet.org.uk/about/ Lindsay, L. (2015). Transformation of teacher practice using mobile technology with one-to-one classes: M-learning pedagogical approaches. British Journal of Educational Technology, 47(5), 883–892. doi:10.1111/bjet.12265 Luckin, R. (2008). The learner centric ecology of resources: A framework for using technology to scaffold learning. Computers & Education, 50(2), 449–462. doi:10.1016/j.compedu.2007.09.018 Luckin, R., Clark, W., Garnett, F., Whitworth, A., Akass, J., Cook, J., & Robertson, J. (2010). LearnerGenerated Contexts: A Framework to Support the Effective Use of Technology for Learning. In M. Lee & C. McLoughlin (Eds.), Web 2.0-Based E-Learning: Applying Social Informatics for Tertiary Teaching (pp. 70–84). Hershey, PA: IGI Global. doi:10.4018/978-1-60566-294-7.ch004 #NPF14LMD. (2017a). Learners and Mobile Devices: Appendix D Research Outputs. Retrieved from http://mobilelearners.nz/learners-and-mobile-devices/appendix-d-research-outputs?path=appendices #NPF14LMD. (2017b). Learners and Mobile Devices: Conclusion. Retrieved from http://mobilelearners. nz/learners-and-mobile-devices/concluding-remarks #NPF14LMD. (2017c). Learners and Mobile Devices: Interactive Report. Retrieved from http://mobilelearners.nz/learners-and-mobile-devices/index #NPF14LMD. (2017d). Learners and Mobile Devices: Practitioner Reflections. Retrieved from http:// mobilelearners.nz/learners-and-mobile-devices/practitioner-reflections Pachler, N., Bachmair, B., & Cook, J. (2010). Mobile learning: Structures, agency, practices. London: Springer. doi:10.1007/978-1-4419-0585-7

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Parsons, D. (Ed.). (2013). Innovations in Mobile Educational Technologies and Applications. Hershey, PA: IGI Global. doi:10.4018/978-1-4666-2139-8 Parsons, D. (2014). A Mobile Learning Overview by Timeline and Mind Map. International Journal of Mobile and Blended Learning, 6(4), 1–21. doi:10.4018/ijmbl.2014100101 Puentedura, R. (2006). Transformation, Technology, and Education. Retrieved from http://hippasus. com/resources/tte/puentedura_tte.pdf Punie, Y. (2013). Up-Scaling Creative Classrooms in Europe (SCALE CCR). Retrieved from http://is.jrc. ec.europa.eu/pages/EAP/SCALECCR.html

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Reeves, T. C. (2015). Educational design research: Signs of progress. Australasian Journal of Educational Technology, 31(5), 613–620. doi:10.14742/ajet.2902 Sharples, M. (2013). Mobile learning: Research, practice and challenges. Distance Education in China, 3(5), 5–11. Sharples, M., Taylor, J., & Vavoula, G. (2007). A Theory of Learning for the Mobile Age. In K. Littleton & P. Light (Eds.), The Sage Handbook of E-learning Research (pp. 221–247). London: Sage. doi:10.4135/9781848607859.n10 Siemens, G. (2004). Connectivism: A Learning Theory for the Digital Age. eLearnspace, (12 December). Retrieved from http://www.elearnspace.org/Articles/connectivism.htm Sternberg, R. J., Kaufman, J. C., & Pretz, J. E. (2002). The creativity conundrum: A propulsion model of kinds of creative contributions. Philadelphia: Psychology Press. Traxler, J. (2010). Will student devices deliver innovation, inclusion, and transformation? Journal of the Research Center for Educational Technology, 6(1), 3–15. Traxler, J. (2016a). Inclusion in an age of mobility. Research in Learning Technology, 24(1), 31372. doi:10.3402/rlt.v24.31372 Traxler, J. (2016b). What killed the mobile learning dream? Jisc Inform. Retrieved from https://www. jisc.ac.uk/inform-feature/what-killed-the-mobile-learning-dream-26-feb-2016? Vygotsky, L. (1978). Mind in Society. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. Wenger, E. (1998). Communities of Practice: Learning, Meaning, and Identity. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. doi:10.1017/CBO9780511803932 Wenger, E., McDermott, R., & Snyder, W. (2002). Cultivating communities of practice: a guide to managing knowledge. Boston: Harvard Business School Press. Wenger, E., White, N., & Smith, J. (2009). Digital Habitats: stewarding technology for communities. Portland, OR: CPsquare.

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Wenger, E., White, N., Smith, J., & Rowe, K. (2005). Technology for Communities. In L. Langelier (Ed.), Working, Learning and Collaborating in a Network: Guide to the implementation and leadership of intentional communities of practice (pp. 71–94). Quebec City: CEFIRO.

This work was previously published in the International Journal of Mobile and Blended Learning (IJMBL), 10(4); pages 73-92, copyright year 2018 by IGI Publishing (an imprint of IGI Global).

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Chapter 18

Learning Communities:

Theory and Practice of Leveraging Social Media for Learning Heather Robinson University of North Texas, USA Whitney Kilgore University of North Texas, USA Aras Bozkurt https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4520-642X Anadolu University, Turkey & University of South Africa, South Africa

ABSTRACT The purpose of this chapter is to present the similarities and diferences of three learning communities: communities of practice (CoPs), professional learning communities (PLCs), and professional learning networks (PLNs). For this purpose, researchers adopted a qualitative phenomenological approach and interviews with three connected educators and content area experts were conducted regarding their views, perceptions, and experiences of the various learning communities and how technology (specifcally Twitter) is used as part of their learning in an open community. Additionally, the interviews helped explain the current practices in community development and support, the evolution from a lurker to a contributor to a community leader, and the evolution from a community to a network.

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INTRODUCTION Since the early 1990s, considerable attention has been dedicated to the topic of informal learning in communities. There is a significant amount of literature associated with Professional Learning Communities (PLCs) and Communities of Practice (CoPs). As ubiquitous technologies have afforded new methods for informal learning to occur, they have been accompanied by the rise of Professional Learning Networks (PLNs) by the end of the 20th century and beginning of 21st century (Brown & Duguid, 1991; Dufour & DOI: 10.4018/978-1-7998-7294-8.ch018

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Research Anthology on Facilitating New Educational Practices Through Communities of Learning, edited by Association, Information Resources Management, IGI Global, 2020. ProQuest

 Learning Communities

Eaker, 1998; Hord, 1997; Saint-Onge & Wallace, 2003; Siemens, 2005; Wenger, McDermott & Snyder, 2002). Generally, individuals develop such communities, groups, and networks with a shared endeavor or interest (Dufour & Eaker, 1998; Wenger et al., 2002). In this context, individuals belong to one or more communities through work, schools, home and/or hobbies, and members of these communities may be more active and hold different roles in each (Wenger et al., 2002). A successful online learning network or community for educators increases communication, collaboration, and support among participants (Booth, 2011; Yen et al., 2019). Accordingly, “these communities enable educators to gain equitable access to human and information resources that may not be available locally” (Booth, 2011, p. 1). Community members often feel comfortable freely sharing ideas that contribute to learning and new knowledge development. By leveraging the affordances of open digital ubiquitous technologies, these communities are forming online via social media within Facebook, Twitter, Google+, and others. Based on above thoughts, similarities and differences of three learning communities are presented: Communities of Practice (CoPs), Professional Learning Communities (PLCs), and Professional Learning Networks (PLNs). Interviews of three connected educators are also presented in order to identify themes and commonalities regarding their views, perceptions, and experiences of the various learning communities and how technology (specifically Twitter) is used as part of their learning in an open community. This chapter further provides clear definitions of these types of learning communities (PLCs, PLNs, and CoPs). This includes descriptions of their key characteristics, practices, and underlying theory, which are also synthesized in the review of literature. The development and design of personal and professional learning networks, generally, are explored in the review of literature. Current trends and the use of social media for developing learning networks are analyzed to inform the development of interview questions. Such an approach allowed explanation of how social media was used for professional learning and to explore the differences exhibited by legitimate peripheral participants (sometimes called lurkers), core contributors, and other community leaders in such environments. The authors clarify how and why learning networks are formed, the characteristics of these networks, and the role technologies play in a learning community. Additionally, emergent themes not tied to these topics of inquiry were identified from the interviews.

LITERATURE REVIEW

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Communities of Practice (CoPs) The term community of practice (CoP) was coined by Lave and Wenger (1991). The concept was first used in a book focused on the rethinking or theorization of learning, in which learning is characterized as legitimate peripheral participation within a CoP (Lave & Wenger, 1991). Expanding on these original works, Wenger et al. (2002) defined a CoP as: “groups of people who share a concern, a set of problems, or a passion about a topic, and who deepen their knowledge and expertise in this area by interacting on an ongoing basis” (p. 9). Learning communities develop into CoPs over time through interaction, collaboration, knowledge creation and sharing. The focus on CoPs in business and education has come to the forefront of research because of the overall value of knowledge as an asset, and is seen as a key to success for gaining a competitive advantage (Saint-Onge & Wallace, 2003; Wenger et al., 2002). Multiple CoP models exist. They differ in the structure of the community and theoretical grounding. Further, it 348

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 Learning Communities

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is a shared belief that, in a CoP, knowledge is created and shared within the community; participation is voluntary (Brown & Duguid, 1991; Saint-Onge & Wallace, 2003; Wenger et al., 2002). The nature of knowing and learning is a foundation for understanding how learning communities behave and create new knowledge. There are multiple theoretical foundations such as social learning, situated learning, and knowledge management. Each of these learning theories underpins the CoP model (Bandura, 1986; Lave & Wenger, 1991; Saint-Onge, 2012). Social learning theory is one such theoretical foundation for a CoP. It is an integration of behavior and cognitive theories. Bandura (1986) who is a leading researcher on social learning used the concept of modeling. Bandura (1986) presented three types of modeling within this theory: live modeling, verbal instruction, and symbolic modeling. Bandura explained that when people display a certain behavior, they are modeling a behavior they learned or observed, which is something he called live modeling which, as a social learning process, “occurs on the basis of casual or studied observation of exemplary models” (Bandura, 1971, p. 10). Behavioral or live modeling is replaced by verbal modeling as verbal skills are developed and this is called verbal instruction (Bandura, 1971; 1986). Symbolic modeling from television or media, or emotional responses and behavior patterns learned from such media are the final type of modeling in Bandura’s theory (1971; 1986). Social learning and knowledge sharing are part of a community. In various models of a CoP, this social environment and interaction is how members of the community advance in their particular trade (Brown & Duguid, 1991; Lave & Wenger, 1991). Three structural elements of a CoP work together to make up a knowledge structure: domain, community, and practice (Wenger et al., 2002). The first, the domain, is a common ground or territory for members of the CoP and “knowing the boundaries and the leading edge of the domain enables members to decide exactly what is worth sharing…” (Wenger et al., 2002, p. 18). The members of the community have a personal commitment or shared passion to the domain of the CoP; the domain inspires members and defines the identity of the community (Bates, 2014; Wenger et al., 2002; Wenger, 2011). The community, a second element of a CoP, is the activity or engagement of members within the domain. It is the social component of the CoP and is considered a critical element to the overall CoP. Development of an online community is empowering, as the members within the community share ideas and work collaboratively (Palloff & Pratt, 2007). The discourse and relationships developed by members through interaction is the community element of a CoP (Palloff & Pratt, 1999; Wenger et al., 2002; Wenger, 2011). The third structural element of a CoP, practice, is more specific than the domain element. In a CoP, practice, it is the collection of the resources developed over time by the members, such as “a set of frameworks, ideas, tools, styles ... that community members share” (Wenger, et al., 2002, p. 18). The practice of a CoP is the knowledge that the community develops, shares and maintains (Wenger et al., 2002; Wenger, 2011). Wenger’s theory is valuable in that it considers the ways in which CoP are formed and developed; notions of trajectories of belonging, legitimate participation, and boundary objects/crossings have provided useful lenses to describe many interactions observed in online spaces. (Conole, Galley & Culver, 2010, p. 123) Along these lines, Saint-Onge and Wallace (2003) also explained the range of formality in various models of CoPs from informal communities to those groups who are highly motivated and more structured. The types of practices within this model are informal, supported, and structured (Saint-Onge & Wallace, 2003). There may also be a growth or development in formality of a CoP as time passes. Brown 349

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and Duguid (1991) also elucidated how informal groups in a CoP, as well as the benefits they can offer their organization in terms of developing solutions to problems. Generally, CoPs use productive inquiry to seek answers to their questions within their area of practice (Saint-Onge & Wallace, 2012).

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Professional Learning Communities A PLC is an “environment that fosters mutual cooperation, emotional support, and personal growth” (Dufour & Eaker, 1998, p. xii). It is one in which individuals, namely educators; work together to accomplish goals as a team. The Dufour and Eaker model of a PLC has six characteristics that are identified and differentiate this model from other PLCs. These are: (1) a shared mission, vision and values, (2) collective inquiry, (3) collaborative teams, (4) action orientation, (5) continuous improvement, and (6) results orientation. The PLC was designed to give voice and agency to educators, parents, and the community. The ultimate goal, described by Dufour and Eaker, was to allow the PLC to play a key role in school improvement shifting from a top down factory model into a collaborative and inclusive educational community. Similarly, Hord’s (1997; 2004) PLC model consists of five themes or dimensions: (1) supportive and shared leadership, (2) shared values and vision, (3) collective learning and application of learning, (4) supportive conditions, and (5) a shared practice. Both the Dufour & Eaker (1998) and Hord (1997; 2004) models were developed to address the teacher workplace and the support needs of teachers for learning, teacher networks, and teacher self-efficacy. Senge (1990), who is the leading researcher of this theory, crafted the term learning organization which is one of the theoretical foundations for a PLC. Senge’s paradigm was instrumental in the education field and the development of what a PLC is defined as today (Hord, 2004). Senge defined a learning organization as “a place where people are continually discovering how they create their reality and how they can change it…” (Senge, 1990, p. 13). Senge developed five dimensions for establishing a learning organization, which have had a profound impact on education (Lin, 2002). According to Senge (1990), the five dimensions of a learning organization are: (1) personal mastery, (2) mental models, (3) shared vision, (4) team learning and (5) systems thinking (Figure 1). Systems thinking is the fifth discipline that Senge (1990) describes as being critical. However, without a clear understanding of the big picture, or a shared achievable goal, these parts may well come together in a non-cohesive manner. Personal mastery is a concept of self-exploration and growth, but also includes the commitment of the individual and the organization in learning (Senge, 1990). A mental model is an awareness of an individual’s thinking but may be enhanced by an effective leader encouraging inquisitively (Lin, 2002, Nejad, Abbaszadeh, Hassani, & Bernousi, 2012; Senge, 1990). A shared vision or understanding of the interests of the individuals and the group helps those members achieve the overarching goals. With team learning, the expertise of the group increases and is desirable to all members. Systems thinking, or process thinking is a shift in focus to the system rather than individual parts or units of a system (Lin, 2002; Senge, 1990). This is helpful because “when people in organizations focus only on their position, they have little sense of responsibility for the results produced when all positions interact” (Senge, 1990; p. 19). The five dimensions, as a whole, are a connected unit. The successes of the individuals, as well as the organization, form the collective goals of a learning organization (Nejad et al., 2012; Senge, 1990).

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Figure 1. The five dimensions of a learning organization (Adopted from Senge, 1990)

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Learning organizations are possible because not only is it our nature to learn, but we love to learn. Most of us at one time or another have been a part of a great team, a group of people who functioned together in an extraordinary way - who trusted one another, who complemented each other’s strengths and compensated for each other’s limitations, who had common goals that were larger than individual goals, and who produced extraordinary results…The team that became great didn’t start off great - it learned how to produce extraordinary results. (Senge, 1990; p. 4) The team and collaborative work is at the heart of a PLC, for participants in this type of learning setting can freely express new ideas in an attempt to solve problems (Dufour, 2004; Hord, 2004). Implementing the concepts of a PLC is a challenge, as “initiating and sustaining the concept is hard work” (Dufour, 2004, p. 6). There is a shift from teaching to learning using a PLC model, and the development of a shared vision by the PLC sharpens this focus (Dufour, 2004; Hord, 2004). A PLC requires discipline and dedication to sustain its work, as Dufour (2004) explains: [T]he rise or fall of the professional learning community concept depends not on the merits of the concept itself, but on the most important element in the improvement of any school—the commitment and persistence of the educators within it (p. 6). Accordingly, a successful PLC fosters the conditions that allow for the changes needed to increase student learning and overall improvement in a school setting (Hord, 1997).

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Professional Learning Networks (PLN) Predictions that the Internet would change the way we learn, and that connectivity would become as important as electricity to society, as it moved from being a one-way or “push” of content to a twoway medium or “push-pull” (Brown, 2002). Connectivism, a conceptual framework developed for the digital age (Siemens, 2004), situates the student at the center of his or her own learning (Bell, 2011; Boishwarelo, 2011; Dunaway, 2011; Kop & Hill, 2008; Mackness & Tschofen 2012; Ravenscroft, 2011). Connectivism proposes that we connect to knowledge through our digital connections and engagements at online networks, while concurrently harnessing the power of the Internet and PLNs. Acknowledging the complexities of learning in the digital age, connectivism offers insight into how learning can be managed through the better understanding of emerging technologies and their relationship to knowledge networks (Couros, 2010). Connectivism conceptually supports the notion of a community of practice or a PLN where likeminded people share ideas with their peers across a variety of Web 2.0 tools facilitating development of a networked learner. Blogs, Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and other social media networks are a part of this development. The PLN leverages social media sites that have become prevalent and commonplace, creating an emergent opportunity for learning (Visser, Evering, & Barrett, 2014). PLNs tend to be selforganized on the web which has created conditions that allow for the emergence of self-organized learning to flourish as the number of blogs, tweets, emails, and texts has grown to the billions. An example of this is the PLC that surround MOOCs where participants begin utilizing social media and commenting on each others’ blogs as an extension of the learning experience such as #Rhizo15 (Cormier, 2015) and #HumanMOOC (Crosslin, 2016). Informal learning and knowledge seeking rather than formal education is the main form of learning for adults in like and work (Misko, 2008). Formal learning no longer comprises the majority of our learning. Knowledge is acquired in a variety of ways through completion of work-related tasks, our personal networks, and CoPs (Siemens, 2005). A learning network is a rich set of connections that help us to achieve our learning pursuits (Richardson & Mancabelli, 2011). Today, we can connect digitally and communicate immediately with others that share similar passions from all around the world. In other words, information technologies are a participatory medium that is continually reshaped by the participation (Thomas & Brown, 2011).

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We can see that the internet is enabling communities to form, which would have been previously limited by geographic factors, and the removal of these barriers has seen an unprecedented growth in communities for whom learning is a key objective (Weller, 2011).

Current Trends in Learning Communities Wiley and Hilton (2009) pointed to six significant shifts that support network building. These include the shift from (1) analog to digital, (2) tethered to mobile, (3) isolated to connected, (4) generic to personal, (5) consumption to creation, and (6) closed systems to open systems. Accordingly, “people are more connected to people, content is more connected to content, and systems are more connected to other systems than ever before” (Wiley & Hilton, 2009, p 2.). These connections allow learners to share and learn on demand; seeking and sharing information to solve problems. Research indicates that the affordances of social media allow the creation of formal and information learning spaces (Dabbagh & 352

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Table 1. Community comparison Theory Base

Membership

Knowledge Sharing

Formation

Example

CoP

Social Learning Situated Learning Knowledge Management

Voluntary participation and membership

Created and shared within the community

People with common interests coming together to improve their practice

Conference Special Interest Groups (SIGs)

PLC

Learning Organization

Assigned roles, expected as educator or faculty member

Collaborative, teams create new knowledge

People brought together to learn from one another

Groups formed within a particular school to solve challenges

PLN

Connectivism

Voluntary participation

Shared and created across communities

Voluntary digital connections with global reach

MOOCs Hashtags Unconference Events

Kitsantas, 2012). Lewis and Rush (2013) reported results of a narrative case study showing that small groups of professionals linked to each other through social media can develop a network and community. The authors followed the development of a social media presence based on the professional practice of one participant. The number of original followers and the growth of the online presence were analyzed. Profile categories, interactions in the network, tweet counts, frequently occurring hashtags, and frequently occurring mentions were some of the information points that contributed to the case. “The activity of operating the account has been of value to the holder in her professional life, through the immediate sharing of information and making contacts which have subsequently developed into longer lasting relationships and collaborative working” (Lewis & Rush, 2013, p. 11).

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Twitter for Teaching and Learning Twitter is one social media tool that has allowed educators to connect, collaborate, and learn (Visser, et. al, 2014). In essence, it is an online social networking and microblogging service. This free messaging service serves as a platform for micro blogging, or small-scale blogging and content sharing. Messages sent through Twitter can be no more than 280 characters. The use of hashtags in a message (i.e. #cecs6220) connects Twitter users and is also used for organizing and searching content. Twitter chats are hashtag chats that are similar to public discussions, in which groups of users address various topics by “tweeting” messages, posting questions, and responding to questions posed by others. A pre-set hashtag is commonly used to connect the separately occurring, often non-chronological conversations of a Twitter chat. Proponents of Twitter believe that these Web 2.0 technologies are a resource for growing a PLN (Lalonde, 2011). Although Twitter was not originally developed for developing learning networks, utilizing the symbols for “hashtag” and the “at” symbol (# and @) allows Twitter contributors to engage in conversations and collaboration (Lewis & Rush, 2013; Veletsianos, 2011). The development of a CoP can be supported by electronic communications (Murillo, 2008; Wasko, Tiegland & Faraj 2009) but it is the psychological feeling of connectedness, the human connection using these technology mediums, which allow the community to form. A successful community for professional learning can grow through Twitter, (Lewis & Rush, 2013). Additionally, Twitter is linked to significant teacher learning in an online CoP (Wesely, 2013).

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According to Trust (2012), educators who immerse themselves in a PLN through the use of social media and use the learning community to improve their practice and skills, transition from an isolated teacher to a connected educator and lifelong learner. This occurs when they manage information overload, gather the information of importance for their growth, share information within the PLN, and model the behavior of a lifelong learner by continuing this process (Trust, 2012). The affordances of technology are “giving voice to the ideas of people we have never had access to before and enabling us to reshape our information experiences to suit our learning needs” (Warlick, 2009, p. 13). Teachers identified Skype, Google Reader, Delicious, and blogs as a few technology tools (other than Twitter) as favorite PLN tools because the use of such tools has “freed content from the printed page” (Warlick, 2009, p. 13). Similarly, the use of Twitter as a teacher professional development tool in recent years has brought the PLC outside the traditional confines of the school itself. Learning communities that use social media form groups using the information being shared, connections created, and collaboration among members (Brooks & Gibson, 2012; Manzo, 2009). Gunawardena et al. (2009) developed progressive phases to explain the collaborative learning journey of a CoP and how this interacts with social networking tools. The purpose of their work was to understand how a CoP utilizes social networking to reach a common goal. The framework is a social networking spiral depiction (Figure 2). Accordingly, it is a learning environment with five phases: context, discourse, action, reflection, and reorganization, which builds and evolves to socially mediated metacognition (Gunawardena et al., 2009). The authors emphasized the importance and journey necessary to fully understand the multiple underlying “learning theories that influence learning in social networking environments, and application of these theories for learning” (Gunawardena et al., 2009, p. 15). However, empirical research on Twitter and learning communities that leverage this tool is limited (Cho, Ro & Littenberg-Tobias, 2013; Veletsianos, 2011). Additional research is needed on the translation of professional communities and these relationships, specifically when looking at the online version of such communities through the use of social media (Cho et al., 2013). Cho et al. (2013) recommend stronger theorizing about these various issues. In addition, Veletsianos (2011) has called for more research to determine if Twitter presents opportunities to build close-knit scholarly communities.

METHODOLOGY

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Research Design This study benefited from the qualitative phenomenological research design to explore the differences between CoPs, PLCs, and PLNs by discovering the participants’ experiences in these contexts. The purpose of phenomenological research is to understand the essence of individuals’ experiences and their interpretations (Moustakas, 1994; Scott & Morrison, 2005; Snape, & Spencer, 2003). Because these experiences and their interpretations are subjective in nature, this study is hermeneutic (Adams & Van Manen, 2008), naturalistic, and discovery-oriented (Patton, 2002).

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Figure 2. Social networking spiral (Adopted from Gunawardena et al., 2009)

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Participants In qualitative studies, it might be significant to interview with representative participants to better understand the research phenomena, get a deeper and comprehensive understanding (Gill, Stewart, Treasure, & Chadwick, 2008; Hammersley & Atkinson, 2007). In this regard, the participants in this study were purposefully selected based upon their voice and status represented on social media with an intention to create a representative study group. The three participants each hold different roles in K-12 education. The content of those interviews was anonymized, and each participant given a pseudonym. Two

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of the participants were female, one was a Caucasian educator in a private school and the other was an African-American instructional technologist in a large public-school district. The third participant was a Caucasian male principal in an intermediate school. The variety of their backgrounds, career paths, leadership roles, and their social media use was essential in learning more about their understanding of CoPs, PLNs, and PLCs as well as their use of social media.

Data Collection Tool, Procedures, and Analysis For the purposes of the study, the researchers conducted online synchronous interviews (Fraenkel & Wallen, 2011) in which open-ended semi-structured questions were used to collect data. The interviews were recorded and transcribed in preparation for coding and analysis. The interviews and their analysis allowed researchers to seek answers to research questions, gain a deeper understanding of each community (CoP, PLN, PLN), and identify themes to emerge. More specifically, such an approach provided researchers a rich set of data to gather insights into the educators’ experiences, perceptions and values related to the research topic, and further to help identify the current practices in community development and support, present the evolution from lurker to contributor to community leader, and the evolution from a community to a network. The online interviews were conducted remotely using a private Google Hangout on Air, a form of computer conferencing, to record the session and save as an unlisted, private YouTube video. These online interviews were then transcribed and reviewed by the authors. Semi-structured online interview questions were as followings:

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1. How do you describe a community of practice? a. How is this different in your opinion from a professional learning network? 2. Would you please describe the difference between a Professional Learning Community and a Professional Learning Network? a. Do you keep your personal network separated from your professional network? 3. How do you use Twitter as a part of your professional learning? 4. Can you describe the differences between lurkers, contributors, and community leaders online? a. Where do you see yourself in that continuum? b. Has that changed since you first began using social media? In analysis procedure, the data were coded to assign them in related categories and conduct a thematic analysis (Aronson, 1995). Considering that a phenomenological research focuses on individuals’ experiences, this type of studies generally provides direct quotes to validate interpretations (Giorgi & Giorgi, 2009) and demonstrate how participants load meanings to their experiences through language (Adams & Van Manen, 2008). Therefore, when necessary, the researchers used direct quotes to support their interpretations.

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FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION Interview Themes/Systems Analysis The interviews provided considerable insights regarding the lack of clarity surrounding the various types of communities. This confusion may be due in part to the proliferation of technology and partly due to their highly skilled use of social media as connected educators. There was no clear distinction between a PLC, CoP, and PLN in their first responses, however, there were some subtleties noted. The three interviewees did not separate professional and personal networks; however, they do mention filtering the information that they post and also discuss the evolution of their own networks as they found their voice online. Each interviewee shared how they used Twitter for their own professional learning and how to both build and sustain an online learning community.

PLCs, CoPs, and PLNs

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All three interviewees mentioned a lack of clarity across the terms PLCs, CoPs, and PLNs. For example, Paul did not see any difference and equated all three terms with his PLN. Rochelle mentioned that PLCs have become too structured and that this may be due to the way they are implemented in schools. When asked about the difference between a PLC and a PLN, Rochelle responded with “people are going to say a PLC are the people that you work with and a PLN are the people you don’t necessarily work with… in order to make them different you have to go back to their micro-purposes for each one.” CoP for Rochelle are essentially a “micro-section of a PLN.” For these participants, like Wenger, a community is comprised of individuals who come together because they share a common interest and may even have aligned goals, ideals, and a shared vision. Communities engage in conversation and have habits and routines. Building a community takes time and requires consistent effort. Megan mentioned that, in an online environment, it is very important that the community “know that there is a real person there.” The word community implies engagement, so a community of practice is more engaged in conversations with each other. To better differentiate a network from a community, we turn to Megan’s thoughts about networks: “A network is just a linking together of devices. It does not mean that traffic is flowing through those devices; it just means that traffic can travel if it wishes. So, the PLN is a pipe and a PLC means that the pipe has something going through it. A PLC would be an active pipeline…When you use the word community and CoP, I think that community should imply engagement.” The network allows for broadcasting of information or as Paul says “throwing out your ideas” as well as curation of ideas that are shared by others that may help to improve one’s own teaching practice.

Technology Powered Learning Communities There is power in a PLN due to the distributed nature of the network. It brings together people and ideas from a wide variety of industries and backgrounds that have similar interests. This “big mess of everybody,” as Rochelle referred to it, provides diversity of thought. She later goes on to discuss her confusion between PLCs and PLNs by stating “I’m actually struggling with those two things because I think that social media has changed what that looks like…[w]e teach the idea of learning is something that can exist with or without walls.” Online communities tend to overlap each other, and we are all 357

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there to grow professionally. There can be some loss of control of membership in online communities, as the tools utilized may not have access controls. Using a conference hashtag creates an event-based node within a larger PLN and, while this node may become dormant at other times of the year, when active, it can be a very powerful CoP.

Finding Their Voices: The Evolution From Lurker To Contributor The interviewees all shared a common experience of finding their voice online. Paul shared that he continually thought his ideas were not as good as others. Rochelle stated that she felt “afraid of people judging me and not living up to the standard of what some people thought I should be.” She also mentioned that she didn’t feel empowered to share, but that Twitter has changed that for her. As she put it, “it makes me see the value of who I am.” It took a nudge from a peer to encourage Paul to share online. Megan described her first experiences on social media as play. She later realized that people read what she had written and felt a professional responsibility to be worthy of their time and attention. When asked what a lurker was, Rochelle responded, “a lurker is scrolling through the timelines and reading but that doesn’t mean that they are not active.” A lurker, according the Lave and Wenger (1998), may be described as a legitimate peripheral participant in the community. This lurker may be looking for new ideas to implement and may try something new next week “because someone lurked on your page and saw it.” Megan went on to say that a lurker might also be influential to their community of practice, taking ideas from the larger PLN there. Rochelle only connected with classmates from school and family when she first began using social media. However, as she became a professional and made face to face connections with other educators she would also connect via social media, expanding her personal network by including her professional network. She also mentioned how this change in her digital network has changed what she posts as she is more careful about what she shares on social media. Rochelle shared that, as she found her voice, while she may have evolved from lurker to learner to community leader, it can be any of these roles at any time. She said “sometimes when I’m quiet on social media, I’m still there. I’m just scrolling through my phone and reading tweets and reading blogs… I just don’t feel like having a conversation.” This is legitimate peripheral participation.

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Professional Learning Networks vs. Personal Networks All participants described their personal and professional networks as being one in the same. They do not manage separate accounts for the purposes of keeping their personal and professional contacts separate. Megan commented “My personal is my professional, I’ve chosen to be one person.” In small contrast, Paul talked about the blurred line between his personal and professional network; however, he went on to mention that he still maintains an “inner circle” of those he reaches out to directly for advice and support. Making connections in real life after following someone on twitter was mentioned as well. Paul talked about both approaching others that he had only known from social media, and having others come up to him to introduce themselves for the first time in real life.

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Using Twitter for Professional Learning Paul described his use of Twitter to support professional learning as having changed over time. At first, he used to read other participants’ tweets as a form of “soaking stuff up” and checked out Twitter chats to gain new ideas. However, now that he is a connected educator, he is less likely to tweet a random question to a hashtag. Instead, he is more likely to ask a specific person a direct question. Rochelle described discovering educator Twitter chats years ago at a conference. She remarked that she was surprised to learn that there were other educators on Twitter talking about things that mattered to her. Since then, she has become a connected educator and says “now it is bigger than that because it is not just about talking to other educators it is about standing up for what I believe in…Twitter is like an extension of my voice.” Megan currently has the largest Twitter following of the interviewees and uses Twitter differently. She said that Twitter is more like a focus group for her; she sees what content is retweeted and resonating with educators. This helps her to “keep her finger on the pulse” of the connected educator community. She mentioned that she has become very “intentional about setting up my own media diet.”

Tools There were a variety of social media and collaborative tools mentioned in the interviews including: Google Hangouts, Voxer, Twitter, Pinterest, Facebook, Edmodo, Feedly, FlipBoard, Pocket, and Buffer. However, Megan stated an important point about collaborative tools, “when you have digital tools, collaborative tools without a community of practice, they are just tools, and they are not collaborative.” The diagram in Figure 3 shows a representation of various tools and where they fit into the various community types. As the reach of the community grows, the technologies are extended. This is done in order to provide the communicative and collaborative opportunities that are needed to build and sustain connectedness. The PLC, known for it’s structured meetings, may leverage systems like email or other tools outside of their scheduled meeting times for communications. In contrast, CoP typically forms across organizations or schools, mainly where the members come together with a shared purpose and may leverage a wider variety of communication and meeting tools. The PLN, an unstructured collection of connected educators across multiple CoPs, allows each individual to reach far beyond the physical world with their ideas.

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Community Leadership/Management/Support Community developers typically spend a great deal of time connecting and bringing the community together and establishing the norms (habits and routines) for the group. Nurturing, encouraging, and mentoring community members requires consistent effort. In keeping with the research and theory centered on community development, legitimate peripheral participants must feel comfortable, so they can become core-contributing participants. Internet trolls, an abusive or obnoxious user who uses shock value to promote arguments and disharmony online, according to Megan “are the underbelly of the online community.” It is important to the participants that they feel safe in their environment; therefore, it is important to handle inappropriate actions swiftly and transparently while modeling good digital citizenship.

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Figure 3. CoP, PLC, and PLN comparison with tools

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CONCLUSION There were several topics brought up during the interviews that were outside the scope of this chapter but warrant further exploration. For example, some organizations have strong social media policies that limit the use of social media; this may impact a community member’s participation. The ethics of social media posting related to an individual’s affiliation to companies and the disclosure of this information was mentioned and should be considered in future research. There is a need for additional research into the online personas of educators and what impact these have on the formation of community. Finally, there was a mention of antisocial, or troll-like behavior and research should explore this management aspect further. This chapter provided a number of topics for discussion. It included definitions for three types of learning communities, as well as the learning theory they were founded upon. Further, we examined the tools that these communities make use of and how they are formed and supported by both the tools and the people. Recommendations regarding the development of a PLN are included as well. These recommendations include: 1. Connect with people who challenge your ideas not just those who agree with you. 2. Share your successes and failures openly. 3. Be reflective and transparent. If you make a mistake admit it publicly, no one is perfect.

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The themes from a small number of cases that emerged from interviews point to the lack of clarity among educators about the various types of communities. This may be due to the proliferation of ubiquitous technology-based communities to which they belong. From the participants’ perspectives, the difference between community and the network, is clearly related to the conversations or engagement within the group. They also believe that a PLN is functionally a larger collection of CoPs and acts as a broadcast system rather than a community. What is different for these participants is that a community is engaged in sharing information that is useful to the work practices of those who are members of the community. This suggests that the community of practice is much like a cell, which it has a semi-permeable membrane around it. The conversations within the community may be visible to those beyond its borders; open learning communities. However, it takes some form of active transport to bring information into the community. This may occur in a variety of ways (e.g.: a community member may bring the new information into the community, or the PLN observer may use a hashtag to push the information into the community.) It is apparent from the interviews that informal learning communities are adding value to educators as they serve as social learning hubs with 24/7 access to expertise across a wide variety of areas.

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KEY TERMS AND DEFINITIONS Community: The condition of sharing or having certain attitudes and interests in common. Community of Practices (CoPs): A CoP is a group of people who share a common interest and learn it better by interacting regularly. Network: A group or system of interconnected people or things. Professional Learning Communities (PLCs): A PNC is a group of people that come together to learn from one another. Professional Learning Networks (PLNs): A PLN is defined voluntary digital connections with global reach. Social Learning: Learning through social communication, interactions, and exchanges. Social Media: Online spaces (websites, platforms, applications etc.) that enable users to create and share content or to participate in social networking; or enable users to facilitate the building of online networks and communities.

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This work was previously published in Managing and Designing Online Courses in Ubiquitous Learning Environments; pages 72-91, copyright year 2020 by Information Science Reference (an imprint of IGI Global).

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Chapter 19

“I Found Myself Retweeting”: Using Twitter Chats to Build Professional Learning Networks Julie A. Delello https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4326-8096 The University of Texas at Tyler, USA Annamary L. Consalvo The University of Texas at Tyler, USA

ABSTRACT This chapter describes a mixed-method, multiple case study that examined ways in which synchronous educational Twitter chats were used, frst, to enhance graduate and undergraduate university student learning, second, to build professional networks, and third, to provide a loosely regulated means to achieving self-determined professional development goals. Findings suggest that while difcult at the onset, participation in Twitter educational chats was an enhancement to students’ overall course learning experience. Specifcally, university students’ use of chats for educators helped them achieve social presence in this virtual environment, as well as to better understand the connections between positive student-teacher relationships and K12 student learning. Included are recommendations for use of Twitter synchronous educational chats in the college classroom as well as future directions in research.

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SOCIAL MEDIA, TEACHER EDUCATION, AND PROFESSIONAL LEARNING College students have grown up in a world that is always plugged in and turned on. Anderson and Rainie (2012) used the term “hyperconnected” to refer to those millennials, who are constantly tethered to their devices. Instead of socializing with friends in the same physical space, the new normal is one of increasing interactions with varying social networks (Eagan, Stolzenberg, Ramirez, Aragon, Suchard, & Hurtado, 2014). According to Junco, Heiberger, and Loken (2010), social media platforms are vital to the American college student’s life. In fact, more than 72% of millennial college students have a social media presence and update their network at least once a day (Lenhart, Purcell, Smith, & Zickuhr, 2010). DOI: 10.4018/978-1-7998-7294-8.ch019

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Research Anthology on Facilitating New Educational Practices Through Communities of Learning, edited by Association, Information Resources Management, IGI Global, 2020. ProQuest

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 “I Found Myself Retweeting”

Furthermore, research has suggested that more than half of college students are continuously connected to popular social media platforms such as Facebook, YouTube, Snapchat, Instagram, and Twitter (Smith & Anderson, 2018). This chapter examines ways in which Twitter chats were used, first, to enhance graduate and undergraduate university student learning; second, to build professional networks; and third, to provide a loosely regulated means to achieving self-determined professional development goals. In 2010, The U.S. Department of Education released its National Education Technology Plan, Transforming American Education: Learning Powered by Technology, which suggested that educators “leverage the learning sciences and modern technology to create engaging, relevant, and personalized learning experiences for all learners that mirror students’ daily lives and the reality of their futures” (Office of Educational Technology, p. 4). The New Media Consortium predicted that social media will be used as a platform for continuous sharing of information and collaboration in education over the next five years (Adams Becker et al., 2017). Validating this view of the near future, Delello, McWhorter, and Camp (2015) suggested that the use of social media in higher education may better create a sense of community, engage students in the learning process, and help students form a more personal meaning of the material. As teacher-educators, the authors of this chapter sought ways relevant to “hyperconnected” college students to build a sense of affiliation with their professional communities early in their careers, specifically during their professional preparation. Research shows that teachers who engage regularly with long-term, authentic, sustaining professional learning such as collaborative groups (Darling-Hammond, Hyler, & Gardner, 2017), professional organizations (Webster-Wright, 2017), and communities that support professional learning (Stoll, Bolam, McMahon, Wallace, & Thomas, 2006), tend to report more satisfaction (Webster-Wright, 2017) and, perhaps unsurprisingly, are better teachers (Roehrig, Dubosarsky, Mason, Carlson, & Murphy, 2011). The authors concur with Webster-Wright’s (2017) observation that while professional learning “cannot be controlled, in that no one can make another person learn, professionals can be supported to continue to learn in their own authentic way while taking into account the expectations of their working contexts” (p. 725). Particularly when working with college students who are newcomers to a profession, who are still, themselves, “betwixt and between” (Cook-Sather, 2006, p. 110) being neither fully a student nor a professional educator, it makes sense to find familiar pathways for them to venture outside school walls and learn from other educators, who are also committed to their own professional learning. Within the last five years, an upswell of professional educator groups have appeared on Facebook, an asynchronous social networking platform for families, friends, and other self-selected users. In that vein, numerous, varied, one-hour, regularly scheduled, educator chats have become available on Twitter -- a microblogging, social networking platform open to all -- that provides synchronous professional and conversational opportunities. While the use of social media platforms for professional development is well established, there is a still a dearth of research in education on using live Twitter chats for preservice teachers (Carpenter, 2015; Luo, Sickel, & Cheng, 2017). Furthermore, the National Education Plan advocates for social networking sites to become integrated into professional preparation and development programs as teachers “connect to content, expertise, and activities through online communities” (Office of Educational Technology, 2010, p. 42). Better networked, not isolated, educators, stay in the profession. This research attempts to add to the literature about the complexities and potential benefits to preservice teachers of forging professional connections using synchronous discussion formats like Twitter. Given

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the dynamic of immediacy these real-time, smartphone-to-smartphone Twitter chats offer, the question driving this research concerned whether and how our undergraduate and graduate students interacted with and learned from their respective professional groups in Twitter’s synchronous chats.

BACKGROUND Theoretical Constructs

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This chapter is framed by a sociocultural view of learning as mediated by social, cultural, and historical contexts (Vygotsky, 1978; Wertsch, 1991). In this view, learning is not merely the process of mechanically “banking” (Freire, 2000) facts inside a learner’s head. Instead, learning occurs under the guidance of others within culturally constructed activities. Since “action is mediated and ... cannot be separated by the milieu in which it is carried out” (Wertsch, 1991, p. 18), learning is understood as participatory and situated (Lave & Wenger, 1991) within those milieu, contexts, and/or spaces. Moreover, in this view, within a given domain or practice learning occurs through “legitimate peripheral participation” (Lave & Wenger, 1991), a process by which those new members are first recognized, then ushered, advised, or mentored into that practice by those who are veterans, or relative veterans, and who provide newcomers with widely varying degrees of support. In other words, “participation in the cultural practice in which any knowledge exists is an epistemological principle of learning. The social structure of this practice, its power relations, and its conditions for legitimacy define possibilities for learning (i.e., for legitimate peripheral participation)” (Lave & Wenger, 1991, p. 98). Thus, the process of learning is complicated by power, historical practices, and ways in which people are recognized, or not, as belonging. Relevant here, within the macro-domain of education are multiple and overlapping affiliations, each with their own continua of expertise. To a degree, all share some of the same objectives. However, within education, there exist meso-levels, and often overlapping subgroups of administrators, technicians, and teachers. Salient to the present study, however, are the relative micro-groups into which teachers are divided including for example, grade-level divisions, reflecting both elementary and secondary brackets, and disciplinary divisions encompassing content areas like science, mathematics, English, and many more. Each subgroup values different and pointedly specific ways of knowing, communicating, and being in the world. Some would call these sometimes overlapping collectives “communities of practice” (Lave & Wenger, 1991): The concept of community of practice underlying the notion of legitimate peripheral participation, and hence of “knowledge” and its “location” in the lived-in world, is both crucial and subtle...A community of practice is a set of relations among persons, activity, and world, over time and in relation with other tangential and overlapping communities of practice. A community of practice is an intrinsic condition for the existence of knowledge, not least because it provides the interpretive support necessary for making sense of its heritage. (p. 98). Undergraduate preservice teachers and graduate students who are practicing teachers, alike, need to affiliate within their own, sometimes overlapping, communities of practice (COP), not only for their preparation toward licensure, but even more importantly, as a skill-set they can take with them into their 368

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own classrooms as teachers-of-record. It is important for university students to understand that the world in general --and the teaching world in particular--is a very large and mostly hospitable place -- much more so than any particular school, district, region, or even state. While the Twitter-verse dispenses with physical space, it is, in fact, a cultural space that participants can reach with relative ease. A useful construct for this research is Bakhtin’s (2002) metaphorical notion of “[c]hronotope (literally “time space”)…the intrinsic connectedness of spatial and temporal relationships that are artistically expressed in literature” (p. 15). Though he wrote as a literary theorist, his ideas have been widely adopted and adapted in educational research (cf. seminal works such as Nystrand, Gamoran, Kachur, & Prendergast, 1997; Wertsch, 1991, and others). Bakhtin (2002) specifically foregrounds the chronotope of “the road” (p. 16) in narrative as a locus where encounters can and do take place. Referencing the “collapse of social distance” (p. 17) between participants on the road, this locus, the road, becomes a unique, metaphorical space for “where the most various fates may collide and interweave with one another” (p. 17). Open to people in all time zones, at the same moment in lived reality, Twitter synchronous chats provide a unique time-space “road” that suspend usual conceptions of place-based or of enrolled, online learning environments. Each of these synchronous chats is, in fact, not only a cultural space but a virtual road-trip with fellow travelers, who are likely to be part of the community or communities of practice of its moderators and participants. Thus, for domain newcomers, their experiences in a given Twitter discussion forum, may well offer them opportunities for acclimating to the mores of a community of practice, as well as for learning how to manage their social presence within a given group. Social presence in online contexts, including social media, refers to the degree to which participants feel comfortable and competent. According to Kehrwald (2008), three factors are at play. First, participants must learn social cueing in online contexts; second, opportunity to interact must be available; and third, the participants must be motivated by “either need…. or interest” to sustain the effort that establishing social presence takes (p. 97, italics in the original). In establishing social presence, users may project their personal characteristics into the community, thereby presenting themselves to other participants as “real people” (Garrison, Anderson, & Archer, 2000, p. 89) who may be approachable. Social media, well-used, may enhance interactions between individuals and contribute to participants achieving “social presence [as it] is one of the most significant factors in… building a sense of community” (Aragon, 2003, p. 57). To recap, this inquiry aligns with a sociocultural view of learning, in which learning is situated within the real-world processes by which newcomers and experts in a given domain or practice interact -- for the sake of the practice. Moreover, communities are formed around these domains each of which carries its own history, mores, knowledge, and power dynamics. Social media is viewed as a valid learning space and the time-space “road” chronotype of synchronous environments like Twitter hold great promise due, in part, to the loosely regulated nature of social media. Finally, discipline-specific educator chats within Twitter may provide an arena for university students to discover, explore, and chart some of the people, customs, and important conversations within their soon-to-be professional homes. In the next section, literature is reviewed which is relevant to, first, a better understanding of synchronous and asynchronous online experiences; second, features and use of Twitter, itself; and, third, elements of professional learning taking place within digital platforms.

Social Networking: Asynchronous and Synchronous Connection and virtual networking through the use of social networking sites is accomplished through asynchronous and/or synchronous communications. Asynchronous communication occurs outside of 369

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“real time” and can include text-based activities such as email, blogs, Wikis, social media posts, and discussion boards. The popular social networking sites Facebook, Pinterest, LinkedIn, and even Twitter have asynchronous components where users may transmit or post text independent of another user (Delello, Everling, McWhorter, & Lawrence, 2013). On the other hand, synchronous digital communication consists of two or more people interacting simultaneously. A few examples include: a “realtime” session taking place within Facebook’s internal Messenger; two or more people on a call using Skype, Zoom, or FaceTime; or, a Twitter chat. All of these and many more, both asynchronous and synchronous, have been and continue being used in personal and professional realms, including those associated with schooling. Since the question guiding this work lies in better understanding whether there is educational value in Twitter chats and what that learning looks like, Palloff & Pratt’s (2013) finding that such synchronous activities have shown higher rates of engagement than the use of isolated asynchronous tools, is encouraging.

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Twitter in Higher Education One social media platform that is increasingly used in higher education is the social networking and microblogging tool, Twitter (see aboutTwitter.com). Developed in 2006, Twitter allows users to join an asynchronous conversation by tweeting or retweeting up to a 280-character message. A tweet may also contain hyperlinks and media attachments such as pictures and videos that are not part of the original word count. In addition, users may utilize hashtags, a type of metadata made up of words or phrases that contain the prefix sign #, that help users to organize topics or find followers with similar interests. Twitter also allows for a synchronous conversation or chat to take place in “real-time” around one unique hashtag. Twitter ranks as one of the most popular social networking networks. In fact, in the first quarter of 2018, there were over 336 million monthly users across the globe who were tweeting out a half-billion tweets per day (Statista, 2018). According to an article in NEA Today, “education dominates the Twittersphere: out of the half billion tweets posted daily, 4.2 million are related to education, according to Brett Baker, an account executive at Twitter.com” (Zeidner, 2014, 6). While the total daily tweets were quite stable from 2014 to 2018, it is still staggering especially when one considers the widespread use of educational Twitter chats across that time span. According to the Pew Research Center, Twitter has also become a part of American college students’ experience. In fact, the highest percentage of Twitter users (40%), are young adults, aged 18-29 (Smith & Anderson, 2018). Several studies have underscored the positive role of Twitter within the classroom. For example, Twitter was shown to improve student engagement and overall course grades (Junco et al., 2010), increase classroom expertise (Wessner, 2014), and foster a sense of community (Kassens-Noor, 2012). Yet, according to Moran, Seaman, and Tinti-Kane (2011), only 12% of faculty used Twitter for professional purposes and according to a Faculty Focus (2010) report, few have employed it as a component of an assignment due to its supposed negative consequences of increased classroom distractions and poor writing skills.

Use of Twitter for Professional Development A number of studies have shown the potential of Twitter for professional development and networking opportunities (Holmes, Preston, Shaw, and Buchanan, 2013; Luo et al., 2017; Trust, 2012). According to Luo et al. (2017), “Twitter live chats hold tremendous potential for professional learning from a 370

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global network of educators” (p. 233) for in-service and preservice educators. Useful for both practicing teachers as professional development as well as for preservice teachers in their preparation programs, the synchronicity of Twitter chats allows for a sense of what we call right-thereness that is unlikely to be found in an edited discussion. Valorizing the benefits of live chats, Venable and Milligan (2012) posited that “[w]hile Twitter allows for both synchronous and asynchronous online communication, it is the real-time connection, through a live Twitter chat event, that presents new possibilities for transforming online course discussions” (p. 4, emphasis added). These exchanges of information can also promote social connections, decrease isolation, and build communities of educators (Carpenter & Krutka, 2014; 2015). These digital avenues of connection can make it possible for teachers to discover that they share common interests and can offer instantaneous, personalized opportunities for professional growth (Visser, Evering, & Barrett, 2014). Moreover, according to Cox (2012), as school budgets continue to shrink, the quality of the professional connections are often beyond the scope of what a typical educator would have access to. As well, Delello and McWhorter (2013) concluded that Twitter may promote a more connected, personalized learning experience for students in higher education.

Professional Learning Networks

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Professional Learning Networks (PLNs), understood here as experienced through digital platforms, are defined as “system[s] of interpersonal connections and relationships and resources that support information learning” (Trust, 2012, p. 133). In thinking about what factors promote professional learning in these contexts, Beach (2012) suggested that online opportunities for professional development should include three key components: content on specific subject matter, the opportunity to reflect upon the learning, and an opportunity to collaborate with others. Reminding educators that using technology does not supplant the need for such thoughtful pedagogy, Chickering and Gamson’s (1996) seminal work on the use of technology suggested that good teaching is based upon active learning and cooperation: “Good learning, like good work, is collaborative and social, not competitive and isolated” (p. 3). Still true today, McCorkle & McCorkle (2012) indicated that even though students are experienced with using social media for personal reasons, they may be unsure how connect with others for professional networking. Thus, it falls to teacher educators and/or providers of professional development to adequately teach into these still-new, time-space dimensions of possibility. Each of the three components that Beach (2012) advises--content-focused, reflectivity-encouraged, and collaboration-supported--is emblematic of best practices in teaching and learning. Thus, the goal of this chapter is to share ways in which undergraduate and graduate students--preservice and practicing teachers--were able to engage with content, reflect on their own experiences, and take up opportunities to collaborate that the Twitter synchronous chats in which they participated, afforded them.

UNIVERSITY STUDENTS’ EXPERIENCE WITH TWITTER CHATS Method The authors of this chapter utilized Twitter in required assignments for two courses during 2017. Using a mixed methods (Creswell, 2018), multiple case study (Stake, 2006) approach, examined were ways in which Twitter was used by existing teachers (n=47) for Case One, and by prospective teachers (n=18) 371

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for Case Two to globally connect, share, and collaborate with professionals in their fields. Both classes were held in a regional, public university in the southern United States that serves a largely rural population. Faculty from technology and reading used retrospective course data, using only pseudonyms for all people and place names, to ask how synchronous use of Twitter, in the form of scheduled chats among educators, connected university students (N=65) to local, national, and international professional educators who share similar interests and goals. The researchers also examined both the challenges and benefits, to students, of using Twitter synchronously in order to make professional connections. Data were gathered from pre and posttests, five weekly student chat journals, five weekly reflections, and post reflections. Data analysis included descriptive statistics, and inductive methods to generate codes and themes using content analysis (Krippendorf, 2013). For the qualitative data, a codebook was generated, with codes, keywords, memos, and exemplar data excerpts in order to enable the investigators to achieve inter-rater reliability. In this way, the researchers were able to determine the most robust themes from the data set of which are presented below, by cases. The research questions that were considered included: • • •

What were students’ experiences and attitudes around the usability of Twitter chats for professional learning and/or networking? In what ways did Twitter enhance or detract from students’ course learning experiences? How were students able to develop and/or join a professional learning network using Twitter?

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Case One: Using Twitter in a Graduate Technology Course Initially, when graduate students who were enrolled in an online technology course were asked to participate in a series of five Twitter chats during the semester, the responses were mixed. The primary themes that resonated from the post-test and reflections were those of overwhelming, fast-paced, complicated, unavailable, and an overall unawareness. For example, students reported, “I don’t understand how people keep up with it all” and “The best way to describe this [first] week’s Twitter chat is oh my good gracious gravy… This is not at all good. I had no idea what I was doing or what to expect.” Other students noted that they were unaware that Twitter could be used to make professional connections with other educators. One student stated, “I hadn’t used it for anything other than socializing and reading the news.” Another student remarked, “I honestly thought it was for teenagers...I was very surprised by how many adult professionals use it to discuss important issues such as education and assistive technology.” In addition, although students were given a preliminary list of chats, chat schedule, topic of discussion, time, day of the week, and description of the chat, not all chats were active and others were reported to be unavailable. For example, a student stated, “I tried over 10 different twitter chats this week to no avail.” Although many students expressed some anxiety during their first chats, their perceptions of Twitter improved with each chat. For example, one student stated, “When I started this class a week ago, I only followed maybe five people. I am currently following 167 people and have 50 followers. I am slowly learning how to use Twitter.” In fact, after the conclusion of the final Twitter chat, 85% of post-test responses highlighted that the overall experience exceeded the majority of the students’ initial views of the social platform.

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In terms of learning, 79% of the students perceived Twitter to have enhanced their course learning experience. The students reported that they had gained new information as well as valuable resources to use in their classrooms (see Figure 1). As an example, one student acknowledged in her reflection that “Participating in [the chat] was an eye-opening experience for me… Not only did I learn how to attend a twitter chat, I also realized that these digital meetings can yield an abundance of new information.” Another student stated, “After eight tweets, 2 additional followers and gaining information on the usability of Chromebooks, I found #edtechchat to be a successful learning experience!” One student even connected the experience with the content of the course: “This is definitely educating me on the new learning experience that is discussed in our textbooks and how a group of like-minded people can work together to educate each other on differing topics.” Figure 1. First Twitter chat experience

Students reported that they used Twitter to collaborate with both professional educators and university students (see Table 1). For example, a student shared, “I like that other educators are there to help when needed and want to help.” The students reported spending an average of one to two hours per week chatting with experts in their fields. In addition, some students used Twitter for employment opportunities (see Table 1). Table 1. Excerpts from teacher collaborations

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Collaborations With Professional Educators

Collaborations With Students

It really is a wonderful way to connect with other educators and see what others are doing.

I enjoyed how it connected peers in the same profession to discuss relevant topics.

It’s a great way to collaborate with other educators and innovators.

I have followed them and read and liked their tweets!

We were encouraged to share something our students created this year. I shared pictures of what my firstgrade students had created that week.

We helped each other find twitter chats that we enjoyed or thought they would like.

Collaborations With Employers I tweeted about an interview and a job position.

Moreover, 94% of students documented that they would continue having synchronous chats after graduation and 91% reported that they would continue to use Twitter after the course to build their professional learning community. Only a small percentage (6%) of students reported that it was not an experience that they would continue. For instance, one student remarked that Twitter was “full of fake news and brain junk food”.

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In this case, the students reported that as they became more comfortable with Twitter, they followed more individuals, tweeted more often, and shared information and resources. For example, one student reflected: If you’ll remember, I was intimidated by the speed and number of people in the chat last week. But this week I held my own. I felt like an expert! I got retweeted, and two people followed me! That probably isn’t remarkable, but it made me feel like I belonged. The need to belong plays a significant role in establishing a community of learners. These findings coincide with earlier research that confirmed an association between belongingness, social presence, and learning. For example, Dunlap & Lowenthal (2009) acknowledged that synchronous online learning is only effective if it also facilitates opportunities for students to connect and learn through social interactions with others.

Case Two: Reading From this required, undergraduate disciplinary literacy course for preservice secondary educators, two main themes emerged from students’ experiences with educational Twitter chats: ways in which they were able to ascertain their social presence; and ways in which they could manage engagement of their future K12 students through finding techniques and advice on the chats to help them establish positive student-teacher relationships and finding ready and useful teaching tips. Some students, especially in the early weeks, found the rapid-fire nature of the synchronous chat challenging. For example: “I find Twitter difficult to navigate and just have never really latched onto this form of social media” (Barb, Twitter 1). Despite her best efforts to participate in a second chat, another student shared a similar experience where her presence was not acknowledged in any validating way: “I found a pretty good article and shared it to the page as well as posted quite a few questions such as ‘what are some tips you can give a first-time teacher?’. Again, no one responded to any of my tweets, which made me pretty sad” (Olivia, Twitter 2). This theme is reflected, again, in the following example, where this student managed her social presence better than in the first week’s chat:

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I felt like I got a lot more out of this experience than I did last week, which is exciting! Once I introduced myself in the chat, I was surprised to see a few other educators from the Hometown area post their introductions as well! The chat moved so fast that I completely forgot to go back and follow them, but I am looking forward to keeping a look out in the future for people from my area. (Lacey, Twitter 2) Moreover, Lacey became aware that other educators in the area were on Twitter and seemed excited about networking with them by following them on Twitter. To her credit, Olivia managed to persist, and in Week 3, her excitement reflects a sense of validation: “For the first time, one of my questions was pretty popular which is SUPER EXCITING!” (Olivia, Twitter 3). The experiences of Barb, Olivia, and Lacey were not unusual. As time passed, students’ social presence on the medium became more evident as they developed more pointed questions, responded more to others’ tweets including attaching images and links, and, found and followed with increasing enthusiasm other educators in the chat.

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Foremost in many of the university students’ minds was concern about finding ways to engage their K12 students by forming positive relationships with them and using activities both intellectually rich and enjoyable. A recurring theme for Edgar, relationships mattered: As teachers we should know each and every one of our students personally when it comes to our job…. I loved those teachers who were interested and keeping me involved in class whether I was learning or not. I can tell you that English was my worst and most hated subject until I found that one teacher who cared so much about her job and students that I grew to like English (Edgar, Twitter 2 & 3). Drawing on their own past experiences helped some preservice teachers connect to content on the Twitter chats and imagine their future selves helping actual students. Again, Edgar extended this point, between relationship and student learning, as he looked into his prospective classroom: “Teachers [need to] be engaged in the activity as well. The teacher must get the students to own the entire process rather than to simply pick a task. Otherwise there is no purpose and meaning behind it for them” (Edgar, Twitter 3). The practical concerns of engagement were present in the Twitter chats. Some preservice teachers spoke in general terms such as “how to get students encouraged and motivated to read on their own” (Greg, Twitter 4). And, “During this week I picked up a lot of useful tips of tuning and how students can train their ears to gain perfect pitch” (Donald, Twitter 4). But most students zeroed in on specifics. One future English teacher was even thinking cross-disciplinarily: “I learned [about] a graphic that made a lot of sense…Even though I think it is for another discipline, I feel that it can be applied throughout education” (Fern, Twitter 1). Isabelle seemed to be alluding to her own wise stockpiling of resources like “contemporary fiction, nonfiction texts related to current issues and/or topics of interest, and videos, photos, and infographics for their students to read” (Isabelle, Twitter 4). And, aware of the need for immediate feedback connected to content connected to developmentally appropriate learning materials, Charles thought out loud, on paper, about how he “would like to use the Tonal Energy as my tuning app so the kids can see the smiley face when they are in tune” (Charles, Twitter 1). Thus, across time, preservice teachers’ sense of social presence and within that, a sense of belonging in the chats became more evident. Many spoke about following interesting educators locally, nationally, and even globally. And, preservice teachers found that the chats bolstered their sense of what building healthy relationships means between teachers and students, and how that always cycles back to student engagement and learning. Finally, preservice teachers found the chats to be worth their time and effort by providing them with handy resources for their own continued development as teachers.

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DISCUSSION Both practicing teachers and preservice teachers experienced stress over the new, fast-paced virtual environment that Twitter chats demanded. Requiring university students to engage in five weeks of educational chats, however, provided enough time for to acclimate to the new, virtual, and synchronous environment. Overall, students were able to achieve and maintain a degree of social presence, coming across as approachable “real people” (Garrison, Anderson, & Archer, 2000), with fellow-travelers on “the road” (Bakhtin, 2002), inside educational Twitter chats in which they participated. Lacey expressed it well: “I was getting more likes than I have before and even some educators retweeting me, which felt very validating.” Student comments such as this showed awareness of participating, if somewhat tenta375

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tively, in a professional community. Twitter encouraged additional learner-learner interactions among and between students creating a “culture of engagement” (Junco et al., 2010). Thus, this study indicated that the synchronous “real-time” nature of Twitter enhanced social presence, as students were able to become part of an even greater community of learners. Students were given the freedom to collaborate with and learn from those with similar interests in informal learning environments at various days and times, in the manner of (Visser, Evering, & Barrett, 2014). That such networking possibilities are free, loosely regulated, and do not require transportation nor incur logistical costs, points to participation in these chats as a significant means by which teachers, at any stage of their careers, can engage in professional learning and networking. Consistent with previous studies, using informal digital spaces like Twitter promoted the active participation of educator communities, developed social presence, and reshaped the way many of our students learned (see Lave & Wenger, 1991; Lord & Lomicka, 2014; Pacansky-Brock, 2013). In order to help university students experience success with Twitter chats, educators should teach them about Twitter, explain terminology, discuss chat etiquette, and allow time for students to both set up accounts and follow each other and the instructor. As well, using a distinct hashtag (e.g. #EDU5678) that everyone in the class uses for each tweet in a given chat, creates a sense of accountability. It also allows for accurate assessment of students’ participation in chats. Furthermore, in creating a well-designed assignment with clear expectations (e.g. four comments and one question per one-hour chat per week and a learning reflection), teacher educators can better support students as they venture into the Twitterverse. Instructors should explain the rationale and possible benefits behind the assignment in order to balance the sense of risk that students might feel. Lastly, it may be beneficial to create an initial chat to allow students the opportunity to practice using Twitter before students interact with outside members of the social network in order to eliminate some of the stressors that were evident in the initial reflections.

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FUTURE RESEARCH DIRECTIONS Future research could investigate various aspects of what students reported. For example, following a sub-group of students who exhibited persistence across the chats could reveal dispositional inclinations that may or may not have to do with digital acumen. Another possible area to explore is whether teachers who continue for one, two, three, or more years feel more agency vis-à-vis connection to their own profession, sense of control over their own professional development, and ability to go outside of school walls for generative conversations. As students become more aware and comfortable with the potential of Twitter, they may increase their use of the platform, sharing additional resources, while developing a larger virtual community. Such a longitudinal approach may allow for a better understanding of how such professional networks might influence classroom teachers’ self-efficacy, lessen social isolation, and perhaps impact teacher retention. Lastly, and perhaps, most importantly, it would be interesting to follow a group of teachers, across grades and disciplines, to see whether and how student learning outcomes could be related to teachers’ consistent participation in various educational Twitter chats.

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CONCLUSION Overall, this study highlighted that there are both positive and negative responses in regards to students’ attitudes regarding the usability of Twitter as a networking and professional learning tool. However, the synchronous Twitter chats were shown to enhance university students’ course experiences and encourage new ideas for professional growth. The study indicated that social media platforms like Twitter can help students find and share resources while establishing a professional learning network as noted by the following statement “If I have learned anything from just these two chats, it is that the more we collaborate, the better we can make the education world for us and our students.”

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Carpenter, J. P., & Krutka, D. G. (2014). How and why educators use Twitter: A survey of the field. Journal of Research on Technology in Education, 46(4), 414–434. doi:10.1080/15391523.2014.925701 Carpenter, J. P., & Krutka, D. G. (2015). Engagement through microblogging: Educator professional development via Twitter. Professional Development in Education, 41(4), 707–728. doi:10.1080/19415 257.2014.939294 Chickering, A. W., & Gamson, Z. (1987). Seven principles for good practice in undergraduate education. AAHE Bulletin, 40(7), 3–7. Cook-Sather, A. (2006). Newly betwixt and between: Revising liminality in the context of a teacher preparation program. Anthropology & Education Quarterly, 37(2), 110–127. doi:10.1525/aeq.2006.37.2.110

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Holmes, K., Preston, G., Shaw, K., & Buchanan, R. (2013). ‘Follow’ me: Networked professional learning for teachers. Australian Journal of Teacher Education, 38(12), 44–65. doi:10.14221/ajte.2013v38n12.4 Junco, R., Heiberger, G., & Loken, E. (2010). The effect of Twitter on college student engagement and grades. Journal of Computer Assisted Learning, 27(2), 119–132. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2729.2010.00387.x Kassens-Noor, E. (2012). Twitter as a teaching practice to enhance active and informal learning in higher education: The case of sustainable tweets. Active Learning in Higher Education, 13(1), 9–21. doi:10.1177/1469787411429190 Kehrwald, B. (2008). Understanding social presence in text-based online learning environments. Distance Education, 29(1), 89–106. doi:10.1080/01587910802004860

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Krippendorf, K. (2013). Content analysis: An introduction to its methodology (3rd ed.). Los Angeles, CA: Sage. Lave, J., & Wenger, E. (1991). Situated learning: Legitimate peripheral participation. New York, NY: Cambridge University Press. doi:10.1017/CBO9780511815355 Lenhart, A., Purcell, K., Smith, A., & Zickuhr, K. (2010). Social media and young adults. Washington, DC: Pew Internet and American Life Project. Lord, G., & Lomicka, L. (2014). Twitter as a tool to promote community among language teachers. Journal of Technology and Teacher Education, 22(2), 187–212. Luo, T., Sickel, J., & Cheng, L. (2017). Preservice teachers’ participation and perceptions of Twitter live chats as personal learning networks. TechTrends, 61(3), 226–235. doi:10.100711528-016-0137-1 McCorkle, D. E., & McCorkle, Y. (2012). Using Linkedin in the marketing classroom: Exploratory insights and recommendations for teaching social media/networking. Marketing Education Review, 22(2), 157–166. doi:10.2753/MER1052-8008220205 Moran, M., Seaman, J., & Tinti-Kane, H. (2011). Teaching, learning, and sharing: How today’s higher education faculty use social media. Boston, MA: Pearson Learning Solutions. Retrieved from http:// www.pearsonlearningsolutions.com/higher-education/social-media-survey.php Nystrand, M., Gamoran, A., Kachur, R., & Prendergast, C. (1997). Opening dialogue: Understanding the dynamics of language and learning in the classroom. New York, NY: Teachers College Press. Office of Educational Technology. (2010). Transforming American education: Learning powered by technology. National Educational Technology Plan, 2010. Washington, DC: US Department of Education. Pacansky-Brock, M. (2013). Best practices for teaching with emerging technologies. New York, NY: Routledge. Palloff, R. M., & Pratt, K. (2013). Lessons from the virtual classroom: The realities of online teaching. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

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Roehrig, G., Dubosarsky, M., Mason, A., Carlson, S., & Murphy, B. (2011). We look more, listen more, notice more: Impact of sustained professional development on Head Start teachers’ inquiry-based and culturally-relevant science teaching practices. Journal of Science Education and Technology, 20(5), 566–578. doi:10.100710956-011-9295-2 Smith, A., & Anderson, M. (2018). Social media use in 2018. Pew Research Center. Retrieved from http://www.pewinternet.org/2018/03/01/social-media-use-2018-acknowledgments/ Stake, R. E. (2006). Multiple case study analysis. New York, NY: Guilford. Statista. (2018). Number of monthly active Twitter users worldwide from 1st quarter 2010 to 1st quarter 2018 (in millions). Retrieved from https://www.statista.com/statistics/282087/number-of-monthly-activetwitter-users/ Stoll, L., Bolam, R., McMahon, A., Wallace, M., & Thomas, S. (2006). Professional learning communities: A review of the literature. Journal of Educational Change, 7(4), 221–258. doi:10.100710833-006-0001-8

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Trust, T. (2012). Professional learning networks designed for teacher learning. Journal of Digital Learning in Teacher Education, 28(4), 133–1. doi:10.1080/21532974.2012.10784693 Venable, M. A., & Milligan, L. (2012). Social media in online higher education implementing live Twitter chat discussion sessions [report]. Retrieved from http://www.onlinecollege.org/wp-content/ uploads/2012/03/OnlineCollege.org-TwitterChat.pdf Visser, R. D., Evering, L. C., & Barrett, D. E. (2014). #TwitterforTeachers: The implications of Twitter as a self-directed professional development tool for K–12 teachers. Journal of Research on Technology in Education, 46(4), 396–413. doi:10.1080/15391523.2014.925694 Vygotsky, L. (1978). Mind in society. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. Webster-Wright, A. (2017). Reframing professional development through understanding authentic professional Learning. Review of Educational Research, 79(2), 702–739. doi:10.3102/0034654308330970 Wertsch, J. V. (1991). Voices of the mind. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. Wessner, D. R. (2014). Teaching with Twitter: Extending the conversation beyond the classroom walls. Retrieved from http://www.academiccommons.org/2014/07/21/teaching-with-twitter-extending-theconversation-beyond-the-classroom-walls/ Ziedner, R. (2014, June). Slowly but surely, social media gaining acceptance in schools. NEA Today. Retrieved from http://neatoday.org/2014/06/10/slowly-but-surely-social-media-gaining-acceptance-inschools/

ADDITIONAL READING Arnold, N., & Paulus, T. (2010). Using a social networking site for experiential learning: Appropriating, lurking, modeling and community building. Internet and Higher Education, 13(4), 188–196. doi:10.1016/j.iheduc.2010.04.002 Barnes, N. G., & Lescault, A. M. (2012). Social media adoption soars as higher-ed experiments and reevaluates its use of new communications tools. University of Massachusetts Dartmouth. Retrieved from http://www.umassd.edu/cmr/studiesandresearch/socialmediaadoptionsoars/

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Blankenship, M. (2011). How social media can and should impact higher education. Education Digest: Essential Readings Condensed for Quick Review, 76(7), 39–42. Consalvo, A. L., Schallert, D. L., & Elias, E. M. (2015). An examination of the construct of Legitimate Peripheral Participation as a theoretical framework in literacy research. Educational Research Review, 16, 1–18. doi:10.1016/j.edurev.2015.07.001 Gunawardena, C. N., Hermans, M., Sanchez, D., Richmond, C., Bohley, M., & Tuttle, R. (2009). A theoretical framework for building online communities of practice with social networking tools. Educational Media International, 46(1), 3–16. doi:10.1080/09523980802588626

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Heiberger, G., & Junco, R. (2015). Meet your students where they are: Social media. National Education Association. Retrieved from http://www.nea.org/assets/docs/HE/HigherEdSocialMediaGuide.pdf Lederer, K. (2012, January). Pros and cons of social media in the classroom. Campus Technology. Retrieved from http://campustechnology.com/Articles/2012/01/19/Pros-and-Cons-of-Social-Media-inthe-Classroom.aspx?Page=1 Quinn, K., & Papacharissi, Z. (2018). Our networked selves: Personal connection and relational maintenance in social media use. In J. Burgess, A. Marwick, & T. Poell (Eds.), The Sage handbook of social media (pp. 233–253). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. doi:10.4135/9781473984066.n20 Rettberg, J. W. (2018). Self-representation in social media. In J. Burgess, A. Marwick, & T. Poell (Eds.), The Sage handbook of social media (pp. 429–443). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. doi:10.4135/9781473984066.n24 Seaman, J., & Tinti-Kane, H. (2013). Social media for teaching and learning. Pearson Learning Solutions and Babson Survey Research Group. Retrieved from http://www.pearsonlearningsolutions.com/assets/ downloads/reports/social-media-for-teaching-and-learning-2013-report.pdf#view=FitH,0 Van Dijck, J., & Poell, T. (2018). Social media platforms and education. In J. Burgess, A. Marwick, & T. Poell (Eds.), The Sage handbook of social media (pp. 579–591). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. doi:10.4135/9781473984066.n33 Zeidner, R. (2014, June). Slowly but surely, social media gaining acceptance in schools http://neatoday. org/2014/06/10/slowly-but-surely-social-media-gaining-acceptance-in-schools/

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KEY TERMS AND DEFINITIONS Asynchronous: Communication that is not occurring in “real-time” such as email and texting. Hashtag (#): The # sign added to a word or phrase. Microblog: A blog or update, usually posted online, where users share short text messages, images, video, and hyperlinks. Professional Learning Network (PLN): A community of individuals who share like interests and learn from one another. Social Media: Online tool or platform that allows users to communicate and share interests with others. Synchronous: Real-time communication such as instant messaging and video conferencing. Tweet: A short text message of up to 280 characters shared on the social media platform Twitter. Twitter: A social media platform where people communicate with one another using 280-character tweets, images, videos, and hashtags.

This work was previously published in Educational Technology and Resources for Synchronous Learning in Higher Education; pages 88-108, copyright year 2019 by Information Science Reference (an imprint of IGI Global).

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Chapter 20

Achieving Rural Teachers’ Development Through a WeChat Professional Learning Community:

Two Cases From Guangdong Province Xue Zheng East China Normal University, China Haixia Liu LuoGang Middle School, China Dongmei Lin NaLong Primary School, China Jiacheng Li East China Normal University, China

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ABSTRACT WeChat group is a new network communication platform, which gradually infuences rural teachers’ development and brings some specifc issues into schooling. This chapter focuses on two rural banzhurens, Ms. Liu and Ms. Lin, from Guangdong Province, to explore WeChat groups’ infuences on rural teachers’ development. On the basis of interviews and data analysis, the authors summarize the main activities that the two rural banzhurens have taken part in; outline the development they have obtained in three areas, including courage, benevolence, and wisdom; examine how rural teachers achieve their development based on the WeChat group; and discuss the limitations of this online tool.

DOI: 10.4018/978-1-7998-7294-8.ch020

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Research Anthology on Facilitating New Educational Practices Through Communities of Learning, edited by Association, Information Resources Management, IGI Global, 2020. ProQuest

 Achieving Rural Teachers’ Development Through a WeChat Professional Learning Community

INTRODUCTION Rural compulsory education includes 2,800,890 teachers and 37,983,199 students (The National Bureau of Statistics, 2015). Indeed, the promotion of the development of rural compulsory education is paramount to revitalize education in China. To improve the quality of rural compulsory education, it is important to encourage rural teachers’ development and allocate teachers appropriately. Research has shown that rural teachers’ development directly determines the design and quality of rural education (Xiao, 2011). Rural banzhurens are the backbone of the rural teaching community. The position of banzhuren was set up in 1952 in China, and was formally adopted in 1979 (Chen, 2007). Since 1979, in China, each class has a banzhuren, who is the main person that looks after students, cares about students’ moral education, and is the mentor of primary and middle school students (Ministry of Education of the People’s Republic of China, 2009). He/she is the person responsible for class management, and also acts as a coordinator for subject area teachers. Research suggests that banzhurens are often closer to students than the subject area teachers are (Zhang, 2011). Therefore, promoting rural banzhurens’ development is a way to support rural teachers’ and students’ development as a whole. WeChat is an online communication platform by which people can share pictures, messages, and videos. Research shows that it is interactive, resourceful, and widely used in China (Sun, 2015). Also, a WeChat group is a useful way for researching (Wang & Yue, 2016) and is an efficient way for banzhurens to manage classes and cooperate with parents. WeChat groups are widely used in class management and are helpful in banzhurens’ daily work (Zhang, 2015). Research also showed that a WeChat group is a platform for teachers’ professional development (Li, 2016) and specifically can be used as a new way to promote rural teachers’ development. For the purposes of this study, under the organization of a professor, many teachers and researchers, who are interested in studying rural teachers, especially rural banzhurens’ development, joined a WeChat group named “Research on Rural Banzhurens’ Work and Development’” on 23 July 2016. In this WeChat group, they communicated with each other, posted problems and asked for help concerning banzhurens’ daily work, and shared photos of their activities and research results. In the WeChat group, it is surprising how rapidly Ms. Liu and Ms. Lin (the two rural banzhurens used in our research project) developed their skills. The authors’ research purpose was to analyze how WeChat contributed to their development.

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BACKGROUND The situation of rural teachers’ development is not always favorable. Research literature has shown that rural teachers are often poor, and their workload is heavy (Sun & Lin, 2014). They have few opportunities to benefit from teacher training, while at the same time enduring heavy teaching loads (Zhou, 2015). In addition, the aim of the training is often unclear when rural teachers are given opportunities for professional development training (Huang, 2008). Given these conditions, many teachers do not want to be banzhurens. It is widely recognized that the Chinese government should provide strong support for rural teachers’ development. A plan was designed and published to improve rural teachers’ poor quality and strengthen teachers’ training in rural schools and weak urban schools (Ministry of Education of the People’s Republic of China, 2005). Another policy, published in 2010, also proposed to focus on improving the quality of rural teachers and to give teacher awards for long-term teaching in the countryside (Ministry of Education 383

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 Achieving Rural Teachers’ Development Through a WeChat Professional Learning Community

of the People’s Republic of China, 2010). The Plan of Supporting Rural Teachers (2015-2020) proposed to expand channels to add rural teachers and improve rural teachers’ wages (General Office of the State Council, 2015). As for banzhurens, The Training Program of National Primary and Secondary School established that all new banzhurens should take part in training before they take on their role (Ministry of Education of the People’s Republic of China, 2006). Information technology is a way to support rural teachers’ development. Some researchers have put forward a plan to build a web-based network to enhance rural teachers’ training. They also helped to integrate the network learning resources and optimize the network with an independent learning platform. Furthermore, in their opinion, it was useful to establish an online research and learning community to promote teachers’ development (Zhao & Xie, 2012). Some scholars thought teachers should prepare lessons online together and that teaching plans and materials should also be shared online so that teachers who work in close proximity can observe the teaching, then exchange and discuss ideas online (Tang, He, & Li, 2014). Moreover, some researchers held that it was wonderful to open education theory lessons by MOOC (massive open online courses) because the experts can update the knowledge in real time through the open network platform, and at the same time, they can discuss with the rural teachers who participate in the study (Ding, Feng, & Li, 2015). In addition, information technology can be an aim of rural teachers’ development. Wang and Li (2011) showed that rural teachers’ technology skills can be improved by building a learning community, starting technology training, and conducting action research. However, some researchers hold the idea that certain aspects of technology training targets are too far away from subject area teaching knowledge (Zhou & Huang, 2016). Information technology skills are not equal to technical operation skills; therefore, the notion of information technology should be clarified before considering it as an aim of rural teachers’ development. Although many measures have been taken to promote rural teachers’ development, some aspects are not sufficient. First of all, the authors find that it is easy to confuse the notion of rural teachers’ development with the concept of teachers’ professional development. For example, when researchers talk about the deficits of teachers’ development, they give results of teachers’ professional development (Chao, Qiu, & Zhong, 2015). Some scholars suggest that teachers’ development refers to teachers’ attitude to regulate their life; it was a way to improve their quality of life (Guo & Zhu, 2013). Research has shown that teachers’ professional development consists of teachers’ practical knowledge, judgment, wisdom, reflection, and research ability (Zhang, 2014). In this chapter, the authors believe that rural teachers’ development should not be limited to professional development. Instead, teachers’ development should include life and teaching, as it is also a process of self-awareness. However, professional development usually neglects teachers’ initiative and consciousness when it emphasizes the change from non-professional to professional (Wu, Li, & Dai, 2013). Thus, the authors hold that rural teachers’ development is a process by which teachers actively improve the quality of life and enhance the richness of their profession; it is a process of self-cultivation, which adheres to Confucius’s thoughts. In Confucius’s teachings, self-cultivation for people is to improve people’s overall quality through self-discipline, which is a way to realize people’s ideals and values (Miao, 2012). How to cultivate oneself in life? Confucius affirmed the way of the superior man which included three aspects. In the Analects compiled by Wu (2008, p.53), Confucius said: The wise are free from perplexities; the virtuous from anxiety; and the bold from fear.

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Therefore, in the Confucian tradition, wisdom, benevolence, and courage are the most important characteristics of a gentleman’s virtue, as well as the essential elements of self-cultivation. Teachers insist on putting a lot of effort into teaching so they maintain Chinese intellectual tradition. As for rural banzhurens’ development, courage means they are brave enough to put an idea into action and insist on practicing in life; benevolence means they have a kind heart and love students; wisdom means they are professional and intelligent in their work. A WeChat group is a digital tool that gradually influences teachers’ development, but little relevant research has been conducted. Moreover, research has neglected rural banzhurens’ development. This chapter focuses on banzhurens’ development based on WeChat group, which is the requirement of the times. In addition, this chapter combines Confucius’s thoughts with rural banzhurens’ development and analyzes WeChat groups’ function to promote rural banzhurens’ development, which is creative and meaningful.

RESEARCH QUESTIONS The following four research questions guided our exploration of two case studies of rural banzhurens’ development as observed in a WeChat group: 1. In the WeChat group, what activities did the two rural banzhurens mainly participate in? 2. In what skills or personal aspects did the two rural banzhurens acquire or improve, on the basis of the combination of the assessment of the WeChat group members with the two rural teachers’ self-assessment? 3. What are the ways to achieve rural banzhurens’ development based on the WeChat group? 4. What are the limitations of the WeChat group when it involves rural banzhurens’ development?

METHODOLOGY

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Interview The authors chose two rural banzhurens as case studies from the “Research on Rural Banzhurens’ Work and Development” WeChat group. These two rural banzhurens were interviewed about their development before and after they had joined the WeChat group. In addition, the authors interviewed the 10 major main members in the WeChat group. Subsequently, the authors interviewed six people who talked with the two banzhurens, Ms. Liu and Ms. Lin. One member had interacted with Ms. Liu only, one member had interacted with Ms. Lin only, and two members had interacted with none of them. As a result, the researchers analyzed eight interview transcripts in which the WeChat group members had communicated with the two teachers and selected typical information from two interview transcripts, in which the members had not interacted with the two teachers. This was done in order to determine these group members’ evaluations of the two rural banzhurens’ development after they had taken part in the WeChat group (all interviews referred to as I1, I2, I3.... I11)1.

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Data Analysis The two rural banzhurens, Ms. Lin and Ms. Liu, wrote a few articles under the guidance of Professor Li (a member of the WeChat group) after they had joined the WeChat group. The authors analyzed their articles, including Ms. Lin’s paper “How to Eliminate Students’ Holiday Loneliness” on 14th August, and Ms. Liu’s works “The Activity’s Program of Grade Seven Hand in Hand with Grade Eight” and “The Rural Junior High School Girl’s Aesthetic Education”. The authors collected chat records in the WeChat group since its creation, analyzed its members’ activities, and explained which aspects of teachers’ development these activities contributed.

FINDINGS This section details the teachers’ primary activities and their development with respect to the three great virtues.

The Primary Activities in Which the Two Banzhurens Engaged Ms. Lin participated in research on the themes The First Day of School and Health and Safety Holiday and published six articles in the WeChat group. Under the guidance of Professor Li, she also built a WeChat group to promote family-school cooperation. When Ms. Lin researched on The First Day of School, she first discussed the design of a questionnaire (i.e., its feasibility, process, and further development) with Mr. Chen, another member of the WeChat group, then she revised the questionnaire. At last, she wrote the article “Thinking the First Day of School.” When Ms. Lin organized the activity “Health and Safety Holiday,” she made a preliminary scheme, which she rebuilt after her exchanges with Professor Li and Dr. Qi (both members of the WeChat group) in the WeChat group. She completed these activities during a two-month timespan. During the summer holiday, Ms. Liu’s main responsibilities included organizing a class hike and taking students to participate in a volunteer activity. Also, on the day before the Mid-Autumn Festival Holiday, she arranged parent-child activities. Parents took photos for students while they donated presents to the elderly. She also helped students make a blackboard newspaper, as Ms. Liu reported in her article, “The Rural Junior High School Girl’s Aesthetic Education.”

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Teachers’ Achievements in Their Development The authors conclude these teachers’ developments were produced by three key elements: courage, benevolence, and wisdom.

Courage to Reflect on Themselves and Take Actions Courage emerges many times in Confucius’s Analects, which can be interpreted as a person showing bravery. In Ms. Liu’s opinion, “under guidance, we do our work full of energy as we have never done before or have even never dared to think” (I1), so she exhibits bravery to imagine her work and take action to do it. Indeed, courage refers to human moral intuition and the nature of free will. When Ms. Lin 386

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compared some activities in the WeChat group with some training activities in the past, she stated: “We could not choose the direction of development by our willingness in the past” (I2). Thus, she decided to join the WeChat group. Evidence shows that Ms. Lin and Ms. Liu empowered themselves by their willingness, bravery, and was reflected in their work. Four group members (Mr. Chen, Professor Li, Ms. Zhang, and Ms. Song) talked about the two banzhurens’ development of courage. Mr. Chen commented that they were brave to ask for advice, to do things, as well as to shape ideas in their mind (I3), which is their communication of courage. Professor Li added, “they are more outstanding and confident, they are brave, they are brave to express their ideas, they are not limited to the original understanding, and they have the courage to open to themselves, to students, to parents” (I4). Indeed, a brave individual can do well in many things and face his/her own mistakes (Feng, 2012). The way Ms. Lin and Ms. Liu improved demonstrates they were brave to reflect on work errors and reflect on their environment. These teachers’ courage also means they were brave to take action. In Ms. Zhang’s view, the way of sharing materials reflected their courage; this is the courage of professional development (I5). Ms. Song stated: “they are braver and braver in practice, this is a change of spirit” (I6), although she did not communicate with Ms. Lin and Ms. Liu.

Benevolence, With Love Confucius’s Analects provide an in-depth analysis of benevolence, but the core of benevolence is “a person with benevolence to love others.” Xie’s (2009) study proved that benevolence is a teachers’ basic virtue. They should observe the richness of human nature and the possibility of growth when they face students and parents. We conclude that the two rural teachers are benevolent because they try to promote students’ development and respect students’ autonomy when they design activities. In addition, Professor Li said: “When Ms. Liu lets students make a blackboard newspaper by themselves, she tries to combine this activity with junior high school girls’ aesthetic education, and lets them experience a work of beauty and express their youthful” (I4). Benevolence is a great love for students, parents, society, and generally, other human beings. It includes loving oneself, loving people, and loving nature (Wang, 2016). Ms. Liu created the “Healthy and Safe Holiday Activity” based on her love for students. Ms. Liu had students participate in a volunteer activity based on loving others. Their benevolence allowed Ms. Lin and Ms. Liu to organize these activities.

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Wisdom to Promote Banzhurens’ Professional Development Wisdom is an aspect of banzhurens’ profession. Ms. Lin affirmed that her professional development included improved reading and writing skills (I2). Ms. Liu stated that her educational thoughts changed, so she paid more attention to students’ growth and she was bold to let students organize activities by themselves (I1). The interviews with Ms. Lin and Ms. Liu highlighted that this was also a process to gain professional knowledge and skills. The members (Mr. Chen, Mr. Zhu) in WeChat group agreed; in Mr. Chen’s words: “They make great progress on their ideological level, thinking ability, writing ability” (I3). Mr. Zhu, another group member, also emphasized the improvement of these teachers’ writing abilities (I7). Confucius underlines in the Analects compiled by Wu (2008, p.11): “Knowing, admitting what you do not know, is wisdom”. Thus, wisdom is also a process of reflecting on oneself. The same concept is expressed by Dewey (2001, p.150): Thought or reflection, as we have already seen virtually if not ex387

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plicitly, is the discernment of the relation between what we try to do and what happens in consequence.” WeChat group member Ms. Zhang reflected on the banzhurens’ intelligence: “they have a strong ability to perform and a strong ability to self-reflect” (I5). Also, Principal Zheng (a member of the WeChat group) suggested that the teachers were able to improve their thinking ability as they shared materials in the WeChat group (I8). Research has shown that people develop and demonstrate wisdom through problem-solving (Feng, 2016). Two WeChat group members, Professor Li and Dr. Qi, suggested Ms. Lin’s and Ms. Liu’s ability to solve problems has improved. According to Professor Li, they are more focused on the uniqueness of their work (I4), and Dr. Qi explained that they improved their professionalism by expressing their opinions about questions (I9). Wisdom includes teachers’ own knowledge as well as teaching wisdom (Xie, 2009). For banzhurens, wisdom is not only reflected in their teaching but also in their daily work, especially if they can organize activities wisely, and if they can combine different types of school educational activities into thematic activities that are specific and systematic. Following the events Ms. Lin and Ms. Liu organized, they tried to arrange a series of thematic activities. For example, after Ms. Liu had organized students to participate in a volunteer activity at home for the elderly during a holiday, she supported learners to repeat this experience at the beginning of the term, and arranged parent-child activities to deepen this theme of loving the elderly.

The Ways to Achieve Teachers’ Development The ways to achieve teachers’ development based on WeChat groups include both external and internal factors.

External Factors: The Communication between Peers and the Guidance of Professors

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The members in the WeChat group are peers in the field of education. Dr. Qi, Ms. Zhang, and Mr. Chen hold that the communication between peers and the guidance of professors promoted the development of Ms. Lin and Ms. Liu. Dr. Qi stated, “communication and inspiration of peers, advice and encouragement of the professor make them achieve themselves” (I9). Ms. Zhang added, “they are just like a professional community to exchange ideas” (I5). Mr. Chen also suggested, “a professor tries his best to guide them, which brings them courage and power” (I3). This WeChat group is a professional community, as participants are educational doctors and professors, stakeholders of banzhurens’ magazine, and many experienced teachers. Their communications promote the two rural banzhurens’ development.

Internal Factors: Self-Consciousness and Perseverance Internal factors are also important to Ms. Lin’s and Ms. Liu’s development. They insisted on organizing activities and sharing materials actively and they always asked the members in the WeChat group for help when they were confused. As Mr. Zhu expressed, ‘’they exchange and share ideas in the WeChat group, which is a way of self-promotion and self-motivation’’ (I7). Mr. Chen used poetic language to describe them: “Because their hearts have rooted in rural areas, then under guidance, their desire is ignited” (I3).

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The Limitations of the WeChat Group as a Platform to Achieve Banzhurens’ Development The WeChat group has some defects, including the constraints of time and the problem of whether their communications in the WeChat group is trustworthy.

The Constraints of Time In the WeChat group members’ opinion, WeChat has communication challenges, and some people do not communicate in WeChat in a timely fashion. Mr. Zhu explained, “We discuss the content of the material in the group when internet is available; this is time-consuming compared to face-to-face communication” (I10). Dr. Qi affirmed that the members in a WeChat group also have many things to do in their daily life, so it is impossible to reply in due time (I9).

Trustworthiness of Communication in the WeChat Group When members discuss questions in the WeChat group, they can only receive information through words and pictures. Sometimes they may talk about irrelevant information during discussion, and it is unknown whether everyone understands the topic thoroughly after discussion. Mr. Yang affirmed that Ms. Liu and Ms. Liu did not talk about the negative aspects of their work in WeChat (I11). After all, the WeChat group cannot substitute for the real environment, because people in the WeChat group cannot know the problems in the two teachers’ activities if their feedback on activities is often positive. In Ms. Song’s view, only the positive aspects of the banzhuren’s work was visible, and their activities were rendered meaningful through rather irrelevant words and photos that are unreasonable (I6).

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DISCUSSION This research demonstrates that rural banzhurens are supported by participation in WeChat groups. In particular, the development of their courage of communication, wisdom of creating a series of activities, and their benevolence to love students are all supported by WeChat. Nevertheless, the WeChat group also has some limitations. To yield positive development, the authors put forward several recommendations. First, rural banzhurens need to realize their values. A person who reflects on his/her life will grow up rapidly, and his/ her whole life will change into a new state (Li, 2011). They should realize that they have the ability to achieve themselves, create themselves, and realize their life values. They should explore the possibility of self-development and get the initiative to control their work. They can carry out the characteristics of rural banzhurens’ education according to local conditions, and then transform the favorable external factors into their development momentum. Secondly, rural banzhurens should continue practicing and find new ways to promote their development. They can take actions based on the use of environmental resources. They should create a series of activities to practice. According to Li (2013), system construction skill is one of teachers’ professional competences. Through practice, they can turn themselves into their own masters in their career and improve the quality of their life (Ye, 2007). 389

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Lastly, in the context of a new era, the countryside should change from being closed to open. Information technology is a great way to promote rural teachers’ professional development and the quality of rural schooling (Chang, Feng, & Li, 2015). Information technology can promote school-family cooperation through the use of a network communication platform. The use of information technology can also enhance interaction among colleagues. This chapter illustrated how the use of WeChat contributed to more interactive communication, both in terms of quantity and quality between teachers and university professors.

FUTURE RESEARCH DIRECTIONS Further interviews and research with more Chinese rural teachers are needed to fully understand their development. This chapter focuses on three aspects of rural teachers’ development. Future research should consider several more aspects of teacher development. In addition to WeChat, many other information technologies can promote rural teachers’ development. Research should examine how these technologies influence rural teachers. At the same time, it is important to pay attention to traditional culture’s function to teachers.

ACKNOWLEDGMENT The authors are grateful for the support of the members of the WeChat group and the friends who have translated the English texts. The paper is sponsored by the Peak Discipline Construction Project of Education at East China Normal University (ECNU). The authors are grateful for the funding support from Shanghai Municipal Education Commission (Funding Grant: A1306 and 13SG27) and Shanghai Pujiang Program (Funding Grant: 14PJC029), and for the help from the Center of New Basic Education of ECNU, Institute of Schooling Reform and Development of ECNU.

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Dewey, J. (2001). Democracy and education. New York: The Free Press. Ding, R., Feng, X., & Li, H. (2015). Research on the professional development of rural teachers: Based on the perspective of network information technology. Education Exploration, (5), 141-143. Feng, J. (2012). On the thought of “gentleman’s three great virtues” of the Analects (Unpublished doctoral dissertation). HeBei University, Baoding, China.

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General Office of the State Council. (2015). The plan of supporting rural teachers (2015- 2020). Retrieved October 22, 2016, from http://www.moe.edu.cn/publicfiles/business/htmlfiles/moe/s7058/201506/188990. html Guo, S., & Zhu, C. (2013). Analysis on the concept of teacher literacy and professionalism. Journal of Hebei Normal University, 15(10), 67–71. Huang, B. (2008). Teachers’ profession development in the rural areas: New trends of teacher education research in China. Theory and Practice of Education, 28(1), 40–44. Li, J. (2011). On the awakening of life and the educational reform. Educational Research Review, (9): 4–12. Li, J. (2013). On the system construction ability of banzhurens: Using on the professional ability of the contemporary Chinese banzhurens. The Growth of Banzhurens, (10), 37-41. Li, X. (2016). Research on the translation of teachers’ professional development based on WeChat. Occupation Education, (5), 211-262. Miao, R. (2012). Several issues on Confucius’ self-cultivation. Journal of Yantai University, 25(4), 1–5. Ministry of Education of the People’s Republic of China. (2005). Some opinions on further promoting the balanced development of compulsory education. Retrieved October 22, 2016, from http://www.moe. edu.cn/publicfiles/business/htmlfiles/moe/s3321/201001/xxgk_81809.ht ml. Ministry of Education of the People’s Republic of China. (2006). The training program of national primary and secondary schools’ banzhurens. Retrieved January 20, 2017, from http://www.moe.edu. cn/publicfiles/business/htmlfiles/moe/moe_1444/200703/20594.htm Ministry of Education of the People’s Republic of China. (2009). The work rules of primary and secondary school banzhurens. Retrieved January 20, 2017, from http://www.edu.cn/ji_chu_771/20090824/ t20090824_401584.shtml Ministry of Education of the People’s Republic of China. (2010). Long-term education reform and development plan (2010-2020). Retrieved October 22, 2016, from http://www.moe.edu.cn/publicfiles/ business/htmlfiles/moe/moe_838/201008/93704.html Sun, D., & Lin, Z. (2014). Investigation of the present situation of rural teachers’ survival and development and policy recommendations. Teacher Education Research., 26(6), 40–46.

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Zhou, L., & Huang, D. (2016). Research on the development mode of TPACK (Technological Pedagogical And Content Knowledge) based on rural teachers teaching process: A case study of Shaoguan city. The Inservice Education and Training of School Teachers, (8), 9-13.

KEY TERMS AND DEFINITIONS Benevolence: Rural banzhurens’ heart of loving and ability to build caring relationships. Courage: Courage means that a person should be brave. She/he should be brave to reflect on herself /himself and be brave to take actions. Information Technology: Information technology is a summary conception of all kinds of technologies to manage and deal with Information.

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Professional Learning Community: Some people who are in similar majors and careers get together to build a learning community. In this community, they promote their development by sharing knowledge. Rural Banzhurens: Rural banzhurens are the backbone of rural teachers, who is the main person that looks after students; he/she cares about students’ moral education, and he/she is the mentor of primary and middle school students; he/she is the person responsible for the class management and also a coordinator for subject teachers. Rural Teachers’ Development: The process by which rural teachers achieve knowledge, skills, and civic awareness. The WeChat Group “Research on Rural Banzhurens’ Work and Development”: Research on Rural Banzhurens’ Work and Development” is the name of a Wechat group, which is an online communication platform by which people can share pictures, messages, and videos. This Wechat group was built on 23 July 2016, consisting of many teachers and researchers, who are interested in studying rural teachers, especially the development of rural banzhurens’. Wisdom: Wisdom is an aspect of rural banzhurens’ professional development, including the ability to solve problems and to organize activities; it is also a process of reflecting on oneself.

ENDNOTE 1



I1: interview of Ms. Liu; I2: interview of Ms. Lin; I3: interview of Mr. Chen; I4: interview of Professor Li; I5: interview of Ms. Zhang; I6: interview of Ms. Song; I7: interview of Mr. Zhu; I8: interview of Principal Zheng; I9: interview of Dr. Qi; I10: interview of another Mr. Zhu; I11: interview of Mr. Yang.

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This work was previously published in Digital Transformation and Innovation in Chinese Education; pages 307-318, copyright year 2018 by Information Science Reference (an imprint of IGI Global).

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Section 3

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Use in General Teaching and Learning

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Chapter 21

Advancing a New General Education Curriculum Through a Faculty Community of Practice: A Model for Intentional Design Judith A. Giering University of Virginia, USA Gail M. Hunger University of Virginia, USA

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ABSTRACT Many institutions of higher education are reimagining their general education curriculum or adding new, innovative programs to their course oferings. Faculty driving such innovation, while experts in their disciplines, often lack experience with instructional design and the benefts it subsequently brings to these types of programs. At the same time, process-driven, traditional approaches to instructional design may not feel relevant to some faculty. In this chapter, the authors describe the Learning Design Collaborative, a new model for instructional design built on the principles of intentional learning, authentic learning, and student engagement. Placed within the context of a faculty learning community, this experience has been used with faculty developing courses for the frst-year signature experience of a new general education curriculum. Implications of this initiative suggest the importance of continually evaluating instructional design models, opportunities for implementing the model in other programs, and a relationship with other emerging instructional design models.

DOI: 10.4018/978-1-7998-7294-8.ch021

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 Advancing a New General Education Curriculum Through a Faculty Community of Practice

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INTRODUCTION In the course of a few decades, the theory, methods, and approaches to instructional design in higher education have changed significantly. Broadly defined as the process of identifying a learning goal or objective, identifying instructional approaches to meet that goal, and developing media and other materials to support the instruction (Gustafson & Branch, 2007), instructional design integrates theory and methods from areas such as educational psychology, cognitive psychology, instructional technology, media, and communications (Brown & Green, 2006). The evolution of instructional design follows two parallel strands of progress: the rise of instructional media throughout the 20th Century and research into learning theories and how they might be applied to training situations. The two strands came together with the military’s need to quickly train large numbers of personnel during World War II (Dick, 1987). During this time, psychologists and educators used both their knowledge of learning, along with media in the form of filmstrips, in order to develop training materials and procedures for the military services (Reiser, 2001). Implementing a number of approaches and forms of evaluation, psychologists were able to “significantly increase the percentage of personnel who successfully completed the program” (Reiser, 2007). In higher education, instructional design first became relevant in support of the rise in distance learning. The ADDIE (analyze, develop, design, implement, and evaluate) model (Dick, 1978) quickly became the standard on which numerous models for instructional design in both the corporate world and higher education were built. Hannafin (1992) states, “Despite the proliferation of models and perspectives in systems approaches . . . the differences among models often are related to level of detail, terminology, and emphasis that clearly differentiated foundations, assumptions, and learning paradigms.” While ADDIE and similar models worked well with behaviorist and cognitivist pedagogies, by the 1990’s researchers began to focus on constructivism as a basis for new models of instructional design. One such model, authentic learning (Herrington, Reeves, and Oliver, 2007), contributed heavily to the study described here. Today, instructional design is understood as both a discipline that has a body of research and a process through which instructional materials and learning experiences are developed. The success of any instructional design model must be investigated with an understanding of the context in which it is being applied. While research and the experiences of practitioners provide evidence of the effectiveness of extant instructional design models, in their work at a liberal arts college that is part of an R1 university, the authors struggled to anchor any of these approaches. Faculty did not see the process as relevant to or integrated with their disciplines. They had some skepticism about research from a field they were not familiar with. Perhaps most importantly, they questioned a process that reduced (they felt) the process of designing a course to a series of predictable steps, something that seemed to undervalue their own knowledge and experience in their fields. It was in an effort to elicit the most effective practices and methods of instructional design from the research and bring them to bear in this specific context that researchers developed the Learning Design Collaborative (LDC), a process that integrates instructional design with a faculty community of practice. In this chapter, the authors share the model underpinning the Learning Design Collaborative and point to future applications for it in higher education. Finally, we describe implications of this work for other practitioners and researchers.

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IMPLEMENTATION OF A NEW GENERAL EDUCATION CURRICULUM: A DESIGN- BASED RESEARCH STUDY IN INSTRUCTIONAL DESIGN Higher education conferences and journals are replete with stories of colleges and universities redesigning their general education curriculum. These efforts are being driven by factors such as a desire to better integrate knowledge, skills, and application, increase experiential learning opportunities, and a provide broader exposure to many knowledge domains (Recent Trends in General Education Curriculum, 2016). At the University of Virginia’s College and Graduate School of Arts and Sciences (the College), the redesign of the general education curriculum was approached as a re-commitment to a liberal education and an articulation of the faculty’s desire for students to “help us build on the historical strengths of our liberal arts and sciences education to better equip our students . . . to flourish as active, reflective, articulate, and contributing members of civic communities (Baucom, 2016). One aspect of the new general education curriculum is a first-year, signature learning experience called The Engagements, which “aim to introduce students to an intellectual framework that will guide them in the acquisition and discovery of knowledge from the moment they arrive on Grounds” (Perez, 2016). A group of faculty who will serve on a rotating basis were appointed as Faculty Fellows and tasked with designing the courses for The Engagements. The College’s Learning Design and Technology team supports faculty teaching and learning endeavors and is staffed by experts on instructional design, pedagogy, and learning technologies. The team was asked to facilitate the course design process for the College Fellows (Fellows), prompting the authors to explore the most effective way of engaging the faculty in this effort. It was critical to their process to ensure that the approach used with the Fellows be meaningful and productive. They knew that they would be challenged by a strong group of faculty from the arts, humanities, social sciences, and sciences that have been highly successful in their disciplines, but not necessarily having been exposed to the concept or value of instructional design. Given the high stakes of this venture, the authors wanted to support the design effort with the research-driven methods that would meet the following objectives: a) invite commitment to the process from the Fellows; b) be supported by the research; c) feel relevant to the purpose of designing a first-year signature curricular experience; and d) be effective in enabling outstanding learning experiences for our students. The authors realized early in the process that there would be a recursiveness to this experience; they wanted to facilitate faculty members designing courses that were intentional, authentic, and engaged, by developing a faculty experience that was intentional, authentic, and engaged. The literature in these three areas is rich, as is the literature about faculty communities of practice. The authors saw this as an opportunity to combine the two aspects and create a dynamic, enriching, and productive experience for their faculty. In order to fully represent what the course design experience would entail, they named it the Learning Design Collaborative (LDC). This model is presented not only as an effective way to support a new curriculum, but also as a model that can be used by anyone interested in deep and meaningful approaches to instructional design. The authors of this chapter facilitated the LDC for the Fellows and they saw an opportunity to conduct a design-based research study on the faculty experience, with the goal of informing their practice and improving subsequent iterations of the LDC.

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METHODOLOGY Barab and Squire (2004) propose that “future progress for improving teaching and learning through technology can be realized through design-based research.” Herrington, McKenney, Reeves, and Oliver (2011) state that “design-based research integrates the development of solutions to practical problems in learning environments with the identification of reusable design principles”. Methodologically, our study focused on understanding how faculty experienced the LDC and what the impact was on the courses they designed. Charma and McShane (2008) note that design-based research exhibits five characteristics: • • • •

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•

Central goals of designing an environment and developing theories of learning are intertwined; Development and research take place through continuous cycles of design, enactment, analysis, and redesign; Research on design must lead to sharable theories that help communicate relevant implications to practitioners and other educational designers; Must account for how designs function in authentic settings (documenting success and failure) and focus on interactions that refne our understanding of the learning issues involved; Methods should document and connect the processes of enactment and outcomes of interest.

Our study has exhibits these characteristics as outlined and will be discussed in this chapter. The (LDC) was developed by the research team over a period of a year. The team met weekly and began by sharing their own experiences that had gone very well, or not so well, along with research and literature that resonated for them and their faculty. They considered how they could connect the positive outcomes, and held those ideas up against established models. They recognized that the LDC is not breaking entirely new ground in instructional design research, but rather, it is a novel way of bringing together effective aspects from the research and combining them into a process that would be welcomed by their faculty. The research team also understood that they had to meet their faculty where they stood, in their disciplines and curricular contexts, requiring the team to consider how to translate their knowledge of pedagogy, instructional design research, and terminology into language that felt relevant for the Fellows. Gradually, a process took shape that encouraged the team, and they began testing parts of the model in a variety of contained contexts. After several such attempts at “delivering” this approach to instructional design, researchers realized that they had miscalculated in one important way. Faculty wanted more time to hear from each other and not just from those of giving the workshop. They were eager to share their own experiences as teachers and course designers. They had “aha” moments when they realized they had more in common with faculty from other departments than they previously thought. The research team began to see that faculty who were participating in this way ultimately designed courses that were better aligned with the principles of the LDC. It became clear that more emphasis needed to be put on the experience of the faculty in order to help them integrate new knowledge about instructional design into their own frameworks. Thus, LDC became a model of instructional design anchored in a faculty learning community. The focus of the LDC started as a way to extract the essential concepts that would enable faculty to design a course that is contextualized and meaningful, but by reforming that process into a cohort-driven, sustained engagement over time, the research team created opportunities for faculty to more fully understand and

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integrate the LDC into their own disciplinary frameworks and ultimately design effective and engaging learning experiences for their students.

LEARNING DESIGN COLLABORATIVE: THE MODEL The LDC was designed based on the principles of Articulating Intentionality, Designing Authentic Courses, and Cultivating Engagement. The researchers understood these principles to be iterative, as represented in Figure 1. Figure 1. Principles of articulating intentionality, designing authentic courses, and cultivating engagement

Below are explanations of how each area of research informed the model:

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Intentionality Bereiter and Scardamalia (1989) define intentional learning as cognitive processes that have learning as a goal rather than an incidental outcome. Intentionality in learning design also calls attention to the sometimes-conflicting interactions between what is ‘explicit’ and what is ‘hidden’ in the curriculum. Kift and Field (2009) echo the fundamental objectives of the group when they say, “Student engagement in the first year of tertiary study can be successfully supported through intentional curriculum design that motivates students to learn, provides a positive learning climate, and encourages students to be active in their learning.” Many of these concepts translate to metacognitive actions on the part of students, something that the researchers felt faculty could actively foster for their students through course design. The research team incorporated the principles of intentionality into the LDC by creating space for each faculty member to reflect upon their own objectives as course designers and activities to help them consider how to create both a learning environment and class ethos that invites students to be intentional learners.

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Authenticity Activities, investigations, and problems have always been at the heart of student involvement in meaningful learning contexts. Authentic learning is a pedagogical approach that situates learning tasks in the context of future use. Resnick (1987) states that “research on the nature of everyday, practical, real-world intelligence and learning is beginning to provide a basis for understanding what distinguishes practical from formal intelligence.” Over the last two decades, authentic learning designs have captured the imaginations of innovative educators who see the approach as a means to enable students to develop robust knowledge that transfers to real-world practice. Herrington, Reeves, and Oliver (2014) state that, “authentic learning typically focuses on real-world, complex problems and their solutions, using roleplaying exercises, problem-based activities, case studies, and participation in virtual communities of practice. It offers students opportunities to research issues, think critically, gain new perspectives, solve problems, and develop written and oral communication skills guided by engaged and involved faculty.” Hannafin (1992) states that “rather than decontextualizing learning by isolating and making explicit ‘required’ elements, it may be fundamentally more productive to embed desired elements within authentic activities wherein the knowledge and skills naturally reside.” The aspect of authentic learning was presented in the LDC by a focus on three of its nine elements: context, task, and assessment. A set of guiding questions along with group discussion and activities helped faculty consider the unique contextual issues in their courses and design tasks and assessments aligned with the learning objectives and intentions of the course. The context element was presented to help faculty consider situational factors and student motivation in their syllabus design. The task element was presented for faculty to workshop how they would design authentic activities that were connected throughout the course. The assessment element asked faculty to design authentic assessments and activities that would engage students in deep learning. Faculty members who typically assigned papers and a final exam began to shift their thinking towards projects with overarching themes for their courses. For example, a few faculty designed their courses to scaffold authentic tasks that produced a project and presentation. The team felt these three elements could be viewed as the overarching categories under which other elements of authentic learning would align.

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Engagement The Glossary of Education Reform defines student engagement as “the degree of attention, curiosity, interest, optimism, and passion that students show when they are learning or being taught,” which extends to the level of motivation they have to learn and progress in their education. In the LDC, student engagement was discussed at the course level, where faculty were asked to discuss the conditions that lead to successful student engagement through strategies of curiosity, originality, relationships, and success. Engagement takes place through activities between student to instructor, student to peers, and student to world. The researchers presented these ideas to the faculty and asked them to reflect on how students were engaged at the course level. They reviewed their syllabi to incorporate new insights through informal and formal activities. Researchers also discussed various types of resources at an institutional level; issues from accessibility to technology to classroom environments were discussed. Faculty, many of who primarily taught upper-classmen or graduate students, were asked to consider the perspective of a first-year student encountering a first-year class and how they might engage students beyond lecture.

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Community of Practice Wenger (1998) states that communities of practice are groups of people who share a concern or a passion for something they do, and learn how to do it better as they interact regularly. Ultimately, the LDC was developed and facilitated as a faculty community of practice, recognizing the need to have the Fellows discuss, ideate, and collaborate as they sought to design courses for the new curriculum. The team took several steps to move from a “workshop” mindset to a “community-building” mindset within the LDC in an effort to help faculty experience these benefits. They began each day with refreshments and conversation, encouraging faculty members to mingle and share their perspectives, which fostered a sense of trust and humanity. Throughout each day, faculty members were assigned to work consistently within small groups, which fostered a supportive sense of community. However, at lunch, faculty members were encouraged to sit with new groups and physically move to new spaces. This deepened the level of conversation and trust building in their community. This gradually became something faculty sought out themselves, even when not encouraged to do so. Throughout the LDC, faculty members gained confidence by sharing their ideas and questions, began to more readily share their ideas and concerns, and ultimately felt a sense of ownership of the design process.

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LEARNING DESIGN COLLABORATIVE: IMPLEMENTATION The LDC was initially conceived as a multi-day faculty experience in which the principles of intentionality, authenticity, and engagement would be delivered to faculty within the context of a faculty community of practice. The development of the Engagement curriculum and the design of individual Engagement courses took place over a longer period of time than other faculty groups with whom the authors had worked. While individual course design took place over a four-day, intensive workshop, the Fellows began meeting months before that workshop and a full year before the Engagement courses were set to be delivered for the first time. Cox (2004) states that “Faculty learning communities create connections for isolated teachers, establish networks for those pursuing pedagogical issues . . . foster multidisciplinary curricula, and begin to bring community to higher education”. Throughout their first semester of work together, the Fellows met monthly in daylong workshops. The work accomplished in these meetings served multiple purposes: getting to know each other and developing a collegiality in their work together, breaking down disciplinary differences, identifying and working toward achieving initial activities in designing the Engagements, and setting the stage for moving into the course design. Also, importantly, two critical documents came out of these workshops: the Engagements’ Design Principles, and the Engagements’ Definitions and Learning Objectives. The Engagements’ Principles is a statement of intent by the Faculty Fellows. While the new general education curriculum described in broad strokes what the Engagement courses would be, the committee who conceived the idea felt it would be most appropriate to leave specifics to the Fellows. The Fellows took this charge seriously, and through a series of conversations, debates, and challenges to their own and each others’ thinking, they wrote a list of core ideas describing what the Engagement courses would strive to do, for example “model and encourage a sense of intellectual wonder . . . introduce students to how scholars frame inquiry . . . frame enduring and emerging questions . . .” (College Fellows, personal communication, May 26, 2017). These principles quickly became a touchstone for the Fellows as they designed their courses, and several times throughout the LDC, the document was used as a check-in

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to ensure that the courses being designed were true to the promise of the Engagements as expressed in this document. The Engagements’ Definitions offers a brief description of each of the four Engagement categories: Engaging Aesthetics, Ethical Engagement, Empirical and Scientific Engagement, and the Engaging Difference. These descriptions provided a way to articulate to various audiences, including faculty colleagues, students, alumni, the public, and evaluators, what the courses were actually about. Learning objectives were also written to accompany each of the descriptions, with the idea that these learning objectives would be shared among any Fellow teaching a version of that Engagement course. Therefore, the Definitions became an important part of the course design process. Table 1 provides an abridged text of the Engagement Definitions and associated learning objectives. Table 1. Engagement definitions and associated learning objectives Engaging Aesthetics In their shaping of materials, language, space, and sound, artists, architects, writers, composers, and makers of all kinds reinterpret the world, showing us vital ways of thinking about our present, our past, and the natural environment. We will explore how works of art provoke our most visceral emotional responses and invite engaged intellectual reflection and interpretation. Aesthetic Engagement courses will help you:      • Think critically about the nature of art and artistry      • Describe and analyze aesthetic experiences and objects      • Reflect on the historical, geographical, and cultural differences that shape human responses to aesthetic experience      • Respond to and take stock of the moral and ethical capacities of the arts, whether in everyday life or at moments of social, political, and environmental crisis Empirical and Scientific Engagement Both within and beyond the university, you will encounter claims about the natural and social worlds and be confronted with situations that require you to evaluate and make decisions based on evidence. Empirical methods are a crucial component to addressing and answering such a broad range of essential questions. We will explore how questions and hypotheses are formulated and evaluated. Empirical and Scientific Engagement courses will help you:      • Define and delimit the empirical      • Develop a framework for discerning types of knowledge based on what is empirically observable in the natural, physical, and social worlds      • Evaluate supported claims about the natural and social worlds by framing empirical questions and interpreting the claims in the context of new data      • Articulate the limitations of using empirical approaches to describe complex phenomena

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Engaging Differences Both within the university and beyond, you will encounter an ever-greater range of forms in which human difference is realized across space and time, including distinctions of culture, religion, and nationality, as well as those of class, race, gender, sexuality, ability, privilege, and power. If these differences can challenge our abilities to understand one another, they are also occasions for deeper knowledge. Engaging Differences courses will help you:      • Analyze and evaluate the richness and complexity of variable experience      • Reflect upon the social inequalities historically produced and patterned along some lines of difference      • Consider how difference functions across social and temporal boundaries; how imbalances can lead to lasting structural injury; how we live, perform, and express our differences and develop biases and construct forms of discrimination      • Understand different lives and cultures in a spirit of a common good to make sense of human experience Ethical Engagement Ethical engagement is inevitable––even ignoring conflict and controversy is itself an ethical decision. Both within the university and beyond, you will encounter questions of right and wrong, liberty and obligation, justice and mercy; you will be responsible for whatever conception of the “good” you use to structure and orient your life. We will consider how to understand ethical reflection and practice while acknowledging that some differences on ethical questions are irreconcilable. Ethical Engagement Courses will help you:      • Articulate, evaluate and respond to ethical questions      • Reflect upon ethical traditions, your own and those of others      • Grapple with the culturally-located and historically-rooted contexts of ethical action and reflection      • Recognize yourselves as ethical agents within your communities and the broader world; and      • Consider what it means to live a good life

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After a semester of monthly meetings and the production of the Engagement Principles and Engagement Definitions, the Fellows were asked to prepare for the four-day course design workshop by drafting a course description and learning objectives. The learning objectives needed to embody the spirit of the ones set out in the Engagement Definitions but could be modified to address the specifics of the course being designed. As well, the course descriptions were critiqued within the group using the lens of the Engagement Principles to ensure adherence to their intent. In this way, the Engagement courses, while each distinct in topic, demonstrated a communal sense of purpose and shared curricular intent, something valued very much by the Fellows. It was with this foundation that the Fellows began course design. In the first iteration of the LDC, twelve College Fellows from nine different academic departments were brought together to design their courses; only two had had any formal training in curriculum or course design experience. The LDC was delivered in an active learning space, with moveable tables for small group discussions, whiteboards for writing down ideas and questions, and a microphone so that faculty could hear one another in large group discussions. There were also breakout spaces, where faculty could meet in small groups to ideate and collaborate or work and write individually. This space helped lead to dynamic interaction among the Fellows and supported the team’s goal of community building. At the outset of course design, researchers introduced the Fellows to three critical questions that were derived from the Engagement Principles and explicitly linked to the three pillars of the LDC: intentionality, authenticity, and student engagement (Table 2). These questions provided context to the LDC and served as a touchstone at each stage of the process for the Fellows in reminding them of their larger goals. The team also shared a roadmap for the deliverables the Fellows would produce. Structured tasks and discussions occurred each day with the goal of completing one or more of the deliverables leading to a designed course. Each day ended with individual consultations towards faculty accomplishing their tasks. Table 2. Critical questions linked to the Learning Design Collaborative 1. Intentionality: In what way will the design of your course speak to the Engagement principles and enable students to develop the habits of mind embodied in the Engagements? 2. Authenticity: How will your course assignments and assessments equip students to frame scholarly inquiry, analyze problems, and create knowledge? 3. Engagement: How will the ethos you cultivate in your course encourage the flourishing of the self in your students?

Following are details of each day of the LDC.

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Day 1 On the first day of the LDC, the Fellows considered the critical question of intentionality, asking in what way the design of their courses would speak to the Engagement principles and enable students to develop the habits of mind embodied there. The Fellows were asked to do some reflective writing in which they expressed their own intentions for their Engagement courses as individuals and as a cohort; some of this language ended up on individual Engagements syllabi. The Fellows then moved into a facilitated discussion about student-centered courses, considering the intersection of faculty and student intentionality. With this foundation, the Fellows began writing their learning objectives, with frequent consultation with other Fellows and the instructional designers to ensure alignment with the Engagement

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Definitions. It was during these activities that a sense of cohesiveness across learning objectives emerged; the Fellows realized that their shared work had led them to designing courses that were interconnected in some important ways.

Day 2 Moving into the second day, the team asked the Fellows to tackle the critical question of authenticity and how course assignments and assessments might equip students to frame scholarly inquiry, analyze problems, and create knowledge. This question was couched in the literature of authentic learning, and researchers provided the definition of authentic learning along with characteristics of authentic tasks and assessments with specific examples. One activity for the Fellows was to review other activities and assessments through the lens of authentic learning to improve their facility with its elements. This activity led to a rich discussion around the topic of activities, assessment, and how they are and could be connected. Fellows developed ideas for designing authentic tasks in their courses in an iterative manner, allowing for frequent feedback and discussion. As this progressed, the assignments and assessments became more reflective of the authentic learning principles. This was a critical process since the Fellows initially responded skeptically to the pedagogical research framework. Herrington, Reeves, and Oliver (2007) state that the activity itself is the key element of immersion and engagement in higher order learning. The responsibility for learning moves to the student rather than the instructor and the learner becomes responsible for deciding the steps required to complete the task. The researchers attempted to replicate that process for the Fellows themselves as they worked through the design of activities and assessments, resisting the urge to simply have the Fellows move through a pre-defined process. While each Fellow moved through this at different speeds, the researchers believe that ultimately, the outcomes of their designed activities and assessments were rich and effective.

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Day 3 On day three, researchers took a step back from the design aspect of LDC to address important contextual issues related to the Engagement program. Herrington (2006) states that one of the elements of authentic learning is context, which provides a meaningful setting for the solving of complex problems. As the Fellows moved deeper into the design process, the team realized that further progress was being held back by a need to make decisions about the program and its implementation; these decisions would ultimately roll down to the course level. One aspect of this conversation was the determination of whether or not to use a shared text and if so, what that text would be. A second aspect was the decision to implement a speaker series for all students in all Engagement courses. As the Fellows selected a shared text and identified speakers, subsequent iterations of their course design work was able to be responsive to that content. Finally, and perhaps most critically, the Fellows developed plans for how the discussion sections would integrate for students the content and thinking from all four Engagement areas.

Day 4 On the final day of the LDC, the group discussed the final critical question related to student engagement, asking how the ethos they each cultivate in their courses might encourage the flourishing of the self in their students. A discussion ensued on how student engagement was defined and how it could be

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facilitated at the curricular level and the course level. The Fellows did some individual reflective writing and an activity in which they evaluated a syllabus from the perspective of a student. The team also led a discussion about various resources the Fellows might need for their courses, including active learning spaces, library services, digital tools, media, and more. Finally, in the culminating activity, the Fellows partnered to conduct a mini-critique of their work in a peer review format. Before departing, the Fellows set goals for their next step, preparing for a final syllabus review and critique.

OUTCOMES The Learning Design Collaborative has been delivered to two cohorts of College Fellows designing Engagement courses for the new general education curriculum. After each instance, the research team debriefed among themselves and with the directors of the College Fellows. Further, they reviewed the completed syllabi for the designed courses for evidence of the design principles in the LDC and generally asked for feedback from the Fellows who participated. Findings fell primarily into two categories: the instructional design process and the faculty and the faculty community of practice.

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Instructional Design Perhaps the most significant outcomes of the LDC were the designed courses themselves. Careful review of the syllabi demonstrated basic instructional design tenets, such as well-written learning objectives, alignment between learning objectives, activities, assessments, and statements on the intended classroom ethos. A deeper look at the activities and assessments revealed a strong connection with the principles of authentic learning. In previous courses, many of the Fellows had relied on a standard approach of midterm exam, final exam, and one or two formal papers in their courses. Yet, in the courses they designed in the LDC, activities became contextual and multi-dimensional, assessments were both formative and summative, writing was not always a high-stakes activity, and students sometimes had choices in the ways they would demonstrate learning. In conversation during and after the LDC, the Fellows reflected that even after years of teaching, they had never considered some of these methods and strategies for teaching. More practically, after the first iteration, researchers recognized several improvements that could be made regarding the content of the LDC. The first round relied too heavily on the high-level learning objectives that were part of the Engagement Definitions and not enough on the specific translation of these learning objectives for each course. Questions about activities and assessments helped the team realize that they needed to present them as integrated concepts and not individual ones. They added in research about student-centered learning in the second LDC, as it felt relevant to the questions and discussions that emerged in the first LDC. These were easy fixes, but there were two areas that researchers continued to debate on how best to address. The first was how to integrate the practical aspects of teaching the courses. Considerations such as active learning classroom features, learning technologies, and coordinating with library services are important to faculty, but can quickly dominate time researchers wanted to see dedicated to the design process. As of now, their response is to have additional workshops or consultations on the side for individual faculty. However, the question of whether these topics are truly outside of the design process or should be more integrated in the approach remains. Even more complicated is the question of balancing the tension between educational research and vocabulary, and the domains of faculty from traditional arts and sciences disciplines. Faculty from each

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cohort expressed resistance to some of the research and much of the vocabulary that came from the educational and instructional design literature. The researchers believe this stems from two aspects. First, most Fellows had a lack of experience with and knowledge of the body of research related to pedagogy and instructional design and were not receptive to accepting it at face value; they at times became sidetracked in challenging some of the premises. Second, in the same way that authentic, inquiry-driven learning can make students uncomfortable at first, it is possible that Fellows felt vulnerable approaching a new domain of knowledge. This continues to be an area of much discussion and evaluation for the team.

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Faculty Experience Koehler and Mishra (2005) describe the “conceptualization of professional development of faculty knowledge as being a complex web of relationships between content, pedagogy, and technology.” This has significant implications for faculty learning and professional development. Faculty members participating in the collaborative were skeptical at the outset of this experience. As the team implemented the LDC model, they stayed true to their goals of intentionality, authenticity, and engagement as not only design principles but also as ways to foster the community of practice. Gradually, the Fellows began to recognize that this environment enabled them to integrate their disciplinary knowledge, programmatic objectives, and facility with the course design process. They created an inclusive, diverse, and collegial process and expressed their ownership of the group, ultimately evolving into a dynamic environment for designing the first-year experience of a new undergraduate curriculum. Wenger (2002) identifies some of the activities of faculty who work together in a community of practice as sharing information, insight, and advice, helping each other solve problems, discussing their situations, aspirations, and needs, and pondering common issues. An informal bond may develop as the faculty find value in learning together; this value can extend over time as participants develop a body of common knowledge, practices, and approaches (Wenger, 2002). Importantly, they also develop personal relationships and established ways of interacting, potentially even leading to a common sense of identity (Wenger, 2002). All of the aspects Wenger describes were seen in the LDC as the Fellows designed their Engagement courses. Over time, they began to open up and share their thinking about teaching and learning, something many of them had not experienced in their typical work in their departments. They expressed gratitude for the experience and for their colleagues and created a shared discourse around the topics of teaching, learning and course design. Several specifically noted the benefit of working with other faculty across various disciplines, recognizing their shared teaching experiences, despite differences in the methods and approaches of their specific fields. They stated that hearing other perspectives, regardless of the disciplinary orientation, helped them consider important themes around student learning and shared challenges. The Fellows not only developed community and trust with the other faculty designing Engagements, but also with the instructional designers facilitating the LDC. As the process evolved, the Fellows began to acknowledge the team members’ roles as partners, with different faculty gravitating toward different instructional designers. The team felt this was a positive development, as it appeared to help the Fellows’ acceptance of the instructional design process. Nearly every Fellow followed up the LDC with an individual consultation on one or more aspects of their course design and/or delivery. The trust developed between faculty and instructional designers enabled the team to make suggestions on pedagogical and course design strategies, even when this required the Fellows to consider new and sometimes uncomfortable decisions about their courses. When the first cohort of Fellows first met with the second cohort,

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several made the explicit recommendation to trust the instructional design team even when the process seemed confusing or uncertain. Given the amount of skepticism expressed at the beginning of the LDC, the team were very pleased with this feedback.

IMPLICATIONS The principal implication for designers of programs that support curricular and course design is the way in which new learning theory can inform the instructional design of courses. The experience of the researchers suggests that instructional designers should be responsive to teaching and learning research and consider ways to evolve traditional instructional design approaches such as ADDIE that incorporate this work. Particularly in contexts of new or innovative curricula or complex learning challenges, an instructional design model based on intentionality, authentic learning, and engagement can be an effective substitute for the traditional instructional systems design model. The development of the LDC also reflects the emergence of new approaches to the instructional design process across higher education. One new model that appears relevant to this work is the Critical Instructional Design model (Morris, 2016), which grows out of the tenets of Critical Pedagogy. Morris (2016) acknowledges the tension between traditional models of instructional design and pedagogies that contextualize learning and increase agency. He presents a model of instructional design that “prioritizes collaboration, participation, social justice, learner agency, emergence, narrative, and relationships of nurture between students and between teachers and students.” Although introduced after the development of the LDC, the researchers would like to explore the connections between the LDC and Critical Instructional Design, as well as other emerging models, to see if this could further inform their model. As the LDC was developed, the researchers were careful to consider the potential to use this model in multiple contexts as well as scale the process. They suggest that the strength of this model is that it is replicable and generalizable to other instructional design projects. Researchers have successfully implemented the LDC model in multiple situations beyond the Engagement courses; some examples include a civic engagement program, a design forum for faculty teaching with e-portfolios, and a STEM faculty group. In each case, the effectiveness was highly correlated to the shared mission of the faculty working together. The researchers have not used the LDC in cases of individual faculty designing unrelated courses but intend to investigate whether he process would be as effective in that situation.

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CONCLUSION The authors continue to deliver and evaluate the LDC in both the Engagements and other programs that are undergoing curricular- or course-level design. Future implementations will enable them to expand their investigation into the long-term and sustainable impact of the LDC, specifically in regard to the practice of highly-effective instructional design and the experience that faculty have as they participate in the community of practice. They remain confident that faculty who experience an intentional, authentic, and engaged approach to instructional design are most likely to integrate important pedagogical ideas and design practices into their work.

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REFERENCES Barab, S., & Squire, K. (2004). Design-based research: Putting a stake in the ground. Journal of the Learning Sciences, 13(1), 1–14. Baucom, I. (2016, May 5). College of arts and sciences to pilot groundbreaking curriculum changes/ Interviewer: L. Perez. UVAToday. Retrieved from https://www.news.virginia.edu/ content/college-artssciences-pilot-groundbreaking-curriculum-changes Bereiter, C., & Scardamalia, M. (1989). Intentional learning as a goal of instruction. Knowing, learning, and instruction: Essays in honor of Robert Glaser, 361-392. Brown, A., & Green, T. D. (2006). The essentials of instructional design: Connection fundamental principles with process and practice. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall. Cox, M. D. (2004). Introduction to faculty learning communities. New Directions for Teaching and Learning, 2004(97), 5–23. doi:10.1002/tl.129 Dick, W. (1987). A history of instructional design and its impact on educational psychology. In Historical foundations of educational psychology (pp. 183-202). Springer US. doi:10.1007/978-1-4899-3620-2_10 Gustafson, K. L., & Branch, R. M. (2007). What is instructional design? In R. A. Reiser & J. V. Dempsey (Eds.), Trends and issues in instructional design and technology (2nd ed.; pp. 10–16). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson. Hannafin, M. (1992). Emerging technologies, ISD, and learning environments: Critical perspectives. Educational Technology Research and Development, 40(1), 49–63. doi:10.1007/BF02296706 Herrington, J. (2006). Authentic e-learning in higher education: Design principles for authentic learning environments and tasks. In World conference on e-learning in corporate, government, healthcare, and higher education (ELEARN) 2006 (pp. 13-17). Honolulu, HI: Academic Press. Herrington, J., Reeves, T. C., & Oliver, R. (2007). Immersive learning technologies: Realism and online authentic learning. Journal of Computing in Higher Education, 19(1), 80–99. doi:10.1007/BF03033421

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Herrington, J., Reeves, T. C., & Oliver, R. (2014). Authentic learning environments. In J. M. Spector, M. D. Merrill, J. Elen, & M. J. Bishop (Eds.), Handbook of research on educational communications and technology (pp. 401–412). New York: Springer. doi:10.1007/978-1-4614-3185-5_32 Kift, S., & Field, R. (2009, July 29). Intentional first year curriculum design as a means of facilitating student engagement: Some exemplars. Paper presented to the 12th Pacific Rim First Year in Higher Education Conference, Townsville, Australia. Koehler, M., & Mishra, P. (2005). What happens when teachers design educational technology? The development of technological pedagogical content knowledge. The Journal of Educational Research, 32(2), 131–152. Morris, S. M. (2017). Critical Instructional Design. Retrieved from http://criticalinstructionaldesign.com/

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Perez, L. (2016, May 5). College of arts and sciences to pilot groundbreaking curriculum changes. UVAToday. Retrieved from https://www.news.virginia.edu/ content/college-arts-sciences-pilot-groundbreaking-curriculum-changes Recent trends in general education design, learning outcomes, and teaching approaches: Key findings from a survey among administrators at AAC&U member institutions. (2016). Retrieved from http:// www.aacu.org/sites/default/files/ files/LEAP/2015_ Survey_ Report2_GEtrends.pdf Reiser, R. A. (2001). History of instructional design and technology part II: A history of instructional design. Educational Technology Research and Development, 49(X), 57–67. doi:10.1007/BF02504928 Reiser, R. A. (2007). What field did you say you were in? Defining and naming our field. In R. A. Reiser & J. V. Dempsey (Eds.), Trends and issues in instructional design and technology (2nd ed.; pp. 2–9). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson. Resnick, L. (1987). Learning in school and out. Educational Researcher, 16(9), 13–20. Sharma, M. D., & McShane, K. (2008). A methodological framework for understanding and describing discipline‐based scholarship of teaching in higher education through design‐based research. Higher Education Research & Development, 27(3), 257–270. doi:10.1080/07294360802183812 Wenger, E. (1998). Communities of practice: Learning, meaning and identity. Journal of Mathematics Teacher Education, 6, 77. Wenger, E., McDermott, R. A., & Snyder, W. (2002). Cultivating communities of practice: A guide to managing knowledge. Harvard Business Press.

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KEY TERMS AND DEFINITIONS Authentic Learning: Learning that is designed to be student-centered using the elements of authentic context, authentic tasks, and authentic assessments. The curriculum or course that is designed mirrors the real-world academic thinking of the field or discipline. Students produce artifacts that are meaningful and relevant. Design-Based Research: An iterative approach to research focused on real-world practice and application and improvement of learning design. Engagements: Courses that comprise the first-year signature experience that is part of the general education curriculum at a liberal arts college within an R1 university, including engaging aesthetics, empirical and scientific engagement, ethical engagement, and engaging difference. General Education Curriculum: A set of courses that represent a body of knowledge and set of skills that faculty desire students to know and do in preparation for disciplinary study. Often the curriculum includes a breadth of courses across many disciplines and/or courses that focus on higher-order skills such as critical thinking or integrative approaches to learning. Instructional Design: A field that encompasses both disciplinary research and the practice of developing curricula and courses. Numerous models exist to guide the process of creating learning objectives, activities and assessments, selecting content, and incorporating instructional strategies.

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Intentionality: Development of instructional activities that are designed to aid the faculty member or subject matter expert consider how to create both a learning environment and class ethos that invites students to be intentional learners. Learning Design Collaborative: A model for instructional design that is based on the principles of intentional learning, authentic learning, and engaged instructional practices. The model is delivered in a faculty community of practice that embodies the same principles for supporting faculty as they design new courses. Student Engagement: The interactions (instructor-student, student-student, and student-content) and environments which prompt students to demonstrate interest in their learning, become active learners, produce work with original thinking, reflect on that work, and share it in some private or public way.

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This work was previously published in Optimizing Instructional Design Methods in Higher Education; pages 27-47, copyright year 2019 by Information Science Reference (an imprint of IGI Global).

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Chapter 22

Using Communities of Practice to Identify Competencies Mambo G. Mupepi Grand Valley State University, USA

ABSTRACT While there is currently a signifcant amount of work being done to promote competency-based education (CBE), many eforts are focused on the design, development, administration, and technology of CBE programs. Yet CBE programs will be successful only if they begin with an accurate and comprehensive identifcation of required competencies and the key performance indicators (KPI) necessary for efective instructional planning and assessment. This continues to be an area of ongoing debate in competencybased education, particularly in regard to the identifcation of 21st century competencies and those that refect higher-order thinking skills. This article suggests that communities of practice (COP) can be integral partners in the efort to identify competencies, establish levels of profciency that support common divisions of labor within industries, and distinguish the novice from the expert.

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INTRODUCTION Competency-based education (CBE) is a popular innovation being explored and implemented by many institutions of higher education throughout the United States. A majority of the work currently being done is focused on strategies for developing and implementing CBE courses and programs. Primary areas of effort currently include development of new administrative and technical infrastructures required for CBE, including separating administrative functions away from the traditional credit-hour system; unbundling of the faculty role; and development of next-generation learning management systems. Yet relatively less effort has been paid to the identification of the competencies as a field. While many articles and case studies discuss the identification of competencies, many describe this step in general or vague terms using language such as, “the CBE development team worked with industry experts” to identify competencies, but detail as to actual techniques is lacking. This chapter identifies communities of practice (COP) as a particularly effective resource for colleges and universities to use in their work identifying competencies. DOI: 10.4018/978-1-7998-7294-8.ch022

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Research Anthology on Facilitating New Educational Practices Through Communities of Learning, edited by Association, Information Resources Management, IGI Global, 2020. ProQuest

 Using Communities of Practice to Identify Competencies

Communities of practice (COP) are internal organizational or industry-specific groups created explicitly to explore ways to boost productivity and improve organizational capacity. Mupepi, Mupepi, and Motiwan (2015) identify a community of practice as a collaborative forum that can be enacted to create diffuse and distributed explicit knowledge and expertise within a specific topical area. Communities of practice may be relatively small, located within a single organization or they may be larger, focusing on an industry and encompassing multiple companies and experts. In general, COP focus on continuous performance improvement and the development of organizational capacity within their respective industries of focus and, therefore, have the expertise necessary to identify the knowledge, skills, attitudes, and technology required for optimum organizational effectiveness (Figure 1). The collaborative nature of COP can give rise to a shared awareness among constituencies of the understanding, skill sets, and abilities that must be translated into competencies that incumbents must be able to demonstrate in the workforce and CBE students must demonstrate mastery of as part of their programs. Furthermore, such shared awareness can potentially contribute to the issues of transferability and articulation of CBE courses that continue to be an area of ongoing concern for institutions of higher education in the development of their programs. Figure 1. The focus of the COP is building effective organizational capacity

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(Mupepi, 2010)

The chapter is organized into three parts. The first part offers an overview of ‘competency’ in terms of both its definition and in terms of the importance of competency validation for education and evaluation purposes. The second part presents ‘communities of practice’ (COP) as a collaborative forum for identifying competencies relevant to an organization or industry. This section also proposes a framework, including strategies and techniques, for use within the COP. Finally, the chapter will consider ways that colleges and universities can work with a COP to identify competencies needed by graduates now and in the future.

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OVERVIEW OF COMPETENCIES WITHIN COMPRETENCY-BASED EDUCATION (CBE) The term ‘competent’ is defined as, “having the necessary ability or skills: able to do something well or well enough to meet a standard (Merriam-Webster, 2016) while ‘competence’ is defined as ‘the state of being competent’ and a ‘competency’ is defined as an ability or skill. Weisbord (1987) explained the relationship among the various terms thusly: ‘competence’ is a performance criterion while ‘competencies’ are the behaviors driving the competence. In other words, a person executes ‘competencies’ to demonstrate that he or she is ‘competent’. Dror and Harnad (2008) propound that competence lies at the intersection of required attitudes, knowledge, skills, and tools/technology (Figure 2). They further contend that if one of these elements if missing or insufficiently learned, then competence will be compromised. The questions for CBE course developers, then, are, “What are the competencies that comprise competence and, therefore, must be mastered by the learner?” and “What attitudes, knowledge, skills, and tools/technology must the learner have to execute or demonstrate a specific competency?”

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Figure 2. Intersecting elements of competence

Validation refers to the notion that something “conform[s] to accepted principles” and/or “is appropriate to the end in view” (Merriam-Webster, 2016). Competency validation, then, refers to the notion that the knowledge, skills, activities, and technologies that are required for effective and accurate performance and comprise the given competency adhere to established rules or strictures and, when executed in concert with one another and as intended, achieve what they are intended to do. In organizational competency development, validation is critical to continuous learning and development of employees

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within the company and indicates that the competency complies and fits within a defined activity that is part of the majority. Bartram (2005) and Chen and Naquin (2006) provide complementary perspectives about competency validity that are representative of the numerous methods that could be applied to authenticate whether constructed competencies are valid or not, both in terms of identification and in terms of performance. When identifying valid competencies, it is important to realize that competencies are context-dependent. Therefore, there is no universal or absolute definition of knowledge or skill that defines a competency and the positions and requirements of all relevant constituencies must be considered. Bartram (2005) argues that recruitment criteria and relevant experience can provide performance indicators useful in validating competencies; valid performance is also defined including safety and ethical behaviors. Such multiple perspectives can be revealed through a ‘community of practice’.

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COMMUNITIES OF PRACTICE (COP) Within an organization, a community of practice (COP) is an autonomous group that is perceived as having a collective level of expertise sufficient to manage its productive work within preset limits established by management. Within an industry, a COP has been envisioned as self-organized networks of peers possessing diverse skills and expertise in areas of practice or profession who meet regularly to create, diffuse, and distribute knowledge about the things they are passionate about (Lave & Wenger, 1991). Communities of practice collaborate to build self-sustaining areas of expertise, processes that create value, and visions for the future of a practice area or industry. They are also called upon to specify the explicit practices that comprise the work conducted by certain employees and within certain specializations. Finally, COPs are able to put those practices into context to effectively and efficiently produce the goods and services demanded by customers (Wenger, 1998; 2013). The COP can be implemented as a strategy implying that the top management must concur on its structure, composition, and mission. The COP has been viewed by many scholars as the driver of cooperative choice and competitive advantage (Swanson et al., 2015). The ability to create the practices necessary for many good things to happen has been attributed to the COP. Swanson and Atun et al allude to the fact that the capacity to innovate can be credited to a COP. Learning teams are being used more and more by many different companies. Their acceptance of the effectiveness of a COP can be attributed in part to the fact that a COP can provide an all-round perspective. Swanson et al., (2015) argue that the COP can be viewed as a managerial tool useful in aligning the organization to its mission. Wenger, McDermott, and Snyder (2002) propound that the COP was originally developed to provide a template for examining the learning and skill development that ensues among practitioners in a social environment, but over the years successful corporations have found the usefulness of COP in other areas such as strategy design and implementation. This ability to define practices and processes that must be executed by employees across functional units to create organizational or industry success makes the COP an effective (and natural) tool for identifying workforce competencies.

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Methods to be used by Communities of Practice for Identifying Competencies Distributed Cognition

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Hutchins (1995) and Gureckis and Goldstone (2006), among others, posit that competency development is informed through the amplification of the distributed cognition system and how it can work in organizations (DCog, 2016). Distributed cognition is a branch of cognitive science that proposes cognition and knowledge are not located only within the individual but, instead, are distributed across objects, individuals, artifacts, and tools in the environment. It is a framework that describes human work systems in informational and computational terms. It is useful for analyzing situations that require problem-solving. The goal of distributed cognition is to describe how distributed units are coordinated by analyzing the interactions between individuals, the representational media used, and the environment within which the activity takes place. The COP can apply the extended distributed cognition framework to coordinate its various members; to identify the tools, equipment and technology used to perform the job or tasks in question; and to understand the conditions and environment under which the job and/or tasks will be performed. The meaning of the phrase, “distributed cognition” implies a team or a COP tasked with identifying the responsibilities of various current and emerging practices that are required throughout the organization. Memories of how the job was done excellently in the past can be recalled. Those reflections can be shared using the forum of a COP to enhance future performance. There are numerous routes to creating the competitive advantage and continuously learning and improvement can be a cost-effective technique of doing so. Gureckis and Goldstone (2006) assert that the resurgence of interest in collective behavior is humanity’s increasing social networks. For example, understanding how a community of practice models the extended mind in framing explicit knowledge. The structuration might include networks of individuals in the value creation enterprise or a clearly defined hierarchy. There are numerous suggestions that the usefulness of a distributed cognition can be illustrated using an analogy of a computer programming team. For example, Hutchins (1995) posits that teams can focus on designing software useful to the rest of the organization. The programming team can do this because they are centered on solving organizational problems writing useful operational software. As a team they aim at creating computational networks to enhance cohesion within the network. The application of the extended distributed cognitive system include strategy development and implementation, and systems design in specific work environments. In the work situation as an ethnography research approach it can lead to the development of etic and emic perspectives of the organization. The emic perspectives are useful in designing the competences of those doing the job while the etic viewpoints drawn from the social networks of the organization.

Bootstrapping Bootstrapping relies on drawing useful lessons from past performance. As a statistical application, bootstrapping implies a self-sustaining process that begins by an understanding of what is right or wrong. Once the bootstrap is set there will be no any other inputs required. In organizational training, the technique can be applied in the design of performance objectives and lesson plans. Bootstrapping can be illustrated as follows: If profits are the key to the success of any organization, and that bills must

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Figure 3. Bootstrapping sustainability

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(Appolloni, Malchiodi, & Gaito, 2003; Worrell, 2015)

be paid with those profits, then it is critical to focus on getting profits. In this way, the past is useful in making meaningful projections or bootstraps (see Figure 3). In Figure 3, a jig is illustrated as a tool that can be applied to bootstrap the manufacture of parts or components whose dimensions can be assembled in the end to make one whole unit. A jig makes the geometrical dimensioning of parts modeled using wood or doe molding compound. In the pin-production early days there could have been jigs to produce all types of pins. The jig could have been applied to produce numerous products such as tablespoons or knife-blades. The guillotine or the brick mold could have been created to solve the problem of dimensions in engineering and construction industries. Techniques derived from geometrical dimensioning can be adapted to understand product design and the scripting of useful product specifications and the required tools and technology. Specifications spell out the skillfulness and dexterity required in producing a given product. Therefore bootstraps, as techniques of starting with existing resources to create something more complex and effective are useful in the interpretation of tacit knowledge in the documentation of explicit practices.

Action Research Action Research (AR) was developed by Lewin (1946). There are two types of AR: participatory action research and practical action research. Kurt Lewin is one of the founding fathers in the field of organization training who created AR as a tool that could be deployed to solve social problems. In much later research, Denscombe (2010) posits that the AR methodology can also be applied to produce guidelines

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for best practice. AR is a practical tool useful in organizational training and organizational development because it is one of the technologies a COP can apply to deduce tacit experience into smaller parts that can be understood, practiced, and mastered. AR can be applied to improve the way a COP projects and gears solutions to organizational problems. Denscombe (2010) asserts that the participatory AR can be useful in creating a shared mental structure that can help simplify explicit knowledge. This notion resonates with that of the learning organization. Work procedures and operational manuals can be written in a language the entire organization can understand. By and by, this practice can become part of systems thinking. Output can be expected to increase when people doing the job have reference materials, including a community of practice, to consult in case of difficulties. The practicality of the COP is that it is the best forum to frame the organizational culture. The forum can create the pattern of values, beliefs, norms, and behaviors that are shared organization-wide and will be useful in shaping the firm’s personality. The COP can also be useful in building teams tailored to meet the needs of specific groups. Because of the enormous amount of experience possessed by members of the COP, it can address dozens of practice topics. Lewin (1943), and much later Mupepi, Tenkasi, Sorensen, and Mupepi (2013), asserted that the popularity of action research has increased, not only in the school systems, but in vocational education where it can be applied to determine what needs to be altered to instantly make desirable changes. Sagor (2000) argues that action research is an empowering experience that produces positive results because the focus of each research is determined by the researchers who can be the COP. Polanyi (1966) argues that useful knowledge can be made out of the collective experience of the organization. The tacit experience of the membership can be put into the context of the business and its competitive environment to be effective. Tacit knowledge may be difficult to teach anyone but demonstrations to do the job correctly by the experienced personnel can be bootstrapped to appreciate the trait schemas difficult to put in writing. Mupepi (2014) propounds that the experts can transfer tacit knowing to the novice by means of writing down the job procedures, capturing the how-to-do-it on appropriate media such as video film, or other learning technologies.

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Social Constructivism Berger and Luckmann (1966) popularized the concept of Social Construction of Reality in which they describe how persons and groups who interact in a social system can create mental representations of each other’s actions. They suggest that these concepts eventually become adapted into shared roles played by the job incumbents in relation to each other. It can be assumed that when these roles are made available to other members of the organization to rehearse and repeat the shared interactions are said to be part of the conventions. In the process of this the competency can become part of the norms where meaning is embedded in the organization. Knowledge and people’s beliefs of what reality is become deeply entrenched in the cultural fabric of the corporation. Reality is therefore said to be socially constructed. In later studies Mupepi (2009) advances a dialogue on a Socially Constructed Competency Model (SCCM). The SCCM is a socio-technical systems approach useful in understanding the value creation process in its entirety to include suppliers, employees, and production systems in charting organizational efficiency and effectiveness. The SCCM makes it possible to build the practices and design the tools and equipment to aid productivity. The unique feature of a COP is its ability to create unique practices that make a difference in organization. The SCCM rests on the pivot of a COP to deliver value to the division of labor. It is important to understand how to design and implement the COP strategy: the dis-

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position of the people doing the work, their skillfulness and expertise form the business’s intellectual capital; how that social capital can be developed grown and acquired is important because competency impacts business results. The SCCM is designed to perfect the performance of the company as it charts the competitive environment. Arguments are drawn that indicate that competency models, in particular those concerned with organizational capabilities, are relatively ineffective when developed outside the organization. A contrast of the competency models developed elsewhere is made with those espoused within the firm by the COP (such as the SCCM) and effectiveness is demonstrated in the latter approach.

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Differentiating the Practice Brown and Duguid (1991) demonstrate that ethnographic studies of workplace practices show that the ways that various people actually do the same job differ. The way organizations describe work in manuals, training programs, organizational charts, and job descriptions also differ from how the job is actually done. Scholars attribute this difference to a combination of tacit knowledge and expertise. Woodhill (2010) propounds that the COP can make tacit knowledge easy to understand as members deliberate to reframe the practices and tooling necessary to progress the business. Many capacity development interventions have been driven by the needs of technological innovation rather than the needs of institutional innovation. Woodhill posits that learning collaboratively and engaging the entire organization to make change happen can be credited to the self-reflective practices in collaborative forums such as the COP. In the division of labor (see Figure 2) the distributed jobs enable management or a COP to understand the description of each role. The experienced pin-maker might possess tacit knowledge about what to do as the pin production progresses from start to end. Tacit knowledge may be difficult to teach to others, but tips and common practices involved in doing the job correctly can be bootstrapped to assist learners with perfecting their own acts (see Figure 3). Woodhill (2010) suggests that the COP constituted by experienced experts can make knowledge diffusion possible by scripting the job procedures, allowing novices to take their own notes, and giving novices opportunities to practice to perfect their trades independently. The learners will have the opportunity to have hands-on experience in the actual job in the value creation process. In Mupepi et al., (2013), a premise that innovation can be made possible – and the resulting new competencies - by a COP situated at the points of production or within the value creation system. This assumption leads to a co-constructed situational knowledge. Situational analysis can be another format of data collection and analysis. Data pertaining to indicators of successful performance can be mined using the firm’s website portals. The COP can collect the data and analyze it to understand the organization’s capabilities in relation to the needs of customers and other stakeholders. Duguid (2005) suggests a useful community is one that can distinguish between what knowledge and skills that are needed and those that are less important. It’s a question of relevance in creating and identifying the practices that are necessary in organization. The notion of a community of practice enables a business to share its experiences with stakeholders. In later research Bratianu (2015) propound that promoting organizational knowledge is an important consideration for any organization looking toward the future. The COP can make the understanding of the dynamics of knowledge as a crucial step in establishing a strong knowledge base for the business. Bratianu suggests that a COP could borrow some of the concepts to create explicit practices deploying

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metaphors. Knowledge is not a concept that has a clearly delineated structure. Whatever structure it has it gets through metaphor. It is said that a picture is worth a thousand words, but with only a few words, one can paint a permanent picture in the stakeholder’s brains. Metaphors can be developed in the language the organization is familiar with to draw attention, convey facts and abstractions with clarity, and make the mission memorable. McDermott and Douglas (2010) propound those in-house networks of experts—or communities of practice—were once entirely unofficial, and today they are integrated into companies’ formal management structures. Many successful companies such as IBM or Apple have adapted the use of knowledge networks, logotypes, and metaphors to develop and implement winning strategy. McDermott and Douglas (2010) assert that successful organizations count on the COP to deliver creative solutions to challenges that bridge functional gaps and development of customer-focused operations. The discourse indicates that explicit practices can be created and allow a business to compete on what its people know.

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CONCLUSION The knowledge created by pioneers such as Kurt Lewin, and Wilfred Bion, among many others made it possible for organizations of the 20th century to apply group dynamics to grow useful businesses. More recently, researchers have applied the group dynamics theory and made it central to management practices. In Mupepi and Mupepi (2015), it is proposed that teams can be built to advance knowing and skillfulness in the business. The divided labor can be split into units, departments, sections, or teams that have positive dynamics where creativity can be central to cohesion. Team members must trust one another work towards the same goal and hold each other accountable for making the difference in organization. Mupepi and Mupepi (2015) argue that teamwork is critical to how the product will be made and how the customers will be served. This combination of collaboration and common goals found in groups in general and, in this case, in COP, results in identification of effective and tasks, skills, and work processes that A COP can be applied to build explicit knowledge and tools useful in successful organization. There are two assumptions made. The first is that a COP can be composed of the people in the divided labor who can be experts after a given period of continuous learning and improvement. The COP in this situation can create situational knowledge to enable the firm to effectively compete. The second assumption is that social construction is the common denominator in collaborative forums. It is possible for a COP to study the situation and devise appropriate strategy to bootstrap sustainability in organization. The arguments presented are limited in a number of ways. The concept of a community of practice is very noble and practical only with management that is prepared to accept that the design and implementation of cutting-edge practices is a social construct. Management and ownership of the business may not agree with the notion of a strategy developed by community of practice. The resistance to change is always there in one way or another, regardless whether individuals have been consulted or not. Sometimes old habits are hard to change.

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Lave, J., & Wenger, E. (1991). Situated Learning: Legitimate Peripheral Participation. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. doi:10.1017/CBO9780511815355 Lewin, K. (1943). Defining the Field at a Given Time. Psychological Review, 50(3), 292–310. doi:10.1037/ h0062738 Lewin, K. (1946). Action research and minority problems. The Journal of Social Issues, 2(4), 34–46. doi:10.1111/j.1540-4560.1946.tb02295.x McDermott, R., & Archibald, D. (2010). Harnessing your staff’s informal networks. Harvard Business Review, 5, 88. PMID:20402051 Merriam-Webster. (2016). Retrieved from http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/competent

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Mupepi, M. (2009). The nature of a schematic description of a socially constructed organizational competency model (CCM). International Journal of Collaborative Enterprise, 1(2), 224–240. doi:10.1504/ IJCENT.2009.029291 Mupepi, M. (2010). Appreciating, Unlocking and Building Effective Entrepreneurial Capacity. Lap Lambert Academic Publishing. Mupepi, M. (2014). Can the division of labor be re-engineered to advance organizational dynamism? SAGE Open, 1–5. doi:10.1177/2158244014536404 Mupepi, M., & Mupepi, S. (2015). Charting Highly Productive Organization: Wrapping it all in Social Constructs. International Journal of Productivity Management and Assessment Technologies, 3(1), 13–30. doi:10.4018/IJPMAT.2015010102 Mupepi, M., Mupepi, S., & Motiwan, J. (2015). Inside social constructs. MBAA International Conference. Mupepi, M., Tenkasi, R., Sorensen, P., & Mupepi, S. (2013). Creating high impact organization in the SADC: Adapting OD Methods and Practices. In J. Vogelsang & M. Townsend (Eds.), Handbook for Strategic HR: Best Practices in Organization Development from OD Network. New York: AMACOM. Polanyi, M. (1966). The Tacit Dimension. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. Sagor, R. (2000). Guiding school improvement. Alexandria, VA: ASCD. Swanson, R. C., Atun, R., Best, A., Betigeri, A., de Campos, F., Chunharas, S., ... Van Samme, W. (2015). Strengthening health systems in low-income countries by enhancing organizational capacities and improving institutions. Globalization and Health, 11(1), 1–5. doi:10.118612992-015-0090-3 PMID:25890069 Weisbord, M. (1987). Productive Workplaces: Organizing and Managing for Dignity, Meaning and Community. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. Wenger, E. (1998). Communities of Practice: Learning, Meaning, and Identity. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. doi:10.1017/CBO9780511803932 Wenger, E. (2013). Communities of practice: An introduction. Retrieved from http://wenger-trayner.com/ wp-content/uploads/2013/10/06-Brief-introduction-to-communities-of-practice.pdf Wenger, E. C., McDermott, R., & Snyder, W. C. (2002). Cultivating Communities of Practice: A Guide to Managing Knowledge. Cambridge, MA: Harvard Business School Press.

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Woodhill, J. (2010). Capacities for institutional innovation: A complexity perspective. Journal of General and Introductory Development Studies, 41(3), 47–59. Worrell, D. (2002, Oct 1). Bootstrapping your start-up. Entrepreneur. Retrieved from http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/55776

This work was previously published in the Handbook of Research on Competency-Based Education in University Settings; pages 157-167, copyright year 2017 by Information Science Reference (an imprint of IGI Global).

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Chapter 23

A Teacher Educator’s MeaningMaking From a Hybrid “Online Teaching Fellows” Professional Learning Experience: Toward Literacy Practices for Teaching and Learning in Multimodal Contexts Christi Edge Northern Michigan University, USA

ABSTRACT

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This chapter describes a two-part, hybrid “Online Teaching Fellows” faculty development initiative and the tensions and transformations one faculty participant experienced. Case study and self-study research methodologies were utilized to systematically document and explore, from an insider’s perspective, the lived experience of professional learning related to the design and delivery of online courses. This chapter identifes and describes tensions and transformations that contributed to professional learning and concludes with a discussion of how literacy practices in the design of frameworks for teaching and for learning may contribute to understanding how instructors read and make meaning from experiences in the context of professional learning. Implications extend Rosenblatt’s transactional theory of reading and writing to multimodal online teaching and learning contexts.

INTRODUCTION Within the burgeoning context of the distance education boom, opportunities for prospective and practicing teachers to take online courses abound. However, the teacher educators who are asked or expected to design and/or teach online courses are often unfamiliar with learning online. There is a need to consider training that facilitates professional learning experiences and prepares teacher educators to design and DOI: 10.4018/978-1-7998-7294-8.ch023

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Research Anthology on Facilitating New Educational Practices Through Communities of Learning, edited by Association, Information Resources Management, IGI Global, 2020. ProQuest

 A Teacher Educator’s Meaning-Making From a Hybrid “Online Teaching Fellows”

deliver online instruction that reflects recognized quality standards (e.g., Quality Matters, 2014) and principles for “good teaching” (e.g., Chickering & Gamson, 1987; Sorcinelli, 1991; Tobin, Mandernach, & Taylor, 2015), that addresses concerns for teacher learning and development for using digital media (cf. Selwyn, 2013; Barton & Lee, 2013), addresses the increasing focus on learning and the learner in higher education, and provides learning opportunities that are interactive, relevant, personalized, and accessible (Brown, Dehoney, & Millichap, 2015; Dumbauld, 2014; Long & Mott, 2017; Online Learning Consortium, 2016; Online Schools Center, 2017; Zimmer, 2017). In the area of teachers’ continuing professional development, several models exist for structuring and organizing teachers’ learning opportunities. Kennedy (2005) identified nine models: training; awardbearing; deficit; cascade; standard based; coaching/mentoring; community of practice; action research; and transformative. Throughout the literature in teacher education, there has been consensus that traditional professional development—training that is transmissive in nature, based the “banking concept of education” (Freire, 1970;1998) in which instructors, researchers, or experts “deposit” knowledge by covering curriculum, providing weekend workshops, or bringing outside research into schools and tell educators what to do—have not been successful (Freidus, Feldman, Sgouros, & Wiles-Ketternmann, 2005). In teacher education literature, there have been calls for models for teachers’ professional development that is meaningful, agentive, constructivist, collaborative, sustained, and documents making a difference in the work teachers do (e.g., Ball & Cohen, 1999; Borko, 2004; Darling-Hammond, 1998; Freidus, Feldman, Sgouros, & Wiles-Kettenmann, 2005; Bostock, Lisi-Neumann, & Collucci, 2016; Darling-Hammond & Bransford, 2005; Lotherington, Fisher, Jenson, & Lindo, 2016; Kopcha, 2010). Bostock and colleagues (2016) call for a paradigm shift from professional development to professional learning. They assert:

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Professional development for teachers, typically referred to as activities such as continuing education, study groups, or in-service workshops designed to enhance professional growth, helps teachers to not only learn new teaching approaches but also develop new insights into pedagogy and their own practice. Oftentimes, professional developers identify the desire to change (Guskey, 2002; Stein & Wang, 1998) or“transform (Ingersoll, Merrill, & Stuckey, 2014) teachers and their practice as though there is something lacking in teachers or something needing to be improved in how they understand and do things. Recent literature in the field, however, offers additional suggestions regarding ways to foster the authentic continuing education of teachers so that opportunities for teacher learning are directly relevant to teachers and their classroom and, therefore, more effective (p. 44). While professional development may be improvement aimed, both in teacher education and in higher education, professional development often addresses or assumes a perceived deficit on the part of the participant (Bostock, Lisi-Neumann, & Collucci, 2016; Kennedy, 2005; Persellin & Goodrick, 2010). Teacher education faculty need opportunities to learn as professionals and as adults (Brancato, 2003; Lawler, 2003) in online and hybrid contexts through collaboration and questioning in communities of practice (Hjalmarson, 2017; Loucks-Horsley, Stiles, Mundry, Love, & Hewson, 2010); they also need to understand those professional learning experiences in ways that support their own ability to generate meaningful online learning opportunities for the prospective and practicing teachers whom they instruct in the online environment.

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Edge (2015) has argued that part of the problem in preparing teachers is the orientation that reality is only “out there” in (brick and mortar) classrooms, rather than wherever one presently is. Drawing on Dewey’s (1938) concept of educative experience, Edge (2015; 2017) argues for professional learning that enables educators to learn in and through their present lived experiences so that they can continue to learn from and through their lived experiences across multiple and future contexts. This notion of educative experience (Dewey, 1938) is consonant with the concept of professional learning articulated by Bostock and colleagues (2016). They explain:

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Professional learning is an ongoing process that requires a shift in attitudes about teaching and learning and …that continues to develop and evolve with the use of technology. Much of the decision-making power regarding professional learning resides within each teacher and is, therefore, relevant to their current resources and needs…[Engaging] in such professional learning requires an investment in [one’s] own education and personal growth in order to remain current in terms of pedagogy and practices as 21st-century educators (p. 45). Professional learning is a, ongoing, agentive, active, ongoing process of growth. Professional learning focused on online teaching, then, is an ongoing process of learning that is relevant to design and delivery of instruction in the online environment. For teacher education faculty, professional learning for online teaching is learning through which they invest in their own learning as agentive decision-makers who continue to develop attitudes, skills, and resources that enable them to instruct prospective and practicing teachers in an online or hybrid setting. Rather than be inserviced by a stranger, explains Eisner (2017), teachers need professional development that is taken seriously—meaningfully. Eisner asserts, Schools will not be better for students than they are for the professionals who work in them (319). For faculty who are teacher educators, meaningful, transformative professional learning can position them to prepare educators who make a difference (Freidus, Feldman, Sgouros, & Wiles-Kettenmann, 2005). Situated in the borderlands of distance education, teacher education, professional learning, and literacy, this chapter calls for professional learning design that attends to participants’ literacy practices. From a literacy prospective, structuring literacy practices into the design of virtual training models will help participants to attend to their process of learning as they learn. Providing this kind of engaged, authentic learning might include and privilege the connections and interconnections between instructors’ and students’ engaged, authentic, and potentially transformative learning experiences in hybrid and online contexts. Since research shows that the teacher is a key person in making school literacy and learning practices relevant in any boarder-crossing activities (Edwards, 2009), this chapter attends to how one teacher educator sought to make both her own professional learning and her students’ learning meaningful and potentially transformative. This chapter describes a two-part hybrid faculty professional development program, each part lasting approximately twelve weeks in duration, in the context of a larger university plan for preparing faculty to design and deliver distance education programs and online courses. Findings include participant-identified benefits of being a fellow in the faculty development initiative as well as the identification of tensions and transformations one literacy teacher education faculty participant experienced while in the hybrid Online Teaching Fellows (OTF) program. Discussion stemming from the findings offer an opportunity to consider online training from the perspective of literacy practices for teaching and for learning in dynamic online and face-to-face settings. This chapter contributes to the

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body of literature on virtual training for online teaching by providing both a literacy perspective to faculty learning experiences and by offering a participant’s perspective of the lived experience of participating in a two-part, hybrid, cohort-based, cross-disciplinary professional development initiative meant to prepare faculty to develop online courses to Quality Matters standards, deliver instruction using seven principles of good teaching (e.g., Chickering & Gamson, 1987; Sorcinelli, 1991; Tobin, Mandernach, & Taylor, 2015), and become institutional leaders who are able to observe and evaluate peers’ online courses.

REVIEW OF RELEVANT LITERATURE Tensions Studying tensions is a strategic way to examine both the challenges and creative potentials of understanding, growth, agency, and change in complex teaching and learning events (Berry, 2007; Smagorinsky, Cook, Moore, Jackson, & Fry, 2004; Vavrus, Bartlett, & Salema, 2013). In their introduction to Teaching in Tension (2013), Vavrus, Bartlett, and Salema address Teaching and Researching in Tension (p. 1) in terms of strains teachers experience and in terms of the challenges of enacting theories (p. 3) in the complex work of teaching and other applied fields, attending to the relationship between the academic and the practical; between theory and action; between studying the world and changing it for the better. They write:

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One of the central tensions in the lives of academics is the degree to which one’s scholarship engages in the everyday world as a means to change it. The term praxis is often used to describe the interaction of the theoretical and the practical, the realization of theory in action. Some, like Karl Marx (1845;1998, 571), disparaged solely abstract scholarly thinking when he wrote that philosophers have only interpreted the world, in various ways; the point is to change it. Others, such as Brazilliam educator Paulo Freire (1970), considered theoretical reflection inextricably connected to acting in a transformational way in the world. Regardless of the particular way one characterizes the process of enacting theory in everyday life, there lies a tension between the theoretical and the practical, the abstract and the material, that scholars—especially those in applied fields like education—must address (p. 1). Teacher educators who have developed practical knowledge and frameworks for teaching through face-to-face teaching and learning experiences may experience tensions while learning about teaching online—tensions between the academic and the practical, between the theory and action, and between studying the online learning environment and changing it for the better. Vavrus, Bartlett, and Salema (2013) also recognize the productivity tensions can generate. Citing Tsing’s (2005) metaphor of friction, they bring to light the potential for creativity: A wheel turns because of its encounter with the surface of the road; spinning in the air it goes nowhere. Rubbing two sticks together produces heat and light; one stick alone is just a stick. As a metaphorical image, friction reminds us that heterogeneous and unequal encounters can lead to new arrangements of culture and power (Tsing, 2005).

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Friction in education, Vavrus and colleagues state, results from the ‘rubbing together’ of discrete teaching methods, education policies, philosophies of knowledge, and approaches to research (2013). Knowledge and experience derived through teaching in face-to-face contexts may create tensions when learning to teach online, yet those tensions may enable faculty to attend to their professional practices— both in online and face-to-face environments—with heightened awareness, professional renewal, and increased sense of efficacy. Recognizing how studying tensions may lead to understanding professional practice, Berry (2007) explicated six types of tensions, the tensions between: (1) telling and growth—negotiating how to balance telling learners what to know with providing experiences through which learners learn for themselves; (2) confidence and uncertainty—the exploration of new ways to work with learners amid feelings of uncertainty; deciding when and how and why to make aspects of professional practice explicit to learners, when to demonstrate confidence and when to demonstrate vulnerability and openness to learn as professionals alongside and even from their learners; (3) action and intent—between working toward particular ideals and jeopardizing those ideals through the selected means to attain them; (4) safety and challenge—between a constructive learning experience and an uncomfortable learning experience; (5) valuing and reconstructing experience—between valuing the authority of experience and recognizing that there is more to professional practice than simply acquiring experiences; and (6) planning and being responsive—between planning for learning and being responsive in the moment to learning opportunities as they arise in teaching and learning situations. Many of these tensions, writes Berry, have grown up out of teacher educators’ attempts to match their goals for prospective teachers’ learning with the needs and concerns that prospective teachers express for their own learning (p. 32). In this study, tensions became a way to identify both challenges and productive tensions that led to new creations and understandings of practice through professional learning in the Online Teaching Fellows programs.

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Transformations Transformative learning is a revision of conceptions or assumptions and includes a process by which faculty construct knowledge about teaching and learning through critical reflection (Kreber, 2006). Mezirow (1991) suggests that the most influential, emancipatory, learning includes a critical analysis of the processes and conditions learners have come to take knowledge or norms for granted or have come to a consensus through communication with others. Kreber (2006), using a cognitive-developmental perspective, addresses how the scholarship of teaching may be developed through transformative learning. Kreber (2006) describes transformative learning in light of Meziro’s (1991) theory of transformative learning: Mezirow’s theory of transformative learning, to a large extent, is informed by the cognitive-developmental tradition (e.g., Kelly, 1955; Piaget, 1964). This particular strand of psychology assumes that individuals develop intellectually as they encounter events that cannot be interpreted through their existing mental frames of reference. Intellectual development occurs as frames of reference get revisited as a result of reflection. A frame of reference, often called a conceptual structure, is interpreted as an interrelated set

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of assumptions, constructs, or conceptions, individuals actively form through experience. As specific assumptions are questioned and possibly revised (or transformed) in light of contradicting evidence, this can lead to a more substantial change in frame of reference (or “conceptual structure”). Since individual assumptions are understood to be hierarchically organized, it would depend on their position of relative importance within the larger frame of reference, whether a revised assumption leads to a transformation in the frame of reference itself (p. 93). For teacher educators who have experience teaching in face-to-face contexts, learning to teach online may lead to a revision of conceptions or assumptions about teaching and learning. Questioning, critically analyzing, and reflecting on their own experiences as learners who are learning to teach online may enable teacher educators—as well as faculty in other disciplines—the opportunity to reframe an understanding of teaching and learning in multimodal contexts.

Envisionment Building as Stances for Transforming Understanding As a literacy teacher educator with a background in the discipline of English language arts, I embrace both sociocognitive and sociocultural conceptions of transformation. Transform is to both change the form of what one knows as well as how one organizes that knowledge in specific social contexts and across contexts within the whole of one’s understanding. I also embrace transformative teaching and learning in terms of Langer’s (2011) envisionment building stances. An envisionment is meaning in motion in the act of making sense, or the understanding a learner has at any point in time, whether it is growing during reading, being tested against new information, or kept on hold awaiting new input (pp. 18-19) from the texts they are reading or material they are learning. Meaning making is potentially ongoing as one learns, either confirming or troubling, challenging, and shifting what one knows in light of new meaning making events. Langer (2011) asserted, Stances are crucial to the act of knowledge building because each stance offers a different vantage point from which to gain ideas. The stances are not linear; they can and often do recur at various points in the learning process (p. 22).

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The five stances Langer identified include: 1. Being Out and Stepping Into an Envisionment: A stance through which learners “poke around,” attending to surface details, and searching without knowing what they are looking for in effort to connect potentially relevant ideas to what is already known, form questions, and seek additional ideas and evidence. 2. Being In and Moving Through and Envisionment: A stance through which learners become more immersed in their learning, using the texts or material, personal knowledge, and social or disciplinary contexts to provide ideas and to spark thinking, building understanding through elaborating on what one knows, making connections, and generating a sense of where ideas are going. 3. Stepping Out and Rethinking What You Know: A stance through which learners shift their orientation from making sense of envisionments to using developing envisionments to learn from, better understand, or rethink one’s experiences or existing knowledge.

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4. Stepping Out and Objectifying the Experience: A stance through which learners distance themselves from their envisionments, analyzing them, synthesizing them, and evaluating them, reflecting on their own envisionment building, which moves learners toward awareness of their knowledge development. 5. Leaving and Envisionment and Going Beyond: A stance through which learners have built richly developed envisionments that can be used in new and possibly unrelated situations, moving from one learning situation to another, using their well-developed envisionment to begin new ones, drawing on and making connections to one’s previous knowledge. Langer posits that the stances are a useful framework for thinking about instruction (p. 23).

Meaning As Gee (2008) notes, [m]eaning’ is one of the most debated terms in linguistics, philosophy, literary theory, and the social sciences (p. 97). To comprehensively review the concepts of meaning and making meaning in their more expansive historical and disciplinary contexts is beyond the scope of this chapter. The theoretical framework guiding this study provides the specific context of Rosenblatt’s transactional theory of reading and writing (1978; 1994; 2005) nested within the broader context of literacy as lens through which to consider meaning. Rosenblatt’s transactional theory of reading and writing (1978; 1994; 2005) developed from her questioning how readers make meaning from printed texts. In a sociocultural perspective of literacy, reading and writing are meaning-making endeavors through which humans search for meaning, construct it, negotiate it, communicate it, refine it, and even contest it within the many contexts (e.g., social, cultural, historical, political, economic) of which they are a part and to which they contribute (Gee, 2008; Lankshear & Knobel, 2007; Smagorinsky & O’Donnell-Allen, 1998; Smagorinsky, 2001; Wilhelm, Baker, & Hackett, 2001). Therefore, as a study focused on the meaning of experiences, Rosenblatt’s theory and the broader context of literacy are appropriate contexts in which to consider meaning (Polkinghorne, 1988; Edge, 2011).

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Meaning as a Transactional Event Meaning, Rosenblatt (1978; 1994; 2005) asserted, is an event that happens during an interaction—or transaction between a reader and a text in a context. In a transactional paradigm, a reader and a text are not fixed objects acting on each other; rather, they are two aspects of a total dynamic situation (2005, p. 7). Thus, ‘meaning’ does not reside ready-made ‘in’ the text or ‘in’ the reader but happens or comes into being during the transaction between reader and text (2005). It is the live circuit between a particular reader and a particular text in a particular context (1978; 1994; 2005). Meaning—whether scientific or aesthetic, whether a poem or a scientific report—happens during the interplay between particular signs and a particular reader at a particular time and place (Rosenblatt, 2005). Meaning is not an object or even an idea; it is a doing, a making, an event (Polkinghorne, 1988; Rosenblatt, 1978; 1994; 2005; Edge, 2011).

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Rosenblatt’s Transactional Theory of Reading and Writing Rosenblatt’s conception of meaning as an event is the crux of her transactional theory of reading. The essence of this theory is that [e]very reading act is an event, or a transaction involving a particular reader and a particular pattern of signs, a text, and occurring at a particular time in a particular context (Rosenblatt, 2005). The reader makes meaning by transacting with the text in a particular context. Meaning, then, is an event in time, made through the confluence of reader and the text in particular context (Rosenblatt, 1969; 1985; 1978; 1994; 2005). Rosenblatt (1969) adopted the term transaction as an epistemological concept (Rosenblatt, 1986) to free one’s understanding of the reading process from unscrutinized assumptions (Rosenblatt, 1994) implicit in the terminology and structure of language. To say that a reader interprets the text or that a text creates a response in the reader, Rosenblatt argued, misrepresents the reading process, for it implies a single line of action by one separate element on another separate element (p. 16). Instead, she asserted that the: relation between reader and text is not linear. It is a situation, an event at a particular time and place in which each element conditions the other (p. 16). Dewey and Bentley’s (1949) term transaction captured what Rosenblatt theorized to be the dynamics at work in the reading process. Recognizing the transactional nature of the reading process is paramount to understanding Rosenblatt’s conception of meaning.

Pragmatist Philosophical Context for Making Meaning Rosenblatt explicitly situated her thinking in a pragmatist philosophical context, especially the thinking of pragmatist philosopher John Dewey. Her use of the terms transaction and transactional reflects the pragmatist epistemological perspective that humans are active makers of meaning (Rosenblatt, 1978; 1994; 2005; Connell, 2008). Noddings (2005) has described pragmatism as a philosophical perspective for educational research that focuses on meaning. She agrees with Charles Sanders Pierce, the first philosopher to use “pragmatism” as a label for the perspective, that pragmatism is a theory of meaning (p. 57). Pragmatism assumes that humans are active meaning makers. Noddings explains,

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As we seek meaning, we are to ask ourselves what observable effects may be associated with the objects of our thinking. We anticipate certain effects as a result of reflections on past events, and where uncertainty exists, we conjecture. Meaning so described is dynamic. As we test our conjectures, meaning changes; sometimes it becomes more stable, and at other times, continued uncertainty leads to further testing (2005). People are active makers of meaning rather than passive receivers of objective, a priori meaning. Both theory (to guide thinking and acting) and practice (to test the suggestions of theory are important; they are equally important (Noddings, 2005). Thinking and acting are aspects of one process (Paul, Graffam, & Fowler, 2005). Pragmatism also highlights the importance of vocabularies and how changes in the way people use words influences the way that others think and act (Noddings, 2005). John Dewey’s pragmatic theory of knowledge insisted that people use prior knowledge to guide their actions, and as activity either confirms or disconfirms the trial knowledge with which they began, knowledge is advanced. (Noddings, 2005). He also rejected traditional quests for certainty, arguing, as

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Richard Rorty (1979) does that science and philosophy are continuous (as cited by Noddings, 2005). Ontologically, reality consists of justified beliefs and warranted assertions that are held until additional evidence suggests otherwise. (Paul, Graffam, & Fowler, 2005). Neither abstract, detached theory, nor a mere account of personal experience can yield warranted assertions, cautioned Noddings (2005). Epistemologically, knowledge is constructed, questioned, refined, and encoded; it is promoted through power structures and contested ideas within social groups (Paul, Graffam, & Fowler, 2005).

Meaning Making In any reading event, there exists a reader, a text, and a context. The term reader implies that there is a transaction with a text. A reader makes meaning when she or he transacts with a text in a particular context (Rosenblatt, 1969; 1978; 1994; 2005). As Rosenblatt (2005) wrote, Every reading act is an event, or a transaction involving a particular reader and a particular pattern of signs, a text, and occurring at a particular time in a particular context (p. 7). When a reader, a text, and a context come together in a transactional event, there is a dynamic and powerful moment of meaning making—a poem Rosenblatt (1978; 2005) has called it. This relationship is represented (Edge, 2011) in Figure 1.

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Figure 1. Meaning Making

Literacy educators and scholars (e.g., Burke, 2014; Keene & Zimmerman, 2007; Langer, 1998, 1995; Tovani, 2000; Wilhelm, 1997; 2008) have built upon the transactional nature of reading, writing, and communicating to describe how readers’ meaning making from texts is constructed through the connections readers make: connections between self, text, and world (Keene & Zimmerman, 2007). Making these connections guides readers toward a meaningful understanding of texts. This view is represented (Edge, 2011) in Figure 2.

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Figure 2. Meaningful understanding

In teacher education, Edge (2011) studied how two beginning English teachers made meaning from classroom events and discovered that, like readers of print-based texts, teachers both read the communicative signs around them—the external text—as they composed or constructed an internal text—tentative and ongoing envisionments in relationship to the world they read. In other words, they sought to comprehend teaching and learning events and they composed an understanding of those events through ongoing connections, questions, and inferences derived from the communicative signs in their work as teachers. This meaning making was guided by the individual teacher’s experiential-linguistic reservoir—the teacher’s background knowledge—and the stances from which the teacher “read” and “composed” an understanding of her students as learners, her curriculum, her identity as an educator, and her professional milieu. Findings from this quasi-longitudinal narrative inquiry included descriptions of the two teacher participants meaning-making through connections and tensions and addressed how Rosenblatt’s (1978; 2005) Transactional Theory of Reading and Writing extended to teachers’ reading, comprehending, and composing meaningful understanding of teaching and learning events. In this chapter, the author, as a teacher educator, literacy educator, and qualitative researcher, sought to more fully understand the meanings made from a professional learning situation, to attend to the environmental conditions of those meanings, and to wonder and reflect upon them for purposes of meaningful understanding of teaching and learning in online and hybrid contexts. Meaning is both what the author studies and what is sought to guide learners to construct. Meaningful understanding is the aim of professional practice and professional learning experiences as well as the essence of goals for the prospective and practicing teachers with whom the author interacts and teaches. “Ecological literacy” (Barton, 2007; Erstad, 2016) refers to a way of understanding literacy and technology as a part of people’s everyday life. Synthesizing literature related to ecological literacy (e.g., Barton, Ivanic, Appleby, Hodge, & Tusting, 2007; Sefton-Green, 2013; Sefton-Green and Rowsell, 2015), Erstad (2016) asserts, As such, it becomes important to focus on literacy events, as framed by

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certain activities in order to examine the ways in which ‘reading’ and ‘writing’ are performed (p. 92). This chapter aims to attend to literacy events framed by the OTF programs for purposes of identifying and understanding professional learning in and about online teaching situations.

Theoretical Framework Crossing the disciplinary boarders of teacher education and literacy instruction in English language arts and reading, Classroom Literacy is a framework for active teaching, learning, and meaning making. Situated in a transactional paradigm (Dewey & Bentley, 1949; Rosenblatt, 1978; 1994; 2005), and taking up broadened notions of text, Classroom Literacy (Edge, 2011) is a theoretical framework that positions both instructors and learners as readers and meaning-makers of their classroom experiences as texts. As an extension of Louise Rosenblatt’s transactional theory of reading and writing (Rosenblatt, 1978; 1994; 2005), this framework adopts Rosenblatt’s conception of meaning as a transactional event in time that is made through the confluence of a reader and a text in a particular context (Rosenblatt, 1969; 1985; 1978; 1994; 2005). Writing about the face-to-face classroom context, Edge (2011) explains: In the Classroom Literacy framework: (a) teachers, like readers, draw from their linguistic-experiential reservoir (Rosenblatt, 2005) to guide their process of interpreting and understanding classroom events; (b) teachers, like readers, are guided by the stances they adopt; (c) teachers, like readers, compose understanding in social contexts; (d) teaching, like reading, is a transactional experience, and; (e) and teacher education, like English education, can benefit from studying the meaning-making processes of “readers.” Classroom Literacy attends to teachers’ cognitive and social processes of meaningful understanding. Classroom literacy also acknowledges that as a transactional experience, teaching can shape a teacher’s professional identity, knowledge, and view of others, similar to how the exploration of literature through reading transactionally influences one’s sense of self, the text, and the world beyond (Rosenblatt, 1938). Finally, just as scholars holding a transactional view of reading argue that readers compose new texts as they read (e.g., Rosenblatt, 1978; 2005; Smagorinsky, 2008), teachers compose stories of their teaching experiences (p. 30). In this study, a university teacher educator and course instructor acted as a reader and meaning maker during a two-part, hybrid Online Teaching Fellows (OTF) training program. As an instructor-participant, she both read and composed her course design, Learning Management System (LMS), and interactions with staff trainers, fellow instructor-participants, and her students during the training.

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Inquiry Question As both a reader and an active, co-designer of the author’s professional learning experiences, the author sought to identify the meanings made from the two Online Teaching Fellows (OTF) programs a as faculty development initiative at the university. The author also sought to attend to how, as well as under what contexts, the author made meaning related to designing and delivering online instruction. The author inquired: •

What meanings were made about teaching and learning in hybrid and online environments?

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◦◦ ◦◦

What tensions were experienced? What transformations were experienced?

METHODS Case Study Nested Within Self-Study Methodology Case study and self-study methodologies have been used to enable teacher-scholars to support their own professional renewal and professional learning, to improve their practices for sake of student learning, to support the colleagues’ learning, and to generate understandings that can be shared with the broader professional knowledge base (Freidus, Feldman, Sgouros, & Wiles-Kettenmann, 2005; Hawley & Hostetler, 2017; Hjalmarson, 2017; Pithourse-Morgan & Samaras, 2015).

Case Study Interpretation and the gathering of interpretations are central to case study research (Erickson, 1986; Stake, 1995; Yin, 2017). Since this study was guided by a framework which acknowledges the transactional and multimodal communicative nature of teaching and learning (Simonds & Cooper, 2011; Edge, 2011; Edge, 2015; Edge, 2017; Greene, 1983; Hurt, Scott, & McCroskey, 1987; Rosenblatt, 1978; Rosenblatt, 2005; Smagorinsky & Whiting, 1995), case study methodology is appropriate for interpreting the meaning a faculty participant made from the case of experiencing a two-part multi-semester hybrid, online teaching professional learning experience.

Self-Study Methodology

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Self-study seeks to understand and to improve the practice of teaching (Bullough & Pinnegar, 2001; Loughran & Northfield, 1998). To engage in self-study research is to study oneself and one’s own knowledge and assumptions in an ecological relationship with the phenomenon under investigation. Rather than bracket oneself outside the research event, self-study affords intentional stance and methods to study the dynamic relationship between self, study, and the broader educational knowledge base. LaBoskey (2004), drawing from seminal works, conceptualizes self-study as: a methodology for studying professional practice settings (Pinnegar, 1998) that has the following characteristics: it is self-initiated and focused; it is improvement-aimed; it is interactive; it includes multiple, often qualitative, methods; and, it defines validity as a validation process based in trustworthiness (Mishler, 1990). As a self-study researcher and teacher educator, the author sought to examine teaching and learning experiences, in part, because of the value that ongoing learning experiences can help inform the author’s teaching practices. Identifying the author’s own assumptions, tensions, and transformations about, in, and through educative experiences, enables the author to be purposeful and agentive in the pedagogical approaches employed with students—the prospective and practicing teachers—ever “be” and “become” as teachers and as life-long model learners for and with their own students.

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Data Collection Data was collected throughout the two OTF programs and included: (1) training materials provided to participants; (2) artifacts the author (the faculty participant) produced during Programs 1 and 2, including: a written philosophy statement for online teaching; course planning notes; course design documents submitted to facilitators; videos made for student to navigate the course; instructional videos generated for the courses designed; assignments designed; module-level objectives generated; assessment rubrics created; feedback offered to peer faculty; feedback received from peer faculty; online discussion posts and responses generated; the presentation outlines and materials generated and shared with OTF participants, department faculty, and administrators; and ongoing notes from discussions with two critical friends—who were also OTF participants—about the learning and teaching experiences.

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Role of the Researcher In this study, the author acted as a participant and as the self-study researcher inquiring into the case of my experiencing a multi-semester hybrid Online Teaching Fellows professional development initiative program. Self-study researchers honor the insider perspective and the marginalized voices and consider the subjectivity of both researchers and their students to be important (LaBoskey, 2004). Self-study researchers are both actors and spectators in their teaching; we act and think with regard to educational questions, and we seek to help others to both act and think in and through educational events (LaBoksey, 2004). As a tenured associate professor of education and a teacher educator who “grew up” into the academy through nineteen years of teaching face-to-face classes, first as a high school English language arts and reading teacher, then as a secondary English education teacher educator, and then as a secondary literacy methods teacher educator, the author was both comfortable and accomplished in teaching in face-toface settings. However, as a teacher educator, designing and teaching online instruction for prospective and practicing K-12 teachers was still relatively “new”. At the time of the OTF (2016 for Program 1 and 2017 for program 2), the author had successfully taught multiple sections of fully online graduate courses since 2012, and the author had earned distance qualification, a minimum requirement for teaching online at the university. Nevertheless, the author learning to teach online had first been an “organic” learning experience that happened in conjunction with the need for teaching online courses and from observing and responding to student learning needs in the online context. The author embraced that one could learn more and could continuously improve teacher education practices in the distance education context. The author responded to calls sent by university-wide email for faculty to apply. In the summer of 2016, the author participated in the first cohort of the OTF Program 1, and a year later, participated in the second cohort of OTF Program 2 (summer 2017). In conjunction with program outcomes, the author presented the experiences and shared the online course design and delivery outcomes with fellow cohort members at the end of each program. In fall 2017, the author also shared findings and products at a department meeting to fellow faculty and graduate students. Additionally, the author had the opportunity to speak to prospective faculty OTF participants (faculty interested in applying to the OTF program) alongside OTF program facilitators at one of the university’s professional development day workshops (fall 2017). Finally, the author was invited to speak to deans and department heads (fall 2017) about the benefits of sharing OTF experiences with department faculty. The author encouraged administrators to support faculty who apply to participate in the

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OTF programs, and urged department chairs to prove time in department meetings for OTF participants to share their learning with department faculty.

Participant-Identified Benefits of Participating in the Online Teaching Fellows Programs When examining artifacts from presentations to OTF participants, faculty, and administrators, the author observed that four benefits were communicated, from the author’s perspective as a participant, from the experience and offered them as reasons to consider participating in the Online Teaching Fellows program. These reasons were communicated in the acronym PACK as expressed why others might want to PACK in (on top of their existing responsibilities) the OTF professional learning experience. •

• • •

Perspective: The opportunity to see and re-see the course through new and diverse perspectives (e.g., Quality Matters, new literature, and the perspectives of facilitators and OTF participants from diferent academic backgrounds). The author candidly quipped that P also stood for painful, as perspective also created moments of frustration and uncertainty; Action: The opportunity and impetus to act on teaching revisions and ideas had—both prior to the OTF as well as those developed during the OTF programs; Collaboration and Connection: The opportunity to interact with colleagues across campus and to consider teaching and learning from a broader, more academically, experientially, and linguistically diverse perspective; Knowledge: The author learned about: ◦◦ Quality Matters; ◦◦ Course design that meets Quality Matters standards; ◦◦ Interactive technology tools and techniques for teaching and for learning; ◦◦ What faculty across campus, are doing as online instructors within their disciplinary contexts; ◦◦ A frame for and practice with communicating how a course is or is not yet meeting aspects of Quality Matters using language that is constructive, specifc, measurable, sensitive, and balanced; ◦◦ Experiencing what it is like to be an online learner.

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Recognizing that the author had made and communicated meaning from lived experiences to authentic audiences, how were the conclusions made? What could the author learn from investigating the learning process?

Data Analysis To narratively analyze the experiences, the author first placed artifacts in chronological order (Richards, 2011), as experienced or generated. Having been positioned as a reader and active a meaning maker in a transactional epistemological context (Rosenblatt, 2005; Edge, 2011), the author then employed multiple theoretically framed readings. Utilizing theory as critical frames for considering and reconsidering the lived experiences—as represented in or imbued by the many texts read and/or generated as an Online Teaching Fellow—the author examined artifacts from multiple critical, albeit somewhat complementary, perspectives. The author coded documents in light of the questions. The author made meaning notes

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as she read, and then condensed those notes into phrases, hermeneutically examining the relationship between the parts of experiences to the whole of previously articulated and ever-unfolding understanding of teaching and learning in online contexts, of theory, and of hesrelf as a professional learner. Multiple readings were key to discovering connections and divergences that led to richer, transformative understandings about the relationship between participating in the OTF programs and studying experiences had in those programs. For example, using the Classroom Literacy theoretical framework as a broad lens for deconstructing the PACK meanings the author had made and communicated, chronologically ordered (Richards, 2011) then studied the many “texts” that the author both attended to and generated while in the OTF programs. She also examined contexts and written discourse with critical friends. As Richardson (1990) has written, Narratively…the connection between the events is the meaning (p. 21). For instance, in the event of creating a partial design document for one course module during OTF program 1, and later creating and revising a full design document (for an entire course) during Program 2, she generated multiple drafts and responded to peer and to facilitator feedback during the OTF programs. She also produced notes about the experiences and shared them with critical friends working with on these design documents. After the OTF programs, the author positioned these texts as data for self-study. Analytically and theoretically (re)reading these texts, she made meaning notes, looked for patterns, outliers, confirmations, disruptions, and insights into my use of multimodal communicative signs, and worked to construct an understanding of the parts of the document drafts in the context of the whole—the whole document, the whole course designed, the whole OTF professional learning experience, and the ongoing holistic understanding of teaching for learning in the online, distance education context. It was during this process that the author came to realize how initial tensions were experienced in the program were meaning-making events through which was “stepped into” the OTF learning experiences as an active learner who could position herself to actively bring forward what was known about teacher education and online learning, yet transform that knowing in light of new frames and professional experiences.

Limitations

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Analysis and interpretation of data is guided by and limited to affordances of case study design and the theoretical framework guiding this particular inquiry. This case study represents one participant’s experiences and portrays a critical and valuable, yet limited vantage point from which to consider professional learning through the OTF programs. Also, although findings were analyzed in light of relevant literature, the author openly acknowledge that in any given reading, there exists a text, a reader, a context, and an intertext that greatly influence the meaning made. To account for this, the author has tried to make her own reading transparent where possible.

MAIN FOCUS OF THE CHAPTER Online Teaching Fellows as Professional Learning Events This chapter describes a two-part, multi-semester, cohort-based faculty development program, tensions and transformations the author—as a faculty participant in the Online Teaching Fellows (OTF) programs experienced, and some of the meanings made from lived experiences. In this section, the author first

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provides a description of the OTF programs. Following this description, the author attends to tensions and transformations identified as a faculty participant who utilized self-study methodology to study the case of experiencing professional learning in a hybrid, online teaching, professional development initiative. The chapter ends with discussion related to how literacy frameworks for building knowledge may help learners navigate their learning experiences.

Online Teaching Fellows The Online Teaching Fellows program is a cohort-based, hybrid-delivered, multi-semester faculty development program created to prepare faculty to design, teach, and review online courses (Smock, 2017).

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Historical Context and Purpose The two-part program was developed within the context of growth in distance delivery at medium-sized (with approximately 8,000 students), teaching-focused university in the Midwestern United States. The university was established in 1899 as a state normal school, and educating teachers remained the focused mission of the school for many years. In the 1950’s and 1960’s, the teacher’s college grew dramatically, diversified its offerings and facilities, and in 1963, was granted university status (“Northern’s History,” n.d.). The university began offering distance education in 2001, “organically” developing and increasing online course offerings 2001-2014 (Smock & Stunkard, 2017). In 2012, the university subscribed to the Quality Matters Program as its quality assurance program for designing, developing, and reviewing online courses as well as training faculty to transition into distance education (“National Organizations” n.d.; Smock & Stunkard, 2017). In 2015, the university established minimum preparation requirements for faculty to be distance qualified to teach online, and in 2016, the university created a new division of Extended Learning and Community Engagement, under which the charge of increasing quality online programs then became housed. In the summer of 2016, the Center for Teaching and Learning began offering the first Online Teaching Fellows program to faculty. As a professional development initiative sponsored by the Office of Extended Learning and Community Engagement and facilitated by the Center of Teaching and Learning, the goal of the Teaching Fellows initiative was to develop faculty expertise in the design, development, and delivery of online courses in order to build and enhance online programs (Center for Teaching and Learning, “Online Teaching Fellows”). The two-program included a foundational program (Program 1) and an advanced program (Program 2), designed to produce online leaders and courses that meet Quality Matters Standards (para 3). The program includes faculty cohorts of up to fifteen participants, and is open to all faculty who apply and receive approval from his/her department head, with preference given to faculty who teaches or plan teach online or faculty planning programs of study that will be delivered in the fully online settings. Not all faculty who apply are accepted into the OTF programs.

Program 1 Program 1 was a foundational program lasting approximately twelve weeks in duration (60 clock hours, with 20 hours synchronous and 40 hours asynchronous) and included a stipend for participants who successfully completed all program requirements and deliverables. Program 1 aimed to provide participants with a foundation for the design, development, and teaching of online courses. The program began with

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15 hours of face-to-face cohort workshops, including the Qualtiy Matters Applying the Quality Matters Rubric (APPQMR) workshop. Next, participants participated in multiple weeks of asynchronous activities and a one-on-one progress consultation between the faculty participant and one of the Teaching and Learning facilitators. Finally, participants met together at the end of the program for a face-to-face cohort meeting at which faculty participants presented their work. The learning objectives for Program 1 were communicated to prospective OTF participants (Center for Teaching and Learning, 2017c) as follows: Upon completion of Program 1, participants will be able to: • • • • •

Design an online course that meets Quality Matters standards. Plan research-informed strategies for managing an online course. Select strategies for engaging students in an online course. Create various types of online content, activities, and assessments. Apply self-assessment tools for formative evaluation of online teaching. (para. 4)

Program deliverables were outlined by the Center for Teaching and Learning (2017c; Smock & Stunkard, 2017). Each participant will: • • • • •

Complete the Applying Quality Matters Rubric (APPQMR) training, enabling the participant to share principles QM and practices Develop a teaching philosophy statement of strategy for teaching online, based on research within the participant’s discipline; Create a partial course outline, including: ◦◦ All course level learning objectives ◦◦ Identifcation of all content modules Build at least one full content module in the university’s learning management system (LMS) Be prepared to design and build a full online course

Program 1 content was divided into four modules, beginning with introductory activities and ending with presentations of program deliverables to fellow cohort members and Center for Teaching and Learning OTF facilitators. Table 1. According to the Center for Teaching and Learning (2017a), Program 1 components included

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Synchronous

Asynchronous

Estimated Time

Program Introduction

X

2 hours

Module 1: Applying the Quality Matters Rubric

X

8 hours

Module 2: Principles of Online Course Design

x (3)

x (3)

6 hours

Module 3: Course Development: Tools, Techniques, and Strategies

x

3 hours

Module 4: Introduction to Evaluation of Online Teaching

x

3 hours

x (18)

22 hours

Participants design and develop online course deliverables Presentations

x (4) X

4 hours

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Program 2 The focus of Program 2 was producing leaders and producing courses that meet Quality Matters standards (Center for Teaching and Learning, 2017d). Also lasting approximately twelve weeks, Program 2 was 100 clock hours (34 synchronous; 66 asynchronous) and structured around two parts: designing and developing an online course; reviewing online courses for course design; using Quality Matters rubrics; and reviewing courses for best practices in online teaching. The learning objectives for Program 2 were communicated to prospective OTF participants (Center for Teaching and Learning, 2017d) as follows: Upon completion of Program 2, participants will be able to: • • • •

Design and develop a complete online course that meets Quality Matters standards. Participate in a complete internal Quality Matters course review. Provide peer feedback on teaching practices in an online course. Present their online courses as examples to their academic departments.

Program outcomes and deliverables were outlined by the Center for Teaching and Learning (2017b; 2017d; Smock & Stunkard, 2017) as follows: Applying the skills and knowledge gained through meeting the program learning objectives, each successful Program 2 participant will: • • • •

Design and produce a complete, Quality Matters-reviewed (internally), online course. Participate as both a reviewer and a reviewee in a full internal Quality Matters review. Gain expertise in selecting and implementing instructional technology for online delivery. Share their course design and development experience with their departmental peers.

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Table 2. According to the Center for Teaching and Learning (2017b), Program 2 components included Synchronous

Asynchronous

Estimated Time

Welcome and Setup Activities

x (2)

x(2)

4 hours

Part I: Designing and Developing Online Courses

x (12)

x (30)

42 hours

Part II: Reviewing Online Courses and Online Teaching

x (12)

x (22)

34 hours

Wrap-up

x (8)

x (12)

20 hours

Program 2 included three face-to-face (synchronous) meetings with the cohort of OTF participants and facilitators from the university Center for Teaching and Learning; these meetings included: the kick-off meeting which provided an overview of the program as well as hands-on review of Quality Matters (from Program 1); a mid-program workshop; and a day of final presentations. Additionally, OTF participants scheduled at least one face-to-face, one-on-one meeting with their assigned program facilitator. During part one of Program 2, participants designed and created an online course. During part two, faculty participants participated in full, internal, Quality Matters reviews of two peers’ courses, received feedback from their own peer-reviewed course, and developed a plan for revisions or for continued development based on peer feedback. Participants also reviewed an archived course, examining and

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evaluating the peer instructor’s use of the seven principles for good practice in teaching (Chickering & Gamson, 1987; Sorcinelli, 1991; Tobin, Mandernach, & Taylor, 2015; University of Michigan, 2016) and then composing a letter to the instructor which synthesized and communicated the strengths and areas for improving teaching practices. Finally, faculty participants presented their courses and their learning about designing, developing, creating online courses—first to their fellow cohort members and then to their academic departments.

Tensions and Transformations in Knowledge Building From Online Teaching Fellows Experiences In the sections below, the author first identifies the primary envisionment stances from which was made meaning during Program 1 and Program 2 learning modules. Within these stances, or orientations to the OTF, identified a primary tension experienced at the outset of the OTF programs. Critically reflecting from the distanced, analytical vantage point, the author identified transformations in relationship to the identified tensions. This section concludes by explaining the new meanings made from inquiring into and critically reading and reflecting on the author’s OTF experiences through self-study methodologies. Table 3. Envisioning Knowledge Envisionment Building Stances Being Out and Stepping Into an Envisionment

Being In and Moving Through an Envisionment

Program 1 (x) Program Introduction Module 1: Applying the Quality Matters Rubric Module 2: Principles of Online Course Design

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Stepping Out and Objectifying the Experience

Welcome and Setup Activities Part I: Designing and Developing Online Courses

Synchronous Program (hours)

Asynchronous Program (hours)

x (2) y (2)

x (+1) y (2)

x (8) y (12) x (3)

Module 3: Course Development: Tools, Techniques, and Strategies Module 4: Introduction to Evaluation of Online Teaching

Stepping Out and Rethinking What You Know

Program 2 (y)

x (3) y (30) x (3) y (20)

Part II: Reviewing Online Courses and Online Teaching

y (12)

x (3) y (22)

Participants design and develop online course deliverables

x (4)

x (18)

Presentations

x (4) y (8)

Wrap up

y (12)

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Being Outside and Stepping Into the Online Teaching Fellows Programs: The Epistemological Tension Between Observed and Experienced Knowing During the Program 1 and Program 2 introductory modules, the author experienced the tension between observed and experiential knowing, between knowing that versus knowing how. This tension unexpectedly manifested in relationship to “regular” learning events, and, as productive tensions can, generated new understandings for practice. This tension is associated with the (painful) perspective benefit articulated to prospective OTF participants in her department and the larger university context during her talks about her experience. Finally, this tension relates to the tension between telling and growth in self-study of teacher education practices (Berry, 2007).

Introduction Posts For instance, the first tasks faculty OTF participants were asked to do at the outset of Program 1 included the asynchronous activities of reading the syllabus online and creating a “Postcard” introductory post to other participants. The prompt read as follows:

Postcards This is your first ‘assignment’. This is intended as an ice breaker/getting to know you activity. Please post an initial discussion that is to be read like a postcard. Pretend you are writing to one of your colleagues who is out of the area for the summer (on vacation, sabbatical, research assignment, etc). Share with them the environment, how’s the weather, what you have been doing, your summer plans including this upcoming course. Give them a little background on your online experience (as instructor, as student, or as complete novice) and your expectations (what you hope to get out of the course, why you are taking it, what you are concerned about, what you are excited about). Keep it brief (it is a postcard, after all), but communicate effectively.

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Respond to at least two of your classmates if you see commonalities, have suggestions, or they had you see something in a different way. As a teacher educator who has taught in both online and face-to-face contents, the author understood the value of this assignment as an engaging and purposeful way to interact with and to introduce oneself to the cohort. In each course that the author teaches, she has designed introductory activities with a similar purpose. As the instructor in those classes, the author also introduces herself using a similar format or activity that students are asked to produce as a way to model what the introduction might look like and also to position myself in the course community-building events at the outset of the course. Nevertheless, although the value and purpose of such an assignment is known, the event of composing the postcard introduction was fraught with tension. From the perspective of a learner who is introducing oneself to her peers in the online setting, the writing experience felt awkward, pressured, and strained. The need to communicate in personal, genuine, yet professional manner as well as the tension between the need to keeping the introduction brief and the need to communicate enough to present oneself in a concise space created tensions. The author’s post was as follows:

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Hello Friends! It feels like it’s finally spring quickly turning summer here in [town where I live]. With the weather fair, we are seeing first buds—Surprise, we have lilacs! Shucks, we have dandelions!—in the yard at our new house. We’re looking forward to continuing to settle in over the summer months and hopefully pepper in a few more reno projects when we find the time. The boys have us busy with baseball every evening. [Oldest child] is in his second year of little league, and [middle child] is playing T-ball for the first time. Little [youngest child] is their biggest fan, but restless sitting in the stands. Beyond the backyard and ballpark, I’ve managed to survive my first race—the Big Bay Relay Marathon. It’s always so fun—except for running that blasted Eagle’s Nest hill—and helps me to get motivated to get back out there and start enjoying the summer weather with my running shoes on… Work is going well. I’m teaching three online courses this summer and taking one myself! When I taught my first online course four years ago, it was a bit overwhelming. After teaching face-to-face for fifteen years and always taking courses in person, I was concerned about responding to students’ needs and being “present” in an online classroom. I learned a lot through that first, kinda painful, faced-paced summer class, and I’ve been teaching a mix of face-to-face undergraduate and online graduate courses ever since. What I like most about working in summers is that I’m only teaching online, and I can focus my energies through this platform. During the fall and winter semesters, I still find it challenging to manage both face-to-face and online presences by being genuinely “present” in both worlds. I’m hoping that by taking this online course, I will have the time and space to invest in course design and strategies for engaging learners through an online community of learners. I’ve found that the more planning and designing energy I invest ahead of time, the more mindful I can later be to the learners taking my courses. I’m also looking forward to seeing the online world from the student perspective and collaborating with my colleagues across campus. (Little do they know that they will be “traveling” with me to see family in Florida, to present research in both Boston and at the Herstmonceaux Castle in England, and hopefully to several campsites here in the [region].) Well, speaking of camping, the pop-up is waiting for me to clean and pack it for our family’s first adventure this weekend. Talk soon,

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Christi Through social media (Facebook Messenger), her critical fends and much generated discussion related to how awkward they suddenly felt as introductions were composed. They also expressed surprise as they did not expect to feel awkward or to find it difficult to compose an introduction with personal and professional details to share with colleagues whom they did not yet know. Through discussion, and in the safe space to explore, share, and communicate this tension through an already existing online community of three, they were able to “textualize” experience, emotions, and thoughts (Cameron-Standerford, Edge, & Bergh, 2016; Edge, 2011). Taking a step back from them, they were able to build new knowledge through a renewed sense of perspective resulting from having been “in the learner’s shoes.”

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Reconsidering such a “familiar” teaching practice from the perspective of the learner within the context of being in a class with peers, shifted our thinking about how (the author’s own and critical friends) learners might experience the assignments asked of them. Several times in the ongoing discussions, they each noted how it had been previously thought such activities to “not be a big deal,” and that “didn’t take too long to compose.” However, known experiences contrasted the knowledge they held as educators who designed and read their students’ posts and as instructors who also posted alongside students. “Why did we feel awkward and frustrated?” they asked one another. The “stakes,” they realized, were different; even with such a seemingly simple activity, the shift in perspective generated a very different orientation to the event. As a result, the assignment too much more time to compose than anticipated; it necessitated vulnerability that they had not fully understood before, from the perspective of the instructor. This tension resulted in seemingly subtle yet important transformation of stance and orientation to online learning. As a result, they each expressed a sense of compassion and empathy toward students as learners. The tension also generated an awareness of the time, energy, investment, and “risk” students invest when contributing to building course community in online settings with peers. Stepping back from the OTF experiences, the author was able to understand not only the instructional purpose of such an assignment (which was previously known to the OTF), but also experienced the learner’s perspective; this perspective of the “lived through event” enabled the author to experience the event of stepping into an online learning space that she did not design. Rather than make instructional decisions solely from the perspective of observing students’ products (i.e., their posted introductions), she was able to develop additional knowledge and insight into the lived experience. The envisionmentbuilding possibilities from an orientation to the OTF that enabled participants to “step into” the training space, to generate and to co-construct connections with other participants, and to actively anticipate, construct, and communicate in the online learning space at the outset of the program provided a valuable and transformative space for learning. This learning, albeit uncomfortable and producing much initial friction, contributed to later collaborative learning in the OTF programs as well as new professional learning that generated valuable knowledge for instructional design and delivery.

RECOMMENDATIONS

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Recommendation 1: Design Hybrid and Online Learning Experiences Through an Envisionment-Building Approach Professional learning experiences are a potentially transformative process, in which the individual learner is positioned as an agentive and active sense maker who reads and composes an understanding of self, curriculum and other texts, as well as the world around her/him. The Transactional Theory of Reading and Writing (Rosenblatt, 1978; 2005) asserts that an individual reader makes sense of texts—that is, multimodal communicative signs. An individual’s meaning-making is guided by the stance or orientation toward that text and purpose for reading. An envisionment-building framework brings to light the positions or orientations toward a text that position a person to make meaning.

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Recommendation 2: Use Technology to Design Interactive Envisionment Building Spaces in Hybrid and Online Learning Experiences According to Langer (2011), technology is one of the richest spaces for engaging leaners in knowledge building. Through technology, there is space to explore, generate, and imagine. There are opportunities to acquire language, modes of thinking, and problem solving. Langer (2011) writes: From an envision-building perspective, the most productive and promising use of technology is its ability to provide students with cognitive “playgrounds” that let them take on disciplinary problems and manipulate ideas in thinking through their understandings and further developing them, with assistance from peers and teachers as well as the wider world. Online interactions with classmates as well as teachers are important opportunities for students to learn the vocabulary and modes of presentation and argument that are appropriate to the discipline. Uses of technology designed to involve students in working through problems as a way to understand how concepts, issues, and data interact and connect (or might connect) are available or being developed in every discipline. They are dramatically different from resources that function simply as data sources, although there is certainly a role for these too (p. 158). Through teaching, research, and the scholarship of teaching and learning, there is a need to design, describe, inquire into and critically examine how technology can generate a safe, “playful” space to interact with ideas and with others. Langer (2011) reminds her readers that internet searches, word processing, PowerPoint presentations and rote drill are the most common uses of technology in teaching (Langer, 2011). Other teachers engage learners in the transactional or interactive meaning-making process through technology tools such as blogs or wikis and text messaging to provide learners with the opportunity to give and gain feedback, to engage in discourse, and to practice emerging disciplinary as their knowledge grows (Langer, 2011). Needed and missing from online teaching and learning are the kinds of technology experiences

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…that let students manipulate and build from what they know around problems and issues in the disciplines and to think critically, creatively and reflectively about them. Because technology is becoming the major worldwide mode in and through which people generate reproduce and communicate about knowledge, it must be included with reading, writing, and speaking as a tool for higher literacy across the disciplines (p. 158). In teacher education, meaningful teacher learning is essential; teachers who learn to use technology for professional learning in meaningful learning contexts and in collaboration with other professionals are more apt to provide similar agentive learning experiences for their learners (Standerford, Sabin, Anderson, Edge, Lubig, & Cameron-Standerford, 2012; National Writing Project, n.d.). As Eisner (2017) reminds his readers, schools will not be any better for (K-12) students than they are for teachers. In higher education and teacher education contexts, providing faculty with professional learning experiences which include technology as envisionment-building tools and spaces will better enable faculty to provide technology rich knowledge-building experiences for the learners whom they teach.

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 A Teacher Educator’s Meaning-Making From a Hybrid “Online Teaching Fellows”

FUTURE RESEARCH DIRECTIONS The tensions and transformations that were experienced as a faculty learner in the Online Teaching Fellows programs and that the author critically examined as a self-study researcher, have helped her to take a step back from the ongoing praxis—that is, the understandings continued to generate from the assemblage of teaching, research, theory, and discourse. Leaving this “envisionment-building experience” and “going beyond” (Langer, 2011) the lived events, she has made new meanings. Considering the original theoretical frame previously generated (Edge, 2011) and used to guide the broadest conceptions of this self-study case, the author is now able to further broaden the theoretical framework to more consciously consider how the theoretical frame can guide design and delivery of online and hybrid teacher education courses as well as professional learning in face-to-face, online, and hybrid contexts. It is with this insight in mind that the author now begins to re-see or re-envision the Classroom Literacy theoretical frame as Multimodal Literacies for Teaching, Learning, and Making Meaning in Diverse Contexts.

Literacy for Teaching, Learning, and Making Meaning in Multimodal Contexts

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Crossing the disciplinary boarders of literacy instruction in English language arts and reading, teacher education, as well as the boarders of the brick and mortar classroom to the digital world of distance education “courseroom,” Literacy for Teaching and Learning is a framework for active teaching, learning, and making. Situated in an ecological, interactive, transactional paradigm (Dewey & Bentley, 1949; Rosenblatt, 1978, 1994, 2005), and taking up broadened notions of text to include communicative signs (Rosenblatt, 2005), including any representational resource (Cope & Kalantzis, 2000) and all objects that are imbued with meaning (Draper, Broomhead, Jensen, & Siebert, 2010), Literacy for Teaching and Learning is a theoretical framework that positions instructors and learners as readers and meaningmakers of their experiences as texts. As an extension of Louise Rosenblatt’s transactional theory of reading and writing (Rosenblatt, 1978; 1994; 2005), this framework adopts Rosenblatt’s conception of meaning as a transactional event in time; meaning is made through the confluence of a reader and a text in a particular context (Rosenblatt, 1969; 1985; 1978; 1994; 2005). Writing about teachers’ classroom literacy practices in the context of the total classroom situation, Edge, 2011, explains: In the Classroom Literacy framework, teachers are readers, writers, and communicators who acquire and use literate thinking and skills for educative purposes. Teaching is a meaning-making event. Classroom Literacy includes the following tenets: (a) teachers, like readers, draw from their linguistic-experiential reservoir (Rosenblatt, 2005) to guide their process of interpreting and understanding classroom events; (b) teachers, like readers, are guided by the stances they adopt; (c) teachers, like readers, compose understanding in social contexts; (d) teaching, like reading, is a transactional experience; (e) and teacher education, like English education, can benefit from studying the meaning-making processes of “readers” Thinking about teaching through the Classroom Literacy framework includes attending to teachers’ cognitive and social processes for arriving at a meaningful understanding. As a transactional experience, teaching can shape a teacher’s professional identity, knowledge, and view of others, similar to how the exploration of literature through reading transactionally influences one’s sense of self, the text, and the world beyond . Finally, just as a transactional view of reading positions readers as composers of a new

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 A Teacher Educator’s Meaning-Making From a Hybrid “Online Teaching Fellows”

text as they read (Rosenblatt, 1978, 2005; Smagorinsky, 2008), the Classroom literacy framework views teachers as composers of understanding of their teaching experiences (p. 348).

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Implications of the Literacy for Teaching and Learning framework extend Rosenblatt’s Transactional Theory of Reading and Writing (1978;1994; 2005) theory by broadening the spotlight to include the particular instructor as a reader, designer, curriculum maker, and communicator for purposes of “educative experiences” (Dewey, 1938) for students and self in a dynamic learning environment, and individual learners as a reader, designer, communicators of and “writer” of the classroom as a dynamic text situated in particular personal, social, cultural, environmental, and pedagogical contexts (Bruner, 1986; Gee, 2008; Maclellan, 2008; Rosenblatt, 1978; 1994; 2005). In this study, the university course instructor acted as a reader and meaning maker during a twelve-week Online Teaching Fellows training program. As an instructor-participant, she both read and composed course design, the Learning Management System (LMS) as context, text, and tools for teaching and learning, as well as interactions with staff trainers, fellow instructor-participants, and her students in face-to-face and online settings during the training. In an age where the world is “flat” (Friedman, 2005), and classroom conversations extend beyond the brick and mortar walls of the classroom, the notion of “text” is not bound to the binding of books, e-readers, or even the Internet. The Multimodal Literacy for Teaching and Learning Framework focuses on both the learning and active learning processes of instructors and students as meaning-makers in online and face-to-face classrooms. This framework assumes that 21st century literacy is more than the decoding of words or the ability to print. It is the ability to think like a literate person (Langer, 1987) and to use literate skills as tools to make meaning; it includes the ability to create new meanings and to construct new understandings that contribute to global conversations in diverse communities. Within a transactional paradigm (Dewey & Bentley, 1949), literacy can embrace both sociocognitive and sociocultural perspectives of literacy. Literacy, then, may be described as a person’s ability to think like a literate person (Langer, 1987) as well as ability to use literacy as a tool to acquire and to construct new texts which both influence and are influenced by cultural contexts (Gee, 2008; Smagorinsky, 2001; Smagorinsky & O’Donnell-Allen, 1998). Within this framework, higher education faculty, teacher educators, and K-12 teachers are positioned as literate thinkers and professional learners who use literacy skills—reading, writing, listening, viewing, speaking, and visually representing—in particular contexts, to construct educative experiences for students, conceptions of teaching, and conception of self as teacher. Implications from this chapter suggests that if professional learning, especially about teaching, is viewed from a literacy perspective that entails meaning-making for meaningful understanding and composing meaningful learning opportunities for others (e.g., Edge, 2011; Smagorinsky & O’Donnell-Allen, 1998; Tobin, 1991; 2004), it might discover new understandings of teaching and learning in the online environment. Future research might address the following questions: • • • •

In what ways, can the knowledge base of literacy contribute to understanding meaningful teaching and learning processes in online settings? How does a teacher’s stance toward teaching and learning shape what s/he attends to and makes sense from in online and hybrid settings? How can we consciously design instruction that purposefully strategically, guides learners through envisionment building stances? How can we guide learners to see, name, and examine their own envisionment building processes?

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• • •

Without the visible cues of facial expressions, body language, and audible tone of voice, what communicative signs do teachers and students attend to as they read one another? As they coconstruct understandings through discourse? How does a teacher’s stance shape her or his students’ opportunities for learning and opportunities to convey their knowledge and learning? How does the meaning a teacher makes from online and/or hybrid teaching experiences shape her or his pedagogical and management decisions? Assessment of student learning? Identity as an educator?

CONCLUSION Drawing from what is known about readers’ meaning-making processes, this chapter presented and explicated an emerging conceptualization of meaning-making as a three-dimensional construct united by a transactional view of experience (Dewey, 1938; Dewey & Bentley, 1949; Rosenblatt, 1978; 1994; 2005) and a narrative mode of reasoning (Bruner, 1986). Attending to a transactional view of experience and a narrative mode of reasoning illuminates the temporal and spatial factors in readers’ sense-making of multimodal texts. Meaning-making is a dynamic event in the present. It is an interactive transaction between a reader and a text in a particular context. Readers as sense-makers and writers as designers draw from their past—from their linguistic-experiential reservoir—in order to make sense of texts and to design instruction in the present. This sense-making, in turn, contributes to their evolving reservoir, potentially guiding future meaning-making (Rosenblatt 1978; 1994; Langer, 2011). Drawing from examples of the instructor’s experiences in the OTF programs, this chapter considers how one instructor’s meaning-making from tensions and transformations experienced during a hybrid Online Teaching Fellows professional development initiative illuminated her meaning-making process.

ACKNOWLEDGMENT

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The opportunity to participate in the Online Teaching Fellows programs was made possible by the Office of Extended Learning and Community Engagement and the Center for Teaching and Learning at Northern Michigan University. Collaborative conversations with critical friends, Abby and Bethney, also helped facilitate the author’s ongoing learning through continuous discourse and critical questioning. Thank you.

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 A Teacher Educator’s Meaning-Making From a Hybrid “Online Teaching Fellows”

KEY TERMS AND DEFINITIONS Envisionment: An envisionment is meaning that is in the process of being made; it is meaning-inmotion. Event: In this study, event refers to a transactional experience. An event is an experience from which meaning is made. Meaning-making and event are biconditional terms. Meaning-making presupposes that a transaction has taken place. Knowledge: Knowledge is more than facts or the accumulation of information; it is the understanding of the interrelated information in the context of social and disciplinary conventions. Literacy: Adopting both sociocognitive and sociocultural conceptions, literacy includes the ability to think like a literate person, to use knowledge and strategic skills for purposes of communicating, creating meaning, negotiating meaning, and generating understanding within a discourse community. Stance: Stance refers to a person’s orientation toward or relation to an object or idea. Text: In this study, text refers to communicative signs, perceived by one of the senses, and intentionally imbued with meaning, either when created or attended to. Facial expressions and classroom walls, alike, can be texts. Transaction: Transaction does not refer to a business exchange; rather, transaction conveys the ecological relationship between the knower, knowing, and what is known. Transformative Learning: A revision of conceptions or assumptions and includes a process by which individual learners construct knowledge through critical reflection.

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This work was previously published in the Handbook of Research on Virtual Training and Mentoring of Online Instructors; pages 76-109, copyright year 2019 by Information Science Reference (an imprint of IGI Global).

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Chapter 24

Teachers’ Professional Learning Focused on Designs for Early Learners and Technology Michele Jacobsen University of Calgary, Canada Sharon Friesen University of Calgary, Canada Barbara Brown https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6862-4157 University of Calgary, Canada

ABSTRACT

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In this chapter, the authors present and discuss fndings from a two-year case study on teachers’ professional learning. This investigation built upon existing research on early learning and technology to study teachers’ professional learning in a community of practice, and the development of classroom-based learning designs and the ongoing inquiry of teachers from four school jurisdictions in the province of Alberta in Canada. Focus was on investigating ongoing continuous improvement of teacher design and assessment practices, to identify and share promising practices from the classroom, to capture teacher learning and engagement, to document the appropriate use of technology for learning and to identify and to understand system afordances and constraints for using technology with young learners.

INTRODUCTION Young children are growing up in environments rich in mobile and gaming technologies and, as such, they enter school with diverse technological experiences. Educational research is needed to understand early childhood experiences with technology and how to leverage young children’s home and recreational technology use for meaningful learning in school. Research on professional learning for teachers that DOI: 10.4018/978-1-7998-7294-8.ch024

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Research Anthology on Facilitating New Educational Practices Through Communities of Learning, edited by Association, Information Resources Management, IGI Global, 2020. ProQuest

 Teachers’ Professional Learning Focused on Designs for Early Learners and Technology

enables them to design appropriate learning experiences that use contemporary technologies at school is needed. Past research about youth media habits often warned about the perils for young learners using technologies (Cordes & Miller, 2000; O’Reilly & O’Neill, 2008; Schmidt, Rich, Rifas-Shiman, Oken & Taveras, 2009) and shared fears about technology being misused (Conners-Burrow, McKelvey, & Fussell, 2011). Research has pondered the appropriate age for children to start using computers (Karuppiah, 2014). Early critiques tended to be based on one-way communication technologies, such as television use (Swinburn & Shelly, 2008; Wilson, 2008) and using computer-assisted instruction (Elkind, 1996; Haugland & Wright, 1997). More recent critiques focus on possible online dangers (O’Reilly & O’Neill, 2008) or issues with overall screen time (Ernest, Causey, Newton, Sharkins, Summerlin & Albaiz, 2014). In contrast, other researchers argue there are developmentally appropriate and beneficial ways for practitioners to employ technologies with early learners (Bers & Kazakoff, 2013; Clements & Sarama, 2003).

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BACKGROUND Contemporary research on the healthy development of young children in a digital age should guide teachers’ appropriate use of technology in pre-school and primary classrooms (Barron, Bofferding, Cayton-Hodges, Copple, Darling-Hammond & Levine, 2011). Neumann and Neumann (2014) argue that early literacy skills can be enhanced using newer technologies such as touch screen tablets (i.e. iPads, mobile devices) and appropriate applications, and with scaffolding by “providing prompts and hints that help learners figure it out on their own” (Sawyer, 2006, p.11). Similarly, other researchers maintain that using technology with early learners can expand learning opportunities for all students (Bers, 2008; Bers & Kazakoff, 2013; Plowman & McPake, 2013) including students with complex needs (Kucirkova, Messer, Critten & Harwood, 2014). Effective use of technology with young children focuses on the thoughtful and strategic enhancement of social relations with peers and adults, fosters exploration and the manipulation of objects and the social construction of knowledge, the creation of representations, involves listening to and reading books, and children’s engagement in play (Barron, et al., 2011; Blackwell, Lauricella & Wartella, 2016; Neumann & Neumann, 2014). The learning potential of technology can best be realized when digital technologies are used by teachers for students’ powerful learning through creative design and expression, playful exploration, experimentation, design and invention versus information delivery (Singer, Golinkoff & Hirsh-Pasek, 2009). For example, Mitchell Resnick’s work focuses on using technologies to design, create and invent (Papert, 1980; Resnick, 2002). Resnick’s work on ScratchJr for young children, a modified version of the graphical programming language Scratch, focuses on providing appropriately designed and powerful digital creation and computer programming tools that align with early learner’s unique developmental and learning needs (Flannery, Kazakoff, Bonta, Silverman, Bers & Resnick, 2013). Assisting and supporting teachers’ professional learning requires more than helping them to learn how to use technology. Teachers want and need professional learning that assists them in developing responsive instructional design practices and in learning about appropriate technologies for learning in and for the contexts in which they teach (Daniels, Friesen, Jacobsen, & Varnhagen, 2012; Voogt & McKenney, 2017). Teacher’s professional learning within our study was supported through a community of practice (Lave, 2009; Lave & Wenger, 1991; Wenger, 2009). Communities of practice are guided by a social theory of learning that understands learning as a social phenomenon. Social participation is a primary focus of the community as the group of people come together through a shared concern for 457

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something they do and then they learn how to do it better as they interact with each other (Wenger & Wenger-Trayner, 2015). In the present study, the research community of practice provided participants with an opportunity to build “collective learning in a shared domain of human endeavour” (Wenger & Wenger-Traynor, 2015, para. 4). All of the teachers and school leaders involved in this case study were engaged in professional learning experiences that focused on the design of rich, inquiry based work for young learners in kindergarten (age 5) to grade four (age 9 – 10 years), and on the development of pedagogical strategies to promote intellectual engagement (Galileo Educational Network Association, 2013; Jacobsen, Lock & Friesen, 2013; Friesen, 2009a, 2009b). As a condition of the school jurisdiction’s involvement in the research community of practice, all of the teachers and kindergarten to grade four students in this study had access to mobile, handheld technologies and to a reliable and wireless technological infrastructure.

MAIN FOCUS OF THE CHAPTER The present case study research builds upon research on designs for learning with technology, communities of practice for teacher learning, as well as the work of teachers who employ contemporary digital technology and networks in ways that are developmentally appropriate and beneficial for young learners. Current research that builds on the existing knowledge base and the learning designs by classroom teachers to sponsor inquiry and intellectual engagement can help the teaching profession to deeply understand the interactive uses of technology by young children in contemporary classrooms and participatory cultures (Hattie & Anderman, 2012; Jenkins, Clinton, Purushotma, Robinson & Weigel, 2006). In this chapter, the authors examine research communities of practice approaches to teacher professional learning and the impacts of this approach on teaching and learning, as well as the ways that schools can best support engaged teaching and engaged learning with technology in Kindergarten to Grade 4. What we accomplished in this case study research was to identify and share promising practices for teacher professional learning, and to capture evidence of student and teacher learning and intellectual engagement.

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Theoretical Framework Willms, Friesen and Milton (2009) and Jacobsen and Friesen (2011) describe intellectual engagement as the interplay between cognition and emotion; the interplay between worthwhile and challenging work and a personally absorbing focus that is creatively energizing. Learning science researchers, such as Bransford, Brown, and Cocking (2000), Sawyer (2006, 2007), Barab, Arici, and Jackson (2005), Gresalfi, Barab and Sommerfeld (2012), and Zhang, Scardamalia, Reeve and Messina (2009), have identified the kinds of learning environments that promote intelligent action as a shared accomplishment, and learning as being knowledge centered, learner centered, assessment centered and community centered. Knowledge centered emphasizes teaching for deep understanding, competency and mastery in a discipline versus memorization or superficial coverage. Learner centered means paying close attention to the knowledge, skills and attitudes that learners bring to the classroom to inform what teachers need to do to help learners grow and take their next steps toward mastery. Assessment centered learning environments are designed to make student learning visible to both teachers and the students themselves (Hattie, 2009), and assessment data is used to inform instructional designs and practices. Knowledge, learning and assessment all takes place in a collaborative learning community where teachers and students accept 458

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increasing responsibility for their own learning and also for the learning of everyone else within the community of practice. Scardamalia and Bereiter (2006) describe knowledge building as an intentional focus on idea improvement and building knowledge in community, which align with this case study’s focus on knowledge, learning, assessment and community. Bereiter and Scardamalia (2010) argue that young children can genuinely create new knowledge and engage in theory building, as opposed to merely carrying out activities that resemble work by mature scientists and innovators.

Case Study Methodology and Context A mixed method case study approach, using both qualitative and quantitative methods for data collection and analysis (Creswell, 2014), was enacted in this research. Case study research intentionally focuses on the complexity of a single case, or a bounded system, as the phenomenon of interest for disciplined investigation (Merriam, 1998; Stake, 2005). A case study approach is appropriate to develop both a holistic and deep understanding of real-world contexts in order to produce and share findings relevant to similar real-world contexts (Yin, 2009), such as how young learners and their teachers engage in learning with technology. A case study research design offers distinct advantages in situations where the research team seeks to better understand by asking “how” or “why” about certain contexts within which the researcher has little or no control (Yin, 2009). One reason for conducting a case study of a bounded system is to generate sharable findings that can be informative of the experiences of the average group (Yin, 2009). For this case study (Merriam, 1998; Stake, 2005) the bounded system was the early learning and technology research community of practice whose shared purpose and goal was to explore the effective use of emerging technologies to support learning for kindergarten to grade four learners. Two primary research questions bound the research reported on in this chapter: 1) What were the innovative approaches to teacher professional learning that were implemented, and what was the impact on teaching and learning? 2) In what ways can schools best support engaged teaching and engaged learning with technology in Kindergarten to Grade 4?

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Case Study Context The context for this research is the Early Learning and Technology Research Community of Practice (ELTRCOP), which included four school jurisdictions in the province of Alberta, in Canada, a research team from the Werklund School of Education, University of Calgary, mentor teachers from the Galileo Educational Network, a professional learning and leadership organization in the Werklund School of Education, and the provincial ministry for education, Alberta Education. The ELT-RCOP was developed in response to a call from the provincial ministry, Alberta Education, for universities and school jurisdictions to form a ELT-RCOP to intentionally explore and document effective uses of technology to support learning in kindergarten to grade four classrooms. Partners in the ELT-RCOP each committed to the shared goal of designing and enacting digitally rich, knowledge building, and inclusive learning environments for learners and teachers in the early grades (K-4). The bounded system for this case study is the ELT-RCOP. Key initiatives proposed by the four jurisdictions included: i) using mobile technology to support language acquisition and development of early literacy, ii) enhancing learning through mobile and kinesthetic technology, iii) using iPads in the classroom as an assistive technology for diverse learners, iv) preparing K-4 learners for the 21st century through inquiry learning and universal access, and v) supporting differentiated instruction and student engagement through use of digital media, Web 2.0 tools and digital cameras. The 459

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Early Learning and Technology (ELT) initiative is a part of an ongoing provincial research initiative into best practices in classroom technology integration. In this multiple partner, multiple school jurisdiction research initiative, mentor teachers from the Galileo Network supported classroom teachers in designing technology-rich learning environments and tasks. Via regular school visits, mentor teachers guided classroom teachers through an inquiry and discipline oriented instructional design process that focused on developing authentic and academically rigorous work, assessments for learning, elaborated forms of communication, connections beyond the school and the appropriate use of technology.

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Professional Learning Activities for Teachers During the first year of the ELT-RCOP, Galileo Network mentors provided three full days of on-site professional learning for teacher participants in the four school districts involved in the study. During the second year of the study, participants requested a blend of professional learning days and flexible, on demand support. Accordingly, the Galileo Network mentors also offered additional online/offsite support to all teacher participants as required using a blended program of on-site professional learning sessions, school and jurisdiction visits, as well as mentoring support and collaboration through video/ audio conferences, and email. The extent of access to rich professional learning and support with design from the mentors varied from teacher-to-teacher, and was dependent on individual needs. The professional learning strategies that supported teacher learning are described further in the results section (see Tables 4 and 5). The Galileo Network mentor teachers consistently focused professional conversations and mentorship on teaching for deep learning and understanding, designs for inquiry and the design of learning environments that sponsor intellectual engagement. Professional learning sessions employed elements of the Canadian Education Association Teaching Effectiveness Framework (Friesen, 2009b) and the Discipline Based Inquiry Rubric (Galileo Educational Network Association, 2013): authenticity and academic rigor, learning in the world, fostering deep understanding, appropriate and creative use of technology, active exploration and connecting with experts, assessment for learning. Both of these resources provided strong support for the design and review of learning tasks that foster engaged teaching and learning with the effective implementation of technology. Participants used the elements summarized in Table 1 to guide the design of their learning tasks and professional conversations about teaching and learning. One approach to mobilizing the outcomes of the research and also to support and inform classroom teacher’s technology integration designs and implementation in K-4 classrooms and learning settings was through the creation of the Early Learning, Early Grades area of the Galileo Network website (http:// galileo.org/earlylearning/). Composite videos from interviews with teachers and researchers about early learning with technology extend the value and depth of the website. A Technology tab offers links to articles, websites and resources for both teachers and parents (http://galileo.org/earlylearning/technology/). Study participants were encouraged to make their learning and their students’ learning visible by collecting and sharing their planning materials and outcomes, as well as student work. Overall, the ELT-RCOP meetings, on-site visits and online communications supported by the Galileo Network mentor teachers as well as the comprehensive resources accessible on the Early Learning, Early Grades web site, guided classroom teachers through an inquiry and discipline oriented instructional design process that focused on developing authentic and academically rigorous work, learning in the world, fostering deep understanding, making connections beyond the school and with experts, designing assessment for learning and appropriately using technology and elaborated forms of communication. 460

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Table 1. Elements of designing worthwhile learning tasks with the effective implementation of technology Summary of Elements of Worthwhile Work with Technology Authenticity and Academic Rigor

• Real problems, issues, questions or ideas that are significant to the discipline(s) and community and are meaningful for the students. • Students engage in ways of knowing that are central to the disciplines developing and applying strong habits of mind.

Learning in the World

Mirrors the kinds and ways of working an expert in the discipline or field would perform.

Foster Deep Understanding

• Requires significant intellectual investment (contemplation, interpretation, meaning-making, critique) & innovative thinking. • Demonstrates understanding of important concepts. • Involved deeply in the work and know why it matters.

Appropriate and Creative Use of Technology and forms of Communication

• Technology is used in a purposeful manner that demonstrates an appreciation of new ways of thinking and doing. The technology is essential in accomplishing the task. • Students have agency in determining which technologies are most appropriate to the task. • Students conduct research, share information, make decisions, solve problems, create meaning and communicate with various audiences inside and outside the classroom. • Students make sophisticated use of multimedia/hypermedia software, video, videoconferencing/ webconferencing, simulation, dynamic geometry, databases and/or programming. • Students, parents and the larger community have ongoing, online access to the study as it develops.

Active exploration and Connecting with Experts

The work students undertake requires them to engage in productive collaboration with discipline and other experts.

Assessment for Learning

• Assessment is focused on improving, guiding and deepening student learning. • A variety of formative assessment data is gathered to make instructional decisions and improve practice. • Assessment criteria are collaboratively designed with students to reflect authentic real world standards for high quality work.

Research Community of Practice (ELT-RCOP) Meetings The two-year professional learning program included five research community of practice meetings designed by the research team (April, 2012, October, 2012, May 2013, October, 2013 and May 2014). The ELT-RCOP meetings were designed to specifically support the following research-informed goals of the initiative: •

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• • • •

Use of purposeful and meaningful technology for deep learning, for communications and to demonstrate and amplify student understanding (Barron et al., 2011; Exley, 2008); Impact learning with technology (i.e. related to student engagement, student agency, and student competencies) (Darling-Hammond et al., 2008); Use formative assessment for learning strategies (Wiske, Franz, & Breit, 2005); Make student learning visible (Darling-Hammond et al., 2008; Hattie, 2009); and Shift in professional practice, in particular towards a more student-centered practice (Fullan & Donnelly, 2013; Wiliam, 2011).

Teachers’ design work was set in the broader contexts of the Alberta Education Ministerial Order on Student Learning (Alberta Education, 2013b), the ministry’s attendant shift to competency based curricula, and the Learning and Technology Policy Framework (Alberta Education, 2013a), and in the context of contemporary research on learning with technology. Almost all of the original group of

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year one teachers (n=45) returned as participants in year two, and collaborated together with a clearly informed purpose to employ the ELT-RCOP research foundations and Galileo Network inquiry design materials to design new learning tasks.

Case Study Data Sources and Evidence

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In this study, multiple sources and types of evidence were collected over a two-year period to make knowledge claims in response to the key research questions (Yin, 2009). The following methods were employed to document the impact and outcomes of the early learning and technology initiative and to provide triangulation and convergence during the data analysis: individual interviews (n=4); focus groups with teachers, and school or district leaders (i.e. project leads, consultants) (n=8); online needs assessment survey with educators (year one; n=20) and follow-up survey (year two; n=51); jurisdiction site visits including onsite work with teachers and classroom observations using an established protocol (n=16); qualitative documentation (i.e. learning designs) provided by participants (n=32); and field notes and artifacts (i.e. examples of student work) gathered during the ELT-RCOP meetings (n=5). Evidence of inquiry from teacher and learner exemplars and other documentation was collected via a shared online drive where teachers placed teaching and learning materials. Over the two-year period, 32 teachers shared rich materials from their work with K-4 learners. Researcher field notes, along with teacher designed projects and assessments, and examples of student work, are included in the analysis. Interviews were guided by a prepared set of questions, as well as providing open-ended opportunities for interviewees to expand upon themes and ideas. Some participants (n=4) preferred responding to questions in individual interviews and others (n=8) preferred to provide responses in focus groups. An online needs assessment survey captured data from teachers about their technology experience and use, and teacher knowledge and practices with inquiry-based learning. Classroom observations were conducted in sixteen classrooms using an established observation protocol (Jacobsen, Saar & Friesen, 2010; Daniels, Friesen, Jacobsen & Varnhagen, 2012) Researchers conducted disciplined observations in classrooms during lessons that were chosen / identified by the teachers. The research team also designed and participated in ELT-RCOP meetings in years one and two to share ongoing research progress and to support teachers in sharing promising practices. One intent of the ELT-RCOP meetings was to share ongoing progress with research activities and to provide teachers with support in networking and sharing promising practices. For example, early findings from conference proceedings were shared with the participants (Jacobsen & Friesen, 2014) during one of the ELT-RCOP meetings. Furthermore, data from collective knowledge building and participant responses to practice at each ELT-RCOP meeting was collected for analysis. Meeting 1: Pre-project RCOP (April) - group contributions to design, field notes on inquiry (45 participants) Meeting 2: Year I RCOP (October) - group discussion of inquiry projects, group reflection and knowledge building (45 participants) Meeting 3: Year I RCOP (May) - share and assess examples of classroom work, extensive field notes from each group, collective learning outcomes (45 participants) Meeting 4: Year II RCOP (October) - share and assess examples of classroom work, field notes Meeting 5: Year II RCOP (May) - sharing celebration, field notes from each group (45 participants)

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Overall, multiple quantitative and qualitative data were collected over a two-year period and informed the findings of this study.

ANALYSIS AND RESULTS In the sections that follow, we present research results in two areas: 1) Impact of innovative approaches to teacher professional learning on practice and teacher’s professional growth; and 2) Supporting engaged teaching and engaged learning with technology in Kindergarten to Grade 4.

Evidence of Impact of Professional Learning Activities In order to support engaged teaching and learning with the effective implementation of technology, the professional learning activities and sessions over the two years employed the elements summarized in Table 1 to guide the design of their learning tasks. The elements of worthwhile work and appropriate use of technology (i.e. developing authentic and academically rigorous work, learning in the world, fostering deep understanding, making connections beyond the school and with experts, designing assessment for learning and using technology and elaborated forms of communication) were used to review the learning tasks completed over the year and submitted online. Evidence was gathered from observations during professional learning sessions, presentations at ELT-RCOP meetings, and an in-depth assessment of the learning tasks posted to a common online drive. As detailed in Table 2, a majority of the tasks we reviewed contained elements of both worthwhile work and appropriate uses of technology. Table 2. Assessment of worthwhile work and appropriate uses of technology in learning tasks shared by participants Worthwhile Work in the Tasks Reviewed

Appropriate Uses of Technology in the Tasks Reviewed

Strongly evident in the task and supported by observation, discussion and/or artifacts

16%

8%

Often evident in the task and supported by observation, discussion and/ or artifacts

16%

24%

Somewhat evident in the task and supported by observation, discussion and/or artifacts

38%

46%

Little evidence in the task or from observation, discussion and/or artifacts

38%

16%

Not evident in the task, or from observation, conversation or artifacts

0%

8%

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Extent of …

While the review of learning tasks (Table 2) indicates reasonable levels of facility regarding the creation of worthwhile tasks and appropriate uses of technology, professional learning sessions and on site work continued to employ the Canadian Education Association Teaching Effectiveness Framework (Friesen, 2009b) and the Discipline Based Inquiry resources (Galileo Educational Network Association, 2013) to focus upon these areas within the community of practice. For example, a grade four teacher

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Box 1. Happiness Fair Grade four students engaged in a “Happiness Fair” to coincide with a Children’s Mental Health Awareness Day. Parents were invited to the fair and topics presented were all issues that affect overall well-being of kids. Various text and multimedia projects were created as part of the fair. Students created public service announcements to ‘hook’ people and draw them in to look at their complete presentations. They introduced the issue (i.e. bullying, grief, etc.), provided statistics and important information about the topic. A tri-fold presentation piece was created and included information on (1) how does happiness affect other areas of your life? (2) How does your chosen issue affect people’s happiness? (3) What can you do to make yourself a happier person? (4) How can you influence the happiness of others? Students also created a take-away piece, such as a bookmark, pamphlet or handout. Throughout the inquiry, students considered essential questions, such as: What are the biggest issues affecting kids happiness today? How can I make sure I am as happy as possible? (What are the tools and strategies needed to deal with thoughts, emotions and actions? How do I deal with how I feel?) How can I influence the happiness of others? At the end of the inquiry, students also reflected on their thinking and learning and were guided by further questions:      • What was the topic that your group did for the Finding Happiness Project?      • What is something you did during this project that you think you will remember for the rest of your life?      • What was the most challenging part of this project for you?      • How did utilizing technology make this project better?      • If you could turn back time and do this project again, what would you do differently?

involved in the project designed an inquiry-based project, entitled “Happiness Fair” (Box 1), drawing on some of the elements of worthwhile work and appropriate uses of technology. Another teacher used the following phrases when reflecting on how students used technology during a story writing process: • • • • •

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• • •

Active, hands-on, engaging and empowering learning…student-led Developing student agency and giving children control-students’ own ideas, feedback, working in groups to help each other, choice of topic, choice of fnal product Providing adaptive scafolds to help children progress step-by-step Support children’s learning-observations of digital stories created by others, students recording their own progress, providing peer feedback Assistive technologies improve ability to learn, move, communicate and create – students who are reluctant writers can easily create their story digitally without having to “write” it, can feel comfortable and confdent with the technology Enhancing communication (class blogs, digital portfolios, audio recording reading) Documenting learning (digital photo of work progressing, video speech) Enabling the development of professional quality work (publish digital books, brochures, podcasts, movie story)

Examples of learning designs were continually gathered by project participants and researchers and used to clarify interpretations of the elements of worthwhile work and appropriate uses of technology within the community of practice. Technology enabled tasks often made student learning more visible – both process and product – and promoted formative assessment that successfully reached different students at multiple levels of experience and readiness.

Evidence of Student’s Intellectual Engagement and Deep Learning Using an established classroom observation protocol (Jacobsen, Saar & Friesen, 2010) researchers carried out classroom observations to observe teachers and learners in the early grades. The time frame for

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observing lessons was divided into three sections: first, second and final third of the classroom time. The levels of student engagement are characterized on a level of engagement scale: Level 1= disengaged includes inattention, attending to an alternative activity, off-topic conversation, or misbehaviour; Level 2 - ritualistic compliance - identified as working on assigned activities without enthusiasm or personal investment; Level 3= academic engagement - identified by on-task behaviours that signal a serious engagement in class work; these include attentiveness, doing the assigned work, and showing enthusiasm for this work by taking initiative to raise questions, contribute to group activities and help peers; Level 4 = intellectual engagement - refers to absorbing, creatively energizing focus requiring contemplation, interpretation, understanding, meaning-making and critique which results in deep, personal commitment to explore and investigate an idea, issue, problem or question for a sustained period of time. During the classroom observations, intellectual engagement (level 4) was observed in eight of the sixteen classrooms by the middle and end of the lesson. In three of the sixteen classrooms, ritualistic compliance was consistently observed across all three parts of the lesson. When high levels of intellectual engagement were observed, it was common to see students working in pairs or groups using a range and diversity of technological resources and processes in appropriate and real-world ways. A relationship was observed between high levels of intellectual engagement and learning tasks designed to develop 21st century skills such as critical thinking, self-direction, teamwork, collaboration and project planning. Teachers were fully present and responsive to student needs in classrooms where intellectual engagement was observed; teachers circulated in the room and worked closely with students as learning emerged, and worked with groups and individual students on tasks and activities that had personal value and value beyond the school. In contrast, classrooms where ritualistic compliance was observed during the whole lesson or during a portion of the lesson, included many of the following elements: students displayed little enthusiasm or personal investment in the learning tasks; students were given little or no opportunity for self-direction and creative thinking; students used technology in a prescribed and lock-step manner; and students worked individually on a step-by-step task controlled by the teacher. Ritualistic compliance was observed in classrooms where students spent the majority of time listening to the teacher lecture or watch the teacher use an interactive whiteboard or give a demonstration. In classrooms where ritualistic compliance was observed, the students listened to instructions or appeared to listen to instructions and were then asked to echo back exactly what the teacher asked them to do. Too often, students were only allowed to use the technology after extended periods of time listening to the teacher. Once students started to explore and play with ideas using technology, the researchers started to see a gradual shift from ritualistic compliance to academic engagement. Often, student explorations were disrupted and excitement levels quickly faded when the teacher gathered the whole group to view another demonstration or listen to more whole class instruction. Technological issues also disrupted explorations. One researcher observed a grade two class in a computer lab, and noted, “There were so many problems with technology that it interfered with student learning. The teacher became completely discouraged and exhausted.” As a result of technology issues, student engagement declined through the lesson to a low point of disengagement. Despite the challenges some teachers and students experienced in using technology in the classroom or in lab settings, levels of intellectual engagement were observed with students in half of the classrooms over the duration of the study. Figure 1 shows the levels of engagement observed during the first, second and final third of the class time using the classroom observation data from the project.

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Figure 1. Calculated percentages during first, second and final third of observed lesson for ritualistic compliance, academic engagement and intellectual engagement

In one classroom where intellectual engagement was observed during two thirds of class time, the level and type of engagement extended to 100% of the students and was described by the researcher as follows:

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Grade one students worked alone, in pairs and in collaborative groupings and used a variety of software programs while reviewing and editing stories. The students were observed creating pictures, selecting sounds and recording voice; they were working at their own pace. It was evident the intellectual investment was high and students were absorbed in work and thought processes. Moreover, the instructional style was consistently responsive to the emerging needs of students throughout the lesson. Some students required direct instructions and others required feedback or scaffolding to prompt next steps. [Researcher Field Notes] Overall, researchers observed a range and diversity of task designs, pedagogy and technology during the sixteen classroom observations. During the first, second and final third of the class time ritualistic compliance and academic engagement were observed; intellectual engagement was observed in the second and final third in some classes.

Teacher Perspectives on Professional Learning The study aimed to document the innovative approaches to teacher professional learning and the impact on teaching and learning. First, the opportunities provided for collaboration and the quality of professional learning were cited by participants as powerful drivers of teacher and leader learning. Several teachers reported that professional learning from the Galileo Network mentors and involvement in the

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 Teachers’ Professional Learning Focused on Designs for Early Learners and Technology

ELT-RCOP led to changes in their pedagogical practices, such as ensuring the students had pervasive access to the technology (i.e., the “tools of their culture” as described by one teacher), increased time talking to colleagues about designing classroom tasks and assessment rubrics, and increased connections with teachers from other school jurisdictions to analyze effective task and assessment designs. Several teachers described the characteristics of authentic and academically rigorous learning tasks that sponsored engaged learning: personalization of the task, emotional tie to the task, establishing shared expectations for the work with students, opportunities for reflection and metacognition, students experience both frustration and success in their learning, students develop strategies for working through frustrations, problem solving, hard work but a good kind of hard work that makes students think, bringing in the community, connection with student lives outside of school, reaching students of different abilities, and students respect the work so they become advocates for the work. Teachers also described the appropriate role for technology in young students’ learning: Start with the discipline in mind and then technology is a part of that discipline, use technology to make learning visible – process and product, democratizing of knowledge, everyone has a voice – everyone has a say – played a major role, technology removes barriers for the ”non-learners”, students more willing to revisit and revise their digital works, students able to take risks (easier to revise easier to revisit), makes learning mobile (home and in and outside the classroom), helps the learning become more real (connecting with experts), students became their own community (helping each other through their issues – collaboration), students giving each other feedback on their work, supports the social construction of knowledge, helps to continue the conversation (self- teachers-parents), and using technology is an authentic tool for expressing themselves and their learning. The year two survey included questions asking teachers about their confidence in designing rich classroom tasks. A multidimensional visualization (Francis, Jacobsen & Friesen, 2014) is used to present the findings for the teachers’ levels of confidence in designing tasks according the elements of worthwhile work and appropriate use of technology from the Canadian Education Association Teaching Effectiveness Framework (Friesen, 2009b) and the Discipline Based Inquiry Rubric (Galileo Educational Network Association, 2013). Figure 2 shows teachers’ perceptions in designing tasks with characteristics of inquiry according to five categories each depicted as a unique section in the graph: authenticity and academic rigor, learning in the world, appropriate and creative use of technology, active exploration and connecting with experts, and assessment. The following scale was used as indicators for levels of confidence moving from the outer edge of the graph as the highest level to the center of the graph as the lowest level: I am confident this is so and have data to support my view = 1; I am confident this is so, but have few data to support my view = 2; I am not sure about this matter = 3; I am pretty certain this is not the case, but have few data to support my view = 4; I am confident this is not the case, and have data to support my view = 5. The points closer to the outer edge of the graph are areas the teachers selected with higher level of confidence and the points closer to the center of the graph are areas of least confidence. During the second year of the initiative, teachers expressed increased clarity and confidence in their task design and integration of technology as compared to year one. The following sample comments illustrate participant investment in this work:

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Figure 2. Teachers’ perceptions in designing tasks with elements of worthwhile work and appropriate use of technology

I have learned better the characteristics of engaging tasks. I feel I will consider my projects using this rubric in the future. [Participant A] The inquiry rubric is a great tool to evaluate what you’re doing in the classroom. [Participant B]

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Enable students to use a range of technologies to demonstrate new ways of thinking (a real focus that is starting for me). [Participant C] Based on these findings, additional design work and professional learning needs to continue to focus on developing and supporting student tasks and technology-rich work that is absorbing, creatively energizing, and requires thought processes such as analysis, synthesis, conjecture, reasoned judgement, creation and innovation. Professional learning needs to focus on increasing teacher confidence in collecting evidence of exemplar tasks guided by the elements of worthwhile work and appropriate use of technology.

Supporting Engaged Teaching and Early Learning With Technology Teachers are able to identify the opportunities and affordances in using technologies for teaching and learning despite the inherent challenges in scaffolding technological learning experiences for young learners. In reviewing the interview transcripts, survey responses and dialogue with participants, it was

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 Teachers’ Professional Learning Focused on Designs for Early Learners and Technology

evident there is value in using technology with young learners and making pedagogical decisions in instructional design about meaningful and purposeful use of technology with young learners. Teachers were asked, “What supports do you need to foster this work in your context? The sample comments shown in Table 3 suggest affordances that need to be in place to support technology use including: opportunities to develop connections with other professionals and researchers in the field, opportunities for ongoing feedback and mentorship in a fail-safe professional learning environment, and support for investing time for learning and sharing in a community of practice. Data shows a strong investment by teachers in developing rich tasks using technology with young learners. In the online drive, teachers (n=32) shared task designs and evidence of student learning, assessments and reflections demonstrating a commitment to the initiative. Participants provided data through surveys, interviews and presentations at the bi-annual research community of practice meetings. For example, in the survey, participants identified barriers or challenges associated with engaged teaching Table 3. Teacher identified supports for engaged teaching Comment Category

Sample Participant Comment(s)

Participants need opportunities to network and build connections with others

• Release teachers/professionals to meet together • Conversations with other teachers to keep in touch. • How do we filter this out to the rest of our school communities?

Participants need feedback/ mentorship/ fail-safe professional learning

• Need constructive Feedback and guidance along the way • Need help with task/ question creation. • Increase (school based) budgets to support inquiry learning with technology tools, field trips etc. • [Need] freedom and flexibility to try new things. Learning from mistakes.

Participants need support to invest time for learning and sharing

• Need time to think and organize it! • Need time to learn. • Need time to read. • More focused sharing on [technology] use in classrooms. Less large scope and a few more focused classroom examples or lessons.

and learning with technology. The following sample of comments from teacher surveys demonstrates there is an area for growth in supporting practitioners in how to use technologies at the beginning stages of designing inquiry rich tasks:

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Creating authentic tasks that are inquiry based. How to design good questions. Where do you begin? [Participant D] Where can one find exemplars of ‘true’ inquiry processes? [Participant E] What are some projects that other schools have tried? [Participant F] Findings indicated that access to technology and leadership support can be inconsistent in schools with early grades. While the majority of the teachers in the project had access to technology (access to a wireless infrastructure and mobile technology was a condition in being part of this initiative) and most school leaders were supportive of using technology appropriately with young learners, one teacher in

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 Teachers’ Professional Learning Focused on Designs for Early Learners and Technology

one school described limited access to technology in the classroom as a barrier. Despite the school’s participation in the ELT initiative, making provisions for teachers to access technology in early grade classrooms was not a priority. The teacher shared past experiences with effective technology use with learners at another school where there was access to technology in the classroom and the leadership team was supportive of using technology in early grades. However, in this case, this teacher was very discouraged with attempts to use technology and it was evident that providing early learners with technology-rich learning experiences was not a leadership priority in this school. A key element for success in this initiative were collaboration and quality professional learning experiences in a community of practice. These key elements were also identified as ways to help mitigate many of the barriers and challenges in using technology. In other words, teachers relied on collaboration with others to gather ideas, seek input or help resolve issues in planning for using technology with students. Professional learning experiences provided teachers ranging in different levels of technology adoption from those new to using technology with young learners to those with more expertise and able to help mentor others, with tailored experiences to increase confidence and use in integrating technology in task design. Teachers were asked to describe the professional learning opportunities they participated in as part of their involvement in the ELT-RCOP. Table 4 provides comment categories and comments from the year two survey responses identifying the professional learning strategies teachers found supportive during their involvement in this initiative. When participants were asked to describe professional learning opportunities that have been most helpful as part of the ELT initiative, the responses were related to networking and building connections in the ELT-RCOP, collaboration, developing flexible partnerships with mentors and researchers, creating/

Table 4. Professional learning strategies identified by teachers Number of Comments

Exemplary Comment(s)

ELT-RCOP

34

• Bi-annual community of practice meeting with all people involved in the project. These have been very useful as we have been able to share our ideas and experiences with others. • Inspired after our meetings.

Planning Days

11

They helped with selecting projects and technology and providing feedback and an opportunity for reflection on the work that has been done. It has also been beneficial to have other people providing ideas for future growth.

District Support

10

• Grade One Science Community of Practice [District] • Having the IT consultant in my classroom. • District wide professional learning on a variety of technology initiatives/uses. • ...given us gift cards to purchase the best educational apps.

School Support

6

• In-school training • Staff PD

Conferences

7

• IDEAS Conference - https://werklund.ucalgary.ca/ideas/ • Early Childhood Education Conference - https://ecec.teachers.ab.ca • iPad Conference - http://www.ipadconference.org/

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Comment Category

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 Teachers’ Professional Learning Focused on Designs for Early Learners and Technology

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Table 5. Professional learning opportunities in the ELT-RCOP Comment Category

Sample Comment(s)

Networking and building connections in a research community of practice

• It has also been beneficial to have other people providing ideas for future growth/directions in the project. • All very helpful for networking, collaborating, communication and building clarity regarding my focus and where I can go next with my project.

Collaboration

• Working with another teacher on a similar project. • Collaboration with other colleagues.

Partnerships with mentors and researchers

• Planning days with experts on planning process - help to clarify and make plans for a project • I always feel very inspired after our meetings. The Ideas conference was also very inspiring. I really love how you share the research with us. • Inquiry project planning with Galileo [mentors] was VERY helpful. • Planning days with K-4 technology community of practice • All of the ELT-RCOP meetings have been helpful to share ideas and see what others are thinking/doing and also in providing a framework for developing and evaluating use of technology within our projects.

Creating and sharing with others

• Helpful to see the process that other people went through sharing of apps - no need to reinvent the wheel. • Working with others on the development of my ideas. Two heads are always better than on. Listening/working with others who have more experience with technology. • Bi-annual community of practice meeting with all people involved in the project. These have been very useful as we have been able to share our ideas and experiences with others • I intend to work more with my teaching partner…

Ongoing learning and improvement

• Exposure to some peer reviewed research papers and books. It is always encouraging and helpful to read/hear short summaries, and then go away for further study. • Great peer feedback to improve and enhance our projects.

sharing with others and ongoing learning and improvement. Table 5 provides sample comments from participants about various professional learning opportunities in this initiative. Comments about professional learning opportunities afforded due to participation in the ELT initiative suggest participants valued building relationships and engaging in collaborative knowledge building during the community of practice meetings and strengths of this model included communicating and sharing ideas with others, discussing ideas, learning about what others are thinking/doing, collaborating with others, relationship building and reflecting on practice. Secondly, the participants valued using research-informed frameworks as part of the ELT-RCOP meetings and coaching provided during planning days as well as exposure to professional readings, video clips and exemplars of generative topics. Other professional learning opportunities listed by respondents included accessing district or school level supports, attending conferences, undertaking graduate studies, assessing vendor training and participating in social media networks (i.e. Twitter). Overall, comments gathered from annual surveys, interviews and feedback from ELT-RCOP events indicated strong professional and personal investments in the work of this initiative, such as the following reflection: As a teacher, I felt that this process has focused my practice. It helped me to define some of my own learning in a more refined way. Having access to other professionals and researchers from around the province gave me the opportunity to grow in my knowledge and clarify my thinking about what is impor-

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 Teachers’ Professional Learning Focused on Designs for Early Learners and Technology

tant in teaching and learning . . . . PD that is sustained, focused, and socially-based is transformative. The research process allows us to find a starting point and continue moving forward. [Participant G] School jurisdictions provided ongoing support and leadership for this initiative by making provisions for project leads, consultant support, additional teacher release time, field trips, accessing external experts and frequent showcasing and celebrating students’ and teachers’ work. For example, in some jurisdictions a district-level leader (administrator, specialist or consultant) worked with teachers involved in the initiative. Teachers were provided with release time to meet during the day and groups would meet on regular basis in addition to the bi-annual ELT-RCOP meetings to plan and share projects. District leaders were also actively involved in the ELT-RCOP meetings and contributed to data collection by responding to surveys and participating in interviews and focus groups. Likewise, school-based leaders (principals, assistant principals) also attended the ELT-RCOP meetings and provided support and encouragement to the teachers in their schools. Teachers appreciated and valued leadership support and encouragement to take risks in teaching and learning and for supporting use of technology with young learners.

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CONCLUSION Over the course of this case study, several innovations in teaching practices were made possible through professional learning that was grounded in research, sustained over time and socially enriched within a research community of practice (RCOP). Teachers valued using research-informed, instructional frameworks to support learning task design. Throughout the initiative, teachers were engaged in a process of using elements of worthwhile work and appropriate use of technology to analyze their own task designs and designs of others. Finally, the social construction of knowledge by young learners and by teachers was promoted through technology. This study demonstrates that professional learning for teachers that is grounded in research, sustained over time and socially enriched within a community of practice can enhance teacher’s practice. Over the course of the project there was an increasing understanding and application of the elements of worthwhile work and appropriate uses of technology, and teachers’ facility in designing tasks containing these characteristics improved. Teachers were supported through a community of practice and students also become their own learning community. Students shared their work in the classroom and beyond the classroom walls in digital spaces as they learned how to access expertise outside of the classroom and co-construct and collaborate with others. It was evident the social construction of knowledge was promoted through technology. Opportunities for collaboration and the quality of professional learning were particularly appreciated by teachers and school leaders. School jurisdiction support for this initiative were uniformly strong with ready access to consultants, additional teacher release time provided, ready access to technology and networks, and frequent showcasing of students’ work. The outcomes of this research are significant locally by impacting teachers and learners in schools in four school jurisdictions, as well as generally to the fields of teacher education, the learning sciences and to educational research more broadly for illustrating the relationship between ongoing, continuous professional learning for teachers in communities of practice, and the discipline rich, inquiry-based learning environments that leverage mobile and networked technology to increase intellectual engagement of young learners. The synthesis of extensive data gathered and analyzed over a two year period, including surveys in year one and year two of the study, classroom observations, interviews, focus groups, review 472

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of teacher designs carried out during the initiative, and other qualitative field notes and documentation identify specific factors, such as worthwhile work and appropriate use of technology, that assist in developing richer understanding of the types of technology enabled learning environments for young students being called for in the current research literature, and the types of professional learning that support teachers in making changes to their teaching practices. Furthermore, the outcomes are also significant more broadly to educational research scholars as this study informs future study and examination of relationships between professional learning involving a research community of practice with mentors and the collaborative development and analysis of discipline rich, inquiry-based, technology-enhanced learning environments sponsoring intellectual engagement and deep learning for young learners.

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KEY TERMS AND DEFINITIONS

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Authentic Assessment: The documentation and measurement of learning that is worthwhile, complex, robust, significant, and meaningful, in contrast to multiple choice standardized tests or short-answer questions. Designs for Learning: The design of learning opportunities and experiences for learners that shift the focus from standardized delivery and testing of content to technology enabled learning environments supported by participatory pedagogies that promote active learning and intellectual engagement. Early Years Education: Formal learning experiences for children in kindergarten (age 5) to grade four (age 9 – 10 years). Intellectual Engagement: An absorbing, creatively energized focus resulting in a deep personal commitment to exploration, investigation, problem-solving, and inquiry, maintained over a sustained period of time Professional Learning: Formal and informal opportunities for educators to improve their practices, to develop new perspectives on teaching, learning and education, and to collaborate with other teachers and leaders to build knowledge. Technology-Enabled Learning Environments (TELEs): Change how learners and teachers learn, collaborate, play, socialize, access resources and services, and connect; leveraging social and digital technologies, TELEs enable learners to participate in online and local communities to share and exchange ideas, to view and peer review each other’s expressions and creations, to contribute to and build upon each other’s work, to work collaboratively to improve ideas, and to design, develop, implement, assess, and discuss ideas, strategies, goals, solutions, and ideas. Young Children: Children from age 5 to age 10.

This work was previously published in Innovative Practices in Teacher Preparation and Graduate-Level Teacher Education Programs; pages 417-438, copyright year 2018 by Information Science Reference (an imprint of IGI Global).

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Chapter 25

The “Co-Creation-Wheel”:

A Guiding Instrument for Sustainable Change – A Case History of “Communities of Practice” in Dutch Elementary Schools Corry Ehlen CoCreata Consultancy, The Netherlands & Zuyd University of Applied Sciences, The Netherlands Paul Hennissen Fontys University of Applied Sciences, The Netherlands

ABSTRACT This case history refects on a long-term change and development project in the Netherlands, undertaken in communities of practice (CoP) of 20-36 professional development schools for primary education. The initiators were 10 boards of groups of elementary schools and the University for Teacher Education for primary education. The project leader was Dr. Paul Hennissen, and Dr. Corry Ehlen of CoCreata Consulting and Research was invited as external consultant. For 8 years, several methods of in-service quality improvement were used to strengthen the self-management ability of teachers, teams, and head teachers. The case history especially demonstrates the application of “Co-Creation-Wheel” as a guiding tool in an innovation team. This instrument stimulates the individual CoP members and the CoP as a group to co-creative innovation. The digital tool of “Co-Creation-Wheel” proves to be suitable for a bigger number of participants. Complexities of the project and success factors are shown.

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INTRODUCTION The project ‘CoPs in PLCs’ (Communities of Practice in Professional Learning Communities) was started in Limburg, the Netherlands, in 2010. The initiators were cooperating partners, consisting of 10 Executive Boards of groups of primary schools, 36 in total, and the Primary Teacher Training College ‘De Nieuwste Pabo’. It was a public-public cooperation, partly funded by the National Government, in which, from 2015, CoCreata Consultancy and Research was a private partner. DOI: 10.4018/978-1-7998-7294-8.ch025

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The project was carried out in South and Middle Limburg, two Dutch regions with a total of 900,000 inhabitants, 250 primary schools and one Primary Teacher College. The expected product of the project was an improvement of primary education and of learning outcomes through in-service quality improvement of teachers, staff, management and organization. To manage this project a research centre ‘SchoolBased Teacher Education’ was set up, with Professor dr. Paul Hennissen as project leader.

Urgency, Goal, Method There was a clear urgency. Research had shown that current and future teachers become better professionals if professionalization takes place at the workplace (Hennissen, 2011). Studies (Timperley et al., 2007; Vescio, Ross, & Adams, 2008; Wenger, McDermott, & Snyder, 2002) have demonstrated that CoPs of future teachers and their educators, collectively reflecting on their work, have a positive influence on: • • •

Professional development of teachers: they learn about their own actions as a teacher and their views in dialogues with colleagues. School development: schools increase their ability to make policy and to be innovative. They become a PLC that optimally supports CoPs. Closing the gap between theory and practice: research and refection is directly linked to specifc work situations.

The goal of this project was to train current and future teachers of primary education to cooperate in communities. The training was aimed at cooperation at two levels: in the school as a Professional Learning Community (PLC) (Mitchell & Sackney, 2002; Verbiest, 2011), and in a Community of Practice (CoP) (Wenger, McDermott, & Snyder, 2002) consisting of teachers, student teachers and the university teacher educator of the student teachers of the primary schools. The CoP method of working in this project is based on research on professionalization (Hennissen, 2011), showing that schools must take ownership of the content of research and must choose themes that have maximum support from the members in the CoP, who in this way guide their own learning process. The project was supported by a scientific model supplied by Hennissen. The head teachers of the schools supported the project providing a good structure and ensuring a learning culture with shared leadership.

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THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK As a theoretical basis for this project a framework on the coherence of personal, interpersonal and organizational capacities (Figure 1) in the school as an organization was used (Mitchell & Sackney, 2011). This was the focus of the research centre for the support and research of the CoPs and PLCs in the primary schools. Explanation: The individual capacity of the teacher, consisting of the ability to reflect and to make use of up-to-date knowledge, supports the pupil. The interpersonal capacity within the team, consisting of the ability to learn from each other and to share a common vision on learning and teaching, promotes the quality of the collective learning. Learning together within a CoP is part of this interpersonal capacity. The organizational capacity to support personal and interpersonal capacities consists of creating the right atmosphere (culture), organizing consultation classes (structure) and shared leadership (Verbiest, 479

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Figure 1. Professional learning community Source: Hennissen, 2015

2011; Hennissen, 2011). In this ‘CoPs in PLC project’ the relationship between these three capacities was the subject of meetings between head teachers and teachers of the schools in which the development in CoPs in PLCs was discussed.

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Structure and Support In the project, which lasted from 2010 – 2018, there were 5 different rounds. The internal support was given by project leader Hennissen and by researchers of his research centre “School-Based Teacher Education”. During rounds 1 to 4 (2010-2014) four half-day sessions per year were organised at the University as support for CoP members and head teachers of the participating primary schools. Twenty schools participated. During these meetings the participants exchanged experiences about their learning processes in the CoPs. Another form of support was the research. The researchers of the research centre collected data with a questionnaire on the extent to which the school perceived themselves as a Professional Learning Community (Verbiest, 2011). These data were fed back to the schools, so the participants could see the status of their learning community and possible points of improvement. At the start and end of the project Hennissen and a member of the research team visited each school to interview the head teacher and some of the CoP members. Through these activities confidence grew in the cooperation and support between the University researchers, the head teachers and the CoP members of the primary schools. The participating schools were very satisfied (4 on a 5-point scale) and wished to continue this style of guidance. In 2014 round 5 had started. This was a larger round with 36 schools. There were only two meetings per year for the schools, each time for 9 CoPs. Every CoP existed for three years. The research in this round consisted of the previously mentioned questionnaire on the Professional Learning Community, and a new tool with a questionnaire based on the “Co-Creation-Wheel”. See Figure 2 and its explanation.

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Findings on the Learning and Development Process in the CoPs In the first four rounds it turned out that there were five important issues that CoPs should address at the same time: content, cooperation and interaction with each other, which steps to make progress, how to take stakeholders into account, and how to reach the goal of co-creative innovation. During meetings at the University with CoP members, CoP leaders and head teachers, these five issues were regularly discussed, using a so-called “Window Model”, which covered these five perspectives (Hennissen, 2015). However, this model fell short when it came to built-in support for CoP members to analyse their own learning process. A new instrument, the “Co-Creation-Wheel”, developed by Ehlen (2015), promised to offer that analytical support to its users.

The Cooperation Between Internal Project Leader and External Consultant The “Co-Creation-Wheel” (Figure 2) was designed by Ehlen as an instrument to guide co-creation in innovating teams (2015, 2017). She presented it at the conference on ‘Knowledge in Practice” at Zuyd University in 2014. When Hennissen, who led a workshop session on ‘CoPs as learning vehicles for innovating teachers and student-teachers’ at this conference, learned about the “Co-Creation-Wheel”, he became enthusiastic about the model, because of its clear and visual demonstration of the main dimensions of co-creation, as well as the dynamics in a CoP. This led Hennissen to replace the “Window Model” and introduce the “Co-Creation-Wheel” in round 5 of the project, in collaboration with Ehlen, to improve support for CoPs and CoP members. (An interesting demonstration of how ‘organic development’, ‘trial and error’, and some serendipity may help ‘co-create’ a project.) Figure 2. The Co-Creation-Wheel

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Source: Ehlen, 2015

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This Co-Creation-Wheel emphasizes the success factors for sustainable co-creation and innovation. • • •

•

In the inner circle URGENCY is the necessary starting point. The four coloured main dimensions of co-creation in a team are Construction, Relation & Emotion, Expertise and Action. All must be of positive quality to guarantee success. Each dimension is divided into three elements. Construction into: Diversity / Autonomy, Facilities, Support. Relation & Emotion into: Trust, Team Spirit and Good Atmosphere. Expertise into: Shared Goals, Subject Matter Expertise and Innovation Capability. Action into: Multi-Level Collaboration, Internal/External Communication, and Courage to Act. The outer circle mentions four important conditions outside the team: Adoption by Users, Technological Possibilities, Organizational Innovation Capability, and External Expertise.

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The Co-Creation-Wheel as Guiding Instrument in CoPs The Co-Creation-Wheel first was presented to head teachers and CoP members at two meetings in early 2015 in a web lecture by Ehlen. The audience at these two meetings were 200 teachers and student teachers of 36 primary schools, all members of the CoPs, their head teachers and the university lecturers who were guiding the student teachers. In the lecture all elements of the Co-Creation-Wheel and their symbols were explained, with examples from other innovation practices. The participants were then asked to make an analysis of their own CoP, based on the elements of the Co-Creation-Wheel. The participants did this with enthusiasm and were able to make a quick and easy scan of the co-creation power of their CoP. They also formulated points of improvement to apply in their primary school practice. After this successful start the Co-Creation-Wheel was used more intensively as a guiding instrument for the CoPs, to guide the learning process of CoP-members in the best way possible. Until then it had been difficult to find a tool to support so many stand-alone CoPs remotely in this ‘Professional Learning Community’ project. Each CoP had its own learning and innovation process, and there were many different subjects of innovation. The opinions on the effects of the CoPs ‘for a good learning and development process’ varied from ‘not very positive’ to ‘very positive’. The reasons for this were: The high turnover of CoP members, for example at the beginning of a year. Most student members changed, as well as the guiding lecturer, and sometimes even the school teachers changed. There was little continuity in the CoPs and often CoP members did not have sufficient time to spend on the CoP. All this meant that more attention than just one annual meeting was required to influence and guide the learning process of the CoPs from a distance by the project leader. Therefore, the project leader and consultant looked for a way to reach the members of the CoPs more intensively to guide them better. On the one hand, because this kind of co-creation, learning and innovating together was new for primary school teachers. On the other hand, because the intention of the project was to enhance insights into their own learning and innovation processes, and to improve these processes. As a solution a version of the Co-Creation-Wheel with a digital questionnaire was developed by Ehlen. This questionnaire covered and specified all constituent elements of the Co-Creation-Wheel and was easy to fill out in their own time. The results showed the co-creation power of the CoP, team or group, in a visualisation superimposed on the Co-Creation-Wheel diagram. This ‘scan’ used the same four colours as for the main dimensions of the wheel. To make it easy, also the report of these CoP results, with personal and team scores, used the four colours.

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The procedure chosen was that each member of a CoP received the digital questionnaire to fill in at their own time. Some days later the CoP would receive the personal and team outcomes visualised in a picture of the Wheel (see Figure 3 and 4), the scan. In the attached report all answers were presented with means (1-5) and standard deviations. Additionally, three lecturers of the Faculty of Teacher Education were trained by the consultant as “co-creation-coaches”. They would offer to the CoP an analysis of the scores, with suggestions for improvement in a face-to-face evaluation at their workplace. Before applying the digital questionnaire in the project, Hennissen had explained the value of the digital Co-Creation-Wheel and the procedure to the CoP leaders and their head teachers at four regional meetings. Hennissen had also stressed that ‘the digital tool would provide the CoP with an extensive profile to which all CoP members had contributed, and that they would see all important aspects for a well-functioning CoP in conjunction with each other, and gain insight and appreciation for their teamwork’. At three of the four meetings the participants agreed with the proposed application of the digital Co-Creation-Wheel scan in the project. However, CoP members in a fourth meeting objected, and mentioned that they would receive in the same time two other questionnaires, one from a national organisation about CoP and one from the research center about PLC. So as not to distract the members of that CoPs further, in late 2016 and early 2017 the digital tool of the Co-Creation-Wheel was sent to 20 CoPs only. When the results of the co-creation-wheel scan of all CoPs were collected, the problem of overlapping questionnaires sent to CoPs turned to be more wide-spread, which resulted in a lower response and had a demotivating effect on some CoP members. Sometimes poor communication between the CoP leader and the head teacher caused none response at all. At this point the project leader and consultant felt it was necessary to involve the members of the CoPs more personally and to create personal relations with them. So, for the second batch of CoPs the three co-creation-coaches asked the CoP leaders by phone if they were willing to cooperate with the Co-Creation-Wheel scan. Each coach would then set a date to evaluate the results with them and discuss the report with suggestions for improvement. The project management also decided to adapt the wording of some questions in the questionnaire to make them easier to interpret for the members of a CoP and to encourage participation in the questionnaire. E.g. ‘stake-holders’ was changed into ‘colleagues’, ‘parents’ and ‘users’ was changed into “pupils”; “team” was changed into “CoP”.

Results of the Co-Creation-Wheel Scan

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As an example, we present here the results of the Co-Creation-Wheel scan of two CoPs (Figure 3 and Figure 4). A comparison of the scores of these two scans shows many differences as to the main dimensions of the Co-Creation-Wheel.

Urgency (Centre) Both CoPs show a strong feeling of urgency for the innovation task. Scores show a small difference: CoP A: M = 4,2; CoP B: M = 3,7.

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 The “Co-Creation-Wheel”

Figure 4. CoP B (n=6)

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Figure 3. CoP A (n=5)

Construction (Blue Part) In this dimension scores show big differences in the dimension ‘support’. CoP A experiences very strong support by all layers of the organisation. Although the head teacher of CoP B gives strong support, there is low support from other colleagues in the team.

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Relation and Emotion (Red Part In CoP A trust, team spirit and good atmosphere is high. In CoP B there is enough trust and a good atmosphere but a low team spirit.

Expertise (Yellow Part) In CoP A expertise is relatively low, specifically the dimensions ‘shared goals’ and ‘shared norms and values’. Also, members are questioning their own expertise and innovation capability. In CoP B expertise is the highest score. Only the element ‘shared goals’ is low.

Action (Green Part) In Cop A, we see a high score in this dimension, with the lowest score for ‘multi-level cooperation’. In CoP B this is also the lowest score among the overall low scores in this dimension.

External Conditions (Outer Edge) The scores of Cop A are high, except ‘technological possibilities, which were indeed not important in this CoP. For CoP B the highest score was for ‘the organisational innovation capability’, the lowest score for the ‘adoption by users’. The co-creation-coaches presented the results of the scan in a face-to-face (F2F) session with the CoP members at their workplace, evaluating the results and giving recommendations to the CoP members for future co-creation. These sessions were highly appreciated by the members of the CoPs. Some of the recommendations for the two CoPs by the co-creation-coaches are listed below. Recommendations for CoP A:

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• • • • • • • •

Set priorities because the facilities in time are low. Discuss norms and values with CoP stakeholders/colleagues. Make goals explicit and actions concrete (when are you satisfed with the results). Ask yourself which expertise the CoP needs to make further steps. Investigate the ways in which experience can be shared between like-minded people. Determine the target group’s interests. For example, by using a questionnaire, panel, literature study, or by questioning and involving pupils and colleagues. Multi-level collaboration: Ask how it can be improved. Look for like-minded people and learn from and with each other (other CoPs or schools with the same questions). Recommendations for CoP B:

• • • •

Make the positive points (subject matter expertise, innovation capability) explicit and concrete. Investigate ways in which commitment to each other can be increased. Focus on joint actions and cooperative goals. Look for ways to involve colleagues outside the CoP. 485

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• • • •

Cooperate with groups on joint actions by identifying what works. Investigate ways in which experience can be shared between like-minded people. Search contact with the target group (pupils, parents). How do they experience ownership? Focus on the good results and the willingness of all to innovate.

Concluding Results of the Scan Based upon the scans of the Co-Creation-Wheel in the CoPs it was concluded that: • • • • •

The Co-Creation-Wheel helps to understand the complexity of issues in innovation. Refection of the team scan with an external co-creation-coach leads to deeper insights and points of improvement. Main points to improve are multi-level collaboration and internal/external communication. The main problematic point is to fnd shared goals. CoP members consider themselves as experts with high capability.

CONCLUDING REFLECTIONS Above we presented the goals, the development and the results of the project ‘Communities in Practice (CoPs) in Professional Learning Communities (PLCs)’ and the contribution of the Co-Creation-Wheel as a guiding tool for the CoPs. Now we reflect on what we learned from the project as internal project leader and external consultant. What was the contribution of the Co-Creation-Wheel, which complexities and uncertainties did we face, what were the success factors and which lessons did we learn?

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The Support of the CoPs by the Internal Project Leader The overall project goal, set by the internal project leader, was mainly focused on strengthening the selfmanagement ability of teachers, teams and head teachers. To reach this goal the project leader applied different methods of support. Primarily he organized four annual meetings for head teachers and CoP leaders to discuss relevant themes as to the functioning of the CoP. The project leader also visited the schools to interview the head-masters about the way the school and CoP were organized. Throughout the project relevant and up-to-date theory was delivered to the head teachers, and a model was developed to support the CoP (Figure 1). Even so, much was left to the schools themselves. During round 5 these methods could not be repeated, because the number of participating schools had increased from 20 to 36 schools. So, the plenary meetings were reduced to two times per year; this would increase the number of participants per meeting. Regular visits to schools were no longer possible. In addition, the process in the CoPs had to be guided from even greater distance in a coordination group of Executive Board representatives of a group of schools. The extent to which this was successful depended on the quality of the guidance by the Executive Boards and directors. The support of the CoPs by the university team was more indirect and from a distance, or at the request of the CoP or head teacher.

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The Contribution of the Co-Creation-Wheel to the Project In round 5 the Co-Creation-Wheel was introduced as a supporting tool for the CoPs (Figure 2). An advantage was that the Co-Creation-Wheel could also be applied as a digital scan to reach a larger number of schools. The scan showed the strengths and weaknesses of the co-creation power of a CoP in a clear diagram. In the second batch three co-creation-coaches were added to evaluate the results with CoPs. This turned out to be a welcome and effective addition, because it created common understanding and support. The Co-Creation-Wheel scan therefore served not only as a model for inspiration and as a specific questionnaire, but also as guidance in the evaluation by a trained coach.

The Support of the External Consultant The external consultant was introduced to the framework of this long-term project by the project leader. She advised the project leader how to apply the Co-Creation-Wheel instrument within the project. This was the first use of this recently designed scientific instrument in a large-scale innovation project. After the introduction of the instrument at the annual meetings, the external consultant, together with the project leader, made improvements to the instrument to suit this specific target group. The external consultant suggested a training for three lecturers, familiar with the situation in the primary schools, to help them to support the evaluation of the scan in the CoPs at their workplace as “co-creation-coaches”. Also, to disseminate the findings of the project for a wider audience. Together with one of the coaches, the external consultant published an article about the Co-Creation-Wheel as guiding instrument in a Dutch-language journal for school management (Ehlen et al., 2018).

Complexities and Uncertainties During the Project For the Project Leader • • •

There was constant uncertainty about the steps to take in the project: how fast, what, how long? What content to show during support meetings? The diferences between the schools were enormous and generalizing was not possible. There was tension between the great need for support and the little need for research into the process in CoPs.

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For the CoP-Members • • •

Inquiry-based learning gave constant uncertainty about how and where the process would go. This concerns especially the frst research phase (searching for the real urgency for the school) which often took a year and required an inquiring attitude of the CoP members and an acceptance that there were no quick answers. Internal factors, such as frequent turnover of CoP-members (teachers, student teachers, teacher educators), changing directors, mergers between schools, themes with little support, too many themes, were hindering proper CoP functioning.

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For the External Consultant • • •

To interfere in a project that had already been in progress for several years, in a small role, ofered few opportunities for consultancy. The context, the past and the future was only slowly discovered. It turned out that it was not easy to stimulate the innovative power of a CoP from a distance only by introducing a model as guidance. Translating the results of the Co-Creation-Wheel scan to the practices of the schools required expertise in organizational change and development, which was missing in most CoPs. This led to the training and introduction of the co-creation-coaches.

Success Factors Of the Project CoPs in PLCs • • • • • •

The strategy to strengthen the CoP leader. A meeting with head teachers and CoP leaders four times a year to refect on developments and to share experiences. The personal interview of the project leader with the head teacher at his school about the result of the research on the professional learning community. The good relation between project leader and external consultant which stimulated common thinking about guidance of the CoPs. The introduction of the visually strong instrument of the Co-Creation-Wheel. The common evaluation of the Co-Creation-Wheel team scan with the CoP members by trained co-creation-coaches.

Of the Application of the Co-Creation-Wheel • • • • •

The concrete, pleasant, simple form of the Wheel and its digital scan. Adaptation of the questionnaire of the Wheel to the specifc situation of the CoPs. The easily obtained and specifc insight in the innovation process for the CoP members by using the Co-Creation-Wheel. The face-to-face evaluation with the CoP members at the workplace by the trained co-creationcoaches, after personal contact and agreement. Sharing experiences with other CoPs and contact with the users.

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Lessons Learned From the OCD Initiative • •

Often the reason for change is an external urgency, such as new knowledge or technological possibilities or governmental policy. Only if the participants feel motivated or share this urgency, large organizational developments can be sustainably realized. Such a large change process, which concerns attitudes, habits, new methods and good communication skills, goes by trial and error and takes years.

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• • • • • •

Organizational change and development asks for face-to-face contact, good relations, understanding, the right facilities and innovative capability of the team members, but also for a stimulating attitude, spread leadership style and innovation capability of the head teachers. The theoretical perspectives of this project were good. Based on thorough research the motto was: ‘stimulate ownership of change processes in the workplace’. It would have been better if the plenary meetings during round 5 had taken place in smaller groups of fve CoPs at a minimum of four times a year, just as during rounds 1 to 4. Support would then have been more direct and exchange of experiences more systematic. The refection on the Co-Creation-Wheel team scan with an external co-creation-coach was very important for the CoPs. It takes a long time before a scientifc model, intended as a tool for practice, is internalized. Only providing the model is insufcient. It is necessary that users gain experience with the model and are convinced that the model is helpful. Writing this chapter as refection on the project was instructive for the project leader and the external consultant.

REFERENCES Ehlen, C. (2015). Co-creation of innovation: Investment with and in social capital. Studies on collaboration between education - industry – government (Doctoral dissertation). Open University, Heerlen, The Netherlands. Ehlen, C., van der Klink, M., Stoffers, J., & Boshuizen, H. (2017). The Co-Creation-Wheel: A fourdimensional model of collaborative, inter organisational innovation. European Journal of Training and Development, 41(7), 628–646. doi:10.1108/EJTD-03-2017-0027 Hennissen, P. (2011). In de nesten werken: Opleiden van leraren op de werkplek [Training teachers at the workplace]. Inaugural speech, Zuyd University of Applied Science, Heerlen. Hennissen, P. (Ed.). (2015). In vogelvlucht: vier jaar lectoraatsonderzoek naar opleiden in de school [Four years of research on school-based teacher education]. De Nieuwste Pabo, Sittard, The Netherlands.

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Mitchell, C., & Sackney, L. (2000). Profound improvement: Building capacity for a learning community. London, UK: Taylor & Francis. Timperley, H., Wilson, A., Barrar, H., & Fung, I. (2007). Teacher professional learning and development: Best evidence synthesis iteration. Wellington, New Zealand: Ministry of Education. Verbiest, E. (2011). Developing professional learning communities. Paper presented at the AERA Conference, New Orleans, LA.

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Vescio, V., Ross, D., & Adams, A. (2008). A review of research on the impact of professional learning communities on teaching practice and student learning. Teaching and Teacher Education, 24(1), 80–91. doi:10.1016/j.tate.2007.01.004 Wenger, E., McDermott, R., & Snyder, W. (2002). Cultivating communities of practice. Boston, MA: Harvard Business School.

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This work was previously published in Evidence-Based Initiatives for Organizational Change and Development; pages 645-657, copyright year 2019 by Business Science Reference (an imprint of IGI Global).

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Chapter 26

Impact of Group Mentoring on the Professional Development of Early Childhood Teachers in a Shanghai Kindergarten Lingyun Lu Shanghai Normal University, China

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ABSTRACT This study sought to discover whether group mentoring could serve the purpose for which it is intended in an early childhood educational context. As an alternative to the traditional mentoring model, group mentoring attempts to provide as much, if not more, instructional and emotional support as traditional mentoring relationships, which we assume to be conducive to teachers’ professional development in Chinese early childhood educational contexts. In addition, group mentoring facilitates communication, collaboration and mutual growth in ways that traditional mentoring lacks. It also examined whether both mentors and mentees could be involved in the mentoring process as learners and as refective educators on their journey of professional development, including developing their refective and research capabilities. This qualitative case study focused on the impact of group mentoring on the professional development of four teachers in a Shanghai kindergarten. Within the theoretical framework of COP (Community of Practice), it was an investigation of how the group mentoring process, an alternative to traditional models of professional development, had an impact on the teachers in a changing early childhood education context in China. This study featured in-depth individual interviews with the four teachers (two mentors and two mentees), who are in the same mentoring group, and observations of their group mentoring activities. Data was coded and analyzed qualitatively. Major themes emerged from the study: the teachers’ perceptions of the model, the benefts and challenges it brings, and its infuence on their relationships and identity. The study aimed to gain insight into how group mentoring, a potentially optimal model, has exerted an infuence on the teachers’ professional development. This study concludes with a discussion of the implications of the fndings and areas for future research.

DOI: 10.4018/978-1-7998-7294-8.ch026

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Research Anthology on Facilitating New Educational Practices Through Communities of Learning, edited by Association, Information Resources Management, IGI Global, 2020. ProQuest

 Impact of Group Mentoring on the Professional Development of Early Childhood Teachers

INTRODUCTION Recognition of the significance of early childhood teachers’ professional development in China is growing due to its influence on the early childhood education and children. Mentoring is one of the professional development models which are proposed to engage teachers in ongoing development at various stages along their profession. Traditionally, one-to-one mentoring form is utilized as the tool by mentors to pass down knowledge and skills to mentees and it is also credited for psychological support mentors tend to provide. In light of social changes, traditional mentoring is characterized by the hierarchical relationship that has been shown to have both advantages and disadvantages for those mentored. As an alternative, group mentoring, is emerging and may provide benefits. This chapter aims to explore whether the community of practice mentoring model would serve as a tool to help early childhood teachers in China on the track of professional growth, developing their reflective and research capability, and wrestle with some dilemmas arising from their interaction, such as the “cultural” differences rooted in teachers of different generations with different beliefs and experiences.

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BACKGROUND Professional development is defined as those intentional, ongoing and systematic processes and activities designed to improve the professional knowledge, skills and attitudes of practitioners in a certain professional field (Guskey, 2000). In modern society, the knowledge base is expanding at an incredibly high speed with technological and social developments. It necessitates practitioners’ keeping abreast of the emerging knowledge and updating their concepts and skills (Guskey, 2000). Professional development has been an indispensable aspect in human resource management and development (Dwivedi & Alam, 2011). Early childhood is the crucial stage of one’s life regarding physical, psychological, intellectual, emotional and social development. A multitude of scientific research shows that the human brain develops the vast majority of its neurons between birth and the first three years (Shonkoff & Phillips, 2000). The intake of new information is critical to the formation of active neural pathways. Some studies have shown that people with excellent early childhood education are more successful academically and professionally than those without it (Carr et al., 2003). In China, the compulsory education provided by the government applies to children from grades one to nine (primary school and junior high school). Prior to primary school, children from ages three to six usually attend kindergarten, full-day early childhood programs. In spite of its not being included in compulsory education, recognition of the significance of early childhood education is increasing in Chinese society, especially among parents who believe that the future depends on the academic development and achievement in the early years of their only child. The only child bears a heavy burden, to bear parental expectations and dreams (Hu & Szente, 2009). Not surprisingly, in major cities, such as Shanghai, the enrollment rate in the kindergartens was as high as 98% in 2010 (Shanghai Educational Almanac, 2012). Benefits of early childhood education occur only when teachers are professionally qualified (Luna & Cullen, 1995). Qualified teachers play an important role in providing high-quality early childhood education. Teachers’ continuous commitment to increase their knowledge, skills and a great deal of dedication to their careers will promise a higher quality of early childhood education. Ultimately, children may benefit from the education provided by highly qualified teachers (Bredekamp, 2014). Professional 492

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development attempts to help early childhood teachers at all levels grow professionally and continuously in response to the complexity of early childhood educational contexts. However, professional development is a complex endeavor and a big challenge that early childhood teachers face, whether beginners or veterans. Traditionally, researchers attribute their growth to the enhancement in terms of knowledge, practice, skills, ethics and credentials (Guskey, 2000; Katz, 1987). The research has identified that professional development goes beyond traditional forms (Martinez-Beck & Zaslow, 2006) and basic requirements concerning knowledge, skills and practice. Rather, professional development involves a scientific endeavor, including theoretical and empirical research. Shifting teachers’ identity from that of only a practitioner to that of also a reflective educator is an emergent theme of early childhood teachers’ professional development. The importance of early childhood teachers’ reflective practice and intellectual engagement has been highlighted for teachers’ growth in their careers (Nimmo & Park, 2009). Whether teachers are new to the field of early childhood or have been working with young children for a certain period of time, their commitment to get involved in professional development activities benefits everyone, not only teachers, but also parents, the community, the society and most important, the children (Katz, 1987). In China, professional development of early childhood teachers, are classified as novice teachers, new teachers, new qualified teachers, qualified teachers, experienced teachers and expert teachers. There are specific goals and tasks for the teachers at different stages, which enables the teachers to grow continuously (Chi, 2007). Another issue that needs to be addressed is what models of professional development for early childhood teachers are available. Guskey (2000) has identified several models, including training, observation, improvement process, study groups, action research, and individually guided activities and mentoring. As one of the models, mentoring has been perceived as one of the most effective pedagogical measures for teacher education, and it also ensures teachers’ professional development by supporting teachers intellectually and emotionally (Luna & Cullen, 1995). Mentoring is defined as a process of transmission of knowledge, social capital and psychological support from the senior to the junior in some field, to promote practitioners’ professional development (Bozeman & Feeney, 2007). In education, mentoring is perceived as one of the strategies for developing a highly-qualified early childhood teacher workforce and is credited for benefits such as acculturating teachers to their working environment, reducing their sense of isolation and retaining teachers’ enthusiasm about teaching (Odell & Ferraro, 1992). In addition, it plays an important role in retaining teachers longer within the profession by revitalizing their interest in teaching and reducing their attrition rate (Murray, 2001). China also has a long tradition of practicing mentoring (shituzhi) in educational contexts, including early childhood education, usually with experienced teachers helping beginning teachers at the same school (Lee & Feng, 2007). Typically, the traditional mentoring model involves paring an experienced teacher with a less experienced colleague in the same kindergarten (Mu, Shen & Luo, 2008). Mentors are likely to adapt beginning teachers to “reality shock” (Guo, 2009, p.32) by providing support instructionally and emotionally when they first enter the teaching career. It enables novice teachers to acquire not only articulated knowledge (Polanyi, 1957) by integrating theory and practice but also tacit knowledge (Polanyi, 1957) by observing, imitating and learning from experienced teachers (Chi, 2007). In addition, with the help of mentors who are working in the zone of beginning teachers’ proximal development, beginning teachers tend to go beyond their independent performance level (Wang & Paine, 2001). 493

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All the traits of the mentoring model make it more efficient and effective in terms of teachers’ professional development (Guo, 2009). Although no policy concerning mentoring has been articulated in official documents from the Chinese government’s education department, most (if not all) kindergartens have established school-based mentoring systems as one of teachers’ professional development models (Lee & Feng, 2007). Traditional forms of mentoring have been criticized for their hierarchical relationship between mentors and mentees since only mentors pass down knowledge to mentees, who are supposed to replicate their “local guide” in teaching without reflection or creativity (Feiman-Nemser & Parker, 1992). The support that mentors provide may be limited, inaccessible, or insufficient in specific ways that individual mentees desire or need. In terms of mentors, although some research shows that mentors can benefit from the mentoring process simultaneously (McCormick & Brennan, 2001), many (perhaps most) mentors believe that mentoring merely signifies adding to their workload rather than having any beneficial impact on them (Shun, 2012). Experienced teachers may not benefit from the potential of a rewarding experience. Another dilemma arises due to the cultural gap when the mentoring occurs between older mentors and younger mentees. Young teachers, who were the first-born cohort after the “one-child” policy in China was instituted and labeled the “post 80s generation”, are distinguished from old teachers due to the historic events they have experienced. Usually, they tend to present personality traits unique to their generation, such as being well-educated, enthusiastic, and open to diversity, globalization and the use of technology. Another challenge the traditional mentoring model is facing comes from the policy and guiding principles concerning teachers’ professional development. With the continuing implementation of early childhood education reform in China, there is growing concern about the quality of early childhood teachers. In 2012, Professional Standards of Kindergarten Teachers was issued by the Ministry of Education of China as an official and authoritative set of criteria to evaluate the quality of early childhood teachers. At the municipal level, a project called Self-assessment System of Professional Development of Early Childhood Teachers, funded by the Shanghai municipal government, has been conducted in East China Normal University, an institution specialized in early childhood education. Both of these sets of guidelines emphasize the quality of early childhood teachers from the perspective of professional standards, including professional and academic competence. Teachers’ reflective and research capability has been established as one of the important criteria (Guo, 2007). Therefore, given the issues and situations mentioned above, a more optimal mentoring model needs to be proposed for the benefit of teachers’ professional development.

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Challenges of Teacher Mentors To overcome some of the disadvantages associated with traditional mentoring relationships, some other mentoring forms, such as peer mentoring, have emerged as alternative models of professional development. However, peer mentoring has not been perceived as an effective model since the support provided by another comparative or equal colleague is insufficient for a teacher’s development in terms of the complexity of teaching. To compensate for these shortcomings, group mentoring has emerged as a potentially optimal model because it facilitates interaction between senior teachers and beginning teachers (Ackerman, 2006). Group mentoring, which takes place in several forms, including peer group, one-to-many, many-toone and many-to-many, is assumed to be a kind of mentoring model where the wisdom and experience 494

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of multiple people are available (Huizing, 2012). Previous research on group mentoring has identified the personal and professional growth of participants involved because of the collaborative input it may provide. However, most research focuses on theoretical attempts to examine group mentoring and benefits illustrated cannot imply its necessary existence (Bozeman & Feeney, 2007). Among those empirical studies, the implementation of group mentoring theory has been applied to various fields, including education (Huizing, 2012). With the introduction of the community of practice (COP) theory, some researchers have made tentative attempts to facilitate mentoring within a COP model. A study conducted in higher education came to the conclusion that mentoring within a COP model provides a system for collaborative learning and reciprocal relationships with visible individual and communal benefits (Smith, Calderwood, Dohm, & Lopez, 2013). Another study also proves that a community-of-practice mentoring model is effective in developing early career teachers’ identity as researchers (Bottoms et al., 2013). However, the potential strength of this mentoring model has been unknown, until this study, in the Chinese educational context. Similarly, researchers are also making attempts to conduct group mentoring in China theoretically and empirically. Some of them are discussing the benefits of group mentoring (Li, 2011; Wang, 2009) and some group mentoring programs are designed to cultivate teachers’ growth in Chinese kindergartens (Wang, 2009). Little extant literature talks about this form of mentoring, and empirical research about its impact on teachers’ professional development is also limited, especially in Chinese early childhood educational settings. This represents a gap that this current study set out to bridge. Therefore, this study focuses on a group mentoring program employed by a public kindergarten located in Shanghai, China. At the municipal level, a project called Self-assessment System of Professional Development of Early Childhood Teachers, funded by the Shanghai municipal government, has been conducted in East China Normal University, an institution specialized in early childhood education. Both of them emphasize the quality of early childhood teachers from the perspective of professional standards, including professional and academic competence. It is claimed by some researchers that the group mentoring programs that use a community of practice model not only provide support for new faculty to become acculturated to educational settings and their roles, responsibilities and expectations, but also enables experienced teachers to participate as learners and be cultivated in such communities (Puig & Recchia, 2008). Consequently, teachers are liable to grow personally and professionally by bridging the gap between mentors and mentees occurring during the process. It also seems to work as a mechanism to get both of them on their journey of developing their identities as reflective educators (Nimmo & Park, 2009).

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Exploration of Group Mentoring The purpose of the study was to explore the perceptions of group mentoring and its impact on four teachers’ professional development at one public kindergarten in Shanghai. It also examined the influence of the mentoring on the teacher-as-researcher movement. Specifically, it addressed whether this form of mentoring can serve as an effective strategy to stimulate teachers’ interest in identifying themselves as reflective educators in terms of any issues concerning early childhood teaching. Also it investigated whether mentoring can work effectively to bridge the generational gap between mentors and mentees, which derives from the potential friction between older Chinese teachers with traditional values and those who represent a changing demographic workforce of early childhood teach-

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ers. The following research questions were formulated to find out how teachers perceive the mentoring experience. 1. How do novice and experienced early childhood teachers describe the group mentoring experience? 2. In what ways, if any, does group mentoring impact the professional development of early childhood teachers? 3. How does group mentoring promote teachers’ inquiry research and their shifting identity as researchers? 4. How does the group mentoring process have an influence on the mentor/mentee relationship, especially given the intergenerational differences between mentors and mentees in a Chinese context? The study aimed to make tentative attempts to figure out if peer mentoring is an effective mechanism to promote teacher’s sound and continuous professional development, not only for mentees, but also for mentors. It also sought to explore strategies regarding mentoring models with implications for those who are in charge of teacher education, for kindergarten administrators and for educational policy makers. Some recommendations were made for further research to explore other aspects regarding mentoring to improve and perfect group mentoring processes. Ultimately, children may benefit from the education provided by highly qualified teachers, which is conducive to enhance the quality of early childhood education in China. All of these reasons provided a rationale for conducting the study.

DESCRITPION OF THE STUDY

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A case study design was employed with in-depth interviews and observations of novice and experienced teachers who took part in the group mentoring program designed in a kindergarten in Shanghai. Classroom observations and open-ended, semi-structured interviews were analyzed to explore 1) the teachers’ implementation of the cooperative mentoring strategy, 2) their understanding and perceptions of the mentoring process and 3) its impact on their professional development. Member checking was employed in order to establish trustworthiness of the findings by giving the participants the findings of the research for their verification of my interpretation and understanding of the data. The data analysis is a holistic analysis of a single case. The point is to create a detailed description of the case (Yin, 2009), which in this study is represented by a mentoring group. Key aspects that emerge from the initial description of the case can serve to explain and understand the complexity of the mentoring process conducted in the group. In contrast, group mentoring may prove to be a potentially more optimal model for early childhood teachers’ professional development.

Theoretical Framework The theories of community of practice and of “third culture” served as the foundation for this study by providing lenses for examining and understanding group mentoring from the separate perspectives of learning theory and intercultural communication. Since a cultural group tends to be distinguished from others by its language, religious beliefs, customs and rules of etiquette, and values and ideas (Healey, 2006), a generation is identified as one of the cultural variables as well as other markers of identity, such as gender and race (Merriweather& Morgan, 2013). 496

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The third culture theory, developed by Casmir, provides the conceptual grounding to understand cross-cultural mentoring when people of different generations, who can be considered of different cultural groups, participate in a mentoring relationship. The third culture is created when two separate cultures meet and collide. It is more inclusive than the original ones, according to the theory, and both can share meaning in the harmonized entity (Casmir & Asuncion-Lande, 1989). Community of practice, developed from social learning theory, refers to groups of people who share a concern or a passion for something they do and learn how to do it better as they interact regularly. Lave and Wenger (1991) argued that the community serves as both content and context for participation. Wenger (1998) indicated that it is through participation in the community that members develop an identity and make meaning and learn about the practice of the community. Community of practice provides a form of mentoring that is built on equality of membership and participation instead of on the hierarchies of traditional expert-novice models of mentoring (Bullock & Ritter, 2011). A community of practice mentoring model concentrates on collaboration and research and fosters relationships between faculty members instead of concerns about promotion only.

Community of Practice

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Social learning theorists underscore that learning communities tend to provide a safe and efficient foundation for sharing knowledge. Bandura (1977) initially proposed a social learning theory and emphasized that learners could acquire complicated behaviors and skills more efficiently by observing other people than by trying themselves. Also the learning communities offer a safe environment where learners are able to be engaged in learning by discussion with experts and their peers (Li et al., 2009). The term “learning community” became popular among educators in the 1990s (Graves, 1992). It is believed that a strong learning community offers a solid foundation for interaction and relationships among members. On the basis of mutual respect and trust, they are likely to share ideas and artifacts, which helps to support community activities and assists individuals in constructing knowledge. Particularly, newcomers can benefit from the conditions since they provide a rich environment for individuals to share information and ways to apply new knowledge in practice. The elements of a learning community formed the basis for the development of the COP concept in the early 1990s. Communities of practice are groups of people who share a concern or a passion for something they do and learn how to do it better as they interact regularly. Wenger (1998) indicated that it is through participation in the community that members develop an identity, make meaning, and learn about the practice of the community. A community of practice can be described as having three dimensions: the domain, the community, and the practice (Snyder & Wenger, 2004).

The Domain The concept of the domain addresses the question of why the group formed and the conditions under which it functions (Snyder & Wenger, 2004). A community of practice is not merely a club of friends or a network of connections between people. It has an identity defined by a shared domain of interest, such as classroom teaching practice. Membership therefore implies a commitment to the domain, and therefore a shared competence that distinguishes members from other people (Snyder & Wenger, 2004).

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(One could belong to the same network as someone and never know it.) In addition, the domain is not necessarily something recognized as “expertise” outside the community (Wenger, 1998).

The Community In pursuing their interest in their domain, members engage in joint activities and discussions, help each other, and share information. They build relationships that enable them to learn from each other. The community consists of the members, their interactions, and relationships and is defined by the learning that takes place within the context of these social relationships. In the community, the members co-create the structure and negotiate the interactions, norms, and expectations of the community (Wenger, 1998). Wenger (1998) posited that there is a “profound connection between identity and practice” (p. 149). He emphasized that a critical factor in the characterization of communities of practice is the development of professional identity through participation in the community. Wenger argued that an important attribute of participation in the practice is not participation alone but thinking about the participation and meaning-making of it in the context of practice.

The Practice The practice of the community is what is created within the community or what the community does together. They develop a shared repertoire of resources: experiences, stories, tools, ways of addressing recurring problems, in short, a shared practice. This takes time and sustained interaction. The development of a shared practice may be more or less self-conscious. Participation in a Community of Practice (COP) involves “being active participants in the practices of social communities and constructing identity in relation to these communities” (Wenger, 1998, p. 198). It is the combination of these three elements that constitutes a COP. It is by developing these three elements in parallel that one cultivates such a community.

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COP Mentoring Model Mentoring in a community of practice occurs as members jointly engage in ongoing common endeavors (Eckert, 2006). Rather than labeling particular members as novice or expert, mentor or mentee, the COP model frames membership in terms of changes in one’s participation and identity in the community (Wenger, 1998). COP provides a form of mentoring that is built on equality of membership and participation instead of on the hierarchies of traditional expert-novice models of mentoring (Bullock & Ritter, 2011). Within the group, mentoring is a platform where kindergarten teachers contribute to their joint participation in the everyday practices of the community. These would include activities such as co-developing curriculum, exploring pedagogy, and wrestling with common teaching dilemmas. Together, members learn from and mentor each other as they collectively negotiate definitions of their work, reconcile conflicting interpretations of what they do, create, and adapt tools, and record what they do (Wenger, 1998). One goal of this study is to see if group mentoring is effective in reconciling generational misunderstanding and conflict in Chinese early childhood education settings from several aspects.

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Mutual Engagement and Trust A COP requires great trust and learning to trust ourselves and the community through a perpetual process of negotiation (Smith & Calderwood, 2011). In the COP, junior teachers and senior teachers are linked through a common interest. They may have common concerns about developing themselves as researchers in the field of teaching young children. They need to learn how to understand, accommodate and respect a broad spectrum of roles, perspectives, values and choices about participation among COP members. If they build a trusting relationship with each other, they are likely to share their specific knowledge and experience involving early childhood pedagogical considerations. By doing so they may soon develop a shared understanding and approach to the issues they address. They can then build a collective knowledge base which informs their practice and guides how they approach common areas of concern. The end result is that the experience of the COP builds in each member a collective knowledge base that, when applied, should improve their individual performance and may have a dramatic impact on improving the handling of the issues they were drawn together to address. Teachers’ shared repertoire includes ways of handling young children, conducting research and imparting and using instructive teaching anecdotes and experiences. A sustained mutual engagement in their practice enables teachers to interpret and make use of this shared repertoire. In the Chinese traditional dyadic relationship, it is implied that the mentee can only turn to the assigned mentor rather than other teachers. Otherwise, the mentor will be offended and it is perceived as a loss of “mianzi” (dignity), which is likely to do harm to the “guanxi” (relationship) between the mentor and the mentee. However, in a community which is based on mutual engagement, trust and shared repertoire, the young teachers have access to all the experienced teachers when some specific problems arise in their teaching activities.

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Collaboration Movement toward a COP model for mentoring requires embracing a collaborative approach to teaching, and every early childhood teacher will enter into a collaborative endeavor. Collaboration is a slow process and requires all members’ devotion. It is not complete without the contribution of all participants. During the process, all participants have to negotiate, compromise and find ways to create shared visions. The joint product of the collaborative effort blurs individual visions and underscore shared visions (Puig & Recchia, 2008). According to a study conducted by Nimmo and Park (2010), a research mentorship team was designed to investigate the impact of collaborative mentorship on early childhood teachers. The study showed that the collaboration had a positive effect on teacher since they felt that their ideas were “safely” presented, warmly received, and productively discussed in the context of a collaborative and reflective culture. Collaboration with colleagues reflects the collaborative nature of all teaching and learning endeavors. Through their collaborations with colleagues, they learn skills that they bring to their work with children and the process is open to revision when working with others. Collaboration requires time to endure these periods of frustration and challenge as well as to enjoy periods of satisfaction.

Reciprocal Mentoring In the mentoring process, the egalitarian nature of the COP empowers every teacher an identification that is not necessarily limited by expert or beginner (Smith, Calderwood, Dohm, & Lopez, 2013). All 499

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teachers have opportunities to learn how to mentor and to be mentored in various activities. The community arranges for and supports such opportunities. Reciprocal mentoring is likely to happen in various activities, such as seminars, micro demo classes or case studies, which serve as learning mechanisms for teachers of different levels to learn from each other. Unanimous consensus will not be arrived at until discussion, negotiation or collaboration have occurred within the community. This assumes a sense of responsibility for the ongoing mentoring and everyone is making a communal contribution to the construction of mentoring activities aiming at their mutual growth (Lee, Baik, & Charlesworth, 2006). The beginning teachers step up along the professional development path through the means of invisible scaffolding embedded in the interaction among members. For the senior teachers, they are liable to be refreshed and revitalized after years of routine and repetition. The mentoring occurring between young and old teachers can also be understood from another perspective: third culture model.

Third Culture Model A cultural group is distinguished from others for its “language, religious beliefs, customs and rules of etiquette, and the values and ideas people use to organize their lives and interpret their existence” (Healey, 2006). Hence, generation functions as a cultural variable as well as other markers of identity, such as race and gender. When the mentoring relationships involve individuals from different generations, culture shock may arise between mentors and mentees who hold on to their different values and behaviors. Therefore, a “third culture” is suggested to be created beyond the original cultures of partners in the intercultural mentoring. Casmir (1978) elaborated the concept of Third Culture as follows: Third culture perspective moves away from the study of established, identified individual component parts, or even systems, identified within participating cultures and nations, to a model which focuses on the situational and interactional communication processes between individuals from various nations or cultures (p. 249). Casmir and Asuncion-Lande (1989) came to a further definition:

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“In the conjoining of their separate cultures, a third culture, more inclusive than the original ones, is created, which both of them now share. Third culture is not merely the result of the fusion of the two or more separate entities, but also the product of the harmonization of composite parts into a coherent whole” (p. 294). By the third culture perspective, two cultures are supposed to compromise instead of dominating over the other (Merriweather& Morgan, 2013). Broome argued that, ‘‘while one can never become another person, it is possible to erect a structure within the framework of which each other’s interpretation of the world or of us takes shape or assumes meaning’’ (p. 241). The third culture is a continuous process of negotiating shared meaning and the essence of relational empathy (Lee, 2006).

Mentorship in the Chinese Early Childhood Educational Context The importance of mentoring junior early childhood teachers has been underscored in China due to an increasing emphasis on the requirements of accreditation and teachers’ professional development. Borrowed from the practice of apprenticeship in other industries (Tucker, 1981), mentorship has been 500

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regarded as one of the effective strategies to incorporate junior teachers into complex early childhood teaching settings. Traditional mentoring models in the early childhood educational context usually focuses on one-to-one relationships, pairing a junior teacher with a senior one (Wang et al, 2005). Although the traditional dyadic mentoring relationship has contributed to the growth and maturity of early childhood teachers in past decades, it is useful to consider how mentoring strategies may need to be adapted for the ever-changing early childhood education setting in China. In China, the mentoring relationship is distinguished by traditional Chinese values such as respect for seniority, guanxi and mianzi, as explained below.

Cultural Scripts A cultural script is a “mental picture”, a generalized piece of knowledge that is widely shared among people of a given culture (Stigler & Hiebert, 1999). It informs individuals about social norms, tells participants what to expect and guides one’s behavior. It includes cultural beliefs and assumptions that underpin the way of life of a people, the way that individuals treat one another and the vision and purposes of an organization or society (Hargreaves, Halasz, & Pont, 2007). Mentorship in China, defined as a kind of relationship, is also distinguished for its embedded cultural scripts.

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Shifu Confuciusm, which has molded Chinese culture, describes five major hierarchical relationships in a well-ordered Chinese society: ruler and subject, parent and child, older sibling and younger sibling, husband and wife, and older friend and younger friend. Behavior had to be governed by these welldefined relationships, including that of mentor and mentee (Hu & Szente, 2009). Master and Disciple, the Chinese terminology for “mentor and mentee”, is viewed in the same way as a parent and child relationship. “Shifu”, the title that disciples (tudi) address masters, is defined as teacher and father in Chinese. Thus, when a master undertakes to teach a disciple in a certain field, he not only takes on the role of an instructor but also assumes the role of a parent. As a Chinese saying goes, “He who teaches me one day is my teacher for life.” Therefore, the disciple is accepted into the family of the master and serves the master throughout his years of training and even beyond. More often than not, the filial piety the disciple has for his parents extends also to his master, the surrogate parent (Hu & Szente, 2009). As a result, this kind of relationship assumes that the disciple, the mentee, is supposed to show unconditional obedience and respect to the master, the mentor, who is deemed as knowledgeable, wise and a role model. For centuries, the hierarchical relationship between the master and the disciple has dominated mentorship in China. The mentor is presumed to be authoritative, passing down knowledge and skills to the mentee who is supposed to be obedient and submissive. However, the dramatic and overwhelming economic and social changes in China over the past decades have exerted a profound influence on China’s early childhood educational practices, including mentorship.

Guanxi In the Chinese context, the concept of guanxi has been broadly used to describe interpersonal relationships (Su & Littlefiled, 2001). Specifically, guanxi involves interpersonal obligations that two parties 501

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mutually accept (Buttery & Wong, 1999). The mutual agreement on the interpersonal obligations then creates a norm of reciprocity that guides expected behaviors. In addition, the Chinese generally believe that guanxi is an effective tool for achieving personal objectives (Wong, 1999). Therefore, both older and younger teachers who deal with others across generations have to understand guanxi implications in mentorship and observe the perceived generational guanxi. Younger teachers have to attach much more importance to maintaining a favorable guanxi with the more senior teachers and this can play a crucial role in their future promotion and development. In addition, typically, preserving mianzi is the essential part of maintaining favorable guanxi with senior teachers.

Mianzi Mianzi is a strong force that affects individual behavior in the Chinese context (Bozinonelos & Wang, 2007). The Confucian values mostly observed by older Chinese individuals emphasize preserving mianzi (dignity or public image). It is a general belief in Chinese society that older generations have greater knowledge and capabilities than younger generations. Therefore, older generation teachers can perceive a loss of mianzi when younger generation teachers engage in behaviors that weaken and/or threaten the older teacher’s mianzi, even when the behaviors are positive in nature. Specifically, older generation teachers might perceive that their wisdom and capabilities are threated when they are criticized by the younger generation. Consequently, loss of mianzi experienced by older generation teachers will have a negative impact on their perceived generational guanxi with younger teachers. The unique cultural belief solidifies and balances interpersonal relationships between junior and senior teachers. With a multitude of post-80s generation people entering the teaching profession, more kindergartens are facing a more diverse demography in the workforce. This has raised new barriers in the process of mentoring in terms of generational differences.

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Emergence of the New Generation An understanding of teacher education in China is a bridge toward understanding the larger framework of Chinese society. Conversely, it is necessary to know something of the social, economic, and political dimensions of China in order to understand teacher education. A Chinese saying states, “Ten years is a generation”. Previously, “Post-80s” or “post-90s” generation is used to refer to those writers who were born after 1980. They are distinguished from their predecessors for their straightforwardness, radicalism, passion and non-mainstream views. Later, this connotation was expanded to all young adults who were born after 1980s (Feng, 2011). This generation, the first birth cohort after the introduction of the one-child policy in mainland China, grew up entirely within the era of openness and reform and have witnessed the fast-paced economic growth and dramatic social change that came along with it. Unlike their parents, who lived through turbulent political movements like the Cultural Revolution, they have benefited from booming wealth and have easy access to good education. As a result, they are, to one extent or another, spoiled by their parents.

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New Generation Teachers This generation currently ranges in age from 25 to 34 and makes up a major portion of China’s young early childhood teacher demographic (Wei, 2011). Their cultural identity, shaped by the historic events they have experienced, sets them apart from their parental generation and presents persona unique to their generation. They are markedly different from their parental generation due to their high level of education. As the single child of the family, most of them succeeded in acquiring higher degrees in order to fulfill their parents’ dreams. They were born into a digital environment and raised on information technology. More involved with the internet, they are more likely to multitask, are experts in taking advantage of numerous digital gadgets used and are capable of processing massive amounts of information available through the internet. Having easy access to information and knowledge, they rarely accept certain taken-for-granted values. With little interest in obeying the traditional values, they show less respect for authority and seniority. They have a strong desire to have their voice heard and a multitude of social websites have become their platform through which they present their ideas and opinions. Younger teachers have also been characterized as possessing an openness to diversity and globalization, which is attributed to the fact that they, as a generation, did not experience isolation from the outside world as had previous generations. Instead of only being shaped by traditional Chinese values, their philosophy and life style has been influenced by western ideology, either consciously or subconsciously or both. This excitingly different generation of teachers is now entering the classroom to teach young children and bring with them a great deal of knowledge, eagerness, and enthusiasm. They want to make meaningful contributions to society and guide their young students to do the same. They think in terms of visuals, sound bites, film clips, and online communication. Straight lecture is an ineffective way for them to learn, so it stands to reason they tend not use it with their students. Regular access to technology such as computers and smart boards will help them teach in a more meaningful way. This generation is highly goal oriented, so they need to know what other jobs in the profession might be available and how they could move up the career ladder. This could prove to be a strong incentive for them to stay in education and further develop their skills (Zhu & Zhang, 2008).

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Cross-Cultural Mentoring Cross-cultural mentoring occurs when people from different cultural groups participate in a mentoring relationship. The themes regarding cross-race and cross-gender are prone to be of interest to those who study mentoring relationships (Zellers et al., 2008). Similarly, generation, as a cross-cultural trait, tends to pose an impact on the mentoring relationship in Chinese early childhood educational context. In light of a number of distinctive demographics of teachers mentioned previously, it is critical to build an effective mentoring model which might work as a tool to navigate the professional development of both young and experienced teachers across the generational differences. However, extant research at home and abroad seems to conclude that mentoring has a positive effect on mentees’ professional development, but they have not identified how mentoring promotes the mutual growth of all participants involved in the process. This represents a substantial gap in the research that needs to be bridged. The intersection of where the older generation of mentors meets the younger generation of mentees in a mentoring relationship is rarely explored in the literature but poses an issue of growing practical significance 503

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 Impact of Group Mentoring on the Professional Development of Early Childhood Teachers

to Chinese early childhood educational settings. In Shanghai, some kindergartens have made tentative attempts to build a third culture by group mentoring.

Current Trend in China With the implementation of early childhood education reform in China, policy makers are giving much attention to the quality of early childhood teachers. In 2012, Professional Standards of Kindergarten Teachers was issued by the Ministry of Education of China as an official and authoritative criterion to evaluate the quality of early childhood teachers. It attempts to construct the standards from three dimensions, including teaching ethics, professional knowledge and competence. Great importance have been attached to five aspects:

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1. 2. 3. 4. 5.

Teachers’ code of ethics and beliefs. Teachers’ reasonability for children’s health and security. Integrity of teaching and caring. Teaching competence. Teachers’ reflective and self-learning capability (Pang, 2012).

At the municipal level, a project called Self-assessment System of Professional Development of Early Childhood Teacher, funded by the Shanghai municipal government, has been conducted in East China Normal University, an institution specialized in early childhood education. It offers the standards for the teachers to self-evaluate their performance at different teaching stages. In spite of variant requirements for new teachers and experienced teachers, some tenets are self-evident and consistent for the teachers of all levels. For one thing, the teachers are inspired to improve their competence and capability by reflection and creativity. For another, they are encouraged to develop teaching competence, publication productivity and integrating theory and practice by engaging in mentoring (Guo, 2007). Both of the guidelines emphasize the quality of early childhood teachers from the perspective of professional standards, including professional and academic competence. Teachers’ reflective and research capability has been established as one of the important criteria (Guo, 2007). In China, as an important way of school-based teachers’ professional development, mentoring has been used widely in kindergartens. However, the traditional forms of mentoring insufficient for their hierarchical relationship between mentors and mentees and lack of new teachers’ reflection or creativity, which impose a threat on teachers’ continuous and healthy growth in their career (Chi, 2007). Therefore, given the situations mentioned above, a more optimal mentoring model needs to be proposed for the benefit of teachers’ professional development. In Shanghai, some kindergartens are making tentative attempts to provide a mechanism for teachers’ sustained and meaningful professional development (Guideline Document of Zhabei Kindergarten, 2012). Whether they are novice teachers, experienced teachers or senior teachers, are involved in group mentoring, which may provide them constructive guidance concerning their teaching pedagogy, scholarship, and service throughout their careers. Many teachers have opportunities to learn how to mentor and to be mentored in various activities. The community arranges for and supports such opportunities. Certain mentoring strategies, such as brainstorming, are utilized to encourage all teachers to participate in the mentoring. Unanimous consensus will not be arrived at until the discussion, negotiation or collaboration 504

Research Anthology on Facilitating New Educational Practices Through Communities of Learning, edited by Association, Information Resources Management, IGI Global, 2020. ProQuest

 Impact of Group Mentoring on the Professional Development of Early Childhood Teachers

are undergone within the group. Assuming a sense of responsibility for the ongoing mentoring, everyone is expected to make a communal contribution to the construction of mentoring activities aimed at their mutual growth (Lee, Baik, & Charlesworth, 2006). This case study examined the phenomenon of teacher mentoring within a bounded system, a group mentoring process in a public kindergarten located in Zhabei District of Shanghai, China. It described the experiences and perceptions of a group of teachers who work together and are in the same mentoring group. A specific mentoring group was selected among groups in the kindergarten as a case. The level of analysis is bound by the group. Study participants were kindergarten teachers in the same group (who were engaged in the group mentoring). On a voluntary basis, they allowed the author to have interviews with them, shadow and observe them in their mentoring activities every three weeks. These observations provided context regarding what was shared during their interviews so as to better understand the teachers’ stories. The data was collected over a period of six months, from September 2015 to January 2016. Each interview lasted one hour and was conducted in Mandarin and simultaneously electronically audio-recorded. When the recorded conversations had been transcribed verbatim, the author translated the transcriptions into English.

Group Mentoring Activities Paired as mentors and mentees, Heyan with Yiwei and Junjin with Wendi are co-working in the same class. They are also grouped as a mentoring group of four since they all teach the children who are 5 years old. Their group mentoring activities happen in multiple ways, including co-working in the daily teaching and caring practice, communication with the parents, structured mentoring meetings, and informal communication with colleagues after class or at lunch breaks.

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Teaching and Caring for Children Heyan and Yiwei taught the same class, engaging in the various domains of early childhood education. Frequently, they were present and observed the teaching when the other was giving the class. After class, they usually discussed some problems arising out of the classes. Assigned as the mentor, it was always Heyan’s responsibility to coach and model when Yiwei was teaching as a novice teacher. She usually sat at the back of the classroom and wrote down some notes. One day, the topic of Yiwei’s class was about Chinese characters. She intended to make a brief introduction to the origin, history and evolution of Chinese characters, from pictographic characters to complex forms of characters to simplified characters. When she asked the children to think about the reasons for using simplified characters, some children came up with some answers. At that time, Heyan also went to the front of the classroom and suggested playing a game: “Josie? Will you come here? You draw a picture of a moon and I will write a character, ok? All of you can see who will finish first.” After a while, the children found that it was Heyan who could finish the job first and understood the reason for the implementation of the simplified characters. After the class, Heyan and Yiwei discussed the lesson, and Yiwei understood that children are likely to learn from their personal experience. Yiwei stated that Heyan was an experienced teacher and she had acquired a lot from her mentor concerning strategies for teaching and caring for children. In addition, she sometimes attended Junjin and Wendi’s classes. As she said, “I am a very new teacher here and I am able to learn not only from Heyan, but also from Junjin and Wendi.” 505

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Communication With the Parents Mentoring also happened in communication with the parents, another crucial part of early childhood teachers’ work. Yiwei and Wendi explained that their mentors assisted them in the family-parent conferences and their communication with the parents on other occasions. Their mentors would let them be in charge of the family-parent conferences instead of telling them how to handle the meetings in advance. “You know, I was overwhelmed when facing so many parents who are older than me,” said Yiwei, adding “I didn’t know what to say.” During the conferences, Heyan and Junjin would be present and observed how Wendi and Yiwei communicated with the parents. Afterwards, the mentors would give their mentees some advice concerning the skills of communication with parents.

Mentoring Meetings Regularly, they had a mentoring meeting once a week to discuss pertinent topics. Some of them were listed on their work schedule, such as curriculum, teaching knowledge and skills, routine practice in teaching and caring for children, and research. Other topics occurred incidentally, such as the special problems of some children or parents and the teachers’ concerns of common interest related to the children’s development. Heyan stated that they had their mentoring meetings almost once a week and the topics of the meeting were determined at the beginning of the semester, including, as mentioned above, routine practice in teaching and caring, teaching skills, research on child development and the problems any of them raised. Sometimes, the topics were planned beforehand and they got together almost every week to talk about some topics they were concerned about. For example, Junjin illustrated that they had just discussed how to deal with a special kid from a single parent family. Every month, Wendi and Yiwei took turns to give demo classes in the meeting, seeking comments and advice to improve their teaching practice. Wendi expressed that the meetings provided them a good opportunity to raise some questions they were confused about or interested in. Just as Yiwei said, “During the meeting, I can ask for help from my coworkers, especially about how to handle special children and some tough parents.”

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Chatting After Class In addition to the formal mentoring activities, mentoring seemed to be imbedded in their daily practice. After class or at the lunch break, they also talked about some problems and amusing stories that happened that day. When they chatted in their leisure time, they were free to express any ideas. They agreed or disagreed with each other on the problems. Interestingly, some topics emerging from the chatting were to be discussed formally in the mentoring meetings. It was a noon in the fall. Heyan, Junjin, Wendi and Yiwei came to the dining room. The room was not spatial and they had to huddle in the room, having lunch shoulder by shoulder. Yiwei: Heyan, do you know what did Tony do today? A girl tripped over because of his trick (signed). Heyan: This is the way he is (nodding). He always plays a trick on someone else. But when I am in class, he seems to be a little bit self-controlled. Junjin: There is some kind of children in every class. They are liable to be out of control in young teachers’ class.

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Wendi: Absolutely! I also think it is a big headache for me (paused). Some kids really drive me crazy and I have no ideas how to handle them (shrugged her shoulder). Heyan: I think maybe it is a common problem for you, Yiwei and Wendi, right? Yiwei: Yeah! Wendi: Sure (almost at the same time)! Junjin: How about we talk about this topic next mentoring meeting? Heyan: Good idea! Such an event was not rare. For the group, lunch time was a period of time when they told stories about the children, the teachers or the parents. The teachers also expressed their different opinions. Wendi described the lunch hour as their happy hour: “I enjoy it very much. It is more than time for lunch. We stay together and often chat about what happened in the morning, about some problem or interesting accidents happening to the children. Sometimes, I just listen. I can learn a lot from their discussions and stories.” The group mentoring activities can happen formally and informally, anytime and anywhere, in the dining hall or in the passageway. Some stories coming out incidentally from their daily conversations could be turned into topics in their formal meetings later.

Reasons for Supporting the New Model Having experienced the traditional mentoring model, both Heyan and Junjin pinpointed the rationale of the new model by comparing it to the traditional style of mentoring. They compared the traditional one-to-one model to a double-edged sword since the mentees seem to learn everything from the mentors, whether it is desirable or undesirable.

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Many-to-Many Mentoring Model As far as the traditional model is concerned, when the mentee is assigned to the mentor, her Shifu (mentor) is the only person that the mentee can turn to in the case of difficulties in Chinese cultural context. Otherwise, her Shifu would be offended since her lack of respect results in the loss of mianzi (face), dignity, which is detrimental to the relationship and her future career development. Therefore, the mentee can only acquire knowledge and skills from one individual. Due to frequent exposure to the instruction and practice of her mentor, the mentee is becoming a mirror of her mentor, inheriting both favorable and unfavorable practice. Junji reiterated her points by illustrating her own personal story: “I am a somewhat careless person, ignoring some trivial affairs, such as the placement of some small items in the classroom. Unconsciously, my previous mentee tended to duplicate the carelessness. Interestingly, some other teachers teased that she could be easily identified as my mentee because of the same practice. Therefore, the mentee’s undesirable practice would become increasingly deep rooted since no one corrected it”. There is no doubt that the inherent defects of the traditional model do no good to the professional development of young teachers. Heyan also stated that in the traditional model, it was assumed that Tudi (mentee) had to follow her Shifu’s instruction and practice. In Chinese culture, Tudi’s respect for Shifu was shown by her obedience and submission. Even though she disagreed with her Shifu, she was not supposed to speak out directly. New teachers could be compared to a white paper and what was left on the paper was totally determined by her mentor. Being shaped by the mentors, the new teachers were likely to copy their 507

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 Impact of Group Mentoring on the Professional Development of Early Childhood Teachers

mentors. For example, some mentees were more capable of some domains, such as language teaching, than others, like art teaching, since her mentor was skillful in language communication. Therefore, the mentees’ previous mentoring experiences made their working with other teachers difficult and might set a potential hindrance for their career development.

Bottom-up Mentoring Model Heyan and Junjin stated that the traditional mentoring model was characterized as top-down and with hierarchical linear relationships. It was taken for granted that those young and junior teachers were incompetent and unskilled, and, therefore, they were supposed to be force-fed by knowledge and practice passed down from senior and experienced teachers instead of taking initiatives. Gradually, they were much more likely to follow their mentors’ instructions totally with the enthusiasm and talents of the young teachers being stifled, getting into a groove constructed by their mentors. By contrast, the new model was designed to cultivate an air that was not authoritarian and that would stimulate the young teachers’ creativity and talents. To demonstrate this point, Junjin explained that in the group, every individual took turns to chair the mentoring meeting every week. It was the chairperson’s responsibility to decide the topic, organize the meeting and summarize the outcomes. When Yiwen and Wendi worked as the chairperson, both of them did as good a job as the experienced teachers. The new mentoring model provided the young teachers with a forum where they were able to fully display their potentials.

Mutual Growth Working with young children was a dynamic and challenging profession. Heyan, Junjin, Yiwei and Wendi all articulated that their group mentoring had exerted a positive influence on their professional development, instructionally and psychologically. To a larger extent, the group mentoring experience was creating an atmosphere where the teachers involved have a recognition of being reflective learners and researchers.

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Novice Teachers As novice teachers embarked on a career in early childhood education, they were confronted with a journey full of chaos, confusion, and unexpected incidents, which imposed a big challenge on them. Owing to the group mentoring, Yiwei and Wendi elaborated that they tended to be offered help and support from the team instead of an individual in terms of pedagogical preparation, classroom management, communication with parents and psychological support.

Pedagogical Preparation Both Wendi and Yiwei explained that group mentoring played a significant role in helping them acquire teaching knowledge and skills. When Wendi applied for the New Talent Award, she had worked as a teacher during the first year. It was a competition held by the district for all the new kindergarten teachers. All the teachers in the group contributed to her preparation for the competition, providing instructive advice concerning teaching planning, tones and vocabulary, gestures and eye contact. Despite repeated 508

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 Impact of Group Mentoring on the Professional Development of Early Childhood Teachers

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rehearsals, she still felt nervous and anxious since she was not confident of my response to children, as she said: “Young children are unexpected and uncontrolled. What they said tend to be really out of my expectation and I was worried how to give the feedback appropriately”. On the evening before the competition, Heyan texted her a message comforting her anxiety and Junjin also sent her an academic article regarding teachers’ feedback to young children. Such kind of assistance and instruction Yiwei was also apt to gain from the group mentoring. She stated that the group often designed and planned a lesson together. She said that anyone could express their opinions freely and straightforwardly. They could raise any doubts and questions concerning teaching. For example, whether the objective was appropriate for the children of a specific age, whether the transitions between the sections of the plan were fluent, whether some activities could be designed to achieve the aim of the objectives and so on. At a mentoring meeting, Heyan, Junjin, Wendi and Yiwei were discussing a class given by Yiwei after they observed it. It was class about a story about a bunny. She was angry because her friends made fun of her new coat. Her daddy helps her to relieve the anger. Heyan: Yiwei, can you tell us what the teaching objective of the class is? Yiwei: I would like to let the children understand that it is reasonable to be angry and they have to learn how to relieve the negative emotion. Heyan: Ok. Wendi, what do you think of the class? Do you have any suggestion? Wendi: Er, I think Yiwei should spend much more time on the second section instead of the first one. The focus of the class is how to help the bunny to become happy rather than the description of the bunny’s anger. Junjin: Yeah, I think so. You spent too much on the first section so that you didn’t develop the important section enough and finish it in a hurry. Yiwei: Yeah, I also realized it when I came to the second section. But I didn’t have enough time. Wendi: I have another question. Yiwei, when you described how angry the bunny is, you described her behaviors very vividly. I think it is good. But, it is better for the children to observe first and then describe by themselves instead of telling them directly. Heyan: I agree. The children can learn better by discussing and learning from each other. Do you know the theory which supports the practice? Yiwei? Yiwei: Bandura’s social learning theory? Heyan: Yeah! The children can acquire their cognitive knowledge through interpersonal context, including interactions between the children, between the children and the teachers. Junjin: When you mentioned the solutions to relieve anger, one of your suggestions was that we can think about other people’s goodness. But I think it is difficult for the children to think about such an abstract matter. Yiwei: Yeah, it is true. Maybe this is not applicable to the young children. Heyan: There is another very important point. I don’t think it is right to ask the children to show what they are likely to do when they are angry. You know, anger is a sort of negative emotion. You are supposed to minimize the influence of anger on the children. Therefore, you shouldn’t ask them to behave to reinforce the emotion. Wendi: Oh, this is also the point I also have to pay attention to. Yiwei: Er, shall I have to let the children express their happiness after they regulate their emotion? Heyan: Yeah, you got it! 509

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Through discussion with her co-workers, Yiwei was building an in-depth understanding of giving an effective and well-designed class. She understood that the teaching objectives, such as cognitive, skills and emotional objectives, should be clarified for the purpose of the children’s development. Guided by other teachers, Yiwei was learning how to integrate theory with practice when she was told that children could learn better by interactions with others and the theory supporting that practice.

Class Management For the young teachers, it was sometimes overwhelming when they were confronting a crowd of young children who might be vulnerable, uncontrolled or capable of unexpected behaviors. Instruction and guidance from experienced teachers and their peers (as in the example below) could help them deal with the children appropriately. When Wendi first handled children, how to manage their daily routine, how to regulate them was her big headache. She was not as strict as she was expected to be. For example, some kids in her class didn’t like to eat some vegetables and had a preference for meat. Initially, it was not a big deal for her since she had the same preference. She also hated it when she was forced to eat what she didn’t like. When Heyan observed her class, she indicated that the food preference would have a terrible influence on children’s development by illustrating the example of her own daughter. Apart from how to handle teaching and caring for young children, Yiwei and Wendi are also gaining help from the group regarding learning how to communicate with parents.

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Communication with Parents Yiwei and Wendi both emphasized that they were well informed of the communication skills and strategies to use with parents by mentoring with Heyan and Junjin, who were competent in communicating with children’s parents and grandparents. For Yiwei, whenever she had to talk with the parents, she felt uncomfortable and even scared since she thought she was a beginner. She said, frequently, she could learn the suspicion the parents harbored: how could a young teacher without a child tell us what to do. “When I talked to the parents at the familyteacher conferences or on other occasions,” she said, “Heyan and Junjin would be present and observe if possible. Afterwards, they would give me some advice and suggestions regarding communication strategies.” The same concern was expressed by Wendi. “How to communicate with the parents is always a focus of our mentoring meeting. Yiwei and I often put forward some problems we encountered during our communication with the parents. Heyan and Junjin would elaborate their practice in the past and all of us would propose any possible solutions.” How to communicate with the parents effectively was often the focus of the mentoring meeting. There was one time when she felt frustrated by some pictures posted by a parent and she turned to the group for the help. Yiwei: Yesterday evening, I saw some pictures posted by Andy’s mother on Wechat (a social media site) and they showed that there was a bruise on Andy’s arm. I called her and she complained that he was hit by Joe. She would like to contact Joe’s mother. Heyan: Was it serious? 510

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Yiwei: I don’t think so. (She hesitated.) Shall I ask both mothers to come to the kindergarten together to settle the problem? Junjin: Er, did you know what happened between Andy and Joe? Yiwei: Er, actually, I am not sure about what happened. Junjin: I think you are supposed to understand the truth before settling the problem. Heyan: Absolutely! You have to ask Andy and Joe first. I don’t think it is good to ask the mothers to come together to the kindergarten. Yiwei: Oh? But… Heyan: If the mothers are present together, they are likely to argue, which is not helpful for the settlement. Wendi: You mean we should communicate with the mothers separately? Junjin: Yeah! When we encounter such problems, we should explain what happened to the mothers separately instead of together. When you talk to the mothers, you should behave in a mild way. Heyan: Our teachers should stand between the mothers, easing the misunderstandings and conflicts. Yiwei: Oh, I got it. In the mentoring meeting cited above, Yiwei learned how to handle the conflict between the parents with skill, accumulating ideas from her mentors’ experience in communicating with parents. Apart from instructional assistance and guidance, Wendi and Yiwei also gained from the psychological support they received from the group.

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Psychological Support Wendi and Yiwei believed that they were becoming psychologically stronger owing to guidance and support from Heyan and Junjin concerning teaching and communication with the children and their parents. “Having worked with Heyan, Junjin and Yiwei, I think they helped me so much on teaching, how to deal with the children and the parents” Wendi said, “Whenever I encountered some difficulties and felt frustrated, Heyan and Junjin, her mentors, always encouraged me and told me those were the stepping stones to my growth. I understand that they are always with me all the way, which provides me with a sense of security. Consequently, I can move forward and grow”. Yiwei also expressed the support she gained from the group. “When I first worked with the children and the parents, I was not confident that I could make it. Fortunately, my team always leads, guides and pushes me on the path of my career. Their psychological support makes me more confident in dealing with the children and the parents, which I have adapted into the teaching profession. I believe that I am really a kindergarten teacher now.” It was acknowledged that the novice teachers had gained support from various aspects. Not only the new teachers but also the experienced teachers are liable to grow continuously due to their group mentoring process.

Experienced Teachers Both Heyan and Junjin said their group mentoring had also offered them an opportunity to learn from the teachers of a younger generation, such as the use of computers and some software and social media tools. They also expressed their delight and happiness working with young teachers.

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Information Updated Heyan and Junjin, the experienced teachers, explained that their previous reservoir of knowledge and experience had been expanded and updated through mentoring activities. For them, the young teachers were often informed of the latest information. “Their ideas, I should say, are frontier, not always right, however,” Heyan said, “Chatting with Yiwei and Wendi never fails to inspire me. I have to give demo classes to the teachers in and out of the kindergarten. In recent years, I often have a sort of feeling of being exploited. I have no idea how to give a class in a more creative and attractive way. I love to talk with them since new ideas always get sparked during the communication”. Additionally, she thought that they tended to have a unique perspective of aesthetics, which often contributed to my personal development. Junjin was the eldest teachers among the group and the teachers of her age didn’t use computers and they didn’t have to prepare the class by software either, such as PowerPoint. However, nowadays, every teacher was required to make use of multimedia. Therefore, Junjin said that Yiwei and Wendi often helped her to deal with technology-related tasks. “I didn’t realize the benefits of social media tools until Wendi and Yiwei communicated with the parents by Wechat, QQ or microblog. I am also using the tools to keep the parents informed of their children’s development, post children’s pictures, inform the parents of family-teacher conference and other activities”.

CONCLUSION The stories of the teachers in a public kindergarten in Shanghai provided several informative insights into the impact of the group mentoring process on their professional development by revealing their perceptions of the new model, of their sense of instructional and psychological support and of the subculture they cultivated. The study was intended to identify the components of the new mentoring model that are perceived beneficial as well as challenging for the professional development of both novice and experienced teachers. Specifically, it highlighted the shift of teachers’ identity from merely educational practitioners to reflective teachers and researchers as well. Along with their changing roles, the relationships between teachers facilitate the continuous growth of all teachers in their profession. More optimal mentoring models are proposed to enhance equality of early childhood teachers in China and ultimately to bring benefits to the young children who they work with and care for.

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This work was previously published in Challenges and Opportunities in Global Approaches to Education; pages 115-144, copyright year 2020 by Information Science Reference (an imprint of IGI Global).

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Section 4

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Use in Language Arts and Literacy Learning

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Chapter 27

Using Online Writing Communities to Teach Writing MOOCs Rebekah Shultz Colby University of Denver, USA

ABSTRACT The immense enrollment capacity of massive open online courses (MOOCs) radically decenters student and teacher authority in the writing classroom. However, online writing communities teach each other how to write efectively within that community, a type of writing instruction which could be leveraged in a MOOC. The author qualitatively coded the types of writing questions and feedback posted on a technical writing forum, Technical Writing World and discovered that writing questions focused on technical writing genres, style guides, documentation practices, lower order concerns, and revision or outsourcing of work. Responses often directed the original poster to research the rhetorical situation within a specifc company. The author then outlined three pedagogical approaches for writing MOOCs: students could ask writing questions from professionals on similar writing websites, conduct qualitative studies of similar online writing communities to learn their underlying writing values, and participate in MOOCs that were organized to be communities of practice.

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INTRODUCTION Although we have seen various iterations of massive open online courses (MOOCs) for writing, one of the most significant limitations with teaching writing within MOOCs is the logistical problem of responding to student writing when there are thousands of students. While peer review is a viable option as Denise Comer and Edward White (2016) discovered in a MOOC they created for Duke, professors cannot logistically respond to each student’s writing. However, writing MOOCs could leverage the writing advice given within online writing communities as a viably rhetorical way of offering writing feedback in MOOCs. While experts would not be commenting on student drafts in the traditional way of offering writing feedback, students could still learn about writing not only by asking writing questions on these DOI: 10.4018/978-1-7998-7294-8.ch027

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Research Anthology on Facilitating New Educational Practices Through Communities of Learning, edited by Association, Information Resources Management, IGI Global, 2020. ProQuest

 Using Online Writing Communities to Teach Writing MOOCs

sites but also by examining the questions and responses of others and reflecting on how participants on the site discuss and learn about literacy practices within their discourse community. Within this chapter, I write about a qualitative study I conducted on the questions and responses given within a technical writing group, Technical Writing World, in order to analyze what types of questions were asked, what types of advice was given, and the underlying writing values that informed this advice. Finally, I outlined three pedagogical approaches for writing MOOCs: students could ask direct writing questions from professionals on similar writing websites, conduct qualitative studies of similar online writing communities to learn their underlying writing values, and participate in MOOCs that were organized to be communities of practice in which students were encouraged to help each other in small groups and as a whole.

BACKGROUND Writing teachers within rhetoric and composition have long embraced the collaborative nature of the decentered, student centered classroom. This pedagogical belief stems from the idea that knowledge is socially constructed (Rorty, 1970). Writing then becomes part of the shared conversation that is knowledge creation (Bruffee, 1984). Thus, students learn as they articulate for themselves how they see the world and their place in it and as they participate in conversations through talking and writing with their peers, co-constructing knowledge for themselves instead of being passive recipients filled with the teacher’s pre-packaged knowledge (Freire, 1970).

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Issues, Controversies, Problems Online education, especially MOOCs, offer possibilities for radically decentering teacher authority in the writing classroom – possibilities which we should embrace as writing teachers and use to study how students learn to write in order to further develop writing pedagogy. For instance, MOOCs have much to teach us about how students learn online and how we can best use web 2.0 technologies to enhance this learning. Glenna Decker (2014) wrote that “we should not overlook the potential for what we can learn about learning through research available through MOOCs” (p. 7). In fact, Kay Halasek, Ben McCorkle, Cynthia Selfe, Scott DeWitt, Susan Delagrange, Jennifer Michaels, and Kaitlin Clinnin (2014) have argued that MOOCs can productively disrupt the teacher knows best narrative, forcing writing pedagogy to evolve in healthy ways. However, despite our long standing social constructionist ideals that inform collaborative learning and the decentering of teacher authority in the classroom, these beliefs have also been coupled with tensions surrounding online education in rhetoric and composition for almost as long because online education forcibly decenters writing instruction in ways that teachers cannot always control and, therefore, do not always feel comfortable with. This tension is specifically evident with online discussions because the teacher is not physically present to intervene at all points of the discussion, controlling the flow of discussion, but can only insert comments sporadically, letting the conversation take on a life of its own. For instance, in the early days of online education, Lester Faigley (1992) argued that online discussions “both invite participation and seriously limit a teacher’s ability to control the direction they take” (p. 187). For Faigley, the decentering of teacher authority within online discussion illustrated a larger legitimation crisis within postmodern culture and higher education as a whole “where there is no external authority to which we can appeal nor any way we can establish enduring values” (p. 190). 523

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Furthermore, the radical decentering of teacher authority that occurs within online discussions can be viewed as even more problematic when students feel decentered from each other and, as a result, do not take each other’s authority seriously in discussion. Kristi Fleckenstein (2005) analyzed why students in an online course did not seem to take as much responsibility for their work, particularly during online discussions, concluding that they did not feel tied to a sense of place and consequently did not feel accountable to each other as a coherent community. The immense enrollment capacity within MOOCs further intensifies this tension surrounding the decentering of teacher and student authority online. While teachers might pose questions for students to respond to, they in no way can channel the rest of the discussion. Furthermore, this can also be frustrating from a student perspective as it is difficult for students to contact professors if they have questions about the material. Glenna Decker (2014) explained how little teachers can respond to student discussions in a MOOC:

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In some courses, students may interact with one of several teaching assistants, but more likely, it will be with fellow learners, or at best, someone with enough experience to volunteer for group leadership. If learners have questions about the content, they can post them and may receive a potentially accurate response from another, or if other students vote on the value of the question, it might be promoted to the top of a list – then maybe the faculty member will see it and respond. Or maybe not. (p. 7) In fact, because of the information glut caused by thousands of posts within MOOC online discussions, students can become overwhelmed with online discussions and either give up reading posts entirely or just scan them as was Jaqueline Kauza’s (2014) experience when she participated in a MOOC, describing posting on MOOC forums as “casting words and ideas into a void” (p. 108). In this way, the information glut can cause students to lose focus on learning from teachers or each other within online discussions. Furthermore, a teacher’s authority is further decentered in MOOCs because the model of one expert teacher offering feedback to novice students, specifically by giving feedback on student drafts, is impossible as offering this type of writing feedback to thousands of students is a logistical nightmare. Karen Head (2014) wrote that she could not offer feedback on student papers in a MOOC she taught, which she saw as a substantial pedagogical problem because “peer assessment is a valuable tool, but it is not the same as substantive feedback provided by an expert” (p. 52). Even more problematic though is the fact that the thousands of students enrolled within MOOCs radically decenter peer review writing authority as well. Denise Comer and Edward White (2016) found that peer review was surprisingly effective in that students scored and rated papers quite similarly to writing teachers in a writing MOOC they created at Duke. However, in the same MOOC course, Comer (2014) was also dismayed that the Coursera platform could only randomly assign peer review groups, making it impossible for students to form their own peer review groups, and, thereby, gain a sense of agency, community, and a degree of trust and respect for their peers’ collective writing expertise. However, it is this very tension between teacher and student control and the full decentering of authority that online education, particularly MOOCs, throws into stark relief. It is for this reason that as a field, we need to continue to study online learning, particularly MOOCs. We need to study how and why students learn online and what pedagogies more effectively facilitate their learning. For instance, by studying MOOCs, we can learn in what ways student authority can become fragmented and even dissolve but also ways that students can become empowered as they are given opportunities to more fully embrace their agency as writers and as learners. 524

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 Using Online Writing Communities to Teach Writing MOOCs

In teaching with MOOCs specifically, we could also further study and pedagogically leverage how online learning communities form and function as communities of practice (Wenger, 1992). Of course, for these online discourse communities to effectively teach, they have to have enough members that are committed to a shared purpose, either professional or affinity-based, and must have a critical mass of experts who can either implicitly model ways of effectively participating in the group or explicitly give advice to newcomers (Swales, 1990; Bizzell, 1992). Within communities of practice, the rules of effectively participating within the group or, in other words, performing as an expert within the group, constantly shift as each participant applies and renegotiates the rules for performance. These communities of practice function as Bill Hart Davidson (2014) has argued, by modeling for each other how to effectively participate and, as a result, showing the community what is to be valued within this practice. Furthermore, with the turn to web 2.0 capabilities, these online communities of practice are collectively making their own content for the web as Alan Levine (2014) pointed out, which can be leveraged within a MOOC. For instance, for a MOOC Levine participated in, students were invited to use the web 2.0 capabilities of blogger, Tumblr, and WordPress to post the assignments they completed in the course online. They were also invited to post their multimodal assignments online via “Flickr for images, Soundcloud for audio, and YouTube or Vimeo for video” (p. 35). MOOC writing teachers could specifically leverage the ways that online writing groups form communities of practice, specifically in the ways that they teach participants how to write. Such self-sponsored writing and discourse community feedback has long been a model on fan-fiction websites for instance (Brobeck, 2004; Parrish, 2007). In her dissertation analyzing the writing practices within a Buffy the Vampire Slayer fan fiction writing group, Juli Parrish (2007) discussed how veteran participants of the site would offer feedback to newcomers on their fan fiction. However, these suggestions also modeled for newcomers how to offer feedback to others, thereby showing them how to effectively participate on the site. Experienced participants would also model by adeptly utilizing literary techniques in their own fan fiction. Parrish wrote that fan fiction participants “find subtle and not-so-subtle ways to direct, lead, and shape the work of writers and critics at this site, both by circulating a set of values about what good writing and good feedback entail, and by celebrating the work of expert readers and writers who are held up as models for others to learn from and follow” (p. 137). So, in this way, more experienced writers on the website not only modeled effective writing with their own fan fiction, but they also modeled how to offer effective feedback, showing the community what was valued in successful fan fiction writing on the site and how to articulate those values. Similarly, Angela Thomas (2006) showed how two adolescent female writers grew through writing collaboratively: each used her writing strengths to help the other improve on her writing weaknesses. For instance, one writer could plot out and pace stories well while the other was more adept at character development. Most importantly though, through this collaboration, both learned to recognize and develop their own strengths as writers, becoming more self-aware and conscious of their choices in their writing as a result. As communities of practice with the shared purpose of writing fan fiction, fan fiction communities negotiate what it means to be an effective writer. However, through this negotiation, what it means to be an effective fan fiction writer constantly changes, being renegotiated and reinterpreted for each writer as they negotiate their feedback, often from many fan fiction writers who may offer contradictory advice, for each piece of fiction. In this way, the definition of what it means to have expertise in writing is constantly shifting within the community, as it does within any online writing community. What is valued most in writing fan fiction is renegotiated for each writer as it is reapplied in each specific fan fiction case. 525

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 Using Online Writing Communities to Teach Writing MOOCs

While most writing MOOCs teach nonfiction writing, there is still possibility in leveraging other online writing communities outside of fan fiction to more effectively teach writing within MOOCs, even if these online writing communities are not in and of themselves MOOCs. For instance, Technical Writing World is a social networking site for technical writing professionals. As a discourse community of technical writing professionals, participation within the site becomes a way of learning how to improve as a professional technical writer. The site houses job listings, a map listing businesses which employ technical writers, blogs written by site members offering technical writing advice and sharing professional experiences, and a forum in which participants ask questions about aspects of technical writing or about the profession at large. Although using the entire Technical Writing World website falls beyond the scope of this article as it focuses solely on the forum, using the Technical Writing World forum within a technical writing MOOC could make it possible for students to ask specific questions about writing that they can then receive advice on as well as study how literacy practices are taught within a technical writing professional discourse community. Leveraging such a writing community could also show writing teachers how to more effectively create their own writing communities of practice within the MOOC. Although community participants of the Technical Writing World forum seldom offer feedback by responding to written drafts as we conceive of it in a traditional writing class, they still offer writing feedback. In answering direct questions about technical writing posted on the site, they offer explicit writing advice that is informed by their experiences participating within the technical writing discourse community. By participating on the site, they also show how to effectively participate within the technical writing community, modeling the writing values of the community as well as how to effectively disseminate this information within this community in similar ways as fan fiction writers do on their sites as Parrish (2007) discusses. Furthermore, even though forum participants do not comment on drafts, the writing feedback they offer by directly answering writing questions is still valuable as this advice is informed by the professional values of the technical writing discourse community. Writing feedback should always be informed by the values and practices of the discourse community that the writing circulates within; however, as Anne Beaufort (2007) argues, writing feedback, at least as it is traditionally taught within first year writing as a general education requirement without any disciplinary identity, is often separated from the communities of practice that the writing is supposed to circulate within. Consequently, students often do not know how to effectively apply this writing feedback as it is divorced from its context of use. Coupling a technical writing MOOC with an online professional discourse community in technical writing means that writing feedback, in the form of direct responses to writing questions, would be informed by the professional values that the writing is class is trying to teach. In a qualitative study, I examined what types of questions were asked and what types of writing advice was given in response on Technical Writing World to then examine how the expertise of forum professionals could be pedagogically implemented in MOOC writing classes.

METHODS On the writing forum Technical Writing World, there were 102 total questions asked within a year, which I qualitatively coded. Because I wanted to know what the community valued in their writing practices

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and how these writing practices were conveyed to community participants, I looked at what types of questions were posed by the community and what types of writing feedback was given. Using an emergent coding scheme, I first coded what types of questions were asked. All of the questions were seeking professional advice on some aspect of the technical writing profession or writing, so I then coded what specific types of advice were asked. The first set of questions clustered around how to enter the technical writing profession (n = 27): both how to assess job candidates and how to apply for positions, which also included how to best market writing portfolios. Related to professional marketing, several questions asked about self and website promotion (n = 3), and another set of questions were surveys about the technical writing profession posted by technical writing students (n = 4). Another set of questions clustered around the professional personnel expectations of the technical writing job: employer and salary expectations as well as how to lead and collaborate with co-workers (n= 8). There was one question asking how to teach technical writing. However, the majority of questions clustered around how to specifically perform the technical writing job itself and, consequently, asked about design (n = 2) and writing (n = 23) or software usage (n = 34), either how to use a specific type of software (n = 9) or which type of software to use for a specific writing or design task (n = 25). While I coded 102 questions, some questions included more than one question and so some of the questions were coded into multiple categories. To study the 23 writing questions in more depth, I coded them with more detail. There were four questions about how to write a specific genre. Many questions though asked about either style guides (n = 4) or documentation practices (n = 9). However, there were also seven questions asking specific writing advice about lower order concerns having to do with grammar, spelling, or usage. Finally, there were three requests for the forum community to revise actual writing that was attached or outsource a technical writing assignment for a class or technical writing job. Finally, I coded what types of advice was given. There were two types of advice. Sometimes responders would specifically answer the initial question. This specific response would take two forms: either answering the question directly within the post or providing a link to another website that specifically answered the questions, which was usually either a link to grammar advice or a genre example. The other type of advice was more general but was audience directed. It almost always consisted of asking the poster of the original question to further research his or her writing situation. For instance, the advice often prompted the original poster to further research work or documentation practices within his or her company or to ask about company style guides.

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RESULTS In order to seek writing feedback, there were four questions that asked for examples of specific technical writing genres. In response to a query about how to write operating guides because the poster had only learned to write user guides, one responder offered a link that gave an online example of an operating guide, coupled with the advice to research genre examples online and that the operating guide genre only differed from the user guide in its audience. The responder wrote, “Do not be intimidated[;] most ‘other’ guides are variations of the User Guide, in that your purpose is to explain the product to the User. The only real difference is the intended audience and the type of information you are sharing. It’s fairly easy to find examples online.” While often links to example genres were posted, like the above example, most of the advice also directed the query poster to research the audience and purpose of the genre in question. 527

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Four questions asked specifically about how to write aspects of style guides. Often only links to genre examples were posted or the responder just gave specific advice. However, half of the time this specific advice was tempered with audience-directed advice or questions. For instance, one writer wrote, “The word ‘meta search,’ is it a technical term? Can this be used in [a] user manual?” The responder gave specific advice to this question, although defining the target audience was still an important aspect of the advice: “If you’re writing for technical users, then documenting such things is important. You can always give a note or tip to define ‘meta-search’ in [the] user manual. . . . Does [the] QA team review your content or other departments as well[?] It will be better to follow a collaborative approach when designing documents.” Nine questions were aimed at asking how to document certain work practices. While many of these questions often did not receive any responses, one response guided the writer to learn more about the writing situation: what specifically was being documented and why. For instance, in response to a question about documenting customer induced delays, the responder suggested that the poster of the original query needed to find out more about how his or her company documented delays, directing the poster of the query to research more about his or her rhetorical situation instead of giving specific advice. However, three more specific questions received specific responses. For example, for a question on how to hyperlink within a document, the writer was told to hyperlink often and not to use a tree model. Seven questions were aimed at asking specific lower order writing concerns aimed at grammar, usage, or spelling such as article usage or whether to use an em-dash or an en-dash. These questions were answered usually with a specific response while often also providing a link to a grammar reference site. However, even here, the advice given was often to further research audience needs and practices. For instance, the advice given for the article usage question was that there was no set rule but to look at the client’s style guide. Questions asking for direct feedback on written drafts as we traditionally conceive of feedback on writing usually received little response. There was one question that asked for feedback for a specific piece of writing that the writer had attached. This writer received no responses. There was one question about outsourcing a technical writing job to another technical writer. Someone posted a link to an outsourcing website in response. Finally, there was a technical writing student who wanted to “outsource” a college paper, or, in other words, as he or she wanted a technical writing professional to write the paper for him or her, plagiarize. No one responded to this post.

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DISCUSSION On the forum, writing feedback as we traditionally conceive of it as offering writing feedback on drafts was not given. The lack of writing feedback as we traditionally conceive of it on the forum means that writing feedback consisted mostly of directly answering questions about technical writing. Nevertheless, in offering direct responses to writing queries, the technical writers on this forum were articulating the values within their discourse community of the technical writing profession. Just like on the Buffy the Vampire Slayer fan fiction site Parrish (2007) analyzed, writers of the Technical Writing World community gave specific advice answering specific questions such as which software to use or how to hyperlink; however, the value in their advice lay most in the underlying set of values they articulated within their advice: to research the set of work practices within the technical writer’s specific company and the types of genres and style guides they use to address these practices. In other words, along with 528

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posting links to sample genres online, many of the technical writers who posted queries were directed to research the social practices and problems in their companies that informed the genres of their work place (Miller, 1984). Writing was also seen as a negotiated collaboration among multiple participants (Wenger, 1998). For instance, the collaborative nature of writing was evident when a responder suggested that the original poster collaborate with his or her Q&A team. The inherent writing values within Technical Writing World were informed by an awareness of audience and purpose as much of the advice centered on asking questions that prompted the original poster to further research the audience needs and purposes within his or her company and research example genres. These values seem to align with rhetorical genre theory since posters were asked to research the rhetorical situation, or the social purposes that informed the professional genres they were struggling to write (Bawarshi & Reiff, 2010; Devitt, 2004). While forum participants also gave specific feedback to specific questions that was contingent to each question, the underlying values of researching the rhetorical situation was evident throughout all of the types of feedback that was given, no matter which type of question was asked. It was also evident that writing expertise and professionalism was valued on the forum. Posters were not supposed to do the work for other writers as was evident when a poster attached a paper and asked for revision but received only silence from the forum community. Furthermore, plagiarism was equally dismissed as a poster asking to “outsource” a paper for his technical writing course was also ignored. However, once a writer became a professional, outsourcing of other technical writing work seemed to be an allowable practice as the poster asking to outsource work for a client did receive a link to an outsourcing website.

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SOLUTIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS By showing the pedagogical functions of an online writing group, my study illustrates three pedagogical approaches that could be used within a writing MOOC. First, writing students within a MOOC could also ask writing questions of the technical writing community on Technical Writing World and other writing sites, getting direct writing feedback from writing professionals on specific writing concerns. While students might disrupt the delicate social ecology of the site or might overload and crash the site, if students were given a large list of writing sites to pick from and only asked a small number of questions with a focus aligned with the purposes of the site, these problems could be alleviated. Secondly, students could also conduct their own qualitative studies of online writing communities such as Technical Writing World. By studying the site and examining the types of questions that were asked and the feedback that was given, students could articulate the writing practices on the site and reflect on the values that inform these practices. Thirdly, the writing MOOC could be designed as an online community of practice so that students could educate each other in much the same way as online writing groups do. Because communities of practice only function when a group has shared goals and purposes, students could advertise what their goals are for participating in the MOOC and join with other MOOC participants who shared their goals, forming smaller, more tight-knit communities within the much larger MOOC community. While these smaller communities of practice would still need a critical mass of participants with expertise in achieving their shared writing goals, which may not be possible with smaller groups, these smaller groups could still give each other writing feedback and support.

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By asking direct questions about specific writing issues within an online technical writing community such as Technical Writing World, technical writing students could get direct feedback from expert professionals in their field of study on specific writing issues, which might not otherwise be possible in a MOOC as teachers cannot logistically give feedback to the writing or writing questions of each individual student. However, the writing goals of the students also have to align with the writing goals of the professionals. Both the writing MOOC and the online professional community are activity systems with their own social purposes and needs, complete with specific genres constructed to fulfill those needs. An activity system consists of all the activities that specific communities participate in to complete the community’s goals. Discursively, activity systems consist of all genres needed in order to complete the community’s goals, or, in other words, genre systems which consist of typified and stabilized for now genre conventions that enact the community’s goals and purposes (Schryer, 1993). Without shared goals and purposes, however, the activity system would break down (Russell & Yanez, 2002). The purposes of a writing MOOC as an activity system are teaching and learning while Technical Writing World as an activity system is designed to help technical writing professionals with specific professional and writing needs. While teaching and learning are certainly goals of the site and its forum, teaching and learning are secondary to addressing the direct, professional needs of the group. While the two activity systems could work harmoniously around these shared goals of teaching and learning, particularly if students asked questions about writing in specific technical writing genres or questions related directly to other professional activities, the two activity systems might also be at odds because their goals are not exactly the same, leading to breakdowns between the two groups, or what David Russell and Arturo Yanez have termed a double bind, particularly if students post questions related only to the learning culture of their class. For instance, on Technical Writing World, a technical writer posted a survey asking participants to define digital literacy and explain how they had acquired these digital literacies in their profession. From an educational perspective, this is an important question that asks students to understand what digital literacy is and how it is acquired in multiple contexts. However, it received no replies because its purely educationally theoretical purpose was at odds with the specific, pragmatic professional purposes of the site. Another problem with students directly posting questions within an online writing community is that an entire MOOC with thousands of participants could probably not all converge on a website at once without possibly crashing it. And many online writing groups have delicate social cultures which might be destroyed with thousands of students converging on them who may not have the same purposes as the writing group. However, if students were given a large list of different online writing groups and were instructed to only post a limited amount throughout the term and only if they had writing questions that aligned with the purposes of the site, these social and technical problems might be ameliorated. Students could also conduct qualitative studies similar to my own, observing how technical writers offer feedback by reading posts and reflecting on the writing values within this feedback. To help scaffold student analysis on the writing values of the site, students could be given a set of questions to answer for themselves after they have observed the practices on the site for several weeks. In this way, through answering reflective questions about what they learned through observation about the writing community of practice they observed, MOOC technical writing students can become aware of what they are learning about writing and how they are learning it (Yancey, Robertson, & Taczak, 2014). Some reflective questions could be: •

What writing questions were asked on the site?

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• • • • • •

Why were these questions asked? What are the values that inform these questions? What types of feedback was given on the site? Why was this feedback given? What were the writing values that inform this feedback? How do technical writers teach each other about writing? Why do you think technical writers teach each other about writing in these ways?

Through this reflection, students could also become more aware of how they learn how to write in different writing situations. For instance, reflecting on the fact that many questions on the site were answered with more questions, specifically a series of questions about audience and purpose, could prompt students to realize that asking questions such as these could also help them figure out how to write more effectively in other writing situations that are new for them as well. Students reflecting on the writing values inherent within one writing situation so that they can implement them in another contributes to transfer, specifically high road transfer. In high road transfer, students abstract the values inherent within one learning situation, usually through reflection, so that they can successfully use them in another (Perkins & Salomon, 1989). The abstraction involved in high road transfer is probably the only type of transfer available in writing instruction as writing situations and the genres that respond to those situations can vary so drastically. As a result, it is the ability to figure out both the audience and the social purposes inherent within the genres of a particular writing situation that students need to learn so that they can more effectively write within the genres of that particular writing situation (Bawarshi & Reiff, 2010; Devitt, 2004). Finally, the MOOC itself could function more like a community of practice as the MOOC could be set up in such a way that students are encouraged to teach each other. To a certain degree, some writing MOOCs already function in this way. For instance, Halasek et al (2014) wrote that their MOOC largely worked like a community of practice with participants answering other’s questions, managing some of the administrative aspects of the MOOC, and even making content for the MOOC:

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The participants solved one another’s problems and answered one another’s questions with an alacrity and care at which we marveled. The crowd began to manage many of [the MOOC] tasks for us. Participants, for instance, took on the task of introducing themselves to each other and identifying who they were, what they did for a living, and where they were located geographically. One participant created a Google map for individuals who wanted to place a pin on their home country. Participants were also incredibly kind, helping each other and answering questions of writers who seemed lost. (p. 160) With the thousands of writers within a MOOC discourse community, there inevitably is a mass of experts in a specific area who can help other students who are struggling and vice versa. While students still might feel lost within the discussion groups comprised of thousands of students as Kauza (2014) did, some of the massiveness could also be mitigated with better design. For instance, Laura Gibbs (2014) outlined several discussion filter options that would help customize discussions to better fit an individual student’s interests or needs. The filters would work similarly to Twitter or Facebook such as sorting features that allowed students to filter posts by reply or by specific students. She also recommended a hashtag feature similar to Twitter that could be sorted by the hashtag so that students could alert other students to topics they found on other websites which the other students might be interested in.

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However, for a discourse community to function well, participants need to share the same goals. MOOC students, though, tend to be diverse with a non-traditional age range from high school students to retired professionals and are often international (Comer, 2014; Decker, 2014), and, consequently, have a multitude of reasons and purposes for enrolling in the MOOC. However, if MOOC participants had a way of forming smaller groups, they could join groups that aligned with their individual educational and writing goals. They could form groups in much the same way that players form guilds, or smaller groups of players, in massively multiplayer online (MMO) games. MMO games have millions of players. Some of the massiveness is mitigated by multiple servers – each server plays a version of the game that hosts only a few thousand players. However, MMO participants are also able to play productively and even find a sense of community because they form smaller guilds that band together because they have the same goals in the game and often have similar values informing their play. Often guilds advertise to attract more players on websites outside of the game, using their guild website to also promote their values and goals. In this way, MOOC writing students could also form their own smaller writing guilds, groups that share the same educational and writing goals and values. For instance, Elizabeth Woodworth (2014) formed a smaller writing group like this within Facebook before the MOOC she participated in even started. Throughout the MOOC, this group was able to peer review each other’s writing but was also able to give advice and support to each other throughout the course. These individual writing groups could also advertise, posting links to websites that advertised their writing group and their group’s purposes and values, within a discussion forum in the MOOC designed for this purpose. Students would then have an array of writing groups to choose from and could pick a group that more closely aligned with their individual educational writing goals. Gibbs (2014) listed some technological tools that need to be implemented within MOOCs so that smaller groups can more effectively function. For instance, she recommended a friending system similar to Facebook, a filter system that could filter by group once groups were formed, and team tools that would enable groups to post assignments together and more easily give writing feedback to each other. In this way, these writing groups could also function as their own communities of practice.

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FUTURE RESEARCH DIRECTIONS Future research should implement the MOOC pedagogy outlined above to study how students interact within online communities external to the MOOC and how this impacts their learning and writing. For instance, after conducting an ethnography of an online writing community, do students become more self-aware writers who are more reflective of their own writing practices and choices? Furthermore, more research could be conducted on exploring if this pedagogy helps students with meta-cognition and transfer. Do students become more aware of the rhetorical situations within new writing contexts and does this rhetorical awareness help them make more effective rhetorical choices within this new context?

CONCLUSION Because writing MOOCs can potentially radically decenter both student and teacher authority in the classroom, writing teachers should continue to study writing MOOCs, exploring pedagogical practices that embrace this radical decentering in ways that empower students to take more agency over their learn532

Research Anthology on Facilitating New Educational Practices Through Communities of Learning, edited by Association, Information Resources Management, IGI Global, 2020. ProQuest

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ing and writing. Leveraging the ways that online writing communities already teach each other writing practices and values is one pedagogical practice that writing MOOCs could use to empower students to become more active agents of their learning and writing.

REFERENCES Bawarshi, A., & Reiff, M. J. (2010). Genre: An introduction to history, theory, research, and pedagogy. West Lafayette, IN: Parlor Press. Beaufort, A. (2007). College writing and beyond: A new framework for university writing instruction. Logan, UT: Utah State University Press. Bizzell, P. (1992). Academic discourse and critical consciousness. Pittsburgh, PA: University of Pittsburgh Press. Brobeck, K. L. (2004). Under the waterfall: A fanfiction community’s analysis of their self-representation and peer review. Refractory. Retrieved from http://www.refractory.unimelb.edu.au/journalissues/vol5/ brobeck.html Bruffee, K. (1984). Collaborative learning and the “conversation of mankind.”. College English, 46(7), 635–652. doi:10.2307/376924 Comer, D. (2014). Learning how to teach . . . differently: Extracts from a MOOC instructor’s journal. In S. Krause & C. Lowe (Eds.), Invasion of the MOOCs: The promise and perils of massive open online courses (pp. 130–149). Anderson, SC: Parlor Press. Comer, D., & White, E. (2016). Adventuring into MOOC writing assessment: Challenges, results, and possibilities. College Composition and Communication, 67(3), 318–359. Decker, G. (2014). MOOCology 1.0. In S. Krause & C. Lowe (Eds.), Invasion of the MOOCs: The promise and perils of massive open online courses (pp. 3–13). Anderson, SC: Parlor Press. Devitt, A. (2004). Writing genres. Carbondale, IL: Southern Illinois Press. Faigley, L. (1992). Fragments of rationality: Postmodernity and the subject of composition. Pittsburgh, PA: University of Pittsburgh Press.

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Fleckenstein, K. (2005). Faceless students, virtual places: Emergence and communal accountability in online classrooms. Computers and Composition, 22(2), 149–176. doi:10.1016/j.compcom.2005.02.003 Freire, P. (1970). Pedagogy of the oppressed. New York: Continuum Publishing. Gibbs, L. (2014). Coursera: Fifty ways to fix the software (with apologies to Paul Simon). In S. Krause & C. Lowe (Eds.), Invasion of the MOOCs: The promise and perils of massive open online courses (pp. 56–67). Anderson, SC: Parlor Press. Halasek, K., & ... . (2014). A MOOC with a view: How MOOCs encourage us to reexamine pedagogical doxa. In S. Krause & C. Lowe (Eds.), Invasion of the MOOCs: The promise and perils of massive open online courses (pp. 156–166). Anderson, SC: Parlor Press.

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Hart-Davidson, B. (2014). Learning many-to-many: The best case for writing in digital environments. In S. Krause & C. Lowe (Eds.), Invasion of the MOOCs: The promise and perils of massive open online courses (pp. 212–222). Anderson, SC: Parlor Press. Head, K. (2014). The hidden costs of MOOCs. In S. Krause & C. Lowe (Eds.), Invasion of the MOOCs: The promise and perils of massive open online courses (pp. 45–55). Anderson, SC: Parlor Press. Kauza, J. (2014). More questions than answers: Scratching at the surface of MOOCs in higher education. In S. Krause & C. Lowe (Eds.), Invasion of the MOOCs: The promise and perils of massive open online courses (pp. 105–113). Anderson, SC: Parlor Press. Levine, A. (2014). A MOOC or not a MOOC: ds106 questions the form. In S. Krause & C. Lowe (Eds.), Invasion of the MOOCs: The promise and perils of massive open online courses (pp. 29–38). Anderson, SC: Parlor Press. Miller, C. (1984). Genre as social action. The Quarterly Journal of Speech, 70(2), 151–167. doi:10.1080/00335638409383686 Nanfito, M. (2013). MOOCs: Opportunities, impacts, and challenges. Create Space Independent Publishing Platform. Parrish, J. (2007). Inventing a Universe: Reading and writing internet fan fiction. Retrieved from DScholarship: Institutional Repository at the University of Pittsburgh. Perkins, D., & Salomon, G. (1989). Rocky roads to transfer: Rethinking mechanisms of a neglected phenomenon. Educational Psychologist, 24(2), 113–142. doi:10.120715326985ep2402_1 Rorty, R. (1979). Philosophy and the mirror of nature. Princeton, NJ: Princeton UP. Russell, D., & Yanez, A. (2002). “Big picture people rarely become historians”: Genre systems and the contradictions of general education. In C. Bazerman & D. Russell (Eds.), Writing selves/writing societies: Research from activity perspectives. Fort Collins, CO: WAC Clearinghouse and Mind, Culture and Activity. Schryer, C. F. (1993). Records as genre. Written Communication, 10(2), 200–234. doi:10.1177/0741088393010002003 Swales, J. (1990). Genre analysis: English in academic and research settings. Boston, MA: Cambridge UP.

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Thomas, A. (2006). Fan fiction online: Engagement, critical response and affective play through writing. Australian Journal of Learning and Literacy, 29(3), 226–239. Wenger, E. (1998). Communities of practice: Learning, meaning, and identity. New York: Cambridge University Press. doi:10.1017/CBO9780511803932 Woodworth, E. (2014). “I open at the close”: A post-MOOC meta-happening reflection and what I’m going to do about that. In S. Krause & C. Lowe (Eds.), Invasion of the MOOCs: The promise and perils of massive open online courses (pp. 180–192). Anderson, SC: Parlor Press. Yancey, K. B., Robertson, L., & Taczak, K. (2014). Writing across contexts: Transfer, composition, and sites of writing. Logan, UT: Utah State University Press.

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KEY TERMS AND DEFINITIONS Activity System: An activity system consists of all the activities that specific communities participate in to complete the community’s goals. Discursively, activity systems consist of all genres needed in order to complete the community’s goals, or, in other words, genre systems which consist of typified and stabilized for now genre conventions that enact the community’s goals and purposes (Schryer, 1993). Without shared goals and purposes, however, the activity system would break down (Russell & Yanez, 2002). Community of Practice: A community engaged in a shared pursuit who have largely the same goals and purposes. The way community members enact their participation within the activities are continually negotiated and redefined as a group (Wenger, 1998). Discourse Community: A way of conceptualizing the audience within a rhetorical situation as belonging to a community. This community is defined as having a shared purpose, a critical mass of experts, a physical means of communicating with each other, and a commonly shared and largely agreed upon vocabulary for communicating with each other (Bizzell, 1992; Swales, 1990). Massively Multiplayer Online (MMO) Game: An online game hosting thousands who synchronously play together. Online Discussion Forum: An online discussion; each discussion usually consists of an original post, usually a question but sometimes a provocative statement, which other participants than answer or respond to in subsequent posts. Rhetorical Genre Theory: A type of genre theory concerned with studying genre conventions as a range of typified responses to a rhetorical situation that in turn create social action. As a type of rhetorical action, genre conventions can also be critically interrogated, resisted, and recreated according to the needs of the rhetorical situation (Bawarshi & Reiff, 2010; Devitt, 2004; Miller, 1984). Rhetorical Situation: The context for a text; the context is made up of the audience, the social purposes, the writer, the time, and the place of a text, which all construct the need or exigence for the text (Bawarshi & Reiff, 2010). Transfer: The ability to use prior learning from one situation effectively in another situation (Perkins & Salamon, 1989; Yancey, Robertson, & Taczak, 2014).

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This work was previously published in the Handbook of Research on Writing and Composing in the Age of MOOCs; pages 317-330, copyright year 2017 by Information Science Reference (an imprint of IGI Global).

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Chapter 28

Peer Review in Online Professional Communities to Support Elementary Disciplinary Literacy Planning Jamie Colwell Old Dominion University, USA Valerie Taylor Old Dominion University, USA

ABSTRACT This chapter reports the results of a qualitative case study focused on elementary pre-service teachers’ perspectives on planning for disciplinary literacy using peer review in an online professional community (OPC). Seven pre-service teachers enrolled in an eight-week asynchronous, online content literacy course served as participants. Results indicated pre-service teachers’ valued extended opportunities for refection in the OPC and appreciated diverse backgrounds and experiences ofered by their OPC colleagues. However, perceived challenges remained that are important to consider when incorporating peer review cycles into online asynchronous coursework. This study considers these perspectives in light of designing and planning online coursework in elementary disciplinary literacy.

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INTRODUCTION This chapter focuses on a fully online asynchronous course in a teacher education program and how preservice teachers (PSTs) perceived peer review of elementary disciplinary literacy lesson planning in an Online Professional Community (OPC) to support their planning. The course was required in a hybrid (both face-to-face and online) teacher certification program at large, public research university in the Mid-Atlantic region of the U.S. The focus of the course was to build elementary pre-service teachers’ awareness, understanding, and experience with planning for disciplinary literacy in multiple K-5 content DOI: 10.4018/978-1-7998-7294-8.ch028

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 Peer Review in Online Professional Communities to Support Elementary Disciplinary Literacy Planning

areas. Thus, the culminating assessment for the course were the completion of four lesson cycles for planning disciplinary literacy instruction in K-5 classrooms.

GOAL STATEMENT

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Goal: To support pre-service teachers in planning for elementary disciplinary literacy through peer review in online professional communities. (ILA 2.1) The use of evidence-based practices (EBP) can have a strong impact on both teachers and students (Maheady, Smith, & Jabot, 2013). Educators who implement these practices with fidelity feel that they are using interventions grounded in research to support student learning and achievement (Scheeler, Budin, & Markelz, 2016). Pre-service teachers should be introduced to these practices as students so they are familiar with the techniques before they enter the classroom. Indeed, the International Literacy Association’s Standards for the Preparation of Literacy Professionals (2018) mandate that teacher candidates “use foundational knowledge to design, select, critique, adapt, and evaluate evidence-based literacy curricula that meet the needs of all learners.” For example, as is the focus of this study, pre-service teachers who are taught to utilize instructional tools and engage in evidence-based practices, such as peer review, to plan disciplinary literacy lessons may be better prepared to teach. Digital spaces, specifically online professional communities (OPCs), can be used for collaboration and planning of disciplinary literacy lessons and units with pre-service teachers, and peer review may seamlessly fit into these communities due to their peer-centric structure. Educational OPCs are formed when teachers come together either formally or informally in an online space for the purpose of professional learning (Duncan-Howell, 2010). Members of OPCs are encouraged to be both contributors and observers / learners stimulated to engage in joint construction of knowledge, conversation, and review (Lock, 2006). Extending resources and networks of learning and support may increase collaboration and enthusiasm about a topic or lesson while allowing new teachers to step away from the traditional methods in which they may have been previously exposed (Beach, 2012). OPCs are often focused on inquiry and learning, and these online communities may support participants in working together to create inquiry-based lessons (Hobbs & Corio, 2016), a feature of disciplinary literacy, by incorporating the ability to share URLs and post websites for collaborative planning and instructional feedback (McConnell, Parker, Eberhardt, Koehler, & Lundeberg, 2012). This research study examines connections between peer review supported in OPCs and ILA Standard 2.1 by considering the role that peer review through online professional communities played in supporting pre-service teachers’ planning and design for elementary disciplinary literacy.

REVIEW OF LITERATURE Elementary Disciplinary Literacy Disciplinary literacy continues to be a topic of increasing importance in literacy education (Moje 2015), and its principles have begun to extend into elementary grades (Shanahan & Shanahan, 2014). Put broadly, disciplinary literacy consists of the practices and skills required to comprehend and actively participate in the study of a discipline, such as math, science, or history, similarly to that of an expert, such 537

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 Peer Review in Online Professional Communities to Support Elementary Disciplinary Literacy Planning

as a mathematician, scientist, or historian (Moje, 2008; Shanahan & Shanahan, 2008; 2014). Although more focus has been given to disciplinary literacy in middle and upper grades, attention is increasing at the elementary grade levels (Brock, Goatley, Raphael, Trost-Shahata, & Weber, 2014; Shanahan & Shanahan, 2014). Indeed, more researchers, teachers, and teacher educators have begun to consider how literacy takes on different meanings when considered in particular elementary content areas (Cappello & Lafferty, 2015; Håland, 2016; Juel, Hebard, Haubner, & Moran, 2010; Wright & Gotwals, 2017). Elementary-level planning typically involves consideration of multiple content areas as teachers move fluidly from one content area to the next in a day’s instruction and are responsible for educating students with varying reading abilities in a variety of content areas (Brock et al., 2014). Thus, when preparing pre-service teachers for a literacy perspective, such as disciplinary literacy, teacher educators must provide ample support in the practice of planning, particularly in grade levels where disciplinary literacy is just emerging as a concentration. In an asynchronous online context, OPCs may be one such structure of support where students can interact in an online setting to plan, discuss, and revise lessons focused on elementary disciplinary literacy.

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Online Professional Communities and Peer Review Online professional communities (OPCs) have become spaces for teachers and pre-service teachers to collaborate, share ideas and provide useful critique regarding instructional practices (Darling-Hammond & Richardson, 2009). OPCs not only provide platforms for conversation and sharing of ideas, but also as a place for members to evaluate and improve their own work and that of others seeking feedback (Moore & Teather, 2013). Accordingly, the OPCs in this study were focused on peer review to help PSTs connect, critique, and work to improve instructional planning in disciplinary literacy. OPCs are most common in in-service teacher professional development, but research suggests the potential for incorporating these communities in pre-service teacher education (Colwell & Hutchison, 2018; Bond, 2013; Wright, 2010). Wray (2007) explains that, at their core, OPCs are, “teacher learning communities…generally seen as organized opportunities for a group of teacher learners to engage in the understanding, development, and reflection on the practice of teaching and learning” (p. 1141). This conception of OPCs aligned with the goal to support pre-service teachers in planning for disciplinary literacy in elementary grades through peer review in an online course environment. Additionally, research indicates that asynchronous feedback in online environments is a promising tool in peer review (Honeycutt, 2001; Strasma, 2009) and a beneficial learning strategy in preservice teacher education (Boud, Cohen, & Sampson, 2001). Thus, the researchers considered the potential of an OPC to structure this process and provide a space for “understanding, development, and reflection” on teaching practices in elementary disciplinary literacy. OPCs provide a digital space where teachers can collectively generate knowledge and share ideas, creating early experiences with professional development and continuous learning (Bond, 2013; Wright, 2010), an important component of peer review in professional development. Membership in an OPC offers teachers a collaborative forum to discuss the success of a lesson or change in pedagogy in addition to researching and planning disciplinary literacy lessons (Duncan-Howell, 2010). Similarly, active participation in collaborative groups, such as OPCs, allows teachers to find new and creative instructional methods that may not have emerged without the active participation of other individuals (Hobbs & Corio, 2016). This collaboration enriches the learning process and mimic strategies that are easily transferred into the classroom (Willis & Cifuentes, 2005). Such experience is enhanced through participation and reflection (Wray, 2007). Sim (2006) suggests that communities of practice, such as 538

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 Peer Review in Online Professional Communities to Support Elementary Disciplinary Literacy Planning

OPC, allow members to negotiate meaning and make connections through social practice, making it a collaborative community of learning. This community of learning was considered important to the course in which this study was conducted as pre-service teachers were learning about disciplinary literacy and methods for its integration for the first time and they needed to be supported in planning for this type of literacy instruction. Further, it is important to examine how pre-service teachers perceive planning for elementary disciplinary literacy, as teacher perceptions are critical to future adoption of literacy methods (Anders, Hoffman, & Duffy, 2000; Richardson, 1996). Although literature has begun to emerge in this area (see Gritter, 2010; Park, 2013; Pytash, 2011), particularly in how online social spaces of learning may affect PSTs’ perceptions of disciplinary literacy (Colwell, 2012; 2016; Colwell & Hutchison, 2018), additional study is required to consider these tools in the context of an online teacher education course with specific focus on PSTs’ peer review within an OPC.

METHODS The study was organized as a case study (Yin, 2018) to examine the experiences of pre-service teachers who participated in the OPCs. The following research question aligned with the goal presented previously and was used to guide data collection and analysis: •

How do pre-service teachers perceive peer review in online professional communities to support their planning for elementary disciplinary literacy?

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Participants Seven female pre-service teachers, enrolled in a graduate-level content area literacy course, that had a particular focus on disciplinary literacy, volunteered to participate and comprised the single-case study (Yin, 2018). All participants were working toward initial certification in elementary education. Students were either in their fifth year of a 4 + 1 Bachelors program or in their final year of their Master’s program for initial certification. The course was a required university course for certification. It did not have a field experience or practicum associated with it. However, all participants had completed field experiences prior to this course and were taking at least one other program course that supported a field experience. Four of the seven participants worked as substitute teachers in local elementary schools. Table 1 provides an overview of the participants (all names are pseudonyms) and delineates their OPC groups. The content area literacy course was a 14-week online asynchronous course taught by the first author. The course was module-based, with each week focusing on a different learning module that students could work through at their own pace, provided they submitted discussion and reflection assignments by weekly deadlines. Each module focused on topics in foundations of disciplinary literacy (e.g., academic vocabulary, writing, assessment). All modules were released at the outset of the course, so students could work at their own pace, based on their individual schedules. For most pre-service teachers, the course presented largely new approaches and procedures in elementary literacy instruction. Disciplinary literacy was a new term and focus for these pre-service teachers, and much preparation was necessary at the outset of the course to ground their understandings of literacy particular to each content area that aligned with elementary literacy instruction (Juel, et 539

Research Anthology on Facilitating New Educational Practices Through Communities of Learning, edited by Association, Information Resources Management, IGI Global, 2020. ProQuest

 Peer Review in Online Professional Communities to Support Elementary Disciplinary Literacy Planning

Table 1. Participant Overview Participants & OPC OPC 1

OPC 2

Program

Field Experience

Janene

Masters

Program field experience/Substitute teaching

Anna

4+1

Program field experience

Leah

4+1

Program field experience

Stella

Masters

Program field experience/Substitute teaching

Kirsten

Masters

Program field experience/Substitute teaching

Ellie

Masters

Program field experience

Alyece

Masters

Program field experience/Substitute teaching

al., 2010; Shanahan & Shanahan, 2014). These understandings were assessed through comprehensive planning for literacy in three different disciplines, self-selected by each pre-service teacher. Planning was structured using author-developed lesson cycle templates that promoted in-depth reflection during a six-phase planning process. Once completed, pre-service teachers engaged in peer review of planning in online professional communities (OPCs) to support, provide feedback, and extend thinking about elementary disciplinary literacy instruction.

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Context: Lesson Cycles and Peer Review At the beginning of the course, PSTs were provided instruction and a practice peer review task in the second course module, prior to completing their first formal peer review with the OPC. Instruction in peer review consisted of two screencasts that PSTs viewed before practicing. The first screencast was of the instructor explaining peer review specific to the peer review rubric (see Table 2). The second screencast presented the instructor modeling peer review, using the peer review rubric, of a blinded completed lesson cycle from a previous semester’s class. PSTs were then provided with another completed lesson cycle to review using the peer review rubric. These reviews were submitted to the instructor for feedback. Participants were required to complete four lesson cycles throughout the semester to structure their planning for elementary disciplinary literacy. The lesson cycles required pre-service teachers to select a disciplinary topic to plan in a six-phase cycle. Table 5 in the Appendix provides the template for the planning cycles used in the present course. The lesson cycle also required pre-service teachers to actively reflect on how they used, or did not use, their peer’s feedback in the OPC. To form OPCs for peer review, the researchers created small groups (three to four pre-service teachers per group) on Blackboard, the online platform used by the university in which this study took place, for pre-service teachers to share each of the four drafts of their completed lesson cycles prior to submitting them to the instructor. Blackboard offered grouping features that allowed purposeful selection and placement of pre-service teachers in small groups that were easy to navigate, and each OPC small group was a private space. The pre-service teachers were provided a peer review rubric, requiring an “unacceptable,” proficient,” or “exemplary” rating with corresponding open-ended comments, to complete for each of the members in their OPC. The peer review rubric aligned with the final lesson cycle rubric the instructor used to grade each lesson cycle (see Table 2 for peer review rubric and Table 3 for the final lesson cycle rubric).

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Table 2. Peer Review Lesson Cycle Rubric Indicator

Ratings: (Highlight the appropriate rating.)

Develop essential questions that frame and guide instruction to promote discovery and inquiry through an open-ended question.

Unacceptable: The essential question is not open-ended and does not guide frame instruction to promote discovery or inquiry. Proficient: The essential question is open-ended and guides instruction. Exemplary: The essential question is open-ended to guide instruction by having students engage in discovery-based or inquiry-based learning.

Develop goals for understandings that focus on what knowledge and skills students should master and be able to do.

Unacceptable: Understandings do not focus on big ideas and important information in disciplinary learning that align with state standards. Proficient: Understandings somewhat focus on big ideas and important information in disciplinary learning that align with state standards. Exemplary: Understandings focus on big ideas and important information in disciplinary learning that align with state standards.

Apply performance tasks as assessments to ensure students are making progress toward learning goals and understandings.

Unacceptable: Tasks described are not performance tasks. Proficient: Tasks described are performance tasks that somewhat ensure students are making progress toward learning goals and understandings. Exemplary: Tasks described are performance tasks that ensure students are making progress toward learning goals and understandings.

Performance tasks provide opportunities for students to apply subject matter by: -analyzing/making inferences -interpreting & evaluating or -synthesizing/ transferring application of content to new situations.

Unacceptable: The candidate does not provide opportunities for student to apply subject matter through performance tasks. Proficient: The candidate provides an opportunity for students to apply subject matter through performance tasks. Exemplary: The candidate provides multiple or differentiated opportunities for students to apply subject matter through performance tasks.

Apply content area literacy strategies before reading to activate prior knowledge and/or set purpose for learning, during learning, and in reflecting on learning.

Unacceptable: The candidate does not apply content area literacy strategies. Proficient: The candidate identifies and applies at least two content area literacy strategy that supports student understanding. Exemplary: The candidate identifies and applies several content area literacy strategies that supports student understanding.

Comments to Peer:

As each small group consisted of three to four members, each pre-service teacher received two or three completed peer review rubrics from their group members to consider for each of the lesson cycles they submitted. Figure 1 in the Appendix provides a sample completed peer review rubric for illustration. A peer review schedule was provided to structure specific dates that each lesson cycle draft should be submitted, when feedback should be provided to each group members, and when responses to group members’ feedback should be provided, as these OPCs were asynchronous to align with the course format. The small groups also had a discussion board feature where pre-service teachers could post general comments, questions, or suggestions for one another to consider and were required to do so per course and project guidelines. The OPCs were both structured to ensure active participation among all group members, and open-ended as discussion could take place at any time via the discussion board. To engage in peer feedback, pre-service teachers completed a draft lesson cycle one week prior to final lesson cycle submissions, and posted it in their OPC. Students were randomly placed, by Blackboard, into their OPC. Each member of the OPC was responsible for reviewing and responding to, using the peer review rubric, each group member’s draft cycle. Thus, each group member had to post one draft of their lesson cycle and then provide a completed peer review, using the template, to each of the other group members. Pre-service teachers were encouraged to follow up with OPC peers if they needed clarification or wanted additional support in their peer feedback. Note that peer review was included in the final

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lesson cycle rubric to encourage thoughtful and extensive feedback. Feedback was evaluated on how effectively pre-service teachers supported their rubric ratings with comments justifying their rating. We provide Table 4 as a sample timeline for the complete peer review/lesson cycle process. We emphasize that this course was most students’ first experience with planning for elementary disciplinary literacy. Thus, the content advice they offered to one another in the OPC, particularly for the first two lesson cycles while they were engaged in content learning for the course, was not always appropriate. However, this consideration was planned for when developing the lesson cycle project, and instructor also provided feedback to pre-service teachers in the OPC, based on their peer reviews. The purpose of this feedback was two-fold and: (a) provided opportunities for instructor to model how to mitigate conflicting feedback from multiple peers; and (b) served to correct or better expand on feedback that might conflict with disciplinary literacy planning. Table 3. Final Lesson Cycle Rubric

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Indicator

Developing

Proficient

Exemplary

Develop essential questions that frame and guide instruction to promote discovery and inquiry through an open-ended question.

The essential question is open-ended and guides instruction, but does not engage students in discoverybased or inquiry-based learning.

The essential question is openended and guides instruction, and somewhat engage students in discovery-based or inquirybased learning.

The essential question is open-ended and guides instruction by having students engage in discovery-based or inquirybased learning.

Identify appropriate disciplinary practices that define and support literacy in the targeted discipline.

Disciplinary practices are not defined, cited, nor do they support literacy in the targeted discipline.

Disciplinary practices are defined and cited, but they do not support, or only minimally support, literacy in the targeted discipline.

Disciplinary practices are defined and cited, and they support literacy in the targeted discipline.

Develop goals for understandings that focus on what knowledge and skills students should master and be able to do.

Understandings have limited focus on big ideas and important information in disciplinary learning that align with state standards.

Understandings somewhat focus on big ideas and important information in disciplinary learning that align with state standards.

Understandings focus on big ideas and important information in disciplinary learning that align with state standards.

Apply performance tasks as assessments to ensure students are making progress toward learning goals and understandings through application of disciplinary matter.

Performance tasks are described that do not ensure students are making progress toward learning goals and understandings through application of subject matter.

Performance tasks are described that somewhat ensure students are making progress toward learning goals and understandings through application of subject matter.

Performance tasks are described that ensure students are making progress toward learning goals and understandings through application of subject matter.

Apply content area literacy strategies before reading to activate prior knowledge and/ or set purpose for learning, during learning, and in reflecting on inquiry-based learning in the targeted discipline.

The candidate does not apply content area literacy strategies.

The candidate identifies and applies at least two content area literacy strategy that supports student understanding.

The candidate identifies and applies several content area literacy strategies that supports student understanding.

Reflect on inquiry-based disciplinary literacy planning.

Reflections are incomplete and do not address the guidelines and prompts provided in the lesson cycle template.

All reflections are complete but only somewhat address the guidelines and prompts provided in the lesson cycle template.

All reflections are complete and fully address the guidelines and prompts provided in the lesson cycle template.

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 Peer Review in Online Professional Communities to Support Elementary Disciplinary Literacy Planning

Table 4. Peer Review/Lesson Cycle Timeline Date

Task

1/22-1/26

Peer review instruction and practice

1/29-2/22

Instructor provides feedback on peer review practice

2/12

Submit lesson cycle draft to OPC

2/15

Complete peer review of each group member’s lesson cycle draft

2/19

Submit final lesson cycle for grading

Data Sources & Analysis To understand pre-service teachers’ perceptions of peer review through OPCs, the researchers collected multiple types of data. First, primary data directly related to perceptions, specifically reflection data within lesson cycles, post-project written formal reflection, and post-project semi-structured phone interviews, were collected. Also, student artifacts associated with the four lesson cycles, including the lesson cycle drafts, peer review rubrics, and lesson cycles were collected as secondary data to triangulate perception-focused data. These data allowed the researchers to understand how participants’ perceptions aligned with their actual planning. Researchers analyzed perception-focused primary data using a constant comparative method (Glaser & Strauss, 1967), which consisted of a linear process of (a) open coding of data, (b) writing memos during coding to define relationships among codes, (c) creating concepts from collections of codes of similar content, and (d) defining categories of groups of similar concepts to determine similarities and differences in data. Concepts were then triangulated with secondary data to determine themes to understand how perceptions related to lesson planning for elementary disciplinary literacy. PSTs were provided transcripts of post-project phone interviews to member check for accuracy. No participants requested clarification or changes to be made to the transcripts.

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RESULTS Results of this study suggest that students enrolled in an asynchronous online course who participate in peer review through OPCs may benefit from the support and suggestions provided by their peers when refining disciplinary literacy lessons. Similarly, students may gain a better understanding of disciplinary literacy after participating in lesson cycles including peer review and reflection. Additionally, the use of OPCs for peer review may promote exposure to different experiences, ideas, and pedagogies leading to better understanding and planning for disciplinary literacy lessons.

Extended Reflection Although the lesson cycle template prompted a formal reflection of specific items multiple times during planning for disciplinary literacy, results indicated that participants were encouraged to extend reflection in both collaborative and independent ways beyond what was required while engaging in peer review in the OPC, and they valued both forms of this extended reflection. This reflection took place when

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participants were considering peer feedback as well as when they were reviewing peers’ lesson cycles, both in ways that were particular to the OPC. When considering peers’ feedback, participants noted the discussion-board focused elements of the OPC encouraged collaborative online conversations reflecting on principles of disciplinary literacy and how they might be integrated in elementary planning. Stella (this and all names are pseudonyms) explained: I appreciate and feel support with qualitative feedback, when people not only comment approve or disapprove [in the peer review rubric], but also when they go back through my lesson and pull examples out and say “you know this is why it could be stronger or this is why I think it is great because you did this” on the discussion board (Phone interview). These conversations were often critical and prompted participants to ask for clarification on topics, such as how essential questions drive disciplinary literacy and what authentic assessments might promote disciplinary literacy. Janene candidly explained, Oh, I liked that my classmates responded to me thoroughly in the rubric and on the discussion board. Even if it [sic] was negative comments, it helped me know that I needed to step my game up! And they gave me suggestions to on what I needed to improve on. It was very helpful having the peer review. It helped me to revise and reflect on my lesson plan and make it better (Phone interview). To illustrate, one of Janene’s OPC members, Anna, posted a peer review rubric for Janene to review and also added a thread that sparked a group discussion between Janene, Anna, and their third group member, Leah: Anna: I’ve attached your peer review, and I enjoyed reading what you planned! One thing I really noticed was that you worked hard on your essential questions, but I’m not sure that we really need four questions. I think just one or two would be stronger. Does anyone know if there’s a minimum? Leah: I don’t think there’s a minimum, but the module on essential questions talks about having fewer (like two max) questions that really encompass what you want students to focus on. Janene: Yeah, I wasn’t sure about that either. I always think more is better! Which do you think were stronger.

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Anna: One and three were the strongest. I’m not sure two and four were really essential questions because they focus on specific facts and not concepts of learning. Leah: I agree with Anna! I’m going to go back to look at mine to see if they’re fact-focused or conceptfocused. Thanks, Anna! This extended reflection through discussion was a positive feature of the OPCs for peer review and provided indirect opportunities for pre-service teachers to continue to reflect on both the completed peer review rubrics and discussion board conversations about planning.

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These clarifying discussion-board conversations supported participants’ independent reflection on whether or not their planning supported a disciplinary approach to literacy in elementary grades and if this approach was appropriate for their targeted grade level. Kirsten discussed this in her final written reflection: As the semester went on, I was willing to try more new methods in my lesson cycles and got excited by the idea of using them in a future classroom. I was still anxious as I would sit down to write my lesson cycles, but that that anxiousness was helped by the discussion board and getting feedback from my classmates on whether or not I was on the right track. As Kirsten indicated, the OPCs provided a tertiary space for reflection, outside of the lesson cycle template and final reflections, that promoted on-going consideration of planning for disciplinary literacy while pre-service teachers constructed lessons.

Appreciation of Critical Feedback through Multiple Perspectives

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Participants in this study noted that the particular benefit of working with classmates in an online space that supported critical peer feedback was particularly appealing. The online course promoted open and constructive critique during the peer review process and participants were graded on their feedback to one another. Participants indicated appreciation of this critique, and they valued their classmates’ different perspectives offered through the peer review process. Leah reflected, “No matter how well you think you have prepared a lesson, it can always be improved. My fellow teachers bring with them diverse backgrounds and experiences, all of which has value and was much appreciated” (Phone interview). Diversity in experiences was common in pre-service teachers’ perceived experiences in the OPC, and was always discussed as a highlight. Ellie noted that some of the pre-service teachers in her OPC were working as substitute teachers during the certification process, and the “various experiences brought to the peer review by students who had teaching experience was one of the most useful tools from the course” (Written reflection). Participants noted the challenge in regarding different perspectives in peer reviews, but they ultimately were able to read across reviews to make more informed decisions about revisions to their planning. Anna explained, Sometimes it was a challenge to get multiple reviews that seemed to say different things. However, I learned upon closer reading that often those were just different ways of saying the same thing and the different perspectives offered by my group members helped me to create the best final lesson that I could. I definitely had to incorporate some cross-reading strategies, which we actually learned about in this course, and that made even deeper connections for me to the class content. (Written reflection) Further, participants seemed to value that the OPC was a safe space to gain feedback from a variety of pre-service teachers with different backgrounds. Alyece reflected: I am honestly pretty shy I guess for a lack of a better word when it comes to letting other people read my lesson plans because I am my worse [sic] critic. But it was interesting to hear other people’s thoughts in a professional space where the goal was to improve each other’s work, and a lot of classmates with

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different experiences gave helpful advice on what they would use or what they thought I could include… to promote literacy within all subjects, not just language arts. (Phone interview) Also, participants’ planning for disciplinary literacy was bolstered when similar strengths were indicated across reviews. Kirsten particularly noted, “It was exciting toward the end of the semester to start getting similar peer reviews that appreciated the same components of the lesson I planned. That made me feel like I had really internalized all of the collective feedback I received while planning for disciplinary literacy” (Written reflection). Multiple perspectives seemed to somewhat alleviate concerns when participants were uncertain of their planning decisions, as Stella reflected, “I was sometimes uncertain if a strategy really fit with disciplinary literacy, but if the group was in agreement, I felt like I had made the right decision in my planning” (Written reflection). In short, if multiple peers indicated that a planning decision was positive, participants more confident in that decision. Yet, pre-service teachers still perceived challenges regarding peer review in the OPC, which are discussed in the following subsection.

Challenge of OPC Peer Review in Online Coursework Despite the perceived benefits of the peer review process, participants struggled with valuing peer review in the OPC as a critical part of the lesson planning process. Specifically, participants placed value in online learning as a flexible and “less-interactive” (Janene, Written reflection) space where they could quickly complete assignments to suit their personal schedules. The structure of the peer review process somewhat limited participants perceived flexibility in that multiple deadlines (i.e., submitting drafts, posting completed peer review rubrics, and replying to feedback) and waiting on peer feedback required them to revisit Blackboard multiple times a week. Stella explained, “The most challenging part [of the course] was waiting for reviews. So, you’re waiting to receive someone’s work and constantly checking that because you want to make sure that you give them timely feedback. I am sure on the other side they are waiting for my feedback” (Phone interview). Aligning with this challenge, there was consensus that the primary reason participants opted to take an online course was that they had jobs and families outside of school. Ellie explained in her phone interview:

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My experience [in the OPC] was good. But it is always difficult to get people to want to review your work because we are all so busy. So, no matter what, no matter how it is designed, I am afraid you are always going to have somebody who just wants to check that box off. I am just afraid that is how most people do it. I’m even speaking for myself. It isn’t that I didn’t care, but I need to get mine done. I have things to do. I have kids to feed. So, sometimes it was just checking the box. Indeed, the peer review component of the OPCs required higher and more frequent participation in an online course as the OPC was designed to encourage continuous community of learning throughout the semester. While this OPC characteristic is often found to be a positive feature, particularly in professional development settings with in-service teachers, the particular setting of this course consisting of pre-service teachers still taking degree coursework diminished this feature as participants found frequent participation and engagement to be somewhat tedious. The participants’ collective experiences with online learning seemed to consist of bi-monthly or monthly deadlines that were more convenient. As Aleyce wrote in her final reflection:

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Admittedly, even with everything I learned in this course, the structure was very difficult for most adults. I have never taken an online course where we had to turn in work every week, and particularly where we had to do a peer review process over multiple Blackboard sessions the weeks when our lesson cycles were due. I learned a lot, and peer review was beneficial, but it was hard for me to keep up and value that part of the course. Further, due to participants’ lack of experience with disciplinary literacy, results indicated that they perceived feedback from the instructor to be more valuable and peer review did not ensure maximum benefit to final lesson cycle grades. Leah discussed: I would take [peer’s] advice on my general overall topic from my rough draft and think about it in my final revisions. But, I would really take my professor’s feedback from my submitted lesson cycles and use that feedback for future [lesson cycles]. So, I would actually just take the exact lesson cycle that I got a 100 on and I would just use exactly what I did except with a different lesson cycle so I knew that it was set up for success. At the end of the day, I want to make the best grade possible, and the professor’s feedback was the most useful for that, because I don’t think any of us were really knowledgeable about disciplinary literacy, especially in the beginning (Phone interview). However, as the semester progressed and participants felt more comfortable in their OPCs, they began to more critically consider peer feedback, use that feedback, and the instructor’s feedback, to strengthen their final lesson cycles. For example, Stella ended her phone interview by explaining, By the way, I did like the [lesson cycle] rubrics better than a checklist. With the rubrics, you actually compare what the teacher is looking for because the rubrics aligned with the rubric she graded with. You can also read through the activity, whatever [your peer] created, and then go back and look at specific parts to make sure they are linking content and they are pushing past the classroom into the real world.

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Janene echoed Stella by explaining, “The peer review was a little tedious and I wasn’t always sure about the advice I was giving or receiving. But, I got better at discerning good feedback because of the peer review rubric structure, and I think the process made my lessons stronger” (Written reflection). Thus, even with the challenges peer review in the OPC presented, participants’ overall reflections and perspectives indicated the process was effective and useful, although it was a different experience from previous online coursework.

DISCUSSION In-service and pre-service teachers alike may draw on what they have learned from others when sharing resources, asking questions, and reflecting on instruction in OPCs (Beach, 2012). However, research suggests that more formal OPCs, such as the one required for this course, may need to be highly structured (Charalambos, Michalinos, & Chamberlain, 2004), at least in preliminary stages, to be optimally beneficial. Pre-service teachers in this study were required to reflect on specific areas in the lesson cycle template while creating instruction and post-project in formal writing. Although pre-service teachers in this study both appreciated and were able to improve their planning based on the multiple reflection 547

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opportunities presented in the peer review process through the OPC, this consideration also seemed to be a challenge. Citing work and time-focused factors, participants in this study indicated preference for loosely-structured OPCs they could engage in less often. Many members of the OPC valued the less structured, informal reflection made available through asynchronous discussion for clarification and idea-offerings. Nevertheless, this level of collaborative reflection is a unique opportunity in online education to, in many ways, mimic positive attributes of face-to-face instructional settings where students can speak directly and hash out ideas with interactive discussion. Consequently, most course members and all participants completed the requisite peer reviews and their lesson cycle score and qualitative feedback indicated the benefit of peer review in OPCs. However, as perspectives are important to consider in teacher education (Anders et al., 2000; Richardson, 1996), teacher educators must consider techniques that not only benefit students but that appeal to their learning so that they continue to consider literacy, and specifically disciplinary literacy, in their future instruction. Blintz (2013) noted that those new to OPCs may become overwhelmed with the amount of information available, either in the form of additional resources or information received from other members. Yet, pre-service teachers’ perceptions indicated they appreciated it when a peer remarked that a plan, for example, needed improvement and clarification based on what that peer was currently experiencing in their substitute teaching or fieldwork for other courses. As pre-service teachers brought their own experiences to peer review in the OPC, they were provided a window into what others, not just the instructor, knew about elementary contexts and planning for disciplinary literacy in those contexts. At the same time, pre-service teachers perceived the diversity of their OPC members’ experiences and backgrounds to be useful in designing plans for elementary disciplinary literacy. They acknowledged that they had to engage in even deeper reflection to consider peers’ feedback and why they offered the suggestions they did. Often, in online asynchronous courses, the instructor’s feedback is all students are offered, which suggests the benefit of peer review in OPCs in this type of course setting. Further, considering multiple peer reviews encouraged pre-service teachers to corroborate feedback, which allowed them to accept or reject feedback based on their understandings of disciplinary literacy. These understandings were in flux for the majority of the course as pre-service teachers discussed planning together in the OPCs and built their understandings collaboratively, suggesting a potential benefit of peer review in OPCs that supported a number of perspectives and educational experiences. The multiple sources of feedback that pre-service teachers had to attend to in this study, as well as their peers’ varying levels of disciplinary literacy understanding, may have been taxing to work through and might also contribute to their slight frustration in the peer review process. This finding highlights the need to support teachers in reading across reviews to aid in management of multiple sources of feedback. Moreover, OPCs may act as cohorts for pre-service teachers to create structural support and the development of professional relationships (Wray, 2007) but with the benefit of working at a convenient time. The opportunities for collaborative learning and exchange of ideas provided through OPCs may result in shared leadership, vision, shared personal practice, and supportive conditions (Colak, 2017). This study considered these opportunities and how teacher educators can structure review-focused OPCs to best benefit, support, and engage pre-service teachers. Indeed, time and membership have been cited as both benefits and challenges to participation in OPCs (Bandy, 2019). Members of OPCs have the benefit of accessing resources and information on a schedule that they find beneficial. However, it takes time to build trusting online relationships with community partners and to wait for responses and resources from peers. This means that participants must have 548

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time management skills that may be practiced and utilized. Although the instructor limited the amount of peer reviews to be completed for each lesson cycle, pre-service teachers’ previous experiences with limited interaction with the instructor and other class participants in asynchronous online environments may have influenced their perceptions of set schedules in this type of course. In light of these findings, the authors encourage teacher educators who use online instruction to dedicate more explicit instruction to the benefit of peer review in general and how OPCs can support professional development. Further, even though pre-service teachers were somewhat concerned by the schedule set forth in peer review, they noted that the schedule was necessary to provide timely and consistent feedback. Thus, teacher educators might consider fewer rounds of peer review with more time provided in between rounds for increased flexibility in online asynchronous learning.

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IMPLICATIONS FOR TEACHER EDUCATION AND RESEARCH ILA standard 2.1 (2017) requires teacher candidates “use foundational knowledge to design, select, critique, adapt, and evaluate evidence-based literacy curricula that meet the needs of all learners.” The inclusion of OPCs in teacher education has the potential to improve learning and instructional design and provide a professional network and set of skills that can be used throughout future teaching careers (Duncan-Howell, 2010). Members in this OPC had the potential to learn from others in their field while contributing different perspectives and resources on disciplinary literacy planning. Those who participate in OPCs may be more willing to help others solve problems, share resources, and give and receive emotional support from other members (Tseng & Kuo,2014), an important part of collaborative and successful planning for literacy. Similarly, teaching, although thought of as a social institution, can be isolating and those involved often look for supportive communities of likeminded professionals. OPCs provide an opportunity for students to interact and build a bond between their peers and the instructor that may not have otherwise happened, especially in an online learning setting (Hou, 2015). Additionally, members of OPCs have the flexibility to create their own meeting schedules or to work on individually (NRC, 2007), a benefit for pre-service teachers juggling coursework but who need to be held accountable. Of course, for one to fully benefit from membership in an OPC, the participant needs to actively commit to a culture of collaboration and trust (Duncan-Howell, 2010; Matzat, 2013). Furthermore, educators working with pre-service teachers should help justify the decision to participate in an OPC, particularly in peer review. When membership in an OPC is encouraged instead of mandated, there may be more buy in and belief that it is time well-spent. Many find that they have limited time to devote to OPC on an individual basis or that there is a lack support from administrators and those in higher education (NRC, 2007). However, pre-service teachers in this study had holistically positive experiences of peer review in the OPC, which helped to mitigate some of the challenges they faced with challenges focused on time and structure. The aim of using the OPC in this study was to potentially jumpstart future teachers’ awareness of the value of online professional communities to support planning for literacy instruction, and to an extent, this course seemed to promote that awareness. Results indicated multiple benefits from this aim but also suggested areas for continued consideration. In conclusion, this study suggests that peer review in OPCs in an asynchronous online course may be beneficial to supporting pre-service teachers’ refinement of disciplinary literacy lessons and ideas about disciplinary literacy. OPCs may promote various levels of reflection and exposure to a variety of 549

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backgrounds and experience with classroom instruction, which was a positive feature of peer review in OPCs. Future research might consider how more strategic grouping to connect PSTs with similar teaching experience may influence OPCs. Additionally, although outside factors such as prior experience with online learning and out-of-school lives may influence how pre-service teachers perceive peer review, pre-service teachers’ instruction may ultimately benefit from participation in OPCs, and teacher educators should plan multiple methods for approaching and structuring these environments to support disciplinary literacy instruction in elementary grades. Further, researchers may examine varying levels of instructor involvement in OPCs to guide optimal instruction in peer review in disciplinary literacy planning. Such research directions may serve to further enhance online instruction in literacy-focused teacher education.

REFERENCES Anders, P. L., Hoffman, J., & Duffy, G. G. (2000). Teaching teachers to teach reading: Paradigm shifts, persistent problems, and challenges. In M. L. Kamil, P. B. Mosenthal, P. D. Pearson, & R. Barr (Eds.), Handbook of reading research (Vol. 3, pp. 251–267). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum. Bandy, J. (2019). Challenges and opportunities of community engaged teaching. Retrieved from https:// wp0.vanderbilt.edu/cft/guides-sub-pages/challenges-and-opportunities-of-community-engaged-teaching/ Beach, R. (2012). Can online learning communities foster professional development? Language Arts, 89(4), 256–262. Blitz, L. (2013). Can online learning communities achieve the goals of traditional professional learning communities? What the literature says. Retrieved from https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED544210.pdf Bond, N. (2013). Developing a professional learning community among pre-service teachers. Current Issues in Education, 16(2), 1–15. Boud, D., Cohen, R., & Sampson, J. (2001). Peer learning in higher education: Learning from and with each other. New York, NY: Routledge. Brock, C. H., Goatley, V. J., Raphael, T. E., Trost-Shahata, E., & Weber, C. M. (2014). Engaging students in disciplinary literacy, K-6. New York, NY: Teachers College Press.

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Cappello, M., & Lafferty, K. E. (2015). The roles of photography for developing literacy across the disciplines. The Reading Teacher, 69(3), 287–295. doi:10.1002/trtr.1418 Charalambos, V., Michalinos, Z., & Chamberlain, R. (2004). The Design of Online Learning Communities: Critical Issues. Educational Media International, 41(2), 135–143. doi:10.1080/09523980410001678593 Çolak, E. (2017). Teachers experiences in a professional learning community on the constructivist lesson planning: A case study among primary school teachers. Ted Eğitim Ve Bilim; doi:10.15390/eb.2017.6911 Colwell, J. (2012). Using a collaborative blog project to introduce disciplinary-literacy strategies in social studies pre-service teacher education. Journal of School Connections, 4(1), 25–52.

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Colwell, J. (2016). Examining pre-service teachers’ beliefs about disciplinary literacy in history through a blog project. Action in Teacher Education, 38(1), 34–48. doi:10.1080/01626620.2015.1118414 Colwell, J., & Hutchison, A.C. (2018). Considering a Twitter-based professional learning network in literacy education. Literacy Research & Instruction, 57(1), 5-25. Darling-Hammond, L., & Richardson, N. (2009). Research review / teacher learning: What matters? How Teachers Learn, 66(5), 46-53. Duncan-Howell, J. (2010). Teachers making connections: Online communities as a source of professional learning. British Journal of Educational Technology, 41(2), 324–340. doi:10.1111/j.14678535.2009.00953.x Glaser, B., & Strauss, A. (1967). The discovery of grounded theory. Chicago: Aldine. Gritter, K. (2010). Insert student here: Why content area constructions of literacy matter for pre-service teachers. Reading Horizons, 50(3), 147–168. Håland, A. (2016). Disciplinary literacy in elementary school: How a struggling student positions herself as a writer. The Reading Teacher, 70(4), 457–468. doi:10.1002/trtr.1541 Hobbs, R., & Coiro, J. (2016). Everyone Learns from Everyone. Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, 59(6), 623–629. doi:10.1002/jaal.502 Hou, H. (2015). What makes an online community of practice work? A situated study of Chinese student teachers’ perceptions of online professional learning. Teaching and Teacher Education, 46, 6–16. doi:10.1016/j.tate.2014.10.005 International Literacy Association (ILA). (2018). Standards for the preparation of literacy professionals 2017. Newark, DE: Author. Juel, C., Hebard, H., Haubner, J. P., & Moran, M. (2010). Reading through a disciplinary lens. Educational Leadership, 67(6), 12–17. Lock, J. V. (2006). A New Image: Online Communities to Facilitate Teacher Professional Development. Journal of Technology and Teacher Education, 14(4), 663-678. Retrieved May 21, 2019 from https:// www.learntechlib.org/primary/p/21030/

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Mackey, J., & Evans, T. (2011). Interconnecting networks of practice for professional learning. The International Review of Research in Open and Distributed Learning, 12(3), 1. doi:10.19173/irrodl.v12i3.873 Maheady, L., Smith, C., & Jabot, M. (2013). Utilizing Evidence-Based Practice in Teacher Preparation. In B. G. Cook, M. Tankersley, & T. J. Landrum (Eds.), Evidence-Based Practices: Advances in Learning and Behavioral Disabilities (Vol. 26, pp. 121–147). Emerald Group Publishing Limited. doi:10.1108/ S0735-004X(2013)0000026008 Matzat, U. (2013). Do blended virtual learning communities enhance teachers’ professional development more than purely virtual ones? A large-scale empirical comparison. Computers & Education, 60(1), 40–51. doi:10.1016/j.compedu.2012.08.006

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McConnell, T. J., Parker, J. M., Eberhardt, J., Koehler, M. J., & Lundeberg, M. A. (2012). Virtual Professional Learning Communities: Teachers’ Perceptions of Virtual Versus Face-to-Face Professional Development. Journal of Science Education and Technology, 22(3), 267–277. doi:10.100710956-012-9391-y Moje, E. B. (2008). Foregrounding the disciplines in secondary literacy teaching and learning: A call for change. Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, 52(2), 96–107. doi:10.1598/JAAL.52.2.1 Moore, C., & Teather, S. (2013). Engaging students in peer review: Feedback as learning. Issues in Educational Research, 23(2), 196–212. National Research Council (NRC). (2007). Enhancing Professional Development for Teachers: Potential Uses of Information Technology: Report of a Workshop. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi:10.17226/11995 Park, J. Y. (2013). All the ways of reading literature: Pre-service English teachers’ perspectives on disciplinary literacy. English Education, 45(4), 361–384. Pytash, K. E. (2011/2012). Teaching PSTS to take a disciplinary approach to teaching writing. Journal of Content Area Reading, 9(1), 105–122. Richardson, V. (1996). The role of attitudes and beliefs in learning to teach. In J. Sikula (Ed.), Handbook of research in teacher education (2nd ed.; pp. 102–119). New York: Macmillan. Scheeler, M., Budin, S., & Markelz, A. (2016). The role of teacher preparation in promoting evidencebased practice in schools. Learning Disabilities (Weston, Mass.), 14(2), 171–187. Shanahan, C., & Shanahan, T. (2014). Does disciplinary literacy have a place in elementary school? The Reading Teacher, 67(8), 636–639. doi:10.1002/trtr.1257 Shanahan, T., & Shanahan, C. (2008). Teaching disciplinary literacy to adolescents: Rethinking contentarea literacy. Harvard Educational Review, 78(1), 40–61. doi:10.17763/haer.78.1.v62444321p602101 Sim, C. (2006). Preparing for professional experiences—Incorporating pre-service teachers as ‘communities of practice’. Teaching and Teacher Education, 22(1), 77–83. doi:10.1016/j.tate.2005.07.006 Strasma, K. (2009). Spotlighting: Peer-response in digitally supported first-year writing courses. Teaching English in the Two-Year College, 37(2), 153–160.

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Tseng, F., & Kuo, F. (2014). A study of social participation and knowledge sharing in the teachers online professional community of practice. Computers & Education, 72, 37–47. doi:10.1016/j.compedu.2013.10.005 Willis, J., & Cifuentes, L. (2005). Training Teachers to Integrate Technology into the Classroom Curriculum: Online versus Face-to-Face Course Delivery. Journal of Technology and Teacher Education, 13(1). Wray, S. (2007). Teaching portfolios, community, and pre-service teachers’ professional development. Teaching and Teacher Education, 23(7), 1139–1152. doi:10.1016/j.tate.2006.10.004 Wright, N. (2010). Twittering in teacher education: Reflecting on practicum experiences. Open Learning, 25(3), 259–265. doi:10.1080/02680513.2010.512102

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Wright, T. S., & Gotwals, A. W. (2017). Supporting disciplinary talk from the start of school: Teaching students to think and talk like scientists. The Reading Teacher, 71(2), 189–197. doi:10.1002/trtr.1602 Yin, R. (2018). Case study research and applications: Design and methods (6th ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

ADDITIONAL READINGS Baker-Doyle, K. J. (2011). The networked teacher: How new teachers build social networks for professional support. New York: Teachers College Press. Gunawardena, C. N., Hermans, M. B., Sanchez, D., Richmond, C., Bohley, M., & Tuttle, R. (2009). A theoretical framework for building online communities of practice with social networking tools. Educational Media International, 46(1), 3–16. doi:10.1080/09523980802588626 Hynd-Shanahan, C. (2013). What does it take?: The challenge of disciplinary literacy. Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, 57(2), 93–98. doi:10.1002/JAAL.226 King, K. P. (2011). Professional learning in unlikely spaces: Social media and virtual communities as professional development. International Journal of Emerging Technologies in Learning, 6(4), 40–46. doi:10.3991/ijet.v6i4.1765 Kist, W. (2008). “I gave up my space for Lent”: New teachers and social networking sites. Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, 52(3), 245–247. doi:10.1598/JAAL.52.3.7 Ranieri, M., Manca, S., & Fini, A. (2012). Why (and how) do teachers engage in social networks? An exploratory study of professional use of Facebook and its implications for lifelong learning. British Journal of Educational Technology, 43(5), 754–769. doi:10.1111/j.1467-8535.2012.01356.x Reich, J., Levinson, M., & Johnston, W. (2011). Using online social networks to foster preservice teachers’ membership in a networked community of praxis. Contemporary Issues in Technology & Teacher Education, 11(4), 382–397.

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Trust, T. (2012). Professional learning networks designed for teacher learning. Journal of Digital Learning in Teacher Education, 28(4), 133–138. doi:10.1080/21532974.2012.10784693

KEY TERMS AND DEFINITIONS Case Study: An approach to organizing research to intensely study and consider a particular person, group, or system. Disciplinary Literacy: A perspective that focuses on literacy as the specific expert practices and skills a person needs to study in a specific subject area, such as English, history, mathematics, or science. Feedback: The suggestions, comments, and questions provided to improve a person’s performance or thinking.

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Lesson Cycle: A structured approach to planning that prompts a series of instructional decisions and reflection on these decisions to create thoughtful and well-crafted lessons. Online Professional Community: A group of individuals who come together in an online space to discuss a shared professional idea, collaborate, exchange resources, and provide feedback to one another. Peer-Review: A collaborative process in which peers within a group or class review and critique each other’s work and provide written or verbal feedback for improvement. Pre-Service Teacher Education: An area of education that focuses on teacher training for college or university students who are preparing to become classroom teachers but who are not yet certified to teach.

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This work was previously published in Effective Practices in Online Teacher Preparation for Literacy Educators; pages 107127, copyright year 2020 by Information Science Reference (an imprint of IGI Global).

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APPENDIX Table 5. Lesson Cycle Template Inquiry-Based Lesson Cycle for Disciplinary Literacy Matrix Topic:

Grade Level:

Time Allotted:

Discipline:

Rationale: Discuss in 2-3 paragraphs reasons you selected this topic and how inquiry could support learning and understanding in this discipline. Specifically discuss how this topic will promote disciplinary literacy. What challenges or obstacles to you foresee in teaching this lesson? Preparation for Obstacles: Describe how you might prepare for challenges or obstacles that you may face in teaching this topic from an inquiry-based disciplinary literacy standpoint? Phase I: Identify Desired Results Disciplinary Practices Targeted: Bullet list the disciplinary practices students will use in this lesson to engage in disciplinary learning. Cite how you know these are disciplinary practices. Texts Required: Bullet list the texts that students will learn from or create in this lesson to engage in disciplinary learning. At least one of these texts should be non-print source (e.g, not a textbook or piece of prose-based literature). Consider what digital tools might be useful in scaffolding or supporting students’ reading and understanding in your lesson. Then, discuss in one paragraph how these texts support diverse learners and a culturally responsive curriculum. Remember, texts, from a disciplinary literacy standpoint, are anything that can be read and understood (i.e., songs, maps, speeches, body language, online resources, as well as traditional print-based texts) Understandings: What should students hear, read, view, explore, or otherwise encounter to promote disciplinary literacy? What disciplinary knowledge and skills should students master? What is important for them to know and be able to do? What big ideas and important disciplinary understandings should students retain?

State Standards Addressed: Bullet list standards.

Essential Questions: State questions that will frame and guide disciplinary instruction. These should be open-ended questions that cannot be answered with finality in one sentence. Responses to these questions should prompt further inquiry and learning in the discipline. EQs should not be easily answered with textbook information. These questions should frame the broad goals of your lesson and provide a target for students to address in their inquiry-based learning. Multiple responses may appropriately and correctly answer an EQ. (e.g., Why do leaves change color?) Reflection: Revisit the disciplinary practices targeted, the texts you’ve selected, understandings, and your EQs. Reflect in one-two paragraphs on their alignment. Do your texts and understandings promote the disciplinary practices you are targeting? Does your EQ support the understandings you want students to gain from this lesson? Phase II: Determine Acceptable Evidence

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Performance Task(s): Describe the authentic tasks students will engage in to determine if they are making progress toward your disciplinary learning goals of what they should know, understand, and be able to do.

Other Evidence: List any other evidence here that are not performance tasks.

Reflection: Reflect in one paragraph on the performance tasks you’ve selected. How are these tasks authentic and used in everyday, outof-school life? Phase III: Plan Learning Experience & Instruction Preparing Students for Literacy Learning Description of Activities/Methods/Materials: Provide description of your methods for preparing your students to engage in disciplinary learning about the topic. Describe the resources and materials you will need, activities students will engage in, how you will arrange students for these activities (e.g., grouping, etc.), and the literacy methods you will employ as a teacher to help students prepare. Literacy Strategies Employed: What content literacy strategies will you integrate to prepare your students for disciplinary learning? Assisting/Guiding Students in Literacy Learning

continues on following page

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Table 5. Continued Inquiry-Based Lesson Cycle for Disciplinary Literacy Matrix Topic:

Grade Level:

Time Allotted:

Discipline:

Description of Activities/Methods/Materials: Provide description of your methods for assisting/guiding your students to engage in disciplinary learning about the topic. Describe the resources and materials you will need, activities students will engage in, how you will arrange students for these activities, and the literacy methods you will employ as a teacher to help guide/assist students. Literacy Strategies Employed: What content literacy strategies will you integrate to assist your students for disciplinary learning? Helping Students Engage in Reflection to Promote Literacy Description of Activities/Methods: Provide description of your methods for helping students reflect on disciplinary learning about the topic. Describe the resources and materials you will need, activities students will engage in, how you will arrange students for these activities, and the literacy methods you will employ as a teacher to help students reflect. Literacy Strategies Employed: What content literacy strategies will you integrate to help your students reflect on disciplinary learning? Reflection: In three paragraphs, reflect on the activities and methods you listed above. Compare your activities and methods with Phases I and II.      • Do your methods support learning about the disciplinary practices and understandings you targeted? How so?      • Are the texts you selected supported by content literacy strategies so that students may gain independence in learning from these texts? How so?      • Do your methods and activities promote inquiry that helps students address and provide responses to the Essential Questions? Final Reflections/Considerations Reflection: Provide a 3 paragraph reflection on the following:      1) What ideas from the module’s videos and readings did you consider or incorporate into the lesson cycle? How did you do so?      2) What ideas from the textbook did you consider or incorporate into the lesson cycle? How did you do so?

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Figure 1. Sample Completed Peer Review Rubric

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Chapter 29

Preservice Teachers Collaborating and CoConstructing in a Digital Space: Using Participatory Literacy Practices to Teach Content and Pedagogy Chrystine Mitchell York College of Pennsylvania, USA Carin Appleget Creighton University, USA

ABSTRACT

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Participatory literacy practices include the ways in which individuals interpret, make, and share as a way of connecting in our digitally mediated culture. This chapter is a culmination of an across-university partnership created between the two authors and the pre-service teachers that collaborated online about teaching and learning. Three threads of participatory literacy practices are shared within the chapter including 1) the use of blogging across university settings, 2) the implementation of digital professional learning communities (PLCs) to connect and collaborate with other pre-service teachers, and 3) the formation and participation in digital literature circles to co-construct meaning from children’s literature. This chapter includes the authors’ attempts at collaboration across university settings using diferent tools, platforms, and resources. This work is an example for other teachers and teacher educators to consider how we can help pre-service teachers be part of the participatory culture and provide an even wider community of learners.

DOI: 10.4018/978-1-7998-7294-8.ch029

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Research Anthology on Facilitating New Educational Practices Through Communities of Learning, edited by Association, Information Resources Management, IGI Global, 2020. ProQuest

 Preservice Teachers Collaborating and Co-Constructing in a Digital Space

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INTRODUCTION Teaching in the 21st century requires a unique skill-set to address the competencies necessary to be successful in the changing climate of schools. For teachers of literacy in particular, it is considered a requirement to know and be able to teach these specific skills in order for students to be productive citizens. For example, navigating and evaluating website content is a learned aptitude that students must grasp in order to traverse in literacy tasks using digital content (Cho, 2013). As a result, it becomes a professional responsibility for teacher educators to embed 21st century literacy skills into literacy methods coursework (Mitchell, 2017). This includes carving out time for introducing and modeling digital proficiencies, and it also includes varied opportunities for pre-service teachers to take risks and engage in digital content and experiences. The goal of integrating technological experiences into literacy preservice education programs is to illustrate how authentic and meaningful opportunities with digital tools and content can, with the proper amount of scaffolding and support, transform literacy learning. This transformation requires that pre-service teachers learn to use, and teach students to use, digital literacy practices to represent, construct, create, and explore. These types of experiences can help to create 21st century learners that are productive, experienced with multi-modalities, and connected with a wider audience (Roswell & Wohlwend, 2016). As a result of social networks and the connected technological landscape of schools, a “participatory culture” has emerged, and new media technologies are making it possible for people to interact with digital tools in new ways. This participatory culture has members who define what is significant in the culture, and develop new technologies that enhance communication and participation in this culture (Jenkins, Purushotma, Weigel, Clinton, & Robinson, 2009; Jocson & Rosa, 2015). Members in a digital culture take up participatory literacies, which offer ways of interpreting, making, and sharing digital multimedia and allows members to participate in it (Roswell & Wohlwend, 2016). As a result, teachers working in schools have an obligation to help youth learn how to use digital literacy tools effectively in multiple participatory cultures (Jenkins, et al., 2009). Again, this responsibility has a ripple-effect that impacts teacher education programs and the preparation of pre-service teachers entering classrooms expected to be ready to teach in tomorrow’s schools. We focus on three threads of participatory literacy practices that are embedded within the examples shared in this chapter. The examples illustrate: a) The importance of a connection to a wider professional learning community (PLC) to address literacy practices; b) Specific ways to connect pre-service teachers to a larger PLC beyond the scope of their own university walls in an online environment; and c) Different tools and experiences that pre-service teachers can “try out” to enhance their own literacy teaching. Specifically, we focus on participatory literacy practices that would be and could be used in schools with students. The highlighted practices exemplified in this chapter include: a) the use of blogging across university settings to learn from one another about technology integration; b) the implementation of digital professional learning communities (PLCs) to connect and collaborate with other pre-service teachers; and c) forming and participating in digital literature circles to co-construct meaning from children’s literature and share pedagogical practices and ideas. These practices were developed from research conducted between the two authors and the pre-service teachers in the classes with those authors, located at geographically different university settings.

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BACKGROUND Our chapter rests on three important concepts: the use of digital literacy practices, the TPACK, and the use of professional learning communities. These three models work collectively to provide an important foundation for the ways in which teacher educators can and are preparing future teachers for authentic classroom practice with digital literacies.

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Digital Literacy Practices Digital literacies encompass a multi-modal approach to the way we think about literacy and how students’ meaning making through technology can be agentive, multimodal, and design-oriented (New London Group, 1996). Although messages transmitted through print and text are traditionally privileged (Kress & Jewitt, 2003), a much more detailed message can actually be communicated through pictures, movement, font size, and images. Therefore, meaning is built through modes of transduction (Kress, 2003). Equally significant, students’ digital meaning making is shaped by context, and it is often limited due to the resources available and because of students’ own competencies using those resources (Archer, 2013). In consideration of the different ways students use digital tools, it seems necessary to address the issue of digital literacy pedagogies and how they can be situated as various social practices in classrooms (Stein & Newfield, 2006). For instance, some digital literacy practices of students are not valued in schools because it is challenging for new teachers to integrate technology into instructional practices (Turbill & Murray, 2006). Unfortunately, this disconnect illustrates a growing need for better understanding about digital literacy practices and the ways to effectively teach and assess them in schools. To connect differences in age, class, education and limited understanding, Gee (2004) proposes the need for “affinity spaces” where participatory cultures learn from and engage in deep conversations. These spaces offer important lessons about technology integration, suggesting how educators might better organize their work around students’ interests and passions to help promote a common language and understanding (Gee, 2011). To ground the teaching and learning using digital tools and the practices that evolve from their use, the International Society for Technology Education (ISTE) has developed standards of practice for both students and educators. These standards were developed to identify a set group of expectations for the inclusion of digital practices in schools. In particular, one set of ISTE standards for students focuses on students being “knowledge constructors,” where students curate and use a variety of digital tools to, “construct knowledge, produce creative artifacts, and make meaningful learning experiences for themselves and others” (ISTE Standards, 2017). A similar set of standards for educators focuses on providing digital tools and practices that empower students and improve teaching and learning. In consideration of these two ISTE standards, the framework guiding this chapter is built upon the standards because pre-service teachers are at the crux of what it means to be a student and a future teacher. The standards provide an underpinning for what it means to consider meaningful experiences with digital tools that afford K-12 students an opportunity to transform their literacy learning and the meaning-making that can ensue when given the proper exposure and experience.

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The TPACK Framework The second theory grounding this chapter relates to how teacher educators prepare pre-service teachers to use digital literacy practices in classrooms. The TPACK framework (Mishra & Koehler, 2006) illustrates how to integrate digital tools into classrooms while considering the technological, pedagogical and content knowledge necessary to cohesively teach digital literacies. The TPACK helps researchers consider how technology enhances learning. The TPACK was initially developed using Shulman’s (1986) conceptualization of pedagogical content knowledge (PCK), the knowledge teachers need to teach content effectively. Mishra and Koehler (2006) built the TPACK, expanding what it means to teach content effectively using technology. In particular, educators should be seamlessly integrating their knowledge of content, pedagogy and technology with the intended goal of successful educational technology integration. The TPACK construct illustrates the need to consider the knowledge necessary to carry out effective instruction along with the personal and social influences integral to make teaching literacy with technology meaningful and sustainable. If pre-service teachers can navigate the technological landscape, they can help their students understand how to draw upon various modes to meet the challenges of the twenty-first century (Borsheim, Merritt & Reed, 2008). Researchers have demonstrated that the range of exposure that pre-service teachers have in implementing technology into their methods coursework shapes the ways they use digital practices and the way they use technology in the field as practicing teachers (Agyei & Voogt, 2011). This validates the need for teacher educators to include and embed experiences with technology and to include digital tools into the methods content being taught in teacher education programs (Kay, 2006). Currently, very little attention is given to the knowledge that teachers need as they consider how to teach literacy with technology, mainly due to the struggle many teacher educators find in teaching literacy while effectively using technology (Voogt & McKenney, 2017). The TPACK, in particular, needs to be explicitly related to the development of content area teaching (Harris and Hofer, 2011). In the teaching of literacy, research has pointed to the importance of an educator’s ability to assess how a particular tool will align with the meaningful use of that technological tool (Bauserman, Cassady, Smith, & Stroud, 2005). The ideas shared in this chapter are examples of how teacher educators can use the TPACK as a guide for embedding technology into coursework and effectively modeling its use.

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Professional Learning Communities Building on the previous two concepts, professional learning communities are a means of connecting professionals to create awareness and understanding about the previous two constructs. Professional learning communities (PLCs) can be defined as groups of professionals that learn from one another to achieve something they would not be able to accomplish through working alone (DuFour, DuFour, Eaker & Many, 2010). PLCs are grounded in social constructivist theory, grounded in the idea that individuals construct their knowledge through the interaction and connections with others (Vygotsky, 1978). PLCs and social constructivism are the theoretical underpinnings that support shared expertise as a means of producing positive outcomes (McLaughlin & Talbert, 2006). Layering technology into professional learning can enhance the work of PLCs. For instance, Martin and colleagues (2014) found that teachers were better able to incorporate digital tools into the work of an educational professional learning community when they were able to collaborate with peers about successes and challenges. By utilizing technology to connect pre-service teachers in a PLC across different spaces and contexts, 560

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we can reach a more diverse audience, extending beyond the walls of one school and one experience. Researchers investigated the utilization of technology for PLCs in teacher education and found that a digital PLC provided a forum for teachers to refine their pedagogical approaches and better understand how to use the technology they were using (Delaney, Trapani, Chandler & Redman, 2014). The work of this chapter focuses specifically on pre-service teachers and how they can be connected in PLCs to learn from and with one another. Researchers have demonstrated that the use of PLCs has a positive impact on pre-service teachers’ understanding of teaching methods (Kuehl, 2018; Bond, 2013). Keuhl (2018) used PLCs in a writing methods course and found that the preservice teachers reported new understandings of how to guide individual students toward reasonable writing goals, as well as increased confidence in their ability to teach writing and to differentiate instruction as a result of participating in the PLCs. Furthermore, Bond (2013) found that the use of PLCs with pre-service teachers helped them connect with one another, share their experiences from the university course and connect to the course material. The use of PLCs has resulted in positive outcomes for pre-service students and helped them connect to the pedagogy and content from university settings. To date, there are no studies investigating digital PLCs with pre-service teachers. One specific example of how the pre-service teachers in our work connected across universities and contexts is with the use of PLCs and also through digital literature circles. Digital literature circles provide a socially-constructed learning opportunity with an expectation of equal participation (Bowers-Campbell, 2011). In this online learning environment, pre-service teachers not only experience literature circles, but evaluate the potential value of multimodal engagement in learning through digital collaboration. In her work with secondary student-led literature circles, Bowers-Campbell (2011) found that when students engaged with text and each other as members of virtual literature circles, group members’ responses were well-crafted and meaningful. These threaded online discussions fostered asynchronous interactions that allowed for an easier discussion between discussants. The literature illustrates that these are not new ideas related to pre-service teacher education. Yet, they have not necessarily been combined to form a conduit for pre-service teachers to connect and to learn how to seamlessly incorporate digital literacy practices.

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CONNECTING PRE-SERVICE TEACHERS TO FOSTER DIGITAL LITERACY PRACTICES IN A PARTICIPATORY CULTURE Providing meaningful experiences for pre-service teachers is a challenging task for individual teacher educators to undertake alone. In the age of technology and with the multiple mediums and platforms that are available to connect one another, teacher educators can collaborate to unpack what it means to adequately prepare pre-service teachers to use participatory digital literacy practices in their own classrooms. The authors of this chapter worked together in just that way to collaborate and learn from their varied experiences. In particular, the focus of much of this work to engage the pre-service teachers in the modeling, practice, and use of different digital and technological tools, attempting to teach in tomorrow’s 21st century schools. Although different tools and applications were explored, it is the collaborative practices that are the focus of this chapter. These collaborative practices include blogging across university settings, exploring the use of digital professional learning communities (PLCs), and participation in digital literature circles. Blogging, connecting and collaborating online, and using digital literature circles have the potential to transform the ways teachers engage students in authentic literacy tasks. 561

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Blogging Across University Settings Blogging provides a forum for discussion that allows students to read, reflect, and think critically. Blogs can help transform a typical discussion among peers by enhancing the experience using hyperlinks, digital documents, images, videos, voice recordings, and music (Larson, 2008). Because blogging can enrich a discussion that begins in class, students have time to walk away and process their thoughts and course applications to later respond to their peers. Integrating blogging into the work of pre-service teachers helps to provide a forum from which they can discuss their questions and ideas. Pre-service teachers can authentically engage in the act of blogging to connect and collaborate with peers and gain multiple perspectives on technology integration. Hutchison and Wang (2012) found that having pre-service teachers blog in university literacy courses helped to emphasize the importance of modeling uses of technologies that promote literacy learning. Similarly, blogging can provide a means for teacher educators to learn more about the ways pre-service teachers are understanding and experiencing technology integration. Based on research conducted and shared, Mitchell, Friedrich, and Appleget (2018) designed and implemented a collaborative blog where pre-service teachers enrolled in literacy methods coursework could share their experiences about technology integration. The goal of the work was to study how blogging could be a means for teacher educators to learn more about the ways pre-service teachers are understanding and experiencing technology integration. In particular, the sharing of authentic experiences allowed pre-service teachers to note similarities and differences between schools in different regions and think more critically about technology integration. Instructors arranged for online digital discussion between universities by creating blog sites that they then shared with one another and in-turn the pre-service teachers. The platform Kidblog was used. Kidblog allowed for each instructor to create their own private classroom blog and then share the blog link with the other university so that the other participants could read and respond to posts. With an aim of giving pre-service teachers authentic experiences using digital technology, the goal of using Kidblog was to offer the pre-service teachers an opportunity to work with a platform that could be utilized when the pre-service teachers were classroom teachers. The university instructors also met virtually a number of times to clarify purpose, organization, and implementation of the across-university collaboration (Mitchell, Friedrich & Appleget, 2018). Since the blogging took place over the course of multiple semesters with multiple groups of preservice teachers, there were lessons learned that helped the instructors to continue to refine their work and the blogging that resulted. For instance, in the initial collaborative model, there was a weekly schedule created to allow each university to take turns posting to a pre-established prompt. When it was not their week to post, pre-service teachers were asked to reply to the other university pre-service teachers’ posts. Replies were framed as opportunities to engage in professional conversations by asking questions and noting similarities and differences in technology integration in varying communities of practice. It became apparent that the blogging was haphazard and that the goal for pre-service teachers to develop an online relationship was not achieved. To rectify this, in later semesters the weekly rotation of blogging was abandoned because it lacked the authentic feel of continuous conversations. Additionally, due to the disparity between the number of responses for blog posts the instructors then assigned pre-service teachers to predetermined groups in an effort to create stable and ongoing conversations in a community. Instead of the predetermined prompts, the pre-service teachers were instead encouraged to blog about their own observations and experiences in their field practicum. These changes were made to help create a better sense of community and collaboration (Mitchell, Friedrich & Appleget, 2018).

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What makes pre-service teachers blogging unique is that they are writing for a wider audience. Instead of reflecting on what they see and do in the classroom that only the course instructor sees and grades, in a blogging forum the pre-service teachers could then share their ideas with one another and thus learn from others’ experiences. In our case, the focus of the blogging was related to technology integration. They were able to address the types of apps, websites, tools and artifacts that were working in elementary classrooms. Figure 1 illustrates an example of one of the pre-service teachers who shared her experience with the Class Dojo website. She described the site and some of the benefits of using it, giving anyone who wanted to try it an idea of what it does and how she thinks it could be used in schools. Figure 1. Example of pre-service teacher posting to Kidblog

Many of the pre-service student responses indicated that they indeed learned from one another and then tried different digital tools as a result of the online sharing. One example of a reply where a student validated another pre-service teacher’s technology share is described below in Figure 2.

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Figure 2. Response to a kidblog post about technology

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This pre-service teacher indicated that she was learning from another pre-service teacher about her different classroom experiences, and she also indicated that she learned something about the apps that were shared. The shifting attitudes and development of technology integration pedagogy for pre-service teachers was made apparent by the posts and replies in the pre-service teacher blogs. As noted in the themes, pre-service teachers were more likely to use apps and web-based platforms introduced in the course or by blogging with peers. Authentic collaboration through blogging with peers outside the walls of their own university classroom was a conduit for more meaningful technology integration (Mitchell, Friedrich & Appleget, 2018). It is also worth noting that the instructor-researchers broadened their own understanding of digital collaboration and of the ways one can grow professionally through ongoing conversations about best practices. It is this emanation that is perhaps most valuable to researchers across disciplines. Digital blogging can provide a vehicle for collaboration with peers in another region to broaden their teaching repertoire beyond the four walls of their own university classroom and practicum. The sharing of authentic experiences allowed pre-service teachers to note similarities and differences between schools in different regions and think critically about technology integration. Similarly, engaging pre-service teachers in the practice of digital citizenship, professional conversations, and meaningful use of 21st Century digital tools might inform their own vision of effective technology integration in a future classroom (Mitchell, Friedrich & Appleget, 2018). As we consider how blogging connects to participatory literacy practices, it is apparent that in this digital age where students are not just reading content, but interacting with it, blogging gives pre-service teachers a forum to actively create their own content from which others can respond and learn.

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Digital Professional Learning Communities The across-university Kidblog blogging connection was an attempt to create a kind of professional learning community (PLC) between groups of pre-service teachers. Yet, no real unity was cultivated although important learning took shape through the blogging process. In order to produce a sense of community and collegiality, a more careful relationship needed to be built. Rather than having pre-service teachers simply disseminate information about any type of course content so others could read and respond, a more cohesive dialogue needed to be established. The two course instructors decided to use a different platform and a targeted approach to the partnership. Instead of using a blogging platform, two other digital tools were introduced and implemented. The first of these platforms is Yammer, a free enterprise social networking service used for private communication within organizations. Yammer was introduced and utilized to create a sense of community and enable pre-service teachers to connect in a similar way they would in their personal lives using a platform like Facebook. The second platform, Seesaw, is a digital portfolio tool where teachers can connect students to one another, and they can connect parents with their child’s work and progress. Both tools could be used in K-12 schools, so the implementation would mirror what the pre-service teachers could later incorporate into their own classrooms. Another significant aspect of attempting to embody what it means and looks like to be involved in a PLC again meant putting the pre-service teachers in groups. These PLC groups incorporated specific course assignments that were integrated into both university instructors’ courses. One of the most distinguishing aspects of developing a PLC is to get to know the other professionals in the learning community, those with the same professional teaching goals. In this inauthentic context where many of the pre-service teachers did not know one another, it was important to create a sense of 564

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kinship. That meant generating an opportunity for them to share a little about themselves: who they are, what they like, what their field placement was like, and what they hoped to gain from the community partnership. The pre-service teachers were asked to create introductory videos about themselves where they could share pictures and showcase their personality. The course instructors shared different apps and websites that could be used. A few of the tools that were introduced and used were tools like: emaze, haiku deck, chatterpix and Adobe Spark video. The videos allowed the pre-service teachers to share details about who they were and what they wanted those in their group to know about them. Then, instead of a prompt-based response protocol or an open-ended discussion forum, specific assignments were embedded into the PLC group work. The artifacts that were included in each of the courses required the PSTs to develop thoughtful, well-developed artifacts worthy of sharing that related to numerous aspects of literacy instruction and assessment, with the focus still being technology integration.

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Yammer The Yammer platform looks almost identical to Facebook, allowing those using it to comment, “like” posts, add multimedia, and create groups. Because the interface is so similar to Facebook, there was a built-in familiarity in using the tool for a majority of pre-service teachers. The course instructors created groups with approximately five pre-service teachers in each group. The pre-service teachers were asked to post assigned content into their Yammer page. The instructors created a schedule so the pre-service teachers from both locations were posting content on Yammer during the same week. Then, each site had the following week to read and respond to the work of the other. Pre-service teachers were encouraged to respond in ways that would further the online conversation. Learning from the work with the blogs, the course instructors modeled what responses should look like to help to promote a rich dialogue among their peers. A few of the example assignments that were embedded into the course and the Yammer PLCs were: a) a field placement classroom tour, b) a digital storytelling assignment, and c) a group discussion on a shared academic reading. The pre-service teachers were instructed to collect and share images that would help them to tell a story of what it looked like in their field placement classrooms and how that environment would help to teach literacy content. The intent was to “show and tell” the literacy teaching story through images and text. Another shared assignment was the creation of a digital story. Multiple tools and options were shared with the pre-service teachers, and then they had the freedom to use a digital storytelling tool of their choice to share their story. Digital tools such as storybird, bookcreator, and shadow puppet were shared and utilized. Finally, the pre-service teachers read A Thrice Learned Lesson from the Literate Life of a Five-year-old by Norton-Meier (2005). This article illustrated one teacher’s reflection about her changing views of what it means for a child to be literate, and how teachers can sometimes overlook authentic literacy in the lives of children. This article was chosen to spark online professional conversations between pre-service teachers about what it means to be a teacher of literacy. Along with the introductory videos, the assignments, and the online dialogue, the pre-service teachers met virtually using the Zoom video-conferencing platform. We used class time to allow the pre-service teachers to correspond synchronously in the Zoom meetings and to respond to one another’s posts in the Yammer PLC groups asynchronously. The course instructors had access to all the Yammer groups and could post reminders, add to the conversations, and make sure the conversations were effectively developing.

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The Yammer PLC conversations led to cohesiveness among the pre-service teachers. The structure of the groups and the embedded assignments enabled PLC groups to do more than just post and reply. They worked collectively to meet goals, share teaching artifacts, and engage in professional conversations. An example of one of the conversations between two of the pre-service teachers is found below in Figure 3. One of the group members was commenting on a previous post about the learning that transpired between the two colleagues. Figure 3. Yammer PLC group post

Similarly, the university instructors found the digital conversations provided a means to work together, share ideas, and openly discuss the successes and challenges they faced regarding technology integration and teaching. The ability to collaborate in professional learning communities is essential as schools of teacher education attempt to teach pre-service teachers 21st century skills (Hoaglund, Birkenfeld & Box, 2014).

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Seesaw The Seesaw website and app was selected to communicate across groups of pre-service teachers because it is a digital tool being used in elementary classrooms across the country. While it is considered a digital portfolio tool, it also has many other capabilities useful to teachers. Seesaw allows teachers to create activities that can be shared with students, and students can take pictures, draw and record videos. The online content can then be “approved” by the teacher and made available to parents as well as other students within the teacher-created class. The pre-service teachers’ names were added to the created “class” and then they scanned a QR code into the app to easily make them a part of the collaborative group. The pre-service teachers were then able to use the digital tool to incorporate video, images, and text while corresponding and collaborating within and across university classrooms. Similar to the Yammer groups, a schedule was created to facilitate posting assigned course content on the Seesaw site/app. The one major difference between these two platforms is the organization and flexibility within and among groups. In Seesaw, the group members’ posts were organized in folders, and any other pre-service teacher in the “class” could elect to see that content from others and provide comments. In Yammer, the groups remained separate and were limited to sharing within the group. A few of the example assignments that were embedded into the Seesaw PLCs were: a) a 360-degree video case study assignment, b) an analysis of a technological tool, and c) a literacy-based, technologyinfused lesson plan. The 360-degree case studies were developed from videos taken in local classrooms. After gaining access to classrooms where permission was granted, using a 360-degree video recorder,

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the videos were filmed across grade levels to provide a means to look at literacy instruction and student engagement. For the 360-degree video case study assignment, the pre-service teachers were given access to seven different 360-degree video case studies and instructed to view them several times. The short clips focused on some type of instructional content ranging from a shared writing lesson, a guided reading lesson, to a whole-class lesson on CVC words. The videos ranged by grade level as well, allowing pre-service teachers to self-select a lesson they wished to view and then comment on the teaching and learning. The unique nature of 360-degree video is that it allows the viewer to look around in all directions, giving them choice and control over what they saw, and thus exposed to a range of educational contexts (Argyriou, Economou, & Bouki, 2017). The pre-service teachers were then able to build online conversations about their observations of the different videos. Subsequently, pre-service teachers were asked to tell the literacy teaching story through images and text. Figure 4 below illustrates an example of one pre-service-teacher’s literacy teaching story after viewing a video. It includes important ideas gleaned from the lesson connected to course content and discussions.

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Figure 4. A pre-service student reflection using the Seesaw app

This example demonstrates how the use of images and text helped the pre-service teachers share a multimodal response to the observations of the 360-degree videos. One of the other assignments that incorporated the Seesaw PLC groups was an in-depth analysis of a literacy-focused website or app sharing the strengths, weaknesses, teaching opportunities and threats to the app usage. The final assignment was a literacy-focused lesson plan. These resources became tools that enabled the pre-service teachers to gain ideas about literacy instruction and assessment from one another. Typically, it is the course instructor that “sees” and evaluates pre-service teachers’ assignments and reflections, but a learning opportunity for pre-service teachers has been missed. When pre-service teachers can share their important learning with one another and be part of this participatory culture, the artifacts become tools for others to learn from and use. Teachers and educational professionals often find it challenging to find effective apps that meet the needs of their students due to the large number of apps available (Ok, Kim, & Kang, 2016). The underlying goal of the Seesaw PLC was to present a process by which pre-service teachers could analyze literacy instruction and digital tools for specific purposes and have a means to communicate those findings. The outcome was that pre-service teachers

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shared the uses, challenges, and teaching opportunities associated with their observations among their professional community. Through these attempts at digital PLCs, pre-service teachers identified that they added to their professional arsenal of teaching tools by clearly articulating useful literacy teaching practices and meaningful technological tools that could be utilized. In consideration of pre-service teachers’ developing their TPACK in relation to learning to use 21st century technologies (Koehler et al., 2011), this work allowed groups to consider the overlapping sets of knowledge necessary to effectively teach literacy with technology. Although limited attention is given to the knowledge that teachers need to foster early literacy through the use of technology (Voogt & McKenny, 2017), we are beginning to prepare pre-service teachers to use the TPACK framework. When attention is given to strategically selecting practical, high-quality digital tools and pairing them with meaningful reading and writing tasks, positive literacy outcomes are more easily achieved (Fitzgerald, 2018). Professional learning across university contexts provided a space for undergraduate students to grow their understanding of literacy and technology pedagogies.

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Digital Literature Circles Building from the previous collaborative experiences, the course instructors aimed to focus specifically on just what it means and looks like for pre-service teachers to both experience and plan for different types of digital literature circle discussions. The purpose was to give pre-service teachers the opportunity to collaborate digitally as participants and planners of digital literature circles. The goal of the work with the across-university digital literature circles was to consider the ways in which the pre-service teachers see the experience of digital literature circles transferring to their future classrooms, engaging with more familiar peers and less familiar peers about books that would conceivably be read in intermediate elementary classrooms. This work ran across two different cohorts of pre-service teachers during two different semesters. In both semesters, the course instructors designed the groups, similar to what had been done for the digital professional learning communities. By creating the groups, the instructors could ensure that there were equal participants from both classes. During the first attempt at the digital literature circle collaboration, pre-service teachers corresponded after reading the book Wonder (Palacio, 2012) and met once using the Zoom video conference platform. They used a reciprocal teaching protocol for their meeting, focusing on the use of different roles such as a discussion director, passage master, clever connector, etc. The pre-service teachers were given preparation assignments to engage them in both reciprocal teaching and literacy circle practices learned in the literacy methods courses (e.g. preparing questions, establishing key vocabulary, highlighting important details). The groups met during a mutual class session to discuss the book and to participate and experience the digital literature circle experience as a student. The first experience with digital literature circles had one synchronous Zoom video literature circle discussion, but the positive feedback from the pre-service teachers influenced the planning for a second attempt and phase of this work, increasing the number of literature circles to two. For the second digital literature circle collaboration, the pre-service teachers were asked to read and discuss the book, A Wrinkle in Time (L’Engle, 2007). The pre-service teachers corresponded two times: once at the midpoint (Lit Circle 1) and once at the completion of the book (Lit Circle 2). For Lit Circle 1 the pre-service teachers connected via the video conferencing tool Zoom. Because Zoom offers a recording feature, each of literature circle meetings were video-recorded for later analysis by both the pre-service teachers and the course instructors. Similar to the first literature circle experience, the Lit Circle 1 guidelines were 568

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designed to be a reciprocal teaching protocol with the different literature circle roles. One university was designated to be the leaders for the reciprocal teaching portion of the literature circle. Pre-service teachers were asked to consider the pros and cons of this discussion method from both the teacher and student perspectives. Lit Circle 2 was designed to be more of a “book club” model for discussing the text. The other university led this approach, and facilitated conversations by giving each group member “talking tokens” to spend. They also were instructed to consider the pros and cons of this discussion model from both the teacher and student perspectives. The format for Lit Circle 2 was flexible and dependent on group choice. The pre-service teachers independently planned either synchronous or asynchronous conversations about the book. This allowed them to try other digital platforms (e.g. Flipgrid, GoogleDocs) and make decisions as both students and teachers. Each group was asked to either record the video meeting or share links to any online asynchronous discussions. Figures 5 illustrates two preservice teachers’ responses to one another about the process of engaging in the digital literature circles and their perceptions about the experience.

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Figure 5. Pre-service teacher response to digital literature circles

The ways pre-service teachers authentically engaged in the practice of digital citizenship, professional conversations, and meaningful use of digital tools expected for the 21st century was noticeable through this collaboration. More specifically, the digital literature circles provided an opportunity for the pre-service teachers from different institutions to engage in authentic relationships, have a sense of authentic accountability, model a teaching and learning practice, and engage in pedagogical decision making. They made comments like, “I liked preparing for our lit circle because it felt like a book club, not a real assignment” and, “it was cool to combine different schools in different areas because we were able to share this reading experience.” By putting the pre-service teachers in the role of teacher and literacy student, they were equipped to view the experiences from multiple lenses and connect it to possible future teaching practices. Results from the different aspects of the across-university collaborative PLC work illustrates that pre-service teachers from different universities can become a community of learners (Wenger, 1998) in an online environment, co-constructing and collaborating with one another. This work allowed the pre-service teachers to appreciate divergent perspectives, and become familiar with other colleagues that they didn’t know inside a typical classroom space. These PLC endeavors utilized pre-service teachers’ learning of literacy teaching tasks and particular tools and connected them with other pre-service teachers from learn from and with one another.

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SOLUTIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS This chapter included multiple examples from the pre-service teachers’ conversations that emerged from the digital dialogic opportunities. It summarized specific tools and experiences to address the need and application of digital PLC participatory literacy practices. Participatory literacy practices include the ways in which individuals interpret, make and share as a way of connecting in our digitally mediated culture (Wohlwend, 2017). This work exemplified several different approaches to helping pre-service teachers become part of this culture as they considered how to help future students learn in our connected society. Different digital tools, applications and platforms were shared to illustrate how they can be used to connect pre-service teachers across geographic regions and to exemplify the types of dialogue that occurred between the pre-service teachers. There was important learning that resulted from the connected encounters. The experiences shared within this chapter are to be used as imperfect examples and attempts to connect pre-service teachers and have them become partners in learning. The goal of these shared experiences was to provide different tools, platforms, experiences and resources for other teachers and teacher educators to accomplish similar goals. The pre-service teachers learned to work together with different “others” for multiple and varying purposes. Important outcomes of these collaborative efforts included: 1) trying and fusing technology apps and practices into their literacy instruction, 2) learning about teaching literacy in another geographic region, and 3) experiencing digital literature circles from the perspective of a student and a teacher. These collaborative experiences positively expanded the pre-service teachers’ tool exposure because they were communicating online about and with the different tools. Similar to the work of Delaney, Trapani, Chandler, and Redman (2014) who found that a digital PLC provided the students a forum to refine their pedagogical approaches and better understand how to use the technology they were using, the pre-service teachers in our collaboration also communicated that their own technological, pedagogical and contentspecific practices were enhanced. This work revealed the importance of cultivating innovative spaces across university teacher preparation programs that encourage diverse avenues for pre-service teachers’ development of TPACK. We believe instructors need to provide transferable learning opportunities that promote productive literacy pedagogies and multimodal experiences that will inspire 21st century literacy practices. This exploration into the use of a shared space to cultivate teacher candidates’ ethos of literacy and technology pedagogies in undergraduate preparation programs provided insight into diverse classroom contexts and the conditions necessary to meet the needs of students in different settings.

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FUTURE RESEARCH DIRECTIONS One potential direction for future research includes expanding the collaboration to multiple institutions in an effort to include multiple geographic regions and different viewpoints from varying groups of preservice teachers. By expanding across the country and into possibly other countries the conversations among pre-service teachers could offer perspectives that would not be foreseeable. Another way for this research to expand is through the use of a fine-tuned protocol for digital collaboration. The authors attempted different aspects of pre-service teacher collaboration and tried to enhance the means and the depth of conversations for each attempt, yet it would be useful to establish an explicit protocol. A protocol for this work could be useful to other researchers and teacher educators.

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CONCLUSION This chapter is important to literacy educators because it contributes to a growing area of interest related to changes in our means of global collaboration and the need for modeled 21st century learning and teaching for pre-service teachers. Given modeling, opportunities for collaboration and a means to learn from one another, pre-service teachers can identify the importance of their role in delivering effective 21st century learning opportunities in classrooms. Through communication and dialogue occurring between groups of pre-service teachers, they can participate in and reflect about issues related to digital literacy practices in classrooms (Mitchell, Friedrich, & Appleget, 2018). These collaborative dialogic opportunities can serve as models for other teachers and teacher educators seeking to elevate digital technology integration and professional dialogue from a single location to a broader audience. Most importantly, these participatory practices illustrated how well university students learn from one another and collaborated professionally in the wider community and culture of learners in a global, connected world.

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Borsheim, C., Merrit, K., & Reed, D. (2008). Beyond technology for technology’s sake: Advancing multiliteracies in the twenty-first century. The Clearing House: A Journal of Educational Strategies, Issues and Ideas, 82(2), 87–90. doi:10.3200/TCHS.82.2.87-90 Bowers-Campbell, J. (2011). Take if out of class: Exploring virtual literature circles. Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, 54(8), 557–567. doi:10.1598/JAAL.54.8.1 Cho, B. Y. (2013). Adolescents’ constructively response reading strategy use in a critical Internet reading task. Reading Research Quarterly, 28(4), 339–342. Delaney, S., Trapani, F., Chandler, P., & Redman, C. (2014). Contemporary practices of technology and its affordances: Perceptions of PSTs on the utilization of technology in teaching and learning practice, Paper presented at the EDULearn2014 conference, Barcelona, Spain.

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DuFour, R., DuFour, R., Eaker, R., & Many, T. (2010). Learning by doing: A handbook for professional learning communities at work. Bloomington, IN: Solution Tree. Fitzgerald, M. (2018). Multimodal knowledge building: Meaningfully using digital tools to foster disciplinary learning. Literacy Today, 36(1), 34–35. Gee, J. P. (2004). Situated Language and Learning: A Critique of Traditional Schooling. New York: Routledge. Gee, J. P. (2011). Reflections on empirical evidence on games and learning. In S. Tobias & J. D. Fletcher (Eds.), Computer games and instruction (pp. 223–232). Charlotte, NC: IAP. Harris, J., & Hofer, M. (2011). Technological pedagogical content knowledge (TPACK) in action: A descriptive study of secondary teachers’ curriculum-based, technology-related instructional planning. Journal of Research on Technology in Education, 43(3), 211–229. doi:10.1080/15391523.2011.10782570 Hoaglund, A. E., Birkenfeld, K., & Box, J. A. (2014). Professional learning communities: Creating a foundation for collaboration skills in pre-service teachers. Education, 134(4), 521–528. Hutchison, A., & Wang, W. (2012). Blogging within a social networking site as a form of literature response in a teacher education course. Educational Media International, 49(4), 263–275. doi:10.108 0/09523987.2012.741197 International Society for Technology in Education. (2017). ISTE national educational technology standards (NETS). Eugene, OR: International Society for Technology in Education. Jenkins, H., Purushotma, M., Weigel, K., Clinton, K., & Robinson, A. J. (2009). Confronting the challenges of participatory culture: Media education for the 21st century. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press. doi:10.7551/mitpress/8435.001.0001 Jocson, K., & Rosa, J. (2015). Rethinking gaps: Literacies and languages in participatory cultures. Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, 58(5), 372–374. doi:10.1002/jaal.368 Kay, R. H. (2006). Evaluating strategies used to incorporate technology into pre-service education: A review of the literature. Journal of Research on Technology in Education, 38, 383–408. doi:10.1080/1 5391523.2006.10782466

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Koehler, M. J., Mishra, P., Bouck, E. C., DeSchryver, M., Kereluik, K., Shin, T. S., & Wolf, L. G. (2011). Deep-play: Developing TPACK for 21st century teachers. International Journal of Learning Technology, 6(2), 146–163. doi:10.1504/IJLT.2011.042646 Kress, G. (2003). Literacy in the new media age. London: Routledge. Kress, G., & Jewitt, C. (2003). Introduction. In J. Jewitt & G. Kress (Eds.), Multimodal literacy (pp. 1–18). New York: Peter Lang. Kuehl, R. (2018). Using professional learning communities to advance preservice teachers’ understanding of differentiation within writing instruction. Teacher Educator’s Journal, 11, 70–90. L’Engle, M. (2007). A Wrinkle in Time. New York: Square Fish.

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Larson, L. (2008). Electronic reading workshop: Beyond books with new literacies and instructional technologies. Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, 52(2), 121–131. doi:10.1598/JAAL.52.2.3 Martin, L. E., Kralger, S., Quatroche, D. J., & Bauserman, K. L. (2014). Handbook of professional development in education: Successful models and practices, Pre-K-12. New York: Guildford Press. McLaughlin, M. W., & Talbert, J. E. (2006). Building school-based teacher learning communities: Professional strategies to improve student achievement. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. Mishra, P., & Koehler, M. J. (2006). Technological pedagogical content knowledge: A framework for teacher knowledge. Teachers College Record, 108(6), 1017–1054. doi:10.1111/j.1467-9620.2006.00684.x Mitchell, C. (2017). Preparing future teachers to teach literacy in the 21st century: Utilizing digital literacies in literacy coursework to foster applicable classroom practices. 37th Edition of the American Reading Forum Yearbook. Retrieved from http://www.americanreadingforum.org/yearbook/ Mitchell, C., Friedrich, L., & Appleget, C. (2018). Preservice teachers’ blogging: Collaboration across universities for meaningful technology integration. Teaching Education, 1–17. doi:10.1080/10476210 .2018.1486815 New London Group. (1996). A pedagogy of multiliteracies: Designing social futures. Harvard Educational Review, 66(1), 60–92. doi:10.17763/haer.66.1.17370n67v22j160u Norton-Meier, L. A. (2005). A thrice learned lesson from the literate life of a five-year-old. Language Arts, 82(5), 286–285. Ok, M. W., Kim, M. K., & Wang, E. Y. (2016). How to find good apps: An evaluation rubric for instructional apps for teaching students with learning disabilities. Intervention in School and Clinic, 51(4), 244–252. doi:10.1177/1053451215589179 Palacio, R. J. (2012). Wonder. New York: Random House. Roswell, J., & Wohlwend, K. (2016). Free play or tight spaces? Mapping participatory literacies in apps. The Reading Teacher, 70(2), 197–205. doi:10.1002/trtr.1490 Shulman, L. S. (1986). Those who understand: Knowledge growth in teaching. Educational Researcher, 15(2), 4–14. doi:10.3102/0013189X015002004

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Stein, P., & Newfield, D. (2006). Multiliteracies and multimodality in English in education in Africa: Mapping the terrain. English Studies in Africa, 49(1), 1–22. doi:10.1080/00138390608691341 Turbill, J. B., & Murray, J. (2006). Early literacy and technologies in Australian schools: Policy, research, and practice. In M. McKenna, L. Labbo, R. D. Kieffer, & D. Reinking (Eds.), International Handbook of Literacy and Technology (Vol. 2, pp. 93–108). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. Voogt, J., & McKenney, S. (2017). TPACK in teacher education: Are we preparing teachers to use technology for early literacy? Technology, Pedagogy and Education, 26(1), 69–83. doi:10.1080/14759 39X.2016.1174730 Vygotsky, L. S. (1978). Mind in society: The development of higher psychological processes (M. Cole, V. J John-Steiner, S. Scribner, & E. Souberman, Eds. & Trans.). Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. (Original work published 1934) 573

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Wohlwend, K. E. (2017). Who gets to play? Access, popular media and participatory literacies. Early Years Journal of International Research and Development, 37(1), 62–76. doi:10.1080/09575146.2016 .1219699

ADDITIONAL READING Clark, H. & Avrith, T. (2019). The google-infused classroom: A guidebook to making thinking visible and amplifying student voice. ElevateBooksEdu. Hobbs, R. (2011). Digital and media literacy: Connecting culture and classroom. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press. Muhtaris, K., & Ziemke, K. (2015). Amplify: Digital teaching and learning in the K-6 Classroom. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann. Palloff, R. M., & Pratt, K. (2007). Building online professional learning communities: Effective strategies for the virtual classroom. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass. Schaeffer, R., Howard, N. R., & Thomas, S. (2019). Closing the gap: Digital equity strategies for the K-12 classroom. Portland, OR: International Society for Technology in Education.

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KEY TERMS AND DEFINITIONS 360-Degree Video: Panoramic video that places the viewer in the center of the video, with the capability to focus in on any aspect of the surrounding environment. Blogging: Posting reflections and ideas in a shared digital space for others to view and where responses are able to respond. Digital Literature Circle: Moving a traditional literature circles that includes multiple individuals responding to a shared reading of a text to a digital space. Flipgrid: A website that allows the (teacher) user to post prompts for students to reply to using brief (selfie) videos. Professional Learning Communities (PLCs): Groups of professionals meeting together with a common goal and with the intention to improve their professional practice. Seesaw: A digital portfolio app where educators can post student artifacts for others to view and to comment (including other students and parents). Yammer: An online platform that is similar in appearance to Facebook, yet it is a controlled digital space for educational institutions and professional organizations to connect.

This work was previously published in Participatory Literacy Practices for P-12 Classrooms in the Digital Age; pages 215-232, copyright year 2020 by Information Science Reference (an imprint of IGI Global).

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Chapter 30

I Do and I Understand:

Professional Learning Communities to Engage Learners in Authentic Practice Claire Mitchell University of Wisconsin – La Crosse, USA

ABSTRACT As a result of globalization, World Language Education has experienced considerable changes within recent decades. With these changes, there is a need for new approaches to teaching and learning a world language, as there is a growing mismatch between language use in the real world and the approach to teaching a world language in the classroom. This chapter, then, presents a pedagogical model that was implemented in an Introduction to Second Language Acquisition course in order to adequately prepare teacher candidates for their future careers as educators in a globalized society. In particular, the model in this chapter discusses authentic experiences grounded in inquiry-based learning that provide opportunities for teacher candidates to collaboratively research current trends in the feld of World Language Education and put them into practice through undergraduate research projects.

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INTRODUCTION Globalization, which can be described as increased communication and heightened global connectivity and interaction (Blommaert, 2010; Kramsch, 2014; Mitchell, 2016), has changed the landscape of education—in particular, World Language Education—and has created a need for new approaches to teaching and learning. Because of all of the moving, mixing, blending, and shifting, the global has become local, and the world is now a global village (Drewelow & Mitchell, 2015; Schenker, 2013). As a result of this shift, there is often a mismatch between language use in the real world and the approach to teaching a world language inside the classroom. For example, the contact between cultures and peoples creates new forms, meanings, and new ways of saying and doing things (i.e. a postmodern, globalized era). However, traditional teaching methods inside the classroom continue to relegate language and culture to specific recognizable national borders and reflect a more modernist era (Kramsch, 2014). DOI: 10.4018/978-1-7998-7294-8.ch030

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Due to the shift in language learning in a globalized society, it is also vital that educators today reflect on ways in which they can utilize different approaches inside the classroom in order to prepare students for the 21st century, as Communicative Language Teaching (CLT) no longer meets the needs of 21st century language learners (Garrett-Rucks, 2016). Instead of focusing on how to say what and when to say it, as CLT supports, educators must prepare their students to adapt and evolve to the changing dynamics of interactions in the 21st century. That is, “FL instruction must take into account the discourse skills necessary to navigate this new global world” (Kramsch, 2014, p. 308). This understanding has implications for World Language Teacher Education programs, as teacher candidates need to learn to become lifelong learners as educators so that they can reflect on ways in which they need to adapt their own teaching to utilize current best practices in the field of World Language Education. Such adaptability is necessary to be a successful educator in today’s world that is inundated with instant access to information and a rapid pace of change.

Study Context

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While there are numerous approaches to developing and encouraging lifelong learning in World Language Teacher Education programs (Shrum & Glisan, 2017), this chapter looks at the use of Professional Learning Communities (PLCs) and undergraduate research within the classroom context to provide authentic learning experiences for teacher candidates. By implementing PLCs through undergraduate research projects in World Language Teacher Education courses, teacher candidates are afforded the opportunity to have meaningful experiences inside the classroom that will prepare them to be successful in the field during and after their teacher education program. That is, they not only gain experience researching best practices in the field of language learning and teaching, but they also are afforded opportunities to work as a part of a collaborative unit and develop skills necessary for participating in PLCs in their future professions. Such an approach relies heavily on teacher candidates understanding how to bridge current theory to practice and on ongoing reflection as a practitioner. Furthermore, this skill set that teacher candidates develop as a result of participating in this type of active, collaborative learning prepares them to meet the demands of a globalized society because they learn to be adaptive in their teaching, collaborative with their colleagues, and how to implement best practices into their own classrooms—best practices that meet the needs of their own students. In light of this discussion, this chapter outlines an instructional model utilized in an Introduction to Second Language Acquisition (SLA) course taught by the author and seeks to answer the following question: How can educators adequately prepare teacher candidates to be reflective practitioners who are equipped to meet the demands of 21st century world language learners?

BACKGROUND To address the aforementioned needs of world language teacher candidates, this chapter focuses on the use of authentic learning experiences inside the classroom environment in order to prepare teacher candidates for their future careers as educators. In particular, the pedagogical design discussed in this chapter integrates authentic learning through the use of an inquiry-based learning model, one where

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learners collaboratively research current trends in the field of World Language Education and put them into practice through undergraduate research projects. Below this chapter outlines what inquiry-based learning is, the framework utilized in this particular course, and identifies how the principles of inquiry-based learning were utilized in tandem with the structure of PLCs in order to foster authentic learning in the classroom. As research has shown, authentic experiences are beneficial for students, as they provide “deeper relevance and meaning” (Finney, 2016, p. 4) in the learning environment. In the context of the pedagogical model described in this chapter, this type of instruction is also of extreme importance for teacher candidates, as it “more completely acknowledges the collaborative nature of the teaching profession” (Le Cornu & Ewing, 2008, p. 1803) and therefore is vital to preparing teacher candidates for their future careers.

Inquiry-Based Learning to Prepare Teacher Candidates for the 21st Century Within the general educational context, inquiry-based learning is centered on the theoretical framework of a Community of Inquiry (CoI). According to Vaughn, Cleveland-Innes, and Garrison (2013), the foundation of a Community of Inquiry is based on the notion that higher learning is centered on collaboration and individual constructivism. Thus, learning is formed and best takes place through individualized investigation and joint work with peers in the educational context (Wenger, 1998). The operationalization of inquiry-based learning has been implemented via the Team- Based Learning Collaborative and the Galileo Educational Network. For the purpose of this chapter, the framework as proposed by the Galileo Educational Network was adopted considering that it best aligned with the goals of the Introduction to SLA course. In the Galileo Educational Network (2017), eight dimensions were created to describe inquiry-based learning. They are as follows: Table 1. Dimensions of inquiry-based learning

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Dimension of Inquiry

Summary of Dimension

Authenticity

Learning requires inquiry into a relevant, real-world topic and requires collaboration of multiple perspectives.

Academic rigor

Learning on the topic leads to deep understanding and teaches learners to become investigators of their own knowledge.

Assessment

Learning is characterized by on-going assessment with opportunities for learners to reflect on what they have investigated.

Beyond the school

While the investigation is relevant to the curriculum, it also is based in real-world context and meaning and requires learners to develop skills that will be useful to them later in life.

Use of digital technologies

Technology must be used to complete the investigation and requires learners to “conduct research, share information, make decisions, solve problems, create meaning, and communicate with various audiences inside and outside the classroom” (Vaughn et al., 2013, p. 70).

Active exploration

Investigation on the topic requires learners to authentically use multiple sources and demonstrate their knowledge on the topic through presentations (digitally and non-digitally enhanced).

Connecting with the experts

Learners are required to work with content experts either directly or indirectly.

Elaborated communication

Learners are provided multiple opportunities for collaboration with each other while completing their work.

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 I Do and I Understand

As seen in Table 1, inquiry-based learning differs from the traditional approach to learning that has often been characterized by a didactic teaching method where the teacher is the main source of information (Dow, 1999). Traditional methods are also more focused on preparing learners for the next grade level whereas inquiry-based learning is concerned with developing learners to be lifelong learners (Galileo Education Network, 2017; Vaughn et al., 2013). In inquiry-based learning, the focus is on the learner, and the priority is teaching learners how to learn rather than focusing on what learners know. Through active engagement with the topic of study and each other, learners are able to co-construct knowledge, which leads them to be more interested and engaged in what they are studying. As result of their developed interest in and engagement with the topic, learners are able to develop a deeper understanding of the content. Based on this description, an inquiry-based approach to learning in World Language Teacher Education programs best aligns with the goal of promoting meaningful and authentic experiences inside the classroom, as such an approach focuses on the learners as active collaborators in the acquisition of new knowledge—knowledge that will prepare them for their future field placements, student teaching experiences, and future careers. As indicated in Table 1, there are eight different dimensions of inquiry-based learning. In the specific course discussed in this chapter—Introduction to SLA—all tenets were used to create and implement the undergraduate research projects. That is, in order to create an authentic, academically rigorous course, learners begin the semester by selecting their own research topic as related to SLA and then work with their groups to begin designing original research investigations. In the process of developing and conducting their research projects, learners take part in ongoing assessment and participate in reflective activities throughout the duration of the semester that allow them to reflect on what they have investigated. Next, as related to reaching beyond the school setting, each project that learners create is grounded in real-world context, thus affording learners with opportunities to develop investigative skills that will be useful to them later in life. Another tenet of inquiry-based learning focuses on the use of digital technologies. As Friesen (2009) indicates, there is no endeavor in the present era that goes untouched by digital technologies, which in turn has provided instantaneous connectivity for people all around the world. Thus, with the constant access to information and connectivity with people around the globe, the goal of education has changed. A curriculum designed to meet the needs of an industrial age can no longer be used to meet the needs of a rapidly growing technology age. Instead, education is now concerned with “ensuring [that] students have the competencies required to fully participate in and make meaningful contributions locally, provincially, nationally, and/or globally, not for someday in the future, but now” (Friesen, 2009, p. 7). In light of this understanding, teacher candidates in the Introduction to SLA course utilize various forms of digital technologies in all phases of the course—preparation, implementation, and revision of their research projects. In the preparation phase, they collaborate via digital platforms such as Nearpod and/or Google docs, Google slides, and Google sheets to prepare to carry out their research. Then, in the implementation phase, they use various applications and/or technologies to conduct their research, share the data with one another, make decisions about the data presentation, and to communicate their findings with audiences inside and outside of the classroom. Once they complete their projects, teacher candidates in the course then use digital technologies, such as their online learning system, Google docs, Nearpod, etc., to reflect on their projects and make suggestions for future research. The remaining foundations of inquiry-based learning relate to active exploration, connecting with experts, and elaborated communication. By creating a course that requires ongoing collaboration, teacher candidates have the opportunity to take part in a PLC and learn to operate within its parameters. Not 578

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only is learning to collaborate a necessary professional skill that teacher candidates must develop, but research also shows that collaboration augments learning because it allows learners to work in meaningful ways with their peers to advance their acquisition of a subject as well as motivate them to learn (Chartrand, 2012). Furthermore, the collaborative nature of inquiry-based learning prepares learners to “cope with the challenges of factual overload in our information age” (Dow, 1999, p. 6). Within the globalized world of the 21st century, solely memorizing facts is no longer a productive learning practice, as it does not adequately prepare learners for their future careers. Even more so, with the pace of change, learning can no longer only be concerned with knowledge acquisition considering that content is constantly changing. Thus, in designing this course, an important aspect was the active, collaborative components of the PLC that mimicked real-world interactions and required learners to be adaptable inside their learning environments.

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The History of PLCs As indicated previously, inquiry-based learning inherently promotes collaborative learning. The operationalization of collaborative learning occurred in the World Language Teacher Education program (in this particular chapter) through the use of PLCs inside the classroom context. To provide a context for these types of meaningful, inquiry-based experiences in the classroom setting, it is first important to understand what exactly a PLC is and how one functions within real-world settings. Research shows that there is no universally agreed-upon definition of a PLC (Stoll, Bolam, McMahon, Wallace, & Thomas, 2006). However, there is a consensus that it is “a group of people sharing and critically interrogating their practice in an ongoing, reflective, collaborative, inclusive, learning-oriented, growthpromoting way” (Stoll et al., 2006, p. 222). Thus, as seen in this definition, which has been adopted for the purpose of this chapter, PLCs focus on the concept of community within a learning environment in which members work together to reflect on teaching and learning and commit to bettering their practice in the classroom. Furthermore, PLCs provide a way in which educators can continuously seek, share, and act upon learning through “communities of continuous inquiry and improvement” (Hord, 1997, p. 1). While the concept of a PLC is not necessarily new, as there are tenets of PLCs in Dewey’s (1929) work on the relationship between knowledge and action, the actual implementation of these reflective communities, i.e. the organized structure, is growing in popularity in professional settings and specifically in World Language Education (Stoll et al., 2006). However, as these communities continue to grow and become more integrated within the professional communities in which teacher candidates will join, there is an increased need for teacher candidates to have opportunities prior to the student-teaching experience to participate in this type of authentic, meaningful experience in order to develop the skills necessary to be successful in this type of setting. Success in these environments is defined mostly in two ways: First of all, teacher candidates must be able to bridge theory to practice. That is, they must be able to first understand the theoretical underpinnings that guide their teaching styles and then create lessons that reflect those theoretical understandings (Martel, 2016). Second, and in relation to the first goal of a PLC, teacher candidates must possess a professional skill set in which they understand the dynamics of a PLC and can be active, productive contributors within the community. According to Stoll et al., (2006), five characteristics that members of a PLC must possess in order for it to operate efficiently and in a professional manner are that they must all be able to 1) share values and vision, 2) have collective responsibility, 3) be active in reflective professional inquiry, 4) be collaborative, and 5) and promote the idea of the group and the individual at the same time. 579

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METHODOLOGY To recall, the pedagogical model discussed in this chapter was implemented in an undergraduate course titled Introduction to Second Language Acquisition where students enter the course with little to no knowledge of SLA theories and/or topics. The university of study is a mid-sized comprehensive university in the Midwest, and the typical course enrollment for courses like the one discussed in this chapter is approximately 22 students. Prerequisites for the course include students having junior standing or higher and one of the following: 1) an AP foreign language score of 3 or higher, 2) placing into an intermediate-level foreign language course, 3) a score of 70 or higher on a non-native speakers of English test provided by the university of study, or 4) a grade of “B” or higher in elementary-level or above foreign language course taken at the university of study. It is important to note, though, that some students have been allowed to override into this course during their sophomore year, typically during the second semester. In the Introduction to SLA course, the students are undergraduates with a teaching focus—either World Language Education majors and minors, Teaching English as a Second Language (TESOL) minors, or Linguistics minors, typically with an education focus of some sort. Within the semester-long course (15 weeks), students work together in groups of three to five to conduct undergraduate research projects that focus on a strand of SLA (i.e. technology assisted language learning, motivation in language acquisition, the use of culture in the language learning environment, cognitive approaches to language acquisition, to name a few). The course has been taught as a face-to-face course where students meet inside the classroom twice a week for 85 minutes each day or once a week as a three-hour night course. Additionally, it has been taught as a hybrid course where students meet inside the classroom once a week for 85 minutes and then complete online activities one other day of the week. For the purpose of this chapter, the course structure being described is the face-to-face model. In order to develop the learning outcomes for this course and design assessments that examine what students learned, edTPA requirements (SCALE, 2017), InTASC Standards (CCSSO, 2011), and ACTFL-CAEP Standards (2013) were used as a basis because they serve as the guidelines for what teacher candidates must be able to do effectively once they enter their student-teaching experience and once they graduate from their program. Additionally, in integrating undergraduate research as part of the requirements of the course, the goal is to provide learners with opportunities to engage on a deeper level with the content of the course by working with their PLC to put theory into practice and thus create an authentic, interactive, and collaborative learning experience. Students enrolled in this course not only design their own original research studies as related to SLA, but they also carry out the research, participate in a PLC with their fellow researchers, present their findings in a public forum, and then reflect on the research they conducted as related to SLA. In doing so, students are able to grow as pre-service practitioners because the course affords them opportunities to learn by doing. As research shows, active learning can promote growth as a student, as it encourages meaningful use of knowledge rather than merely memorizing facts and information (Dörnyei & Ushioda, 2011). In consideration of this understanding, then, the student learning outcomes are listed below and include the InTasc Standard that they meet: 1. Apply SLA theory to practice, real-world use (InTasc 4, 5, 9, 10). 2. Create original research projects as related to SLA (InTasc 4, 5, 9, 10). 3. Analyze current research trends in SLA and incorporate understanding of trends into original research project (InTasc 4, 5, 9, 10). 580

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4. Use technology as a support for investigating, creating, and designing a research project centered on SLA (InTasc 4, 5, 9, 10).

INTRODUCTION TO SLA: COURSE DESIGN

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Preparation Activities: Cultivating Learners’ Understanding of SLA Theories To begin the course, learners participate in approximately seven weeks of activities designed to prepare them to carry out their research. During each week, learners have a reading assignment and group task they must complete that progresses their project. Outside of class, time is spent preparing and reading about theoretical concepts as related to SLA and the in-class meeting time is used for completing the week’s specific group task, i.e. active learning tasks that are related to the research project (detailed below). Additionally, in-class time also provides opportunities for discussion of SLA theories and peer review activities as well. The activities in this phase alternate between collective and individual tasks to encourage learners to read, discuss, and develop a foundational understanding of theories as related to SLA. Additionally, the activities in this phase of the course are designed to guide learners through a process of setting up their research study by designing research questions, writing annotated bibliographies, and designing instruments to be used when they collect data. All of these tasks aim at preparing learners to undertake their own research study that bridges theory and practice and provides authentic, meaningful learning experiences. To begin this phase, a backward design model was followed so to encourage the teacher candidates in the course to think of the end goal of their research projects. That is, they are challenged at the beginning of the semester (during the first week) to consider what type of research (as related to SLA) interests them. Students then complete a teacher-created interest survey (Appendix 1) that provides five different options of topics related to SLA (topics can vary each semester based on students’ interests and majors/minors). Students are then placed into groups of three to five members per group. In order to maintain a manageable workload and provide equitable active learning for all group participants, it is recommended that groups be kept at four members if possible. During the first seven weeks of the course, students read about different areas of SLA in the book Introducing Second Language Acquisition (Saville-Troike & Barto, 2016). Additionally, students read different empirical studies as provided by the professor. These studies relate to one or more of the areas that students have selected to study for their own research projects. However, instead of reading the entire article, students are only assigned a portion of the article that relates to the portion of their project they are developing that particular week. Each week after students have completed their readings, they then discuss these readings with the professor and take time during in-class meetings to construct their research projects. As they progress through each portion of the research project (i.e. Introduction, Literature Review, etc.), they also complete that portion of their PowerPoint presentation. The PowerPoint presentation is utilized later in the semester, as students present their research findings to an external audience. Therefore, throughout the semester, students are instructed to create a slide for the presentation that corresponds to the section they are working on each week (i.e. they create an introduction slide the week they work on their research questions and rationale

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for their studies). Below is an outline of the different activities completed over seven weeks in the first phase of this course:

Week One: Introduction to SLA Research Out of Class Preparation In the first week, students prepare for their in-class meeting by reading about qualitative and quantitative research as well as two empirical studies related to SLA. In particular, they read the results sections and look at the research questions in the two empirical studies and answer a list of questions (that are provided by the professor of the course) that lead them through an analysis of what type of research is conducted in each article.

In-Class Practice The purpose of the first week’s in-class meeting is to lead students through the design of their research question(s). First, students receive rubrics and instructions on how to best write research questions, and alongside the professor, analyze and discuss the out-of-class readings. Then, in order to encourage a collaborative process of learning, students write a first draft of research questions and their project rationale (i.e. why they decided to study their particular topic and what issue they are seeking to address) in class and submit them to the professor (either via a worksheet created by the professor or via the online learning system). The professor then provides feedback via the rubrics before the next class meeting, and students utilize this feedback to revise their research questions.

Weeks Two and Three: Results Out of Class Preparation

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To prepare for the second and third weeks of the course, students work outside of class in their groups to incorporate the professor’s feedback on their research questions and rationale and bring their revised work to class. Additionally, over the two-week period, they read two chapters from Introducing Second Language Acquisition (Saville-Troike & Barto, 2016) about two different theoretical approaches in SLA as well as the results sections of four new empirical studies (one chapter and two articles per week). To guide their readings, each week they answer a set of guided reading questions that leads them through an analysis of the type of research conducted.

In-Class Practice In order to encourage authentic and meaningful learning experiences where students take part in the revision process of their work, the second week’s class meeting focuses on providing students with time to share their research questions and rationale with another research group and receive feedback. While the professor does review the readings with students and help connect theory to practice based on the articles that were read prior to the class meeting, the main focus of the second week’s class meeting is on connecting theory to practice via mini-presentations of students’ research questions and project ratio582

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nales. In the development of these two parts of the research study, students begin drawing on theoretical concepts they have read about in their book chapters and in the empirical studies and use their growing understanding of SLA to develop this first phase of their own projects. Then, in the third week, and based on the peer feedback they receive, each group of students work together to make final revisions to their research questions and rationale and submit them for a final grade via their online learning system.

Weeks Four and Five: Introduction and Literature Review To further develop understanding of SLA theories and previous research, students next prepare for their research projects by collaboratively completing annotated bibliographies. They receive instructions and rubrics for their annotated bibliographies, and depending on group size, students submit between nine and 12 annotated bibliography entries (four per student).

Out of Class Preparation To prepare for the fourth and fifth weeks of the course, students read another book chapter dedicated to a third theoretical approach in SLA as well as four empirical studies (two articles per week). In these articles, they focus in particular on the introduction and literature review sections. When reading, they also complete a graphic organizer that leads them through identifying the different research topics in each article. The graphic organizer, which is designed like an upside-down triangle, emphasizes the structure of broader-to-narrow concepts that lead readers to the research questions (at the end of the literature review) of the project.

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In-Class Practice As students are learning about how to structure an introduction and literature review via their readings, they are also completing in-class activities that provide practical application of the theoretical concepts they are learning. In the third week, they work in class (via a provided handout) to divide the labor of work for the annotated bibliography and design the structure of the annotated bibliography, from broader themes of research to more narrow and focused areas of research that relate specifically to their selected project topics. During the fourth week of class, students receive time in class to write, participate in peer revision, and discuss their annotated bibliography structure with other groups. At the end of the fourth week of the course, students submit their group’s annotated bibliography. It should be noted that in order to provide individualized feedback and grading, each student labels his or her entries in the annotated bibliography by putting his/her initials at the end of the entry. Students are then graded partially on their individual effort and partially on the group assignment as a whole.

Weeks Six and Seven: Methods Out of Class Preparation The focus of the sixth and seventh week of the semester is on developing instruments, identifying possible participants, and planning to collect data. As part of this phase of the research project, students continue to read empirical research articles as related to SLA outside of class meetings, and they focus on the 583

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methodology sections of the articles. Through guided questions provided by the professor of the course, students analyze, evaluate, and critique the methodologies they read in these published, peer-reviewed articles. During the sixth week, the professor also provides students with rubrics and instructions for how to create the instruments for their research.

In-Class Practice During in-class meetings, students work collaboratively to design their own instruments during the sixth and seventh weeks. To further encourage a process of learning, students submit their initial draft of instruments to the professor, receive feedback per the provided rubrics, and then revise and resubmit their finalized versions of their instruments. While they work on their instruments, they also identify possible participant pools and submit a proposal for data collection (i.e. information for possible participants, instruments they plan to use and a rationale for why, etc.) via their online learning system to the professor.

Research Activities: Continuing to Bridge Theory to Practice Once students have created their instruments, identified their participant pool, and submitted their materials for grading via their online learning system, they then are ready to progress into the next phase of the research project, which involves higher levels of bridging theory to practice. In this phase of the semester, which lasts for five weeks, learners begin to actively collect and analyze data and then present it in a public forum. Considering that students in this course work with human participants, an IRB protocol is required, and it is suggested that the professor work with the IRB Board at his/her institution before the semester begins to establish an approved protocol for students to collect data.

Week Eight: Data Collection The focus of the eighth week of this course is on data collection. As such, all in-class meetings are cancelled and no readings are assigned in order to give students sufficient time to collect their data. Upon the professor’s approval, the students of the course contact their participants and spend this week collecting data and loading it into an online sharing system (such as Google docs). Once students collect their data, load it into an online sharing system, and share the data with the professor of the course, they then begin the next phase of the research project—data analysis.

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Week Nine: Data Analysis Out of Class Preparation In the data analysis phase of the research project, students read two new empirical studies related to SLA to prepare for the in-class meetings. Through guided questions provided by the professor, students examine the way in which other researchers have analyzed their data. Students also refer to their initial readings from the first week of the course about qualitative and quantitative research methods and data analysis.

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In-Class Practice During the in-class session, the professor and students discuss the data analysis from the empirical studies students read, with a focus on the process of analyzing the data. The professor then spends time discussing ways in which students can analyze their own data. Possible topics for this week’s in-class meeting include descriptive statistics, Constructivist Grounded Theory (Charmaz, 2006), and discourse analysis (Gee, 2011). Learners then spend time in class analyzing their data with their groups, following methods outlined in the readings they have completed and thus bridging theory to practice.

Weeks 10 and 11: Conclusion Out of Class Preparation The focus of weeks 10 and 11 is on drawing conclusions from the results, and in order to inform their understanding of how to accomplish this goal, students read two new empirical studies (during week 10 only) and focus on the conclusions sections. While reading, they evaluate and analyze the way in which the authors of the empirical studies draw conclusions from their results. To do so, students complete a graphic organizer that guides them through the analysis of the conclusion section. Furthermore, to prepare for the in-class meeting, students finish their data analysis section of their presentation in week 10 and prepare to work on their conclusions during the class meetings.

In-Class Practice During week 10, a portion of the in-class meeting centers on discussions regarding how other researchers draw conclusions. Then, in the other portion of week 10’s meeting and the entire class meeting of week 11, students collaborate with one another to draw conclusions from their results. Using the graphic organizer they completed for out of class homework, students follow the models they read about and develop their own conclusions.

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Weeks 12 and 13: Presentations Weeks 12 and 13 of the semester are dedicated to the presentation of learners’ research projects. During week 12, out of class preparation and in-class activities include preparing for the presentations as well as pairing different research groups together so that students can practice presenting their entire presentation and receive feedback. Then, during week 13, all students participate in a Linguistics Symposium, an event coordinated by one of the faculty members at the university of study. Typically, the symposium consists of undergraduate students from three different courses in World Language Education, Linguistics, and TESOL, thus providing a wide array of presentation topics and diversified audiences that provide different and nuanced feedback for students. At the Linguistics Symposium, all groups enrolled in the Introduction to SLA course present for 15 minutes each, and everyone else enrolled in the course is required to attend at least three different presentations. The presentation at the Linguistics Symposium serves as the major summative assessment in the course. During each presentation, students (who are not presenting) complete a critique (Appendix 585

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3) of the presentation and submit it via their online learning system. The professor collates and uses this feedback during weeks 14 and 15 of the reflective stage of this course.

Reflective Activities: Using PLCs as a Means for Growth After students complete the first two phases of the research project—the preparation phase and the bridging theory to practice phase—they then begin the reflective learning phase of the project. This phase is a vital component to the research project, as learning takes place most during reflective opportunities (Wilkinson, Calkins, & Dinesen, 2015). Additionally, in this phase of the research project, teacher candidates who are enrolled in this course are afforded authentic learning experiences that prepare them for success in their future careers. That is, they participate in both individual and collaborative reflections, which are both components of a successful and healthy PLC. Additionally, they partake in providing feedback to others, receiving constructive criticism from their peers, and incorporating the feedback into their projects. All of these activities provide learning opportunities that mimic the type of interactions they will encounter in their future field placements and teaching careers.

Weeks 14 and 15: Future Research and Revisions Out of Class Preparation In preparation for the next class meeting during week 14 of the semester, students create a list of three possible revision points for their research projects. In particular, they focus on possible revisions that need to be made to their content, their presentation from the Linguistics Symposium, or any other area of concern they noticed when presenting their research. Additionally, to prepare for the next class meeting, students read two new empirical studies and focus on the sections as related to future research.

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In-Class Practice During the in-class meeting of week 14 and under the professor’s guidance, students then meet with their groups, discuss their revision points that they each wrote for homework, and then as a group, they collectively decide upon three major points to include as their area of future research. As they decide upon their possible avenues of future research, the students create and add a PowerPoint slide to their presentations. In addition to developing points of future research as a part of the reflective learning in this phase of the research project, students also collaboratively reflect as a group. In the final week of the semester, which is week 15, students meet outside of class meeting time (in place of the in-class meeting), and the professor distributes each group’s collated feedback from the Linguistics Symposium via the online learning system. This activity provides students with opportunities for authentic learning experiences, as it prepares them to constructively integrate feedback into their work, evaluate content with a critical eye, and develop their critical and analytical thinking skills. Furthermore, it provides meaningful opportunities for students to bridge theory to practice and collaborate with other group members, much like they would in a PLC in their future careers. The instructions for this activity require that students respond to the comments from the Linguistics Symposium. They spend time collaboratively reviewing the comments, write a group response to each 586

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suggestion, and decide to either make the revision in their presentation or not (and if not, they are required to explain the reason for not incorporating the suggested revision). Once they decide on which revisions to make or not, they then submit the finalized presentation and revision responses to their professor via their online learning system.

DISCUSSION

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Students’ Reactions Upon the completion of the semester and the collaborative undergraduate research projects, students gave informal feedback that provided insight into their perspectives of the course and its focus on developing their participation in PLCs and undergraduate research. Specifically, two main themes emerged from their comments – one that focused on the benefits of collaborative learning and the other on students’ perceived gains as related to their ability to bridge theory to practice. Both categories are described in more detail below. When commenting on what best supported their learning in the course, students overwhelmingly responded that the environment of the course helped to promote collaboration. In particular, they mentioned that how the class meetings were structured made for an engaging atmosphere, as these meeting times involved an ongoing process of work, feedback, and revision between students as well as between the students and the professor. As such, this type of active, collaborative environment supports Wenger’s (1998) view of social learning as being the most productive atmosphere for meaningful and purposeful learning to take place (i.e. in a community of practice). In particular, students commented that they became more invested in their learning because they had ongoing opportunities to work with each other to achieve the goals of the course (Galileo Educational Network, 2017). Thus, by utilizing this type of authentic learning approach of inquiry-based learning and incorporating PLCs into the classroom environment, students were afforded opportunities to develop the skills necessary to be successful members of PLCs as well as become successful, reflective practitioners in the future. The second major theme that emerged from students’ post-course informal feedback related to their developed ability to bridge theory to practice, which as previously mentioned, was a main goal of this course. To recall, Martel (2016) notes that in order for teacher candidates to become successful practitioners, they need adequate time and space to implement necessary changes. As such, the purpose of this course was to provide meaningful, authentic opportunities for the teacher candidates to put into practice what they were reading and learning as related to SLA as well as theoretical approaches to teaching and learning a world language. In their comments, the students remarked that they believed this course accomplished this goal, as it provided an atmosphere of learning that connected the readings outside of the classroom to the work inside the classroom. In particular, students enjoyed being able to read about topics outside of class meetings, discuss them during class meetings, and then put the theories they learned about into practice through their research projects.

Considerations for World Language Teacher Education Programs With this type of active learning model, educators in World Language Teacher Education programs can prepare their teacher candidates by providing authentic learning opportunities that mimic the global587

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ized 21st century in which they will eventually teach. The suggestions detailed next provide possible considerations for creating and implementing this type of learning model into World Language Teacher Education programs.

Collaborative Learning to Promote Critical Thinking A gap that was noticed in this course—by the teacher candidates and by the author—was that prior to this course, students were unable to articulate their approach to language learning, i.e. the theoretical underpinnings of why and how language should be taught and learned. Aligning with Martel’s (2017) call for adequate teacher education preparation, this type of course can provide a valuable and meaningful learning experience because it can be structured as to require students to think critically about their approach to language learning and apply their beliefs to their practice. Additionally, and as previously mentioned, teacher candidates need ample time and space to develop their own identities and approaches toward world language instruction (Martel, 2016). To achieve these types of goals, then, it is recommended that the professor of the course provide multiple opportunities for students to think critically and discuss why they align with a certain theoretical approach and how that is reflected in their own original research projects. In-class activities can include reflective writing assignments, peer-to-peer discussions, and group discussions of theory and application. Such experiences are beneficial, as they prepare teacher candidates for their future careers in a multicultural and multilingual society (Schenker, 2013), and more specifically, for their upcoming edTPA where they are required to explain their approach to teaching—i.e. connecting theory to practice.

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Overcoming the Pushback Toward Group Work The second issue identified during this course was the pushback toward group work at the onset of the course. Even though students mentioned at the end of the course that they benefited most from the collaborative nature of the course, their attitudes at the beginning aligned more with what Vaughn et al., (2013) noted — that students often are hesitant or resistant to group work. In other words, students remarked that they typically viewed group work prior to this course as more or less a burden and came into the course with preconceived notions of collaboration and how they would participate in the group work. Thus, it is suggested that the professor of this course clearly define expectations – individual and collaborative – with instructions and rubrics at the onset of each phase of the course. Furthermore, it is recommended that the professor also design the assignments so that each student is responsible for his/ her own work as well as the group’s final product. In seeing how the students initially struggled with group work further supports the need for courses that implement authentic learning experiences that teach successful collaboration and thus prepare teacher candidates to be contributing members of a PLC in their future careers as educators. Additionally, in order to ease students into the group work and make it less of a topic of concern, it is suggested that the professor connect learning to real-life situations by outlining what a PLC looks like in their future careers, how one operates, what the roles are of each member, and then explain how the work in this course will mimic a real-world PLC. Furthermore, it is also recommended that the professor provide time in class for students to collaborate so that the professor of the course can give timely feedback and nurture productive collaboration. As such, the experience of the semester-long course can

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be focused on providing authentic, meaningful learning experiences that engage learners in real-world activities and tasks and prepare them to become successful educators within a globalized world.

CONCLUSION The pedagogical model discussed in this chapter is one that utilizes authentic experiences inside the classroom to prepare teacher candidates for their future careers. Specifically, the instructional practice described in this chapter followed the tenets of inquiry-based learning (Galileo Educational Network, 2017) and implemented a PLC inside the classroom context. Through the use of undergraduate research projects, this model promoted authentic learning in the sense that teacher candidates enrolled in the Introduction to Second Language Acquisition were able to participate in contexts that mimic the dynamics of their future professions, i.e. collaborative learning and working environments, and they were able to learn how to bridge theory to practice. Such an approach provides teacher candidates with meaningful and purposeful learning opportunities that teach them not only how to be collaborative and successful members of a PLC, but also teach them how to learn and adapt to the ever-evolving and constantly changing context of the 21st century (Mitchell, 2018).

REFERENCES Allen, W. (2014). Developing cultural proficiency. Language and Education, 9(1), 26–27. American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages. (2014, August 25). Global Competence Position Statement. Retrieved from http://www.actfl.org/news/position-statements/global-competenceposition-statement American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages and Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation. (2013). ACTFL/CAEP Program standards for the preparation of foreign language teachers. Retrieved from https://www.actfl.org/sites/default/files/CAEP/ACTFLCAEPStandards2013_v2015.pdf Blommaert, J. (2010). The sociolinguistics of globalization. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. doi:10.1017/CBO9780511845307

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Byrnes, H. (2010). Revisiting the role of culture in the foreign language curriculum. Modern Language Journal, 94(2), 315–317. doi:10.1111/j.1540-4781.2010.01023.x Charmaz, K. (2006). Constructing grounded theory: A practical guide through qualitative analysis. London: Sage. Chartrand, R. (2012). Social networking for language learners: Creating meaningful output with Web 2.0 tools. Knowledge Management & E-learning. International Journal (Toronto, Ont.), 4(1), 97–101. Chavez, M. (2002). We say “culture” and students ask “What?”: University students’ definitions of foreign language culture. Die Unterrichtspraxis/Teaching German, 35(2), 129-140. Chavez, M. (2005). Variation in the beliefs of college students of German about the teaching of culture. Die Unterrichtspraxis/Teaching German, 38(1), 31-43.

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Council of Chief State School Officers. (2011). Interstate Teacher Assessment and Support Consortium (InTASC) Model Core Teaching Standards: A Resource for State Dialogue. Washington, DC: Author. Dewey, J. (1929). The Quest for Certainty: A Study of the Relation of Knowledge and Action. London: Allen and Unwin. Dörnyei, Z., & Ushioda, E. (2011). Teaching and researching motivation (2nd ed.). Harlow: Longman. Dow, P. (1999). Why inquiry? A historical and philosophical commentary. In J. B. Kahle (Ed.), Foundations: A monograph for professionals in science, mathematics, and technology Education (pp. 5–8). Arlington, VA: Division of Elementary, Secondary, and Informal Education. Drewelow, I., & Mitchell, C. (2015). An exploration of learners’ conceptions of language, culture, and learning in advanced-level Spanish courses. Language, Culture and Curriculum, 28(3), 243–256. doi: 10.1080/07908318.2015.1078347 Finney, S. (2018). Creating conditions for authenticity in the Spanish classroom: Promoting agency, empathy, and inquiry through a US-Mexico role-immersion simulation (Doctoral dissertation). Retrieved from ProQuest. (10752503) Friesen, S. (2009). Creating, researching, and supporting 21st century learning. Education Canada, 49(5), 7–9. Galileo Educational Network. (2017). What is inquiry? Retrieved from http://galileo.org/teachers/ designing-learning/articles/what-is-inquiry/ Garrett-Rucks, P. (2016). Intercultural Competence in Instructed Language Learning: Bridging Theory and Practice. Charlotte, NC: Information Publishing Age. Gee, J. P. (2011). How to do discourse analysis: A toolkit. London: Routledge. Hord, S. M. (1997). Professional learning communities: Communities of continuous inquiry and improvement. Austin, TX: Southwest Educational Development Library. Kramsch, C. (2012). Culture in foreign language teaching. Iranian Journal of Language Teaching Research, 1(1), 57–78.

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Kramsch, C. (2014). Teaching foreign languages in an era of globalization: Introduction. Modern Language Journal, 98(1), 296–311. doi:10.1111/j.1540-4781.2014.12057.x Le Cornu, R., & Ewing, R. (2008). Reconceptualising professional experiences in pre-service teacher education...reconstructing the past to embrace the future. Teaching and Teacher Education, 24(7), 1799–1812. doi:10.1016/j.tate.2008.02.008 Martel, J. (2013). Saying our final goodbyes to the grammatical syllabus: A curricular imperative. French Review (Deddington), 86(6), 1122–1133. Martel, J. (2016). Three foreign language student teachers’ experiences with content-based instruction. Exploring the identity/innovation interface. Innovation in Language Learning and Teaching. doi:10.10 80/17501229.2016.1211134

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Martel, J. (2017). Is the field of foreign language education disposed to change? Modern Language Journal, 101(2), 431–433. doi:10.1111/modl.12422 Mitchell, C. (2016). Web 2.0 use to foster learners’ intercultural sensitivity: An exploratory study. In P. Rucks & A. E. Fantini (Eds.), Dimension Special Issue: Focus on Intercultural Competence. Atlanta, GA: SCOLT Publications. Mitchell, C. (2018). Pinterest: A vehicle to promote cross-cultural awareness in an introductory Spanish course. Hispania, 101(4), 573–586. doi:10.1353/hpn.2018.0179 Richards, J. C., & Rodgers, T. S. (2014). Approaches and methods in language teaching (3rd ed.). Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. Saville-Troike, M., & Barto, K. (2016). Introducing Second Language Acquisition (3rd ed.). Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. doi:10.1017/9781316569832 Schenker, T. (2013). The effects of a virtual exchange on students’ interest in learning about culture. Foreign Language Annals, 46(3), 491–507. doi:10.1111/flan.12041 Shrum, J. L., & Glisan, E. W. (2017). Teacher’s Handbook: Contextualized Language Instruction. Boston, MA: Heinle Cengage Learning. Stanford Center for Assessment, Learning, & Equity. (2017). Making good choices: A support guide for edTPA candidates. Board of Trustees of the Leland Stanford Junior University. Stoll, L., Bolam, R., McMahon, A., Wallace, M., & Thomas, S. (2006). Professional learning communities: A review of literature. Journal of Educational Change, 7(4), 221–258. doi:10.100710833-006-0001-8 Vaughn, N. D., Cleveland-Innes, M., & Garrison, R. D. (2013). Teaching in blended learning environments: Creating and sustaining communities of inquiry. Edmonton, Canada: AU Press. Vescio, V., Ross, D., & Adams, A. (2008). A review of research on the impact of professional learning communities on teaching practice and student learning. Teaching and Teacher Education, 24(1), 80–91. doi:10.1016/j.tate.2007.01.004 Wenger, E. (1998). Communities of practice: Learning, meaning, and identity. New York: Cambridge University Press. doi:10.1017/CBO9780511803932

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Wilkinson, S., Calkins, P., & Dinesen, T. (2015). Creating a culture-driven classroom one activity at a time. In A. J. Moeller (Ed.), 2015 Report of the Central States Conference on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (pp. 1-16). Eau Claire, WI: Johnson Litho Graphics.

KEY TERMS AND DEFINITIONS Galileo Educational Network: An organization dedicated to ongoing teacher education. Globalization: A global change characterized by a rapid pace of change, mixing and blending of cultures and peoples, and the dispersing of goods on a global level.

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Inquiry-Based Learning: An approach to learning that is student-centered. Students utilize investigative techniques to uncover and discover new knowledge. Reflective Learning: A process in which students take part in a cyclical learning experience of practice, reflection, and implementation of best practices. Second Language Acquisition: The study of how languages other than one’s native tongue are acquired and learned. Teacher Education: The preparation of teacher candidates prior to student teaching experiences. Undergraduate Research: Research that is carried out by students and supervised by a professor. World Language Learning: The process of learning a language different than one’s native tongue.

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This work was previously published in Engaging Teacher Candidates and Language Learners With Authentic Practice; pages 15-34, copyright year 2019 by Information Science Reference (an imprint of IGI Global).

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APPENDIX 1 Topic Interest Survey Rank the following topics in SLA, with #1 being your first choice and #5 being your last choice. Please be sure you provide your name so that you can be placed into a working group for the semester. Topics: _____ Motivation in SLA _____ Teaching practices in SLA _____ Environmental effects on SLA _____ Technology assisted language learning _____ Bilingualism

APPENDIX 2 Table 2. MLG 306 – Calendar of assignments Week 1 Introduction to SLA Research

In-Class Activity

Read articles on quantitative and qualitative research Read two articles related to SLA Answer guided questions about types of research in articles

Design research questions Write project rationale

Revise research questions and project rationale Read two chapters from Introducing Second Language Acquisition (Saville-Troike & Barto, 2016) Read four empirical studies related to SLA Answer guided questions about types of research in articles

Mini-presentations of research questions and project rationale Finish revisions on research questions and project rationale and submit to professor

Read chapter from Introducing Second Language Acquisition (SavilleTroike & Barto, 2016) Complete graphic organizer to analyze structure of literature review

Divide labor of work for annotated bibliography Design structure of annotated bibliography in groups Write, peer review, and revise annotated bibliographies

Read two empirical studies related to SLA and focus on methods employed Answer guided questions that analyze methodologies

Design instruments Identify participant pools Submit proposals of research plan

Students collect data

No class meeting

9 Data Analysis

Read two empirical studies related to SLA and focus on data analysis in each study Answer guided questions that examine how data was analyzed Upload raw data to sharing site and send to professor

Group work focused on data analysis

10 & 11 Conclusions

Read two empirical studies and focus on conclusion sections only Evaluate and analyze how conclusions are drawn in each article via the use of a graphic organizer

Collaboratively draw conclusions with group

12 & 13 Presentations

Prepare for and give presentations Each student must complete three critiques of separate presentations and turn them in after the presentations.

2&3 Results 4&5 Introduction and Literature Review 6&7 Methods 8 Data Collection

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Out of Class Preparation

14 & 15 Future Research and Revisions

Individually create a list of three revision points from presentations Read two empirical studies and focus on future research sections only

Share revision points with group, select top three, and implement into PowerPoint presentation Develop future research slide Meet and respond to other students’ comments from presentations

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APPENDIX 3 Linguistics Symposium: Critiques Each person must complete three critiques and then upload them to the online learning system. Your name: _____________________ Name of presenters: ______________________________________________________________ Title of presentation: _____________________________________________________________ **In your suggestions for improvement, be specific in your feedback. Example: Your literature review on slide #2—the point about cultural competence was unclear. Maybe add a definition of what cultural competence is.

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1. What went well in this presentation? 2. Was there any kind of issue in the flow of the presentation that you noticed? If so, what was it? What are some suggestions for improvement 3. What did you learn as a result of attending this presentation 4. What content gaps were in the presentation that you noticed? What are some suggestions you might have for improvement? 5. Other comments:

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Chapter 31

Reforming Pre-Service English Language Teacher Training Using Professional Community of Learning Abdulmalik Yusuf Ofemile University of Nottingham, UK

ABSTRACT In the English language teaching context in Nigeria, teacher training-institutions often use theoretical and outdated curriculum with little emphasis on the acquisition of communicative language teaching (CLT) skills or content mastery. This does not adequately prepare teachers for work in basic and secondary schools. This chapter focuses on the potential of using professional community of learning to train pre-service teachers of English in CLT approaches. Two groups of teachers with similar pre-service training were evaluated during teaching practice, with one group being exposed to CLT approaches. Results suggest that pre-service teachers that were exposed to CLT approaches performed better in class than those who were not. Following these results, the potential for replication and integration into the national teacher-training curriculum in Nigeria is explored.

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INTRODUCTION This chapter identifies challenges in the English Language Teaching (ELT) context at various levels, including having Newly Qualified Teachers (NQTs) that are strong on theory but without corresponding practical pedagogic skills, experienced teachers who cannot cascade acquired training skills, outdated curriculum used in teacher training institutions, and general systemic failures resulting from a combination of these factors. In response to these challenges, the chapter outlines how a Professional Community of Learning (PCL) was used in the FCT College of Education Zuba-Abuja (COEZ) to identify, explore and turn these challenges into resourceful potentials for improving teacher and institutional capacities. DOI: 10.4018/978-1-7998-7294-8.ch031

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Research Anthology on Facilitating New Educational Practices Through Communities of Learning, edited by Association, Information Resources Management, IGI Global, 2020. ProQuest

 Reforming Pre-Service English Language Teacher Training Using Professional Community of Learning

In addition, the chapter reviews previous research into PCL, Communicative Language Teaching (CLT), and the Cambridge ESOL Teaching Knowledge Test (TKT) with a focus on identifying features that inform PCL design and implementation techniques. The ways in which PCL is used to institute multilevel reform in English language teacher education in Nigeria is then explored, with a focus on improving pre-service teachers’ competences and strengthening institutional capacity to improve ELT in schools. Through this exploration, it became apparent that the PCL approach has the potential to strengthen weak and outdated pre-service curriculum, prepare pre-service teachers with adequate CLT skills for the classroom, provide ready-made master-trainers in primary and junior secondary schools, and develop a body of knowledge for future application across ELT contexts. Furthermore, the PCL approach may also improve the teaching of English significantly by improving pre-service teachers’ linguistic skills and exposing them to professional practice even before they graduate to face the challenges of their profession. The chapter reports on a pilot programme in Nigeria that used PCL to give a basic grounding in the CLT approach to pre-service English language teachers with a view to making them better equipped for professional practice and development. PCL implementation as described here progresses in three stages. The first is preliminary work where the team is formed, curriculum is integrated, and the operational system is outlined. The second stage is project implementation which occurs in two sub-stages, starting off and the actual practicum. The final stage is evaluation done when pre-service teachers are on teaching practice. Students go for teaching practice supervised by subject specialists and the credits earned count as a requirement for graduation. By examining the implementation and outcomes of this approach, the chapter offers a reform that promotes a student-centred teaching approach and active learning strategies among pre-service teachers of English in Nigeria.

LITERATURE REVIEW AND BACKGROUND

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Communicative Language Teaching and Professional Community of Learning The project described here integrates the CLT approach into the existing language teacher curriculum and devises a way to train pre-service teachers in the practical application of CLT. Richards (2006) described CLT as a set of core principles of language teaching and learning that aims to help learners develop communicative competence or ability. For the teacher, CLT implies making real communication the focus of language learning, supporting learners to learn by doing, being tolerant of learners’ errors, and providing meaningful feedback (Richards, 2006; Savignon, 2002). The TKT aims to introduce prospective teachers to the core knowledge of teaching English to speakers of other languages in a communicative way. It targets inexperienced teachers or teachers in pre-service training who wish to receive a basic grounding in CLT theory in preparation for their teaching practice. The TKT has three modules. Module one focuses on language and background to English language learning and teaching concepts, module two deals with planning for language teaching, and the third module handles classroom language and management (Banegas, 2011; Ngamsa & Jauro, 2013). The TKT relies on proven language learning theories, aids teachers with being constructively expressive, and encourages learners to use the language communicatively. The TKT and CLT have a joint concern with improving language teachers’ competences. Competence implies mastery of subject matter and possessing the ability to transmit knowledge in an easy, memorable and motivating way (Caena, 2014). From a linguistic point of view as expressed by Canale

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(1983) and van Zeeland and Schmitt (2012), competence refers to the knowledge of grammar, linguistic and sociolinguistic conventions, and the ability to use the knowledge to create meaning in appropriate interaction contexts. The ability to transmit knowledge refers to teaching skills needed in the classroom to make learning meaningful for the student. Richards (2011) suggests that teaching can be viewed as a performance acquired through observing experienced teachers to pick up a range of pedagogic techniques and routines such as opening the lesson, setting tasks, and carrying out evaluation. Furthermore, competence includes pedagogical reasoning skills which enable English language teachers to evaluate potential learning content and identify ways of turning this into a teaching resource for specific language skills (Richards, 2011). These skills enable the language teacher to design and control content material, plan teaching, use instructional media, evaluate learners, adapt to different teaching contexts, and effectively communicate ideas. The term PCL was suggested by DuFour (2004) and has also been called Professional Learning Community (Huffman, Hipp, Pankake, & Moller, 2014; Vesio, Ross, & Adams, 2008). There are two dominant views regarding the concept of PCL. The first is the view that the PCL is an engaging process that aims at organisational improvement by improving the community’s component parts. To this end, Louis (2007) describes it as a process used to establish a culture that aims at developing and maintaining teacher efficacy, student learning, and school improvement throughout the school. In addition, Protheroe (2008) suggests that the PCL is a way of doing things that recognises and taps the collective strengths, skills, and talents of staff. This view suggests that the PCL involves a course of action aimed at improving the teaching-learning construct using institution-based resources. The second view presents the PCL as a collaborative venture which ensures that learners move from a lower level of learning achievement to a higher one using a prescribed plan; hence, the PCL creates a collaborative institutional culture that focuses on learning and increasing student learning achievement (Feger & Arruda, 2008). In addition, Reichstetter (2006) maintains that PCL involves teams collaborating to continuously improve strategies for meeting learner needs using a shared curricular focus and vision. In support of this position, Miller (2004) suggests that it is a group of people sharing and critically interrogating their practice in a continuous, reflective, collaborative, inclusive, learning-oriented and growth-promoting way that revolves around learner improvement. This view places emphasis on collaboration, reflection in practice, peer review, and learner-centeredness. For the purposes of this chapter, PCL is described as a shared vision and collaborative process for executing critical skills acquisition programmes that is built around local teachers, students, and other stakeholders with the aim of improving learner competence and institutional success rates. This definition implies that the PCL functions as a process and series of actions that rely on informed collaboration which results in beneficial achievement for learners, teachers, the home institution, and other stakeholders. Based on this definition, the PCL comprises three related structural components (see Figure 1) which include a professional community of educators, a learning community of teachers within and outside the classroom, and the stakeholder community (Tobia & Hord, 2012). A professional community of educators consists of Teacher Educators (TEs), educational managers, professional bodies, and specialised government and quasi-governmental bodies with professional supervisory functions. The learning community includes pre-service teachers, teachers in schools where pre-service teachers are on teaching practice, and other teachers outside the classroom involved in the PCL. Stakeholders include employers, parents, governments as owners and employers, researchers, and the public. The pre-service teachers featured in this chapter were those taking English as a double major either as full-time or part-time students preparing to go for teaching practice. To qualify, they must have 597

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Figure 1. Structure of Professional Community of Learning

also passed their micro-teaching assignments and met all the requirements set by the college for going for teaching practice.

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Characteristics of PCLs As outlined above, PCL membership is very fluid as one person can belong to more than one community and sub-group. Such fluidity is a basis for critical leadership provided by shared value systems, collaboration, student-centred activities, effective support, and shared practices. These characteristics are tied to the overarching notion that a PCL enables teachers to act as facilitators that are also engaged in professional learning (Eaker & Gonzalez, 2006; Portsmouth, 2008), and that student learning emerges performatively from practical day-to-day engagement within the PCL. Furthermore, these characteristics are intrinsically linked to UNESCO’s four pillars of learning as described below that shape student learning and teacher professional learning. The characteristics of a PCL as applied in the COEZ are outlined below. The PCL is characterised by a shared vision, values, and norms about teaching and learning; however, DuFour (2004) stresses that the aim is to ensure student learning and social development. Vision represents the focus, knowledge, understanding, and farsightedness of decision-making and collaborative efforts. It is usually articulated as mission statements in organisations, lesson objectives in the classroom, and course objectives and the articulated processes to achieve them. The shared vision for the COEZ is to inculcate CLT skills in pre-service teachers with a view to making them effective and efficient English teachers. This vision is derived from one of the aims of the Nigeria Certificate in Education (NCE) English programme which is to equip students to teach English effectively (NCCE, 2012) and which is tied to the philosophy of education in Nigeria in that, “Education is to be qualitative, comprehensive, functional and relevant to the needs of the society” (Federal Republic of Nigeria, 2013, p. 1). This level of integration suggests that the PCL vision is a specific articulation of overarching national goals and aspirations.

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Shared values represent standards set as benchmarks against which performance is measured. These may include minimum standards set by supervisory bodies, laws, admission and graduation requirements, as well as organisational goals. The value for the COEZ is to assess how pre-service teachers use CLT skills in class during teaching practice as a measure of improved student learning and effective professional practice. Norms are written and unwritten accepted ground rules that have cultural meanings which guide conventional processes and procedures that, in turn, dictate how one interacts within a community. While vision sets the pace of activity, interaction within the PCL is guided by statutory requirements, organisational flowcharts, and informal communication processes that enable the PCL to develop its own norms at different stages of development. These norms subsequently shape the PCL’s value system. The PCL thrives on collaboration with a clear and consistent focus on student learning. Maynard (2017) suggests that there are three types of collaboration: team collaboration, community collaboration, and network collaboration. Each of these types generates new ideas, allows people to connect, engenders effective project management, provides opportunities for members to learn, and enables the PCL to focus on achievable outcomes. This is because PCLs are built on the belief that collaboration enables professionals to achieve more than they could otherwise accomplish alone (DuFour, 2004; 2007; DuFour, DuFour, Eaker, & Thomas, 2010). Collaboration is beneficial to the teacher as it enables sharing responsibility and resources for effective student learning (Huffman et al., 2014; Reichstetter, 2006; Vesio et al., 2008). Society also benefits from collaboration because it involves the tripartite components of the PCL working together to ensure that individual and group needs are met. Furthermore, PCLs focus on examining outcomes to improve student learning (DuFour, 2004; Feger & Arruda, 2008; Louis, 2007). This learner-centred feature is achieved by promoting reflective dialogue and enquiry among teachers, students, assessors, and programme designers about curriculum, instruction and student learning, and professional development. Reflective dialogue and enquiry involves paying critical attention to the practical values and theories which inform everyday actions by examining practice thoughtfully and spontaneously (Bolton, 2010). Although reflective practice has been theoretically incorporated into the education programmes, Jones and Jones (2013) suggest that many NQTs do not know how to transfer the reflection strategies they learned in college to their classroom teaching. In addition, some TEs do not practice what they preach and so may not provide true role models for pre-service teachers. The PCL provides a hands-on opportunity for developing reflective practice through practicum. In addition, PCLs epitomise supportive and shared leadership (Feger & Arruda, 2008; Mitchell & Sackney, 2006; Tobia & Hord, 2012). This refers to leadership that is enabled by collegial and facilitative leaders using participatory team approaches to team building and management. Team leaders invite teachers, students, and sometimes stakeholders to offer input in decision-making. This engenders mutual trust, respect, and support for authority. Teachers are given leadership in their choices of curriculum development while students are given their roles in individual and group learning contexts. This enables team members to take ownership of their learning, accept responsibility for their decisions, and become self-efficacious, empowered, and resilient (Le Cornu, 2009; Vesio et al., 2008). In addition, PCLs engage in shared personal practice where teachers de-privatise practice to make teaching and learning open and accessible (DuFour, 2004, 2007; Vesio et al., 2008). This refers to a well-articulated layout for team members to share what hitherto was in the private domain of TEs, i.e. their pedagogic practices such as open classrooms, open lesson plans, books, and conversations that are referenced for team members’ work. Here, teachers reflectively observe, share, and discuss experiences with each other with the aim of evaluating and improving professional practice and student learning (Thompson, Gregg, & Niska, 2004; Tobia & Hord, 2012). However, team members must have mutual 599

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trust as a prerequisite for success. Furthermore, groups and individual professional learning is enabled as teachers see a clear connection between their professional learning within the PCL, their practices, and student learning (Vesio et al., 2008). For shared personal practice to be useful, members should determine ways of sharing experiences during practice. The PCL has a clear and consistent focus on student learning, reflective practice, collaboration, and de-privatised practice, in addition to a positive impact on teaching practice and student achievement (DuFour, 2007; Vesio et al., 2008), learning (Munzali, 2010), empowerment and resilience (Le Cornu, 2009), and the development of reflective practice in pre-service teachers (Harford & MacRuairc, 2008; Thompson et al., 2004), thereby creating opportunities for growth in student learning. This section has argued that PCL, CTL, and TKT have a common emphasis on collaboration, authenticity, the learning process, socialisation, learner autonomy, teacher-facilitation, lifelong learning, and the increased involvement of the classroom teacher in research and knowledge development (Bagarić & Djigunović, 2007). This common focus may enable pre-service teachers to see a clear connection between their professional learning within a PCL, their practices and student learning, in addition to promoting their personal and professional development.

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THE ELT CONTEXT IN NIGERIA The NCE is the basic teaching qualification in Nigeria. It is a three-year programme offered by all Colleges of Education, some polytechnics, and the National Teachers’ Institute (NTI). The National Commission of Colleges of Education (NCCE) supervises teacher education and designs the NCE minimum standard as a guide for programme implementation and accreditation in Nigeria. These institutions, according to the National Policy on Education of 2013, shall produce highly motivated, efficient, creative, inquisitive, adaptable and professional teachers (Federal Republic Nigeria, 2013). Similarly, the NCCE hopes that English language programmes will develop the four core language skills in teachers, make them confident and competent users of the language, equip them to teach the language and literature in primary and junior secondary schools, and prepare them for further studies (NCCE, 2012) However, the NCE curriculum has been criticised as being too theoretical, not adequately preparing teachers at the primary level, and as giving no attention to the mastery of appropriate content or pedagogic skills (Theobald, Umar, Ochekpe, & Sanni, 2008). Moreover, the situation has not changed in Nigeria, even after several reviews of the NCE minimum standards due to poor implementation. In addition, studies on teacher competence in parts of the country suggest that only 1.2% of the 19,125 in-service teachers sampled have competence in basic literacy, and 60% could not prepare lesson notes. This situation makes English the worst taught subject in primary schools (Munzali, 2010; Theobald et al., 2008; UNESCO, 1996). Research suggests that the curriculum as designed and implemented in teacher training institutions in Nigeria may have significantly contributed to the production of NQTs of English without knowledge of the technicalities and methodologies involved in English language learning and teaching (Munzali, 2010; Ofemile, 2010). Moreover, professional development programmes target only experienced in-service teachers that are often reported as being reluctant to change due to the calcification of attitudes and practices developed over the years (Bach & Goncalves, 2004; Hoekstra, Korthagen, & Brekelmans, 2009). These factors put pre-service teachers and NQTs in a lose-lose situation. First, the curriculum turns out ill-equipped NQTs that are unable to function effectively and efficiently in the classroom as language

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teachers. Secondly, educational administrators do not target NQTs for training when they start practicing. As a result, they may not benefit from any professional development opportunities. Furthermore, when NQTs join service, they do not benefit from the training and experience of their seniors because beneficiaries can be ill-equipped and have little time or opportunity to pass skills on to others. This leads to the failure of in-service training programmes to truly cascade down as expected. This situation motivated the move to use a PCL to give a basic grounding in a CLT approach to pre-service English language teachers as a way of making them better equipped for future professional development.

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The COEZ Professional Community of Learning and Leadership The approach used in the COEZ was guided by the recognition that professional development occurs in two progressive layers that are linked because one leads to the other. The first is pre-service skill development (Starkey et al., 2009) which is school-based and outlined in the NCE minimum standards and operationalised as course outlines. Pre-service development prepares pre-service teachers for professional life. This leads to the second level of job-based professional development, where NQT professional practice begins and progresses (Salas & Cannon-Bowers, 2001) with in-service and/or on-the-job training. The COEZ project aimed to build a bridge between the two by using an existing curriculum and focusing on professional culture in the first instance in a similar way to that described by Vesio et al. (2008). However, in the long term, curriculum changes will occur through systematic curriculum mapping and integration to guide faculty members, students, and other stakeholders (Clough, James, & Witcher, 1996; Willet, 2008). A PCL thrives on collaboration; however, it also requires supportive and shared leadership personified in one office holder that can provide initial vision. To this end, no individual was more important in initiating and sustaining improvement in the department than the Head of Department (HOD) with adequate support from faculty, college management, and various other stakeholders including the British Council Nigeria, the NCCE, and FCT/UBEB. The COEZ project relied on support from leadership in all stakeholder organisations because these enabled it to use resources within. Leadership has to identify a shared vision that could guide staff in developing and articulating a collective vision for their students or department. The vision must be clearly stated, measurable, and have a timeline as these will make it easy for administrators to model the vision or actualise improvement through their actions with staff, students, parents, and community (Morrissey, 2000). There should be decision-making structures that enable teachers to become involved in long-range planning and result in consensual decisions because the vision is measurably stated within a timeline. Furthermore, shared and supportive leadership is sustained by effective systems of communication among TEs and between participating groups as outlined in Figure 1. Communication systems include formal channels such as official letters, emails, notice boards, whole group and committee meetings, while informal channels include impromptu discussions held in different contexts that have a profound impact on the workings of the PCL such as during private visits, chance meetings, or interaction at recreational events. The administrator is primarily responsible for developing the supportive conditions that provide opportunities for TEs and pre-service teachers to learn, have fun and to work together (Sim, 2006).

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IMPLEMENTATION This section outlines the implementation process and covers the folowing steps: pre-operational planning and system design; getting started; focusing on learning; and aligning practices through evaluation. While outlining the implementation process, problems and suggestions are analysed and a number of important points are examined across various contexts.

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Step 1: Pre-Operational System Design The pre-operational planning and system design step focused on developing the PCL framework. The framework used in the COEZ project has ten components identified as ‘A-J’ in Figure 2. Bolman and Deal (2017), citing Mintzberg’s (1979) basic organisational structure, explains that the technostructure of an organisation is made up of key individuals and teams involved in the functions that enable the organisation to achieve its goals. For the PCL, the technostructure is operationalised in a framework made up of key individuals, teams, and institutional resources labelled A-E in Figure 2. Specifically, ‘A’ encompassed external assessors that included one senior lecturer in language education from a local university representing institutions that may train our students in the future for degrees and in post-graduate courses; an assessor from the Universal Basic Education Board (as prospective employers), and a trained teacher with over 10 years of experience in managing teacher education at the state level in Nigeria. The third assessor was a Deputy Director and experienced regulator of teacher education in the NCCE (the institution’s supervisory body) who ensured compliance with NCE minimum standards. ‘B’ and ‘E’ were the project managers. ‘B’ was the co-manager from the collaborating partners, while ‘E’ was the HOD (English) and the internal manager responsible for the day-to-day running of the PCL. Together, they provided the leadership, vision and shared experiences for the PCL which paved the way for collective learning, and the application of learning and shared personal practice to occur within the PCL (DuFour & DuFour, 2013; Linder, Post, & Calabrese, 2012; Morrissey, 2000). ‘C’ was the measurement and evaluation consultant who is a professor of language education from a nearby university with years of experience in organising, managing, and assessing teacher training programmes in Nigeria. The consultant’s major role was to carry out an informed assessment of the project and support the facilitators during training by observing sessions and giving constructive feedback. ‘D’ are TEs from the host department who facilitated the training of pre-service teachers. TEs in the college were facilitators and core professionals in the project (‘D’ in Figure 2) who trained the students before teaching practice and supervised them at work during teaching practice. TEs are registered teachers in Nigeria, have the minimum of a master’s degree in English or Teaching English Language to Speakers of Other Languages, and have earned the British Council/National Teachers’ Institute’s Continuous Professional Development certificate for teachers of English as a second language (now a Post-Graduate Diploma in Education) after one year of training. In addition, the TEs were experienced TKT and TKT/CLIL master trainers and have trained at least one batch of teachers in Nigeria. TEs used the TKT facilitator’s manual as a guide and pre-service teachers used the TKT manual as course material during training, in addition to a reflection diary to document their experiences during teaching practice (see ‘J’ in Figure 2). ‘F’ refers to internal support resources within the host institution, such as existing college committees, timetables, and teaching practice schemes and templates, whose functions are aligned to meet the needs of the PCL programme. For example, the teaching practice committee posted supervisors and provided

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Figure 2. The COEZ Professional Community of Learning framework (influenced by Stoll et al., 2005)

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letters introducing supervisors and external assessors to the teaching practice schools. ‘G’ represents the PCL’s operational processes that enhance trainee competences. These processes were implemented by the facilitators (‘D’) and intertwined with the characteristics outlined in ‘H’. Furthermore, the projected outcomes were identified by the internal manager (‘E’) and verified by external assessors (‘A’) and the consultant (‘C’) in their observation and evaluation reports (‘J’, administration). As outlined in the background, characteristics influence the PCL processes in several ways, while the processes affirm and lead to the creation of PCL characteristics. For example, optimising the resources may lead to instant knowledge transfer from TEs to students. The projected outcomes (‘I’) included improved mastery of linguistic knowledge, pedagogic skills, interactive abilities and the development of an enduring culture of collaborative productivity in the PCL. These provided data which was the basis for integrating the TKT curriculum into the NCE minimum standards on a larger scale.

Step 2: Getting Started After designing the framework (Figure 2), the next step was getting started which involved foundation laying, consensus building, and addressing any resistance by key figures involved in the PCL. The key figures included TEs, pre-service teachers, teacher education institutions, managers and supervisory bodies, and learning communities consisting of pre-service teachers, primary school teachers, and pupils (Sim, 2006). Other important stakeholders included government, participant donor agencies, employ-

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ers, parents, alumni, researchers, and the public. The involvement of key figures and stakeholders at the planning stage ensured that people from multiple constituencies collaboratively worked together (Tobia & Hord, 2012) without conflict later.

A) Foundation Laying The aim of foundation laying is to encourage the relevant English department to shift the focus from teaching to learning collaboratively through practise. Specifically, the compelling purpose or mission was to equip pre-service teachers of English with CLT skills in the preparation, delivery, and evaluation of activities and learner-based lessons that promoted the communicative use of the English language. As a result, the COEZ project aimed to:

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1. Prepare pre-service English teachers to demonstrate learner-centred teaching that encourages interaction, such as group work, in the teaching practice classroom; 2. Prepare pre-service English teachers to generate useful feedback from learners in the English language classroom; 3. Prepare pre-service English teachers to demonstrate how to motivate learners using creativity in the English language classroom; 4. Build a body of knowledge and recommendations from the project that is useful for ELT in Nigeria and similar contexts worldwide. These objectives created a learning focus for the whole programme, with the resultant proposal presented to all the stakeholders for input and approval. College management provided the venue and some logistic support, while the collaborating partner provided teaching materials (TKT Essentials – Teaching English Modules 1, 2 & 3) and a stipend for facilitators, observers, and consultants. Furthermore, these objectives aimed to make the PCL effective and are built upon UNESCO’s (1996) four pillars of learning. At the foundation laying stage, the four pillars enabled participants to acquire structured knowledge and develop critical thinking, develop personal competence within the group, focus on collaborative and complimentary approaches to learning, and then to recognise, and develop as, distinct personalities in the community of learning (Ofemile, 2011; Stoll, Bolam, McMahon, Wallace, & Thomas, 2006). These qualities may engender a department-wide culture of knowledge acquisition, the development of personal thinking, competence and teaching skills, collaboration and the democratisation of knowledge, and recognition and respect for individual differences in the learning community. To make the paradigm shift in the department effective and to tackle curriculum and programmatic challenges, the HOD (internal manager), in collaboration with facilitators and other staff, map the TKT curriculum to the existing NCCE curriculum to facilitate evaluation and enhance quality assurance (Willet, 2008).

B) Build Consensus and Address Resistance To reinforce the foundation laid, the PCL leadership established common grounds with all participants and clearly outlined the project’s priorities in alignment with the institution’s vision for reform among professionals, pre-service teachers, support staff, and management. The PCL leadership built consensus by expressing willingness to accept contributions and constructive criticism from others. Where the need arose, leadership may use legal instruments like a memorandum of understanding (‘J’) to form

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consensus among players and translate the shared vision into mutually agreed ground rules regarding teaching, learning, and professional activities. Resistance was addressed through the effective use of group dynamics that manage internal politics, power relations, and conflicts between sub-groups in the PCL (DuFour & DuFour, 2013; Knapp, 2003; Stoll et al., 2006) by creating opportunities for all participants to voice their observations and reservations such as meetings, questionnaires or reflective notes.

Step 3: Focusing on Learning The next major stage of implementation focused on learning realised through organised training sessions, the use of assessment instruments, and the creation of an effective intervention and enrichment system. Training sessions provided contexts for facilitators and pre-service teachers to experience hands-on interaction and learning. The PCL managers designed timetables for the organised management of sessions without clashing with normal institutional timetables so that students did not miss their normal lectures. Enrichment and intervention systems involved building collaborative culture and properly structuring teams.

A) Organising Training and Designing Assessment Instruments

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Weekly training sessions were organised where TEs trained students in the college. The materials used are the Cambridge TKT Essentials workbook and facilitator’s guide (‘J’), selected because they have a focus on a CLT approach. To ensure that there is a consistent focus on learning, the internal manager, College Provost, and other stakeholders regularly visited classrooms during training while facilitators used an attendance register (‘J’) to monitor trainee participation. Additional support was provided by the measurement and evaluation expert (‘C’) through observation and constructive feedback. Assessment instruments were designed collaboratively for different participants and aimed at improving pre-service teachers’ skills, and focused on learning and organisational efficiency. The pre-service teachers had reflective journals to record their daily classroom experiences while on teaching practice. These aimed at developing reflective practice as reflection helps teachers to continue learning and teaching (Harford & MacRuairc, 2008; Peters & Weisberg, 2011). The reflective journal had the following sections: What content was covered today? 1. 2. 3. 4. 5.

What resources did I/we use today? What resources did I/we create today? What went well for me/us today? What did not go well for me/us today? What do I/we do to make things work in future? (This can include strategies, plans, resolutions etc. that will make things identified in ‘E’ work.) 6. What are my/our targets for tomorrow? A number of evaluation approaches and instruments were designed and administered during teaching practice. The first set had an evaluation form (see Appendix 1) used by external observers to as-

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sess pre-service teachers’ classroom proficiency as teachers of English in the areas of lesson planning, introduction, use of learning activities, building interaction, use of feedback, and class management. After the lesson, assessors chatted with supervisees using the question guide with a focus on enabling student-teachers to reflect on the lesson while the observer summarised the opinions expressed in a journal (see Appendix 2). The guide questions focused on how the lesson went, how successful the teachers thought they were in achieving lesson objectives, what they would do differently if they were to do the lesson again, and any suggestions they believed would improve the programme. Furthermore, another questionnaire (see Appendix 3) sought to find out whether pre-service teachers felt that the modules used aided them in improving their language teaching competence. The third instrument was an interview guide (see Appendix 4) that examined how learners assessed the programme by comparing CLT lessons with other lessons. These instruments enabled the project to obtain the views of pre-service teachers and their pupils regarding the teaching and learning process in addition to an observer’s assessment of classroom interaction. These instruments enabled project assessment to be balanced, critical, and all-encompassing.

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B) Create Intervention and Enrichment Systems At this stage, the PCL was engaged in continuous inquiry and developing systems for intervention and project enrichment by building a collaborative culture, using structured teams, and time allocation, and engaging in the right work (DuFour et al., 2010; Tobia & Hord, 2012;). Building a Collaborative Culture: As outlined in the background, team, community and networking collaboration was developed iteratively in four stages when starting out, developing, deepening, and sustaining the PCL (Stoll et al., 2006). These stages coincided with the implementation procedure outlined in this chapter. Starting out and developing covers pre-operational system design and getting started; developing covers aspects of the previous stages and focusing on learning; deepening and sustaining covers aspects of developing focus on learning, aligning practices through evaluation and project evaluation processes. Hord (1997) suggests that these processes could be achieved by pulling people together and making time for collaboration during planning and execution. For example, the co-managers (‘B’ and ‘E’) achieved collaboration by building consensus with, and being sensitive to the needs of, those involved in the project to enable trust building and acceptability which, according to DuFour et al. (2010), may lead to the creation of a culture of reciprocal accountability in the PCL. Furthermore, as outlined in the overview of the framework, resource persons and resource centres interacted unilaterally (indicated by the single head arrows in Figure 2) and bidirectionally (indicated by the bidirectional arrows). These patterns of interaction between individuals, teams, and resources during implementation suggest that stakeholders were involved in building a community of practice (Sim, 2006) that can enhance collaboration and a sense of collective responsibility among the TEs, and these were transferred as skills to pre-service teachers. Structured Teams: A structured team has defined membership, goals, and responsibilities which are derived from the overarching structure, vision, mission, and functions of the PCL. As outlined in the framework, the PCL has ten units from which five interactive teams were identified. The five teams can be further grouped based on where they work; thus, those working with the COEZ were regarded as internal such as the internal manager and TEs. The others were external, and included external assessors, the external co-manager, and the measurement and evaluation expert. There is also the internal

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resource and support system which included the college teaching practice committee, classroom, training providers, and other TEs. Each team had specific duties assigned. For example, external assessors representing academia, the NCCE, and prospective employers, observed pre-service teachers during teaching practice, focusing on lesson preparation, introduction, learning activities, interaction, feedback, and classroom management. They reported their findings to the PCL managers, peers and their organisations. The HOD coordinated teaching practice posting, dissemination of information to others and the pre-service teachers, and compiled the contact list used by assessors and the measurement and evaluation expert. These teams interacted with one another while remaining independent for effectiveness (Knapp et al., 2003), while representatives of each sub-group peer-reviewed the work of other groups through observation and critical feedback.

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Step 4: Aligning Practices Through Evaluation Process evaluation instruments designed in Step 3 are used to assess specific and group goals at different stages of PCL implementation. This is called multilevel assessment. Multilevel assessment was used because it was comprehensive, enabled comparison of different viewpoints, and provided important clues about the effects (DuFour et al., 2010; Knapp et al., 2003) of the programme on pre-service teacher performance during teaching practice. The project evaluation was done by the external assessors and the TEs and was coordinated by the measurement and evaluation consultant who submitted an informed report to the PCL managers. Part of the evaluation was through in-class observation of the 50 TKT-trained pre-service teachers representing 100% of the population trained (experimental group) in addition to a random selection of 25 non-TKTtrained pre-service teachers (control group) using the observation form (Appendix 1). Fewer non-TKT trained pre-service teachers were assessed because only those available at the time of the observation visits were recruited and it was not possible to arrange other visits due to logistic constraints. A questionnaire was administered (Appendix 2) to all the TKT-trained pre-service teachers to explore their perceptions about the importance and relevance of, as well as their ability to implement, TKT principles in the classroom after training. This enabled the evaluation process to use a complete sampling frame that gives every member of the target population a chance to be selected (Fricker, 2008; Dörnyei, 2007). As outlined in Step 3, reviews helped teachers to develop reflective practice and constructive criticism which, in turn, helped them to integrate different aspects of teaching tasks and viewpoints and to take stock of their performance in the teaching and learning process (Peters & Weisberg, 2011). To this end, personal evaluation by the pre-service teachers featured in their reflective journals (‘J’) and peer review involved other pre-service teachers observing their colleagues teach and make informed criticism. In addition, TEs used self-reflection and peer review to align practice with evaluation as TEs observed other TEs handling training sessions with pre-service teachers. The TE being observed presented a reflective analysis of the training session while the observer provided constructive feedback. As outlined earlier, TEs passed these skills on to pre-service teachers during individual and group presentations by trainees in training sessions. Furthermore, TEs involved in the PCL assessed pre-service teachers in class during teaching practice using Appendix 1. Other TEs from the college who are not involved with the PCL found themselves supervising these pre-service teachers during teaching practice. Both sets of TEs submitted their results to the school of education as assessment recorded for EDUC 311 as required by the NCE minimum

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standards (NCCE, 2012); however, some TEs voluntarily made brief oral reports of their teaching practice supervision to the department that are not included in Table 1 because they used a different form of assessment. At another level, the measurement and evaluation consultant assessed the programme for effectiveness and efficiency by analysing the questionnaires (Appendix 2) administered and the individual reports by the three external assessors from their classroom observation of pre-service teachers during teaching practice. Results obtained using all these instruments are presented below.

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EVALUATION OF RESULTS AND IMPLICATIONS As outlined above, three external observers assessed pre-service teachers in the class, followed by reflective chats with them after each observation from which they wrote the reports summarised in Table 1. Results from the PCL evaluation suggest that pre-service teachers that participated in the PCL training were better than their counterparts who were not trained in the areas of lesson introduction, questioning, learner motivation, increased student talk time, providing support for slower learners, and the use of pair work, group work, feedback, and attention-grabbing techniques. Both groups were deemed capable of preparing lesson plans; however, while the TKT-trained preservice teachers outlined lesson plans with lesson objectives that were measureable, achievable, and clearly stated, some of the non-TKT-trained teachers stated objectives that were not achievable within one lesson. In addition, both groups displayed good mastery of the content knowledge as displayed in the clear explanation of concepts and appropriate use of register. Regarding lesson delivery, the observation reports indicated that both groups logically presented their lessons. However, while 97% of the TKTtrained teachers successfully executed their lesson plans from introduction to evaluation, only 50% of the non-TKT pre-service teachers managed to do this. Furthermore, those that were unable to complete their lessons were observed to often just “dive into” the lesson without linking it to their learners’ previous knowledge. They were also unable to either recap or effectively assess learner learning. While both groups used learning activities, the TKT-trained pre-service teachers used a greater variety of activities and were more successful in engaging learners that the non-TKT-trained ones. This ties into the observation that learners taught by the TKT-trained pre-service teachers were more responsive and engaging and communicated more with one another as groups and pairs and, thus, were more motivated than those in non-TKT trained classes. The evaluation report indicated that 76% of the TKT-trained pre-service teachers believed that TKT is very important in preparing them to teach different skills, although 2% were unsure about this. This view is validated by the observation reports as outlined in the table, thereby suggesting the superiority of TKT-trained teachers over non-TKT-trained teachers in the areas of interactive attributes, lesson delivery and so on. On the relevance of TKT in improving teacher ability to use class activities, the majority (65%) found TKT very relevant, 28% reported it as relevant, while 7% were unsure of its applicability. This finding is closely linked with the observation that more of the trained teachers could use a variety of activities in class compared to the non-TKT trained pre-service teachers. For example, TKT-trained teachers used verbal and nonverbal communication, question and answers, songs, rhymes, debates and diagrams, while the non-TKT trained teachers rarely used any of these during lessons.

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Table 1. Summary of class observation reports TKT-trained vs. non-TKT trained pre-service teachers Observation Points

Non-TKT Pre-service teachers

Lesson Planning

Very clearly outlined with achievable lesson objectives. Around 2% of the lesson plans had typos.

Lesson plans were fairly well planned with the objectives stated. However, in some cases objectives stated were not achievable within a lesson.

Teacher Interactive Attributes

Passionate, confident, relaxed and very efficacious in class. This in turn motivated the learners. They know their learners by name. However, two were tense.

60% displayed a lack of self-confidence and aggressiveness in class but a few were relaxed and displayed confidence.

Teacher’s Knowledge

Mastery of content was evident through lucid explanation of concepts and an ability to link this to pupils’ previous knowledge.

Mastery of content evident as teachers used the appropriate registers in each class.

Lesson Delivery and Management

Effective introduction linked to pupils’ previous knowledge e.g. using a recap of the story to highlight major and minor characters in a comprehension passage. Adequate and effective use of transition mechanisms; for example, 97% of these teachers were able to transit from introduction to content delivery and lesson conclusion and evaluation. Thus, observers saw them assessing learning by linking their questions and activities to the lesson objectives.

Most introduced the lesson by linking the lesson to previous knowledge and question and answer techniques to introduce lessons and elicit feedback. However, some just dived into the lesson without exploring pupils’ knowledge. About 50% were unable to implement the lesson plan to the end.

Learning Activities and Aids

Use of verbal and nonverbal communication techniques, flash cards, Q & A, songs, rhymes, charts and diagrams to introduce and explain lexical items, themes, characters and story plots etc. They also used diverse motivational techniques to sustain learner interest e.g. praise, clapping, earning points towards tests etc.

Use of charts was seen in very few cases with little or no interaction between pupils and the materials. Use clapping to motivate pupils.

Effective use of group and pair work to stimulate learning e.g. naming groups, facilitating group presentations where peers asked questions and raised observations. They also used group debates, discussion, and effective division of labour in tasks. Individual learners responded to teachers’ questions and gave their own examples voluntarily.

Pupils responded to questions but most were largely passive and the teachers had to in some cases point to individual pupils to get answers. In addition, most seldom asked questions but some made attempts to answer some questions. Pupils took notes in some of the lessons observed although they became very noisy in others thereby causing distraction during the lessons.

Learner Participation/ Interaction

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TKT-trained Pre-service teachers

Regarding the ability to apply TKT skills in the class, most (74%) TKT-trained pre-service teachers reported that they could apply TKT skills in the classroom. This is closely linked to the finding that 74% were confident enough to apply TKT techniques in the classroom. This was also validated by the observation reports summarised in Table 1 which indicate that the TKT-trained teachers were more effective in lesson delivery, motivated learners more, and enabled more learner participation compared to non-TKT-trained pre-service teachers. Furthermore, 75% of the pre-service teachers reported being familiar with the concepts and techniques of TKT before the course, while 25% stated that they were not familiar with TKT content at all. This suggest that aspects of TKT may already have been featured in the existing NCE curriculum. This may have accounted for the reasons why both groups exhibited nearly the same level of competence in lesson planning. With regards to the usefulness of the PCL approach, the pre-service teachers felt that there was the need to infuse TKT into regular NCE; however, they suggested that there may be a need for a review which is interpreted here as encompassing systematic curriculum mapping to ensure compatibility, in order to enhance learning in the country’s schools (Maisamari, 2013). The evaluation report also suggested that there is potential for replication and deepening of the PCL approach in Nigeria and stressed

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that TEs should be trained to enable the entire nation to benefit from this method. Although replication could aid the PCL’s sustainability by investing in language TE training, the issue remains of gaining support from TEs and the management of teacher training institutions. Following these, this chapter holds that there is a need to remove barriers between PCL promoters, TEs, and institution management through systematic collaboration (Stoll et al., 2006). Moreover, TEs should be encouraged to engage in a significant paradigm shift from “What are we expected to teach?” to “How will we know when each student has learned?” (DuFour, 2004, p. 4). They also must generate the willpower and self-efficacy to make collaboration happen. Such a paradigm shift may become possible through incentivising TE participation in the PCL by, for example, linking participation to continuous professional development by recognising skills acquired as contributing to professional development. Secondly, the paradigm shift could be developed through the cultivation of mutual respect among project participants. Mutual respect among people engaged in a project builds communication and interaction which potentially lead to enhanced organisational productivity. One major implication is the need to adapt the TKT curriculum to suit specific ELT contexts during implementation, especially in relation to the cultural aspects in the original material that may be unsuitable for contexts outside the UK. Furthermore, PCLs create a unique environment for pre-service teachers that is quite different from the learning environment existing in schools; thus, an appropriate learning environment should be created to help ensure that the method works effectively (Maisamari, 2013). This may involve the innovative use of large classes, implementing CLT practices in the classroom, encouraging peer review among TEs and pre-service teachers, as well as setting these as standard professional practice in schools. In addition, initiation and implementation require consistent hard work, proper documentation, and appropriate emphasis on the whole instead of the parts (Tobia & Hord, 2012). This enables CLT to cut across the language education curriculum in a systematic manner. Thus, there is the need to integrate aspects of PCL design and/or conceptualisation into language courses for English language teachers as this may strengthen the existing language teacher education curriculum and potentially expose pre-service teachers to the necessary CLT skills and PCL management capabilities. There is also a need to create industry-wide awareness regarding the PCL through public advocacy, workshops, and publications. Such awareness and continuous interaction may further make TEs, preservice teachers, educational administrators, and relevant government authorities, interested, and more involved, in the classroom application of innovative approaches to English language teaching and learning in contexts where there is the thirst for the communicative use of English by learners.

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CONCLUSION AND FURTHER RESEARCH DIRECTIONS Although curriculum mapping provides focus and may lead to the design of an authentic curriculum (Burns, 2001; Clough et al., 1996), this may result in the design of one assessment to fit every trainee in conformity with a one-size-fits-all curriculum. Future research could focus on how to design instruments that will enable individual choices and contextual peculiarities to be reflected in the TKT localisation process. Regarding the unique learning context provided by the COEZ project, future research could focus on how to make the environment commonplace and fully integrated into teacher training institutional learning contexts without disruption. As the above implies, the PCL is time consuming across all its stages; therefore, future research may focus on the possibility of designing an efficient process that

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can fit seamlessly into existing institutional timetabling schedules with the same effectiveness achieved in the COEZ project. In addition, this project was used for training pre-service English language teachers, while further investigative work could explore the use of PCL in other subject areas to provide some comparative validation. The project used a small group of teachers randomly selected from a population of pre-service teachers in a single teacher training institution in Nigeria. Future researchers may seek to replicate the same project across multiple institutions and contexts of English language usage to assess reliability of the findings outlined in this chapter. This chapter has reported on a project that used the PCL to turn challenges regarding English language teacher training, pre-service teacher competences, and institutional capacities into opportunities for improvement in these areas. The chapter outlined the processes used to implement the adapted framework and issues arising when trying to meet the needs of pre-service English language teachers, schools and society. The replication of this project in other contexts is potentially beneficial; however, this may require practitioners to consider the exigencies of their ELT contexts, and to establish design and implementation rationales, strategies and processes. Moreover, there is no one-size-fits-all approach, so adaptability is a key principle in the use of PCL for engineering change in the teaching and learning process. Closely related to this, is the principle of accommodation of ideas, resources, and people, in addition to the eventualities that are not planned for in the initial stage. Hence, there is the need to be very dynamic in the overall approach.

ACKNOWLEDGMENT The author acknowledges that the PCL project was supported by the British Council Nigeria, the management of FCT College of Education Abuja, and the National Commission for Colleges of Education (NCCE). The author also extends special thanks to the FCT Universal Basic Education Board for its cooperation in the project.

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Harford, J., & MacRuairc, G. (2008). Engaging pre-service teachers in meaningful reflective practice. Teaching and Teacher Education, 24(7), 1884–1892. doi:10.1016/j.tate.2008.02.010 Hoekstra, A., Korthagen, F., Brekelmans, M., Beijaard, D., & Imants, J. (2009). Experienced teachers’ informal workplace learning and perceptions of workplace conditions. Journal of Workplace Learning, 21(4), 276–298. doi:10.1108/13665620910954193 Hord, S. M. (1997). Professional learning communities: Communities of continuous inquiry and improvement. Austin, TX: Southwest Educational Development Laboratory.

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Huffman, J. B., Hipp, K. A., Pankake, A. M., & Moller, G. (2014). Professional learning communities: Leadership, purposeful decision making, and job-embedded staff development. Journal of School Leadership, 11(5), 448–463. Jones, J. L., & Jones, K. A. (2013). Teaching reflective practice: Implementation in the teacher-education setting. Teacher Educator, 48(1), 73–85. doi:10.1080/08878730.2012.740153 Knapp, M. S. (2003). Professional development as a policy pathway. Review of Research in Education, 27(1), 109–157. doi:10.3102/0091732X027001109 Le Cornu, R. (2009). Building resilience in pre-service teachers. Teaching and Teacher Education, 25(5), 717–723. doi:10.1016/j.tate.2008.11.016 Linder, R. A., Post, G., & Calabrese, K. (2012). Professional learning communities: Practices for successful implementation. The Delta Kappa Gamma Bulletin: International Journal for Professional Educators, 78(3), 13–22. Louis, K. (2007). Changing the culture of schools: Professional community, organizational learning, and trust. Journal of School Leadership, 16(5), 477–489. Maisamari, M. (2013). Report on monitoring and evaluation of TKT essentials teacher training at FCT College of Education, Zuba Abuja Nigeria. Unpublished document. Maynard, S. (2017). Collaboration in the workplace: What does it actually mean? Retrieved from https:// www.smartdraw.com/mind-map/collaboration.htm Miller, K. (2004). Creating conditions for leadership effectiveness: The district’s role. McREL policy brief. Aurora, CO: McREL & US Department of Education. Mitchell, C., & Sackney, L. (2006). Building schools, building people: The school principal’s role in leading a learning community. Journal of School Leadership, 16(5), 627–640. Morrissey, M. S. (2000). Professional learning communities: An ongoing exploration. Austin, TX: Southwest Educational Development Laboratory. Munzali, J. (2010). English for national development. In The British Council conference on the future of English in Nigeria (pp. 1-40). Abuja, Nigeria: British Council Nigeria.

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NCCE. (2012). National Certificate in Education: Minimum standards for languages. Abuja, Nigeria: National Commission for Colleges of Education. Ngamsa, J., & Jauro, L. B. (2013). Book review: The TKT course CLIL module. Journal of Education and Practice, 4(2), 1–7. Ofemile, A. (2010). Assessing affordances of cloud computing tools for language education in Nigerian Colleges of Education (Unpublished master’s thesis). University of Leeds, Leeds, UK. Ofemile, A. (2011). Designing web-based learning environments (Web-Les): A model for language teachers in Nigeria. Capital Journal of Educational Studies, 2(2), 1–19.

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Peters, J. K., & Weisberg, M. (2011). A teacher’s reflection book: Exercises, stories, invitations. Durham, NC: Carolina Academic Press. Portsmouth, U. (2008). Affordances for learning and research project report: Affordances for learning. Research project report. Portsmouth, UK: University of Portsmouth. Protheroe, N. (2008). Developing your school as a professional learning community. NAESP Research Roundup. Retrieved from http://www.naesp.org/ContentLoad.do?contentd=1094 Reichstetter, R. (2006). Defining a professional learning community: A literature review. E&R Research Alert, 6(5). Retrieved from http://www.wcpss.net/evaluation-research/reports/2006/0605plc_lit_review.pdf Richards, J. C. (2006). Communicative language teaching today. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. Richards, J. C. (2011). Exploring teacher competence in language teaching. Language Teaching, 35(4), 3–7. Retrieved from https://jalt-publications.org/files/pdf-article/plen1.pdf Salas, E., & Cannon-Bowers, J. A. (2001). The science of training: A decade of progress. Annual Review of Psychology, 52(1), 471–499. doi:10.1146/annurev.psych.52.1.471 PMID:11148314 Savignon, S. J. (2002). Interpreting communicative language teaching: Contexts and concerns in teacher education. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press. Sim, C. (2006). Preparing for professional experiences: Incorporating pre-service teachers as communities of practice. Teaching and Teacher Education, 22(1), 77–83. doi:10.1016/j.tate.2005.07.006 Starkey, L., Yates, A., Meyer, L. H., Hall, C., Taylor, M., Stevens, S., & Toia, R. (2009). Professional development design: Embedding educational reform in New Zealand. Teaching and Teacher Education, 25(1), 181–189. doi:10.1016/j.tate.2008.08.007 Stoll, L., Bolam, R., McMahon, A., Thomas, S., Wallace, M., Greenwood, A., & Hawkey, K. (2005). Professional learning communities: Source materials for school leaders and other leader of professional learning. Nottingham, UK: National College for School Leadership. Stoll, L., Bolam, R., McMahon, A., Wallace, M., & Thomas, S. (2006). Professional learning communities: A review of the literature. Journal of Educational Change, 7(4), 221–258. doi:10.100710833-006-0001-8

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Theobald, D., Umar, A., Ochekpe, S., & Sanni, K. (2008). Nigeria country case study: Country profile for Education For All by 2015. Paris: UNESCO. Thompson, S. C., Gregg, L., & Niska, J. M. (2004). Professional learning communities, Leadership, and student learning. RMLE Online: Research in Middle Level Education, 28(1), 1–15. doi:10.1080/1 9404476.2004.11658173 Tobia, E. F., & Hord, S. M. (2012). I am a professional: Learning communities elevate teachers’ knowledge, skills, and identity. Journal of Staff Development, 33(3), 16–18. UNESCO. (1996). The four pillars of education. Paris: UNESCO. Retrieved from www.unesco.org/ delors/fourpil.htm

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van Zeeland, H., & Schmitt, N. (2012). Lexical coverage in L1 and L2 listening comprehension: The same or different from reading comprehension? Applied Linguistics, 34(4), 457–479. doi:10.1093/applin/ams074 Vesio, V., Ross, D., & Adams, A. (2008). A review of research on the impact of professional learning communities on teaching practice and student learning. Teaching and Teacher Education, 24(1), 80–91. doi:10.1016/j.tate.2007.01.004 Willet, T. G. (2008). Current status of curriculum mapping in Canada and the UK. Medical Education, 42(8), 786–793. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2923.2008.03093.x PMID:18564300

ADDITIONAL READING Babaci-Wilhite, Z., & Geo-JaJa, M. A. (2018). A critique and rethink of modern education in Africa’s development in the 21st century. Papers in Education and Development, 30. Retrieved from http://journals.udsm.ac.tz/index.php/ped/article/viewFile/1459/1364 Badger, R. (2018). Teaching and learning the English language: A problem-solving approach. London: Bloomsbury Publishing. Bentley, K. (2015). Testing knowledge about content teaching in English. In R. Wilson & M. Poulter (Eds.), Assessing language teachers’ professional skills and knowledge (pp. 285–305). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Canale, M. (1983). From communicative language competence to communicative language pedagogy. In J. C. Richards & R. W. Schmidt (Eds.), Language and communication (pp. 2–27). London: Longman. Haddad, J. (2017). Building collaboration between ESL and mainstream classrooms: A professional development curriculum guide. Unpublished master’s thesis, Hamline University, Saint Paul, Minnesota, USA. Hairon, S., Goh, J. W. P., Chua, C. S. K., & Wang, L. Y. (2017). A research agenda for professional learning communities: Moving forward. Professional Development in Education, 43(1), 72–86. doi:10 .1080/19415257.2015.1055861

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Harris, A., & Huffman, J. (2017). Teachers leading educational reform. London: Routledge. Howell, C., & Sayed, Y. (2018). Improving learning through the CPD of teachers: Mapping the issues in sub-Saharan Africa. In Y. Sayed (Ed.), Continuing professional teacher development in sub-Saharan Africa: Improving teaching and learning. London: Bloomsbury. Spratt, M. (2015). TKT: Testing knowledge about teaching. In R. Wilson & M. Poulter (Eds.), Assessing language teachers’ professional skills and knowledge. Studies in language testing series 42 (pp. 242–256). Cambridge: UCLES/Cambridge University Press. Voelkel, R. H. Jr, & Chrispeels, J. H. (2017). Understanding the link between professional learning communities and teacher collective efficacy. School Effectiveness and School Improvement, 28(4), 505–526. doi:10.1080/09243453.2017.1299015

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KEY TERMS AND DEFINITIONS CLIL: Content and Language Integrated Learning. A program designed for teachers that teach different curricular subjects using the medium of English. CLT: Communicative Language Teaching. An approach to English language teaching that emphasizes interaction and provides opportunities for learners to engage in real communication by employing their natural language acquisition skills to learn the meaningful use of a second language. COEs: Colleges of Education in Nigeria. These are teacher training institutions that focus on producing teachers for the first nine years of the Basic Education level in the country. COEZ: The College of Education Zuba. This is the host institution for the project. Competence: Competence is the mastery of subject matter, knowledge of, and about, the English language, and the ability to transmit these communicatively to learners. NCCE: The National Commission for Colleges of Education. This is the regulatory body for teacher education in Nigeria. NCE: The Nigeria Certificate in Education which is the minimum teaching qualification in the country. PCL: Professional Community of Learning. This term is used here to describe a collaborative process based on a shared vision developed around stakeholders in a learning environment that leads to improvement in learner competence and institutional capacity. Reform: Reform in this chapter is the process of using the PCL to refine English language teacher education by focusing on improving teacher competences and institutional capacities. TKT: The Teaching Knowledge Test. A professional qualification that focuses on developing core communicative language teaching (CLT) skills in teachers of English as a second language.

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This work was previously published in the Handbook of Research on Curriculum Reform Initiatives in English Education; pages 283-310, copyright year 2019 by Information Science Reference (an imprint of IGI Global).

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APPENDIX 1 Table 2. Lesson Assessment and Evaluation Form for Observer Use Name of Student Teacher:

School: Class:

Topic:

Lesson Duration:

Number of students:

Date:

Previous lesson plans include pair and group work (Observer should briefly comment on these)

INSTRUCTION: Tick one option for each of the following aspects of teaching) Table 3. (A) Lesson Preparation Lesson objectives Clear and achievable

Clear but not achievable

Not clear and not achievable

Table 4. Learners’ activities Very appropriate and relevant for the objectives

Appropriate but irrelevant for the objectives

Not appropriate and irrelevant for the objectives

Table 5. (B) Quality of Instructional Materials Provided (Assess as applicable) Instructional material

Clear and legible

Not clear enough

Misleading and irrelevant

Chalkboard/IWB Flip chart Flash cards pictures

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Audio

Table 6. (C) Introduction of the Lesson (Assess as applicable) Activity linked to previous knowledge

Very appropriate

Appropriate

Inappropriate

Questions Songs/rhymes Ice breakers

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Table 7. (D) Communicative Activities during Lesson (Assess each of the following communicative Talk Time) TALK TIME (TT)

5-10 minutes

11-20 minutes

21-30minutes

Student-Student Talk Time Teacher-Students Talk Time Student-Teacher Talk Time

Table 8. (E) Pair/Group Work Effectiveness Timing and duration of activities Well timed

Too much time/very little time

Table 9. Relevance of activities Very relevant

Needs improvement

Irrelevant

Table 10. Teacher support for the activities Teacher monitored group activity

Some groups were unattended to

Teacher did not monitor group activity

Table 11. Learners’ understanding of the tasks Task understanding Indicators

Always

Occasionally

Seldom

Never

All groups did the task without asking for clarification Some groups asked for clarification before doing the task All the groups could not do the tasks even after clarification

Table 12. (F) Teacher Effectiveness in Use of Feedback

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Technique

Always

Occasionally

Seldom

Never

Uses leading questions to help weak students Showcases a good performance Praises and encourages good performance Gives extra work to brilliant students

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Table 13. (G) Class Management Technique

Always

Occasionally

Seldom

Never

Secures the attention of every learner Controls class discipline Secures cooperation of learners in pair/groups work Draws attention to good performance

Name and signature of Assessor___________________________________________ Date_________________________________________

APPENDIX 2 Interview Questions For Pre-Service Teachers to Be Completed by Observer Table 14.­­ Teacher:

Observer:

Class & School: LGA & State:

Date & Time:

Number of Students:

Topic: OBSERVER’S QUESTION

PRE-SERVICE TEACHERS’ RESPONSES

How much has TKT programme/methodology courses helped you in your teaching? In what ways have the TKT/methodology courses helped you in your teaching? How do you think your students have benefited? Which new techniques in the TKT/language teaching approach have you tried in class?

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Which parts of the TKT/language teaching approach to teaching work well?

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APPENDIX 3 Post TKT Training Assessment to Be Responded to by Pre-Service Teachers Pre-Service Teacher (Name): 1. In your own view, how important is the TKT course in preparing you to teach the following? (Tick one box for each line in Table 15). Table 15.­­ S/N

Language Skill

A

Speaking

B

Listening

C

Reading

D

Writing

E

Grammar

Very important

Important

Not important at all

2. How relevant was the content of the TKT course in improving your ability to handle the following classroom activities (see Table 16)? Table 16­.­

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S/No

Task

a.

Use of instructional materials

b.

Organising pair/group activities

c.

Eliciting communication from learners

d.

Classroom time management

e.

Helping weak learners

f.

Presentation techniques

g.

Using tasks based learning activities

Very relevant

Relevant

Somewhat irrelevant

Very irrelevant

3. How much of the content of TKT you covered was new to you? a. I was familiar with all the content before the TKT course b. I was familiar with half of the content of TKT before the course c. I was not familiar at all with the content of TKT before the course

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4. What percentage of what you learnt in TKT do you think will be applicable in your teaching practice? a. Up to 25% b. Between 26%-50% c. Between 51-75% d. More than 76% 5. How confident are you in applying these new skills (see Table 17)? Table 17.­­ Very confident

Confident but would need help

Not confident at all

6. Would you recommend that TKT is made part of the regular NCE programme in all Colleges of Education in Nigeria? a. Yes b. Yes, but after some review c. Not at all

APPENDIX 4 Interview Questions for Pupils/Learners Table 18.­­ Student Teacher:

Observer:

School:

Date & Time:

Class:

Location: OBSERVER’S QUESTION

PUPIL/LEARNER’S RESPONSE

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Do you enjoy your English lessons? Why? What is different about your lessons now? Do you work in pairs and groups? What do you like about this? What do you not like about this?

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Chapter 32

Teachers Learning to Teach English Learners in an Online Community of Practice in an Urban District Karla del Rosal Southern Methodist University, USA Paige Ware https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7966-0575 Southern Methodist University, USA Nancy Montgomery Southern Methodist University, USA

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ABSTRACT This chapter reports on a study that investigated the knowledge and skills for teaching English learners (ELs) that in-service teachers displayed during their participation in an online community of practice. Teachers’ conversations were analyzed using a priory and inductive codes. Findings showed that teachers demonstrated an understanding of practices that support ELs in overcoming language demands that disciplinary content standards in the U.S. pose, including promoting ELs’ participation, teaching language within content and in the four modes, assessing ELs’ progress during instruction, and ofering diferentiated language scafolds. The online community of practice ofered in-service teachers an environment in which they engaged in learning tasks related to theories that they had learned and to their practice. Online communities of practice can facilitate information fow, peer collaboration, and content application in teacher preparation programs. However, tasks need to leverage technology tools afordances and to establish equitable participation expectations.

DOI: 10.4018/978-1-7998-7294-8.ch032

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Research Anthology on Facilitating New Educational Practices Through Communities of Learning, edited by Association, Information Resources Management, IGI Global, 2020. ProQuest

 Teachers Learning to Teach English Learners in an Online Community of Practice in an Urban District

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INTRODUCTION Demographics of primary and secondary classrooms around the world are rapidly changing and becoming more linguistically and culturally diverse (Ball, 2010; Bartlett, 2015). In these more diverse classrooms, an increasing number of students face the challenge of learning content through a language that they have not yet mastered (Ball, 2010; Bartlett, 2015). Currently, most of these classrooms are taught by teachers who have not been trained to teach children who do not speak the language of instruction (Ball, 2010; Bartlett, 2015). In the U.S., the country in which this study was conducted, 4.6 million students in primary and secondary classrooms qualify as English learners (ELs) or as students who are in the process of becoming English proficient (McFarland, J., Hussar, B., de Brey, C., Snyder, T., Wang, X., Wilkinson-Flicker, S., Gebrekristos, S., Zhang, J., Rathbun, A., Barmer, A., Bullock Mann, F., and Hinz, S., 2017). Even when these ELs represent 9.4% of the K-12 student population, most teachers do not have formal preparation to effectively teach them the English language or disciplinary content in English (National Council on Teacher Quality, 2014). Moreover, many states in the U.S. have recently adopted learning standards that emphasize complex language and literacy practices that characterize the academic disciplines and that dramatically increase the linguistic challenges that ELs will face when participating and learning in disciplinary content classrooms (Valdés, Kibler, & Walqui, 2014). Therefore, finding effective ways to prepare pre-service and in-service teachers to teach the English language and disciplinary content in ways that address the learning needs of ELs has become an urgent matter in the U.S. and arguably in other countries around the world (Bunch, 2013). In the last decade, teacher education initiatives have leveraged the logistical, pedagogical, and social affordances that technology offers in learning environments. In teacher education initiatives, technology use offers flexibility in program schedules and locations (Bennett, 2010; Shoffner, 2009), a variety of multimodal teaching tools (Bennett, 2010), and the possibility to capture artifacts of teachers’ practices for different learning purposes (Kilbane & Milman, 2017). Moreover, technology can bring teachers from different backgrounds together (Williams & Warren, 2007) and offer them a conducive space to negotiate their perspectives (Pella, 2011). In the case of language teachers, technology based professional development can develop their awareness of the challenges that students’ face when learning language (Wang, 2012; 2015); motivate them to address these challenges in their instruction (Shrestha, 2012; Wang, 2015); and when they are not native speakers of the language they teach, even improve their ability as users and teachers of this language (Shrestha, 2012).For all these reasons, technology has been used to connect teachers and create online communities of practice using discussion boards (Burgess & Mayes, 2008), reflection blogs (Luik, Voltri, & Taimalu, 2011), classroom videos (McLean & White, 2007), and social media groups (Lieberman & Pointer Mace, 2009). With the mediation of technology, teachers are able to discuss problems of practice (Killeavy & Moloney, 2010), ask for advice or offer it (Burgess & Mayes, 2008); reflect on their practice (Luik, Voltri, Taimalu, & Kalk, 2011), and increase their sense of self efficacy (Vavasseur & McGregor, 2014). However, most research addressing language teachers’ preparation using technology has focused on preparing teachers as individuals (Wang 2012; 2015) –versus by engaging with others online- or on in preparing foreign language teachers (Shrestha, 2012). Only a few initiatives have leveraged the affordances that technology offers to prepare teachers who teach ELs (del Rosal, Conry, & Wu, 2017; Phillion, 2003; Ware & Benschoter, 2011; Ware, del Rosal, & Conry, 2017) by engaging with others online. Moreover, research in initiatives that have used technology to connect teachers in communities of practice to learn to teach ELs is even more limited (MacPherson, 2010). Addressing this gap in the 623

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literature, this chapter reports on an empirical study (del Rosal, Ware, & Montgomery, 2016) in which the knowledge and skills that in-service teachers displayed while they acted as mentors of pre-service teachers in an online community of practice were investigated. Findings were examined through the lens of current literature on the knowledge and skills that teachers who teach ELs in the U.S. need to develop to support their students in developing the knowledge and skills necessary to achieve benchmarks outlined in language-rich standards.

Theoretical Framework In this chapter, a sociocultural perspective of learning, language development, and the use of technology tools was used to conceptualize how teacher mentors would learn to teach ELs in a community of practice mediated by technology. Also, current literature on the preparation of teachers who teach ELs was used to discuss the knowledge and skills that teachers displayed during their participation in this online community of practice.

Teacher Learning and Online Communities of Practice Learning happens when novices engage with experts in a shared practice (Rogoff, 1990; Vygotsky, 1978). According to Rogoff (1990), novices gradually learn new knowledge and skills until they can engage in the shared practice independently. She also describes how experts also learn by making their practice explicit to novices and by releasing the responsibility of independently performing this practice to novices. Novices and experts can meet in communities of practice to talk about what they do, ask for advice and offer it, and gradually grow in their craft or profession (Lave & Wenger, 1991; Wegner, 2010). Novices’ and experts’ interactions can be mediated by ideological or physical tools that regulate their actions from the outside and that enhance their teaching and learning experiences (Luria, 1928). Considering these ideas, teachers can learn by acting as mentors in communities of practice. Mentor teachers can reflect on their practice (Flores, 2007; Rowland, 2012) and teach critical aspects of these practices to teacher mentees (Webb, M.E., Pachler, N., Mitchell H., & Herrington, N., 2008). Also, technology can be used as a tool to mediate these communities by defying restrictions of time, place, and bias (Richards, Bennett, & Shea, 2007) and facilitating that teachers learn together yet from the distance and asynchronously (Rowland, 2012).

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Knowledge and Skills of Teachers Who Teach English Learners Most literature on the preparation of teachers who teach ELs focuses on what teachers need to know about language and literacy development in disciplinary content classrooms. In a literature review, Bunch (2013) concluded that teachers need to develop knowledge and skills in teaching English as a second language while they also teach disciplinary content and skills. Later, Valdés, Kibler, and Walqui (2014) explained that teachers also need to identify the language practices embedded in content standards, to teach these practices while simultaneously teaching their related content and skills, and to offer language scaffolding to ELs during instruction. Focusing on implementation, Lee, Quinn, and Valdes (2013) highlighted the importance of fostering environments in which ELs felt comfortable using language in different modes and in which these students received language scaffolds depending on their needs. Some scholars have focused on other aspects of teaching ELs. Focusing on cultural aspects, scholars have proposed that 624

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teachers need to have knowledge and skills to connect instruction with ELs’ backgrounds and to make it relevant for these students (Garcia, Arias, Harris Murri, & Serna, 2010; Howard, 2016). Finally, with a focus on emotional aspects, Jimenez and Rose (2010) concluded that teachers need empathy to understand ELs’ experiences and to make them feel welcomed in the classroom.

Face to Face Initiatives for Teachers Who Teach English Learners Most face-to-face teacher education initiatives for teachers who teach ELs have focused on preparing them to teach English language and literacy (see Bunch, 2013). Three initiatives in particular have approached the preparation of teachers in ways that align with the study that is reporte. With a similar approach to English language teaching, Stoddart and colleagues (2010, 2011) investigated ways in which pre-service teachers learned to teach ELs by taking courses focused on integrating language and literacy development in activities used to teach science. They found that teachers who attended these courses outperformed control teachers in the language supports they offered during science instruction (Stoddart, T., Solis, J., Tolbert, S., & Bravo, M., 2010; Stoddart T., Bravo M., Solis J., Mosqueda E., Rodriguez A., 2011). Also, using practice related activities, Galguera (2011) investigated how pre-service teachers learned to teach ELs by engaging as students in K-12 activities that could be used to structure ELs’ participation and to teach them English. He found that these activities promoted that teachers integrated language learning theories, identified instructional applications of these theories, and empathized with ELs’ classroom experiences. Finally, focusing on teacher apprenticeships, Walqui (2011) investigated how in-service teachers were trained to teach ELs and to be coaches of ELs’ instruction by learning about language learning theories first, and after this, delivering trainings to pre-service teachers with different degrees of support of initiative instructors. She found that in-service teachers learned to independently apply language learning theories in the delivery of trainings.

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Online Initiatives for Teachers Who Teach English Learners As mentioned before, there are few education initiatives for teachers who teach English learners that use technology to mediate teachers’ learning experiences. First, Phillion (2003) investigated pre-service teachers’ experiences mentoring ELs in a virtual bilingual classroom while they simultaneously received face-to-face support of teacher educators and mentor teachers. He found that the virtual classroom allowed pre-service teachers to work with ELs even when there were few in the area, to learn strategies for ELs’ instruction with mentors’ support, and to reflect on their decision to teach ELs’ in the future. Years later, Ware and Benschoter (2011) examined how mentor teachers enrolled in graduate-level coursework created e-mentoring relationships with recently immigrated adolescent ELs using Blackboard discussions. They found that technology use allowed mentor teachers to develop one-on-one relationships with EL mentees and to learn how to connect with them as young adults without becoming overly didactic in correcting them as language learners. In two different studies, Wang (2012; 2015) found that when pre-service teachers participated in an online program as learners of a foreign language they developed awareness of the challenges that their students faced learning language, understanding the culture, and engaging in both tasks through technology. Also, Wang (2015) was able to confirm that teachers were able to transfer this awareness to their teaching practice and to be more responsive to the students’ needs. More recently, Ware, del Rosal, and Conry (2017) and del Rosal, Conry, and Wu (2017) investigated in-service teachers’ interactions while they mentored adolescent ELs as part of an online mentoring 625

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program embedded in a graduate-level course. They found that the online program allowed teachers to have a strong connection with students, to get to know them as individuals and learners, and to design tasks aligned with their interests and English proficiency. More specifically, Ware, del Rosal, and Conry (2017) found that teachers learned how to use different online tools to address the needs of ELs with different English proficiency levels and to achieve different instructional purposes (e.g. develop rapport, offer instructions; and teaching different language skills and modes). Also, del Rosal, Conry, and Wu (2017) found that teachers tried to develop a relationship with students and to make instruction relevant. In the process, they developed awareness of the complexity of adolescent ELs’ identities and learned to design language learning tasks that were culturally responsive and engaging for these students. Finally, in an initiative that connected teachers, MacPherson (2010) examined how pre-service teachers, mentor teachers, and university instructors all used asynchronous discussions and face-to-face discussions to help pre-service teachers better understand intercultural incidents in their field experiences. They identified many strategies for creating online learning contexts that respected cultural diversity including: sharing power, discussing just practices, creating safe spaces, protecting students, and addressing tensions.

METHODS Setting This chapter discusses an online community of practice that was part of a professional development initiative conducted in a large urban school district in the U.S. The professional development initiative spanned five years and involved five cohorts of teachers. It offered teachers three learning experiences: 1) graduate level courses on the education of ELs; 2) on-site mentoring implementing course content and 3) an online community of practice dedicated to sharing and discussing what was learned in the previous components. The professional development initiative was funded by a federal grant with the purpose to strengthen secondary teachers’ knowledge and skills teaching ELs. During the implementation of the professional development, the population of ELs had increased 181% in the last decade and represented 34% of the student population (TEA, 2005). EL students spoke as many as 47 different native languages (TEA, 2007) and their academic performance was low. Only 62% of the ELs met the reading and mathematics standards in third grade. Beyond third grade, ELs struggled even more, with only 25% meeting these standards in 5th grade and only 8% meeting them in 10th grade.

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Participants Participants in the online community of practice were 49 in-service teachers that acted as mentors and 59 pre-service teachers that acted as mentees. However, this chapter focuses on the in-service mentor teachers and the knowledge, skills, and attitudes that they displayed while mentoring their pre-service mentee teachers. Mentor teachers were very diverse in terms of their age and teacher experience. However, most of them were women, with at least a bachelor degree, and with basic knowledge and skills using technology for education related purposes. Due to requirements of the grant, all mentor teachers were teaching ELs in secondary disciplinary content classrooms and had taken graduate level courses on ELs’ instruction and on-site mentorship. Both learning experiences exposed them to similar content on

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ELs’ instruction and prepared them to share, apply, and consolidate their understanding of this content during their participation in the online community of practice.

Online Community of Practice The purpose of the online community of practice was to offer mentor teachers an opportunity to apply what they had learned through the first two components and to position them as advocates of ELs and as leaders in the instruction of these students. Previous to the online community of practice, mentor teachers completed two graduate courses and received two on-site mentoring sessions. Graduate courses addressed second language acquisition theories and related classroom strategies to work with ELs. Onsite mentoring sessions focused on the implementation of classroom strategies to work with ELs and lasted up to 90 minutes each. To close the professional development, mentor teachers participated in the online community of practice for 6-8 weeks engaging in each session for as long as it took to complete their online tasks. In the online community of practice, each mentor teacher was assigned to one mentee teacher. The role of mentor teachers was to offer guidance and advice to mentee teachers on the instruction and assessment of ELs. Mentor teachers and mentee teachers met online six to eight times each semester, completed online learning tasks (Table 1), and engaged in conversations around these tasks. As Table 1 shows, the online learning tasks included introductions between mentor teacher and mentee teacher, strategies involving language supports for ELs, strategies involving the development of ELs’ background knowledge, and the conclusion of the online learning community cycle. Table 1. Online learning tasks Online Learning Tasks

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Task

Mentor Teacher

Mentee Teacher

1

Provide a message with a video clip. Discuss teaching practice and ELs’ role in this practice.

Provide a personal introduction in writing and ask questions to the mentor teachers about their video.

2

Upload video on making language choices to accommodate ELs and explain these choices.

Respond to video and explanation in writing. Ask relevant questions or make comments.

3

Upload a lesson plan and ask how it could be modified to better meet the needs of ELs.

Provide suggestions in writing to on how to make language modifications in lesson plan.

4

Upload a video on activating or building ELs’ background knowledge and explain the processes.

Respond to video and explanation in writing. Ask relevant questions or make comments.

5

Upload a lesson plan and ask how it could be modified to better meet the needs of ELs.

Provide suggestions in writing on how to develop ELs’ background knowledge in lesson plan.

6

Suggest three golden rules to keep when teaching ELs. Be detailed and include anecdotes.

Share two things that stood out for you in what you have covered in these online discussions.

The online mentoring tasks assigned a role to mentor teachers and mentee teachers. These roles switched to give both teachers an equal opportunity to engage in the two activities that the tasks involved. In each task, one of the teachers uploaded a sample of teaching work and the other teacher responded to it following a prompt. When uploading samples of their work, mentor teachers were required to upload

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videos and mentee teachers were required to upload lesson plans. When responding to teaching work, mentee teachers were required to ask questions to their mentors about their video and mentor teachers were required to offer suggestions to mentees about their lesson plans.

Data Collection and Analysis Conversations between mentor teachers and their mentee teachers were transcribed and uploaded in Nvivo, a software for quality analysis. Uploaded transcripts were coded with combination a priory and inductive coding approaches to use codes that reflected the theory and also to recognize codes that emerged from the data (Smith, 2000, p. 324). Coding families, or groups of codes, that addressed different aspects of the research questions were the coding unit of analysis (Bodgan & Biklen, 2006, p. 171). After coding the transcripts, there were four coding families and 30 codes representing the types of knowledge, skills, and beliefs (See del Rosal, Ware, & Montgomery, 2016) that mentor teachers displayed during the online community of practice. Table 2. Coding families that emerged from the analysis

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Coding Families

Description

Affective strategies

Mentor teacher discusses actions or behaviors that can promote, maintain, or enhance English learners’ positive moods, feelings, or attitudes toward participating in activities, learning language or content, or demonstrating learning, like being patient; having a sense of humor, etc.

Learning Strategies

Mentor teacher discusses actions or behaviors that can promote, maintain, or enhance English learners’ understandings of the content that is targeted involving the use of teacher support, activities, or materials like offering hands on activities, using graphic organizers, etc.

Linguistic strategies

Mentor teacher discusses actions or behaviors that can promote, maintain, or enhance English learners’ English comprehension of oral or written language and production of oral and written language involving the use of teacher support, activities, or materials like offering comprehensible input, connecting different language modes, etc.

Culturally responsive strategies

Mentor teacher discusses actions or behaviors that can promote, maintain, or enhance English learners’ use of their background knowledge and experiences, native language, and their opportunities to make connections between their lives and experiences and what they learn at school like getting to know students backgrounds, developing relationships with parents, etc.

In this chapter, the coding families and codes were analyzed considering the literature on what teachers need to know to support ELs achieve the new content standards (Bunch, 2013; Valdes, Kibler, & Walqui, 2014). As shown in the findings, the main themes that emerged were classroom participation, language instruction, informal assessment, and language scaffolding. Members of the research team engaged in three different credibility measures. First, members of the research team made reliability checks for 40% of the codes. Second, they participated in the project for five years. Third, each member of the team recorded their level of involvement in the project in order to substantiate the claims they made during analysis (Brantlinger, Jimenez, Klingner, Pugach, & Richardson, 2005).

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Findings As discussed in our original study (del Rosal, Ware, & Montgomery, 2016), mentor teachers displayed knowledge and skills in three critical aspects of their teaching practice with ELs while participating as mentors in the online community of practice. Mentor teachers modify general strategies to address the needs of ELs, integrate language, and literacy development in their practice; and acquire new affective strategies making ELs feel welcomed in their classroom. In the following section, we discuss how while developing these critical aspects of their practice, mentor teachers also demonstrated an understanding of instructional practices that have been recommended to support EL achievement in the content standards recently adopted in the U.S. and the language demands they pose. These instructional practices include promoting students’ participation, teaching language in context, assessing ELs’ progress, and offering language scaffolds.

Promoting English Learners’ Participation Mentor teachers displayed an understanding of how creating a welcoming classroom environment for ELs and how engaging in inclusive classroom discourse practices promotes the participation of ELs in classroom activities. More specifically, mentor teachers discussed how behavior, maintaining motivation, and encouraging students creates welcoming classroom environments for ELs. For example, in the following quote, a mentor teacher explicitly made a connection between offering welcoming classroom environments and developing ELs’ oral and written English. The first thing you want to do is make your ELs comfortable in your classroom. They have to trust you before they will ever even begin trying to speak or write. And you can’t help them improve their academic language unless they are willing to try speaking and writing. So get to know them: learn about what they like, involve them in class activities, make each one feel important and safe in your classroom. Also, mentor teachers discussed methods of how to speak to students and how to respond to what students say in order to promote an inclusive classroom discourse for ELs. For example, in the following quote, a mentor teacher explained the importance of maintaining a speech pace that is comprehensible plus using repetition when talking to ELs to ensure comprehension.

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Speak naturally, but at a slightly slower pace. Many times I have to remind myself to slow down when I talk with my students. Also, repeat key phrases and ideas. One of my first major mistakes when I taught overseas was that I dropped off articles and other words that I didn’t think was important. In additional examples, mentor teachers shared deeper personal aspects of their practice with the mentee teachers when highlighting the importance of developing a personal relationship with students and discussing challenges of addressing ELs’ needs during instruction.

Teaching Language in Context and in All Modes Mentor teachers displayed an understanding of the importance of teaching English in meaningful contexts and by leveraging the connection between its four modes. During their interactions with mentees, 629

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mentor teachers discussed how ELs develop awareness of the structure of English when they use it in content activities and when they have opportunities to listen, speak, read, and write. For example, in the following quote, a mentor teacher explained that ELs learn language by engaging in meaningful communicative tasks and by being exposed to language models. Connecting these ideas with practice, the mentor teacher also discusses writing with a clear purpose and offering writing exemplars to make the structure of English visible for ELs. We learn language from mimicking . . . to an extent. By creating original sentences in the same style as published writers, grammar becomes relevant. Students see the purpose of the structure because they notice how it creates character, tone, and...just better writing. In another example, a mentor teacher explained that ELs struggle to learn grammar when it is taught by itself without making a connection between language structures and their communicative purposes. The mentor teacher also emphasizes the importance of giving ELs the opportunity to be exposed to, use, and learn the different language modes in combination. This is great (connecting a reading activity with a writing activity) for ELs because they can easily be overwhelmed by learning all of the technical grammar terms when they just need to focus on the structure. Reading stimulates writing and writing stimulates reading. You cannot teach them separate from each other. In these examples, mentor teachers contextualized research based recommendations for EL instruction when emphasizing the importance of teaching English by using it in academic contexts, offering practical ways to do it, and recommending to use and connect all language modes.

Assessing English Learners’ Progress

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Mentor teachers displayed an understanding of the importance of assessing ELs and of different strategies that should be used to do it effectively. More specifically, mentor teachers discussed how they used assessment to promote ELs’ understandings and language production and to adjust their instruction and offer language scaffolding. For example, in the following quote, a mentor teacher explained how the assessment of ELs’ progress toward the learning goal informed adjustments in the lesson. The mentor teacher also shared with the mentee teacher a graphic organizer that could be used to scaffold ELs’ analysis of complex text when they struggle. In this lesson, we are working on identifying and analyzing theme across several texts. Through my assessment data and instruction, I noticed my students were having a difficult time connecting texts and seeing common themes. So, we did a theme triangle. I will scan and attach an example as soon as I remember to. Also, mentor teachers offered recommendations of how to address English proficiency when assessing ELs. One such recommendation included giving ELs more time to respond and offering them the opportunity to demonstrate their learning in different ways. For example, in the following quote, a mentor teacher highlighted the importance of offering ELs enough time to understand and to produce language. 630

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The mentor teacher also made an important connection between classroom environment, teacher talk, and informal assessment when teaching ELs. I think the most important piece of teaching in front of students like this is giving wait time. You have to allow them time to understand the question and then answer. This is why management is so important, students have to feel safe speaking and thinking. It doesn’t give kids enough time to process what you are asking, much less formulate an intelligent and appropriate response. In these examples, mentor teachers also made valuable connections between different aspects of ELs’ instruction when discussing the idea that assessment informs instruction and that classroom management influences classroom environment, and as a result, ELs’ participation.

Offering Language Scaffolds Mentor teachers displayed an understanding of the need to offer language scaffolding to ELs and of how different instructional actions can scaffold ELs language use and language learning in different ways. Mentor teachers discussed how ELs need different scaffolds versus mainstream students to make sense of the same content. For example, in the following quote, a mentor teacher discussed how assumed common knowledge can be unfamiliar to ELs. The mentor teacher also developed awareness of how background knowledge can influence ELs’ understandings during a lesson. A challenge of working with ELs is assuming that we all have similar backgrounds and know the same movies or children’s books and things in popular culture. I’ll often refer to a movie or a TV show in popular American culture like Sesame Street and some students have never heard of it. This is why it is so important to build background knowledge with the students. Also, mentor teachers discussed classroom discourse as a form of scaffolding for ELs’ oral language production. For example, in the following quote a mentor teacher recommended the use of open ended questioning to promote ELs’ oral language production. The mentor teacher also explained how, regardless of intellectual ability, an EL’s English proficiency determines their ability to independently participate in learning activities and the level of support that they need from teachers.

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Asking students open-ended questions and encouraging them to elaborate is needed with ELs. Though my students are gifted, they still lack a lot of the vocabulary to completely discuss literary criticism. We are working on that all the time. In these examples, mentor teachers also demonstrated an understanding of ideas that are fundamental the instruction of ELs such as not making assumptions about what ELs know and understanding that English proficiency mediates what ELs can do and learn in the classroom.

Discussion This chapter reported on an empirical study (del Rosal, Ware, & Montgomery, 2016) in which mentor teachers participated in an online community of practice and discussed the study findings considering 631

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literature that addresses recently adopted K-12 content standards in the U.S. Based on this approach, findings showed that as teachers modified general strategies, used language development strategies, and acquired affective strategies to support ELs (del Rosal, Ware, & Montgomery, 2016), they also demonstrated an understanding of instructional practices that are recommended to support EL achievement in the new U.S. content standards (Bunch, 2013; Lee, Quinn, & Valdes, 2014; Valdes, Kibler, & Walqui, 2014). More specifically, mentor teachers displayed an understanding of the importance of promoting ELs’ participation in classroom activities (Lee, Quinn, & Valdes, 2014) and of teaching language in meaningful academic activities (Bunch, 2013; Valdes, Kibler, & Walqui, 2014). Also, mentor teachers displayed an understanding of the role of formative assessment in ELs’ instruction (Valdes, Kibler, & Walqui, 2014) and of the use of language scaffolds after identifying what ELs need through this assessment (Lee, Quinn, & Valdes, 2014). Mentor teachers demonstrated understanding of these instructional practices because they a) described some critical features; b) demonstrated the practices using videos of themselves; and c) offered arguments of their use. All this happened while mentor teachers engaged in activities that the online community of practice facilitated and that aligned with current research findings on these communities. Mentor teachers reflected on their practice (Luik, Voltri, Taimalu, & Kalk, 2011; McLean & White, 2007) teaching ELs, offered mentee teachers advice on their practice (Burgess & Mayes, 2008), and discussed common problems of practice when teaching ELs (Killeavy & Moloney, 2010). Simultaneously, mentor teachers had the opportunity to feel more positive about their practice and about learning about it (Leiberman & Pointer Mace, 2009) and this change in attitude could have an influence on teachers’ sense of self efficacy (Vavasseur & McGregor, 2014) and their identity (Luik, Voltri, Taimalu, & Kalk, 2011; McLean & White, 2007).

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Implications for Practice It is important to clarify that there were two design aspects of the online community of practice that enhanced the learning experience of mentor teachers and that also aligned with the findings of current research (Galguera, 2011; Walqui, 2011). First, the online community of practice was the last phase in an apprenticeship process, similar to the one implemented in Walqui (2011), that carefully scaffolded mentor teachers’ appropriation of knowledge and skills in the instruction of ELs. Therefore, in future replications of the community of practice, it would be important to ensure that teacher participants first develop theoretical and experiential background on the targeted knowledge and skills to optimize the learning experience of all participants. Technology tools could be used in all phases to facilitate the flow of information including using online modules for the theory courses and mobile technology to get feedback on the implementation of these theories in the classroom. Second, the online community of practice required participants to engage in learning tasks that, as done by Galguera (2011), were connected to the ELs’ instruction theories that they had learned and their current teaching practice. Therefore, in future replications of the community of practice, it would be important to ensure that teacher participants engage in learning tasks that enhance their opportunities to share artifacts of their teaching practice, to reflect on these artifacts, and to discuss their practice with other teachers. As reflected in this community of practice, the affordances of existing technology tools need to be leveraged in the tasks’ design in order to optimize the learning opportunities that teachers have when sharing, reflecting, and discussing.

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Third, the online community of practice, as proposed by MacPherson (2010), structured the participation of mentor teachers and mentee teachers in ways that created a safe and fair space to participate. Therefore, in future replications of the online community of practice, it would be important to ensure that all participants have clear expectations and equal opportunities to share work, to see other teachers work, and to share their questions, comments, or advice. Also, these opportunities to participate must be appropriate to the level of skill (e.g. teaching demonstration vs. lesson plan) of participants in order to maintain the motivation and quality of artifacts.

Limitations and Future Research There are two main limitations of the study that we reported. First, there is no evidence of how the knowledge and skills that mentor teachers displayed online transferred to their own classroom teaching practice. Therefore, a direction for future research would be to observe teacher mentors who participate in a similar program and online community of practice in their classrooms to identify in what degree the knowledge and skills they displayed during their participation are reflected in their teaching practice. Second, there is no evidence of how the mentee teachers transferred their learning from the online mentoring experience in ways that might impact their future teaching practice. Therefore, it would be important to assess through a survey and through classroom observations how mentee teachers who participate in a similar program work with ELs when they are in the classroom and interview them about how the mentoring experience influenced their practice.

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This work was previously published in the Handbook of Research on Integrating Technology Into Contemporary Language Learning and Teaching; pages 15-29, copyright year 2018 by Information Science Reference (an imprint of IGI Global).

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Chapter 33

Exploring a Transformative Teacher Professional Development Model to Engender Technology Integration in the 21st Century ESL Language Classrooms Kean Wah Lee School of Education, University of Nottingham Malaysia, Semenyih, Malaysia Cynthia C. James Kota Kinabalu District Education Ofce and Sabah State Education Department, Sabah, Malaysia

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ABSTRACT A 21st century teacher must communicate in the language and style of their students to ensure that their learning is meaningful. However, this is challenging, especially for teachers who are less familiar with using technology in teaching. To inspire a group of ESL ‘digital immigrant’ teachers, a professional learning community (PLC) was set up. PLC consisted of both pre-service teachers (digital natives) and in-service teachers (digital immigrants). The two groups exchanged knowledge through a series of sharing sessions to demonstrate the technical aspects of technology, as well as to provide an understanding that technology has afordances and constraints. This case study investigates a group of in-service teachers who adopted the IDDIRR instructional design model (introduce, demonstrate, develop, implement, refect, revise) to develop technology-based lessons for their ESL classrooms. The data for this study were collected through three main instruments: surveys, interviews and written refections. The survey data was descriptively analysed using SPSS Version 24, while the refection and interview data were assessed using thematic analysis. The fndings suggest that the IDDIRR-TPACK + PLC model, along with a supportive PLC environment and the presence of more knowledgeable peers (MKO), helped enhance teachers’ TPACK and inspired them to integrate more technology in their classrooms. DOI: 10.4018/978-1-7998-7294-8.ch033

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Research Anthology on Facilitating New Educational Practices Through Communities of Learning, edited by Association, Information Resources Management, IGI Global, 2020. ProQuest

 Exploring a Transformative Teacher Professional Development Model to Engender Technology Integration

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INTRODUCTION To effectively teach as a ‘digital immigrant’ teacher in a 21st century classroom filled with ‘digital native’ learners is not an easy task. Information and communication technology have become ubiquitous (embedded and integrated in almost every aspect of our daily lives). Therefore, the manner in which 21st century ‘digital native’ learners interact and learn has tremendously changed compared to yesteryears. This change is what Prensky (2001) – who also coined the terms ‘digital immigrants’ and ‘digital natives’ – described as “singularity”; i.e. a change that is so fundamental that there is absolutely no turning back. As a result, there is an urgent demand for education to change from the traditional ‘chalk and talk’ and for teachers to be more adept at integrating technology with education within the curricular content (Mishra & Henriksen, 2013). Research reviews and scholarships on technology integration have identified teacher knowledge as one of the key obstacles for effective technology integration (Mishra & Koehler, 2006). The findings reveal the need for teachers to know more than just the technical aspects of technology; they must also recognise that technology has affordances and constraints. This understanding is necessary for representing content as well as identifying pertinent teaching approaches (Harris, Mishra, & Koehler, 2009). Moreover, pedagogies known to affect the quality of learning are not widely practiced despite their promotion in teacher education (Hume & Berry, 2013). Korthagen (2010, p. 98) reported that in the last 20 years, studies have shown that many teacher education graduates “implement little of what they had learnt during their professional preparation.” They typically resort to conservative and traditional transmissive pedagogies as a survival mechanism (Hume & Berry, 2013). At the same time, researchers in the field of in-service teacher development have consistently worked on exploring approaches and strategies for effective and sustainable teacher professional development, as shown in a number of research and scholarships (e.g. Dede, Ketelhut, Whitehouse, Breit, & McCloskey, 2008; Avalos, 2011). Literatures in the field of continuous professional development (CPD) for teachers have explored and offer comparisons of the various models of CPD for in-service teachers to provide some insights to what an ‘ideal’ model of CPD, particularly the ones that promote both continuous and sustainable development, should look like. Kennedy (2005) for example has identified a number of key models of CPD and classified them in relation to their capacity for supporting professional autonomy and transformative practice. The transmission category refers to models of CPD which are conceived as fulfilling the function of preparing teachers to implement reforms. The transitional category includes models of CPD which can be placed in between the transmission and transformative categories. These CPD models are considered ‘transitional’ in the sense that they have the capacity to support underlying agendas compatible with either of the other two categories. The transformative category includes models of CPD which are conceived as supporting teachers in contributing to and shaping education policy and practices (p. 248). As the need for transforming methodology and instructions in the classroom is becoming one of the most prominent topics when discussing 21st century education, it can be argued that teacher professional development should also undergo transformations. The topic of 21st century teacher professional development should be given the same importance as 21st century learning. Various literatures have established how the needs of 21st century learners’ have changed tremendously compared to yesteryears, and so are their learning styles (e.g. Prensky, 2001; Rourke, 2002; Kinash, Wood & Knight, 2013). Therefore, it can be argued that it is not only paradoxical, but also counter-productive for educators to think that teacher professional development in the 21st century can remain the same as it was before while simultaneously advocating for 21st century education.

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 Exploring a Transformative Teacher Professional Development Model to Engender Technology Integration

Given the importance of preparing in-service teachers for 21st century teaching skills in a 21st century classroom, a study that examines an effective model for the professional development of in-service teachers is highly timely and relevant. Numerous studies have been accomplished to investigate in-service teachers’ views of professional development programmes for Malaysian teachers (e.g., Kabilan & Vetharaju, 2013; Barzey, 2014; Hughes, 2014; Nirmal, 2016). Their findings strongly suggest that there is an urgent need to revamp the way professional development programmes for in-service teachers are designed and conducted. While it is true that there is no ‘one size fits all’ when it comes to professional development programmes, previous research suggests that there seems to be certain universal and underlying criteria which can ensure that these programmes are effective, useful and sustainable (Nirmal, 2016). These criteria include appropriateness to the needs of schools, teachers and pupils (Kabilan & Vetharaju, 2013), presenting opportunities to collaborate with others (Butler et al., 2004) and being grounded on the main objective of supporting and enhancing student learning and achievements (Villegas-Reimers, 2003). We would like to propose that 21st century teacher development be based on a transformative model that allows professional autonomy for teachers to happen. This paper highlights a transformative model of teacher professional development, which we believe should offer teachers a high capacity for professional autonomy. It investigates the impacts of developing TPACK-based lessons through professional learning community on technology integration practices among Malaysian ESL teachers. The main objective of the study was to investigate the extent in which the process of designing and implementing TPACK-based lessons through professional learning community, underpinned by a systematic instructional design model, is effective in encouraging Malaysian ESL teachers to integrate technology with pedagogy and curricular content in their English language classrooms. This case study describes the attempt aimed at doing just that. A professional learning community (PLC) of pre-service teachers (digital natives) and in-service teachers (digital immigrants) was first set up to facilitate the exchange of knowledge through a series of sharing sessions. These sessions provided in-service teachers with the technical aspects of technology, as well as an understanding that technology has affordances and constraints. Hopefully, the information from this research will provide insight and further understanding of how professional development programmes are more effective, meaningful and sustainable (particularly those aimed at preparing teachers for 21st century teaching), and how they can be designed, developed and implemented successfully.

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The TPACK Framework The technological pedagogical content knowledge (TPACK) framework is a representation of the need to use technology in educational situations that are pedagogically appropriate (Abbitt, 2011). The TPACK framework integrates a technological knowledge domain into Shulman’s (1986) concept of pedagogical content knowledge (PCK). It addresses the growing demand of technological application in instructional settings (Mishra & Koehler, 2006). TPACK is the connection between education, content and knowledge as a form of essential knowledge for teachers to integrate technology into student learning in meaningful ways. To provide an overview of the TPACK framework, Mishra and Koehler (2006) described seven knowledge domains: pedagogical knowledge (PK), content knowledge (CK), technological knowledge (TK), pedagogical content knowledge (PCK), technological content knowledge (TCK), technological pedagogical knowledge (TPK) and technological pedagogical content knowledge (TPACK).

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 Exploring a Transformative Teacher Professional Development Model to Engender Technology Integration

Pedagogical knowledge (PK) refers to the knowledge of the nature of teaching and learning which includes teaching methods, classroom management, instructional planning, assessment of student learning, etc. Content knowledge (CK) refers to the knowledge of the subject matter to be taught. Technological knowledge (TK) is a continually changing and evolving knowledge base that includes knowledge of technology for information processing, communications and problem solving. TK focuses on the productive application of technology in both work and daily life. Pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) describes the knowledge of pedagogies, teaching practices and planning processes applicable and appropriate to teaching a given subject matter. Technological content knowledge (TCK) is defined as the relationship between subject matter and technology, including knowledge of technology that has influenced and is used in exploring a given content discipline. Technological pedagogical knowledge (TPK), on the other hand, is knowledge of the technological influence on teaching and learning, as well as the affordances and constraints of technology in regard to educational designs and strategies. Technological pedagogical content knowledge (TPACK) is the domain that characterises the knowledge of complex interactions among principle domains (content, pedagogy and technology). According to Koehler and Mishra (2009, p. 67), the TPACK framework “seeks to assist the development of better techniques for discovering and describing how technology-related professional knowledge is implemented and instantiated in practice”. This allows teachers or educators to better understand the varied levels of technological integration. Moreover, it enables teachers and educators to go beyond the simplified approaches of treating technology as an “add on”. Instead, they can focus on the connections between technology, content and pedagogy in the classroom context. Figure 1 summarises the TPACK model as described by Mishra & Koehler (2006).

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Figure 1. Graphic presentation of technological pedagogical content knowledge framework

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 Exploring a Transformative Teacher Professional Development Model to Engender Technology Integration

Recently, there is also a growing number of studies investigating the development of TPACK and its complex relationship with its different knowledge components (Celik et al., 2014; Beriswell et al., 2016; Chaemchoy, 2017). However, there is a dearth of literature investigating teacher experiences of professional development and self-ownership in creating teaching and learning tools for local usage; with the exception of Lee, Ng, and Tan (2014). Lee et al. examined technological pedagogical content knowledge (TPACK) development with a group of Malaysian in-service teachers. They found that the process of designing and implementing digital materials was helpful for integrating technology into the curriculum. The processes of material development allowed teachers to mobilise their multiple knowledge on curricular contents, education and technology. The adoption of this framework for teacher professional development particularly that of in-service ESL teachers, is timely and relevant. This is if the knowledge of teachers can be advanced as a result of the learning environment and experiences provided by professional development sessions. These exposures include new perspectives on teaching and learning that hold promises of more effective pedagogical practice in classrooms which will enhance student learning; such as the school of thought of constructivism, sociocultural theory and ideas like communities of practices, technological mediated learning, mental models, modelling, conceptual change and mediations.

The TPACK-IDDIRR Model The conceptual model that underpins the approach adopted in this study is the IDDIRR (Introduce, Demonstrate, Develop, Implement, Reflect, Revise) model (Lee & Kim, 2014). The TPACK-IDDIR model is shown in Figure 2.

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Figure 2. The TPACK-IDDIRR model (Source: Lee & Kim, 2014)

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 Exploring a Transformative Teacher Professional Development Model to Engender Technology Integration

In order to facilitate teachers’ TPACK development, the technology integration sessions should include explicit and systematic procedures. Based on the TPACK-IDDIRR model, the role of the trainer or facilitator is to introduce and demonstrate. The training should include a discussion of definitions and teaching examples relevant to TPACK. The purpose is to enhance the understanding of TPACK domains among teachers. The development stage is undertaken by teachers; they should be involved in the development of several lesson plans that integrate various technological tools to enhance the connection of technology to specific content and pedagogy. The development of lesson plans should be followed by the implementation of a technology-integrated lesson in the classroom to help transfer that knowledge to practice. For learning to occur, the implementation stage must be followed by a reflection on the TPACK-based lesson, along with a revision of that lesson. The TPACK-IDDIRR model, when adopted in professional development programmes for in-service teachers, provides opportunities for sustainable development as it fulfils most of the criteria for effective professional development; i.e. it takes into account the appropriateness of the needs of individual classrooms, it provides opportunities for teachers to collaborate and it is grounded on the main objective of enhancing student learning and achievements.

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Professional Learning Community (PLC) The concept of a professional learning community (PLC) is based on an idea developed by the business sector. Basically, it is the capacity of organisation members to learn and acquire skills. The idea has been modified to suit the education context (Vescio, Ross, & Adams, 2008). The concept of a learning organisation was turned into a learning community that works together to build collaborative cultures among teachers (Thompson, Gregg, & Niska, 2004). Learning communities are grounded on two assumptions. The first assumption is that knowledge is situated in the day-to-day and first-hand experiences of teachers; therefore, it is best understood through critical reflection with others who share the same experiences (Buysse, Sparkman, & Wesley, 2003). The second assumption is that when teachers are actively engaged in professional development activities through PLC, their professional knowledge will increase, and their students’ learning will enhance as a result. According to DuFour and DuFour (2010), the concept of PLC should be grounded on Three Big Ideas: the commitment to high levels of learning for all students, the imperative of a collaborative and collective effort to fulfil that commitment and the intense focus on results that enables a school to respond to the needs of each student, inform teacher practices and fuel continuous improvement (p. 77). The Three Big Ideas of PLC are in line with several studies on teacher professional development and fulfil the criteria of effective professional development (e.g., Butler et al., 2004; Villegas-Reimers, 2003; Kabilan & Vetharaju, 2013). Research findings on the impacts of PLC regarding the advancement of teacher knowledge and the enhancement of student learning have consistently pointed towards its valuable role in supporting the professional development of teachers; particularly, in-service teachers (Putnam & Borko, 2000; Stoll et al., 2006; Lumpe, 2007; Vescio, Ross, & Adams, 2008; DuFour & DuFour, 2010). In addition to the Three Big Ideas, other important elements that should be included in the PLC framework are the five dimensions conceptualised by Hord (1997) and later modified by Huffman and Hipp (2003). The five dimensions are: supportive and shared leadership; shared values, norms, vision and mission; collective learning and application of learning; supportive conditions; and shared personal practice. These dimensions are widely accepted as valid constructs to measure the effectiveness of PLC in schools and institutions, as shown in numerous studies (e.g., Blacklock, 2009; Tahir et al., 2013; Ward, 2015). 642

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 Exploring a Transformative Teacher Professional Development Model to Engender Technology Integration

In the context of the Malaysian education system, the concept of PLC is rapidly gaining popularity. Many educators are beginning to see the value that PLC has to offer as a form of professional development model for teachers. The effectiveness of PLC in Malaysian schools has been investigated by various local researchers; Abdullah and Ghani (2014) and Sompong and Erawan (2015) among others. PLC is also adopted by educators in Malaysian higher institutions, as shown in studies by Tahir et al. (2013). The findings from this research suggest that PLC provides the elements that many Malaysian teachers found to be lacking in the current model of teachers’ professional development, particularly for in-service teachers. When investigating Malaysian teachers’ views and perceptions of classroom peer observation, Nirmal (2016) pointed out how Malaysian teachers were unsatisfied with their professional development, which is mostly based on the Cascade model. This is because many view the current model as inadequate for meeting their needs. The same research further highlighted the main finding from various studies, which is: many Malaysian teachers do not take ownership of their professional development (Kabilan & Vetharaju, 2013; Hughes, 2014; Barzey, 2014). According to Nirmal (2016), peer observation seems to be positively viewed as an alternative model for professional development since it provides the platform for teachers to exchange ideas in a “positive learning community” as well as to learn from each other. The findings suggest that “when teachers are given a safe, conducive platform to develop themselves, they will take it and go far” (p. 9). Nirmal proposed extending the peer observation model to include lesson planning, similar to the concept of lesson studies, which is one of the most popular PLC activities in Malaysian schools and institutions. This study taps into the potentials of PLC as a model of professional development that can cater to what Malaysian teachers perceive as an ‘ideal’ professional development programme for in-service teachers. In addition to providing teachers with the avenue to exchange ideas, learn from each other and collaborate, this study looks into what PLC can offer in terms of providing teachers a safe and conducive platform to develop themselves.

METHODOLOGY Research Design

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This study adopts the case study design where the purpose is to have an in-depth understanding of a real-life phenomenon (Yin, 2009). We share Cohen et al.’s (2011) viewpoint that ‘situations are fluid and changing rather than fixed and stable: events and behaviour evolve over time and are richly affected by context’ (p. 22). It is hoped that such a design would enable us to observe the phenomenon in the real context.

Participants and Contexts This study involved 18 ESL teachers and ELT professionals in Sabah, Malaysia. These participants had voluntarily indicated their willingness to join the project when the announcement was made in 2016. The announcement was aimed at a community of teachers and ELT professionals in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah. The District English Language Officer (DELO), who is a team member in this study, facilitated the call for participation. A total of 18 participants volunteered to take part in this year-long study. The participants are between the ages of 31 to 49, with teaching experiences ranging from 8 to 26 years. Out of 18 participants, 643

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 Exploring a Transformative Teacher Professional Development Model to Engender Technology Integration

5 of them had taught in primary schools, 8 taught in secondary schools and 2 taught at pre-university level. Three (3) participants were attached to the district education office as teacher coaches and facilitators for English literacy. 38.8% (7) of participants taught in urban schools, 27.8% (5) taught in suburban schools, 16.7% (3) taught in villages and rural areas, while 16.7% (3) were attached to the district education office as teacher coaches and facilitators. 16.7% (3) of participants were male, while 83.3% (15) were female.

INSTRUMENTS Reflective log The in-service teachers were requested to keep a reflective log. They were told to record what was significant to them as they underwent the IDDIRR instructional design stages. They shared their reflections on a website (http://goingdigitalkotakinabalu.weebly.com) specifically designed for this purpose.

Questionnaire

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Besides reflection, a self-constructed questionnaire consisting of seven items with a four-point Likert scale was handed out to the in-service teachers so as to gather their insights on professional development activities of the project. The Likert scale ranged from 1- Strongly Disagree, 2 – Disagree, 3 – Agree to 4 – Strongly Agree. The seven items focused on how professional development activities provided teachers with: 1. The knowledge of how to effectively integrate educational technologies to increase student opportunities of interacting with ideas; 2. The knowledge and skills necessary to flexibly incorporate new tools and resources into content and teaching methods to enhance learning; 3. Teaching methods that use technology to teach content and provide learners with the opportunity to interact with ideas; 4. An understanding of what makes certain concepts difficult to learn for students and how technology can be used to improve student learning; 5. An understanding of how to integrate technology to build upon students’ prior knowledge of subject matters; 6. An understanding of how to operate classroom technologies as well as incorporating them into particular content area or grade level to enhance student learning; 7. Providing strong technological pedagogical content knowledge.

Interview Interviews were conducted in small groups of 3-4 teachers based on availability through informal meetings and WhatsApp discussions. The interview questions were designed to elicit teacher experiences in planning, designing and implementing technology-based lessons hinged on the IDDIRR framework. The interviews were audio-recorded and selectively documented for analysis. See Appendix A for the interview protocol. 644

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 Exploring a Transformative Teacher Professional Development Model to Engender Technology Integration

Procedures A series of technology-integrated sessions were conducted to provide teachers with the opportunity and platform to exchange ideas, learn from each other and collaborate (see Table 1). The sessions were accomplished based on the PLC model of teacher sharing sessions (TSS); whereby, no trainer or instructor was present – everyone in the room was an expert in his/her own right. There was a group leader who played the role of the main facilitator during the sessions, however, her role was more as a coordinator to ensure that everything ran smoothly rather than an expert or ‘source of knowledge’. This was in line with the first dimension of PLC, which is supportive and shared leadership. In this learning community, everyone was a leader, and everyone supported each other. In addition to providing a conducive and safe environment (as outlined in the third dimension of PLC), some ‘digital natives’ (i.e., pre-service teachers) were recruited as facilitators since they are more adept at using various technological tools. Their role was to offer support in the technical aspect as ‘digital immigrants’ embarked on the journey of exploring various technological tools to develop their digital language learning materials and technology-based lessons. Table 1. The project phases and activities involved

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Phase

Mode (Support)

Activities

Introduce (I) Demonstrate (D)

Face-to-face (TSS 1)

Introduction to TPACK Demonstration of TPACK-based lessons

Develop (D)

Face-to-face (TSS 2)

Participants develop TPACK-based lessons

Implement (I)

Not face-to-face (Online)

Participants implement TPACK- based lessons in the classroom

Reflect (R)

Face-to-face (TSS 3)

Participants showcase TPACK- based lessons and share their reflections Participants obtain feedback from other participants

These sessions via TSS adopted the TPACK-IDDIRR model where teachers were first introduced to the TPACK framework and technology-based lessons through samples and demonstrations. They were then given the opportunity to design their own technology-based lessons and develop tools that can support lesson delivery. This was either done individually or in groups. Teachers were given time in between sessions to implement these lessons in their own classrooms. After implementation, the teachers reflected on the strengths and weaknesses, along with what went well and what needed to be changed or improved. Based on these reflections, the teachers worked on improving or revising their lesson plans and digital language learning materials. This process provided teachers with the avenue for collective learning and application in accordance to PLC’s third dimension. The IRR stage (Implement, Reflect, Revise) of the model was cyclical and repetitively conducted to provide teachers with an opportunity to experience the design process more than once (Lee & Kim, 2014). The iterative characteristic of the model, as pointed out by Lee & Kim (2014), is important as it will enhance teachers’ learning of TPACK (p. 443). To further cater to the fifth dimension of PLC, which is “shared personal practice”, the TSS was extended beyond face-to-face sessions to include an online platform where all classroom practices, digital materials, lesson plans and reflections of teachers were shared through a website specifically designed for this purpose. Teachers contributed to the

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 Exploring a Transformative Teacher Professional Development Model to Engender Technology Integration

content of the website by sending their revised lesson plans, materials and reflections as many times as they liked while undergoing the iterative process of implementing, reflecting and revising. This online extension to PLC provided teachers with additional support to ensure that their TPACK development is sustainable beyond face-to-face sessions. This model of professional development is part of the second dimension of PLC, which is shared missions or objectives. The members of this learning community work on the same mission to enhance the quality of learning for their students. They engage in collaborative and collective efforts to improve student outcomes, thereby consummating the Three Big Ideas of PLC (Dufour & DuFour, 2010). Figure 3 displays the design of this model which combines the TPACK framework, the TPACK-IDDIRR model and professional learning community (PLC). Figure 3. TPACK-IDDIRR + PLC framework

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RESULTS AND DISCUSSION The findings are presented in two parts. The first part discusses the results of the survey regarding teachers’ perceptions of the IDDIRR + PLC model’s effectiveness in enhancing their TPACK. The second part presents the themes derived from these reflections as well as the interviews on what they thought helped in enhancing their TPACK so as to teach in the 21st century.

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 Exploring a Transformative Teacher Professional Development Model to Engender Technology Integration

Teachers’ Perceptions of the Effectiveness of the TPACK-IDDIRR + PLC Model Figures 4, 5 and 6 present the responses of participants to the seven items in the questionnaire aimed at investigating the views of the model’s effectiveness regarding professional development. Figure 4 displays the responses for items 1 to 3 in the questionnaire.

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Figure 4. Responses to items 1, 2 and 3

Results from the survey show that 72.7% of teachers strongly agree, while 27.3% agree that this model of professional development provides them with the knowledge of how to effectively integrate educational technologies to increase student opportunities to interact with ideas. Responses for items 2 and 3 yielded similar percentages as item 1. 72.7% strongly agree that this model of professional development provided the necessary knowledge and skills to flexibly incorporate new tools and resources into content and teaching methods so as to enhance learning (item 2). They also felt that teaching methods that apply technology helped them teach content and provide opportunities for learners to interact with ideas (item 3). Figure 5 presents the survey results for items 4, 5 and 6 in the questionnaire. The results indicated that all teachers had agreed (60% strongly agree and 40% agree) that the model of professional development provides the understanding of what makes certain concepts difficult to learn for students and how technology can be used to leverage that knowledge to improve student learning (item 4). 66.7% strongly agree and 33.3% agree that the model of professional development provides an understanding of how to integrate technology to build upon students’ prior knowledge of subject matters (item 5), as well as how to operate classroom technologies and incorporate them into particular content area or grade level to enhance student learning (item 6). Figure 6 presents the result of the survey for the final item in the questionnaire, which is item 7. Based on the results, it can be concluded that all teachers believe that the entire experience helped improve their technological pedagogical content knowledge. There was a 100% agreement for this item; whereby 60% of teachers strongly agree and a further 40% agree. It is clear from the results of the survey that all participants believe that the model of professional development was effective in enhancing their TPACK.

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 Exploring a Transformative Teacher Professional Development Model to Engender Technology Integration

Figure 5. Responses to items 4, 5 and 6

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Figure 6. Response to item 7

In summary, the survey provided overwhelmingly positive results for all seven items, implying that teachers have positive perceptions of the professional development activities. In other words, teachers felt that these activities provided the knowledge and skills to (1) integrate technology with content and pedagogy for enhanced learning, (2) use teaching techniques for technology integration and (3) use technology to support the learning of difficult concepts.

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 Exploring a Transformative Teacher Professional Development Model to Engender Technology Integration

Interviews and Reflections The data obtained from the reflections and interviews yielded additional findings of teachers’ views regarding the effectiveness of developing and implementing technology-based lessons and materials through a professional learning community. The thematic analysis of the qualitative data exhibited three emerging themes. The interview responses were marked with the participants’ pseudonyms, while the reflections responses were anonymised. Theme 1: The model of professional development increases teachers’ awareness of the importance of technology and the positive impacts of technology integration on student learning. It was revealed that teachers want to enhance their knowledge and skills by using technology in the classroom. The following are some excerpts from a few of their responses: Technology is part of our students’ lives, so we need to keep up. - Teacher L We have to equip ourselves so as not to be left behind. – Teacher I We can’t stay put and blame IT, but we have to rise and move... otherwise we will be irrelevant in the classroom. – Teacher S The teachers provided responses that they want to “develop skills and competencies in the 21st century”, “have digital literacy skills”, “try to become one of the digital natives” and “be more digitally savvy.” According to a few teachers, technology builds the students confidence (Teacher F), develops soft skills such as creativity, communication and collaboration (Teacher P) and prepares students for reallife settings (Teacher T). Technology also “provides the avenue for students to learn through exploration.” (Teacher T). Theme 2: The model of professional development helps teachers see how technology integration can help increase their teaching effectiveness in many ways. The following are some excerpts from teachers’ reflections:

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Technology makes giving feedback to students a lot easier. • •

Refection on using Padlet in the classroom: “Can easily monitor who did or did not respond.” Refection on using Google Doc: “The fastest way for a teacher to check students’ work without downloading the fle.” The following are some excerpts from the interviews:

My students became so engrossed in the task...caused less troubles... and my classroom became more manageable. – Teacher F

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 Exploring a Transformative Teacher Professional Development Model to Engender Technology Integration

Teachers enjoy teaching because teachers talk less. – Teacher S Theme 3: The professional development sessions conducted through PLC provide a supportive environment for teachers to learn and be inspired. The participants’ responses indicate that the professional development sessions conducted through PLC had inspired them to emulate the best practices in technology integration shared by the other members. Many participants commented that they were excited to try out what they had learned from each other in their own classrooms. As one participant puts it: Ripples spread out when a single pebble is dropped into water. Keeping the new toy won’t be fun unless shared with others. I immediately introduced VLE Frog to my Form 6 kids. I was excited like a child with a new toy! – Teacher I Regarding the presence of more knowledgeable peers in the professional learning community, the participants gave positive feedbacks in their reflections. For example, teachers wrote that the facilitators were “friendly”, “experienced in that field” and “willing to teach.” The participants acknowledged the value of online support through the Going Digital website (http:// goingdigitalkotakinabalu.weebly.com). They stated that this additional feature made professional development “very supportive even after the course.” They also view PLC as a form of professional development that is “good for teachers” and that Going Digital is “a successful project.” Below are some excerpts from the interviews on how PLC had inspired teachers to prepare for 21st century teaching: It really helps open the mind... it helped me realise that as teachers, we can do wonders with technology. – Teacher C Well done! You have converted me to a 21st century teacher! – Teacher I

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Discussion The findings from this study suggest that teachers perceive the professional development sessions which adopted the TPACK - IDDIRR + PLC model as effective in inspiring them to integrate more technology in their English language classrooms. It appears that the TPACK-IDDIRR instructional design framework (Lee & Kim, 2014) provided in-service teachers a ‘structured’ approach to integrate technology that is both explicit and systematic to work with. The positive endorsement was reflected in all seven items of the survey, demonstrating that in-service teachers have acquired the necessary knowledge and skills needed to integrate technology into their practice. The feedback obtained via reflections and interviews affirm that the TPACK - IDDIRR + PLC model helped teachers see how technology integration can increase their teaching effectiveness in numerous ways. This was supported by Lee & Kim’s (2014) study, leading to the conclusion that this form of professional development has the potential to be adopted as a model to enhance teachers’ TPACK. The model appears to be helpful in providing teachers with a platform to learn how technology can affect student education and improve their teaching in several ways.

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 Exploring a Transformative Teacher Professional Development Model to Engender Technology Integration

The findings further suggest that PLC has provided teachers with a safe and conducive environment to learn and be inspired. The presence of more knowledgeable peers in PLC gave the much-needed support for teachers, particularly in the technical aspects of technology. The teachers appreciated the friendly learning atmosphere and felt less vulnerable since no one was seen as an expert. The findings of this study are similar to previous research investigating the impacts of PLC in regard to the advancement of teacher knowledge (Putnam & Borko, 2000; Stoll et al., 2006; Lumpe, 2007; Vescio, Ross & Adams, 2008; DuFour & DuFour, 2010; Nirmal, 2016). The results also pointed towards the need for teacher professional development to be extended beyond the conventional face-to-face sessions. They should include additional and continuous support in the form of online platforms such as websites or other interactive social media platforms. The websites and social media platforms act like an e-portfolio for in-service teachers to share their reflections. The TPACK-IDDIRR framework seemed to have helped teachers focus their reflections on the domains of TK, CK, PK, TCK, PCK, TPK and TPACK. These findings are similar to Ching et al.’s (2016) results on enhancing graduate students’ reflections in e-portfolios using the TPACK framework.

LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY AND FUTURE RESEARCH SUGGESTIONS There are several limitations to this study. First, the sample used was based on voluntary participation of teachers from a state in Malaysia. This may have resulted in biases within the findings. As volunteers, these teachers are highly enthusiastic and motivated to learn; therefore, this may have led to positive results. Second, the TPACK-IDDIRR + PLC was implemented in the context of a supportive PLC environment consisting of colleagues and friends who are positively receptive to new ideas and challenges. However, other PLC grouping may not work as favourably if teachers are adverse to change. Future research should implement the model in diverse contexts to increase its robustness.

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Implications for Practice The findings of this study highlight the importance of in-service teachers’ pedagogical, subject and technological knowledge, as well as the presence of a supportive PLC for teachers’ TPACK acquisition. In most previous studies, TPACK was taught as integrated knowledge (Mishra & Koehler, 2006). This study’s findings echo Lee & Kim’s (2014) research which suggest that isolated domains of TPACK should be introduced in a structured manner within a supportive environment for change to occur. The use of dedicated websites and social media sharing are needed to provide teachers with an avenue for sharing their best practices and reflections. In other words, an online site will function as a huge e-portfolio to track updates and development among PLC members (Ching et al., 2016).

CONCLUSION The TPACK - IDDIRR + PLC model was adopted to explore its effectiveness in inspiring in-service teachers to integrate technology in their English language classrooms. The results indicate that this model has the potential to be adopted to enhance teachers’ TPACK. The findings further imply that this model provides in-service teachers with a platform to improve their practices in integrating technology 651

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within their classrooms. The supporting context (PLC) provided a safe and conducive environment for in-service teachers to learn and be inspired. The presence of more knowledgeable individuals (peers and student teachers) in PLC yielded the much-needed support for teachers to learn the technical aspects of integrating technology with their content and pedagogical knowledge. Beyond the favourable evidence accrued, the findings also suggest that teacher professional development should be extended beyond the conventional face-to-face sessions. They should include additional and continuous support in the form of online platforms such as websites or interactive social media platforms to continuously motivate and change teachers’ mindsets and practices for 21st century teaching.

REFERENCES Abbitt, J. T. (2011). An investigation of the relationship between self-efficacy beliefs about technology integration and technological pedagogical content knowledge (TPACK) among preservice teachers. Journal of Digital Learning in Teacher Education, 27(4), 134–143. doi:10.1080/21532974.2011.10784670 Abdullah, Z., & Ghani, M. F. A. (2014). Professional Learning Community in Secondary Schools Community in Malaysia. Journal of Education and Learning, 8(3), 227–248. Avalos, B. (2011). Teacher Professional Development in Teaching and Teacher Education over Ten Years. Teaching and Teacher Education, 27(1), 10–20. doi:10.1016/j.tate.2010.08.007 Barzey, J. (2014). Professional Development of English Language Teachers in Sarawak. In M. Kabilan (Ed.), The English Language Teacher Development Project-Theory, Research and Practice (1st ed., pp. 173–203). Penang: Universiti Sains Malaysia and British Council. Beriswell, J. E., Bracey, P. S., Sherman-Morris, K., Huang, K., & Lee, S. J. (2016). Professional development for promoting 21st century skills and common core state standards in foreign language and social studies classrooms. TechTrends, 1(60), 77–84. doi:10.100711528-015-0004-5 Blacklock, P. J. (2009). The five dimensions of professional learning communities in improving exemplary Texas elementary schools: A descriptive study. North Texas University of North Texas. Buysse, V., Sparkman, K., & Wesley, P. (2003). Communities of Practice: Connecting What We Know With What We Do. Council for Exceptional Children, 69(3), 263–277. doi:10.1177/001440290306900301

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Butler, D. L., Lauscher, H. N., Jarvis-Selinger, S., & Beckingham, B. (2004). Collaboration and selfregulation in teachers’ professional development. Teaching and Teacher Education, 20(5), 435–455. doi:10.1016/j.tate.2004.04.003 Celik, I., Sahin, I., & Akturk, A. O. (2014). Analysis of the relations among the components of technological pedagogical and content knowledge (TPACK): A structural equation model. Journal of Educational Computing Research, 51(1), 1–22. doi:10.2190/EC.51.1.a Chaemchoy, S. (2017). An investigation of Thai principals’ technology leadership and understanding of mobile technology in education: Apply the TPACK framework. Advanced Science Letters, 23(2), 1134–1139. doi:10.1166/asl.2017.7518

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Ching, Y.-H., Yang, D., Baek, Y., & Baldwin, S. (2016). Enhancing graduate students’ reflection in e-portfolios using the TPACK framework. Australasian Journal of Educational Technology, 32(5), 108–122. doi:10.14742/ajet.2830 Cohen, L., Manion, L., & Morrison, K. (2011). Research Methods in Education (7th ed.). London: Routledge Taylor & Francis Group. Chidamber, S. R. (2003). An Analysis of Vietnam’s ICT and Software Services Sector. Information Systems, 1–11. Dede, C., Ketelhut, D. J., Whitehouse, P., Breit, L., & McCloskey, E. M. (2009). A research agenda for online teacher professional development. Journal of Teacher Education, 60(1), 8–19. doi:10.1177/0022487108327554 DuFour, R. & DuFour, R. (2010). The role of professional learning communities in advancing 21st century skills. In 21st century skills: Rethinking how students learn (pp. 77-95). Harris, J., Mishra, P., & Koehler, M. J. (2009). Teachers’ technological pedagogical content knowledge and learning activity types: Curriculum-based technology integration reframed. Journal of Research on Technology in Education, 41(4), 393–416. doi:10.1080/15391523.2009.10782536 Hord, S. M. (1997). Professional Learning Communities. Communities of Continuous Leadership, 40(1), 58–59. Huffman, J. B., & Hipp, K. K. (2003). Reculturing schools as professional learning communities. R&L Education. Hughes, T. (2014). Overcoming Barriers to Practitioner Based Enquiry and Continuous Professional Development of English Language Teachers. In M. Kabilan (Ed.), The English Language Teacher Development Project-Theory, Research and Practice (1st ed., pp. 203–226). Penang: Universiti Sains Malaysia and British Council. Hume, A., & Berry, A. (2013). Enhancing the practicum experience for pre-service chemistry teachers through collaborative Core design with mentor teachers. Research in Science Education, 43(5), 2107–2136. doi:10.100711165-012-9346-6

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Kabilan, M. K., & Veratharaju, K. (2013). Professional development needs of primary School Englishlanguage teachers in Malaysia. Professional Development in Education, 39(3), 330–351. doi:10.1080/ 19415257.2012.762418 Kennedy, A. (2005). Models of continuing professional development: A framework for analysis. Journal of In-service Education, 31(2), 235–250. doi:10.1080/13674580500200277 Kinash, S., Wood, K., & Knight, D. (2013). Digital immigrant teachers and digital native students: What happens to teaching? Education Technology Solutions, 54, 56-58. Retrieved from http://epublications. bond.edu.au/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1049&context=tls Koehler, M., & Mishra, P. (2009). What happens when teachers design educational technology? The development of technological pedagogical content knowledge. Journal of Educational Computing Research, 32(2), 131–152. doi:10.2190/0EW7-01WB-BKHL-QDYV

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Korthagen, F. A. (2010). How teacher education can make a difference. Journal of Education for Teaching, 36(4), 407–423. doi:10.1080/02607476.2010.513854 Lee, C. J., & Kim, C. (2014). The second prototype of the development of a technological pedagogical content knowledge based instructional design model: An implementation study in a technology integration course. Contemporary Issues in Technology & Teacher Education, 14(3), 297–326. Lee, K. W., Ng, S. I., & Tan, C. K. (2014). Developing Malaysian ESL teachers’ Technological, Pedagogical Content Knowledge with Digital Materials. In J. B. Son (Ed.), Computer-Assisted Language Learning: Learner, Teachers and Tools (pp. 97–121). Newcastle upon Tyne: Cambridge Publishing Press. Lumpe, A. T. (2007). Research-based professional development: Teachers engaged in professional learning communities. Journal of Science Teacher Education, 18(1), 125–128. doi:10.100710972-006-9018-3 Mishra, P., & Koehler, M. J. (2006). Technological pedagogical content knowledge: A new framework for teacher knowledge. Teachers College Record, 108(6), 1017–1054. doi:10.1111/j.1467-9620.2006.00684.x Mishra, P., & Henriksen, D. (2013). A NEW approach to defining and measuring creativity: Rethinking technology & creativity in the 21st century. TechTrends, 57(5), 10–13. doi:10.100711528-013-0685-6 Nirmal, S. K. (2016). Peer Observation, an Overlooked Tool for Teachers Professional Development: Five ESL Primary School Teachers’ Perceptions and Experiences. In 24th MELTA Conference Proceeding. Kuala Lumpur. MELTA. Prensky, M. (2001). Digital natives, digital immigrants part 1. On the Horizon, 9(5), 1–6. doi:10.1108/10748120110424816 Putnam, R. T., & Borko, H. (2000). What do new views of knowledge and thinking have to say about research on teacher learning? Educational Researcher, 29(1), 4–15. doi:10.3102/0013189X029001004 Rourke, M. (2001). Engaging students through ICTs: A multiliteracies approach. TechKnowLogia. Knowledge Enterprise Inc. Shulman, L. (1986). Paradigms and research programs in the study of teaching: A contemporary perspective. In M. C. Whittrock (Ed.), Handbook of research on teaching (3rd ed.). New York: Macmillan. Sompong, S., & Erawan, P. (2015). The development of professional learning community in primary schools. Educational Research Review, 10(21), 2789–2796. doi:10.5897/ERR2015.2343

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Stoll, L., Bolam, R., McMahon, A., Wallace, M., & Thomas, S. (2006). Professional learning communities: A review of the literature. Journal of Educational Change, 7(4), 221–258. doi:10.100710833-006-0001-8 Tahir, L. M., Said, M. N. H. M., Ali, M. F., Samah, N. A., Daud, K., & Mohtar, T. H. (2013). Examining the professional learning community practices: An empirical comparison from Malaysian universities clusters. Procedia: Social and Behavioral Sciences, 97, 105–113. doi:10.1016/j.sbspro.2013.10.210 Thompson, S. C., Gregg, L., & Niska, J. M. (2004). Professional learning communities, leadership, and student learning. RMLE Online, 28(1), 1–15. doi:10.1080/19404476.2004.11658173 Villegas-Reimers, E. (2003). Teacher professional development: An international review of the literature. Paris: International Institute for Educational Planning.

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Vescio, V., Ross, D., & Adams, A. (2008). A review of research on the impact of professional learning communities on teaching practice and student learning. Teaching and Teacher Education, 24(1), 80–91. doi:10.1016/j.tate.2007.01.004 Ward, P. A. (2015). Measuring Dimensions of Professional Learning Communities to Predict Secondary School Climate. Minnesota: Walden University. Yin, R. K. (2009). Case study research: Design and methods (4th ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

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This work was previously published in the International Journal of Computer-Assisted Language Learning and Teaching (IJCALLT), 8(4); pages 13-31, copyright year 2018 by IGI Publishing (an imprint of IGI Global).

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APPENDIX Phase 1: Introduction – The Planning Stage This section of the article captures the author’s experiences in the ‘Introduce’ and ‘Demonstrate’ phases of the TPACK-IDDIRR model. It answers the following questions: • • •

What were the aims/objectives of the project? What were the expected outcomes of the project? What were the challenges faced throughout the planning stage and how did the author solve the issues?

Phase 2: Design and Development This section describes the experiences of the author throughout the ‘Development’ phase. It provides the answers to the following questions: • • • • • •

How did the author adapt the suitable syllabus/topics to integrate technology in the classroom? How did the author analyse the suitability of the digital tools used in the project? What were the teaching or learning issues/concerns/skills that the project wanted to focus on? What were the reasons for addressing the issues/concerns/skills? What digital tools were selected for the project and what were the reasons for the selection? What were the challenges/limitations faced during the development phase and how did the author solve them?

Phase 3: Implementation This section describes what the author went through during the ‘Implementation’ phase. It provides the answers to the following questions:

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• • • • • • • •

Where was the project conducted? Who were the participants? How many participants were involved in the project? How long did it take for the project to be completed? How was the project conducted? Ð the methods, the timeline, whether it was a group or individual work etc. What form of assessment did the author use to measure the impacts/efectiveness of the project? In what ways can the outputs from the project be applied into real-life setting/workplace? What were the challenges/limitations faced during the implementation stage and how did the author solve the issues?

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Phase 4: Reflection In this section, the author shares his/her reflection on the experience of conducting the project. The author may also share thoughts and feedbacks about the project from the learners’ perspectives: • • • • •

What was the biggest challenge/limitation that the author faced when conducting the project? How did the author overcome the challenge/limitation? What was the author’s overall thoughts about the impact of the project on his/her teaching? How did the project impact learners? Was there any feedback from learners? What did the learners say about how the project had impacted their learning?

Phase 5: Revision – What’s Next? This section describes the changes/improvements that the author had done, or planned to do, in order to make the project better. It also answers the following questions: • •

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•

What area/s of the project can be further improved? Does the author’s teaching approach work well with educational technology? If so, in what way? If not, why? What’s next? How would the author bring the project further to the next level? Is there any future plan?

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Chapter 34

Integration of Videoconferencing in ESP and EAP Courses: Focus on Community of Practice Interaction. Hana Katrnakova Masaryk University, Czech Republic

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY This chapter is devoted to the use of videoconferencing technology and other social media tools for creating a community of practice communication within which authentic tasks and activities in multicultural ESP and EAP classes can be carried out. It describes theoretical background for efective use of these media based on the results of INVITE project and other research in the area, it mentions the importance of international institutional cooperation and the chapter shares examples of good practice pointing at their advantages. Samples of end-of-course feedback refecting students´ worries at the beginning of the course, their personal and professional achievements at the end of the course are included as well.

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ORGANIZATION BACKGROUND The language centres at MU and AU have been using VC technology for teaching purposes since 2004. John Morgan from AU introduced this medium to the following visiting scholars from the Language Centre of MU: Alena Hradilová, Barbora Chovancová, and Hana Katrňáková. Hradilová experimented and ran the first course between AU Erasmus students and MU law students in 2004. Both universities simultaneously created an international consortium of academic and non-academic educational institutions, which was joined by manufacturing companies. They also repeatedly wrote projects to receive funding for more systematic work.

DOI: 10.4018/978-1-7998-7294-8.ch034

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 Integration of Videoconferencing in ESP and EAP Courses

SETTING THE STAGE The consortium of six partners came from the United Kingdom, Spain, the Czech Republic, Italy, and Slovakia. Three of these were public universities and two were private manufacturing companies. The sixth was a private further education company. The consortium was led by the project co-ordinator, Hana Katrňáková, and could focus more systematically on work as a result of funding from the Leonardo da Vinci Programme in 2006. Results of the two-year INVITE project, “Communication Technologies and Acquiring Academic and Professional Communication Skills: An Interactive Learning Infrastructure and New Methodology,” can be found at http://invite.cjv.muni.cz. In this project, the consortium:

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1. Developed training and learning materials for academic and professional purposes 2. Experimented with effective use of advanced technological resources for authentic communication tasks 3. Created an internationally-accessible virtual learning environment a. Developing and utilizing an open subject village website b. Matching academic outcomes with the needs of prospective employees Morgan was a driving force in developing and teaching the theoretical framework of a new teaching methodology. Other team members—Janice de Haaf, Hradilová, and Libor Štěpánek—were leaders in experimenting with the VC framework and tasks concerning organisational, technical, intercultural, and language skills. Chovancová developed useful preparatory exercises and Quick VC guides, which were prepared in English, German, French, Spanish and Czech. The INVITE project experimented with three forms of VC sessions. In the first, two groups from different institutions formed an EAP or ESP VC class. This type will be described below in more detail. In the second, one VC equipment was used in a traditional format in order to give lectures and provide feedback on the students’ writing. Hradilová and Štěpánek experimented in this area and developed a highly successful and motivating course for PhD students at Masaryk University. The third, called the critical audience group, allowed students who majored in one subject (e.g.: business) to receive feedback and peer reviews from counterparts not necessarily majoring in the same subject. All three types of VC have been used at the Language Centre of MU with both their traditional (AU) and new academic partners (UH or Paddeborn University). New teachers (including Katrňáková, Lenka Zouhar Ludvíková, and Blanka Pojslová) joined the original project team in using VC creatively in a number of courses (e.g.: intercultural communication in academic settings or case studies for business students). VC allows students to practise and develop a range of skills in multicultural communication. Within a virtual classroom, communication becomes more authentic and students seem to be motivated to use English as a lingua franca. This chapter focuses primarily on the first type of courses mentioned above, i.e.: on using VC to practise negotiation and argumentation as a preparation for mock trials. The two courses are chosen because VC is used as a part of a legal English course in which students prepare group presentations, complete surveys, discuss issues in a multicultural environment while the focus is both on specific and general English, allowing academic English skills to be practised too.

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 Integration of Videoconferencing in ESP and EAP Courses

CASE DESCRIPTION Theoretical Framework It is necessary to place the theoretical methodological framework in the context of existing research into language, literacy, and education. One should consider the following key issues: the process of teaching and learning; literacy, discourse and identity; and multimodal communication. The term “discourse” implies both linguistic form and social communicative practice. Therefore, we can talk of discourse in terms of oral and written texts constructed in an interaction (Fairclough, 1992). Based on the work of Bakhtin (1981, 1986), as well as the subsequent work of a number of theorists of language and meaning (e.g.: Fairclough, 1989; Gumprez, 1982; Halliday, 1978; Halliday & Hasan, 1989; Hymes, 1974), we assume that language is an inherently social construct and its meaning is constituted between speaker and hearer, or writer and reader. As Fairclough (1992) explained, discourse should be seen as a textual product (oral or written) and discursive practice. We can analyse from this point all interactions, in our case classroom interactions seen as genre, which bear features of “common knowledge” (Edwards & Mercer, 1987). As Hicks (2003, p. 4) mentioned, “classroom discourses are social constructions rather than givens.” The duality of discourse has been manifested in research of both social interactional processes (e.g., Hick, 1994) and discourse organisations. This is based on sociolinguistic findings and research (e.g.; Gumprez & Hymes, 1986) and social semiotics (Halliday, 1978; Halliday & Hasan, 1989) in which the emphasis is placed on relations between community membership and linguistic form and function. It is also necessary to mention language and ideology relationship, as discourses always reflect ideology, value systems, beliefs, and social practices (Fairclough 1989; Foucalt, 1972). For the development of the theoretical methodological framework, we could learn from the digital rhetorics project (Lankshear, Snyder, & Green, 2000) which created a theoretical approach to literacy and technology to identify three technological dimensions (Snyder, 2003). The operational dimension looks at language and technology. The cultural dimension helps with understanding how language and technology are used to participate in the creation and development of social practices. The critical dimension refers to the need to evaluate available tools (adapted from Snyder, 2003). Snyder described (2003) how the use of new technologies influences, shapes, and transforms literary practices. A meaningful technological learning environment should reflect an authentic context of situated social practice (Lankshear, Snyder, & Green, 2000).

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VC Literature Review The use of VC in education is a fairly recent phenomenon and a variety of studies have been conducted on the use of VC within a learning environment. They provide some useful insights, although they do not form a coherent basis for providing guidance on the use of VC in educational settings. There are many different angles which we may look at when examining the use of VC for education; for instance, there are different purposes for its use, aims, expectations, equipment, educational setting, students, subject content, teaching styles, demands on students, etc. Studies have explored the differences between formal and informal learning (Ba & Keisch, 2004), the effectiveness of videoconferencing (Carville & Mitchell, 2001), multicultural issues (Cifuentes & Murphy, 2000) and the advantages and disadvantages of the team-teaching videoconference format (Bradshaw et al., 2006). There are also stud660

Research Anthology on Facilitating New Educational Practices Through Communities of Learning, edited by Association, Information Resources Management, IGI Global, 2020. ProQuest

 Integration of Videoconferencing in ESP and EAP Courses

ies which looked at the use of VC in a non-educational environment (Isaacs and Tang, 1994), in which VC is seen as enhancing user experience, assisting in interpreting the visual information in interactions, enabling distributed conversation that would not happen otherwise and providing awareness, focus, identity and recognition. On the other hand, some key issues, such as telepresence, the effects of audio and video quality, turn-taking etc. still need to be explored in more depth.

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Background to the VC Experiment When the VC experiment began 14 years ago, inexperienced VC participants tended to be more formal and their language production was too controlled. This was partly due to overexcitement, anxiety, and tension caused by new technology, an international environment, and low self-confidence. The lack of familiarity with the equipment was high and students expected some form of technical training. Therefore, a Quick VC Guide was prepared (see http://invite.cjv.muni.cz) to meet this need. The first parallel was drawn between social formality (Baron, 1998) and the operational dimension (Snyder, 2003). As noted in Hradilová, Katrňáková, Morgan, and Štěpánek (2011), observations of interactions in the cultural dimension (i.e.: looking at participation in authentic forms of social practice and meaning, Snyder, 2003) showed that VC participants started experimenting with various aspects to create purposeful and effective communication. More ease and playfulness in communication were observed. One can say that playfulness is related to the cultural characteristics of some nationalities, which was repeatedly mentioned in student feedback forms. For example, Czech students realised that the Finns took their time and paused before they answered. Nevertheless, those students who started in a formal manner often moved toward playfulness and flexibility. As described by Snyder (2003), there is a second parallel between social playfulness and the cultural dimension. The parallels mentioned above require an analytical framework. This was first represented through the inclusion of the critical dimension (ibid), which is related to an evaluation of the uses of technology, language analysis, and characteristics of social communication. Here, the concept of design by Kress and Van Leeuwen (2001) is useful because it sees communicators as architectural designers who decide what aspect of other modes of representation is useful in the creation of a specific aspect of discourse. To exemplify the above in a VC format, one may see individual presentations or group presentations. They may be for lay-persons or well-informed professional audiences. The presentations may be based on action research or contain a summary of facts. This depends on how it is negotiated within a group and/ or influenced by a teacher. It depends on participant awareness of the operational and cultural dimension of VC. Although the digital rhetorics project provided a sound framework through which one can see all three dimensions, it focused mainly on technology-based literacies. The INVITE project focused on social strands that would explain aspects of communication during VC. Morgan (2008) described the framework which suggests that operational, cultural, and critical dimensions (when compared with the notions of formality, playfulness, and design) have the potential to inform each other. They can be recycled, reconsidered, and changed at any stage of the communication process. It is also apparent that they can form a socially negotiated basis for participation in VC. The participation framework in which Goffman (1981) identified relevant roles in VC is defined as follows: (1) There is a person who establishes the position of the speaker; (2) the author encodes the message within specific aspects of language; (3) an animator transmits the message to others (in some cases, this role is transposed to a technological device); and (4) the participation role may be played by an individual or by a group. 661

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As Mercer (2000) pointed out, Goffman’s useful participation framework includes features that are difficult to observe. In this context, Mercer uses notion of collective thinking in a community (e.g.; social groups emerging on the basis of collective thinking, collective identity, and shared history). What becomes more visible are varieties in the language. For instance, individual participants use pronunciation, grammar, sociolinguistic and pragmatics features, and modality differently. Communities of practice can be explained in a number of ways depending on who is initiating the reciprocal obligation. They can be described as a cline between very formal and very vague. Linguistic literature mentions two ways of describing discourse, for example Fairclough (1989, 1992) differentiates between discourse communities and communities of practice. A discourse community shapes socioacademic and professional views of communication, which is taken as an appropriate standard. It works in a top-down manner with specialists informing non-specialists. The teacher-student hierarchy exists in an educational environment. By conforming to standards, one can gain access to the professional community (Johns, 1997). On the other hand, as Johns (1997) highlights, communities of practice may evolve and exist both within and across communities. As mentioned in Hradilová et al. (2011), they can be viewed in formal academic/professional and social/informal ways. These may be independent research or focus groups responsible for setting their own reciprocal obligations. Yet, they may be based on formal patterns or communication and adherence to standards. In a social setting, communities can be based on family, friendship, or interest groups. There is a large variation in reciprocal obligations where formal rules are seen as standards of appropriateness in communication and designing VC behaviour. The two concepts are interrelated. In designing VC, a new community is created and participants are arranged in order to take part in specific tasks most often facilitated by a teacher. Participants develop reciprocal obligations within a VC group and reinforce the bonds that identify communities of practice. “Considerations of appropriateness within and across these groups are in a constant state of evolution, and as such the theoretical foundations of this project emerge as the observation of a cycle rather than a process with a beginning and an end” (Hradilová et al., 2011, p. 40).

CURRENT CHALLENGES

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Methodology: The Role of Teacher At the beginning of the term, a teacher organises and plans. During VC sessions, they support and facilitate. The key to successful VC relies on extensive preparation between teachers of future VC (for example, careful timetabling, planning the shared syllabus, deciding what soft skills will be practised, etc.). This collaborative work pays off at a later stage when students control the process and practise skills outside of a traditional classroom. The differences between the performance of groups in a virtual classroom are reflected in the amount of work performed by them outside of VC. Teachers also choose the technology and tools to be used for asynchronous communication (i.e.: communication within the virtual class outside of their class time). Initially, the teacher plays the role of organiser, supporter, provider of resources, and facilitator. However, as the course progresses, the teacher steps back and allows students to play a more active role in running and controlling the course. 662

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Methodology: The Role of Students Students may register for a VC course without thoroughly reading the course content, or with varied expectations. For example, at MU, VC is an integral part of a standard course, whereas at AU students join a special course on academic skills and at HU Students register for a specialized VC course. So, there are differences in terms of course aim, organization, requirements, students background, time allocated to VC, expected results and students´ motivation and expectations.

SOLUTIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS Tools for Asynchronous Communication In order to minimise discrepancies in syllabi, teachers decide beforehand what technology and tools will be used for asynchronous communication. Two types have been tested in our courses: Wiki and closed Facebook groups. Wikis seem to be more straightforward and simple for the organisation of materials, clear division and display of work, archiving of materials, activities and completed work, and uploading student preparations for mock trials. Czech students, however, experienced difficulties with Wiki related to registration, access, and use. Although they are technologically literate, they were unfamiliar with Wiki and required extra support. On the other hand, Finnish students were accustomed to using Wiki during their studies; thus, the tool did not cause them problems. It is undeniably important for students to be able to use these tools with ease and comfort, otherwise communication outside class time within a virtual group is highly likely to cease. I observed significant differences in the use of close Facebook group. Students found this easy to use and were more willing to share ideas, provide summaries of their presentations etc. Teachers generally give freedom to students in terms of organisation of individual sessions, preparation of presentations, and strategies for argumentation in case studies. If necessary, teachers open informal conversations within the closed Facebook group and students continue in its development. When students need additional organisation prior to individual sessions, they can create a closed group within a closed group. In addition, the speaking part of the VC session is enriched by an element of writing: students write an outline of their presentation to serve as an invitation and formal summary and thus recognize the need to use different levels of formality.

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Examples of Types of Activities Virtual classes can be described and classified according to: participant involvement, participant independence and control over VC, the type of course forming either more or less homogeneous classes concerning the subject matter, multi-cultural characteristics of a virtual class, aims and syllabi, expected outcomes, etc. VC offers unique opportunities to practice naturally-occurring language in a multicultural classroom. Besides practising EAP and ESP, students improve in a number of soft skills: negotiation, argumentation, group presentations, time management, team management, etc.

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This chapter draws on experience from two types of courses. Nevertheless, professionals at the Language Centre extended the range of courses as suggested in the introduction. 1. Brief Introduction of VC Participants: a. In groups of two, participants used flip cameras or smart phones to introduce themselves. This was uploaded prior to the first VC session. It made the first VC more relaxing, with more natural questions. 2. Preparing to Debate: a. Students at HU and MU were told the aim and structure of the preparatory exercise, in which they practised how to argue and how to support a teacher-assigned position. By preparing both views, they could see the problem in a wider context. Rather than being a win-lose exercise, it was a practice in giving one argument at a time. This was often a problem for the less experienced students. A strict set of guidelines and allocated times were determined for students based on their experience of English. Originally, the course started with five minute intervals for groups of B2-C1 students. However, it was soon determined that English was not a problem within the groups. Instead, argumentation proved to be the challenge. It led teachers to reduce the time to less than three minutes. Student reactions revealed their preference to prepare the arguments in teams and also their inexperience to prepare for both sides of argumentation. Teachers observed that individual speakers often needed to be invited directly by the teacher. b. Following a prescribed structure and responding with sensible arguments proved to be the biggest challenge for the students. Both of the teams stated their standpoint reasoning and raised questions for the other team. Students experienced and reported difficulties when they did not like the topic under discussion. c. Students were given handouts in advance to summarise the aims and steps of the exercise. There were also provided with examples of useful language. Finnish students of the fourth and fifth year performed better due to their maturity and experience compared to their Czech counterparts of the second year. 3. Brainstorming Topics for Short Presentations and Follow-Up Discussions: a. While in groups, students were given a degree of free choice in shortlisting the presentation topics; relevance to their compulsory syllabus were warmly welcomed. Next, they prepared and presented outlines during VC, eventually describing it in writing in a closed Facebook group. After having received feedback, they divided the work, allocated team roles, discussed the structure of the presentation, designated audience tasks, determined visuals, etc. The students who were not presenting worked in groups to prepare follow-up discussions and generate questions. 4. Case Studies, Practising Negotiation, and Argumentation: a. This task used ready-made exercises/cases available in the International Legal English Certificate (ILEC) textbook. Its case studies are concise and suggestions are made regarding roles for negotiation and given tasks. For example, students are asked to: identify legal issues of the case, list strengths and weaknesses of the other party of the case, and study and decide which relevant legal document(s) to use and prepare for negotiation. The tasks also recommend further skills to develop as the students prepare case studies using legislature and writing tasks relevant to their syllabus (e.g.: writing a letter of advice, or a memorandum, 664

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etc.). Students usually used Google Docs or MU information system for tools when working on one document as a team. b. In this task, the maturity and experience of students in negotiation became more visible. Since less experienced students are often driven by emotions, they may struggle to achieve a win-win solution or best alternative to a negotiated agreement (BATNA). 5. Mock Trial: a. A mock trial is the most complex activity for the tested VC class. With less experienced students in the initial VC, the class started with the Nurnberg Trial of Julius Streicher. This was chosen because the instructions for teachers and students are detailed and methodologically prepared. Alena Hradilová from MU and Kirby Vincent from UH introduced the trial into the course and piloted the potential of this material. Their experience was shared and applied in similar courses run by other teachers. b. Students chose their roles and signed up at Wiki. Teachers ensured that roles were evenly and logically distributed (e.g.: if there is a prosecution counsel on one side, the defence counsel should be on the other side of the virtual classroom). The main roles to assign included: judge, their associate, the accused, the crown prosecutor (CP), CP instructing solicitor, the defence counsel (DC), DC instructing solicitor, detective, experts, and jury. Additional roles included: press representatives and witnesses. Ideally, no more than 12 VC participants would sit on each side. c. It is necessary to have shared knowledge for this task (e.g.: all students should understand the outline of the mock trial). Therefore, a brief bulleted-item summary was distributed. Students also prepared for their roles individually through readings and searching for additional evidence. The role of the teacher was to support the students, help with the organisation of the mock trial, and assist with technical issues as needed (e.g.: presenting evidence by data camera, zooming, etc.). This task created a language challenge for the students because the mock trial participants were expected to behave and speak with a certain level of formality. d. Students who were experienced in the use of VC were given a case staged from Street Law materials. This material gave students additional room for their own investigation, preparation of materials, evidence, invitations to experts, etc. The roles were similarly allocated through Wiki. It appeared that students liked this case study more since they appreciated certain creativity and independence in the preparation and running of a trial. 6. Academic Skills in English in a Non-Homogeneous Class: a. In this type of course, two different syllabi are followed by two parts of a virtual classroom. Erasmus students studying in Wales at AU, in an English-speaking environment, attended a specialised English course where they learned specific features and differences between writing and speaking. They also learned how the two influence each other. The students practised writing abstracts for their written projects; received input and training for oral presentations; learned how to introduce their topics and lead a discussion; worked on web design; wrote project outcomes; conducted research, etc. They typically have two 120 minute sessions per week. Meanwhile, the other half of the virtual class at MU followed the standard compulsory syllabus of legal English, which is one 90-minute session per week, with limited input. Although the depth of their presentations could not be compared with the first half, there were strong arguments for keeping the asymmetrical model. This is supported by their endof-course written feedback. 665

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STUDENTS’ FEEDBACK Czech Students’ Feedback Summary From VCs Focusing on Academic English As stated above, there are a number of variables and challenges in running VC and incorporating the VC element into standard courses. One of the biggest challenges is the students´ motivation, worries, expectations and different learning issues. The end-of-course feedback of Czech students continues to illustrate achievements in both English language improvement and the practice of soft skills. Additionally, feedback often reflects personal challenges. Students are briefly introduced to technical skills, such as how to control a VC unit and tools they will use for asynchronous communication. In their VC class, students work through a series of steps (called micro-tasks) in which they build their expertise and skill set. During this practice, they gain self-confidence and their final production is much improved from their initial attempts. Students usually realize how significantly they improve their soft skills, including time management, project work, presentations, discussions, and argumentation.

VC Focusing on EAP The bullet points which follow summarize Czech law students´ VC experience with Erasmus students at AU, who do not major in law and thus VC focuses more on academic English skills. Czech students usually have three to four VC per term consisting of twelve weeks: •

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Strengths: ◦◦ Natural communication and understanding of diferent accents since Erasmus students come from diferent countries ◦◦ Improved English, more ease in communication ◦◦ Learning about diferent cultures ◦◦ Fun and interesting topics ◦◦ Encouragement to communicate Weaknesses: ◦◦ Time management; Czech students had one third of class time compared to AU students ◦◦ Limited group cooperation, which is given by the organization of classes and courses; students do not share the same classes so it is more difcult to meet in person ◦◦ Limited legalese; Czech students are preparing for the legal English examination and feel they should practise more ESP than EAP Opportunities: ◦◦ Practise useful skills for real life; Czech students usually recognize what they gained when the course is over and after they passed an examination ◦◦ Naturally-occurring communication ◦◦ Accents; for many Czech students it is the frst time they become aware of signifcant diferences in student accents and ways of communication Threats: ◦◦ Stress that they would not understand diferent accents ◦◦ Shy about talking ◦◦ Worried about the level of English

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VC Focusing on ESP The following set of bullet points illustrates Czech students’ experience with the incorporation of VC into their legal English course. It reflects slightly different points of view including their worries regarding their upcoming examination. Czech students usually have up to seven VC out of a twelve-week term with HU students. This obviously requires Czech students to prepare more at home and is also more demanding for a teacher as she has to cover the standard class material in half of the time. •

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Strengths: ◦◦ Excitement about natural communication ◦◦ Discussing legal topics; as both parts of the virtual classroom – students at HU and MU shared the same feld of study, the contents of VC was more specialized and more closelyrelated to their courses ◦◦ Learning soft skills ◦◦ Increased independence Weaknesses: ◦◦ Lack of experience in law and soft skills (negotiation); it was mainly the Czech students who had limited soft skills to achieve a win-win solution ◦◦ Lack of preparation for exam; for some students the fnal examination grade was very important. and some even suggested they may have difculties to pass, although this was never the case Opportunities: ◦◦ Mastering new skills and technology for future career; although they could read about this beneft in the description of a course before they enrolled for the course, they usually realized the benefts et the end of the course ◦◦ Naturally-occurring communication ◦◦ Accents ◦◦ Cultural diferences ◦◦ Legal English practice Threats: ◦◦ Lack of time to prepare for an exam

As there is neither time for formal input in intercultural aspects of communication nor linguistic issues, students learn by doing and observing. Their awareness is raised by feedback, challenging questions from a teacher, or teacher´s explanations pointing out discrepancies or inappropriate behaviours. From the language point of view, students experienced problems with choosing the right level of directness and indirectness of communication. Additional problems included overlaps of speech in discussions and argumentations, proper use of modals, and reaching the right level of politeness. See the following examples from student feedback mentioning the advantages of VC, the students text was not edited nor corrected: AA13.10 (Anonymous): Inspiring, non-violent form of educating, keeping better our listening of English, reflection of some themes (for example, body language), huge praxis for other VC (at work), differences of nationals (girls from Brazil and Spain were very active ...)

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AA13.13 (Anonymous): It’s really exciting to have the opportunity to speak to someone who is on the Erasmus programme. They’ve got a lot of space to make some presentations for us and choose a topic of our conferences. I’m always happy to speak with someone from abroad and I think that it’s very useful for us. Because it is for the first time when I met the English in the real life, in my English lessons. It’s great to meet different cultures and opinions. AS14.1 (D.B.): I like an idea about conference for some reasons. Meeting new people with maybe a little different point of view and experiences, hearing their accents, etc. HA14.1 (Anonymous): Great practice of verbal English, exciting experience, a chance to see new people, interesting topics to discuss, good practice of argumentation.

LANGUAGE AND SOFT SKILLS ISSUES In terms of soft skills, the students learn how to split roles, divide work, and prepare for outcomes as a result of team work. The following examples illustrate improvements in final macro-tasks and discussions following a presentation where students use modality (see Example 1). Author´s comments and explanations are provided in italics.

Example 1 Student 1 (Responding to the Presenter): ... Absolute freedom means no freedom at all ... Without teacher invitation, presentation team Student 2 and Student 3 negotiate who will respond. Students 2 and 3 appropriately use modality for the situation, not using power. Student 2 (in the Presentation Team): ... I could respond. Student 3 (Presenter): ... I might have expressed myself wrongly. What he means … anti-terrorist measures are targeting of our people … our nation …

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In the mock trial examples (Examples 2 and 3), the transcript illustrates that students appropriately mastered the required level of formality of English for the situation, and correctly used modality. At the same time, other discourses are visible in Example 2. For example, there is an operational discourse underlying the witness statement as the student recommends what should be done to the unprepared prosecution council.

Example 2 Judge: OK, I remind both the defence and prosecution councils to stand when asking questions. The student in the role of judge correctly uses negative politeness and an adequate formality level. The student in the role of prosecution council did not react. The teacher echoes the request, which is one of few interventions in the VC made. This was necessary as the student in this role had to be helped.

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Teacher 1: You should stand when asking questions. Prosecution Council: May I speak? Adequate formality. Judge: Yes. Prosecution Council: So, please, could you introduce yourself? Appropriate level of modality and formality. Witness: Yes, my name is Maria da Silva. I am a detective senior constable of police. Prosecution Council: How are you connected with this case? Witness: I interviewed the accused when he was in custody. Prosecution Council: What did the accused said to you? Witness: Well, I should give you the key statement ... You should take it in the evidence ... Someone else is supposed to read it, not me. This is an example of operational discourse. The student in the role of the witness knows the exact procedure and asks for things to be done correctly. This is not the evidence. Teacher 2: Yes, she is right. Page 25 (reference to the mock trial instructions). Intervention of the teacher to navigate students. Witness: Yes, I took the key statement but that is all. Someone else should read it. No judgement from me. This witness statement is an interesting mixture of the actual witness statement in the first part “Yes, I took the key statement” and the operation discourse using appropriate level of modality, “Someone else should read it.”

Example 3

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Defence Council: Are you sure you heard my client that he said, “that shooting bastard” or “you should not be here?” Or were you confused by someone else? Student in the role of defence council uses hedging to form a non-threatening question. Witness: No. It was very unusual thing to hear. Other people are more civilised. He was very expressive about his opinion on this thing. I can remember him very clearly. This statement illustrates how the student in the role of witness carefully uses an unloaded lexical expression for giving a statement about the accused’s rude and inappropriate behaviour.

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Defence Council: So you remember very clearly what my client said but you do not remember how many people were there? Student in the role of the defence council paraphrases the original question and asks for clarification. Witness: I do remember it. I said it in the report. We know it was 20. I have a very good memory. I am a senior police constable. The student in the role of witness patiently but decisively responds, “I do remember.” She then backs up what she said by reference to a written medium as if it had higher value. “I said it in the report.” She evaluates herself and states, “I have a very good memory.” She supports her statement by referencing her social status and states, “I am a senior police constable.”

Example 4

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Example 4 illustrates how a presentation group publicises the outline of their presentation in the closed Facebook group. This may be viewed as a medium for informal communication. Here after the informal salutation – “Hello everyone,…” “We want to primarily focus on …” According to Byram (1997, pp. 49-53), “knowledge” means “knowledge of social groups and their products and practices in one’s own and in one’s interlocutor’s country.” “Attitudes” refers to openness, curiosity, and avoiding presuppositions about other cultures. As Byram (1997, p. 33), states “knowledge” and “attitude” are preconditions for the establishment and maintenance of human relationships. He mentions two types of skills: (1) “skills of interpreting and relating” and (2) “skills of discovery and interactions.” This first refers to the “ability to interpret a document or event from another culture, to explain it and relate it to documents from one’s own” and the second refers to “the ability to acquire new knowledge of a culture and cultural practices and the ability to operate the knowledge, attitudes and skills under the constraints of real-time communication and interaction” (Byram, 1997, pp. 49-53). Byram points out that these are mobilised in the process of intercultural communication. Finally, there is critical cultural awareness. Byram refers to it as the “ability to evaluate critically on the basis of explicit criteria perspectives …” To illustrate the points, the chapter gives examples from student feedback. In HA13.10, the student enjoyed the VC experience, while demonstrating stereotypical perceptions of his VC counterparts. Other samples included show that students made constant comparisons against their culture. HA13.10 (D.N.): In general, better than “classical class.” If next semester opens this conversation class in reasonable times, I will subscribe. Now negatives: Finns are strange, better than some southern nations. HS14.3 (P.L.): … I liked VC sessions because I had the opportunity to talk to people I would never meet. And even though they’re only from Finland (which is quite similar to Czech Rep. or Slovakia), they showed me new ways to look at problems. AA13.10 (Anonymous): ... Differences of nationals (girls from Brazil and Spain were very active ...)

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CONCLUSION Since 2004, our experience with the incorporation of VC and student feedback relating to VC prove that technology offers the following benefits: support of student advancement in language development and appropriate language use in authentic international communication; motivation of students to be more involved through meaningful activities; enriched student perceptions of other cultures; and student encouragement to improve soft skills for later employment. Although in theory, VC appears to have a clearly defined role, it is the actual use which proves its benefits in practice. The INVITE project team developed and incorporated a successful methodology for effective use of VC in standard classes in 2006 - 2008: this has been used since then and developed further in the past eight years. Through testing its use in other types of courses (e.g.: academic writing courses, intercultural communication course, business English course), VC may help future graduates to successfully join the job market. It must be stressed that VC is not an ideal platform for all learners, as student feedback shows. There are students who prefer more traditional ways of studying; they have the choice to enrol for a course which suits best their learning style. Nevertheless, one can see VC potential in educational and professional settings. Furthermore, teachers who use VC in their courses believe that technology can enrich how one studies a foreign language and culture in the 21st century.

REFERENCES Ba, H., & Keisch, D. (2004). Bridging the Gap Between Formal and Informal Learning: Evaluating the Seatrek Distance Learning Project. Retrieved February 11, 2008, from http://cct.edc.org/report_summary.asp?numPublicationId=177 Bakhtin, M. M. (1981). The dialogic imagination: Four essays (C. Emerson Trans. & Ed.). Austin, TX: University of Texas Press. Bakhtin, M. M. (1986). Speech genres and other late essays (V. W. McGee, Trans.). Austin, TX: University of Texas Press.

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Baron, N. S. (1998). Letters by phone or speech by other means: The linguistics of e-mail. Language & Communication, 18(2), 133–170. doi:10.1016/S0271-5309(98)00005-6 Bradshaw, D., Siko, K. L., Hoffman, W., Talvitie-Siple, J., Fine, B., Carano, K., . . .. (2006). The use of videoconferencing as a medium for collaboration of experiences and dialogue among graduate students: A case study from two southeastern universities. Society for Information Technology and Teacher Education International Conference 2006, 262-267. Retrieved from http://www.editlib.org/ Byram, M. (1997). Teaching and assessing intercultural communicative competence. Bristol, UK: Multilingual Matters Ltd. Carville, S., & Mitchell, D. R. (2001). Its a Bit Like Star Trek: The effectiveness of video conferencing. Innovations in Education and Training International, 37(1), 42–49. doi:10.1080/135580000362070

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Cifuentes, L., & Murphy, K. L. (2000). Promoting multicultural understanding and positive self-concept through a distance learning community: Cultural connections. Educational Technology Research and Development, 48(1), 69–83. doi:10.1007/BF02313486 Coles, M. & Hall, C. (2001) Breaking the line: New literacies, postmodernism and the teaching of printed texts. Reading, 35(5), 111-114. Edwards, D., & Mercer, N. (1987). Common knowledge. The development of understanding in the classroom. Oxon, UK: Routledge. Fairclough, N. (1989). Language and power. London: Longman. Fairclough, N. (1992). Discourse and social change. Cambridge, UK: Polity Press. Foucalt, M. (1972). The archaeology of knowledge and the discourse on language (A. M. Sheridan Smith, Trans.). New York: Pantheon Books. Goffman, E. (1981). Forms of talk. Oxford, UK: Blackwell. Gumprez, J. (1982). Discourse strategies. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. doi:10.1017/ CBO9780511611834 Gumprez, J., & Hymes, D. (Eds.). (1986). Directions in sociolinguistics. The ethnography of communication. New York: Basil Blackwell. Halliday, M. A. K. (1978). Language as a social semiotic: The social interpretation of language and meaning. London: Edward Arnold Ltd. Halliday, M. A. K., & Hasan, R. (1989). Language, context and text: Aspects of language in a socialsemiotic perspective (2nd ed.). Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press. Hicks, D. (1994). Individual and social meanings in the classroom: Narrative discourse as a boundary phenomenon. Journal of Narrative and Life History, 4(3), 215–240. doi:10.1075/jnlh.4.3.03ind Hicks, D. (2003). Discourse, teaching and learning. In S. Goodman, T. Lillis, J. Maybin, & D. Mercer (Eds.), Language, literacy and education: A reader. London: The Open University.

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Hradilová, A., Katrňáková, H., Morgan, J., & Štěpánek, L. (2011). Videoconferencing and community of practice interaction. Semantic, pragmatic and intercultural aspects of student’s communication in English language classes. Discourse and Interaction, 4(1), 35–49. Hymes, D. H. (1974). Foundations in sociolinguistics: An ethnographic approach. Philadelphia, PA: University of Pennsylvania Press. Isaacs, E., & Tang, J. (1994). What Video Can and Cant Do for Collaboration: A Case Study. Multimedia Systems, 2(2), 63–73. doi:10.1007/BF01274181 Johns, A. (1997). Text, role and context: Developing academic literacies. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. doi:10.1017/CBO9781139524650 Kress, G., & Van Leeuwen, T. (2001). Multimodal discourse. The modes and media of contemporary communication. London: Arnold.

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Krieger, N. (2007). Nurnberg. A student mock trial of Julius Streicher. Vancouver: Vancouver Holocaust Education Centre. Krois-Lindner, A., & Translegal. (2006). International legal English. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. Lankshear, C., Snyder, L., & Green, B. (2000). Teachers and technoliteracy. Managing literacy, technology and learning in schools. Sydney: Allen and Unwin. Mercer, N. (2000). Words and minds: How we use language to think together. London: Routledge. doi:10.4324/9780203464984 Morgan, J. (2008). Methodology of video-conferencing: Theoretical background in English. INVITE Project Leonardo da Vinci.27.1.2010. Retrieved August 22, 2016 from http://invite.lingua.muni.cz Newman, J. (1975). Street law: A course in practical law. National Street Law Institute. Snyder, I. (2003). A new communication order: Researching literacy practices in the network society. In S. Goffman, T. Lillis, J. Maybin, & N. Mercer (Eds.), Language, literacy and education: A reader. Stoke on Trent, UK: Trentham Books/Open University.

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KEY TERMS AND DEFINITIONS Aberystwyth University: One of Welsh universities situated in the north of Wales. Offers courses in English and Welsh and its Language Centre has been co-operating on the INVITE project. Asynchronous Communication: A type of communication occurring outside a virtual class time. Intercultural Communication: A form of communication aiming at sharing information and understanding across different cultures and social groups. Masaryk University: The second largest university in the Czech Republic situated in Brno. Its Language Centre provides LSP and LAP courses for all faculties. Mock Trials: An act or an imitation trial, similar to a moot court. It is performed between Masaryk University and Helsinki University law students either partly scripted (Nurnberg trial) or with some guidance (Street law materials). Soft Skills: As opposed to hard skills, these skills are developing management and communication skills, e.g. team work, time management, presentations, negotiations etc. Synchronous Communication: A type of communication occurring synchronically, at the same time between two or more groups meeting for example via videoconference. University of Helsinki: A well- known university in Finland. Its Language Centre has been cooperating with Masaryk University on a number of courses. Videoconferencing: It is a type of communication allowing two or more parties placed in different locations connect and meet in real time with the use of technology transmitting sound and picture.

This work was previously published in Cases on Audio-Visual Media in Language Education; pages 283-303, copyright year 2018 by Information Science Reference (an imprint of IGI Global).

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Chapter 35

Mobilisation and Enactment of Malaysian ESL Teachers’ Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge: From Professional Learning to Professional Practice Cynthia C. James https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0854-0418 University of Cambridge, UK Kean Wah Lee https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3644-0086 University of Nottingham Malaysia, Malaysia

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ABSTRACT This chapter is a review of a three-year journey into exploring the development, mobilisation, and enactment of Malaysian ESL teachers’ technological pedagogical content knowledge through a professional learning community known as ‘Going Digital’. The frst part of the chapter summarises the investigation on the efectiveness of the TPACK-IDDIRR + PLC as a transformative model of professional development to engender technology integration practices in the classroom. The fndings reveal that the model is efective in enhancing technology integration practices of ESL teachers. In the second part, individual experiences of four members of the ‘Going Digital’ are narratively explored to understand the mobilisation and enactment of TPACK from professional development to practice in the classroom. The affordances and constraints of technology integration is explored in the third part. The chapter concludes with discussions on the interconnectedness of knowledge, context, and identity; and how it has led to the proposition of the model for TPACK mobilisation, appropriation, and enactment.

DOI: 10.4018/978-1-7998-7294-8.ch035

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Research Anthology on Facilitating New Educational Practices Through Communities of Learning, edited by Association, Information Resources Management, IGI Global, 2020. ProQuest

 Mobilisation and Enactment of Malaysian ESL Teachers’ Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge

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INTRODUCTION Research and scholarship on technology integration in the language classrooms are increasing in number since the last decade (Kessler, 2018; Warschauer, 2000; Warschauer & Healey, 1998; Wu, 2014). This is mainly attributable to the prominence and ubiquity of technology in modern daily lives which have stirred the interests among researchers in the field to examine the use and impacts of technology on language education (Chapelle, 2009; Keengwe & Kang, 2011; Kessler, 2018). Despite all the enthusiasms, the levels of penetration and success of technology integration (Mishra & Koehler, 2006) are still shown to be discouraging, as reported by a number of studies on the challenges and barriers faced by teachers in integrating technology at classroom levels (e.g. Christ, Arya, & Liu, 2019; Herro, Quigley, & Cian, 2019; Regan et al., 2019; Vasinda, Ryter, Hathcock, & Wang, 2017). Substantial bodies of research identified teacher knowledge and perception of technology as among the reasons that contribute towards the low level of penetration and success of technology integration in the classrooms (e.g. Aljaloud, Billingsley, & Kwan, 2019; Muhaimin et al., 2019; Regan et al., 2019). At the same time, researchers in the field of in-service teacher development have consistently worked on exploring approaches and strategies for effective and sustainable teacher professional development, as shown in a number of research and scholarships (Mak & Pun, 2015; Mohammadi & Moradi, 2017; Onguko, 2014; Zhukova, 2018). Literatures in the field of continuous professional development (CPD) for teachers have explored and offer comparisons of the various models of CPD for teachers to provide some insights to what an ‘ideal’ model of CPD, particularly the ones that promote both continuous and sustainable development, should look like. Kennedy (2005) for example identified a number of key models of CPD and classified them in relation to their capacity for supporting professional autonomy and transformative practice. The transmission category refers to models of CPD which are conceived as fulfilling the function of preparing teachers to implement reforms. The transitional category includes models of CPD which can be placed in between the transmission and transformative categories. These CPD models are considered ‘transitional’ in the sense that they have the capacity to support underlying agendas compatible with either of the other two categories. The transformative category includes models of CPD which are conceived as supporting teachers in contributing to and shaping education policy and practices (Kennedy, 2005, p. 248). Various literatures have established how the needs of 21st century learners’ have changed tremendously compared to yesteryears, and how teachers should adapt and tailor their pedagogical approaches to accommodate these needs better (Greenlaw, 2015; Herman, 2012; Maretich, 2017; Prensky, 2009). As the need for transforming methodology and instructions in the classroom is becoming one of the most prominent topic when discussing 21st century education, it can be argued that teacher professional development should also undergo transformation. In an attempt to answer this call for transformation, this chapter aims to examine the experiences of Malaysian ESL teachers participating in a transformative TPACK-based professional development which adopted the IDDIRR instructional design (Introduce, Demonstrate, Develop, Implement, Reflect, Revise). In the first part of this chapter, the teachers’ perceptions of the effectiveness of the professional development model in engendering technology integration practices in their ESL classroom will be analysed. The second part will discuss the teachers’ mobilisation and enactment of TPACK from the professional development setting to their professional practice in the classroom. The affordances and constraints of technology integration in the ESL classroom will be explored in the third part.

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 Mobilisation and Enactment of Malaysian ESL Teachers’ Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge

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BACKGROUND This chapter aims to explore this phenomenon in the educational context of Malaysia. The choice of Malaysia as the focus of study is justified by the initiatives for education reform in the country which started since more than a decade ago, which include technology integration in education as one of the main agendas. A considerable amount of time has passed between the launch of policy on education reform and the latest implementations based on the policy. It seems pertinent to start analysing to what extent the implementations are impactful, and to explore the potential course of action for the future based on the information gathered. “Malaysia: The Way Forward (Vision 2020)” is a book written by the Prime Minister of Malaysia, Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad which outlined the nation’s desire to become a “fully-developed nation” by the year 2020 (Mohamad (Tun), 1991, p. 1). To achieve this, one of the things Malaysia aims to establish is “a scientific and progressive society, a society that is innovative and forward looking, one that is not only a consumer of technology but also a contributor to the scientific and technological civilisation of the future” (p. 2). The Malaysia Ministry of Education responded to this vision by drawing up a Policy on ICT in Education (2010) and outlining eleven shifts to transform the education system in its Education Blueprint (2013-2025). The Policy stated that “more and more integration of ICT into the mainstream education” is necessary in order “to transform and revamp the Malaysian education system” (Policy on ICT in Education, 2010, p. 14). In the same vein, the Blueprint listed “leveraging ICT to scale up quality learning across Malaysia” as one of the eleven shifts for education reform (Ministry of Education Malaysia, 2013, p. E20). More than two decades have passed since the inception of Vision 2020. The Policy is in its penultimate year towards a decade, and the Blueprint is now entering its sixth year of implementation. Throughout the years, the aims and goals outlined in both the Policy as well as the Blueprint have instigated a substantial amount of initiatives at multiple levels to consolidate the use of ICT in schools and education institutions across Malaysia. A number of studies have been conducted by local researchers to examine the impacts of some of these initiatives. Findings from these research echoed the conclusion drawn by several studies which pointed to teacher knowledge and perception of technology as the main factors that contribute towards the low levels of penetration and success of technology integration in the classrooms (e.g. Nikian, Nor, & Aziz, 2013; Simin & Sani, 2015; Thang, Lin, Mahmud, Ismail, & Zabidi, 2014; Umar & Hassan, 2015). To provide an example, Umar & Hassan (2015) conducted a survey on 2,661 primary and secondary school teachers in Malaysia and found out that despite ICT being perceived as bringing positive impacts on the teachers’ teaching and students’ learning, the integration was reported to be at the low level. Umar & Hassan claimed that this low level of integration “impede the success of all ICT initiatives introduced by the ministry [of Education]” (p. 2015). They also drew attention to the need for teachers to undergo training to make technology integration in the classroom more impactful. Another example is Thang et al’s (2014) study on the concerns of ESL instructors in a Malaysian public university. The findings revealed that some instructors’ resistance to technology “could lead to failure in technology integration” (p. 311). Nikian, Nor and Aziz’s (2013) study on Malaysian ESL teachers’ perception of applying technology in the classroom contributed another insight to this phenomenon. The participants in this research were reported to be users of technology in the classroom and had positive perceptions of technology. However, all of them believed that it is crucial for them to undergo training to enhance their technological knowledge. The study also listed a few constraints to effective technology integra676

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 Mobilisation and Enactment of Malaysian ESL Teachers’ Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge

tion. This included the lack of technology equipment, minimal technical support, absence of access to certain facilities and time constraint.

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Teacher Knowledge and Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPACK) Teacher cognition is an overarching area of research that seeks to understand teachers thinking, knowledge and beliefs, and their relationships to practices in the classroom (Borg, 2003, 2015). The notion that teachers are active and thinking decision makers who play an important role in determining what is going on in the classroom is the impetus for research on teacher cognition (Borg, 2015). One of the research areas under the field of teacher cognition is teacher knowledge. Mishra & Koehler’s (2006) technological pedagogical content knowledge framework, commonly known as TPCK or TPACK, is one of the most recent contribution in the field of teacher knowledge. The TPACK framework incorporates a technological knowledge domain into Shulman’s (1986) concept of pedagogical content knowledge (PCK). The framework demonstrates an interplay among knowledge of technology, pedagogy and content. It describes how this interplay is crucial for meaningful technology integration in the classroom. Mishra & Koehler introduced TPACK as a framework to help teachers develop “nuanced understandings” of the dynamic equilibrium among the three components (p. 1030). They argued that the traditional methods of training for technology integration such as workshops and courses are no longer relevant in helping teachers integrate technology effectively in the classroom (p. 1032). They advocated the ‘learningtechnology-by-design’ approach that enables teachers to be engaged in educational technology design which encourages them to understand the complexity of the relationships between the three domains (p. 1038). To provide an overview of the TPACK framework, Mishra & Koehler (2006) described seven knowledge domains: pedagogical knowledge (PK), content knowledge (CK), technological knowledge (TK), pedagogical content knowledge (PCK), technological content knowledge (TCK), technological pedagogical knowledge (TPK) and technological pedagogical content knowledge (TPACK). Pedagogical knowledge (PK) refers to the knowledge of the nature of teaching and learning which includes teaching methods, classroom management, instructional planning, assessment of student learning, etc. Content knowledge (CK) refers to the knowledge of the subject matter to be taught. Technological knowledge (TK) is a continually changing and evolving knowledge base that includes knowledge of technology for information processing, communications and problem solving. TK focuses on the productive application of technology in both work and daily life. Pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) describes the knowledge of pedagogies, teaching practices and planning processes applicable and appropriate to teaching a given subject matter. Technological content knowledge (TCK) is defined as the relationship between subject matter and technology, including knowledge of technology that has influenced and is used in exploring a given content discipline. Technological pedagogical knowledge (TPK), on the other hand, is knowledge of the technological influence on teaching and learning, as well as the affordances and constraints of technology in regard to educational designs and strategies. Technological pedagogical content knowledge (TPACK) is the domain that characterises the knowledge of complex interactions among principle domains (content, pedagogy and technology). According to Judi Harris, Koehler, & Mishra (2009), the TPACK framework “seeks to assist the development of better techniques for discovering and describing how technology-related professional knowledge is implemented and instantiated in practice” (p. 67). This allows teachers or educators to 677

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better understand the varied levels of technological integration. Moreover, it enables teachers and educators to go beyond the simplified approaches of treating technology as an “add on”. Instead, they can focus on the connections between technology, content and pedagogy in the classroom context. Figure 1 summarises the TPACK model as described by Mishra & Koehler (2006).

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Figure 1. Graphic presentation of technological pedagogical content knowledge framework

Recently, there is also a growing number of studies investigating the development of TPACK and its complex relationship with its different knowledge components (Beriswill, Bracey, Sherman-Morris, Huang, & Lee, 2016; Celik, Sahin, & Akturk, 2014; Chaemchoy, 2017). However, there is a dearth of literature investigating teacher experiences of professional development and self-ownership in creating teaching and learning tools for local usage; with the exception of Lee, Ng, & Tan (2014). Lee et al. examined technological pedagogical content knowledge (TPACK) development with a group of Malaysian teachers. They found that the process of designing and implementing digital materials was helpful for integrating technology into the curriculum. The processes of material development allowed teachers to mobilise their multiple knowledge on curricular contents, education and technology. The adoption of this framework for teacher professional development particularly that of in-service ESL teachers, is timely and relevant. This is if the knowledge of teachers can be advanced as a result of the learning environment and experiences provided by professional development sessions. These exposures include new perspectives on teaching and learning that hold promises of more effective pedagogical practice in classrooms which will enhance student learning; such as the school of thought of constructivism, sociocultural theory and ideas like communities of practices, technological mediated learning, mental models, modelling, conceptual change and mediations.

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The TPACK-IDDIRR Model The conceptual model that underpins the approach adopted in this study is the IDDIRR (Introduce, Demonstrate, Develop, Implement, Reflect, Revise) model (Lee & Kim, 2014). The TPACK-IDDIR model is shown in Figure 2 below.

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Figure 2. The TPACK-IDDIRR Model (Lee & Kim, 2014)

In order to facilitate teachers’ TPACK development, the technology integration sessions should include explicit and systematic procedures. Based on the TPACK-IDDIRR model, the role of the trainer or facilitator is to introduce and demonstrate. The training should include a discussion of definitions and teaching examples relevant to TPACK. The purpose is to enhance the understanding of TPACK domains among teachers. The development stage is undertaken by teachers; they should be involved in the development of several lesson plans that integrate various technological tools to enhance the connection of technology to specific content and pedagogy. The development of lesson plans should be followed by the implementation of a technology-integrated lesson in the classroom to help transfer that knowledge to practice. For learning to occur, the implementation stage must be followed by a reflection on the TPACK-based lesson, along with a revision of that lesson. The TPACK-IDDIRR model, when adopted in professional development programmes for teachers, provides opportunities for sustainable development as it fulfils most of the criteria for effective professional development; i.e. it takes into account the appropriateness of the needs of individual classrooms, it provides opportunities for teachers to collaborate and it is grounded on the main objective of enhancing student learning and achievements.

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TPACK, Second Language Education, and Teacher Professional Development Despite the large bodies of research on technology integration in language education, there is a dearth of literature discussing the TPACK framework in the context of second or foreign language education (Judi Harris, Koehler, & Mishra, 2009). For instance, Belo, Belo, McKenney, Voogt, & Bradley (2016) reviewed studies on TPACK and language teaching from 2002 to 2012 and discovered only 46 studies on language teaching and learning that incorporated the TPACK framework as part of their research designs. Narrowing the search to the specific context of English as a second language (ESL) would reveal greater paucity (Koçoğlu, 2009). Current research in the field are heavily focusing on the different ways TPACK can be measured using different types of instruments. For example, Abbitt (2011) reported to have reviewed more than 300 unique publications which included journal articles and conference proceedings focusing on measuring the TPACK of both pre-service and in-service teachers through various instruments such as selfassessment surveys, classroom observations, teachers’ reflective journals and assessment of classroom artifacts. TPACK research on actual classroom practices are also quite substantial in number, but many are focusing on the application of TPACK in Science and Mathematics pedagogy (J. B. Harris & Hofer, 2017; Jang & Tsai, 2012; Koh, Chai, & Lee, 2015). The intention of the TPACK framework as proposed by Mishra & Koehler (2006) was to “transform the conceptualisation and the practice of teacher education, teacher training, and teachers’ professional development” (p. 1019). Brantley-Dias & Ertmer (2013) echoed this by pointing out that TPACK was originally “intended for teacher educators” and that it should provide a way for teachers to discuss technology and the knowledge needed to make its application in the classroom successful (p. 107). There are quite extensive amount of research focusing on the impacts of particular teacher training models on the TPACK acquisition of teachers (Brantley-Dias & Ertmer, 2013; Cavanagh & Koehler, 2013). However, many of these studies focused on pre-service teachers and conducted in teacher preparation programme settings (Dong, Chai, Sang, Koh, & Tsai, 2015; Koh, Chai, & Lim, 2017). Hofer & Harris (2012) pointed that experienced teachers’ greater familiarity with teaching and curriculum caused them to have distinctive knowledge of technology. Spires, Hervey, & Watson (2013) stated that different groups of teachers with different levels of expertise bring different strengths to TPACK-based professional development for teachers. More TPACK research focusing on in-service teachers should contribute to more knowledge and insights on technology integration in education.

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Professional Learning Community as a Platform of Teacher Professional Development to Enhance Technology Integration in the Classroom The concept of professional learning community (PLC) is based on an idea developed by the business sector. The concept is based on the utilisation of organisation members’ capacity to learn and acquire skills through collaborative professional learning (Vescio, Ross, & Adams, 2008). The idea has been modified to suit the education context, where the concept of a learning organisation was turned into a learning community that works together to build collaborative cultures among teachers (M. Park & So, 2014; Spencer, 2016; Thompson, Gregg, & Niska, 2004). The implementation of professional learning communities in education context is grounded on two assumptions. The first assumption is that knowledge is situated in the day-to-day and first-hand experiences of teachers. Therefore, it is best understood through critical reflection with others who share the 680

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same experiences. The second assumption is that when teachers are actively engaged in professional development activities through PLC, their professional knowledge will increase, and students’ learning will enhance as a result (Buysse, Sparkman, & Wesley, 2003). In addition to the two assumptions, DuFour & DuFour (2010) introduced Three Big Ideas to be incorporated in the implementation of PLC, i.e. the commitment to high levels of learning for all students, the imperative of a collaborative and collective effort to fulfil that commitment and the intense focus on results that enables a school to respond to the needs of each student, inform teacher practices and fuel continuous improvement (p. 77). Also fundamental in the PLC framework are the five dimensions conceptualised by Hord (1997) and later modified by Hipp & Huffman (2003). The five dimensions are supportive and shared leadership; shared values, norms, vision and mission; collective learning and application of learning; supportive conditions; and shared personal practice. These dimensions are widely accepted as valid constructs to measure the effectiveness of PLC in schools and institutions (Abbot, Lee, & Rossiter, 2018; Blitz & Schulman, 2016; Guskey, 2014; Song & Choi, 2017). In line with the principles underpinned by the two assumptions, the Three Big Ideas, and the five dimensions, various research on the impacts of PLC on the enhancement of student learning have consistently pointed towards its valuable role in supporting the professional development of teachers (Brissenden-Smith, Moreno, Peloquin, Radiloff, & Wachtel, 2018; Brown, Horn, & King, 2018; Easton, 2015). Due to its ability to link professional development and classroom practices, PLC is rapidly gaining acceptance as an effective model of professional development to enhance teachers’ technology integration practices in the classroom (Cheah, Chai, & Toh, 2019; Thoma, Hutchison, Johnson, Johnson, & Stromer, 2017). For example, Thoma et al. (2017) found that PLC is effective in improving teachers’ use of technology in literacy instructions because it provides opportunities for teachers to develop common formative assessment as well as gives them ample time to learn from one another and from a facilitator (knowledgeable peer). Ertmer & Ottenbreit-Leftwich (2010) in discussing the importance of teacher self-efficacy in ensuring effective technology integration practices argued that “time and effort should be devoted to increasing teachers’ confidence for using technology…to achieve student learning objectives” (p. 261). To increase teachers’ confidence and personal mastery, teachers should be given the opportunities to work with knowledgeable peers within a PLC setting where professional development can be situated within the context of teachers’ ongoing works (Ertmer & Ottenbreit-Leftwich, 2010). In Malaysia, PLC is increasingly gaining popularity, as indicated by a number of studies conducted in local contexts. Besides shown to be effective as a strategy to improve schools’ performances, the findings from these studies also pointed towards the merit of PLC as a conduit to enhance teachers’ professional and instructional practices (Abdullah & A. Ghani, 2014; Hassan, Ahmad, & Boon, 2018; Saad, Walsh, Mallaburn, & Brundrett, 2017; Tahir et al., 2013). Cheah et al. (2019) highlighted the need for “creating cohesive TPACK development spaces across communities” through effective management of the contradictions between teachers’ personal and contextual factors (p. 161). They referred to the term “TPACK in-design” and TPACK in-action” which described the mobilisation of knowledge from the design context (professional development in a PLC outside the school) to the context where TPACK is put in action (within-school PLC). This aptly describes the main interest of this chapter.

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 Mobilisation and Enactment of Malaysian ESL Teachers’ Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge

PART 1: EXPLORING ESL TEACHERS’ TPACK DEVELOPMENT THROUGH PROFESSIONAL LEARNING COMMUNITY Context ‘Going Digital’ is the name given to a professional learning community formed by a group of ESL practitioners in Malaysia in 2016. A total of 18 participants volunteered to take part in this year-long study. The participants are between the ages of 31 to 49, with teaching experiences ranging from 8 to 26 years. Out of 18 participants, 5 of them taught in primary schools, 8 taught in secondary schools and 2 taught at pre-university level. 3 participants were attached to the district education office as teacher coaches and facilitators for English literacy. 38.8% (7) of participants taught in urban schools, 27.8% (5) taught in suburban schools, 16.7% (3) taught in villages and rural areas, while 16.7% (3) were attached to the district education office as teacher coaches and facilitators. 16.7% (3) of participants were male, while 83.3% (15) were female. The community was formed with the main purpose of providing a professional yet friendly and conducive platforms for its members to share knowledge about technology integration in the classroom, to collaborate on technology-based projects and to inspire one another. The members of the community got together once or twice every month to engage in interactive workshops and teacher-sharing sessions. The members also communicated regularly through a WhatsApp group chat. Records of the community’s activities as well as samples of technology-based projects and artifacts can be accessed through the ‘Going Digital’ website (www.goingdigitalkotakinabalu.weebly.com).

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A Transformative Model of Teacher Professional Development A series of technology-integrated sessions were conducted to provide teachers with the opportunity and platform to exchange ideas, learn from each other and collaborate (see Table 1). The sessions were accomplished based on the PLC model of teacher sharing sessions (TSS); whereby, no trainer or instructor was present – everyone in the room was an expert in his/her own right. There was a group leader who played the role of the main facilitator during the sessions. However, her role was more as a coordinator to ensure that everything ran smoothly rather than as an expert or ‘source of knowledge’. This was in line with the first dimension of PLC, which is supportive and shared leadership. In this learning community, everyone was a leader, and everyone supported each other. In addition to providing a conducive and safe environment (as outlined in the third dimension of PLC), some ‘digital natives’ (i.e., pre-service teachers) were recruited as facilitators (knowledgeable peers) since they are more adept at using various technological tools. Their role was to offer support in the technical aspect as ‘digital immigrants’ embarked on the journey of exploring various technological tools to develop their digital language learning materials and technology-based lessons. These sessions via TSS adopted the TPACK-IDDIRR model where teachers were first introduced to the TPACK framework and technology-based lessons through samples and demonstrations. They were then given the opportunity to design their own technology-based lessons and to develop tools that can support lesson delivery. This was either done individually or in groups. Teachers were given time in between sessions to implement these lessons in their own classrooms. After implementation, the teachers reflected on the strengths and weaknesses, along with what went well and what needed to be changed or improved. Based on these reflections, the teachers worked on improving or revising their lesson plans 682

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 Mobilisation and Enactment of Malaysian ESL Teachers’ Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge

Table 1. The project phases and activities involved Phase

Mode (Support)

Activities

Introduce (I) Demonstrate (D)

Face-to-face (TSS 1)

Introduction to TPACK Demonstration of TPACK-based lessons

Develop (D)

Face-to-face (TSS 2)

Participants develop TPACK-based lessons.

Implement (I)

Not face-to-face (Online)

Participants implement TPACK- based lessons in the classroom.

Face-to-face (TSS 3)

Participants showcase TPACK- based lessons and share their reflections. Participants obtain feedback from other participants.

Reflect (R)

and digital language learning materials. This process provided teachers with the avenue for collective learning and application in accordance with PLC’s third dimension. The IRR stage (Implement, Reflect, Revise) of the model was cyclical and repetitively conducted to provide teachers with an opportunity to experience the design process more than once (Lee & Kim, 2014). The iterative characteristic of the model, as pointed out by Lee & Kim (2014), is important as it will enhance teachers’ learning of TPACK (p. 443). To further cater to the fifth dimension of PLC, which is “shared personal practice”, the TSS was extended beyond face-to-face sessions to include an online platform where all classroom practices, digital materials, lesson plans and reflections of teachers were shared through a website specifically designed for this purpose. Teachers contributed to the content of the website by sending their revised lesson plans, materials and reflections as many times as they liked while undergoing the iterative process of implementing, reflecting and revising. This online extension to PLC provided teachers with additional support to ensure that their TPACK development is sustainable beyond face-to-face sessions. This model of professional development is part of the second dimension of PLC, which is shared missions or objectives. The members of this learning community work on the same mission to enhance the quality of learning for their students. They engage in collaborative and collective efforts to improve student outcomes, thereby consummating the Three Big Ideas of PLC (Dufour & DuFour, 2010). Figure 3 displays the design of this model which combines the TPACK framework, the TPACK-IDDIRR model and professional learning community (PLC).

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Capturing ESL Teachers’ Experiences with the TPACK-IDDIRR + PLC Model To capture the teachers’ experiences of adopting the IDDIRR instructional design model to develop technology-based lessons for their ESL classrooms, data were collected through three main instruments. i.e. surveys, interviews and written reflections. •

Refective Log

The teachers were requested to keep a reflective log. They were told to record what was significant to them as they underwent the IDDIRR instructional design stages. They shared their reflections on a website (http://goingdigitalkotakinabalu.weebly.com) specifically designed for this purpose.

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 Mobilisation and Enactment of Malaysian ESL Teachers’ Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge

Figure 3. TPACK-IDDIRR + PLC Framework

•

Questionnaire

Besides reflection, a self-constructed questionnaire consisting of seven items with a four-point Likert scale was handed out to the teachers so as to gather their insights on professional development activities of the project. The Likert scale ranged from 1- Strongly Disagree, 2 – Disagree, 3 – Agree to 4 – Strongly Agree. The seven items focused on how professional development activities provided teachers with: •

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• • • • •

The knowledge of how to efectively integrate educational technologies to increase student opportunities of interacting with ideas; The knowledge and skills necessary to fexibly incorporate new tools and resources into content and teaching methods to enhance learning; Teaching methods that use technology to teach content and provide learners with the opportunity to interact with ideas; An understanding of what makes certain concepts difcult to learn for students and how technology can be used to improve student learning; An understanding of how to integrate technology to build upon students’ prior knowledge of subject matters; An understanding of how to operate classroom technologies as well as incorporating them into particular content area or grade level to enhance student learning;

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 Mobilisation and Enactment of Malaysian ESL Teachers’ Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge

•

Providing strong technological pedagogical content knowledge.

•

Interview

Interviews were conducted in small groups of 3-4 teachers based on availability through informal meetings and WhatsApp discussions. The interview questions were designed to elicit teacher experiences in planning, designing and implementing technology-based lessons hinged on the IDDIRR framework. The interviews were audio-recorded and selectively documented for analysis. See Appendix A for the interview protocol.

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Summary of Findings The findings suggest that teachers perceive the professional development sessions which adopted the TPACK - IDDIRR + PLC model as effective in inspiring them to integrate more technology in their English language classrooms. It appears that the TPACK-IDDIRR instructional design framework (Lee & Kim, 2014) provided teachers with a ‘structured’ approach to integrate technology that is both explicit and systematic to work with. The positive endorsement was reflected in all seven items of the survey, demonstrating that teachers have acquired the necessary knowledge and skills needed to integrate technology into their practice. The feedback obtained via reflections and interviews affirm that the TPACK - IDDIRR + PLC model helped teachers see how technology integration can increase their teaching effectiveness in numerous ways. This was supported by Lee & Kim’s (2014) study, leading to the conclusion that this form of professional development has the potential to be adopted as a model to enhance teachers’ TPACK. The model appears to be helpful in providing teachers with a platform to learn how technology can affect student education and improve their teaching in several ways. The findings further suggest that PLC has provided teachers with a safe and conducive environment to learn and be inspired. The presence of more knowledgeable peers in PLC gave the much-needed support for teachers, particularly in the technical aspects of technology. The teachers appreciated the friendly learning atmosphere and felt less vulnerable since no one was seen as an expert. The findings of this study are similar to previous research investigating the impacts of PLC in regard to the advancement of teacher knowledge (Brissenden-Smith, Moreno, Peloquin, Radiloff, & Wachtel, 2018; Brown, Horn, & King, 2018; Easton, 2015). The results also pointed towards the need for teacher professional development to be extended beyond the conventional face-to-face sessions. They should include additional and continuous support in the form of online platforms such as websites or other interactive social media platforms. The websites and social media platforms act like an e-portfolio for teachers to share their reflections. The TPACK-IDDIRR framework seemed to have helped teachers focus their reflections on the domains of TK, CK, PK, TCK, PCK, TPK and TPACK. These findings are similar to Ching et al.’s (2016) results on enhancing graduate students’ reflections in e-portfolios using the TPACK framework. The findings highlight the importance of teachers’ pedagogical, subject and technological knowledge, as well as the presence of a supportive PLC for teachers’ TPACK acquisition. In most previous studies, TPACK was taught as integrated knowledge (Mishra & Koehler, 2006). This study’s findings echo Lee & Kim’s (2014) research which suggest that isolated domains of TPACK should be introduced in a structured manner within a supportive environment for change to occur. The use of dedicated websites and social media sharing are needed to provide teachers with an avenue for sharing their best practices 685

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and reflections. In other words, an online site will function as a huge e-portfolio to track updates and development among PLC members (Ching, Yang, Baek, & Baldwin, 2016).

PART 2: FROM PROFESSIONAL LEARNING TO PROFESSIONAL PRACTICE TPACK includes discussions on the inferential and application aspects of the framework. The inferential aspect refers to how teacher trainers can use the framework to predict the contexts for effective teaching with technology which enables them to design and implement training programmes that are relevant and helpful for teachers. Application refers to how TPACK can help teachers and students explore learning contexts that can employ technology as an enhancing tool for better understanding of the subject matter (J. Harris et al., 2009; Mishra & Koehler, 2006). These inferential and application aspects of TPACK point towards the contexts in which the framework operates. The inferential aspect discusses the framework’s application in a professional development setting, while the application aspect adopts the framework in classroom setting. In this chapter, these two aspects are contextualised within the scope of ESL teachers’ professional development and classroom practices. Figure 4 demonstrates how the two contexts interconnect.

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Figure 4. Mobilisation of TPACK between two ESL contexts

Figure 4 demonstrates the TPACK framework in two different contexts, i.e. the professional development context and the professional practice context. The professional development context refers to TPACK-based teacher trainings while the professional practice context refers to classrooms and schools where teachers practice what they learn from their trainings. The intersection between the contexts represents the transition phase when teachers move from training to practice. Judi Harris, Grandgenett, & Hofer (2010) developed a TPACK-based technology integration instrument where the components of technology, pedagogy and content are contextualised within the classroom setting. This chapter will further specify this contextualisation by focusing on the specific area of English as a Second Language (ESL). In this chapter, ‘technology’ refers specifically to the technology selections for teaching and learning which include hardware, software, tools and resources appropriate and

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 Mobilisation and Enactment of Malaysian ESL Teachers’ Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge

relevant for ESL classroom context. ‘Pedagogy’ is described as the instructional strategies and classroom approaches for the teaching of English as a second language. ‘Content’ is defined as the learning goals and standards as specified by the ESL curriculum.

Mobilisation and Enactment of Teacher Knowledge Research in the field of teacher knowledge mobilisation mainly concerns with the transfer of knowledge from research to practice (La Velle & Flores, 2018; Levin, 2013; Naidorf, 2014; Younie et al., 2018). In this chapter, however, the mobilisation of teacher knowledge refers to the movement of knowledge from professional development context to classroom practice. It describes a post-training / pre-enactment phase where teachers usually do some reflections and self-evaluations, consider the affordances and constraints of technology integration, evaluate their strengths and weaknesses, as well as think deeply about students’ needs and the most effective pedagogical strategies before adopting what they have learned into practice. La Velle & Flores (2018) defined knowledge mobilisation as the “transfer of available knowledge into active use” (p. 28). To describe the movements of knowledge from learning to practice, La Velle & Flores used terms such as “knowledge acquisition” (where teachers acquire knowledge from research, or in the context of this chapter, professional development), “knowledge mobilisation” (the transition between knowledge acquisition to classroom practice) and “knowledge utilisation” (referring to how the knowledge is utilised in classroom teaching). Longhurst, Jones, & Campbell (2017) used the term “knowledge appropriation” to describe the enactment of knowledge acquired from a professional development in the classroom. Braun, Maguire, & Ball (2010) pointed out that understanding of the factors that influence the reasons and ways teachers enact the knowledge from professional development is essential for the design, implementation and funding of future teacher professional learning.

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‘Zooming In’: Making Sense of Individual Experiences of Teachers The successful execution of the TPACK-IDDIRR + PLC model had inspired the authors to ‘zoom-in’ on individual experiences of the members of the ‘Going Digital’ community, as a follow-up to the study by K. W. Lee & James (2018). A follow-up is important for a number of reasons. First, it can address the matters that were absent from the previous study, such as the personal experiences of ESL teachers as individual learners, and how these teachers mobilise the knowledge acquired through the professional learning community into technology integration practices in the ESL classrooms. This is in line with Creswell & Poth’s (2017) view on the importance of follow-up, which listed furthering an end in a particular study and reviewing new developments as among the reasons for follow-up research. Secondly, follow-ups could also “be conducted subsequent to the original research to ascertain if an intervention has changed the lives of the study participants” (Salkind, 2010, p. 2). It is worth exploring whether a teacher learning community which was formed two years ago and is still active to this very day is still able to impact its members’ professional practices. To provide multiplicity of perspectives, four ESL teachers who represented different types of schools, years of experiences and levels of technological skills were selected as participants. Table 2 summarises the profiles of each participant.

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Research Anthology on Facilitating New Educational Practices Through Communities of Learning, edited by Association, Information Resources Management, IGI Global, 2020. ProQuest

 Mobilisation and Enactment of Malaysian ESL Teachers’ Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge

Table 2. Profiles of participants Participant

Age

Teaching Experience

Context

Arsyad

Early 30

7 years

Sports school, sub-urban area

Erica

Early 40

14 years

Primary school, rural area

Adele

Early 40

17 years

Convent (all-girls) secondary school, urban area

Lim

Early 40

17 years

Chinese secondary school, urban area

Strategy of Inquiry For this follow-up study, narrative inquiry was adopted as a strategy of inquiry. Narrative accounts of each participant’s experiences were constructed by adopting the “three-dimensional narrative inquiry space” framework, where the commonplaces of temporality, sociality and place were taken into account (D. J. Clandinin & Connelly, 1994, 2004; J. D. Clandinin, 2013). Temporality refers to the participants’ reflections of their past (participation in ‘Going Digital’), present (their current practice) and future (plans and insights). Sociality describes the participants’ interactions with their environment, with the ‘Going Digital’ and their schools’ communities, and with the milieus. Sociality also refers to inward interactions and personal reflections, aesthetics, feelings and moral dispositions (Clandinin, 2013). In this study, place can refer to both physical places (e.g. school, classroom, outside school) and metaphorical places (e.g. “the digital oceans”, the “real world”). To construct the narrative accounts, the participants’ individual experiences were captured through teachers’ project reports and interviews. •

Teachers’ Project Reports

The participants were requested to write up a report of the technology-based projects that they conducted in their classrooms following their participation in the ‘Going Digital.’ To guide the teachers, a report outline was provided (See Appendix B).

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•

Interview

The purpose of the interview was to capture stories and information that were not recorded in the project report. The interview provided the participants with the chance to reflect on their experiences of transitioning between the ‘Going Digital’ professional development to their professional practice in the classroom.

Teachers’ Narrative Accounts Data from the teachers’ project reports and the interviews were used to construct narrative accounts of the participants’ experiences of participating in the ‘Going Digital’ community and practicing what they learned in the classroom. To ensure accurate representations of the teachers’ personal experiences, each narrative went through what was referred to as the first level of analysis by Clandinin (2013). This

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 Mobilisation and Enactment of Malaysian ESL Teachers’ Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge

involved the composing of the narrative accounts of the participants’ unique experiences and negotiating the compositions until each participant feels that the account “represent something of who they are and are becoming” (Clandinin, 2013, p. 132). Table 3 presents the summaries of the narrative accounts of each participant.

Mobilisation: The ‘Transition Phase’ The narrative accounts consisted of three main parts, i.e. the participants’ experiences of participating in the ‘Going Digital’ professional development, their experiences of putting into practice what they had learned from the professional development, and the phase in between these two, which will be referred to in this chapter as the ‘transition phase.’ This is the phase where the mobilisation of knowledge from professional development to professional practice occurred. Table 4 presents a summary of the participants’ experiences as they transitioned from the professional development context in the ‘Going Digital’ community to their professional practice context in the classroom. Table 3. Summary of the participants’ narrative accounts

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Arsyad: ‘The Young Teacher’ Arsyad taught in a sports boarding school located in the suburban area. The school catered to young athletes who represented the country in various sports and games. Arsyad described himself as a young teacher who knew a lot about technology and the importance of integrating technology in his ESL lessons. As the youngest participant, Arsyad was very impressed to see teachers who were way more experienced taking part in ‘Going Digital.’ He recalled saying to himself: “What excuse do you have? You’re still young, there’s so much you can do.” Arsyad did not find much difficulty in adopting what he had learned from ‘Going Digital’ to his practice in the classroom. Instead of technological competence, he defined challenges in terms of identifying the most pertinent approaches to technology integration that could make learning meaningful for his students. Before coming up with his technology-based project, Arsyad reflected on his ‘failed’ ‘A Word A Day’ and ‘Book Review’ projects. Arsyad recalled his frustrations over the dwindling interests in the two activities among the students. For ‘A Word A Day,’ the same word would stay on the board for weeks. As for the ‘Book Review,’ most students relied heavily on the teachers to provide them with the texts, rather than working on them independently. Despite this, Arsyad realised that his students were not completely apathetic when it came to the use of English language in daily conversations. The students actually did use English voluntarily when interacting with one another on social media like Facebook and Instagram. Arsyad noticed his students’ aptitudes towards vlogging and video-making, so he decided “to manipulate this inclination” by coming up with what he called the 60-Second Project. The 60-Second Project required students to record a 60-second video of themselves talking about a topic of their choice. A topic could be chosen based on a pre-determined list of themes. The project started with students conducting research on their chosen topic at the school’s language lab. It was quite an impressive language lab – well-equipped with 25 computers, LCD projectors, headphones, audio speakers and good Internet connection. Once the research was done, students went out to shoot their videos. After the recordings were completed, students worked on the editing which were mostly done using free mobile phones video-editing apps. Arsyad held a video-watching session in the classroom on the 6th week, and he found the responses from the students to be inspiring. Arsyad was elated to witness how the videos were able to spark interesting and meaningful conversations among his students. The final products were uploaded on the project’s official Instagram account, the InstaStoryTellers19 (https://www.instagram.com/instastorytellers19/). Arsyad’s challenges came in the form of negotiating the tensions between the students’ many responsibilities – as learners, as athletes and as examination candidates. For Arsyad, this was the biggest challenge he had to face in executing technology-based projects because according to him, “we want them to engage in lessons, definitely. But at the same time, it’s always at the back of our mind that we want them to perform well in their examinations as well.” Another challenge was the school rule which forbid the use of mobile phones by students. This made the decision to conduct a project using mobile phones a challenging endeavour. Although Arsyad was able to seek permission from the school warden, he still thought that the lack of freedom restricted the students to a certain degree, because only “phones with basic functions” were allowed. Another thing Arsyad wished he could have done differently was the way the selection of topics and themes for the videos were done. For future projects, he hoped to give the students more independence and autonomy to explore options and alternatives, and to discover their vast potentials in the process. He planned to expand a project that he was currently doing with his pre-university students which integrated the literature circle approach with technology through the use of TED-talk videos.

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Table 3. Continued Erica: ‘The Simple Teacher’ The rural primary school was located about 100 kilometres from the state capital. Erica had worked in the school for nine years as an ESL teacher. She was in her early 40’s and had 14 years of experience under her belt. As far as technology is concerned, Erica admitted that she was “probably not very good at it” but she loved it very much. She enjoyed exchanging ideas and learning about tools and apps to integrate technology in her ESL lessons with other members of the ‘Going Digital’ community. Although she confessed that not all of the tools and apps shared were directly applicable to her rural classroom, she appreciated the new knowledge that she gained. The idea of getting students to be “the doer” sat well with Erica’s teaching philosophy. Erica described herself as a “simple person” who liked “direct and transparent things.” As a language teacher, this meant getting her students to “learn by doing.” In Erica’s words: “If they want to learn speaking, they need to speak. It’s all about doing it.” This is evident through the technology-based project that Erica chose to conduct with her Year 4 (age 10) students. She wanted to improve her students narrative writing skills, so she decided to do the digital storytelling project. The inspiration came after learning about an app called Voki, which exploited the combination of images, voices and texts to tell a story. Erica thought it was a fun app to use in her classroom, but due to the poor Internet connection in her school she was not able to share it with her students. She realised that basic Microsoft Office applications such as the PowerPoint was provided for free in all the school’s computers and netbooks – and that they required no Internet connection. Erica decided to use PowerPoint as a tool to help her students blend images, voices and texts to create their own digital stories. Erica’s students enjoyed creating digital stories very much, but they were frustrated by the poor Internet connection and “low-performing hardware” provided by the school. Erica was concerned that this might cause some of the students to lose interest. To keep the momentum going, Erica resolved these issues by allowing the students to use her own mobile Internet hotspot. Although she realised that the outdated equipment and poor Internet connection provided extra challenges to her effort of integrating technology in her ESL lessons, Erica was determined to do it because “the students enjoyed learning using computers” and that “the school is the only place where they can get access to computers.” Erica also admitted to using technology as a “bait” to “attract students to learn English in a different way, in a high-tech way.” Knowing that they would have the opportunity to use the computer to convert their stories into digital format made the students excited about writing, “in a way that they had never done before.” The success of the digital storytelling project inspired Erica to conduct similar projects in the future, perhaps in a larger scale. For future projects, she hoped to explore the use of digital storytelling in improving her students’ listening and speaking skills.

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Adele: ‘The Digital Immigrant Teacher’ Adele had been teaching English in the all-girls convent school for almost her entire career. As far as technology is concerned, the self-professed “digital immigrant” described herself as someone “whose bragging rights are only limited to Microsoft Word and maybe PowerPoint.” Adele described her participation in the ‘Going Digital’ community as an experience that had opened up her eyes “to the endless possibilities of exploiting the programmes and applications available for classroom use.” Despite being greatly inspired, she also believed that it was something that was totally out of her comfort zone. She described it as a “plunge into the deep end of the digital ocean from the highest cliff.” However, the peer support that she received from other members of the community enabled her to derive the optimal benefits from the learning experience. Despite her lack of confidence in her technological skills, Adele was motivated to explore ways she could use technology “to enrich the classroom experience.” She decided to explore the potentials of PowToon, a free online software for creating animated presentations, which she was introduced to at ‘Going Digital.’ Adele decided to take this ‘plunge’ with 28 students in her Form 4 (age 16) class. Working in groups, the students would need to come up with animated presentations to describe themselves and their group members using metaphors, riddles and imagery. Through this project, the students were able to learn how to use metaphors, riddles and imagery to describe someone or something. But more than that, Adele was also happy that the students were able “to exploit a digital tool to make their presentation more interesting, which would be valuable for their future, especially in college or university.” Just like any other technology-based project, Adele’s PowToon project was not immune to challenges. Internet connection seemed to be the main problem, despite the school’s urban location. As an animation creator software, PowToon required high-speed Internet connection for it to function effectively. Adele tried to solve the problem by seeking permission from the school administrators to allow the students to bring their mobile hotspot or portable wi-fi to school. Another big challenge was the lack of computers. The school did not have a computer lab, and the laptops available for use were very limited. Again, Adele managed to resolve this issue by getting the school administrators to grant the permission for students to bring their laptops to school. Since not every student was in a possession of a laptop, Adele needed to make slight rearrangements to the students’ groupings. This was to ensure that every group had at least one laptop to work with. At the inception of the project, Adele did not have a lot of confidence in using and teaching her students how to use PowToon. As the project progressed, Adele gradually discovered that these initial worries did not actually matter. To make up for her “lack of technological competence,” the students “took the lead” as they “explored the programme together.” Adele believed that in order to make her digital ‘migration’ successful, she needed to keep “an open mind and an open heart.” She needed “to pick up the courage to conduct trials and errors and be better.” For her future projects, she hoped to explore “other programmes that are less demanding on Internet speed” to ensure a more seamless experience for all the students.

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Table 3. Continued Lim: ‘The Practical Teacher’ Lim recounted that the use of technology in education had been “a long-time fascination” for him. He had always been intrigued by the potentials of technology, how it “changes the dynamics of the classroom” and how “it allows materials to be presented in a myriad of ways.” However, he also admitted that his use of technology in the classroom had “mostly been borne out of practicality,” i.e. technology offered him the affordance to “reuse materials repeatedly with only slight modifications.” To provide an example, Lim explained that he used a lot of “recyclable” PowerPoint slides, videos and music in his language lessons. Occasionally, he would use Microsoft Word for the students to type in “some sort of input, such as an answer to a question.” When it came to assessments, however, Lim still adhered to “more traditional means – copied exercises, or through the exercises found in a workbook.” Lim was well-aware of the possibility of using technology to conduct assessments. At various points in his teaching career, he had had the opportunity to use digital assessment tools like Authorware and Hot Potatoes. While being “very capable” assessment tools, Lim believed the drawbacks for both were “the steep learning curve, as well as the time needed to prepare an assessment.” Lim was introduced to Kahoot! during a sharing session in ‘Going Digital.’ He “quickly saw how it could be used as a means to evaluate what has been learned.” Lim realised how much he enjoyed taking part in the Kahoot! quiz carried out during the session, and how well it reinforced his understanding of the content being shared earlier. For him, “Kahoot! seemed to tick all the right boxes in an assessment tool – it was fun and engaging, and most importantly, it seemed easy enough to set up.” As he did further explorations, Lim discovered a function on Kahoot! that makes it possible to obtain more detailed analysis of the students’ responses. With this new discovery, Lim was enthusiastic to carry out a Kahoot! session with his students. He decided to focus on assessing his students’ mastery of Simple Past and Past Continuous. To prepare his students, Lim conducted a series of four lessons. The Kahoot! session was carried out in the school library over two 40-minute sessions. Lim used the schools’ Chromebooks and Internet connection. The school had enough Chromebooks for each and every 35 students. However, from past experiences of using the school’s Internet connection, too many users would normally cause laggings and delays. In order to overcome this problem, Lim decided to reduce the number of users by putting the students in groups of five. The students were supposed to take turns answering the questions individually. Lim was delighted to discover that by “downloading the game results data from the Kahoot! website in Microsoft Excel format”, he was able to find out the number of players who joined the quiz, the number of questions played, the overall performance, individual or group scores and number of correct answers obtained, overview of all answers given by every player/group to each question as well as individual question analysis. In Lim’s words, “just by the click of a button, Kahoot! takes away all the pain out of data gathering and data analysis.” After analysing the Kahoot! data, Lim also realised that his students “still faced some fundamental problems in their understanding of the whole aspect of both tenses as evidenced by their scores.” Lim attributed this to his teaching approach. He admitted to have fallen back to his “conventional approach to teaching the Simple Past and Past Continuous” through mere explanations and drillings. In future lessons, Lim considered using enquiry-based learning approaches to enhance his teaching and the students’ understanding. He believed that this approach might be able to help his students “to understand the reasons for learning what they need to learn.” In terms of using technology as a tool for assessment, Lim hoped to use Kahoot! as “an integral part” of his classroom assessment. He also saw the possibilities of integrating Kahoot! into reading and writing lessons in the future.

Table 4. Mobilisation of teacher knowledge

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Participant

‘Going Digital’ (Professional Development)

Transition Phase (Mobilisation)

Classroom (Professional Practice)

Arsyad

Young teacher, motivated by more experienced teachers

Identifying pertinent teaching approaches

Video project to enhance speaking skills among students

Erica

Gained lots of knowledge that could not be directly applied to her rural classroom

Adopting and tailoring

Digital Storytelling project using PowerPoint to teach narrative writing

Adele

Saw the community as a “safe place” with plenty of peer support

“Taking the plunge”, letting students to “take the lead” and explore

PowToon project to teach metaphors, riddles and imagery

Lim

Learned new tools that infuse “fun element” to practicality

Exploring, experimenting and discovering new knowledge

Using Kahoot! as a tool for classroom assessments

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 Mobilisation and Enactment of Malaysian ESL Teachers’ Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge

Although all of the four teachers participated in the same professional development, we could observe four different responses to the experience and four different ways the teachers decided to translate learning to practice. The responses of the participants in the transition phase can be summarised as follows: •

Focusing on Pedagogical Approaches

Arsyad, after being inspired by the veteran teachers in the ‘Going Digital’ community, decided to reflect upon his past teaching experiences and to use the reflection to identify pertinent teaching approaches. •

Focusing on Context

Erica described how most of the skills that she acquired from the professional development were not directly applicable due to the unique context of her rural primary classroom. She responded by adopting and tailoring her technology-based project based on the availability of facilities in her school. •

Focusing on Learning Experiences (of Both Teacher and Learners)

Adele, a self-professed ‘digital immigrant,’ referred to the ‘Going Digital’ community as a safe place where plenty of peer support were available. Her transitionary experience was described as a “plunge,” where she decided to embark on a collaborative discovery and exploration with her ‘digital native’ students. •

Focusing on Teacher Knowledge

As someone who was highly-skilled in technology, Lim used the transition phase to learn more about the features and functions of Kahoot! and how the online quiz generator could potentially be used to enhance the effectiveness of his classroom assessment, while increasing learners’ engagement in the process.

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Enactment: Putting Knowledge Into Practice Enactment of knowledge refers to how teachers put into practice the knowledge that they have acquired from a training. In this study, enactment of knowledge will be analysed through the interplay of the knowledge of technology, pedagogy and content. To focus specifically on the context of the teaching of English as a Second Language (ESL), ‘technological knowledge’ represents the technology selection for use in the ESL classroom, ‘pedagogical knowledge’ refers to ESL instructions and teaching approaches, while ‘content knowledge’ describes the curriculum goals of an ESL lesson (Judi Harris, Grandgenett, & Hofer, 2010). Table 5 summarises the interplay among the knowledge of technology, pedagogy and content as presented in each participant’s narrative account.

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Research Anthology on Facilitating New Educational Practices Through Communities of Learning, edited by Association, Information Resources Management, IGI Global, 2020. ProQuest

 Mobilisation and Enactment of Malaysian ESL Teachers’ Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge

Table 5. Interplay among the knowledge of technology, pedagogy and content Participant

Technology Selection (Technological Knowledge)

Instructions & Teaching Approaches (Pedagogical Knowledge)

Curriculum Goals (Content Knowledge)

Arsyad

Mobile phones, video-editing apps, Instagram

Project-based Learning (PBL)

Speaking skills

Erica

PowerPoint, netbooks

Scaffolded writing, digital storytelling

Narrative writing / creative writing

Adele

Laptops, PowToon, portable Internet connection (hotspot)

Collaborative learning, constructivist approach

Metaphors, imagery and riddles

Lim

Chromebooks, Kahoot!

Classroom assessment

Grammar: simple past, past continuous

PART 3: AFFORDANCES AND CONSTRAINTS OF TECHNOLOGY INTEGRATION IN THE ESL CLASSROOM Mishra & Koehler (2006) posited that understanding of the affordances and constraints of technology integration is important as it helps teachers to represent content and identify pertinent teaching approaches. In addition to the understanding of affordances and constraints, the participants’ narrative accounts also reveal every teacher’s future plans for technology integration. Table 6 summarises the affordances and constraints as well as the future plans of each participant as described in their narratives. Table 6. Affordances, constraints, and future plans Affordances of technology integration

Constraints, challenges and tensions

Future plans

Arsyad

Enhances students’ engagement; can be utilised to “manipulate students’ inclination” towards any interests.

Juggling roles: students, athletes, examination candidates. Tension between meaningful learning and preparing for examination. Issues with freedom – students were not allowed to use mobile phones in school.

To allow more independence and autonomy for students. To integrate the literature circle approach with TED-talk videos.

Erica

Increases students’ motivation to learn – technology used as a “bait.” As a result, students were writing “in a way they have never done before.”

Poor Internet connection; outdated equipment.

To extend the use of digital storytelling in the teaching of listening and speaking skills.

Adele

Provides the soft skills necessary for life after secondary school, i.e. tools to conduct “captivating presentations.” Makes learning more engaging.

Poor Internet connection. Lack of equipment. The teacher’s lack of confidence to use technology as a “digital immigrant.”

To explore other tools that are “less demanding on Internet speed.” To continue to be “open-minded” about what technology can offer.

Lim

Practicality: digital materials are easily “recyclable”; in the case of Kahoot! – data analysis is a useful and time-saving feature. Infuses the “fun element” in learning and classroom assessment.

Poor Internet connection. The tension between the use of technology with pedagogy approaches and knowledge of good assessment instrument.

To adopt enquiry-based approach to enhance students’ understanding of the topic. To continue to use Kahoot! as an “integral tool for classroom assessment” and also for teaching reading and writing.

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Participant

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 Mobilisation and Enactment of Malaysian ESL Teachers’ Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge

In sum, the participants identified the following as among the affordances of technology integration in the ESL classroom: • • •

•

Teaching and learning with technology enhance learners’ engagement Teaching and learning with technology increase learners’ motivation to learn Learning with technology provides students with the opportunities to learn ‘soft skills’ like collaboration (e.g. group work in PowToon project and Kahoot! quiz), creativity (e.g. creating videos and digital stories) and skills that can be used in ‘real-life’ settings (e.g. skills to create “captivating presentations” using PowToon, speaking skills). Technology improves efciency in the classroom (e.g. materials are “recyclable”, data analysis can be done with “just the click of a button”)

The following are the challenges, constraints and tensions faced by the participants in integrating technology in the classroom: •

Issues With Lack of Equipment and Facilities

With the exception of the sports school with its impressive language lab and good Internet connection, all the other schools were dealing with issues of lack of equipment and facilities. The convent secondary school had no computer lab at all. The rural primary school had some netbooks, but they were all reported to be “outdated” and “low-performing.” It also had very poor Internet connection. The Chinese secondary school had a library with enough Chromebooks for 35 students, but Internet connection was a bit unstable. •

Tensions With School Policy on Technology Use

Some of the participants had to deal with issues with the school’s policy of not allowing students to bring technology tools like mobile phones and laptops to school. Arsyad had to seek permission from the hostel warden before his students could use their mobile phones to create their 60-second videos. Adele had to carry out repeated visits to the school administrator’s office so her students could bring their laptops and portable Internet to school to work on their PowToon project.

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•

Issues of Teacher’s Confdence in Using and Teaching With Technology

This is an issue specifically for Adele, who identified herself as a “digital immigrant.” However, it is worth noting that despite this low self-efficacy, Adele was able to carry out her PowToon project quite successfully. •

Issues With Interplay Between Technology and Teaching Approaches, i.e. Technological Pedagogical Knowledge (TPK)

This is clearly demonstrated through Lim’s experience of using Kahoot! as a classroom assessment tool. Despite his learners’ positive classroom experience with Kahoot!, Lim realised that his students were still not able to master the fundamentals of Simple Past and Past Continuous, as reflected by their scores in the quiz. Lim attributed this to his ineffective teaching strategy, i.e. his pedagogical knowledge. 694

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DISCUSSION Clandinin (2013) described the second level of analysis in narrative inquiry as the process of looking across the individual narrative accounts to identify resonant threads or patterns (p. 132). Creswell (2014) referred to the practice of identifying common meaning from lived experiences as the essentials of experience. These resonances or common meanings do not necessarily represent similarities, but more importantly delineate unifying themes that help us make sense of the participants’ experiences in a more holistic manner. Resonances in this chapter will be discussed in terms of how TPACK intersects with many different variables that contribute towards the construction of the participants’ experiences of transitioning from learning in the ‘Going Digital’ community to practice in the ESL classroom. •

TPACK and Teacher’s Self-Efcacy

Studies have shown that teacher knowledge and self-efficacy influence how teachers respond to their training in technology integration and how they adopt the knowledge in classroom practice (Abbott, 2016; Ertmer & Ottenbreit-Leftwich, 2010; Joo, Park, & Lim, 2018). The connection between knowledge and self-efficacy is evident in the way each of the participant chose to respond to their learning experiences in the ‘Going Digital’ community. Young and tech-savvy Arsyad decided to focus on the best pedagogical strategy because he was confident in his ability to use technology in his classroom. Lim, who was also very competent in technology, chose to employ his knowledge of technology by exploring the extra functions and features of Kahoot! which was not shared during the ‘Going Digital’ sharing session. Erica, on the other hand, saw herself as a moderately competent technology user. Her focus was on context, i.e. on what was most convenient in terms of availability and ease of use. Perhaps the participant with the lowest level of self-efficacy was Adele, who identified herself as the ‘digital immigrant.’ She took the ‘plunge’ by deciding to let her students take the lead because she was not confident in her ability to teach with technology.

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•

TPACK and Teacher’s Identity

Besides knowledge and self-efficacy, teacher identity also plays a role in how a teacher chooses to integrate (or not to integrate) technology in his or her classroom (Abbott, 2016; Curwood, 2014; Ertmer & Ottenbreit-Leftwich, 2010; Hew & Brush, 2007; Shelton, 2018). According to Bukor (2015), teacher identity is developed through the articulation of personal and professional beliefs about being a teacher. It is rooted in various sources such as experiences, personality, professional practice and emotions. Abbot (2016) posited that “barriers were created if the use of technology did not fit comfortably into [teachers’] personal and professional identities” (p. 20). The narrative accounts reveal how each participant projected their identity and beliefs about being a teacher. For example, Arsyad, the Young Teacher, strongly believed in the importance of technology integration. Observing the veteran teachers participating in the ‘Going Digital’ community prompted him to self-question: “What excuse do you have? You’re so young, there’s so much you can do.” He refused to be “complacent,” and expressed that resorting to “chalk-and-talk” teaching is his biggest fear as a teacher. Erica, the Simple Teacher, preferred to keep things as simple as possible. Her projected identity as a teacher was evident through her way of handling the issues with tools and facilities in her school. To

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deal with the almost non-existent Internet connection, Erica decided to scrap Internet out of the picture. She used PowerPoint because the software is available for free in all computers in the school. Adele, the Digital Immigrant Teacher, dealt with real anxieties associated with an immigrant. She recounted issues of unfamiliarity, emphasising on learning journey and exploration into the unknown. She also shared a lot about the importance of being “open-minded.” In describing her experience of integrating technology in her ESL lesson, Adele used the ‘ocean’ metaphor a lot, e.g. “taking the plunge,” “will I sink or swim?”, “diving from the highest cliff to the deepest ocean.” Not surprisingly, she also decided to choose ‘metaphors’ as one of the learning contents for her technology-based classroom project. She referred to her whole experience of conducting the project as a “migration”, i.e. from the safe place of the ‘Going Digital’ community where peer support was available to the alien ‘digital native’ world of her Generation Z students. For Lim, the Practical Teacher, practicality is obviously of utmost importance. He chose Kahoot! as his technology tool because it “ticks all the boxes” for practicality and usability. Lim’s top criteria for technology selection include user-friendliness, recyclability and time-saving feature (e.g. “just by the click of a button,” data can be generated). Lim compared Kahoot! with Authorware and Hot Potatoes which he believed scored lower in terms of practicality as both software require a large amount of time to set up and involve a “steep learning curve.”

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TPACK and Context

As for context, Somekh (2008) contended that: “Teachers are not ‘free agents’ and their use of ICT for teaching and learning depends on the interlocking cultural, social and organisational contexts in which they live and work” (p. 450). This view is echoed by many studies on the role of contexts in technology integration in the classroom (e.g. Cheah et al., 2019; Ertmer & Ottenbreit-Leftwich, 2010; Liu, Ritzhaupt, Dawson, & Barron, 2017; Swallow & Olofson, 2017). It is obvious from the narrative accounts of the participants how the distinctive context of every school determines the choices of technology tools, pedagogical approaches and curricular content. For example, the unique context of the sports boarding school required Arsyad to negotiate the tensions created by the juggling of the students’ responsibilities as athletes, learners and examination candidates. His decision to limit the length of videos to 60 seconds was influenced by the need to accommodate the student-athletes’ busy schedules. Another example of how context come into play in determining the direction of technology integration is Erica’s school in the rural area. Due to the unavailability of good Internet connection, the project had to be conducted using tools that require no Internet connection, i.e. the PowerPoint. The role of context is also evident in Adele’s experience. Dealing with students who were highly proficient not just in technology use, but also in the English language informed Adele’s decision of choosing a more complex subject matter (metaphors, riddles and imageries) as her curriculum focus. Despite her own lack of confidence in using technology, Adele had a lot faith in her students’ abilities to learn PowToon through collaborative exploration and discovery. The context of her learners clearly influenced Adele’s management of the interplay among the domains of technology, pedagogy and content in her teaching. •

TPACK and Teachers’ Understanding of the Afordances and Constraints of Technology Integration

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From the participants’ narrative accounts, mobilisation of knowledge is not just visible through the teachers’ descriptions of their experiences being in the transition phase, where the professional development had just ended, and classroom practice was about to start. A glimpse of how new knowledge, or to put it in Shulman’s (1986) term, new comprehension after undergoing the first cycle of technology-based project can be seen through the participants’ depiction of their future plans. As pointed out by Mishra & Koehler (2006), the understanding of affordances and constraints of technology integration assisted teachers in representing content and identifying pertinent teaching approaches. The participants gained more nuanced understanding of the affordances and constraints after executing the first technology-based project following their participations in the ‘Going Digital.’ Many studies have pointed towards the importance of developing the awareness of the affordances and constraints of technology in enhancing teachers’ technology integration practices. For example, Tseng, Lien, & Chen (2016) conducted a study on the development of teacher knowledge via web conferencing technology and found that the teachers’ TPACK grew due to increased awareness of the affordances and constraints of web conferencing technology in foreign language teaching environment. Another example is a study by Evans, Nino, Deater-Deckard, & Chang (2015) which found that using the TPACK framework to evaluate the affordances and constraints of a learning game useful in enhancing technology integration in the classroom. The increasing awareness of the importance of understanding the affordances and constraints of technology to ensure successful mobilisation and enactment of TPACK is evident through the growing number of studies dedicated to the subject (e.g. Antonenko, Dawson, & Sahay, 2017; Bakir, Devers, & Hug, 2016; Burke & Hughes, 2018).

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A MODEL OF TPACK MOBILISATION, APPROPRIATION AND ENACTMENT The mobilisation of knowledge from professional development to practice in the classroom has often been a concern (Van Duzor, 2011). Dimmock (2016) posited that “instead of the traditional dissemination through one-off workshops, seminars or discussions, knowledge mediation and knowledge application should be in line with the new accounts of professional learning mobilisation” (pp. 40-41). Despite this, there is a dearth of study outlining how the mobilisation of knowledge from professional development to the classroom can be assisted in systematic and helpful ways. According to O’ Dwyer (2018), “the likelihood of new learning being implemented in practice is increased when the gap between the professional development and classroom practice is reduced” (p. 354). Also, in order for a professional development to be successful, it needs to be consistent with classroom practice (Hill, Blazar, & Lynch, 2015). The ‘gap’ that O’ Dwyer referred to can be decreased by ensuring that professional development is linked to and consistent with classroom practices. This section aims to explore ways of reducing the gap between professional development and professional practice by paying specific attention to the ‘link in between’, i.e. what occurs in the transition phase. It is what we referred to earlier as the post-training / pre-enactment stage – where professional development ends and classroom practice starts. It is a phase that links these two contexts together. According to Shulman (1986), new comprehension does not automatically occur even after evaluation and reflection. Specific strategies are needed to assist the transition from learning to enactment. The authors believe that the proposition of a model that can potentially guide teachers in linking their learning to practice is timely and relevant, particularly in the field of TPACK and technology integration in the ESL classroom. 697

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The authors would like to propose a model of TPACK mobilisation and enactment that aims to offer a guide for teacher self-evaluation and reflections following a TPACK-based professional development. The model aims to capture the interconnectedness among knowledge, context and identity as well as the considerations of the affordances and constraints of technology integration. The model allows teachers to ponder on the selection of technology tools, instructional strategies and curriculum goals for their ESL classrooms by tapping into the knowledge that they acquire from professional development and linking it with their professional practices. The model is shown in Figure 5 below. Figure 5. Model of TPACK mobilisation, appropriation and enactment

•

Post-Training Evaluation

The authors proposed that every TPACK-based professional development should end with a posttraining evaluation, to mark the beginning of the pre-enactment phase which should link the professional development with classroom practice. Post-training evaluation can be carried out by getting teachers to evaluate the professional development effectiveness, and by reflecting upon their experiences of participating in the professional development.

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•

Self-Evaluation

Self-evaluation is the stage where teachers reflect on their identity and knowledge by analysing their pedagogical beliefs and self-efficacy. •

Context Evaluation

Context evaluation involves thinking about their school and classroom’s unique circumstances, their learners’ needs, aptitudes, competency or dispositions, as well as other contextual factors such as organisational routines, policy, the milieus and etc.

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•

Evaluation of Affordances and Constraints

Considering the affordances and constraints at the outset of every technology integration practice is pertinent as it gears teachers towards proper appropriation of knowledge (Antonenko, Dawson, & Sahay, 2017; Bakir, Devers, & Hug, 2016; Burke & Hughes, 2018). •

Knowledge Appropriation

Longhurst, Jones & Campbell (2017) define appropriation as “a process where an individual adopts, uses and modifies pedagogical tools within and influenced by specific social or cultural contexts” (p. 366). They also stated that the “implementation of conceptual and practical pedagogies from professional development with acceptable adaptation” is the epitome of the concept of appropriation (p. 366). Appropriation is an important stage in the pre-enactment stage, as it helps teachers to adopt and tailor their pedagogical strategies, curriculum content and technological resources according to the practical and contextual needs of the classroom and learners (Shulman, 1986). •

Knowledge Enactment

Knowledge enactment is the stage where TPACK is fully mobilised from professional development to professional practice in the classroom.

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FUTURE RESEARCH DIRECTIONS This chapter is a small step towards understanding how teachers respond to TPACK-based professional development and how they mobilise as well as enact the knowledge they acquire from the professional development to practice in the classroom. However, more research into recognising the diverse factors that influence teachers’ professional development experiences and the social contexts that mediate individual implementation are needed in order to better understand teachers’ contextual appropriation from professional learning experiences (Bourke, Mentis, & O’Neill, 2013). The authors would be very interested in exploring the potentials of the proposed model of TPACK mobilisation, appropriation and enactment as a tool to support and assist teachers in linking their professional development experiences to classroom practices. Further investigations into the concept, the continuum as well as the varying degrees of knowledge appropriation as described by Longhurst, Jones & Campbell (2017) with a specific focus on TPACK and language teaching and learning is a worthy research pursuit.

CONCLUSION This chapter recapitulates a three-year journey into the study of Malaysian ESL teachers’ TPACK development and practice. It started with the formation of the ‘Going Digital’ which incorporated the principles of professional learning community into the TPACK framework and Lee & Kim’s (2014) IDDIRR instructional design. The TPACK - IDDIRR + PLC model was adopted to explore its effectiveness 699

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in inspiring in-service teachers to integrate technology in their English language classrooms. The results indicate that this model has the potential to be adopted to enhance teachers’ TPACK. The findings further imply that this model provides in-service teachers with a platform to improve their practices in integrating technology within their classrooms. The supporting context (PLC) provided a safe and conducive environment for in-service teachers to learn and be inspired. The presence of more knowledgeable individuals (peers and student teachers) in PLC yielded the much-needed support for teachers to learn the technical aspects of integrating technology with their content and pedagogical knowledge. Beyond the favourable evidence accrued, the findings also suggest that teacher professional development should be extended beyond the conventional face-to-face sessions. They should include additional and continuous support in the form of online platforms such as websites or interactive social media platforms to continuously motivate and change teachers’ mindsets and practices for 21st century teaching. Progressing from the first part of the study, the authors embarked on another journey to make sense of the individual experiences of the teachers in mobilising their TPACK from the ‘Going Digital’ professional development to their practices in the classroom through narrative inquiry. The findings revealed interesting interconnectedness among knowledge, context and identity; teachers’ understanding of the affordances and constraints of technology integration; and how they impacted teachers’ practices. These findings inspired the proposition of the model for TPACK mobilisation, appropriation and enactment, which the authors hope to explore further in subsequent research. Despite strongly advocating for the broadening of the conception of good teaching to include the idea that “teaching is effective only when combined with relevant ICT tools and resources” (Ertmer & Ottenbreit-Leftwich, 2010, p. 259), Ertmer & Ottenbreit-Leftwich acknowledged that technology is “always in a state of flux” and that “learning about technology is equivalent to asking teachers to hit a moving target” (p. 260). Through the inquiry into teachers’ narrative experiences of integrating technology in their ESL classrooms, this study hopes to pave the way towards exploring the possibility of an emphasised focus on teachers’ contexts, the shaping of teachers’ identities and the development of self-efficacy through teacher professional development, mobilisation of knowledge, and enactment of knowledge in the classroom. The main intent is not to ‘hit the moving target,’ but rather to help teachers gain a more nuanced understanding of TPACK so that technology can be employed to benefit learners in more practical and contextualised manners.

ACKNOWLEDGMENT

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This research received no specific grant from any funding agency in the public, commercial, or not-forprofit sectors.

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Muhaimin, M., Habibi, A., Mukminin, A., Saudagar, F., Pratama, R., Wahyuni, S., ... Indrayana, B. (2019). A sequential explanatory investigation of TPACK: Indonesian science teachers’ survey and perspective. Journal of Technology and Science Education, 9(3), 269–281. doi:10.3926/jotse.662 Naidorf, J. (2014). Knowledge utility: from social relevance to knowledge mobilization. Education Policy Analysis Archives, 22(89). Retrieved from https://eric.ed.gov/?q=Naidorf%2c+J.+2014.+%e2 %80%9cKnowledge+Utility%3a+From+Social+Relevance+to+Knowledge+Mobilization.%e2%80% 9d+Education+Policy+Analysis+Archives+22+(89)%3a+1%e2%80%9331.&pr=on&id=EJ1050049 Nikian, S., Nor, F. M., & Aziz, M. A. (2013). Malaysian teachers’ perception of applying technology in the classroom. Procedia: Social and Behavioral Sciences, 103, 621–627. doi:10.1016/j.sbspro.2013.10.380 O’ Dwyer, A. (2018). An insight into how a constructivist professional development program can influence practice in six high school chemistry classrooms. Journal of Science Teacher Education, 29(5), 353–377. doi:10.1080/1046560X.2018.1457348 Onguko, B. B. (2014). JiFUNzeni: A blended learning approach for sustainable teachers’ professional development. Electronic Journal of E-Learning, 12(1), 77–88. Park, M., & So, K. (2014). Opportunities and challenges for teacher professional development: a case of collaborative learning community in South Korea. International Education Studies, 7(7), 96–108. doi:10.5539/ies.v7n7p96 Policy on ICT in education. (2010). (p. 104). Prensky, M. (2009). H. sapiens digital: from digital immigrants and digital natives to digital wisdom. Innovate: Journal of Online Education, 5(3). Regan, K., Evmenova, A. S., Sacco, D., Schwartzer, J., Chirinos, D. S., & Hughes, M. D. (2019). Teacher perceptions of integrating technology in writing. Technology, Pedagogy, and Education, 28(1), 1–19. doi:10.1080/1475939X.2018.1561507 Saad, K. A., Walsh, B., Mallaburn, A., & Brundrett, M. (2017). Exploring the implementation of professional learning communities in Malaysian schools. International Journal of Education. Psychology and Counselling, 2(5), 1–18. Salkind, N. (2010). Encyclopedia of Research Design. doi:10.4135/9781412961288

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Shelton, C. (2018). “You have to teach to your personality”: Caring, sharing, and teaching with technology. Australasian Journal of Educational Technology, 34(4). doi:10.14742/ajet.3557 Shulman, L. S. (1986). Those who understand: knowledge growth in teaching. Educational Researcher, 15(2), 4–14. doi:10.3102/0013189X015002004 Simin, G., & Sani, I. M. (2015). Effectiveness of ICT integration in Malaysian schools: a quantitative analysis. 2, 12. Somekh, B. (2008). Factors affecting teachers’ pedagogical adoption of ICT. In J. Voogt, & G. Knezek (Eds.), International handbook of information technology in primary and secondary education (pp. 449–460). doi:10.1007/978-0-387-73315-9_27

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Song, K.-O., & Choi, J. (2017). Structural analysis of factors that influence professional learning communities in Korean elementary schools. International Electronic Journal of Elementary Education, 10(1), 1–9. Spencer, E. J. (2016). Professional learning communities: keeping the focus on instructional practice. Kappa Delta Pi Record, 52(2), 83–85. doi:10.1080/00228958.2016.1156544 Spires, H., Hervey, L., & Watson, T. (2013). Scaffolding the TPACK framework in reading and language arts: new literacies, new minds. In Research on Technology in English Education. Information Age Publishing. Swallow, M. J. C., & Olofson, M. W. (2017). Contextual understandings in the TPACK framework. Journal of Research on Technology in Education, 49(3-4), 228–244. doi:10.1080/15391523.2017.1347537 Tahir, L. M., Said, M. N. H. M., Ali, M. F., Samah, N. A., Daud, K., & Mohtar, T. H. (2013). Examining the professional learning community practices: an empirical comparison from Malaysian universities clusters. Procedia: Social and Behavioral Sciences, 97, 105–113. doi:10.1016/j.sbspro.2013.10.210 Thang, S. M., Lin, L. K., Mahmud, N., Ismail, K., & Zabidi, N. A. (2014). Technology integration in the form of digital storytelling: Mapping the concerns of four Malaysian ESL instructors. Computer Assisted Language Learning, 27(4), 311–329. doi:10.1080/09588221.2014.903979 Thoma, J., Hutchison, A., Johnson, D., Johnson, K., & Stromer, E. (2017). Planning for technology integration in a professional learning community. The Reading Teacher, 71(2), 167–175. doi:10.1002/trtr.1604 Thompson, S. C., Gregg, L., & Niska, J. M. (2004). Professional learning communities, leadership, and student learning. RMLE Online: Research in Middle Level Education, 28(1), 1–15. doi:10.1080/19404 476.2004.11658173 Tseng, J.-J., Lien, Y.-J., & Chen, H.-J. (2016). Using a teacher support group to develop teacher knowledge of mandarin teaching via web conferencing technology. Computer Assisted Language Learning, 29(1), 127–147. doi:10.1080/09588221.2014.903978 Umar, I. N., & Hassan, A. S. A. (2015). Malaysian teachers’ levels of ICT integration and its perceived impact on teaching and learning. Procedia: Social and Behavioral Sciences, 197, 2015–2021. doi:10.1016/j.sbspro.2015.07.586

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Van Duzor, A. (2011). Capitalizing on teacher expertise: motivations for contemplating transfer from professional development to the classroom. Journal of Science Education and Technology, 20(4), 363–374. doi:10.100710956-010-9258-z Vasinda, S., Ryter, D. A., Hathcock, S., & Wang, Q. (2017). Access is not enough: a collaborative autoethnographic study of affordances and challenges of teacher educators’ iPad integration in elementary education methods courses. [CITE Journal]. Contemporary Issues in Technology & Teacher Education, 17(3). Vescio, V., Ross, D., & Adams, A. (2008). A review of research on the impact of professional learning communities on teaching practice and student learning. Teaching and Teacher Education, 24(1), 80–91. doi:10.1016/j.tate.2007.01.004

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Warschauer, M. (2000). The changing global economy and the future of English teaching. TESOL Quarterly, 34(3), 511–535. doi:10.2307/3587741 Warschauer, M., & Healey, D. (1998). Computers and language learning: An overview. Language Teaching, 31(2), 57–71. doi:10.1017/S0261444800012970 Wu, Y.-L. (2014). The impact of technology on language learning. In J. H. Park, Y. Pan, C.-S. Kim, & Y. Yang (Eds.), Future Information Technology (pp. 727–731). Springer Berlin. doi:10.1007/978-3642-55038-6_112 Younie, S., Audain, J., Eloff, I., Leask, M., Procter, R., & Shelton, C. (2018). Mobilising knowledge through global partnerships to support research-informed teaching: Five models for translational research. Journal of Education for Teaching, 44(5), 574–589. doi:10.1080/02607476.2018.1516348 Zhukova, O. (2018). Novice teachers’ concerns, early professional experiences and development: implications for theory and practice. Discourse and Communication for Sustainable Education, 9(1), 100–114. doi:10.2478/dcse-2018-0008

ADDITIONAL READING Chai, C. S., Koh, J. H. L., & Tsai, C.-C. (2013). A review of technological pedagogical content knowledge. [Retrieved from Scopus.]. Journal of Educational Technology & Society, 16(2), 31–51. Ertmer, P. A. (2005). Teacher pedagogical beliefs: The final frontier in our quest for technology integration? Educational Technology Research and Development, 53(4), 25–39. doi:10.1007/BF02504683 Harris, J., Koehler, M., & Mishra, P. (2009). What Is Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge? Contemporary Issues in Technology & Teacher Education, 9. Koh, J. H. L., Chai, C. S., & Lee, M.-H. (2015). Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPACK) for Pedagogical Improvement: Editorial for Special Issue on TPACK. The Asia-Pacific Education Researcher, 24(3), 459–462. doi:10.100740299-015-0241-6

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Porras-Hernández, L. H., & Salinas-Amescua, B. (2013). Strengthening TPACK: A broader notion of context and the use of teacher’s narratives to reveal knowledge construction. Journal of Educational Computing Research, 48(2), 223–244. doi:10.2190/EC.48.2.f Role of Educational Technologies Utilizing the TPACK Framework and 21st Century Pedagogies: Academics’ Perspectives. (n.d.). Retrieved 16 June 2019, from The International Academic Forum (IAFOR) website: https://iafor.org/journal/iafor-journal-of-education/volume-6-issue-3/article-3/ Voogt, J., Fisser, P., Pareja Roblin, N., Tondeur, J., & van Braak, J. (2013). Technological pedagogical content knowledge - A review of the literature. Journal of Computer Assisted Learning, 29(2), 109–121. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2729.2012.00487.x Willermark, S. (2018). Technological Pedagogical and Content Knowledge: A Review of Empirical Studies Published From 2011 to 2016. Journal of Educational Computing Research, 56(3), 315–343. doi:10.1177/0735633117713114

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KEY TERMS AND DEFINITIONS Knowledge Appropriation: Adaptation, adoption and tailoring of pedagogical strategies, curriculum contents and technological resources to suit the practical and contextual needs of classrooms and learners. Knowledge Enactment: The act of putting into practice in the classroom the knowledge or skills acquired from learning or training. Knowledge Mobilisation: Movement of knowledge from professional development context to classroom practices. Professional Development: Engagement with activities or events to acquire or enhance knowledge and skills in certain pedagogical, curricular or instructional areas with the objective of improving classroom practices. Professional Practice: Classroom approaches, pedagogical techniques and management of resources, contents and learners during the curriculum delivery process. Technology-Based Projects: Teaching and learning activities that utilise technology, conducted either in the classroom or outside the classroom. Technology Integration Practice: The utilisation of technology tools, facilities and resources in the classroom.

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This work was previously published in Recent Developments in Technology-Enhanced and Computer-Assisted Language Learning; pages 279-315, copyright year 2020 by Information Science Reference (an imprint of IGI Global).

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APPENDIX Interview Protocol 1. In what ways the skills you presented in your product be applied into real life setting or workplace? (TPCK) 2. Was/were the selected skill(s) important? Why do you think so? (PK) 3. How did educational technology (e.g. Web 2.0 Tools – Teaching and learning softwares/online learning activities) help in teaching and learning? (TPCK) 4. Do you think it was important to integrate educational technology into curriculum-based learning? Why do you think so? (TPCK) 5. What were the changes you wish you could have made during the planning, designing, and implementation stage and how could the changes affect teaching and learning ? (TPCK) 6. How could you further improve your classroom management/teaching method? (PCK) 7. Did your product benefit your learners in terms of their knowledge and soft skills? (TPCK) Why do you think so? 8. Do you think about your teaching approaches work well with the application of educational technology? If so, in what way? If not, why? (TPCK) 9. How did your instructions and product impact the learners? If so, in what way? If not, why? (TPCK)

Writing Guideline for Technology-Based Project Report Phase 1: Introduction – The Planning Stage This section of the article captures the author’s experiences in the ‘Introduce’ and ‘Demonstrate’ phases of the TPACK-IDDIRR model. It answers the following questions: · · ·

What were the aims/objectives of the project? What were the expected outcomes of the project? What were the challenges faced throughout the planning stage and how did the author solve the issues?

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Phase 2: Design and Development This section describes the experiences of the author throughout the ‘Development’ phase. It provides the answers to the following questions: · · · · ·

How did the author adapt the suitable syllabus/topics to integrate technology in the classroom? How did the author analyse the suitability of the digital tools used in the project? What were the teaching or learning issues/concerns/skills that the project wanted to focus on? What were the reasons for addressing the issues/concerns/skills? What digital tools were selected for the project and what were the reasons for the selection?

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·

What were the challenges/limitations faced during the development phase and how did the author solve them?

Phase 3: Implementation This section describes what the author went through during the ‘Implementation’ phase. It provides the answers to the following questions: · · · · · · · ·

Where was the project conducted? Who were the participants? How many participants were involved in the project? How long did it take for the project to be completed? How was the project conducted? Ð the methods, the timeline, whether it was a group or individual work etc. What form of assessment did the author use to measure the impacts/effectiveness of the project? In what ways can the outputs from the project be applied into real-life setting/workplace? What were the challenges/limitations faced during the implementation stage and how did the author solve the issues?

Phase 4: Reflection In this section, the author shares his/her reflection on the experience of conducting the project. The author may also share thoughts and feedbacks about the project from the learners’ perspectives. · · · · ·

What was the biggest challenge/limitation that the author faced when conducting the project? How did the author overcome the challenge/limitation? What was the author’s overall thoughts about the impact of the project on his/her teaching? How did the project impact learners? Was there any feedback from learners? What did the learners say about how the project had impacted their learning?

Phase 5: Revision – What’s next?

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This section describes the changes/improvements that the author had done, or planned to do, in order to make the project better. It also answers the following questions: · · ·

What area/s of the project can be further improved? Does the author’s teaching approach work well with educational technology? If so, in what way? If not, why? What’s next? How would the author bring the project further to the next level? Is there any future plan?

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Section 5

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Use in Science and Math Learning

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Chapter 36

Online Mathematics Teacher Education:

Examples From Professional Learning Programs for Inservice Teachers Jennifer Chauvot University of Houston, USA Stephen J. Pape Johns Hopkins University, USA Sherri K. Prosser https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1668-0245 Austin Peay State University, USA Kimberly Hicks Houston Independent School District, USA

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ABSTRACT In this chapter, the authors describe two online programs that sought to impact teachers’ content knowledge, pedagogical content knowledge, and instructional practices in K-12 classrooms. One program was a master’s program for middle grades science and mathematics teachers, and the other was a yearlong professional development program for third- through ffth-grade general and special education teachers. They share the theoretical perspectives that informed the design and implementation of the programs and outcomes from each program. Examples of learning activities from each of the programs are provided. The authors contend that deliberate, theoretically-based design and implementation of online professional development programs with science and mathematics teachers is not only viable but also vital in supporting teachers’ ongoing knowledge growth of learner-centered instruction.

DOI: 10.4018/978-1-7998-7294-8.ch036

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 Online Mathematics Teacher Education

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INTRODUCTION Online programs have emerged as venues for delivering instruction (Allen & Seaman, 2013) and are beginning to emerge in inservice teacher education. (e.g., Dash, deKramer, O’Dwyer, Masters, & Russell, 2012). “The need for professional development that is tailored to teachers’ busy schedules, that draws on valuable resources not available locally, and that provides work-embedded support has stimulated the creation of online teacher professional development programs” (Whitehouse, Breit, McCloskey, Ketelhut, & Dede, 2006, p. 13). Given the prevalence of online professional learning opportunities and the emergent nature of this practice, program developers, regardless of the delivery platform, need to consider several features that align with impactful professional learning contexts (see Darling-Hammond, Hyler, & Gardner, 2017). After a systematic review of empirical studies, Darling-Hammond et al. (2017) determined that effective professional development is content focused; incorporates active learning utilizing adult learning theory; supports collaboration that is typically in job-embedded contexts; uses models and modeling of effective practice; provides coaching and expert support; offers opportunities for feedback and reflection; and is of sustained duration. Professional learning communities, for example, constitute a collaborative, job-embedded professional development model that includes several features of effective professional learning and supports improved student outcomes (Darling-Hammond et al., 2017). Cohort models are one way to support the creation of professional learning communities. Within their implications for practice, Darling-Hammond et al. (2017) suggest technology-facilitated professional learning and coaching opportunities, particularly as a means to reach educators in rural communities and to support intradistrict and intraschool collaboration. Additionally, effective professional development should be responsive to the needs of educators and the contexts in which they practice (Darling-Hammond et al., 2017), which could be accomplished through subject area and grade level-specific content as well as activities that include modeling and authentic tasks. During face-to-face learning experiences, teacher educators model best practices as a way to teach about learner-centered instruction. Teacher educators are challenged to do the same within online settings. Research into how to effectively teach face-to-face practices within online contexts and ways teachers make sense of and translate what they learn in the online environment to the K-12 classroom has become imperative. This chapter will explore two online programs in teacher education that sought to impact teachers’ content knowledge, pedagogical content knowledge, and instructional practices in K-12 classrooms. It provides the underlying perspectives that inform the programs as well as outcomes from each of these projects. We will explore the feasibility and the power of online instruction with teachers that contribute to their professional growth. Finally, the development of effective online professional development programs provides potential support for all mathematics teachers especially in areas where professional development programs are difficult to attend (e.g., rural areas or congested large urban centers), which will lead to more equitable practices in mathematics education. We start with sharing the theoretical perspectives of Community of Inquiry (CoI) (Garrison, Anderson, & Archer, 2000) and transactional distance theory (Moore, 1993) that have informed our programs. Next, we describe the design, implementation, and outcomes from two programs – iSMART and Prime Online. We conclude with a reflection on each of these programs in relation to the findings of DarlingHammond et al. (2017) as well as the theoretical foundations for these programs.

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 Online Mathematics Teacher Education

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THEORETICAL UNDERPINNINGS Both of the programs described within this chapter were developed with consideration of the CoI work of Garrison, Anderson, and colleagues (e.g., Anderson, 2008; Garrison, 2006; Garrison & Arbaugh; 2007). From this perspective, learning within a higher education environment occurs within a community of learners (Garrison & Arbaugh, 2007). Thus, to engage adult learners, especially within online or blended learning environments, program and course developers should consider CoI core elements of collaboration, which refer to teaching, cognitive, and social presence. Teaching presence begins with the design of the learning activities and learning objects within the course. In addition, teaching presence depends on the ways the instructor facilitates the conversation through the course design and through engaging with the students’ interactions within the course. The ways in which the instructor facilitates the course directs students’ cognitive and social engagement. Social presence is the degree to which students are able to engage in the course from a community of learner perspective. This construct may be “described as the ability of learners to project themselves socially and emotionally, thereby being perceived as ‘real people’ in mediated communication” (Garrison & Arbaugh, 2007, p. 159). Social presence, therefore, is the degree to which the student can engage in meaningful and authentic ways by identifying with the community, developing inter-personal relationships, and projecting themselves into the course (Garrison, 2009). One way this can be taken up with practicing teachers is to include materials and activities that require them to engage their students (Lee & Martin, 2017). Making online learning directly applicable to program participants increases the potential that they may engage in the course materials. Social presence is supported through the careful design and facilitation of course content and is therefore directly related to teaching presence within the learning environment. Teaching presence and social presence enable the third element of the CoI framework, cognitive presence, which reflects the degree to which the learner is able to access and engage with the learning objects within the course. Garrison and colleagues (e.g., Garrison, Cleveland-Innes, & Fung, 2010) hold that cognitive presence is aligned with the four phases of the inquiry process. “The phases are definition of a problem or task; exploration for relevant information/knowledge; making sense of and integrating ideas; and, finally, testing plausible solutions” (Garrison et al., 2010, p. 32). According to the CoI framework, these phases of learning are facilitated by teaching presence and social presence (Garrison et al., 2010). There has been significant work to establish relationships among these constructs. Garrison et al. (2010) examined the relationships among the constructs in a survey design study using the Community of Inquiry Survey Instrument (Arbaugh et al., 2008; Swan et al., 2008) with 205 online students. The structural equation model provided evidence for the theoretical connections among the three elements proposed by the framework. Specifically, social presence is theorized to mediate between teaching and cognitive presence (Garrison et al., 2010). That is, teaching presence enables students to engage in the learning environment authentically, which provides the context for cognitive engagement. Further, Akyol and Garrison (2011), in a mixed methods study of the interactions within an online learning environment, suggest that participants’ perception of learning is associated with cognitive presence. There has also been significant work to establish associations between these elements of CoI and student learning outcomes. The relationships between teaching presence and student course satisfaction is one of the most researched (e.g., Akyol & Garrison, 2008; Arbaugh, 2008; Lee & Martin, 2017). Using social networking analysis, Tirado, Hernando, and Aguaded (2015) found a positive relationship between the level of cohesion and centralization, defined as the degree to which there was cohesion 715

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among participants and the centrality of communication to the whole group within an online context, were associated with social and cognitive presence. These factors are theorized to impact knowledge construction. Further, Prasad (2009) found that increased teaching presence was associated with the levels of students’ critical thinking. The associations between students’ perceptions of teaching, social, and cognitive presence may be related to the construct of transactional distance (Moore, 1993). According to this theory, students’ perception of the psychological distance between themselves and the learning objects within the environment impacts outcomes from this learning context. This distance may be a function of the CoI elements of collaboration discussed above. Although not directly drawing on the CoI framework, Stein, Wanstreet, Calvin, Overtoom, and Wheaton (2005) examined the relationship between dimensions of course structure (e.g., activities, assignments, instructor facilitation), and students’ satisfaction with the course and perceived knowledge gain. Across six courses that varied in course structure, satisfaction with course structure or design was related to satisfaction with learning outcomes. The design of the course is related to the activities and assignments we provide for learners. Teacher facilitation of discussion is also an important element of teaching presence. Thus, higher teaching presence may provide the support and structure necessary to decrease the psychological distance for the learner. Further, the ability to exert social presence through engaging in a course authentically, may decrease transactional distance. Reduced transactional distance may, in turn, allow for greater cognitive presence. Next, we share two successful online programs that were carefully designed to align with these theoretical underpinnings in different ways. We highlight the varied ways in which the program development and facilitation created a deep sense of CoI and decreased transactional distance for some of the participants.

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TWO EXAMPLES FROM PRACTICE The first project, Integration of Science, Mathematics, and Reflective Teaching, or iSMART, was a two-year funded1 online master’s program that focused on supporting middle grades science and mathematics teachers’ capacity to integrate science, mathematics, and technology in their classrooms and to develop and implement teacher leadership skills (Chauvot & Lee, 2015; Lee, Chauvot, Plankis, Vowell, & Culpepper, 2011). Four cohorts of 22-27 teachers across Texas were admitted each fall from 2010 to 2013; 94% of the teachers completed the program. This program delivered content 100% online using both synchronous and asynchronous venues. The second project, Prime Online2, was a Goal 2 Institute for Education Science funded professional development and research project that engaged two cohorts of approximately 15-20 third- through fifth-grade general and special education teachers. The focus of this project was teachers’ mathematics knowledge for teaching (MKT; Ball, Thames, & Phelps, 2008), instructional practices for all learners, and practitioner inquiry. The program was delivered asynchronously across a full year (i.e., three academic semesters—summer, fall, and spring).

Integration of Science, Mathematics, and Reflective Teaching (iSMART) Funding for iSMART was specific to middle grades science and mathematics teachers across Texas. Although the funding has ended, the mathematics education specialization of the Curriculum and Instruction M.Ed. program continues to be offered exclusively online in a similar format. As stated earlier, 716

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both synchronous and asynchronous formats were utilized; teachers met online in real-time for three hours a week, every other week, and engaged in asynchronous learning activities between synchronous sessions. Blackboard Learn was the course management platform that was used to deliver and manage the coursework. Blackboard Collaborate was used as the platform for synchronous instruction. Figure 1 highlights the key features that informed the delivery of the program. To explain further we use one of the activities in which teachers engaged, the Oil Spill Investigation, to describe the features of accountability and authentic learning opportunities to model best practices as denoted in Figure 1.

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Figure 1. ­

The Oil Spill Investigation is part of the curriculum of a course called Developing Proportional Reasoning, which was offered the first semester of the program. The main goals of the course were to develop and strengthen teachers’ proportional reasoning skills and concepts, to develop capacity to identify and assess key components of proportional reasoning, and to further develop content knowledge for teaching in the area of proportional reasoning. Teachers also analyzed state standards to identify where proportional reasoning concepts are developed and used across the science and mathematics curriculum in the middle grades. One intent of the investigation was for teachers to explore a context that can be modeled with direct variation and that represents ratio as rate. The investigation also provided a common experience from which to discuss instructional practices one might employ with middle grades children within investigations involving data collection and interpretation, including how mathematical relationships are represented within tables, algebraic expressions, and graphs. The instructions, modified from Annenberg Learner (2017), “Insights Into Algebra 1. Workshop 7”, are provided in Figure 2. As part of an asynchronous assignment, teachers simulated an oil spill and gathered data to describe the relationship between the amount of spilled oil and the area of the spread of oil. They used technology to find a line of best fit and explained the meaning of the slope and y-intercept. The activity design addressed individual accountability depicted in Figure 1 by having the data and interpretation of the data submitted as an individual assignment in Blackboard; teachers were also expected to “bring” this infor-

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 Online Mathematics Teacher Education

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Figure 2. ­

mation to the next synchronous class session for small-group sharing. In part two of the asynchronous assignment, teachers viewed Part I of a publicly available video from Annenberg Learner (2017) where a teacher, Peggy Lynn, engages in the same investigation with students. Finally, teachers submitted a reflection on the discussion board regarding what they noticed of Peggy Lynn’s instructional strategies. Before the next synchronous session, the instructor reviewed the individual submissions and the discussion board posts. A typical online synchronous session within the program modeled face-to-face practices. The intent was to provide authentic learning opportunities to model best practices (see Figure 1). The session provided 10 – 15 minutes for small-group discussion followed by a whole-group discussion. Groups of three to four teachers were randomly assigned to “breakout rooms”, a feature in Blackboard Collaborate, where they discussed their individual findings with one another. The instructor moved from room to room, noting the content of the small-group conversations, and used this information to facilitate a whole-group discussion related to the mathematics content as well as the pedagogical practices used both by Peggy Lynn and by the online instructor in implementing the investigation.

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The research agenda of the iSMART program attended to capturing what the teachers learned in the program and the extent their learning transferred to their classrooms. We share findings of one study that retrospectively followed four teachers from the first cohort, three science teachers (Ann, Misty, Taylor) and one mathematics teacher (Reagan) four years after graduating from the program but who had continued teaching middle grades science or mathematics (Hicks, 2016). Hicks investigated the extent of learning that transferred to the teachers’ classrooms and the program components that facilitated this transfer. Data included archived course artifacts as well as two interviews with each of the four teachers. Data analysis occurred in two phases. In phase one, course artifacts from the program and the transcribed interviews were analyzed using open coding analysis strategies (Creswell, 2013; Patton, 2002). Six themes emerged: (a) cohort model/ongoing collaboration with peers, (b) discourse, (c) technology, (d) the integration of science and mathematics (e) content knowledge transfer, and (f) pedagogical knowledge transfer. The second phase of analysis included coding of data within each theme to identify secondary codes to gain a deeper perspective of the teachers’ experiences. Each teacher had a unique experience but also a common shared experience (the iSMART program). In this chapter, we share specifically the theme of discourse and how it supported teacher learning as well as how instructional practices that fostered discourse transferred to the teachers’ classrooms. We chose this theme because the teachers themselves identified discourse as a pivotal change in their teaching practices. It is not surprising that discourse emerged as a theme. The lead faculty of the coursework of iSMART viewed inquiry-based instruction, which calls for meaningful discourse, as key in science and mathematics instruction (Lee et al., 2013). The science teacher educator, in the first-semester science education course, made the importance of discourse to the learning process explicit to the teachers through his instruction of the 5E lesson framework; his instruction focused on how the framework affords opportunities for discourse in K-12 classrooms. In fact, discourse was a topic that was explicitly unpacked in his course. Misty explained, If you focus on the components of the 5E model and constructivism, they inherently imply that the learning and methods for learning have to be student-centered. Discourse will make a difference, a positive difference in terms of the student creating meaningful knowledge. (Hicks, 2016, p. 89)

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The mathematics teacher educator used discourse by allowing productive struggle and asking probing questions in the online environment as an instructional practice to facilitate teacher learning. Taylor noted, in her first interview, the mathematics teacher educator’s synchronous instructional practices of questioning and her inclination to promote and allow for perturbation/productive struggle. Questioning and perturbation/productive struggle were two subthemes of discourse: What happened was, is that we were given a problem, and she picks these problems with intent. Then we can’t come to the solution. As the cohort...or as my group of 5.... or whoever was working together...if we couldn’t find the answer when she would come to us [online]… I do this [now] too because I loved it [emphases added], it was so brilliant... She comes and says, “Okay, well, since we’re having a hard time agreeing we’re going to step away from this problem and we’ll talk about it next week.” She did that over and over again. … We were like, “No we want the answer.” Then she came back, a week, 2 weeks later... “Okay, you remember that angst that you felt? Do you remember that feeling?” “Yes.” “Okay, I want you to remember that feeling and this is what it felt like. This is why.” (Hicks, 2016, p. 95)

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Taylor abstracted the online pedagogical practices from her own learning experience in the synchronous environment. Similarly, Reagan shared how studying the science of the Egg in the Jar Experiment, completed in a science education course, served as one of many catalysts of her thinking about discourse. In this experiment, the participants need a glass jar, a peeled, hard-boiled egg, a strip of paper, and a match. The small end of the egg is slightly larger than the mouth of the jar so it does not fit inside. The strip of paper is set on fire and dropped into the jar with the flame down. The egg is quickly placed on the mouth of the jar; the egg is then sucked into the jar. This experiment was demonstrated to the teachers via webcam during a synchronous session. Teachers then discussed the science content in breakout rooms within Blackboard Collaborate. Reagan explained that she felt that within this activity she experienced everything as a middle school student. She was intrigued by the experiment and had seen it before, but never tried it herself. Her team discussed their varied ideas about the phenomenon they had witnessed. She explained in her first interview: Through discourse, you are conveying your opinions using language to communicate. Language stimulates thinking. Without discourse I wouldn’t have been able to learn from my team. Without putting myself out there and fully believing in my naïve theory, I would have never seen the error in my ways. Enter social interaction. Understanding the rules, procedures, and structure of argument and debate is key to generating productive discourse between students, classmates, and the teacher (Hicks, 2016, p. 97) Reagan argued that because she experienced it herself, the activity showed her how perturbation could bring a new level of discourse in the classroom. Ann specifically pinpointed the Oil Spill Investigation and the impact it had on her understanding of facilitating discourse in her classroom. She identified the Peggy Lynn video as a source of insight into how she could increase inquiry and discourse in her own classroom. She noted how Peggy Lynn allowed for mistakes, anticipated struggle, and corrected misconceptions using student-generated results. She concluded that consistent probing and questioning was key to a successful lesson. She began to apply these principles in her own class over time and found these principles instrumental in getting her students to learn on a deeper level. All four teachers developed a robust understanding of a meaning of discourse and what it may look like in their respective classrooms. Multiple learning activities in iSMART contributed to this understanding and in different ways, for each teacher.

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“Prime Online” Three-Phase Session Model As a Goal 2 grant, the focus of Prime Online was to develop the program and collect preliminary evidence of its effectiveness. This yearlong (35 weeks) online professional development experience was for third- through fifth-grade general and special education teachers and focused on best practices for teaching mathematics, teaching students with learning disabilities, and teacher inquiry. As stated above, the main purpose of the program was to improve participants’ MKT (Ball et al., 2008). Additionally, it sought to support three aspects of what was considered the Prime Online stance, which reflected (a) the knowledge, skills, and dispositions to align instruction with the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) recommendations for student learning; (b) commitment to equitable practices for all students; and (c) classroom inquiry. 720

Research Anthology on Facilitating New Educational Practices Through Communities of Learning, edited by Association, Information Resources Management, IGI Global, 2020. ProQuest

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The program consisted of three segments that were each approximately one semester in length. The first segment focused on establishing a baseline understanding of the inclusive classroom. The second segment focused on deepening mathematics content and pedagogy. During the final segment, students were challenged to examine the application of the knowledge developed within the first two segments through classroom inquiry. Latent growth modeling using measures of MKT (i.e., Content Knowledge for Teaching – Mathematics; Learning Mathematics for Teaching, 2001a, 2001b) provided evidence of an increase in content knowledge across segments and an increase in participants’ knowledge of students from the beginning of the program through the midpoint. Participants’ evidenced a decrease in this latter measure by the end of the program. The sessions within the second segment, which is the focus of the present discussion, included number sense, basic operations of multiplication and division with whole numbers, and representations and operations with rational numbers. Throughout this segment, participants engaged in structured miniinquiry cycles that foregrounded the more elaborated inquiry cycle participants conducted during the third segment. Each of the 1-week sessions included three phases (i.e., Anticipatory Activity, Content Discussion, and Classroom Connections), which reflected a consistent pattern across the program. Figure 3 below shows the phases for Week 10, Number Sense.

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Figure 3. ­

At the beginning of each session, participants viewed an initial screen that provided an overview to introduce them to content for the week and listed the tasks within the three phases of the session. The introductory text served as navigational support for students as they engaged in the session. Participants were provided an overview of the activities for the week and learned about the materials they would need to complete the session’s assignments. Finally, the introductory screen included the goals and objectives for the session. The Anticipatory Activity served to activate teacher’s prior knowledge. It introduced participants to the primary module content by engaging them in foundational mathematics content at an adult level (e.g., operations with multidigit numbers; representing rational numbers in as many ways as possible). Typically, participants were asked to do mathematics and to focus their attention on their thinking and strategic behaviors. For example, in Week 10, Number Sense, participants were asked to conduct mental mathematics through the following prompt:

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If you didn’t know the answer to 36 x 8, how could you figure it out by using something that you do know? Your method should be something you can do in your head and should not rely on counting OR pencil and paper. Try to come up with more than one way to solve it. They were then asked to post their strategies and to review their colleagues’ work to look for commonalities that focused their attention on the underlying structure of number as they began their work to understand the value and importance of number sense. In the discussion forum, create a post to record all of the ways you computed 36 x 8 by using mental math other than counting. Examine your colleagues’ postings and submit several reactions to their solution strategies. What commonalities do you see in your colleagues’ posts? What was surprising or novel about their posts? Participants examined each other’s strategies, and the facilitator pushed their thinking to reflect on the commonalities among the strategies (e.g., decomposition of number in varied ways to simplify the mathematical operation). Similar to this activity, in another session, participants estimated operations with fractions and considered how they mentally performed the operation. A common type of activity in the Anticipatory Activity section required participants to construct a representation of a mathematics operation using several models (e.g., pictorial or several different manipulative materials appropriate for the mathematics). Participants were asked to upload photographs or drawings of their mathematical representations, which allowed participants to reflect upon the structure of the mathematical operation under exploration. In the session related to the operation of division, for example, participants were asked to use base-ten blocks to model partitive and quotative division problems. Figure 4 provides the discussion board prompt.

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Figure 4. ­

Similarly, during the fraction representation session, participants were asked to model common fractions in as many ways as they could and to upload these representations – figures, symbolic representations, and descriptions of the fractions in words. As students engaged one another, they commented on the different meanings of the representations as well as their commonalities. Figure 5 provides one student’s set of representations.

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Research Anthology on Facilitating New Educational Practices Through Communities of Learning, edited by Association, Information Resources Management, IGI Global, 2020. ProQuest

 Online Mathematics Teacher Education

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Figure 5. ­

Several other types of activities in the Anticipatory Activity section asked participants to examine students’ mathematical reasoning. Typically for this type of activity, participants were provided “student work” that reflected common error patterns. They were asked to diagnose the student’s error and to engage in the discussion forum with fellow participants about the strategies they could enact to support the student’s reconstruction of the buggy algorithm that was leading to the error pattern in the student work. In a final type of Anticipatory Activity, material from the first segment, effective teaching of mathematics for students with learning disabilities, was re-introduced as participants watched a model lesson on a state resource page. Participants were to reflect in the discussion forum about how the content of the video, a model lesson and the team problem-solving process, provided unique and powerful opportunities to support the mathematical understanding of students with learning disabilities. The content of the Anticipatory Activity was extended within the Content & Discussion phase of each session. In this phase, participants explored the focal mathematics content through reading profes-

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sional materials (e.g., articles, books, videos on websites). Each participant was provided a membership to NCTM so that they could access professional journals such as Teaching Children Mathematics. In addition, this membership provided opportunity for participants to engage with interactive materials on the NCTM website such as illuminations (https://illuminations.nctm.org/). Alternatively, the participants interacted with researcher-created materials (e.g., PowerPoints, handouts, videos). Several of the sessions provided video-recorded lectures relative to the mathematics content (e.g., the meaning of rational numbers). In one such video, one of the facilitators reviewed the meaning of fractions using a step-by-step decomposition of the content. One article that participants read was written from the student’s perspective. In “A Fifth-Grade Student Reflection Upon Learning Fractions Without Understanding,” Phillip and Vincent (2003) explore a fifth-grade student’s understandings and experiences learning mathematics. After reading this article, participants engaged in a discussion forum using the prompt in Figure 6 below. Figure 6. ­

In another example, when the participants were considering sociomathematical norms through a reading by Kazemi (1998), they were asked to respond to the prompt in Figure 7.

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Figure 7. ­

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In an example related to the Anticipatory Activity for number sense described above, participants were asked to read an article related to invented strategies for multidigit multiplication and division (Caliandro, 2000). Following this reading, participants reviewed a researcher-developed synopsis of the mathematics content outlining some of the material in the reading that outlined children’s invented strategies: often number-based rather than digit-based; typically begin with the larger or left-hand numbers; rely heavily on their number sense or their ability to decompose and recompose numbers; and are based, to a large extent, on the distributive property and number sense. Each of these descriptions included an illustrative example. Participants were then directed to Van de Walle (2004) for a more comprehensive list of strategies young learners may invent (e.g., repeated addition, partitioning strategies, compensation strategies) and subsequently asked to solve several selected multiplication problems using these strategies and to reflect on how these strategies may be applied to division problems. Participants were then prompted to engage in the discussion forum with the prompt in Figure 8. Figure 8. ­

A follow-up discussion forum prompt asked participants to upload their representations of two-digit by two-digit multiplication and respond to two questions:

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1. Think about each step you took while modeling each multiplication problem using the base ten blocks. How does the motion with the manipulative materials support an understanding of the partial products algorithm for multiplication? 2. Compute these products using the traditional algorithm. How is the partial product algorithm for multiplication similar to or different from the traditional algorithm for multiplication? Stimulating deep discussion relative to participants’ mathematics work was difficult in the online space, but this unique space may have allowed all students to reflect on the mathematical steps they took and to explain them for their colleagues. The explanations of mathematics throughout the program provided ample modeling of the possible types of explanations. To facilitate authentic initial explanations of the mathematics, we suggest that participants be blocked from viewing their colleagues’ posts before they submit their initial post. Many learning management systems have the option to turn on this feature, but unfortunately this feature was not readily known when this program was developed. At times, it seemed that participants were reviewing others’ statements prior to their initial post and referring to them to guide their mathematical thinking.

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Research Anthology on Facilitating New Educational Practices Through Communities of Learning, edited by Association, Information Resources Management, IGI Global, 2020. ProQuest

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The third phase of each session was called Classroom Connection. Within this phase of the week-long session, participants were asked to reflect on their engagement with the content and their implementation of some element of the session in their classroom during the week. They were asked to examine only one aspect of the session content in their classrooms or to engage in a mini-inquiry cycle. These cycles of inquiry usually started with a wondering, a reflection on the way students solved some of the problems that we had posed to the teachers with adult-appropriate numbers during the Anticipatory Activity, for example. Common Classroom Connection activities asked the teachers to participate in one-to-one and small group teaching episodes, collect student data, and post their students’ work. In one session, the participants were asked to engage with students over a couple of weeks and collect progress-monitoring data. Figure 9 is an example prompt: Figure 9. ­

The session ended typically with a facilitator announcement, which summarized, analyzed, and synthesized participants’ discussions. Participants were often asked to reflect on several of the points of discussion from the week through probing questions. We next include a discussion on each of these programs in relation to the findings of Darling-Hammond et al. (2017) as well as the theoretical foundations for these programs.

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IMPLICATIONS FOR ONLINE COURSE DESIGN WITH TEACHERS Professional development is considered effective when there is a positive correlation among the professional development program, instructional practices, and student outcomes (Darling-Hammond et al., 2017). Effective professional development programs have seven shared design features: content focused, active learning, collaboration, use of models and modeling, coaching and expert support, feedback and reflection, and sustained duration (Darling-Hammond et al., 2017); both iSMART and Prime Online had all seven features. It is likely the collective effect of these integral design features that led to teachers’ growth in MKT in the Prime Online professional development program and supported the iSMART program goals of improved teacher content knowledge and instructional practices. For Prime Online, change in MKT was evidenced by pre-, mid-, and post-assessments of teachers’ content and pedagogical content knowledge. For iSMART, knowledge construction was documented via analysis of course artifacts such as

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midterms and final exams, teacher analysis of student interviews, and asynchronous discussion boards. The following provides a discussion of the connections within and across the two online mathematics professional learning programs as well as connections to the CoI framework (e.g., Garrison et al., 2000) and transactional distance (Moore, 1993).

Content Focus Content-focused professional development is concentrated on a specific subject matter, such as mathematics, is often job embedded, and provides opportunities for teachers to engage with a new curriculum or study their students’ work (Darling-Hammond et al., 2017). Both iSMART and Prime Online professional learning programs were content focused. The iSMART program included content on middle grades science and mathematics, curricular reform, and learner-centered instruction. The Prime Online program content course focused on Grades 3-5 mathematics (e.g., number sense, operations with whole and rational numbers). Prime Online teachers studied state standards as well as student work samples, particularly those students with mathematics learning difficulties, and engaged in mini inquiry cycles. As assignments and activities are related to students’ satisfaction and perceived knowledge gain (Stein et al., 2005), inclusion of content-focused course activities may support teaching presence as well as decreasing transactional distance and increasing engagement in active learning.

Active Learning In contrast to professional development that is lecture focused, teachers engaged in active learning such as interactive activities and engaged with authentic artifacts (e.g., student work) to learn mathematics content and transform their instructional practices (Darling-Hammond et al., 2017). Participants in both professional learning programs referred to student work samples and interviewed their students (i.e., clinical interviews), based on course topics, to understand student thinking. The iSMART participants engaged in hands-on lessons delivered through both asynchronous and synchronous sessions. The Prime Online cohorts used mathematical representations each session to (a) engage in mathematical analysis, (b) think through alternative representations, (c) justify their explanations, and (d) compare and contrast their explanations with those of their peers, as was recommended by Hill, Ball, and Schilling (2008).

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Collaboration Teacher collaboration supports professional learning and problem solving and includes one-on-one, small-group, faculty-wide, or intra-school interactions (Darling-Hammond et al., 2017). The iSMART program established a cohort system to facilitate collective reflection and sharing within cohorts. The program also used real-time (i.e., online synchronous) interaction to develop and broaden ideas among cohort members. The asynchronous Prime Online program sought to establish and maintain a community of learners with their cohort model. To support collaborative interactions, the course facilitators presented and modeled norms for effective communication, thereby potentially decreasing the psychological distance among the learners and between the learners and the facilitators. Cohort members were divided into small groups, according to their grade level, which may have supported social presence, and worked together on course activities and created deliverables to share with the entire cohort as part of a larger asynchronous discussion. 727

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Use of Models and Modeling Curricular models and modeling of instruction allows teachers to see best practices in action (DarlingHammond et al., 2017). Examples of models and/or modeling that support effective professional development include videos or written vignettes of teaching, demonstration lessons, lesson plans, peer observation, and the use of curricular materials such as assessments and student work (Darling-Hammond et al., 2017). The CoI construct of cognitive presence involves exploration, integration of ideas, and testing possible solutions (Garrison et al., 2010), which can be accomplished through models and modeling. The iSMART program used hands-on and integrated learning activities. Synchronous class meetings allowed university faculty to model whole-class science and mathematics instruction, such as the oil spill lesson and the egg in the jar experiment. Evidence of modeling of instructional best practices was provided in links to quality online resources and by teachers developing and reflecting upon lessons and activities specific to their classrooms. The Prime Online program also used Internet resources, such as applets (e.g., Broken Calculator) and activities found on professional websites (e.g. NCTM); publicly available, commercially prepared videos of teaching for analysis and reflection; and researcher-created videos on division of multi-digit whole numbers, which was followed by classroom implementation and reflection.

Coaching and Expert Support Coaches and content experts (e.g., university faculty, master teachers, instructional leaders) can provide one-on-one assistance, facilitate workshops or mentor remotely, such as sharing content expertise and “supporting group discussion and collaborative analysis of student work” (Darling-Hammond et al., 2017, p. 12). The iSMART program had content-expert university faculty/mathematics teacher educators as the primary instructors, who provided both synchronous and asynchronous instruction. The Prime Online program also had a content-expert university faculty/mathematics teacher educator lead the mathematicsspecific course but, as an asynchronous program, the instructors mentored remotely. In both cases, the content expert provided discussion facilitation, and consistent leadership was maintained throughout multiple iterations of the program. The design element of expert support via instructor facilitation may be key to decreasing transactional distance and increasing teaching presence.

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Feedback and Reflection Effective professional development provides teachers with time to “think about, receive input on, and make changes to their practice by facilitating reflection and soliciting feedback” (Darling-Hammond et al., 2017, p. vi). Feedback should be constructive and supportive and can be in oral or written form; reflection can be individual and metacognitive (i.e., reflecting on one’s own thinking) or a public group debrief (Darling-Hammond et al., 2017), which aligns with communicating purposively and the CoI construct of social presence (Garrison, 2009). The iSMART teachers investigated and reflected on how children make sense of science and mathematics and learned about the scientific and mathematical processes in which their students should be engaged. They reflected on their instructional practices and desired changes by evaluating a curricular program or examining specific strategies and the subsequent student outcomes, which culminated in a “Study of Practice Project.” Teachers received one round of feedback from two peers as well as feedback from iSMART faculty. Prime Online teachers conducted 728

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mini inquiry cycles throughout the year and culminated in a semester-long teacher inquiry cycle related to mathematics content and pedagogical knowledge gained during the previous two semesters. Teachers were given feedback each session by the course instructor as well as their small group (i.e., grade level) peers. Synchronous public sharing of each inquiry project occurred at the end of the program, where program leaders and peers provided additional feedback (see Dana, Pape, Griffin, & Prosser, 2017). Part of each session’s activities included multiple opportunities for teachers to compare their mathematical thinking with their peers while looking for commonalities or to examine students’ mathematical thinking and error patterns and describe their interactions (e.g., clinical interviews) with their students. Course facilitators provided feedback on discussion board posts, prompting one participant to explain participantfacilitator interaction as “more conversation as opposed to assignment.”

Sustained Duration Effective professional development provides multiple opportunities for continued engagement with content and pedagogy and often spans weeks, months, or an academic year (Darling-Hammond et al., 2017). Common formats include an initial intensive workshop with follow-up sessions or regularly spaced, similarly structured sessions, both of which provide a cycle in which teachers can apply the professional development content to their classrooms and refine their understandings (Darling-Hammond et al., 2017). Teachers in the iSMART cohorts were enrolled in a 2-year master’s program and teachers in the Prime Online cohorts took three master’s-level courses over one calendar year. The iSMART program followed a structure of one 3-hour synchronous class meeting every other week with an expectation of 3 hours of asynchronous coursework. The Prime Online program was entirely asynchronous and followed a similarly structured sessions with three elements: Anticipatory Activity, Content and Discussion, and Classroom Connections. Both programs provided sustained examination of content, curriculum, and pedagogy.

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CONCLUSION We shared the design, implementation, and outcomes of two online professional development programs for science and mathematics inservice teachers that delivered different content, used different delivery platforms, and employed different instructional strategies. Both were grounded in learning theories central to science and mathematics education and in line with what would be considered best practices for teaching in face-to-face environments. We acknowledge that teaching about face-to-face learnercentered instruction in online environments is complex, however the design of learning opportunities for instruction in online platforms is akin to the design for instruction in face-to-face environments in that both require deliberate sequencing of engagement with content with the tools at hand and based in learning theories that link to positive learner outcomes.

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Stein, D. S., Wanstreet, C. E., Calvin, J., Overtoom, C., & Wheaton, J. E. (2005). Bridging the transactional distance gap in online learning environments. American Journal of Distance Education, 19(2), 105–118. doi:10.120715389286ajde1902_4 Swan, K. P., Richardson, J. C., Ice, P., Garrison, D. R., Cleveland-Innes, M., & Arbaugh, J. B. (2008). Validating a measurement tool of presence in online communities of inquiry. E-mentor, 2(28). Retrieved from www.e-mentor.edu.pl/eng Tirado, R., Hernando, A., & Aguaded, J. I. (2015). The effect of centralization and cohesion on the social construction of knowledge in discussion forums. Interactive Learning Environments, 23(3), 293–316. doi:10.1080/10494820.2012.745437

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Whitehouse, P., Breit, L., McCloskey, E., Ketelhut, D. J., & Dede, C. (2006). An overview of current findings from empirical research on online teacher professional development. In C. Dede (Ed.), Online professional development for teachers: Emerging models and methods (pp. 13–30). Cambridge, MA: Harvard Education Press.

ADDITIONAL READING Calvert, L. (2016). Moving from compliance to agency: What teachers need to make professional learning work. Oxford, OH: Learning Forward and National Commission on Teaching & America’s Future; Retrieved from https://learningforward.org/docs/default-source/pdf/teacheragencyfinal.pdf Clarke, D., & Hollingsworth, H. (2002). Elaborating a model of teacher professional growth. Teaching and Teacher Education, 18(8), 947–967. doi:10.1016/S0742-051X(02)00053-7 Cobb, P., Wood, T., & Yackel, E. (1990). Classrooms as learning environments for teachers and researchers. In R. B. Davis, C. A. Mayer, & N. Noddings (Eds.), Constructivist views on the teaching and learning of mathematics (pp. 125–146). Reston, VA: National Council of Teachers of Mathematics. Covay Minor, E., Desimone, L. M., Caines Lee, J., & Hochberg, E. (2016). Insights on how to shape teacher learning policy: The role of teacher content knowledge in explaining differential effects of professional development. Education Policy Analysis Archives, 24(61), 1–34. doi:. 2365 doi:10.14507/epaa.24 Edwards, A. R., Sandoval, C., & McNamara, H. (2015). Designing for improvement in professional development for community college developmental mathematics faculty. Journal of Teacher Education, 66(5), 466–481. doi:10.1177/0022487115602313 Marrongelle, K., Sztajn, P., & Smith, M. (2013). Scaling up professional development in an era of Common State Standards. Journal of Teacher Education, 64(3), 202–211. doi:10.1177/0022487112473838 Martin, L. E., Kragler, S., Quatroche, D. J., & Bauserman, K. L. (Eds.). (2014). Handbook of professional development in education: Successful models and practices, PreK–12. New York, NY: Guilford Press.

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Polly, D., Wang, C., McGee, J., Lambert, R. G., Martin, C. S., & Pugalee, D. (2014). Examining the influence of a curriculum-based elementary mathematics professional development program. Journal of Research in Childhood Education, 28(3), 327–343. doi:10.1080/02568543.2014.913276

KEY TERMS AND DEFINITIONS Asynchronous Online Instruction: We define asynchronous online instruction to be the delivery of content in an online environment where the group is not required to be physically present at a designated time or place. Face-to-Face Instruction: We define face-to-face instruction to be the delivery of content in a face-to-face environment where the group is required to be physically present at a designated time and a designated place.

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Synchronous Online Instruction: We define synchronous online instruction to be the delivery of content in an online environment where the group is required to be physically present at a designated time at physical locations that may be different for each member of the group.

ENDNOTES 1



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The iSMART program was funded by the Greater Texas Foundation. The opinions expressed are those of the authors and do not represent views of the Greater Texas Foundation. Prime Online was supported by the National Center for Special Education Research, Institute of Education Sciences, U.S. Department of Education, through Grant No. R324A100196. The opinions expressed are those of the authors and do not represent views of the U.S. Department of Education. We gratefully acknowledge all the teachers and students for their support and participation in the study.

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This work was previously published in the Handbook of Research on Online Pedagogical Models for Mathematics Teacher Education; pages 1-21, copyright year 2020 by Information Science Reference (an imprint of IGI Global).

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Chapter 37

A Guide to Professional Learning for Secondary Mathematics Teachers Karen M. Hamond New England College, USA

ABSTRACT After implementing a professional learning program for mathematics teachers in grades fve to twelve with success, this author is providing details as to how it was done and how others can do the same. Included is a literature review of relevant topics such as andragogy, brain research, self-efcacy, growth mindset, distributed leadership, and creating a professional learning community. Quantitative and qualitative research results from the author’s initial professional learning program is used to explain the reason for the suggestions made. The curriculum is divided into fve sessions of approximately two hours each.

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INTRODUCTION Mathematics is a difficult subject to learn and to teach. In this researcher’s experiences teaching mathematics for the last forty years, it was found that most general professional development (now called professional learning) provided only bits and pieces that were applicable to mathematics teaching, and fellow secondary mathematics teachers concurred. Borko (2004) adds, “Despite recognition of its importance, the professional development currently available to teachers is woefully inadequate” (p. 3). Many teachers did not believe they gained enough from professional learning compared to all their time and effort. Borko (2004) suggests we remain optimistic, “Research provides evidence that intensive professional development programs can help teachers to increase their knowledge” (p. 5) but also states, “Professional development programs that include an explicit focus on subject matter can help teachers develop these powerful understandings” (p. 5). Graham (2007) concurs, “Results demonstrated that professional learning community activities – that comprised same-subject, same-grade teacher teams – had the potential to achieve significant improvements in teaching effectiveness” (p. 1). DOI: 10.4018/978-1-7998-7294-8.ch037

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 A Guide to Professional Learning for Secondary Mathematics Teachers

For this study, participants were involved in a professional learning program that was developed specifically for experienced secondary mathematics teachers and dealt exclusively with topics concerning secondary mathematics. The results from this study were used to develop the guide generated for this chapter and offer a plan for a new professional learning program for secondary mathematics teachers. David Sousa’s (2015) text, How the Brain Learns Mathematics offers the common understandings implemented in this chapter, and this training can be used to effectively offer the program either in person or online. Secondary mathematics teachers have to fight the belief of many students thinking they cannot do mathematics (Boaler, 2016). Therefore, teachers of mathematics have to work hard to give students who struggle to learn mathematics the strategies and coping skills to grow their mindsets (Dweck, 2010). Mathematics teachers can help students who believed they would never be good in mathematics change their thinking. When teaching, “the aim is to get students to learn the skills of teaching themselves – to self-regulate their learning” (Hattie, 2009, p. 245). As students realize they can meet the challenge of figuring out mathematical connections, their mindset will become one of growth, providing them with a willingness to learn more mathematics (Dweck, 2010). An important component for students in learning mathematics is believing in themselves and feeling that they can learn mathematics. If students can convert how they think about learning mathematics into a growth mindset (Dweck, 2010), they will increase their self-efficacy (Bandura, 1997) to learn mathematics (Boaler, 2016). Thinking about how students learn mathematics is an important way to guide secondary mathematics teachers into thinking about more effective ways to help their students. Mathematics teachers understand ideas based on research and are more willing to use them, since that is what they were taught to do when studying mathematics. The guide developed in this chapter contains two main sections. Section one is an explanation of the methodology used, based on the literature review, for each of three program themes: a. pedagogical theory and practice used, b. results of the research, and c. type of educational leadership needed as the professional learning is implemented. Section two gives suggested details of the curriculum for the new professional learning program, based on five sessions. There are sub-sections written about each of the three program themes and each of the five sessions of the professional learning program. Based on a review of the literature, effective pedagogical theories and practices are used to describe the ideas behind how effective professional learning should be conducted. More specifically, since the professional learning program is dedicated to the instructional needs of the adult learner, andragogy, the pedagogy of adults, is used as the basis for the learning activities in the professional learning process. In addition, this chapter will explain how we can use information concerning how the brain learns in order to improve mathematics instruction. The results of this study were used to develop A Guide to Professional Learning for Secondary Mathematics Teachers, which will hopefully give mathematics teachers and their trainers a more effective professional development system. The section for the research component includes a literature review of the theories of self-efficacy and growth mindset, explaining how these prompted this researcher to create the professional learning program as it is designed. The findings from the initial professional learning program are described in this chapter, and the feedback and data from participants are used to explain how this plan for a new professional learning program was influenced. The educational leadership part brings it all together, describing how this research, as well as the work of others, drives the professional learning highlighted in this guide. The educational leadership component includes information obtained concerning making professional learning programs effective and creating a professional learning community as a result. For this professional learning program to instruct secondary mathematics educators, the facilitator (leader) must care about mathematics instruction 735

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and must care about the participants. Since the leadership style used for this program is based on distributed leadership, the term of facilitator is better than leader. As a result, this chapter includes a literature review that includes the latest research on distributed leadership and professional learning communities. The curriculum portion includes an agenda and details of how to follow it for each session, based on experiences and feedback received from the teacher-participants. Each of the five chapters in the curriculum section, one written for each session of the professional learning, includes notes concerning the use of David Sousa’s How the Brain Learns Mathematics (2015). Teachers of mathematics will find the book useful, since it provides an understanding of how the ability to understand mathematics develops in a person’s brain. It also delves into what we need to do as teachers in order to help our students learn mathematics. Note that this professional learning program could also be made into an online course, with the discussions done as discussion posts. Teacher-participants can read the book, observe others, watch the videos, and continually post their thoughts and observations. What was especially exciting in the initial professional learning program was when teacher participants offered articles to read, websites to visit, or videos to watch, which meant they were excited about this experience and felt like a real part of a professional learning community. This component consisting of allowing the teacher-participants to add to the material offered should be part of the program and encouraged, even if the program is offered online.

PART I: PROGRAM THEMES Pedagogical Theory and Practice: Andragogy

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The participants of the professional learning program are adults, therefore, Andragogy, the study of adult learning, is the basis for this training process. It is important to remember that the brain is capable of learning throughout life (Knowles, Holton, & Swanson, 2015), which tells us that professional learning programs can be effective in training adults. According to Holmes and Abington-Cooper (2000), adults learn better through “a self-directed, experiential, problem-solving approach” (p. 2), with the goal to help them “to become self-directed learners” (p. 2). They should not be taught in the same way as young people. The goal of this professional learning program is to provide teachers with information that directly relates to their career (mathematical thinking and learning), guiding them to think about how to use the information in ways to assist their students in learning mathematics. Such a professional learning program can have power, since …andragogy has long been recognized as being particularly strong at creating positive emotions in adults during learning experiences because of the climate of “adultness” that is created. Adult educators have observed that when these conditions are present, adults are more motivated to learn and learn more easily. (Knowles, Holton, & Swanson, 2015, p. 222) The creation of positive emotions and motivation to learn, as well as having the learning come easily for the participants, is exactly what we are hoping to achieve for the teacher-participants. By understanding the characteristics of adult learners, the facilitator of this professional learning program will be better able to develop lessons and experiences that align with such characteristics. Holmes and Abington-Cooper (2000) provide four assumptions about adult learners: a. They are more 736

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self-directed than young people; b. they have a great deal of experience that adds to their knowledge; c. their desire to learn is based on their social and career-oriented roles; and d. the need for immediate application drives their perspective. Whereas young people are more concerned with learning information and skills, adults are more concerned with learning about resources and procedures to guide them to the information and skills (Holmes & Abington-Cooper, 2000). Davenport and Davenport (1985) found that adults prefer to learn independently (they are more self-directed), while young students prefer their learning to be teacher-directed. Adults do not necessarily learn in the same way that young people do, since they have more immediate goals related to their career or personal life and come to the learning with a great deal of experience (Knowles, 1980; Prather, 2015). Prather and Knowles describe adult learning as an internal need, wanting to be responsible for their own learning, and wanting the learning to relate to their life. Crawford (2011) adds the adult desire to understand why they need to learn something before they can begin to learn it. Kenner and Weinerman (2011) describe adult learners as having learning styles that are driven by their experiences and by having a desire for more of a cooperative relationship with the teacher. Their description of adult learners includes the work of Knowles (1984), who characterized adult learners as: a. self-directed, b. willing to take responsibility for what they do, c. resistant to having information arbitrarily imposed on them, d. basing their identity on their experiences, e. ready to learn, and f. task motivated (Kenner & Weinerman, 2011, pp. 88-89). Knowles (1980) has stated, “Because adults define themselves largely by their experience, they have a deep investment in its value” (p. 50). As a result of their experiences, they have more to contribute, they have more with which to relate, and they have more fixed ideas (Knowles, 1980). Crawford (2011) adds, “…using case studies and group discussions among the learners so that they can share their perspectives and life experiences with their fellow learners” as an important component of professional learning. Adults love to share their experiences with others. Knowles (1980) adds, since adults value experience, they are only willing to change fixed ideas when they experience something different from those ideas. Therefore, experiential learning is a key component of the type of learning adults need in order to guide them to see value in new strategies for teaching. In order to make the learning relevant for adult learners, Knowles (1980) suggests that the learning should begin with a self-diagnosis by the participants, since “they are more deeply motivated to learn those things they see the need to learn” (p. 47). Knowles suggests including an activity in which participants are asked, “What are you hoping to get out of this (program)” (p. 54)? He describes it as “helping students learn for themselves what they want to learn” (p. 56). Knowles explains that by acknowledging and centering the learning on the problem areas of the participants, the teachers will see that their immediate concerns have become immediate concerns for the learning program. Crawford (2011) emphasizes: An effective method is to address specific topics of immediate concern and then expand to how it can be applied in other situations. However, the learner needs to know why the concept to be learned is important in order for the learner to remain motivated. (p. 2) Knowles (1980) advises to reach for relevance by having “a perspective of immediacy of application” (p. 53). If teachers are directed to leave a session of the proposed professional learning with one or more strategies and ideas to try before the next session, this relevance will be reached. Marzano (in Heitin, 2011) suggests that teachers be allowed to choose which strategies they want to work on (p. 6). It will be important to ask teachers to go back to what they hoped to get out of the program throughout the sessions, in order to make the professional learning program as helpful and meaningful as possible. 737

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Readiness to learn is another important aspect to adult learning. “People become ready to learn something when they experience a need to learn it in order to cope more satisfyingly with real-life tasks or problems” (Knowles, 1980, p. 44). For this reason, the participants need to be somewhat like-minded by having similar needs and by valuing this type of self-directed learning. As Crawford (2011) explains, “They need to be surrounded by other self-directed learners and grouped in a manner that they can learn new perspectives from learners with different, but applicable experiences” (p. 2). This is why the professional learning program needs to be exclusively for secondary mathematics teachers. Be prepared to be asked about this targeted audience by the professional development planning committee. Above all, an emphasis must be put on an environment in which all participants feel safe to share their ideas and try new things. Crawford (2011) explains, “Within a supportive environment, the learner might learn new approaches or methodologies from their fellow learners over time” (p. 2). Crawford describes this as a way to encourage life-long learning. Since teachers are adults, findings concerning andragogy have a direct connection to the planning of this professional learning. Mohlman, Kierstead, and Gundlach (1982) shared that the teachers responded to their workshop in the following way: “They were especially pleased that the workshops emphasized practical, specific techniques that were easily transferred to the classroom” (p. 18), which corroborates the description of what adults want for professional learning. Crawford (2011) describes it in this way: “Andragogy reorients adult educators from educating people to helping them learn” (p. 2). It will be important to have the teachers try out strategies as they move through the professional learning, observing each other, and offering feedback for each other. Prather (2015) adds,

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The real issue that underpins the professional development of teachers … lies in the vast differences between child learners and adult learners. That should be obvious, but the execution of most professional development illustrates that the differences have not been fully considered. When professional development providers deliver PDs by lecturing, for example, the delivery method itself works against the very principles of how adults learn. (p. 1) Discussions amongst the participants, rather than lectures by the facilitator/presenter, will also model strategies teachers should be using. Prather (2015) emphasizes the need for experiential learning with direct application and Knowles (1980) emphasizes, “People attach more meaning to learnings they gain from experience than those they acquire passively. Accordingly, the primary techniques in education are experiential techniques - laboratory experiments, discussion, problem-solving cases, simulation exercises, field experience, and the like” (p. 44). A focus on teaching mathematics through studies of the brain learning mathematics gives teachers some of the practical and thought-provoking content they need, but it is important to incorporate discussions, observations of participants as they teach, and possible simulations within the program in order to make the learning experiential.

Using Information Concerning How the Brain Learns to Improve Mathematics Instruction A question often discussed is whether teaching is an art or a science. We usually agree that it is both, but it is becoming more certain that the planning part of teaching is turning into more of a science. As we learn more about how the brain works, we can use this scientific information to plan our lessons. This is

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true for any subject. Some aspects to consider are the timing of each part of the lesson, whether or not to require students to take notes, and how to instill sense and meaning into the lesson. Teachers must consider the timing of the lesson in more than one way. How much students can hear and focus on at one time is one aspect to consider. David Sousa (2015) explains: An adolescent (or adult) normally can process an item in working memory intently for 10 to 20 minutes before fatigue or boredom with that item occurs and the individual’s focus drifts. For focus to continue, there must be some change in the way the individual is dealing with the item. As an example, the person may switch from listening to an explanation of a concept to physically applying it or talking to someone else about it or making connections to other learnings. (p. 48) Teachers of mathematics may consider this idea easy to apply, since they often give students one or more examples to try after introducing the new concept. However, there are other aspects to consider. The primacy-recency effect is another important aspect of timing of a lesson. Simply put, “we tend to remember best that which comes first and remember second best that which comes last” (Sousa, 2015, p. 57). Sousa explains that students reach their highest degree of memory retention within the first five minutes of class. This degree of retention begins to decrease after about five minutes, reaching its lowest point after the first twenty minutes of class. After the first twenty-five minutes of class, the degree of retention begins to increase again, reaching another fairly high degree of retention in the last five minutes of class (Sousa, 2015, pp. 57-58). Most teachers of secondary mathematics use the first fifteen or twenty minutes of class going over homework. Although going over the homework is important, since what the students are learning often builds on what they learned the day before, it is crucial that students only learn how to do things right at this time, since this is what they will remember best. Teachers need to consider what they most want the students to remember from the lesson and teach that in the time of the highest degree of retention. The end of the class, another high point of retention, should be used as a time for students to actively review what they have learned. Writing about what they learned is beneficial at this time, as long as they learned correctly, since they will remember what they write. Sousa (2015) explains:

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Writing enhances the learner’s ability to organize, understand, analyze, and reflect on the new learning. In addition to requiring focus, writing provides another modality for processing information and skills, thereby helping the student find sense and meaning, and increasing the likelihood that the new learning will be remembered. (p. 62) From personal experiences as an observer of math teachers, many times mathematics teachers use the end of class as a time to allow students to begin their homework. That is not a bad idea, since it allows students to make sure they understand, with the teacher nearby to help them if they need assistance, but teachers need to realize that this is an ideal time to ensure that what has been taught will be remembered. Too many students put their work away, saying they are tired, or do their work quickly, just to get it done, not worrying whether they are doing it correctly and understanding it. Therefore, teachers should rethink how they use this valuable time. Should the teacher require students to take notes? David Sousa (2015) thinks so, noting that “researchers suggest that because writing by hand is slower than typing, these students’ brains had to listen, process, and then jot down a summary of the new learning. These cerebral processes apparently enhanced 739

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understanding and retention” (p. 49). It will be eye-opening for teachers to realize that they need to think about the science behind their lesson planning.

How Andragogy and Brain Research Influence This Professional Learning Program As a result of this information, although the main reading, the book, How the Brain Learns Mathematics by David Sousa (2015), is chosen by the presenter, other readings and activities will be offered based on the discussions, needs of the participants, and suggestions from the participants. On the occasions that there are choices of readings and activities, it should be planned that the participants will be allowed to choose independently, with a variety of groups produced so that those who choose the same reading or activity can work together. This, of course, depends on the number of participants. According to Knowles (1980), “the psychological definition of adulthood is the point at which individuals perceive themselves to be essentially self-directing” (p. 46). Since part of this self-direction is to allow adults to make their own choices, participation in this program needs to be on a voluntary basis. Crawford (2011) explains this in terms of the learner’s self-concept: Adults have a self-concept of being responsible for their own decisions, for their own lives. Once they have arrived at that self-concept they develop a deep psychological need to be seen by others and treated by others as being capable of self-direction. (p. 1) Crawford also explains this in terms of adult motivation:

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While adults are responsive to some external motivators (better jobs, promotions, higher salaries, and the like), the most potent motivators are internal pressures (the desire for increased job satisfaction, self-esteem, quality of life and the like). (p. 1) Adults cannot be forced to participate and learn, but if the participants can be made to feel a sense of self-direction, a source of self-efficacy (Bandura, 1997), the physiological component, will be reached. This physiological component can also be met if the facilitator encourages an informal atmosphere during the program, beginning with keeping everyone on a first-name basis. In addition, “people tend to feel more adult in an atmosphere that is friendly and informal, in which they are known by name and valued as unique individuals” (Knowles, 1980, p. 47). The positive physiological component created in this way is intended to raise the self-efficacy of the teacher-participants. Teachers must enhance their professional growth for recertification, step raises, and for their personal professional growth. This professional learning is planned to reach both the internal and external motivators of the participants by meeting all three of these growth areas. Teachers in Massachusetts, for example, receive content PDPs (Professional Development Points) for professional learning, which are needed for recertification of their teaching credential every five years. In addition, some schools offer in-house PDPs, including the schools used for the roll-out of this professional learning program. Teachers can accumulate these in-house PDPs for step raises. Information on such external motivators is corroborated by Mizell (2010), who writes, “Many states mandate such work for educators to renew their certification or advance on the pay scale” (p. 22). It may be possible to offer graduate credit through a local college, as well. Such rewards can enhance the desire for professional learning and increase its worth. 740

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RESEARCH

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Self-Efficacy Self-efficacy has power in teaching. Teacher self-efficacy is defined as how confident teachers feel about their ability to help their students learn (Stevens, Aguirre-Munoz, Harris, Higgins, & Liu, 2013). Pajares (2009) cautions that this is not the same as “outcome expectations” (p. 1), described as having an understanding of the consequences of teaching in a certain way. For a teacher, self-efficacy is more of an understanding of one’s own capabilities for teaching (Pajares, 2009). Most important of all is the research telling us that teacher self-efficacy has been found to directly affect student learning (Anderson, Greene, & Loewen, 1988; Cannon & Scharmann, 1996; Hoy, 2000; Ross, 1992; Stevens, et al., 2013; Tschannen-Moran & McMaster, 2009) and student motivation to learn (Midgley, Feldlaufer, & Eccles, 1989; Tschannen-Moran & McMaster, 2009). It is important to study teacher self-efficacy, since “instructional self-efficacy has proved to be one of the most powerful teaching beliefs that influence teacher classroom behavior and student outcomes” (Narvaez, Khmelkov, Vaydich, & Turner, 2008, p. 1). Jerald (2007) adds that efficacy beliefs “exert an indirect influence on student achievement by virtue of the direct effect they have on teachers’ classroom behaviors and attitudes” (p. 3) and teachers with a strong sense of efficacy are persistent, resilient, more organized, and more willing to try something new (Jerald, 2007). These teachers also report less stress and remain as teachers longer (Ruble, Usher, & McGrew, 2011). High self-efficacy is important in order for teachers to have a positive effect on students, and a high group self-efficacy (collective efficacy) is important for a group of teachers (such as a mathematics department) to have a positive effect on students (Pajares, 2009). This group self-efficacy has been named “collective teacher efficacy” and is described as “the perception of teachers in a school that the efforts of the faculty as a whole will have a positive effect on students” (Goddard, Hoy, & Hoy, 2000, p. 503). Goddard, Hoy, and Hoy also point out, “there is strong reason to lead schools in a direction that will systematically develop teacher efficacy; such efforts may indeed be rewarded with continuous growth in not only collective teacher efficacy but also in student achievement” (p. 483). As a result, a professional learning program aimed at having a positive effect on teacher self-efficacy for a specific group, such as an experienced group of secondary mathematics teachers working in the same school district, should in turn have a positive effect on the collective self-efficacy of that group. As a result, as Goddard, Hoy, & Hoy (2000) point out, “collective teacher efficacy is a significant predictor of student achievement in … mathematics” (p. 500). It has been shown that a strong sense of teacher self-efficacy and collective teacher self-efficacy should be a goal of this professional learning program. As a teacher’s self-efficacy rises concerning his/ her competence for reacting well to various situations, actions taken by the teacher in these situations are positively influenced (Tschannen-Moran & McMaster, 2009). Its value has shown results: “Teachers’ self-efficacy for teaching-their perceptions about their own capabilities to foster students’ learning and engagement-has proved to be an important teacher characteristic often correlated with positive student and teacher outcomes” (Shaughnessy, 2004, p. 154). Goddard, Hoy, and Hoy (2000) add, “there is strong reason to lead schools in a direction that will systematically develop teacher efficacy; such efforts may indeed be rewarded with continuous growth in not only collective teacher efficacy but also in student achievement” (p. 483). The goal is to have teachers believe in their ability to teach all students, since these “self-efficacy beliefs determine how people feel, think, motivate themselves, and behave” (Ban741

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 A Guide to Professional Learning for Secondary Mathematics Teachers

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dura, 1994, p. 1). As a result of these increased feelings of self-efficacy in teachers, student learning and motivation will improve (Goddard, Hoy, & Hoy, 2000; Hoy, 2000; Midgley et al., 1989; Stevens et al., 2013). Urton, Wilbert, and Hennemann (2014) note that those with a higher sense of self-efficacy take on greater challenges and put in more effort, which is a necessary characteristic for teachers to have. This explains why “teachers who are passionate about making a difference are more likely to make a difference” (Hattie, 2009, p. 243). In an interview, the highly respected educational psychologist Anita Woolfolk noted the importance of a high self-efficacy for teachers: “Self-efficacy is the most useful selfschema for education because it relates to choices and actions that affect learning such as goal setting, persistence, resilience, effort, and strategy” (in Shaughnessy, 2004, p. 172). Since the goal is to raise the self-efficacy of the teacher-participants in the professional learning program, a look into the ways to raise self-efficacy will be a necessary component of the program. If the professional learning program can work on raising the self-efficacy of the teacher-participants through as many sources as possible, it will be more effective. Following this, “the cyclical nature of behaviorinfluencing self-efficacy, and thus new behaviors, forms a self-reinforcing cycle of either success or failure that tends to become quite stable unless a jarring experience provokes a reassessment” (TschannenMoran & McMaster, 2009, p. 229). Bandura (1994) notes that there are four sources of influence over one’s self-efficacy: a. personal experience, b. the experiences modeled by others, c. feedback, and d. physiological responses. The first source of influence over a person’s self-efficacy is through previous personal experiences or past performance. Bandura (1994) calls this “mastery experience.” Lopez, Lent, Brown, and Gore (1997) found this to be the greatest of the four sources of self-efficacy. Usher and Pajares (2008) agreed, noting that mastery experience “is typically the most influential source of self- efficacy” (p. 751). Past successes, especially when overcoming a challenge, raise one’s self-efficacy and past failures, especially if coming after putting in a great deal of effort, lower one’s self-efficacy (Bandura, 1997; Usher & Pajares, 2008). This change in self-efficacy is determined by how the individual interprets the effects of his/her actions (Pajares, 2009). Using experienced teachers and having the chance to try ideas between sessions will hopefully influence self-efficacy using mastery experience. The experiences modeled by others, described as “vicarious experiences” (Pajares, 2009) are a second source of self-efficacy. For example, teachers experience this by observing the classrooms of other teachers. This, too, can work both ways: while observing someone succeed at a task can boost self-efficacy, seeing a model fail, especially if the task was considered an easy one, can lower self-efficacy (Usher & Pajares, 2008). In addition, Schunk and his colleagues have shown that coping models, those who struggle through problems until they reach a successful end, are more likely to boost the confidence of observers than are mastery models, those who respond to mistakes as though they never make them. (Schunk, 1983, 1987; Schunk & Hanson, 1985, 1988, as cited in Usher & Pajares, 2008) This can also be affected by how much the person relates to the model (Schunk, 1987, as cited in Usher & Pajares, 2008). By having teacher-participants observe each other between sessions and by listening to their experiences in discussions during sessions, this source of self-efficacy will be met. The third influence over self-efficacy is through feedback, including accidental types of feedback (Pajares, 2009). This feedback is more effective when it is more than mere compliments (Dweck, 2010).

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 A Guide to Professional Learning for Secondary Mathematics Teachers

One of the world’s greatest cellists, Yo-Yo Ma, noted this when asked about how he handled his childhood fame: When I was a child, people said things to me I wish they hadn’t: “Oh, you’re such a talent, such a genius.” That’s dangerous, because it can overwhelm the decisions you make about yourself. I wanted to determine who I was. The best approach is to have a healthy confidence but also the self-knowledge to ask, “What do I and don’t I do well?” so that you can be the architect of your own life. (in Beard, 2016, p. 120) Yo-Yo Ma may not have used terms such as self-efficacy and growth mindset but that is what he was referring to. Effective feedback is also honest: “Social persuasions should not be confused with knee-jerk praise or empty inspirational homilies. Effective persuaders must cultivate people’s beliefs in their capabilities while at the same time ensuring that the envisioned success is attainable” (Pajares, 2009, p. 3). Tschannen-Moran and McMaster (2009) found that this source was not as powerful a source unless used in conjunction with other sources. Pajares (2009) notes that it is easier to weaken self-efficacy through negative feedback than it is to raise a person’s self-efficacy, so feedback must be used with care. Goddard, Hoy, and Hoy (2000) add that a professional learning program is a form of feedback or social persuasion, adding, “Professional development opportunities … can influence teachers” (p. 484). The fourth source of influence over self-efficacy involves their physiological responses such as mood or reactions to stress and anxiety. This involves the individual’s interpretation of his/her reaction more than the reaction itself (Pajares, 2009). Tschannen-Moran and McMaster (2009) explain,

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Moderate levels of arousal when perceived as a challenge can improve performance by focusing attention and energy on the task, whereas high levels of arousal perceived as a threat might interfere with making the best use of one’s skills and capabilities. In the professional development context, exposure to new knowledge and teaching strategies may evoke arousal in the form of interest and curiosity. (p. 231) Therefore, this source of self-efficacy can be reached by exposing the teachers to information that is new to them, such as that provided in How the Brain Learns Mathematics (2015) by David Sousa. Goddard, Hoy, and Hoy (2000) agree with the four sources of teacher efficacy, but add “analysis of the teaching task” and “assessment of teaching competence” when it comes to collective teacher efficacy. They note, “teachers analyze what constitutes successful teaching in their school, what barriers or limitations must be overcome, and what resources are available to achieve success” (p. 485). These factors may be reached by having the participants observe each other teach, outside of the professional learning program, including giving them writing assignments, such as a prompt requesting, “Name three or more effective practices you hope to try in your classroom” or questions such as, “What is going well for you?”, “What struggles or questions do you have?”, “What would you like to have us do to assist you?”, or just a request for thoughts. High self-efficacy in teachers can enhance a teacher’s efforts, accomplishments, thought patterns, behavior, and motivation (Pajares, 2009). It can prevent teacher burn-out by lowering stress, strengthen a teacher’s commitment to helping students learn, and result in a higher quality of instruction for students (Ruble, Usher, & McGrew, 2011). If the goal of this professional learning program is to increase the positive self-efficacy of experienced secondary mathematics teachers, then these sources of self-efficacy

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will need to be considered as components of this work. The creation of a climate of “adultness” increases the positive physiological atmosphere need for raising teacher self-efficacy (Bandura, 1994).

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Growth Mindset Mindset theory seems to be so important in mathematics that it has been given its own name, mathematical mindset. There are two types of mindsets, fixed and growth. Those with a fixed mindset believe that the amount of intelligence a person has cannot be changed, whereas those with a growth mindset believe that intelligence can grow with effort. Mathematical mindset deals with mindset theory in terms of mathematical learning. An example cited by Maaβ and Schlöglmann (2009) is that of many students who use the “math gene” as a factor for not being able to find success in learning mathematics. Students use the fact that their parents did not do well in math, so they cannot be expected to do well in mathematics. Maaβ and Schlöglmann describe this in terms of the belief system of the learners, namely their fixed mindset. “Stanford professor Carol Dweck’s work is being used all over the world. When we look at what schools should epitomize…the growth mindset should be the center” (DeWitt, 2015, p. 1). DeWitt admits that John Hattie, the author of meta-analyses of educational research, spoke at a 2015 conference in Texas, saying that he found the idea of fixed and growth mindsets to have a low effect size of 0.19. However, DeWitt adds that Hattie surmised, the “low effect size is due to the fact that adults have a fixed mindset and keep treating students accordingly, so right now the effect size is low, and will continue to stay low unless we change our practices in the classroom” (DeWitt, 2015, p. 1). This points to the need for adults to have a growth mindset and DeWitt suggests that testing become more formative, that teachers provide more reflective feedback, group students flexibly, ask questions that make students think, provide more wait-time with questions, and give students more opportunities for reflective conversations with each other. In order to combat a fixed mindset, Dweck (2010) suggests that teachers need to practice using the word “yet.” When students say they cannot master some concept, teachers need to add “yet.” Teachers need to emphasize an enjoyment in overcoming challenges, rather than an importance in achieving immediate success (Dweck, 2010). Dweck emphasizes that “trying your best” needs to be considered more important than earning an A. Teachers must be careful with lavishing praise as a reward, but instead offer feedback that will help students to move forward. “Acknowledge when students are not working effectively, and then work with them to find new learning strategies” (Dweck, 2016, p.1). Carol Dweck (2000) writes about the theory of the Intelligence Quotient (IQ) and the entity theorists who believe that intelligence is fixed. “Research has shown that, even when students on both ends of the continuum show equal intellectual ability, their theories of intelligence shape their responses to academic challenge” (Blackwell, Trzesniewski, & Dweck, 2007, p. 247). As an illustration, Dweck (2000) mentions a Nobel-prize winning scientist who found out his IQ later in life and “freely admitted that had he known his IQ, he would never have dreamed of embarking on his scientific career” (p. 59). Dweck points to the danger in thinking that intelligence is fixed, thus predicting that future potential is fixed. Instead, “students who believe they have the capabilities to perform or learn the task are much more likely to report using self-regulatory strategies as well as do better on the task itself” (Pintrich & Zusho, 2002, p. 268). Pintrich and Zusho note that this is true for their academic performance, as well. Bandura (1997) adds, “The process of learning is individualized and enables students to exercise considerable control over their own education” (p. 213). Dweck (2015) reflected on how mindset theory has affected education and had concerns of her own. She reminds teachers that the theory is not just about emphasizing effort with their students. Instead, 744

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 A Guide to Professional Learning for Secondary Mathematics Teachers

teachers should accentuate trying new strategies and seeking suggestions from others as important tools for students. The praise should not be just for effort: “It is about telling the truth about a students’ current achievement and then, together, doing something about it, helping him or her become smarter” (Dweck, 2015, p. 22). Teachers need to use these concepts in the proper way. “A growth mindset is important, but for this to inspire students to high levels of mathematics learning, they also need a mathematics mindset” (Boaler, 2016, p. 55). Boaler uses the term mathematical mindset to describe having a growth mindset for learning mathematics. She explains that a growth mindset is needed in learning mathematics more than in other subjects. Carol Dweck corroborated this in Jo Boaler’s (2016) first conversation with her:

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I knew that mindset interventions given to students help them, but math teachers have the potential to deeply impact students’ learning in a sustained way over time. Carol responded enthusiastically and agreed with me that math was the subject most in need of a mindset makeover. (p. ix) Boaler goes on to note, “the fixed mindsets that many people hold about mathematics often combine with other negative beliefs about mathematics, to devastating effect” (Boaler, 2016, p. ix). An important component for students in learning mathematics is believing in themselves and feeling they can learn mathematics. Secondary students need to change their negative feelings about learning mathematics. By having a growth mindset, students believe they can grow their mathematical intelligence through effort, whereas students with a fixed mindset believe that they are either good at math or they are not (Dweck, 2010). Those with a fixed mindset believe effort will not help, because learning new material should come to them easily. “They tell us that when they have to work hard, they feel dumb” (Dweck, 2010, p. 16). On the other hand, those with a growth mindset believe that effort and learning from their mistakes is important (Dweck, 2010). Students need to believe that mathematical intelligence is important and that they can develop their mathematical intelligence as long as they are willing to put in the effort and use the strategies that work best for them (Boaler, 2016). Mathematics is a different type of subject, “because it is taught in ways that are not used by other subject teachers, and people hold beliefs about mathematics that they do not hold about other subjects” (Boaler, 2016, p. 21). There is beauty in seeing how everything fits together in mathematics, and teachers need to show this to their students (Boaler, 2016; Sousa, 2015). There is also the challenge of working with students who dislike mathematics and the puzzle as to what is happening that causes mathematics to transform from a subject that very young children love to one that they “dread and dislike” (Boaler, 2016, p. 33). Secondary mathematics teachers have to fight against many years of students believing that they cannot do mathematics. Therefore, teachers of mathematics have to work hard to give students who struggle to learn mathematics the strategies and coping skills to grow their mindsets (Dweck, 2010). Mathematics teachers can help students who believed they would never be good in mathematics change their thinking. When teaching, “the aim is to get students to learn the skills of teaching themselves – to self-regulate their learning” (Hattie, 2009, p. 245). As students realize that they can meet the challenge of figuring out mathematical connections, their mindset will become one of growth, providing them with a willingness to learn more mathematics (Dweck, 2010). An important component for students in learning mathematics is believing in themselves and feeling that they can learn mathematics. If students can change how they think about learning mathematics to a growth mindset, they will increase their self-efficacy to learn mathematics (Boaler, 2016). 745

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 A Guide to Professional Learning for Secondary Mathematics Teachers

Jo Boaler (2016) uses the term brain plasticity to describe the latest findings of scientists concerning learning and the brain. Scientists have discovered that “brains can grow, adapt, and change” (Boaler, 2016, p. 4) as learning continually takes place. Neurons in the brain “grow stronger connections when students work on hard things and stick with them” (Dweck, 2016, p. 1). “We need to free our young people from the crippling idea that they must not fail, that they cannot mess up, that only some students can be good at math, and that success should be easy and not involve effort” (Boaler, 2016, p. 208). Instead, our students must realize that they can learn mathematics and they can be good at mathematics, with the right effort. Teachers must help them find the means to do so. With a mathematical mindset, students should learn that errors are another tool for learning. Learning from errors is so important that Hattie used it as one of the “six signposts towards excellence in education” (Hattie, 2009, p. 238). School leaders and teachers need to create school, staffroom, and classroom environments where error is welcomed as a learning opportunity, where discarding incorrect knowledge and understandings is welcomed, and where participants can feel safe to learn, re-learn, and explore knowledge and understanding. (Hattie, 2009, pp. 239 – 240) Students can learn a great deal from noting the types of errors they make. Boaler (2016) suggests that teachers “talk about the message that mistakes grow your brain” (p. 15), adding, “when we teach students that mistakes are positive, it has an incredibly liberating effect on them” (Boaler, 2016, p. 15), since students usually consider mistakes as a form of failure. This form of self-assessment is a key ingredient for a teacher who wishes to foster a climate of collaborative learning. “A safe environment for the learner (and for the teacher) is an environment where error is welcomed and fostered – because we learn so much from errors and from the feedback” (Hattie, 2009, p. 23).

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Experiences and Findings It is important to note that the initial professional learning program had only ten participants, so the results are not as robust as they would be with more participants. However, based on the Teachers’ Sense of Efficacy Scale (long form) created by Tschannen-Moran and Woolfolk-Hoy (2001) the pre- and postassessment data indicated that participant teacher efficacy was raised. The authors also broke down their survey into categories, using factor analysis. The results from this study showed an increase in all three areas. There was a change from a mean of 6.31 to 6.86 in student engagement, with an effect size of 0.489. See Table 1 for more details. There was a change from a mean of 6.96 to 7.44, with an effect size of 0.581 in instructional strategies. See Table 2 for more details. There was a change from a mean of 6.84 to 7.36, with an effect size of 0.669 in classroom management. See Table 3 for more details. According to Hattie (2009) an effect size of 0.40 or higher indicates a “visible” difference in the classroom. Thus, for the teacher participants, their results indicate a visible growth in their mathematics teaching self-efficacy. The four sources of self-efficacy (Bandura, 1994; 1997) were employed throughout the program: a. personal experiences, b. vicarious experiences, c. feedback, and d. physiological responses. Personal experiences were reached as teachers continued to teach and try new ideas between sessions. Vicarious experiences were reached by teachers observing other teachers. Feedback and physiological responses were reached as we discussed the reading and the experiences during the professional learning sessions and as written responses, such as the tickets to leave, were anonymously addressed. 746

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 A Guide to Professional Learning for Secondary Mathematics Teachers

Table 1. Measure of efficacy in student engagement Item #

Question

Mean of PreSurvey

Mean of PostSurvey

Effect Size

1

How much can you do to get through to the most difficult students?

6.4

6.9

0.388

2

How much can you do to help your students think critically?

7.0

7.2

0.203

4

How much can you do to motivate students who show low interest in school work?

6.1

6.4

0.276

6

How much can you do to get students to believe they can do well in school work?

6.8

7.0

0.248

9

How much can you do to help your students’ value learning?

6.4

6.9

0.909

12

How much can you do to foster student creativity?

6.1

6.7

0.589

14

How much can you do to improve the understanding of a student who is failing?

6.5

7.3

1.159

22

How much can you assist families in helping their children do well in school?

5.2

6.5

0.927

Mean of these survey questions

6.31

6.86

Median of the effect size of these questions

0.489

Based on the feedback from participants, four themes emerged: a. modeling, b. collaboration, c. growth mindset, d. the brain and learning mathematics. First, modeling the expectations for teachers was important for the facilitator of this program and showed up as a theme. Comments such as “Loved the enthusiasm, you are incredibly prepared!” and many comments of appreciation for introducing the model drawing approach to solving word problems in session two were found in the feedback. Table 2. Measure of efficacy in instructional strategies

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Item #

Question

Mean of PreSurvey

Mean of PostSurvey

Effect Size

7

How well can you respond to difficult questions from your students?

7.1

7.8

0.692

10

How much can you gauge students’ comprehension of what you have taught?

7.0

7.5

0.588

11

To what extent can you craft good questions for your students?

6.8

7.3

0.582

17

How much can you do to adjust your lessons to the proper level for individual students?

6.8

7.2

0.580

18

How much can you use a variety of assessment strategies?

7.1

7.2

0.090

20

To what extent can you provide an alternative explanation or example when students are confused?

7.7

8.1

0.411

23

How well can you implement alternative strategies in your classroom?

6.4

7.0

0.594

24

How well can you provide appropriate challenges for very capable students?

6.8

7.4

0.435

Mean of these survey questions

6.96

7.44

Median of the effect size of these questions

0.581

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 A Guide to Professional Learning for Secondary Mathematics Teachers

Table 3. Measure of efficacy in classroom management Item #

Question

Mean of PostSurvey

Effect Size

3

How much can you do to control disruptive behavior in the classroom?

6.8

7.1

0.351

5

To what extent can you make your expectations clear about student behavior?

7.3

7.4

0.097

8

How well can you establish routines to keep activities running smoothly?

7.4

8.0

0.774

13

How much can you do to get children to follow classroom rules?

6.9

7.4

0.733

15

How much can you do to calm a student who is disruptive or noisy?

6.2

7.2

2

16

How well can you establish a classroom management system with each group of students?

7.1

7.7

0.815

19

How well can you keep a few problem students from ruining an entire lesson?

6.4

7.0

0.605 0.517

21

How well can you respond to defiant students?

6.6

7.1

Mean of these survey questions

6.84

7.36

Median of the effect size of these questions

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Mean of PreSurvey

0.669

Second, collaboration was a solid theme found when coding my participants’ responses. They mainly commented about the discussions, using remarks such as, “Ideas were shared by all,” “I enjoyed it. It’s always beneficial to just talk to other teachers and hear other perspectives,” “I also really enjoy talking with colleagues and reinforcing ideas and techniques,” and “Learning environment encouraged all to partake and volunteer ideas/opinions through discussion and verbal expression on charts.” Third, the theme of feelings about fixed and growth mindset emerged. This was not a surprise, since the book used in this study was Mathematical Mindsets by Jo Boaler (2016). Some of the remarks were, “I will be researching visual math practices and readdressing how I ‘praise’ mistakes,” “Mistakes are learning moments,” “Continue to teach them with positive attitude where all students can learn math,” and “Encourage students to work their hardest, even when they are wrong.” Some participants talked about going on Boaler’s website and taking her course, thus showing great interest in learning more. The final theme revealed dealt with the brain and learning mathematics. Comments included “I think it is helpful to discuss how math is taught in the middle school to know what our students’ foundation is at the high school,” “Brains work differently. Students need encouragement when making mistakes,” “Use your brain or you will lose your brain,” and “Visual models are effective.” During the last session, participants were given ten statements to rate from (1) not effective to (5) highly effective in relation to the professional development process. The mean average of the results showed that the professional learning program was assessed by the participants to have been very effective to highly effective. Following are the statements and their mean scores: 1. I found the discussions during the professional learning to be helpful to me as a math teacher. (4.6) 2. I found the feedback I received helpful to me as a math teacher. (4.9) 3. I found the reflections I wrote in my journal to be helpful to me as a math teacher. (4.3)

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 A Guide to Professional Learning for Secondary Mathematics Teachers

4. I found the observations of colleagues between professional learning sessions to be helpful to me as a math teacher. (4.4) 5. I found that the book Mathematical Mindsets by Jo Boaler was helpful to me as a math teacher. (4.0) 6. I found the overall learning in the professional learning sessions to be helpful to me as a math teacher. (4.7) 7. I found the entire process for this professional learning program to be helpful to me as a math teacher. (4.7) 8. I found the entire process for this professional learning program to be helpful in my growth as a professional. (4.8) 9. How likely are you to continue to participate in another professional learning program similar to this? (5.0) 10. This final statement asked for comments. Although six of the papers left this one blank, here are the four comments provided: a. Would love to have another math focus group. b. Nice job, Karen! c. I found the pace and content expectations of this class very doable and enjoyable. d. Thank you! It is important to note that these survey results were provided anonymously in order to ensure honest responses from the participants.

EDUCATIONAL LEADERSHIP

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The Use of Distributed Leadership to Drive Professional Learning The type of leader for this professional learning program is important to its success. Participants are professionals, so the leader of the professional learning program needs to be more of a facilitator, and the type of leadership needed is distributed leadership. It is difficult to define distributed leadership, since there are so many forms (Dieronitou, 2014). Clarkin-Philips (2009) describes distributed leadership as the type of leadership that “recognizes the role that all professionals within an educational setting play in implementing change, and … through collaboration and collectivity that expertise is developed” (p. 25). Among the characteristics of distributed leadership described by Clarkin-Philips, the ones that are important to a professional learning program are a “sharing of responsibilities among teachers; being valued for skills and expertise; increased agency and empowerment for teachers; collaboration and shared decision making; (and) opportunities to be professionally ‘stretched’” (p. 25). Stoll, Bolam, McMahon, Wallace, and Thomas (2006) explain it is important that a professional learning program maintain “a culture enhancing learning: balances all stakeholders’ interests, focuses on people rather than systems; makes people believe they can change their environment; makes time for communication; believes in teamwork; and has approachable leaders” (p. 236). This points to the need for distributed leadership. The goal of the leader of professional learning is not to be in charge, but to encourage all participants to contribute while feeling they are in a safe environment. Thompson, Gregg, and Niska (2004) corroborate this: “For people to learn together, they must be comfortable challenging their own and others 749

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assumptions and beliefs within safe places” (p. 5). Thompson, et al. go so far as to suggest, “Purposes and goals grow from amongst the participants, based on values, beliefs, and both individual and shared experiences” (p. 5). The leader of the professional learning program needs to enter into this process with the idea that her/his job is to expedite the learning. “It takes a leader who understands and encourages” (Thompson et al., p. 12). One of the more stressful aspects of running a professional learning program was the discussion during the sessions. This trainer was prepared to add to the conversation as needed, but was careful not to monopolize the conversation. By paying attention to who had spoken and who had not, while also watching facial expressions and body language, the facilitator could help people move forward. This facilitator often pointed out what a member of the group had done or said, and encouraged people, if they had not spoken in a while. Nelson, LeBard, and Waters (2010) call these deep conversations, adding It can be difficult to have substantial conversations about teaching and learning because the topics can feel personal. Revealing to colleagues that your students did not learn as much as you hoped can be a humbling admission. Thus, we suggest that groups begin these difficult conversations with questions such as: What do students generally understand, year after year? Where do they typically underperform? Are there areas in which top students always do well and the rest of the class never reaches a satisfactory understanding? …Using predetermined probing questions and protocols can help teachers feel safe in asking and responding honestly to these types of questions. (p. 39) The use of the book provided areas in which to converse. Suggestions based on experiences are provided within the curriculum sections of this chapter.

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Making Professional Learning Programs Effective In 2011, Learning Forward updated its Standards for Professional Learning, originally created in 2001. In order to achieve an effective professional learning program, Learning Forward recommends these updated standards be considered because “the Standards for Professional Learning define the conditions, attributes, and essential content for effective professional learning, with the primary focus on educator learning that leads to successful student learning” (Learning Forward, 2011, p. 3). The standards have been narrowed to seven items dealing with: a. learning communities, b. leadership, c. resources, d. data, e. learning designs, f. implementation, and g. outcomes. Learning Forward describes the standard for learning communities as creating a collaborative community of learners engaged in a cycle of continuous improvement. Creating a collaborative community of learners then raises self-efficacy. A professional learning program focusing on the learning designs standard uses the results of research and theories to increase educator effectiveness, as is being done here. A professional learning program focusing on the outcomes standard stresses the expectations that are projected to result from the professional learning program, which then raises self-efficacy and creates a collaborative environment. Leadership, data, and implementation are also being addressed. Resources is being addressed by providing this guide, although any financial and personnel needs are dependent on the school. It is imperative that secondary mathematics teachers believe in the significance of what they are doing, thus creating a common sense of importance and meaning. Teaching mathematics is important, not only for the content, but by the way it trains students to think with intense attention to details, as well as logically, critically, creatively, and abstractly (Qian, 2008). Schoenfeld (1992) gives the example from a 750

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 A Guide to Professional Learning for Secondary Mathematics Teachers

study in which mathematicians solved a problem by spending time analyzing the issue before starting, while the non-mathematicians spent most of their time jumping right in and sticking to one path for solving the problem (even with more hints provided). The non-mathematicians had no success in solving the problem, while the mathematicians solved it. Schoenfeld (2012) also explains how he used his understanding of problem solving to lead to a creative and plausible theory of how humans think and act. Therefore, since mathematics is such an important subject, it is imperative for mathematics teachers to help all students realize they can learn mathematics and thus practice these skills. Positive teacher selfefficacy, teachers having confidence in themselves, improves mathematics education. Hall, Meyer, and Rose (2012) summarize the importance of mathematics: “The stakes for achievement in mathematics have never been higher. Students who are successful in math in the secondary grades are more likely to be successful in college and to find high-quality employment after. Moreover, math is important in our everyday lives” (p. 71). Regardless of theories studied, mathematics is found to be a vital component of intelligence. In Sternberg’s Triarchic Theory of Intelligence (Strickland, n.d.), analytical intelligence, with its focus on analytical and logical thinking, is a critical element of mathematics. Sternberg’s practical intelligence, which helps one solve everyday life-types of problems, is taught using problem-solving in mathematics. Even his creative intelligence uses synthesis, which is used when learning mathematics. With Howard Gardner’s Theory of Multiple Intelligences (in Checkley, 1997), logical-mathematical intelligence is listed as one of the specific intelligences. In addition, Gardner’s naturalist intelligence uses the ability to organize patterns, which is implanted through learning mathematics, and his visual/spatial intelligence is used with graphing and reading and understanding charts and graphs in mathematics. Gardner’s bodily/ kinesthetic intelligence can be reached through the use of scientific and graphing calculators (Checkley, 1997). Noted educational psychologist Anita Woolfolk corroborates this: “To make it in the world, people still need to read, write, and compute and to deny the development of these intelligences is to do children a disservice” (in Shaughnessy, 2004, p. 172). Since mathematics is considered to be a vital component of intelligence, it is an important subject to learn. Therefore, it is imperative that it be taught well to all students and teachers need to believe in the importance of their work.

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Creating a Collaborative Learning Community Professional learning is important, as evidenced by its use in many professions for keeping members up-to-date on what they should know and because “the knowledge base in education will never be ‘complete’ or finished” (NCATE, n.d., p. 5). Borko (2004) corroborates this, writing “Teacher professional development is essential to efforts to improve our schools” (p. 3), adding, “We have evidence that professional development can lead to improvements in instructional practices and student learning” (p. 3). Borko also finds “evidence that strong professional learning communities can foster teacher learning and instructional improvement” (p. 6). Darling-Hammond and Richardson (2009) point out the need for professional learning to be an ongoing pursuit: “Research has defined a new paradigm for professional development – one that rejects the ineffective ‘drive-by’ workshop model of the past” (p. 1). They add, “Research on effective professional development also highlights the importance of collaborative and collegial learning environments that help develop communities of practice” (p. 2). Stoll, Bolam, McMahon, Wallace, and Thomas (2006) corroborate this:

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 A Guide to Professional Learning for Secondary Mathematics Teachers

Learning can no longer be left to individuals. To be successful in a changing and increasingly complex world, it is suggested that whole school communities need to work and learn together to take charge of change, finding the best ways to enhance young people’s learning. (pp. 221 – 222) Graham (2007) adds, “The primary strength of the professional learning community model was the way in which it opened up opportunities for teachers to learn from other teachers within the building” (p. 13), with the finding that, “learning from each other was more professionally rewarding and effective than their previous experiences in more traditional professional development had been” (pp. 13 – 14). Stoll, et al. (2006) names five characteristics that the collaborative professional learning seem to have: a. shared values and vision, b. collective responsibility, c. reflective professional inquiry, d. collaboration, and e. the promotion of both group and individual learning (pp. 226 – 227). They add, “If the community is to be intellectually vigorous, members need a solid basis of expert knowledge and skills, strongly emphasizing the professionalization of teachers’ work through increasing expert knowledge” (p. 232). The professional learning program described in this paper is one that has these characteristics, with the book providing the expert knowledge for the group. In this professional learning program, the common goal for the teacher-participants is to benefit from the professional learning through the experiences between and during sessions, leading to an increase in self-efficacy, and the creation of a collaborative group of learners with a common goal. “The collaborative nature of learning in PLCs (professional learning communities) makes them important sites of teachers’ professional socialization” (Servage, 2009, p. 7). To ensure that PLCs would continue, the trainer began talking about the need for a new group, with a new facilitator, to be created for next year. By the last session, one of the participants asked to be part of the next group, although she did not want to facilitate the group. Another participant then said that he would like to be the one to lead the next group, asking if he could pick out the next book to be used.

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PART II: CURRICULUM FOR THE SESSIONS Before the course begins, the book for the course, How the Brain Learns Mathematics, Second Edition (2015), written by David A. Sousa, should be purchased for each participant. In that way, it will seem as though you are giving each participant a gift for joining. Plan to purchase some snacks for each session, as well. These should be water, juice, and/or coffee. One mistake the organizers made was to not realize that one participant could not eat gluten. The participant did not disclose this fact until halfway through the course. So, it makes sense to provide something gluten-free, just to be safe, in the first session and then ask participants to let you know about their dietary needs before the next session. With the snacks, the teachers actually looked forward to the sessions, and math teachers who had chosen not to participate stopped by to talk and eat. Scheduling five sessions for two hours each worked well for time. The trainer tried to finish in less than two hours each time, however, because it provided the participants with another little gift, getting to go home sooner than expected. It seemed that the time flew by because of that. How far apart to schedule the sessions was another issue. The sessions were scheduled to be three weeks apart so that the teacher-participants had plenty of time to observe each other and complete the readings, but some participants wished the meetings had been closer together.

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 A Guide to Professional Learning for Secondary Mathematics Teachers

The set-up of the room was an issue. In order to promote discussions, the room was set up with seats in a circle. However, sometimes the trainer had videos to show, and the seats needed to be facing in that direction for those. She tried showing the videos in the beginning of the session, having the participants pay attention while they had their snack and drink, but to have everyone move their seat into a circle afterwards seemed to create too much of a break. The trainer finally decided to introduce and show videos at the end, so that it was more of an indicator of the conclusion of the session. People moved their own seat in the proper direction and did not have to create any sort of geometric figure with them. They next grabbed more snack and fluids and relaxed. The point here is to think about videos and other activities in which people might have to move around the room. In the introduction of the book is a list of “questions this book will answer” (Sousa, 2015, p. 5). These should provide some guidance as to possible discussion questions to use during sessions and should be shared with the participants in session one. This researcher also found articles of interest about teaching mathematics to share with the teacher-participants. Not only did it remind teachers that mathematics education is a relevant topic, but it provided more areas of lively discussion.

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Curriculum for Session 1 It is important to have one or more goals for the session, such as sharing and debunking old myths about teaching and learning mathematics and leading the teacher-participants to feel a sense of importance concerning their career. Another essential part of this first meeting is to make sure that all the participants know each other. Even if they do all know each other, it is doubtful that they all know everything about each other. Ask each teacher to introduce themselves, give their educational background, and explain why they became teachers of mathematics. You could even ask them to tell something about themselves that others might not know. This is important to guiding the participants to become used to talking in the group. Introduce the book and explain the reason for the choice. It is okay to tell them that you are following this guide, if you wish, but also tell them that the book will help them to understand how different people learn mathematics or struggle to learn mathematics. The book, How the Brain Learns Mathematics, was chosen because it directly relates to teaching and learning mathematics. Whatever book is chosen should be something to which the participants can directly relate and experience. In addition to discussing the book the trainer should give an overview of this professional learning program. Between this first session and the next, they will need to read the introduction and the first two chapters of the text. (After this session, the participants should plan to read two chapters between each set of sessions.) If they have children or grandchildren, they will enjoy learning about how children begin to have number sense and begin to learn to compute numbers. Even if they cannot relate this to their personal life, many secondary teachers complain that their students do not know their multiplication facts and will be fascinated to learn why. They will also be fascinated to learn the science behind why most Asians are stronger in mathematics than we are in America. (Names and meanings of numbers are easier to learn, such as “two tens one” in Chinese as the name for 21.) David Sousa begins his book explaining how and why we start to learn mathematical concepts at a very young age and slowly works his way up to the mathematical learning of older students. If possible, show of a video of the author speaking, such as the one of David Sousa at this link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UCZxCqUz26E. You will see this in the agenda. It helps the participants to have an idea of who is speaking as they read.

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 A Guide to Professional Learning for Secondary Mathematics Teachers

For this first session, while grabbing snacks at the start of the professional learning session or during a break, ask the participants to write comments on chart paper concerning “Comments I often hear from my students.” This leads back to the goal of the session, sharing and debunking these myths about teaching and learning mathematics. Do not let the course become a gripe session about teaching mathematics, but instead use these comments to lead you to areas you need to address throughout the professional learning program. For example, students often tell their teachers of mathematics things like, “I will never use this” and “I cannot learn mathematics because it is not in my genes,” or, “My parents couldn’t learn math, either, so they don’t expect me to be able to learn math.” Introduce these comments and add that no one would ever say this statement if “math” was substituted with “reading”. They would be horrified to admit, “My parents can’t read, so they don’t expect me to be able to read”! Why is it so acceptable to have trouble with mathematics? Introduce the agenda. In the first session, the trainer posted the agenda on the wall behind where she sat and ended up forgetting to do some portions of it. So, the lesson learned was to post the agenda where you can see it. It is okay to make mistakes, as long as you compensate for them. After that first session, the agenda was printed so that the trainer could see it at all times. Most of the teachers seemed to like the typed agenda, because they were able to check things off as they were done. This author suspects that it is due to their mathematical brains. Prepare one or more discussion questions for this session, such as “Why do we expect students to learn math?” This leads back to the goal of leading teachers to feel a sense of importance concerning teaching mathematics to their students. In the session, the trainer explained that after having been teaching mathematics for twenty years, constantly hearing, “When am I ever going to use this,” she took a sabbatical to study full-time, earn a degree in Teaching, Curriculum, and the Learning Environment at Harvard University, and search for answers. The answers began with the understanding that IQ (Intelligence Quotient) was just a theory, and a person’s intelligence was not necessarily a fixed number. This led to the realization that the brain was more like a muscle, strengthened through exercise and use. Teaching mathematics meant guiding students to exercise this brain-muscle in ways that cannot be done by other subjects. A note of caution: Be careful not to monopolize the conversation. This trainer mentioned her own experience briefly and then let everyone else talk. However, it is important to share a piece of your own experience, because it is the only way to give others the sense that sharing is an acceptable piece of the professional learning. Part of the facilitator’s job is to make sure that everyone has the opportunity to share his or her thoughts in a respectful way. Let the discussion flow, but throw in questions directed to those who have not had much of a chance to speak. To make this professional learning worthwhile, you will need to pay close attention to the discussion, weaving everyone into the sharing of thoughts. That is what the discussion should be. Sharing thoughts is not the same as coming to a consensus and agreeing to the same answer. End the discussion with a tease that the readings might help in the search for this answer. During the first session this trainer also talked about how valuable it has been for her to observe others teaching mathematics. Many of her best ideas for teaching emerged from these observations. This led to the introduction of the idea of observing each other between sessions. Part of the agenda was for the teachers to set up plans to observe one of the other participants. This activity was conducted at the end of the agenda, but teachers were starting to think about going home by then, and this probably should have been done earlier in the class, since they seemed to finish doing this very quickly. The facilitator needs to have a plan in place, and gently guide the teachers who do not seem to know how to proceed. For instance, the facilitator could suggest people in the same building pair off and observe each other. 754

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The trainer offered to cover classes so the teachers could observe each other and the principals offered teachers the use of a professional day to do it, but none seemed to take advantage of the offers. The first session ended with a ticket to leave, as did all the sessions. Remember that the facilitator should be modeling good instructional practice, and the ticket to leave is a good way to gather feedback or to help the learning move into permanent memory. Ideas for ticket to leave questions are, “What did you honestly think of today’s session?” “What are the three most important things you learned today?” “Do you have any suggestions in order to make this a more effective program?” “Is there anything you wished we talked about, but did not get to?” or “What do you think of the book we are reading so far?” Participants were also asked to fill out the writing assignment between sessions, which they could answer anonymously. These modeled the importance of writing about what they were learning. Based on all of this, here is a suggested agenda for Session 1: • •

• •

• •

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•

• • • •

Grab a snack and add to the chart paper titled, “Comments I often hear from my students” Introductions ◦◦ Name ◦◦ What you currently teach ◦◦ Educational background ◦◦ Explain why you chose to teach secondary mathematics ◦◦ Something about yourself that others might not know Assess their current knowledge using a short true/false questionnaire (modify the one in Sousa, 2015, pp. 8 - 9). Have them sign them with a code name that they will remember, so that they can be returned and corrected by them at the end of the program in order to see what they have learned. Expectations of this professional learning program ◦◦ Readings (For the next time, please read the introduction and chapters 1 and 2… Jot down notes on the Questions and Refections at the end of the two chapters) ◦◦ Discuss the importance of observing each other between sessions Look over the “questions this book will answer”. What do you think will interest you the most? (discussion) Discuss the chart paper comments ◦◦ Perhaps have teacher-participants, as each one is read, raise their hand for each comment they have heard ◦◦ Why do they think students say that? ◦◦ What can teachers of mathematics do about it? More discussion ◦◦ Compare “I can’t do math” to “I can’t read.” Why aren’t these considered equivalent? ◦◦ What is the most frustrating aspect of teaching mathematics? ◦◦ What is the most interesting aspect of teaching mathematics? Video of David Sousa – get to know the author! Plan observing each other Ticket to leave, answered anonymously Reminder: Between sessions, do the writing assignment and observe someone teach

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 A Guide to Professional Learning for Secondary Mathematics Teachers

Curriculum for Session 2 The teacher-participants should now have read the introduction and chapters one and two of How the Brain Learns Mathematics. The introduction talks in general terms about teaching and learning mathematics. Chapter one, Developing Number Sense, is about how number sense develops in a person, beginning at birth. By number sense, it is meant the idea of what a number is and, if there are a very small number of items, being able to say how many there are. Chapter two, Learning to Calculate, continues to show how mathematics develops in a person, now leading to calculating with numbers. Most likely, those with young children or grandchildren will be especially intrigued by this reading, since they can relate it to their own little ones, but hopefully it will interest all mathematics educators, even those teaching at the middle or high school level. The facilitator cannot not trust that all will be interested in the mathematical growth of little ones, so finding more relevant topics to include in the session helps. This facilitator typed up a passage from John Hattie (2009):

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It is sobering to realize that we have a teaching cohort that is average, at best, in the eyes of most students. It is sobering to realize that each child will meet only a few teachers who they will consider to have a lasting and positive effect on them. It is sobering to realize that these teachers will be remembered not because they taught social studies or mathematics but because they cared about teaching the students their passion for their subject, gave students confidence in themselves as learners and as people, treated the student as a person, and instilled a love of learning of their subject(s). (p. 250) The facilitator felt this passage would spark a discussion of occurrences that changed how we teach. The trainer began the discussion by describing a student whom she was helping one day after school. He began to talk about his teacher, and commented, “I don’t know why he gets so excited about math, but I’m determined to pay close attention to him and figure it out.” It made this trainer realize that you have to show excitement for what you are presenting. This facilitator found an introduction into the model drawing approach as an additional topic helpful, since most teachers have not seen it and find it interesting. It is difficult to find a mathematical topic that most teachers have not seen. The model drawing approach to solving problems comes from the Singapore Mathematics program. Since it is a visual way to solve problems, the topic goes along with a discussion of learning styles, even though learning styles are not addressed in the book until chapter 3. This facilitator went through it rather briefly, introducing how it works and then sharing a variety of problems that were done with the group. Suggest that the participants can use it for their visual learners, and if they want more information, they can ask the facilitator about it. It is better not to spend a lot of time on it, because it is tricky to introduce ideas about teaching mathematics. The more experienced teachers can “shut down” if they think the facilitator is implying that he/she knows a lot more about teaching mathematics than they do. The teachers in the initial professional learning program seemed to enjoy the model drawing presentation and some mentioned later that they tried it with their students, offering it as a visual way to understand a word problem. Here is a suggested agenda for session two: • •

Turn in writing assignments Grab some food and add to chart paper questions

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• •

• • • • •

◦◦ Why do you think many students struggle with mathematics? ◦◦ What do students give as reasons for not being able to learn mathematics? Discussion of the reading ◦◦ What did you agree with in the reading? ◦◦ What did you disagree with in the reading? Discussion of the observation as well as the reading ◦◦ What were you surprised about in the reading or in the observations? ◦◦ In your observations or readings, what have you seen that corroborates what you already do or think? ◦◦ Have you observed or read anything that intrigues you and has you thinking about it? Is it something you might try? Passage from Hattie (2009) Model drawing approach to word problems Watch Carol Dweck video on the topic of growth mindset while we snack some more (They will be learning about this topic in chapter three, which they will be reading before the next session.) https://vptl.stanford.edu/video/teaching-growth-mindset-carol-dweck Ticket to leave For next time: ◦◦ Read chapters three and four before the next session ◦◦ Observe someone teaching mathematics ◦◦ Fill out writing assignment

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Curriculum for Session 3 The participants should have read chapters three and four for the third session. Chapter three is on growth mindset, learning styles, and motivating students. Chapter four is on teaching mathematics in prekindergarten and kindergarten. All the participants should find that chapter three in particular relates to their work as mathematics teachers and should be excited to talk about it. They may have already discussed the readings with their peers. Let the teachers lead the discussion as much as possible, but be ready to lead it or move it along if necessary. Remember that the teachers do not need to agree with the reading, but make sure that the discussion remains friendly. In the initial professional learning program, using a different book, we decided that they were talking about teaching elementary mathematics in some instances and none of us agreed with the point in terms of teaching secondary mathematics. The real reason for the discussions is to share views and create a professional learning community. One thing this trainer found in discussions was that some participants read far ahead and could not remember which chapter they had read something in. This is not really a problem unless it bothers some of the participants. By their nature, mathematics teachers like to follow the rules and just read what is assigned. However, it is a sign of interest if a teacher could not wait to be assigned the reading and needed to keep reading. Be prepared to have quotes or passages from the reading ready to discuss, in case the discussion lags. Here are some samples: •

“Efective teachers are continually assessing whether their choices in instructional strategies are consistent with what research is revealing about how the brain learns” (Sousa, 2015, p. 45). How many of you do this? Do we really need to do so? 757

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• • •

• •

•

• • • •

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• • •

“Scientists have long known that both short-term and long-term memory can dramatically afect our mathematical capabilities” (Sousa, 2015, p. 46). Can you think of some topics in mathematics that are afected by lack of memory in our students? “Recent studies suggest that the capacity of working memory in younger individuals is decreasing for reasons we do not yet understand” (Sousa, 2015, p. 47). Does anyone have theories about why this might be so? Sousa (2015) tells us that each of our students “normally can process an item in working memory intently for 10 to 20 minutes before … the individual’s focus drifts. For focus to continue, there must be some change in the way the individual is dealing with the item” (p. 48). Do you think this is true? How do we account for this when we teach? What do you think about the idea that it is better for students to take notes by hand (p. 49)? Do you agree with this? How important should we make this as we teach and see one or more students not doing so? “When students get very little time for, or training in, elaborative rehearsal, they resort more frequently to rote rehearsal for nearly all processing….By simply adding a visual representation of a situation that is relevant to students, greater meaning can be obtained” (Sousa, 2015, pp. 51 – 52). What are some other ways we can help students move into using elaborative rehearsal, so that they will understand the connections between what they have just learned and other things they know, and thus more defnitively remember it? “Questions such as ‘Why do I have to know this?’ or ‘When will I ever use this?’ indicate that the student has not, for whatever reason, accepted this learning as relevant” (Sousa, 2015, p. 53). We have all heard these questions. Sousa tells us to add sense (easy to understand) and meaning (connects to prior knowledge or experiences). What are some things we can do that we are not already doing? Sousa talks about the primacy-recency efect in chapter three (pp. 57 – 58). How do we use this information to help us provide students with the best possible lesson? Does this information mean we should change the way we go over homework? Sousa introduces the idea of fxed and growth mindsets (pp. 62 – 63). We saw the video of Carol Dweck explaining her theory last week. How should this afect how we treat our students? Sousa talks about gender issues in mathematics (pp. 63 – 65), with boys consistently scoring higher on standardized tests. Is there anything we can do to ofset this in our schools, without harming the eforts of our boys? How do we teach so as to reach more of the various learning styles of our students (pp. 65 – 66) in mathematics? Sousa talks about multiple intelligences (pp. 66 – 67). What do you think of this idea versus the idea of one IQ (intelligence quotient)? How should this afect how we are teaching and what we should be telling our students? “Teachers really tend to teach the way they learn” (Sousa, 2015, p. 67). How many of you think they usually tend to do that? Is there anything wrong with that? Is there more we should be doing when planning out our lessons? Sousa lists strategies for motivating students (2015, p. 72). What are some that you have tried before? How did they work out? Are there any you plan to try that you haven’t tried before? Do you have any other ideas?

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 A Guide to Professional Learning for Secondary Mathematics Teachers

Hopefully, you get the idea. There is certainly a lot of discussion material in this book. Do not feel that all these discussion points need to be used and some may be saved for another time or not used at all. Additionally, participants will likely want to know more about how to create a growth mindset in students, and readings such as Briceno (2015), Dweck, (2016), Finley (2014) will create discussion material. You may want to acknowledge that teaching can become overwhelming, and teachers should only modify a small number of practices at a time. They need a life! As promised, I provide a suggested agenda for this session: • • • •

• • •

•

• •

Turn in writing assignments Grab some food and let’s put our desks in a circle Discussion of the reading ◦◦ What did you agree with in the reading? ◦◦ What did you disagree with in the reading? Discussion of the observation as well as the reading ◦◦ What were you surprised about in the reading or in the observations? ◦◦ In your observations or readings, what have you seen that corroborates what you already do or think? ◦◦ Have you observed or read anything that intrigues you and has you thinking about it? Is it something you might try? Passages from the readings (use the discussion points here if needed) Creating a growth mindset in our students (Participants will want more information.) Efect size handout and discussion (Provide information about how efect size is calculated and give examples of teaching strategies and their efect size. Use the work of John Hattie (2009, 2017). Mathematics teachers seem to like seeing the strategies explained using numbers. It prompted a great discussion!) For next time (write the date of the next session here): ◦◦ Read chapters 5 and 6 ◦◦ Observe at least one lesson taught by someone else, more if you wish …let me know if you need class coverage ◦◦ Fill out writing assignment Coordinate observation plans if needed Ticket to leave

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Curriculum for Session 4 The teacher participants should have now read chapters five and six in How the Brain Learns Mathematics (2015) by David Sousa. These are the chapters dealing with teaching mathematics to the preadolescent and adolescent brain. Since this directly relates to teaching mathematics to students in grades five to twelve, there should be a lot to talk about in this session. If the facilitator does find the need to add to the discussion, ask the participants what they think of using graphic organizers, using technology, and developing mathematical reasoning in students, which are topics in these chapters. Do not forget to discuss what the participants have experienced or learned from past readings, discussions, and observations. In the initial professional learning program, one teacher told us about her conversation after school with a student in which he complained about having to learn mathematics. She pointed out to him that he was 759

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 A Guide to Professional Learning for Secondary Mathematics Teachers

growing his brain (using what we had discussed in our sessions) and explained a little about brain plasticity to him. He continued to argue and give reasons for not having to do his mathematics work, however, until she finally gave up. It sparked a great conversation about dealing with argumentative adolescents who have some kind of answer for everything, and moved into how to make students realize that what they are doing as they learn mathematics is important. I remained only the facilitator of the discussion, letting the teacher-participants do most of the talking, as they commiserated and offered suggestions. Here is the suggested agenda: • • •

• • • •

• •

Getting started ◦◦ Turn in writing assignments ◦◦ Grab some food and drink and let’s put our desks in a circle Discussion of the reading ◦◦ What did you agree with in the reading? ◦◦ What did you disagree with in the reading? Discussion of the observation as well as the reading ◦◦ What were you surprised about in the reading or in the observations? ◦◦ In your observations or readings, what have you seen that corroborates what you already do or think? ◦◦ Have you observed or read anything that intrigues you and has you thinking about it? Is it something you might try? Radical Equations (2001) by Robert Moses and Charles Cobb (Use passages from pp. vii – 70 as “food” for thought and discussion) Math and the Good Life video by Francis Su (Provided by a participant. Be sure to use what they ofer whenever possible. This video looks at the power of mathematics and provided more opportunities for discussion.) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=94zscdXX7CA Five Principles of Extraordinary Math Teaching video by Dan Finkel (provides more thought and discussion) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ytVneQUA5-c For next time (provide the date): ◦◦ Read fnal chapters ◦◦ Observe at least one other class, more if you wish …let me know if you need class coverage ◦◦ Fill out writing assignment Coordinate observation plans if needed Ticket to leave

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Curriculum for Session 5 This is the final session as put forth in this guide. The teacher participants should have now read chapters seven and eight in How the Brain Learns Mathematics (2015) by David Sousa. Chapter seven is concerned with Recognizing and Addressing Mathematics Difficulties and chapter eight is the conclusion, Putting it All Together: Planning Lessons in PreK-12 Mathematics. The discussions should flow easily, since the participants should feel almost like a family by now, but still have some ideas prepared to keep the conversation moving. Possible topics from this reading could be mathematics anxiety, differentiating instruction, integrating the arts into mathematics lessons, or just figuring out how to do everything we can for our students without having our career take over our personal life. The facilitator may also wish 760

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to have some quotes from the reading available to spark the conversation, if needed. Here is the final suggested agenda: • •

• • • • •

Getting started ◦◦ Turn in writing assignments ◦◦ Grab some food and drink and let’s put our desks in a circle Discussion of the reading, observations, and thoughts ◦◦ What did you agree with in the reading? ◦◦ What did you disagree with in the reading? ◦◦ Are there points in any of the readings that the authors missed? ◦◦ What were you surprised about in the reading or in the observations? ◦◦ What have you seen or read that corroborates what you already do or think? ◦◦ Have you observed or read anything that intrigues you and has you thinking about it? Is it something you might try? ◦◦ What have we not yet talked about that you fnd efective? ◦◦ Do you see connections in what we have discussed? Chart paper results (Bring this back to talk about it, based on what they have read and tried since the frst session. Do they think they can make a diference?) Discussion of responses from the frst session (Sousa, 2015, p. 5 and 8 - 9) Discuss readings (Ricci, 2013; Su, 2017)) Next steps for us? Final ticket to leave

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Beard, A. (2016). Life’s Work: An interview with Yo-Yo Ma. Harvard Business Review, 94(6). Blackwell, L. S., Trzesniewski, K. H., & Dweck, C. S. (2007). Implicit theories of intelligence predict achievement across an adolescent transition: A longtitudinal study and an intervention. Child Development, 78(1), 246–263. doi:10.1111/j.1467-8624.2007.00995.x PMID:17328703 Boaler, J. (2016). Mathematical mindsets: Unleashing students’ potential through creative math, inspiring messages, and innovative teaching. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass. Borko, H. (2004). Professional development and teacher learning: Mapping the terrain. Educational Researcher, 33(8), 3–15. doi:10.3102/0013189X033008003

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Briceno, E. (2015, November 16). Growth mindset: Clearing up some common confusions. Retrieved February 28, 2017, from http://ww2.kqed.org/mindshift/2015/11/16/growth-mindset-clearing-up-somecommon-confusions/ Cannon, J. R., & Scharmann, L. C. (1996). Influence of a cooperative early field experience on preservice elementary teachers’ science self-efficacy. Science Education, 80(4), 419–436. doi:10.1002/(SICI)1098237X(199607)80:43.0.CO;2-G Checkley, K. (1997). The first seven... and the eighth: A conversation with Howard Gardner. Educational Leadership, 55(1), 8–13. Clarkin-Phillips, J. (2009). Distributed leadership utilising everyone’s strengths. Early Childhood Folio, 13, 22+. Retrieved July 2, 2017, from www.questia.com Crawford, S. R. (2011, August 29). Andragogy: Malcolm Knowles. Retrieved August 18, 2016, from http://academic.regis.edu/ed205/knowles.pdf Darling-Hammond, L., & Richardson, N. (2009). Research review / Teacher learning: What matters? How Teachers Learn, 66(5), 46-53. Davenport, J., & Davenport, J. A. (1985). A chronology and analysis of the andragogy debate. Adult Education Quarterly, 38(3), 152–158. doi:10.1177/0001848185035003004 DeWitt, P. (2015). Why a ‘growth mindset’ won’t work. Education Week, 2015. Dieronitou, I. (2014). Unveiling the restricted and extended possibilities of distributed leadership. Researchers World, 5(1), 37+. Retrieved July 2, 2017, from www.questia.com Dweck, C. (2016, January 11). Recognizing and overcoming false growth mindset. Retrieved February 28, 2017, from https://www.edutopia.org/blog/recognizing-overcoming-false-growth-mindset-carol-dweck Dweck, C. S. (2000). Self-theories: Their role in motivation, personality, and development. Philadelphia, PA: Psychology Press. Dweck, C. S. (2010, September). Even geniuses work hard. Educational Leadership, 68(1), 16–20. Dweck, C. S. (2015). Growth mindset, revisited. Education Week, 35(5), 20–24.

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Finley, K. (2014, October 24). Four ways to encourage a growth mindset in the classroom. Retrieved February 28, 2017, from https://www.edsurge.com/news/2014-10-24-4-ways-to-encourage-a-growthmindset-in-the-classroom/ Goddard, R. D., Hoy, W. K., & Hoy, A. W. (2000). Collective teacher efficacy: Its meaning, measure, and impact on student achievement. American Educational Research Journal, 37(2), 479–507. RetrievedJune252016. doi:10.3102/00028312037002479 Graham, P. (2007). Improving teacher effectiveness through structured collaboration: A case study of a professional learning community. Research in Middle Level Education, 31(1), 1-17. Retrieved July 5, 2017, from http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/umle20

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Hall, T. E., Meyer, A., & Rose, D. H. (Eds.). (2012). Universal design for learning in the classroom: Practical applications. New York, NY: Guilford Press. Hartnett, K. (2017, February 2). Math and the best life - an interview with Francis Su. QUANTA Magazine. Retrieved March 24, 2017, from https://www.quantamagazine.org/math-and-the-best-life-an-interviewwith-francis-su-20170202/ Hattie, J. (2009). Visible learning: A synthesis of over 800 meta-analyses relating to achievement. London: Routledge. Hattie, J. (2017). Visible learning for mathematics: What works best to optimize student learning. London: Routledge. Heitin, L. (2011). Marzano on developing teachers. Education Week, 5(1), 6–6. Holmes, G., & Abington-Cooper, M. (2000). Pedagogy vs. andragogy: A false dichotomy? The Journal of Technology Studies, 26(2). doi:10.21061/jots.v26i2.a.8 Hoy, A. W. (2000, April 28). Changes in teacher efficacy during the early years of teaching [Scholarly project]. Retrieved July 31, 2016, from http://wps.ablongman.com/wps/media/objects/290/297451/ changes%20in%20efficacy.pdf Jerald, C. D. (2007, January). The Center for Comprehensive School Reform and Improvement/Believing and Achieving. United States, U.S. Department of Education, Office of Elementary and Secondary Education. Retrieved June 20, 2016, from www.centerforcsri.org Kenner, C., & Weinerman, J. (2011). Adult learning theory: Applications to non-traditional college students. Journal of College Reading and Learning, 41(2), 87–96. doi:10.1080/10790195.2011.10850344 Knowles, M. (1984). Andragogy in action: Applying modern principles of adult learning. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass. Knowles, M. S. (1980). What is andragogy? In The modern practice of adult education: From pedagogy to andragogy (pp. 40–59). Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Cambridge Adult Education. Knowles, M. S., Holton, E. F. III, & Swanson, R. A. (2015). The adult learner (8th ed.). New York, NY: Routledge.

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Learning Forward. (2011). Standards for professional learning. Retrieved June 24, 2016, from https:// learningforward.org/standards-for-professional-learning#.V3_JfpErKM9 Lopez, F. G., Lent, R. W., Brown, S. D., & Gore, P. A. (1997). Role of social–cognitive expectations in high school students’ mathematics-related interest and performance. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 44(1), 44-52. Retrieved from http://dx.doi.org.nec.gmilcs.org/10.1037/0022-0167.44.1.44 Maaß, J., & Schlöglmann, W. (2009). Beliefs and attitudes in mathematics education: New research results. Rotterdam, The Netherlands: Sense Publishers. Midgley, C., Feldlaufer, H., & Eccles, J. S. (1989). Change in teacher efficacy and student self- and task-related beliefs in mathematics during the transition to junior high school. Journal of Educational Psychology, 81(2), 247–258. doi:10.1037/0022-0663.81.2.247

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Mizell, H. (2010). The misuse of professional development. Education Week, 30(4), 22–23. Mohlman, G. G., Kierstead, J., & Gundlach, M. (1982). A research-based in-service model for secondary teachers. Educational Leadership, 10, 16–19. Moses, R. P., & Cobb, C. E. Jr. (2001). Radical equations: Civil rights from Mississippi to the Algebra Project. Boston, MA: Beacon Press. Narvaez, D., Khmelkov, V., Vaydich, J. L., & Turner, J. C. (2008). Measuring teacher self-efficacy for moral education. Journal of Character Education, 6(2), 1–10. Retrieved May 26, 2016 NCATE. (n.d.). What makes a teacher effective? Retrieved June 16, 2016, from: http://www.ncate.org/ Public/ResearchReports/TeacherPreparationResearch/WhatMakesaTeacherEffective/tabid/361/Default. aspx Nelson, T. H., LeBard, L., & Waters, C. (2010). How to create a professional learning community. Science and Children, 47(9), 36–40. Pajares, F. (2009, December 23). Self-efficacy theory. Retrieved June 3, 2016, from http:www.education. com/reference/article/self-efficacy-theory/ Pintrich, P. R., & Zusho, A. (2002). The development of academic self-regulation: The role of cognitive and motivational factors. In A. Wigfield & J. S. Eccles (Eds.), Development of achievement motivation (pp. 249–284). San Diego, CA: Academic Press. doi:10.1016/B978-012750053-9/50012-7 Prather, L. (2015, November 12). Professional development and adult learning theory [Web log post]. Retrieved August 28, 2016, from http://www.teachingquality.org/content/blogs/liz-prather/professionaldevelopment-and-adult-learning-theory Qian, C. (2008). Teachers’ beliefs and mathematics curriculum reform: A story of Chongqing. In 11th International Congress on Mathematical Education, Monterrey Mexico, TSG (Vol. 30). Academic Press. Ricci, M. C. (2013). Mindsets in the classroom: Building a culture of success and student achievement in schools. Waco, TX: Prufrock Press. Ross, J. A. (1992). Teacher efficacy and the effects of coaching on student achievement. Canadian Journal of Education, 17(1), 51–65. doi:10.2307/1495395

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Ruble, L. A., Usher, E. L., & McGrew, J. H. (2011). Preliminary investigation of the sources of selfefficacy among teachers of students with autism. Focus on Autism and Other Developmental Disabilities, 26(2), 67–74. doi:10.1177/1088357610397345 PMID:21691453 Schoenfeld, A. H. (1992). Learning to think mathematically: Problem solving, metacognition, and sense making in mathematics. In Handbook of Research on Mathematics Teaching and Learning: A project of the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (pp. 355–358). Macmillan Publishing Company. Schoenfeld, A. H. (2012). How we think: A theory of human decision-making, with a focus on teaching. In 12th international congress on mathematical education. Seoul, South Korea: COEX.

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Servage, L. (2009). Who is the “professional” in a professional learning community? An exploration of teacher professionalism in collaborative professional development settings. Canadian Journal of Education, 32(1), 149+. Retrieved July 5, 2017, from http://www.csse-scee.ca/about/ Shaughnessy, M. F. (2004). An interview with Anita Woolfolk: The educational psychology of teacher efficacy. Educational Psychology Review, 16(2), 153-176. doi:1040-726X/04/0600-0153/0 Sousa, D. A. (2015). How the brain learns mathematics (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin, a SAGE Company. Stevens, T., Aguirre-Munoz, Z., Harris, G., Higgins, R., & Liu, X. (2013). Middle level mathematics teachers’ self-efficacy growth through professional learning program: Differences based on mathematical background. Australian Journal of Teacher Education, 38(4), 144–164. doi:10.14221/ajte.2013v38n4.3 Stoll, L., Bolam, R., McMahon, A., Wallace, M., & Thomas, S. (2006). Professional learning communities: A review of the literature. Journal of Educational Change, 7(4), 221–258. doi:10.100710833-006-0001-8 Strickland, C. A. (n.d.). Differentiated teaching for learner profile [Scholarly project]. Retrieved August 20, 2015, from http://www.hhh.k12.ny.us/uploaded/PDFs/Day_1/Strickland Thompson, S. C., Gregg, L., & Niska, J. M. (2004). Professional learning communities, leadership, and student learning. Research in Middle Level Education, 28(1), 1–15. doi:10.1080/19404476.2004.11658173 Tschannen-Moran, M., & Hoy, A. W. (2001). Teachers’ Sense of Efficacy Scale [Scholarly project]. In Anita Woolfolk Hoy. Retrieved February 4, 2016, from http://anitawoolfolkhoy.com/instruments/ Tschannen-Moran, M., & McMaster, P. (2009). Sources of self-efficacy: Four professional learning program formats and their relationship to self-efficacy and implementation of a new teaching strategy. The Elementary School Journal, 110(2), 228-245. doi:0013-5984/2009/11002-000 Urton, K., Wilbert, J., & Hennemann, T. (2014). Attitudes towards inclusion and self-efficacy of principals and teachers. Learning Disabilities (Weston, Mass.), 12(2), 151–168. Usher, E. L., & Pajares, F. (2008). Sources of self-efficacy in school: Critical review of the literature and future directions. Review of Educational Research, 78(4), 751–796. doi:10.3102/0034654308321456

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KEY TERMS AND DEFINITIONS Brain Research and Teaching: Teachers and principals take into account the latest research on the brain and learning when developing policies and lessons. The goal is to take advantage of the natural processes of the brain in the development of teaching and learning. Fixed Mindset: Students with fixed mindsets tend to believe they are either smart or not in a given subject. Effort, in their minds, does little to change their talents and/or abilities. They often are motivated in areas in which they believe they have talent, and are unmotivated in areas in which they believe they have little talent.

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Math Phobia: Students who do not do well in math early in their school careers often become fearful of trying to learn more math. Some students truly come to fear math, and some students do not enjoy math because they believe they are not good math students. Professional Learning: Professional development that entails a teacher-centered approach. In this process the experiences and knowledge of the teachers are important aspects of the process. Professional learning leaders act more as facilitators of learning as partners with the teachers. Professional Learning Community (PLC): A PLC is a group of teachers (team, grade level, discipline, etc.) who work together in order to help each other be more effective teachers. Teacher Efficacy: Teacher efficacy is a teacher’s beliefs in her/his ability to be successful with her/ his students. This includes working with the “difficult” students.

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This work was previously published in the Handbook of Research on Student-Centered Strategies in Online Adult Learning Environments; pages 287-318, copyright year 2018 by Information Science Reference (an imprint of IGI Global).

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Chapter 38

Assessment Literacy Within Middle SchoolLevel Math Professional Learning Communities Jennifer Wheat Tangipahoa Parish School System, USA

ABSTRACT Professional learning communities (PLCs) have been implemented in school districts as a means to promote efective instructional policy initiatives and best practices. The purpose of this chapter is to identify assessment literacy commonalities within middle school-level math PLCs and to compare those commonalities across PLCs with diferent levels of student math growth. Multiple indicators of assessment literacy were used to supply rich descriptions of assessment literacy within each PLC using a procedure recommended by Bernhardt for efective data-driven decision making. Based upon the fndings the researcher concluded that commonalities existed among PLCs with diferent levels of student math growth.

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INTRODUCTION As a result of new initiatives that have spawned from decades of educational reform, schools are required to meet the mandates of increased rigor in academic standards and improvements in student performance on state standardized assessments. The changes in standards and standardized assessments were viewed necessary in an effort to close the gap between the career and college readiness of students in the United States and students from competing nations (National Council of Teachers of Mathematics, 2013; U.S. Department of Education, 2008). Furthermore, mathematics has been identified by ACT as one of the major subjects that has hindered students’ ability to be successful in college and their careers as evidence by the achievement levels on national and international tests (ACT, 2009). Therefore, to be able to meet these goals, schools have had to be strategic in their efforts to guide their decisions regarding instrucDOI: 10.4018/978-1-7998-7294-8.ch038

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 Assessment Literacy Within Middle School-Level Math Professional Learning Communities

tion (Stanford & Reeves, 2005). Unfortunately, these efforts have not always translated into increased student achievement (Youngs, 2013). Researchers have shown that schools that have been successful in increasing student achievement are schools that have employed professional learning communities (PLCs) (DuFour &Eaker, 1998). For example, in his research, Newman & Mowbray (2012) discovered a connection between high quality student learning and professional communities that exhibit that same degree of academic excellence. Likewise, Hord (2009) stated that schools that were characterized by PLCs had students that achieved greater academic gains in math, science, history, and reading as compared to traditionally structured schools. However, choosing to implement PLCs does not necessarily guarantee increases of student achievement (DuFour &Eaker, 1998). Success is dependent on what the professional learning community does with their collective efforts (Hord, 2009). Although, it has been noted that the collective learning within a professional learning community (PLC) resulted in shared instructional practices that were tied to student achievement (Hipp & Huffman, 2010), there exists only a fraction of research that measures the impact of PLCs on student achievement (Leithwood, Patten, &Jantzi, 2010). Furthermore, one study found that PLCs were not considered a significant predictor of student achievement and suggested that further studies should be conducted to specify the factors that lead to increased student achievement (Leithwood et al., 2010). Nevertheless, it is believed that “quality teaching is not an individual accomplishment, it is the result of a collaborative culture that empowers teachers to team up to improve student learning beyond what any one of them can achieve alone” (Carroll, 2009, p.13). The author of this chapter describes a case study that was conducted at a single, socioeconomically diverse rural school district to gain more knowledge of how individual schools use assessment literacy to promote math achievement. The study was conducted within one academic year by collecting data through observations, focus groups, interviews, and surveys of members of PLCs. The descriptive data were reported using tables and narratives, and commonalities among the data were identified. This author presents the following information in this chapter regarding the case study: •

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• • • •

Review of literature covering math education in middle schools, professional learning communities, and assessment literacy; Statement of the problem and research questions; Research design, including sampling, instrumentation, and methods of data analysis; Discussion of results and conclusions; and, Practical application of the study fndings.

REVIEW OF LITERATURE In this study the focus of the researcher was to determine if there were commonalities in the interaction of demographics, self-efficacy, competencies, and implementation indicators of the assessment literacy of school-level PLCs that experience similar growth in student math achievement. If those commonalities existed, then similarities and differences were identified among the divergent levels of growth in student math achievement. The differences in the divergent levels of student growth in math would serve as benchmarks to describe the PLC based on their outcomes of student growth in math.

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As schools experience growing pressure to increase student achievement, the use of data has become essential to how many administrators assess teacher practices and observe student progress (Ball, Thames, & Phelps, 2008). Despite this awareness, there is no straightforward answer that addresses the concerns about how schools should use data in instructional decision-making and how well teachers are prepared to provide rigorous instruction (Achieve, 2007). However, it is believed that, “Improving the mathematics learning of every child depends on making central the learning opportunities of our teachers,” (Ball, 2003, p. 9). The literature review is divided into three main topics: mathematics education and middle schools, the use of PLCs at the school-level to support student achievement, and the multiple indicators of assessment literacy. The first subtopic of the literature review addressed the research on the relevancy of math education as it pertains to the success of the United States’ economy and the readiness of students as they progress through middle, secondary, and post-secondary education and/or their careers. The second piece discussed the use of PLCs, and the impact it has on educational leadership, classroom practices, and student achievement. Using Bernhardt’s and Hѐbert’s Multiple Measures of Data (2011) as the framework for the four indicators used in this study to measure assessment literacy, the final section provided an overview of assessment literacy within the construct of PLCs in terms of demographics, self-efficacy, competencies, and implementation, and how assessment literacy relates to student achievement within the construct of each indicator.

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Mathematics and Middle School Education Middle school is a critical time for early preparation for postsecondary success (Wimberly & Noeth, 2005). Students need to come prepared to handle the rigors of secondary work because those who are prepared are more likely to be college-ready upon high school graduation (Act, 2009a). Consequently, those students whose mathematical skills improve during middle school have better results in their high school preparation for college (ACT, 2009b). Historically, the performance of students declines as they transition from elementary to middle school to high school (National Science Foundation, 2007) with less than 2% of the students in eighth grade identified as being prepared for college-level work upon graduation from high school (National Center for Education Statistics, 2010). Therefore, close monitoring of student academic progress at the middle school level is essential for ensuring student acquisition of the core skills needed to become college and career ready by the end of high school (ACT, 2009b). The need to improve mathematic education has been the primary focus of education reform in the United States (Schmidt & Burroughs, 2013). Although there has been record high scores on the NAEP and increases in SAT and ACT achievement, other data suggests that there remains much to be accomplished (National Council of Teachers of Mathematics, 2013). Mathematics education must move from “pockets of excellence” to “systemic excellence” for all students in mathematics (National Council of Teachers of Mathematics, 2013, p. 2). The following issues need to be addressed to ensure excellence in mathematics for all students: • •

Eliminate persistent racial, ethnic, and income achievement gaps so that all students have opportunities and supports to achieve high levels of mathematics learning; Increase the level of mathematics learning of all students, so that they are college and career ready when they graduate from high school; and,

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•

Increase the number of high school graduates, especially those from traditionally underrepresented groups who are interested in, and prepared for, STEM careers (National Council of Teachers of Mathematics, 2013, p. 2).

To achieve this goal, Principles to Actions was prescribed by the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) in 2013: • • • • •

Too much focus is on the learning procedures without any connection to meaning, understanding or the application that require these procedures; Too many students are limited by the lower expectations and narrower curricula of remedial tracks from which few ever emerge; Too many teachers have limited access to instructional materials, tools, and technology that they need; Too much weight is placed on results from assessments—particularly large-scale, high-stakes assessments—that emphasizes skills and fact recall and fail to give sufcient attention to problem solving and reasoning; Too many teachers of mathematics remain professionally isolated, without the benefts of collaborative structures and coaching, and with inadequate opportunities for professional development related to mathematics teaching and learning (National Council of Teachers of Mathematics, 2013, p. 2).

Regardless of whether or not Common Core State Standards for Mathematics are adopted in every state, the challenges of promoting systemic improvement in mathematics education necessitates coherent standards that support college and career readiness (National Council of Teachers of Mathematics, 2013). The low percent of students scoring at proficient or above may be attributed to the lack of conformity of math standards (Schmidt, Cogan, & McKnight, 2010). The variation of achievement is more evident when compared to the level of achievement of eighth grade students internationally. Students in other countries are typically two grade levels ahead of the United States in terms of the rigor of their mathematics curriculum. In other words, eighth graders in the United States are learning the same context that sixth graders are learning in other countries. By the eighth grade, students are learning algebra and geometry in countries abroad (Schmidt et al., 2010).

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Professional Learning Communities In terms of the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) initiative, the primary objective of an education organization is to raise the academic outcomes of students in preparation for college, where course content is more challenging, and/or for careers, where employers expect employees to apply information in context (Common Core State Sstandards Initiative, 2011). However, it is no longer acceptable to use only opinions regarding the decisions that are made to achieve this objective (Mandinach, 2012). As part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, data-driven decision-making (DDDM) is a requirement for informing policy and practice. This is a paradigm shift for teachers, as data would be used to align strategies to the instructional needs of students (Mandinach, 2012).

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The Institute of Educational Sciences (IES) has been aware of the expanding significance of data use in education (Mandinach, 2012). As a result, IES created a panel of individuals to create a practice guide from existing literature (Mandinach, 2012). From this practice guide, five recommendations were recommended as to how student achievement data can be used to improve instruction and student performance (Hamilton et al., 2009; Mandinach, 2012). The first recommendation was that assessment data should be used in an on-going cycle of instructional improvement. The second was that students should be instructed on how to examine their own assessment data by their teachers. The third was that an explicit vision should be used district-wide. The fourth was to establish and sustain a culture of data at the school level through supports and resources. The fifth recommendation was to ensure that a districtwide data system is developed and implemented. Although these recommendations are aimed to provide classrooms, schools, and districts with information that is readily accessible and understandable to any given audience, challenges arise when implementing DDDM (Mandinach, 2012). Building human capacity is one of the key components in implementing DDDM (Mandinach, 2012). For teachers, DDDM translates into understanding how to transform data into actionable instructional steps from multiple sources such as summative and formative assessments. Unfortunately, there is a lack of options available to increase teachers’ knowledge and skills in the area of assessment literacy, as there are few organizations and schools that provide data literacy courses (Mandinach, 2012). As a result, districts have employed knowledgeable individuals to train administrators and teachers in order to spread the knowledge at the school-level. This option can be achieved through the use of professional development. “The missing link in the CCSS initiative is professional development to support implementation” (Jenkins & Agamba, 2013, p. 1). Professional development in terms of professional learning communities has been considered essential to achieving those outcomes as the use of professional learning communities has been deemed as “the best hope for school reform” (Hipp & Huffman, 2010, p.1). Although there is no universal definition of professional learning communities, the general consensus describes professional learning communities as a group of stakeholders that work together to advance their learning in order to positively influence student achievement (Hipp & Huffman, 2010). A professional learning community is distinguishable from other professional development models as it is focused on learning, professional collaboration, and results (Garrett, 2010). The essential principles of professional learning communities support the use of assessment literacy and were discussed based the influence it has had on educational leadership and classroom practices.

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Multiple Indicators of Assessment Literacy Within PLCs The government has established the expectation that schools are required to use multiple measures of student achievement (Bernhardt, 2005). If changes are to be made regarding the ability of the school to positively influence student outcomes, a more comprehensive prospective must be taken (Bernhardt, 2005). The case study described in this study focused on assessment literacy within PLCs; therefore, the following portion of the literature review examines a specific set of knowledge, skills, and practices known as assessment literacy. Assessment literacy, which is the knowledge of test characteristics and properties and the use of assessment data in making instructional decisions (Popham, 2004), was examined within a PLC using multiple indicators. In Bernhardt’s (2005) research, it has been stipulated that using multiple measures provides a more complete perspective of a school’s impact on student achievement. Four major measures of data such as demographics, perceptions, student learning, and school processes 771

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should be utilized. In this study, the four indicators were used to focus more acutely on assessment literacy in order to provide and compare PLCs with different levels of growth in student math achievement. Unfortunately, data used in PLCs are not always used effectively. Teachers feel that the use of data adds another burden to their plates. Data should be implemented to make the work of teachers smarter not harder (Bernhardt, 2005). Bernhardt (2000) asserts that teachers do not need advanced degrees in statistics to begin to use data efficiently and effectively. Being able to frame the right questions based on the data is the beginning of making positive strives as it relates to student achievement (Bernhardt & Hѐbert, 2011). Bernhardt (2004) presented a model that allows schools to start framing data-based questions that will allow professional learning communities to: • • • • •

Replace hunches and hypothesis with facts; Identify the root causes of problems, not just the symptoms; Assess needs, and target resources to address those needs; Set goals and keep track of whether they are being accomplished; and, Track the impact of staf development eforts.

The uniqueness of Bernhardt’s model is the ability to create intersections of different types of data that reduces the error of making inaccurate assumptions about what the data reveals by examining one data source in isolation. The different types of data are as follows: • • • •

Demographic data provide descriptive information on items such as enrollment, attendance, grade level, ethnicities, gender, home backgrounds, and language profciency; Perceptions data help to understand what student, parents, teachers, and others think about the learning environment; Student learning data describe an educational system in terms of standardized test results, grade point averages, standards assessment, and other formal assessment; and, School process data defne programs, instructional strategies, and classroom practices. (Bernhardt, 2004).

While the subject matter of Bernhardt’s model is students, the subjects of this study were the participants of a PLC. Therefore, the different types of data were modified accordingly: •

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• • •

Demographics data provide descriptive information about the assessment literacy background of PLC participants such as education, training, and experience; Self-efcacy data describe the PLC participants’ level of confdence in their assessment literacy abilities; Competencies data describe the PLC participant in terms of actual assessment literacy knowledge; and, Implementation data describe the degree that assessment literacy is used as a practice.

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STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM One of the many reasons students are not adequately prepared to succeed in college or their careers is due to their deficiencies in their mathematics education. Historically, the standards in mathematics education have been, on average, two years behind other nations (Mullis, Martin, Foy, & Arora, 2012). As a result, the federal government has encouraged states to increase the rigor of their math standards by implementing initiatives such as Common Core State Standards (Common Core State Standards Initiative, 2011). Unfortunately, many educators are poorly prepared to successfully teach every student, facilitate the level of rigor needed to challenge every student (Morrissey, 2000), and use data to drive instructional decision making (Hamilton, Halverson, Jackson, Mandinach, Supovitz, &Wayman, 2009). Furthermore, educational leaders lack the ability to offer direction or assistance to address the learning needs of the teacher (Morrissey, 2000). Unfortunately, in many cases, there is a structure that is missing that fosters the type of culture that embodies improvements in practice and advances in new learning (Jenkins &Agamba, 2013). This study provides educational leaders with descriptions and comparisons of assessment literacy commonalities within PLCs with different student math growth (SMG) on state standardized summative math assessments. As a result, the descriptions and comparisons could be utilized by schools to formatively assess their PLC’s assessment literacy, compare their assessment literacy descriptions to other PLCs, and provide differentiated responses to support their PLCs in positively impacting SMG on standardized summative math assessments.

RESEARCH QUESTIONS

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As shown in Table 1, the questions for this study were organized by stages of analysis, as there were multiple layers of inquiry associated with this study. In the first stage, the questions were designed to identify the existence of commonalities within PLCs that experienced negative, zero, and positive student math growth (SMG) levels in terms of demographics, self-efficacy, competencies, and implementation indicators of assessment literacy. In the second stage, if commonalities existed among the indicators, the questions led to examining the similarities and differences of each assessment literacy indicator among the three PLCs. The third stage posed questions that further described each PLC through the interaction of commonalities among the four indicators of assessment literacy. In the final stage, the questions led to comparisons of the interaction of commonalities of assessment literacy indicators across the three PLCs.

RESEARCH DESIGN The purpose of this study was to determine if there were commonalities among the assessment literacy indicators within three middle school-level PLCs that experienced negative, zero, or positive SMG, and whether those commonalities were similar or different among the SMG levels. Consequently, the researcher was interested in studying the phenomenon of assessment literacy within the framework of PLCs and SMG. As a result, research that is case-oriented would provide the researcher with a comprehensive understanding of the context in which the phenomenon takes place (Creswell, 2007). Moreover, case study research is the study of a subject examined through one or more cases within a bounded system 773

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Table 1. Research questions by stage First Stage 1. What are the demographics commonalities that support the assessment literacy of school-level PLCs that experienced negative, zero, or positive SMG levels? 2. What are the self-efficacy commonalities that support the assessment literacy of school-level PLCs that experienced negative, zero, or positive SMG levels? 3. What are the competencies commonalities that support the assessment literacy of school-level PLCs that experienced negative, zero, or positive SMG levels? 4. What are the implementation commonalities that support the assessment literacy of school-level PLCs that experienced negative, zero, or positive SMG levels? Second Stage 5. Are there similarities or differences in the demographics commonalities of school-level PLCs that experienced negative, zero, or positive SMG levels? 6. Are there similarities or differences in the self-efficacy commonalities of school-level PLCs that experienced negative, zero, or positive SMG levels? 7. Are there similarities or differences in the competencies commonalities of school-level PLCs that experienced negative, zero, or positive SMG levels? 8. Are there similarities or differences in the implementation commonalities of school-level PLCs that experienced negative, zero, or positive SMG levels? Third Stage 9. What are the interactions of demographics, self-efficacy, competencies, and implementation commonalities of school-level PLCs that experienced negative, zero, or positive SMG levels? Fourth Stage 10. Are there similarities or differences in the interactions of demographics, self-efficacy, competencies, and implementation commonalities of school-level PLCs that experienced negative, zero, or positive SMG levels?

through the use of multiple data sources. This bound system can represent a single person, a group of people, a program, a process, an activity, an event, or any number of other social phenomena (Creswell, 2007). Therefore, a case study research strategy was selected to compare the similarities and differences of assessment literacy indicator commonalities among PLCs with different SMG.

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Sample Stratified purposeful sampling was used to select PLC cases that had been presorted into SMG categories of negative, zero, and positive SMG. This sampling technique provided “information-rich” data for which the researcher was able to probe deeper into the research problem (Gay et al., 2009, p. 429). The final sample contained one PLC from each SMG category whose principal granted permission for the study to be conducted. Purposeful sampling was used to target PLCs who participated in making decisions that would affect the performance of students enrolled in grades 5-8. Caution should be used when making generalizations outside of the studied district or outside of the configurations of the school-level PLCs that were sampled. For this study, three PLCs were selected to represent SMG levels of negative, zero, and positive. For the 2014-2015 academic year, the PLCs selected for this study had 10 teachers and one curriculum coach who participated in PLCs that make instructional decisions that influence student growth on the

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state standardized assessments for 6th, 7th, or 8th grade. Two principals participated in the study with one principal being the administrator for two of the three PLCs that were studied. Out of the 11 participants in the PLCs, eight (72.72%) had a bachelor’s degree only, three (27.27%) hold a master’s degree, and no one earned a degree higher than a master’s degree. In terms of experience in teaching, three (27.27%) had less than four years of experience, three (27.27%) had between 4-10 years of experience, and five (54.54%) had five or more years of experience. In respect to certification, all participants were certified teachers. However, only three (27.27%) were highly qualified to teach mathematics. One (9.09%) was highly qualified to teach middle school mathematics from grades 4-8, and two (18.18%) were highly qualified to teach secondary mathematics from grades 6-12. Furthermore, 10 (90.9%) received their certification through a traditional program while the remaining were certified through an alternative certification route.

Data Collection

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However, before comparing the commonalities, the researcher needed to identify the assessment literacy indicator commonalties within each PLC. To identify the assessment literacy indicator commonalities, the researcher collected data from multiple data sources in order to provide a more complete description (Creswell, 2008) of the assessment literacy that was occurring within PLCs. Consequently, mixed methods of data collection were selected to maximize the information gathered about the phenomenon of assessment literacy. Qualitative methods, such as observations, focus groups, and interviews, were used to collect data from different perspectives while the quantitative instrument, in the form of a survey, was used to collect quantifiable data about assessment literacy. These data were collected concurrently, analyzed separately, and then combined through the emergence of themes through the thematic analysis of the qualitative data. Finally, the researcher used the emerging themes to inventory the data in order to detect patterns of assessment literacy that occurred the most. The most occurring patterns served as the commonalities for which the researcher used to compare the assessment literacy across the three different cases. More specifically, in the first stage, the study categorized, surveyed, and compared information for each PLC in regards to demographics, self-efficacy, competencies, and implementation indicators of the assessment literacy in order to determine if assessment literacy indicator commonalities exists for each PLC. In the second stage, if assessment literacy indicator commonalities existed, the commonalities were compared among the three PLCs by indicator. In the third phase, if assessment literacy indicator commonalities existed, the interaction of the commonalities was synthesized for each PLC. In the final stage, the interactions of the commonalities were compared among the three PLCs.

Research Questions and Data Analysis In the first stage of the study, the researcher identified the commonalities of the multiple indicators of assessment literacy. For research questions 1-4, the following methods were used to determine the four indicator commonalities.

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Case Analysis of Indicator Commonalities

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To determine the indicator commonalities, the descriptive data that occurred the most across the four instruments used in the study represented the indicator commonalities for each PLC. The descriptive data from the qualitative instrument and the quantitative instrument were initially analyzed separately and then collectively to identify each indicator commonality. For the qualitative data, a thematic analysis was conducted to interpret the themes (or interpretation levels) of assessment literacy among the data set. The analysis occurred in six phases. In phase 1, the researcher familiarized herself with the transcribed data. This phase required the researcher to repeatedly read the data to ensure immersion and familiarity with the content of the data. Phase 2 involved data coding. The researcher used patterns in the data to identify important components of the entire dataset that would be useful in answering the research questions, and organizing the data into manageable groups. In Phase 3, patterns were clustered into groups to create potential themes. Following the creation of themes, the researcher entered phase 4 where the themes were reviewed against the data. Within this phase, the researcher determined if themes were in need of refinement. Finally, the researcher synthesized the patterns and themes to provide interpretation levels of the descriptions of assessment literacy. The interpretation levels that occurred the most within each qualitative instrument provided three-fourths of the data required to identify the indicator commonalities for each PLC. The fourth interpretation level used to calculate the assessment literacy commonalities for each PLC was taken from the survey. The quantitative data analysis for the survey data occurred in several phases. In phase 1, the responses from each survey item was assigned an interpretation level. For phase 2, a frequency table was created to chart the survey responses and interpretation levels by participant. During phase 3, the researcher calculated the interpretation level mode for each survey item. In phase 4, the mode of the interpretation levels of all of the survey items within each indicator section was calculated to produce an overall interpretation level for each indicator. Details are specified below by research question of the first stage of the data analysis. Research Question 1: What are the demographic commonalities that support the assessment literacy of school-level PLCs that experienced negative, zero, or positive SMG levels? Part I of the survey collected demographic information from each PLC member to determine the demographics survey interpretation level. The responses from the survey were assigned an interpretation level based on career, education, teaching experience, and degree progression; the completion of courses, professional development, and years of service; and the level of diversity in gender and age. Research Question 2: What are the self-efficacy commonalities that support the assessment literacy of school-level PLCs that experienced negative, zero, or positive SMG levels? Part II of the survey collected self-efficacy information from each PLC to determine the self-efficacy survey interpretation level. Self-efficacy was measured by four standards of assessment literacy within the survey, and each standard received an interpretation level. Each participant rated their confidence in assessment literacy from a scale of 1 to 6. Each standard could receive a composite score between 5 and 30. As an example for standard 1, a respondent could have selected the rating of “1” for the five the assessment items with standard 1. The composite score for standard 1 for this respondent would be 5. Another respondent could have selected the rating of “5” for all of the five assessment items for standard 2. This respondent would receive a composite score of 30 for standard 2. After the composite scores were determined, the composite scores were recoded into a range of com776

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posite scores. The composite score ranges were 5-7, 8-12, 13-17, 18-22, 23-27, and 28-30. After the composite score ranges were identified, a frequency distribution was generated to determine the composite score ranges with the highest frequency (or mode) for each standard. The mode of composite score ranges would then be recoded to the original confidence scale that ranges from “1” as “not at all confident and “6” as “very confident.” Research Question 3: What are the competencies commonalities that support the assessment literacy of school-level PLCs that experienced negative, zero, or positive SMG levels? Part III of the survey collected competency information from each PLC to determine the competencies survey interpretation level. Competencies were measured by four standards of assessment literacy within the survey, and each standard received an interpretation level. The responses were evaluated for correct answers. The answers from the respondents were recoded so a correct response was applied the value of one and an incorrect answer was applied the value of zero. Each standard received a composite score by totaling the scores for all the items related to each standard. For instance, if a respondent had correctly answered all questions related to one standard, the composite score would be a five. Furthermore, the score would decrease for each incorrect answer within the five questions for a particular standard. A percentage of the number of items that were answered correctly was calculated by taking the composite score and diving by 5 for each standard. Research Question 4: What are the implementation commonalities that support the assessment literacy of school-level PLCs that experienced negative, zero, or positive SMG levels? Part IV of the survey collected implementation information from each PLC to determine the implementation survey interpretation level. For this research question, descriptive data were generated to examine the commonalities in the implementation indicator for each PLC. The implementation indicator was subdivided into five domains: shared and supportive leadership, shared values and vision, collective learning and application, shared personal practice, and supportive conditions (relationships and structures). Data were collected based on the degree of agreement that each participant chose for each of the seven statements. Three negatively-keyed items were included in the survey, and those items were reversed-scored before performing any analysis.

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Case Analysis Across Indicator Commonalities The second stage of the study compared the indicator commonalities across each PLC to any similarities/differences by using a constant comparison analysis. For research questions 5-8, the researcher used the results from research questions 1-4 to compare the results across the three cases to determine the similarities and differences of the indicator commonalities among the cases. For research question 9, the researcher used the findings from research questions 1-4 to compare the results across the indicators to determine the interaction of indicator commonalities within each PLC. Finally, for research question 10, the researcher used the results from research question 9 to make comparisons across the three cases to determine the similarities and differences across the indicators. For research questions 5-8, the following methods were used to determine the four indicator commonalities. Research Question 5: Are there similarities/differences in the demographics commonalities of schoollevel PLCs that experienced negative, zero, and positive SMG levels? The descriptive data regarding the demographics commonalities of PLCs with negative, zero, and positive SMG levels were compared to find similarities and differences among the three groups. The similarities and differ777

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ences in the commonalities provided descriptive information on the shared or unique composition of the demographics commonalities of each PLC. Research Question 6: Are there similarities/differences in the self-efficacy commonalities of school-level PLCs that experienced negative, zero, and positive SMG levels? The descriptive data regarding the self-efficacy commonalities of PLCs with negative, zero, and positive SMG levels were compared to find similarities and differences among the three groups. The similarities and differences in the commonalities provided descriptive information on the shared or unique composition of the selfefficacy commonalities of each PLC. Research Question 7: Are there similarities/differences in the competencies commonalities of schoollevel PLCs that experienced negative, zero, and positive SMG levels? The descriptive data regarding the competencies commonalities of PLCs with negative, zero, and positive SMG levels were compared to find similarities and differences among the three groups. The similarities and differences in the commonalities provided descriptive information on the shared or unique composition of the competencies commonalities of each PLC. Research Question 8: Are there similarities/differences in the implementation commonalities of schoollevel PLCs that experienced negative, zero, and positive SMG levels? The descriptive data regarding the implementation commonalities of PLCs with negative, zero, and positive SMG levels were compared to find similarities and differences among the three groups. The similarities and differences in the commonalities provided descriptive information on the shared or unique composition of the implementation commonalities of each PLC.

Within Case Analysis Interactions of Indicator Commonalities For this stage of the study, each indicator commonality was compared within each case to determine the interaction of indicator commonalities. Research Question 9: What are the interactions of demographics, self-efficacy, competencies, and implementation commonalities of school-level PLCs that experienced negative, zero, or positive SMG levels? In this study, an interaction of indicator commonalities was defined as the indicator commonality that occurred within each case studied. Therefore, the interaction of indicator commonalities of a PLC was determined by calculating the most occurring commonality across all indicators.

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Across Case Analysis of Interactions of Indicator Commonalities In this stage, the interactions of indicator commonalities were compared across cases to determine the similarities and differences. Research Question 10: Are there similarities or differences in the interactions of the demographics, self-efficacy, competencies, and implementation commonalities of school-level PLCs that experienced negative, zero, or positive SMG levels? The interactions of the indicator commonalities were analyzed across all PLCs for similarities and differences.

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Methods of Data Analysis This section has descriptions of the qualitative and quantitative interpretation levels. After collecting the data from the instruments used in this study, the researcher began to review the data. For the qualitative data, patterns began to emerge. As a result, the researcher began to code the data accordingly. The coded data were catalogued in categories of collaborative, informative, and evaluative assessment literacy practices. These categories were connected to literature that outlined that objectivity or purpose of PLCs. Any practice of the PLC should be performed in a collaborative setting, structured to foster learning among the participants, and supported by data and student outcomes (Dufour et al., 2010). If a PLC is not operating under those principles, then the objectivity of the assessment literacy practices of the PLC is compromised. Therefore, objectivity became the overarching theme for the categories. However, upon reviewing the data again, the researcher noticed that the theme should be interpreted using a continuum with specified levels of objectivity. As a result, the interpretation levels of the PLC’s objectivity were Low, Moderately Low, Moderately High, and High to reflect the presence of the four types of objectivity. Table 2 defines the qualitative interpretation levels. Table 2. Qualitative indicator interpretation levels Objectivity

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Assessment Literacy is used within a PLC: 1) as a collective, 2) as a means to inform instructional decision making, and 3) as a means to evaluate instructional decisions made.

Low

No evidence of any objectives

Moderately Low

Moderately High

Evidence of only one objective

Evidence of only two objectives

High

Evidence of all three objectives

Once the themes were defined, the researcher reviewed the coded data to find evidence of all four levels of objectivity in order to assign a theme to the assessment literacy indicators for each PLC. A survey was also conducted to provide additional descriptive information about assessment literacy within PLCs. However, to compare quantitative data to qualitative data, the researcher needed to convert the quantitative data into the qualitative categories. Since the survey items were constructed to be closed-ended, the researcher aggregated the possible data set across a four-part continuum identical to the interpretation levels used for the qualitative data. The mode from each survey item was categorized as Low, Moderately Low, Moderately High, and High themes and the most occurring theme for each indicator was considered the indicator theme. Tables 3 through 6 display the survey data along the interpretation levels. For each indicator, the researcher combined the themes from the four instruments to determine the mode. The mode served as the indicator commonality. This information was used in varying combinations to answer the research questions for this study.

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Table 3. Quantitative demographics indicator levels Item #

Item

Low

Moderately Low

Moderately High

High

Rationale

1

What is the highest college degree you have earned?

Bachelor’s Degree

Master’s Degree;

Master’s Degree +30; Educational Specialist

Doctorate Degree

Degree progression

2

What is your gender?

0:100; male to female or female to male

20:80; male to female or female to male

40:60; male to female or female to male

50:50; male to female

Diversity

3

What is your age?

0:100; 21-40 to 41 and older or 41 and older to 21-40

20:80; 21-40 to 41 and older or 41 and older to 21-40

40:60; 21-40 to 41 and older or 41 and older to 21-40

50:50; 21-40 to 41 and older

Diversity

4

What is the title of your position?

Teacher; Other

Department Head; Teacher Leader; Other

Curriculum Coach/ Specialist; Other

Administrator; Other

Career progression

6

How many years have you have been employed in the field of education?

0-3

4-10

11-24

25 or more

Career experience

7

How many years have you been employed as a teacher?

0-3

4-10

11-24

25 or more

Career experience

8

What is the number of courses that you have taken that include content on assessment literacy?

0

1-2

3-4

5 or more

Career experience

9

How often do you attend assessment literacy related professional development/training?

Never; Yearly

Per Semester; Quarterly;

Monthly; Weekly;

Multiple days per week; Daily

Assessment literacy professional development

Table 4. Quantitative self-efficacy indicator levels

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Item Number(s)

Standard

Low

Moderately Low

Moderately High

High

10, 14, 18, 22, 26

Standard 1:choosing assessment methods appropriate for instructional decision was the only commonality.

1

2-3

4-5

6

11, 15, 19, 23, 27

Standard 2: developing assessment methods appropriate for instructional decision was the second commonality

1

2-3

4-5

6

12, 16, 20, 24, 28

Standard 3:administering, scoring, and interpreting the results of both externally-produced and teacher-produced assessment methods

1

2-3

4-5

6

13, 17, 21, 25, 29

Standard 4:using assessment results when making decision about individual students, planning teaching, developing curriculum, and school improvement complete the list of self-efficacy domains

1

2-3

4-5

6

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Table 5. Quantitative competencies indicator levels Item Number(s)

Standard

Low

Moderately Low

Moderately High

High

30, 34, 38, 42, 46

Standard 1:choosing assessment methods appropriate for instructional decision was the only commonality

0% = % correct

20% ≤ % correct ≤ 40%

60% ≤ % correct ≤ 80%

100% = % correct

31, 35, 39, 43, 47

Standard 2: developing assessment methods appropriate for instructional decision was the second commonality

0% = % correct

20% ≤ % correct ≤ 40%

60% ≤ % correct ≤ 80%

100% = % correct

32, 36, 40, 44, 48

Standard 3:administering, scoring, and interpreting the results of both externallyproduced and teacher-produced assessment methods

0% = % correct

20% ≤ % correct ≤ 40%

60% ≤ % correct ≤ 80%

100% = % correct

33, 37, 41, 45, 49

Standard 4:using assessment results when making decision about individual students, planning teaching, developing curriculum, and school improvement complete the list of self-efficacy domains

0% = % correct

20% ≤ % correct ≤ 40%

60% ≤ % correct ≤ 80%

100% = % correct

Table 6. Quantitative implementation indicator levels Item Number(s)

Domain

Low

Moderately Low

Moderately High

High

50

Shared and Supportive Leadership

Strongly Disagree

Disagree

Agree

Strongly Agree

51

Shared Values and Vision

Strongly Disagree

Disagree

Agree

Strongly Agree

52, 53

Collective Learning and Application

Strongly Disagree

Disagree

Agree

Strongly Agree

54

Shared Personal Practice

Strongly Disagree

Disagree

Agree

Strongly Agree

55, 56

Supportive Conditions (Relationships and Structures)

Strongly Disagree

Disagree

Agree

Strongly Agree

DISCUSSION OF THE RESULTS

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From multiple data sources, the researcher was able to identify assessment literacy indicator commonalities for all PLCs, as well as isolate their similarities and differences. The data sources used to identify the indicator commonalities were observations, focus groups, interviews, and surveys. For each data source, the researcher assigned interpretation of themes by measuring the instances of the different objectives of assessment literacy for each PLC.

Demographics For this study, demographics described the exposure PLC members had regarding assessment literacy. The patterns in the data suggested the exposure varied across each PLC and data source. The study discovered that PLCs with zero and positive SMG had the same demographics commonality of “Moderately High.” However, the PLC with negative SMG had a different commonality of “Low.” These findings appear to be aligned with the literature as both the PLC with zero SMG and positive SMG produced

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evidence of their progression toward goals of increased collaborative, data-driven, and peer-facilitated PLC (Barber & Mourshed, 2009); whereas, the PLC with negative SMG did not display similar goals within the data collected.

Self-Efficacy The self-efficacy for the PLC with negative SMG was “Moderately Low,” for the PLC with zero SMG was “Moderately High,” and for the PLC with positive SMG was “Moderately High.” The PLC with zero and positive SMG had the same self-efficacy commonality of “Moderately High.” The self-efficacy commonality of “Moderately Low” for the PLC with zero SMG was different from both the PLC with zero and positive SMG. Similar to the findings for demographics, there was a clear distinction between the self-efficacy of PLC with negative SMG and the PLCs with zero and positive SMG. This distinction can be directly associated with the difference from the PLC with negative SMG and the other PLCs. Although the PLC with negative SMG met regularly, the meetings were lacking a collaborative culture. There was no evidence of increased SMG as a result of their meetings. Teachers received a lot of new learning but were not given an opportunity to apply the new learning in a collaborative setting.

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Competencies The competencies for the PLC with negative SMG was “Low,” for the PLC with zero SMG was “Moderately High,” and for the PLC with positive SMG was “High.” There were no similar commonalities for competences. Each PLC had different competency commonalities. The PLC with positive SMG had the highest competency commonality of “High.” The PLC with zero SMG had the next highest competency commonality of “Moderately High.” The PLC with negative SMG had the lowest competency commonality of “Low.” Competency was the only indicator of assessment literacy that was different across each PLC. Not only was it different, the ordering of the interpretation levels of the commonalities went from lowest to highest when compared to the lowest to highest ordering of SMG among the h PLCs. Also, competency appeared to be the variable that distinguishes the PLC with positive SMG from all other PLCs with varying levels of SMG. During the observation, the PLC with positive SMG informally catalogued their student’s math outcomes and used the information to forge a direction for their longterm and short-term instructional plans; this was a behavior unique to that PLC. While the PLC with zero SMG may not have demonstrated the utilization of assessment information to guide their instruction, the PLC members were equipped with student assessment data making the focus of their meeting results-driven. However, the observation of the PLC with negative SMG did not yield any information that would suggest that there was any understanding or commitment to implementing assessment literacy to collaboratively inform or evaluate student outcomes or instructional practices.

Implementation The implementation for the PLC with negative SMG was “Low,” for the PLC with zero SMG was “High,” and for the PLC with positive SMG was “High.” The PLC with zero and positive SMG had the same implementation commonality of “High.” The implementation commonality of “Low” for the PLC with negative SMG was different from both the PLC with zero and positive SMG. Similar to the outcomes in demographics, the PLC with negative was the only PLC with a commonality that was in the bottom 782

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half of the interpretation continuum. Although the PLC with negative SMG reported “Moderately High” levels of implementation of assessment literacy on the survey, there was no evidence collected during the observation, focus group, or interview of the PLC implementing assessment literacy because there was no defined meeting protocol that would facilitate the use of assessment literacy. The other two PLCs possessed protocols for the meeting that were focused on a goal that was centered on planning for student learning.

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INTERACTION OF INDICATOR COMMONALITIES FOR EACH PLC The interaction of commonalities for the PLC with negative SMG was “Low.” The interaction of commonalities for the PLC with zero SMG was “Moderately High.” The interaction of commonalities for the PLC with positive SMG was “High.” When comparing the interactions of indicator commonalities for the PLC with positive SMG and the PLC with zero SMG, three out of four of the indicator commonalities were exactly the same and all of the indicators ranged between “Moderately High” or “High” interpretation levels of objectivity. The only difference was the competencies commonality. For the PLC with positive SMG, the interpretation level was “High,” and the level of the interpretation for the PLC with zero SMG was “Moderately High.” It must be noted that the PLC with zero SMG and the PLC with positive SMG were both from the same school which may support the reason why there is a strong similarity between the two PLCs. It was likely that each PLC would have experienced similar exposure to job-embedded professional development regarding assessment literacy (demographics), cultures that influenced the confidence levels of PLC members in the use of assessment literacy (self-efficacy), and expectations of using the process of assessment literacy within the PLC (implementation). The level of knowledge or learning (competency) of assessment literacy would be the variable that could be considered the most internal factor among the four indicators. This may explain why competency was the only distinguishable indicator among the PLC with zero SMG and the PLC with positive SMG. When comparing PLCs with negative SMG to PLCs with zero and positive SMG, there were no similarities of interactions of indicator commonalities among the three. However, there were differences in the distribution of interactions of indicators commonalities across the interpretation levels. All of the indicator commonalities of the PLC with negative were “Moderately Low” and “Low.” Self-efficacy was the only indicator commonality that was rated “Moderately Low.” Conversely, none of the indicators for the PLCs with zero and positive SMG levels were lower than “Moderately High.” A “Moderately Low” level of fidelity equated to assessment literacy data being present in only one PLC objective and a “Low” level of fidelity equated to assessment literacy being absent in all PLC objectives. The outcome of the focus group could be explained by the principal’s desire to protect her teachers from feeling overwhelmed or inadequate. The principal chose not to introduce the PLC to new learning in the area of assessment literacy (demographics) and did not require the teachers to bring assessment data to their PLCs (implementation). The teacher felt more confident (self-efficacy) in assessment literacy than their actual knowledge (competency) in assessment literacy because their status quo was never challenged.

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CONCLUSION The researcher was interested in studying the data-driven decision-making of PLCs as it relates to student growth. The researcher decided to narrow student growth to included only mathematics for three reasons: (1) student achievement in mathematics has been linked to the college and career readiness of students, (2) the researcher’s past experience in middle school mathematics, and (3) the researcher’s current position and responsibilities as the District Math Coordinator. Next, the researcher chose to focus specifically on assessment literacy as a form a data-driven decision-making. In the end, the researcher developed research questions that were designed to describe and compare the four different aspects of assessment literacy within the data-driven decision-making of math PLCs. The researcher discovered that commonalities did exist among the different indicators used in the study, and, in some cases, those indicators were different across the three PLC cases. Likewise, the researcher identified different interactions of indicator commonalities within each PLC from which the researcher was able to highlight varying levels of distinction among the differences of the indicator interaction. The findings were encouraging as the study opened the path to further research that addresses the correlation between the work of PLCs and student outcomes, provides more details about the use of assessment literacy within PLCs, explores assessment literacy levels as the cause for varying levels of student achievement, and uses the same process of this study to describe and compare assessment literacy for PLCs that service different academic subjects or multi-disciplines.

Practical Application The following implications should be considered by educators from all education levels as they may serve as tools to describe, compare, diagnose, or progress monitor the assessment literacy of their PLCs: • •

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•

•

Schools or school systems could use the instruments developed in this study to describe their PLCs, to pinpoint areas of possible refnement or reinforcement, and to progress monitor the “pulse” of assessment literacy within the PLC. Schools or school systems should use multiple indicators, or multiple data sources, to create a snapshot of assessment literacy within the construct of a PLC and to create unique descriptions of the PLCs. Multiple indicators measure diferent components of assessment literacy that may afect the outcomes of student math growth. Schools or school systems should obtain perspectives of diferent groups. Gathering written and oral information through survey and focus group provided multiple opportunities to obtain frsthand accounts of assessment literacy from the PLC members. The interview and the observation provided alternative perspectives from a leadership point of view, as well as a point of view external to the PLC. If researchers examine multiple PLCs with regard to the four assessment literacy indicators, school or school systems could then compare the snapshot of a PLC to those established benchmarks to progress monitor the use of assessment literacy within a PLC. Similar to progress monitoring student achievement, continuous checks on the assessment literacy “health” of a PLC could provide leadership or PLC members with formative information about their work in terms of collaborative, informative, and evaluative practices.

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If PLCs do not exhibit characteristics at benchmark levels, schools or school systems can provide professional development or support based upon the results of comparing the descriptions of a PLC to the benchmarks.

REFERENCES Achieve. (2007). Closing the expectations gap: An annual 50-State progress report on the alignment of high school policies with the demands of college and work. Retrieved from http://www.achieve.org/ node/844 ACT, Inc. (2009a). Measuring college and career readiness: The class of 2009. Retrieved from http:// ww.act.org ACT, Inc. (2009b). Measuring college and career readiness 2009. Retrieved from http://act.org Ball, D., Thames, M., & Phelps, G. (2008). Content knowledge for teaching. Journal of Teacher Education, 59(1), 389–407. doi:10.1177/0022487108324554 Barber, M., & Mourshed, M. (2009). Shaping the future: How do education systems can become great in the decade ahead? Report on the International Education Roundtable. Retrieved from www.mckinsey. com/App_Media?Reports?SSO/Worlds_School_Systems_Final.pdf Bernhardt, V. (2000). Intersections: New routes open when one type of data crosses another. Journal of Staff Development, 21(1), 33–36. Bernhardt, V. (2005). Data tools for school improvement. Educational Leadership, 62(5), 66–69. Bernhardt, V. (2013). Data analysis for continuous school improvement (3rd ed.). Routledge. Bernhardt, V. L. (2004). Using data to improve student learning in middle schools. Florence, KY: Eye on Education. Bernhardt, V. L., & Hébert, C. L. (2011). Response to Intervention (RtI) and Continuous School Improvement (CSI): Using data, vision, and leadership to design, implement, and evaluate a schoolwide prevention system. New York, NY: Routledge.

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Carroll, T. (2009). The next generation of learning teams. Phi Delta Kappan, 91(1), 9–23. Common Core State Standards Initiative. (2011). Common core state standards for mathematics. Retrieved from http://www.corestandards.org/ Creswell, J. W. (2007). Qualitative inquiry and research design: Choosing among five approaches (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. Creswell, J. W. (2008). Educational research: Planning, conducting, and evaluating quantitative and qualitative research. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson/Merrill Prentice Hall.

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DuFour, R., DuFour, R., Eaker, R., & Many, T. (2010). Learning by doing: A handbook for professional learning communities at work. Bloomington, IN: Solution Tree Press. DuFour, R., & Eaker, R. E. (1998). Professional learning communities at work: Best practices for enhancing student achievement. Bloomington, IN: National Education Service and Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development. Garrett, K. (2010). Professional learning communities allow a transformational culture to take root. Education Digest, 76(2), 4. Gay, L. R., Mills, G. E., & Airasian, P. (2009). Educational research: Competencies for analysis and applications (9th ed.). Upper Saddle Ridge, NJ: Pearson Publishing. Hamilton, L., Halverson, R., Jackson, S., Mandinach, E., Supovitz, J., & Wayman, J. (2009). Using student achievement data to support instructional decision making (NCEE 2009-4067). Washington, DC: National Center for Education Evaluation and Regional Assistance, Institute of Education Sciences, U.S. Department of Education. Retrieved from http://ies.ed.gov/ncee/wwc/publications/practiceguides/ Hipp, K. K., & Huffman, J. B. (2010). Demystifying professional learning communities. New York, NY: Rowman & Littlefield Education. Hord, S. M. (2009). Professional learning communities. Journal of Staff Development, 30(1), 40–44. Jenkins, S., & Agamba, J. (2013). The missing link in the CCSS initiative: Professional development for implementation. Academy of Educational Leadership Journal, 17(2), 69–79. Leithwood, K., Patten, S., & Jantzi, D. (2010). Testing a conception of how school leadership influences student learning. Educational Administration Quarterly, 46(5), 671–706. doi:10.1177/0013161X10377347 Mandinach, E. B. (2012). A perfect time for data use: Using data-driven decision making to inform practice. Educational Psychology, 47(2), 71–85. doi:10.1080/00461520.2012.667064 Morrissey, M. S. (2000). Professional learning communities: An ongoing exploration. Austin, TX: Southwest Educational Development Laboratory. Mullis, I. V., Martin, M. O., Foy, P., & Arora, A. (2012). TIMSS 2011 international results in mathematics. International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement.

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National Council of Teachers of Mathematics. (2013). Principles to action: Executive summary. Reston, VA: Author. National Science Foundation. (2007). Executive summary: Rising above the gathering storm. Retrieved from http://www.sciencedems.house.gov/Media/File/Reports/natacad-compete/exsum-6feb06.pdf Popham, W. (2004). “Teaching to the test” an expression to eliminate. Educational Leadership, 62(3), 82–83. Schmidt, W., Cogan, L., & McKnight, C. (2010). Equality of educational opportunity. Myth or reality in U.S. Schooling? American Educator, 34(4), 12–19. Retrieved from http://www.aft.org/pdf/americaneducator/winter1011/Schmidt.pdf

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Stanford, P., & Reeves, S. (2005). Assessment that drives instruction. Teaching Exceptional Children, 37(4), 18–22. doi:10.1177/004005990503700402 Wimberly, G. L., & Noeth, R. J. (2005). Schools involving parents in early post-secondary planning. Iowa City, IA: ACT. Youngs, P. (2013). Using teacher evaluation reform and professional development to support common core assessments. Center for American Progress.

KEY TERMS AND DEFINITIONS Assessment Literacy Competencies: Assessment literacy competencies describe the PLC participant in terms of actual assessment literacy knowledge. Assessment Literacy Demographics: Assessment literacy demographics provide descriptive information about the assessment literacy background of PLC participants, such as education, training, and experience. Assessment Literacy Implementation: Assessment literacy implementation describes the degree to which assessment literacy is used as a practice. Assessment Literacy Self-Efficacy: Assessment literacy self-efficacy describes what PLC participants think about assessment literacy and their level of confidence in their assessment literacy abilities. Commonality: Interpretation levels that appear the most across the set of instruments used to describe assessment literacy. Interpretation Levels: Interpretation levels distinguish the variations of assessment literacy among the data collected from the instruments used in the study. The interpretation levels are assigned to both qualitative and quantitative data as “Low,” “Moderately Low,” “Moderately High,” and “High.” Student Math Growth (SMG): A difference calculated between two consecutive years of data regarding the percentage of students scoring proficient or higher on the state standardized summative assessment.

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This work was previously published in Data Leadership for K-12 Schools in a Time of Accountability; pages 119-139, copyright year 2018 by Information Science Reference (an imprint of IGI Global).

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Chapter 39

Preservice Teachers Decomposing Ambitious Mathematics Teaching: Video Analysis and Professional Learning Communities Jennifer M. Suh George Mason University, USA Melissa A. Gallagher University of Louisiana at Lafayette, USA

ABSTRACT

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We examined preservice teachers’ experiences during a clinically embedded mathematics methods course, specifcally examining the impact of video-based professional learning structures using the Mathematical Quality of Instruction (MQI; Learning Mathematics for Teaching, 2014) instruments on their collaborative planning and collective observations. Preservice teachers co-taught the summer PDS Math Lab within a Professional Learning Community with structured observations with video analysis that entailed: a) Collaborative planning; b) Structured Observations targeting instructional analysis focused on ambitious teaching practices; c) Use of the MQI that focused on the richness of mathematics. The authors detail the specifc afordances of the structured observation with video analysis in a math methods course in a teacher preparation program and how the clinically embedded coursework supported preservice teachers’ decomposition of ambitious teaching and bridge practitioner and academic knowledge.

INTRODUCTION In our study, we examined the impact of video-based professional learning structures using the Mathematical Quality of Instruction (MQI; Learning Mathematics for Teaching, 2014) instrument on preservice teachers’ collaborative planning and collective observations through their reflections and experiences DOI: 10.4018/978-1-7998-7294-8.ch039

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 Preservice Teachers Decomposing Ambitious Mathematics Teaching

during a clinically embedded mathematics methods course. Teachers co-taught the summer PDS Math Lab within a Professional Learning Community with structured observations with video analysis that entailed: a) Collaborative planning using an inquiry-based curriculum; b) Cycles of structured observations with video analysis focused on ambitious teaching practices; 3) Use of the Mathematical Quality of Instruction tool that focused on the richness of mathematics, assessment, and math discourse in the classroom, areas that were most challenging for preservice teachers. In particular, the authors highlight the cycles of structured observations with video analysis that linked ambitious mathematics teaching to clinical practices and the nature of the preservice teacher professional learning community that afforded specific shared experiences, and reflective dialogue, while making teaching public through team teaching.

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LITERATURE BACKGROUND Preparing preservice teachers to enact ambitious mathematics instruction can be challenging because of the complexities of teaching as well as the challenge of finding inservice teachers who are modeling ambitious mathematics instruction in the classrooms in which the preservice teachers can observe. (Lampert, Beasley, Ghousseini, Kazemi, & Franke, 2010). To support our preservice teachers’ ability to enact ambitious instruction, we embedded our math methods course in clinical practice and required preservice teachers to engage in cycles of structured observation and reflection (Gallagher, Suh, & King, 2017) supported by video. Throughout the course, the preservice teachers also engaged with their peers in professional learning communities (PLCs) to co-plan, co-teach, and co-reflect on one mathematics lesson. In this chapter we explore the affordances of video-based reflection and PLCs that helped develop preservice teachers’ development of professional vision of mathematics teaching and learning. For more than 50 years, reports evaluating the state of teacher education in the U.S. have made a similar recommendation: to increase clinical practice experiences for preservice teachers (AACTE, 2017; Carnegie Forum on Education and the Economy, 1986; Holmes Group, 1986; Holmes Group, 1995; Koerner, 1963; NCATE, 2010). Recently, the NCATE Blue Ribbon Panel Report (2010) called for teacher preparation to be resituated in clinical contexts. A number of recommendations exist for how to embed university methods courses in clinical practice. The most recent are the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education’s (AACTE) Clinical Practice Commission’s proclamations for clinical practice. In particular, the Pedagogy Proclamation states that “the intentional integration of embedded pedagogical coaching into an educator preparation program is the cornerstone of effective clinical practice” (AACTE, 2017, p. 1). More specific recommendations for how to embed coursework, such as the pedagogies of practice (Yendol-Hoppey & Franco, 2014), suggest: (a) focusing observations on specific practices, (b) scaffolding preservice teachers’ enactment of instructional practice through coaching by mentor teachers and/or university supervisors, (c) ensuring opportunities for co-teaching, (d) engaging in inquiry, and (e) supporting reflection. The use of video technology in teacher preparation and professional development can enhance these pedagogies of practice. Video artifacts have affordances in allowing a classroom teacher to highlight aspects of classroom life that a teacher might not notice in the midst of carrying out a lesson (Clarke & Hollingsworth, 2000; LeFevre, 2004). Educators and researchers have worked to break down highleverage teaching practices through fine grain analysis to help make teaching learnable by novices (Sun & van Es, 2015; Ball & Forzani, 2009; Grossman et al., 2009). The Mathematical Quality of Instruction (MQI; Hill, 2014; Hill, et al, 2008) instrument provides a framework for understanding and classifying the 789

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interactions between students, students and teachers, and teachers and the content. While not originally intended to support the development of preservice teachers, the MQI instrument provides operationalized language and concepts along with coded videos. Hill, Kraft, and Herlihy (2016) are currently using the MQI in video-based coaching of inservice teachers and have, thus far, found that students in classrooms where teachers have received this coaching report that their “teachers ask more substantive questions, and require more use of mathematical vocabulary as compared to students of control teachers. Students in MQI-coached classrooms also reported more student talk in class” (p. 1). The construct of “teacher noticings” in mathematics education research has also been advanced by the use of video-based studies (Mason, 2002; van Es & Sherin, 2002). Noticing refers to what teachers attend to in the moment of teaching, as well as how they reason about what they observe (van Es & Sherin, 2008).

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While teaching certainly involves making judgments about what went well or poorly in a lesson, we believe it is critical for teachers to first notice what is significant in a classroom interaction, then interpret that event, and then use those interpretations to inform their pedagogical decisions. (van Es & Sherin 2008, p. 247) Van Es and Sherin (2002, 2008) identified three interrelated phases that teacher noticings progress through: (a) attending to children’s strategies, (b) interpreting children’s understanding, and (c) deciding on how to respond on the basis of student understandings. The advancement in video reflection tools allows for users to not only mark but also annotate specific episodes to highlight, represent, and decompose practice (Jacobs, Lamb, & Philipp, 2010; Sherin, van Es & Sherin, 2002; Borko, Jacobs, Eiteljorg & Pittman, 2008). Studies have shown that teachers who examined classroom video learned to focus on the mathematically important details of student thinking (Goldsmith & Seago, 2008, 2011; van Es & Sherin, 2008). Teachers who attended to student math thinking in a video professional development shifted their teaching practice to attend more closely to student ideas while teaching (Sherin & van Es, 2001). Collaborative viewing and analysis of the video was a component of several of these professional development experiences which helped teachers to notice more specific teaching practices (van Es & Sherin, 2008; Sherin & van Es, 2009; Colestock & Sherin, 2009) The importance of collaboration to teachers’ development of their noticing skills in the video professional development studies previously mentioned, is unsurprising, as teachers are influenced by their colleagues (Walpole & McKenna, 2015). The teaching profession has become more collaborative with the recent Professional Learning Community movement (DuFour, DuFour, Eaker, & Many, 2006). DuFour (2004) points out that “educators who are building a professional learning community recognize that they must work together to achieve their collective purpose of learning for all. Therefore, they create structures to promote a collaborative culture” (p. 9). Researchers suggest that professional development that is embedded in PLCs and guided by research can afford teachers unique opportunities to reflect on teaching and change their practice (Darling-Hammond, Wei, Andree, Richardson, Orphanos, 2009; Desimone, Porter, Garet, Yoon, & Birman, 2002; Hammerness, Darling-Hammond, & Bransford, 2005). A collaborative structure that has been used to support preservice teachers’ noticing high leverage mathematical practices is Instructional Rounds (City, Elmore, Fiarman & Teitel, 2009). Targeted instructional rounds helped to raise the awareness of the preservice teachers, especially concerning pedagogical decisions in the classroom (Suh, King & Weiss, 2014).

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To support our preservice teachers’ noticing of ambitious mathematics instruction, we integrated the pedagogies of practice (Yendol-Hoppey & Franco, 2014) with PLCs and video-based reflection by creating cycles of structured observation and reflection. Cycles of structured observation and reflection (Figure 1) are an adaptation of instructional rounds, to support preservice teachers’ decomposition of ambitious instruction. We created cycles of structured observation and reflection to purposefully support preservice teacher noticing by engaging them in three noticing activities supported by the use of video and structured around the MQI. The three noticing activities that the preservice teachers engaged in were: (a) observation, whereby all the preservice teachers used the MQI as a tool to decompose observed mathematics lessons; (b) debrief, which occurred immediately following the observation and included all preservice teachers and teacher educators decomposing the instruction, especially focusing on the indicators in the MQI; and (c) individual reflection, whereby the preservice teachers individually wrote up their reflections on the instruction they had observed, using videos of the instruction to support their reflections. We created opportunities for the preservice teachers to engage in four stages of these cycles and at each stage the proximity to themselves increased: (a) video of mathematics instruction from the MQI website (National Center for Teacher Effectiveness, n.d.); (b) observation of clinical faculty’s instruction for four days; (c) observation of peers’ instruction for three days; and (d) own instruction of co-taught lesson, watched on video and debriefed in their PLCs through comments on the video.

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Figure 1. Cycle of structured observation and reflection

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To investigate the impact of video analysis, clinically embedded practice, and PLCs on preservice teachers’ noticing, our research focused on these three questions: 1. What are the affordances of the structured observation with video analysis in a math methods course in a teacher preparation program? 2. How does clinically embedded coursework support preservice teachers’ decomposition of ambitious teaching and bridge practitioner and academic knowledge? 3. How did the Professional Learning Community support preservice teachers working together to achieve a collective goal in mathematics teaching and learning?

METHODS In this exploratory study, we examined interviews and written reflections to interpret how preservice teachers decomposed ambitious instruction after using four cycles of structured observation with video analysis and reflection while engaging in PLCs.

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Context This math methods course was embedded in clinical practice by creating a hybrid space (Zeichner, 2010). We brought our university methods course on site to a Title I professional development school (PDS) during the PDS’s summer enrichment program to form a hybrid space we called the PDS Math Lab. The PDS Math Lab was designed to link practitioner and academic knowledge with clinical practice and to leverage the PDS site as an innovative hub to enhance ambitious teaching and learning of mathematics. The PDS Math Lab was designed around a 3-credit methods course scheduled daily for five weeks in the summer semester and, unlike most teacher preparation courses, the course was held at a PDS site where 25 invited students from this Title I community school attended an upper elementary enrichment math lab. The clinical faculty was the gifted and talented teacher from the PDS. During the first week of the math lab, the preservice teachers observed the clinical faculty’s math instruction on a daily basis, participated in lesson debriefs, and wrote reflections on his practice focused on decomposing his practice according to the MQI. During this first week, they also designed an assessment task and worked one-on-one with a student. During the second week of the math lab, the preservice teachers worked in PLCs to co-plan and co-teach a small group robotics lesson and a whole group algebra lesson. After each algebra lesson, we engaged in fishbowl debriefs in which the PLC team who had just taught and the teacher educators sat in the center of the fishbowl and debriefed their reflections while the rest of the preservice teachers sat on the outside and observed the debrief, sharing their own reflections, particularly as they related to decomposing practice according to the MQI indicators. Creating this hybrid space of university coursework and clinical experience afforded many opportunities for our preservice teachers to decompose instruction.

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Participants All preservice teachers who took this course were invited to participate in the study, and five volunteered. All five participants were White females in their second semester of an initial licensure Master’s program in elementary education at a large Mid-Atlantic university.

Mathematical Quality of Instruction The MQI was developed as an observation tool to capture teachers’ instruction; however, we used the MQI in our methods course as a teaching, observation, and reflection tool in an effort to focus preservice teachers’ noticing on specific instructional practices. The MQI (Learning Mathematics for Teaching, 2014) has four broad domains, each containing three to seven instructional practices. The four domains are: richness of mathematics, working with students, errors and imprecisions, and Common Core aligned student practices. As such, we decided that focusing on one dimension of the MQI at a time would allow a more focused approach to the cycle of structured observation and reflection. For instance, the “Richness of the Mathematics” domain is comprised of seven indicators: (a) linking between representations, (b) explanations, (c) mathematical sense-making, (d) multiple procedures or solutions methods, (e) patterns and generalizations, (f) mathematical language, and (g) overall richness of the mathematics. We asked preservice teachers to consider these codes both throughout the cycles of structured observation and reflection as well as when co-planning for their own instruction in their PLCs.

Data Sources and Analysis Data sources include interviews with the preservice teachers, written individual reflections, and video annotations from collaborative lesson analysis. Participants were interviewed using a semi-structured, stimulated recall format. Using the constant comparative method (Strauss & Corbin, 1994), we used open coding techniques and tested for recurring themes and patterns. We identified common themes in the preservice teachers’ written reflections and comments on the video recordings. Recurring themes from the interviews, reflections, and comments were categorized into three dimensions: affordances of the structured observation with video analysis, the nature of the decomposition of the ambitious teaching practices, and the notable exchanges that highlight the nature of the preservice teacher reflections in their PLCs. These different data sources were used to triangulate and verify the common themes.

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FINDINGS The analysis of the preservice teachers’ written reflections journals, annotated video clips and stimulated recall interviews using video revealed the following recurring themes regarding the first research question on identifying specific affordances of a structured analysis using video analysis in a math methods course. These included a) learning from one another and finding instances of instructional practices from the MQI in the different cycles of the structured observation moving from visions of ambitious practices to noticings of clinical faculty, peer and self teaching episodes; b) preservice teachers had an opportunity to mark and highlight through the use of the video analysis to focus on a classroom interaction that was notable for them as well as have a group debrief that allowed them to share collective knowledge. 793

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First, preservice teachers had the opportunity to develop a vision of ambitious teaching through in-time observation and video replay of those lessons from a variety of teaching episodes starting with the video examples from the MQI collection that showcased the core instructional practices using the criteria from the MQI tool. The initial video clips from the MQI collection provided a basis for collective video viewing, debrief and reflection around the important teaching practices. Gradually the cycle of structured observation become more introspective and moved closer in proximity to the preservice teachers. The second cycle of structured observation focused on observing and noticing the way in which the clinical faculty used the different components of MQI in his teaching. The third cycle of structured observation was of their peer and finally the fourth cycle of structured observation was of their own practice. In this way, their reflective dialogue became increasingly more personal with each cycle as it became more about their own practice. Through the co-teaching activity, our preservice teachers had the opportunities to watch their colleagues respond to the teaching episode “live.” By having the group lessons videotaped and on a video-coaching platform called Edthena, preservice teachers, in essence, had the ability to “rewind the lesson.” In her Edthena comments, Emma (all names are pseudonyms) reflected on her colleague’s questioning technique I like how Joan models her thinking for Student J here. She doesn’t tell him how to solve the problem but is instead giving him a way to access it. She uses the vocabulary word “inverse” and shows him how she would use the inverse of multiplication to talk herself through the problem. Great scaffolding! Second, preservice teachers had an opportunity to use the video analysis to mark and highlight classroom interaction that was notable for them. They selected the video and annotated the classroom event and thought more deeply about their reflection. Having more time to reflect after the initial “live” lesson and the viewing of the videotaped lesson provided more time for reflective thought.

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Victoria had a really good way of questioning students when you look through the video. She is constantly asking them why or having them justify decisions that they made. That also helps them move away from the procedure and get more of a conceptual knowledge of what they were doing. She would say basically like, “Ok. So now we’re out of information what do we do next?” They would move on to the next thing and she’d say, “Well why are you doing it that way?” It just really got them to think about what it was helping them figure out versus okay it’s just the next step. (Emma, interview) This excerpt not only shows evidence that the preservice teacher attended to the way in which her peer questioned the student but also reveals the development of her professional vision of teaching mathematics for conceptual understanding when she states, “move away from the procedure and get more of a conceptual knowledge”. For our second research question, how does clinically embedded coursework support preservice teachers’ decomposition of ambitious teaching and bridge practitioner and academic knowledge, we examined the depth of the reflections and the learning environment that was created and enhanced by the use of the MQI framework. The use of video and the Edthena software to review their own teaching also contributed to the preservice teachers’ learning. Reflections were connected to the high leverage clinical practices of developing pedagogical content knowledge and leveraging collective observation through cycles of structured observation and reflection.

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Evidence of the decomposition of complex teaching were determined by the preservice teachers’ reflective quotes on specific MQI indicators. In one of the preservice teacher’s reflective quotes, she comments on the clinical faculty’s use of mathematics language and defends his use of imprecise language of “canceling” and “getting rid of” because she interprets his word choice as terms that were appropriate for the specific steps he was demonstrating in the procedure. This quote is interesting in that it reveals some of her conceptions of mathematics, in particular, her support of this “gray area” language suggests that her understanding is more procedural than conceptual. [The clinical faculty] is very purposeful in his use of consistent mathematical language with students. In some instances he used the words “canceling” and “getting rid of” in his math lesson which under the scoring help section of the MQI are considered “gray area”. While I believe that some of the terms on this list could be considered confusing, I felt the use of these terms by [the clinical faculty] was appropriate for the particular step in the solution that he was demonstrating. In her online comments on the video of her instruction, Jill reflected on her use of mathematical language and how she become more conscious of her precise mathematical language choice. Knowing more about the MQI’s mathematical language and errors, I found myself stumbling over my own words to ensure I used the correct terminology during the lesson. It was beneficial in reminding me of what makes up a quality math lesson.

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These findings suggest that the preservice teachers had internalized the language of the MQI and were using it to attend to and decompose the instruction of others as well as themselves. For our last research question, we wanted to learn about the nature of the preservice teachers’ PLCs and how it supported the preservice teachers working together to achieve a collective goal in mathematics teaching and learning. We learned that working in a community of practice through a PLC provided preservice teachers with authentic experiences of having to negotiate diverse perspectives during coplanning and co-teaching. At times, the different perspectives also became a point of contention. In one notable quote during her interview, Emma reflects on an initial conflict that was resolved and ultimately improved their overall lesson: I remember that we had this whole plan laid out and it seemed perfect and everyone was really in on it and then someone brought up that we should put this challenge up in the beginning and it kind of threw a wrench in the whole thing. I remember my initial reaction was, No, we can’t do that because we’re going to have to change every single thing in our layout in order to accommodate that problem. I was really against it and then at a certain point I remember saying, I just realized that I’m arguing this because we’re going to have to change everything but it’s a really good idea. Why am I so against it? And so we ended up changing that. I caught myself holding onto the activities we had planned because it had already been planned out, rather than going with the best option for student learning. In addition, there were many notable exchanges where preservice teachers shared how they felt relief when faced with uncertainty during a lesson and having one of their co-teachers step in.

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Emma did a really good job with Student T. ‘Cause I’m... I need to get better about my faces. I definitely, if I notice a kid does something wrong and I’m uncomfortable, I’m not good with the stoic, “Oh well, what if we tried it this way?” I’m kind of of like, “Eh, eh.” Whereas Emma, you couldn’t see any sort of, “No, this is isn’t right.” She just let [the student] work it through and plugged it in, you know, “Is 0 equal to 2?” and let her find it on her own. I thought that was really good. (Joan, interview) We learned that preservice teachers relied on their colleagues for emotional and social support as well as instructional support. They also had pre-established trust from taking classes together which helped them with the norms necessary for an effective PLCs. We’re all friends outside of class and outside of the teaching arena so we had polite ways of saying things to each other because there were a couple of disagreements on what we should do and what was the best course of action. I think if I was co-teaching with someone that I didn’t know so well and that I did kind of butt heads with a little bit, it could get really interesting because we all have our own pedagogical thoughts and somebody who is going to drastically vary from ours can make that lesson very interesting. We debated everything out pretty much anything that we disagreed on and eventually majority ruled on it and whoever had the dissenting opinion seemed to be fine with it. (Emma, interview).

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CONCLUSION AND IMPLICATIONS FOR TEACHER PREPARATION Employing cycles of structured observation and reflection with attention to particular areas of interaction in the classroom between the teacher and the content, the teacher and students, and the students and the content using a validated framework has enhanced the learning of the mathematics preservice teachers. The framework provides the backdrop for deeper reflection, informing the preservice teachers of what to look for and notice in the classroom. MQI provides a common framework, set of concepts and language for reflecting on interactions in the classroom (teachers, students, and mathematical content). MQI lesson videos and participating in ratings conversations have provided a base of expectations and pedagogical knowledge. We believe the introduction of a validated mathematics framework within which to work raises the collective cognitive demand and deepens the learning and experiences of the preservice teachers. During this mathematics methods course, teachers were observing, learning, and refining assessment and instruction with the clinical faculty and mathematics instructors. They were able to note, question, and analyze in a true school setting. In the afternoon, teachers shared observations and reflections. Clinical faculty and the mathematics instructors provided new learning that could be observed or attempted by teachers in the following days. This provided opportunity to refine and practice teaching behaviors immediately, making best practices common practices. The videos from the structured observation provided a permanent record of the lessons. It allowed them to rewind, reflect and refine their conceptions of mathematics teaching and learning. It was nice to be able to go back and look through everything to have that reference point because I think a lot of times in my head you can move things around a little bit and that went really well or that didn’t go so well but when you actually look at it there are a lot of pieces that can help one side or the other of that. (Emma, interview)

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The video offered the preservice teachers “pictures of practices”, some of these pictures were less than ideal and they would interpret these moments in their videos as missed opportunities with statements like, “should have”, “would have”, “could have” . In many sense, these “missed opportunities” provided a perfect opportunity to discuss how they would respond in the future. These instances were revealing to the researchers because they provided a window into these preservice teachers’ development of professional vision in mathematics teaching and learning. Definitely the videos help us because I was able to look back and see and pinpoint like I don’t wanna do that again or you know the kids seemed to really get that (Jill, interview) The structures of clinically embedded PLC in the methods course allowed preservice teachers to experience an authentic PLC with a set of established norms. Oftentimes we prepare preservice teachers in coursework with individual lesson planning and implementation; however, the reality of teaching is that many schools have professional learning teams and/or colleagues within their grade level that teachers need to collaborate with for curricular planning and pacing. In addition, in many classrooms, teachers may co-teach with a specialist (i.e. Special educator or English language resource teacher). With this collaborative nature of teaching, it is essential for teacher preparation programs to prepare preservice teachers to become collaborative peers who can lead others and negotiate through differing perspectives in teaching and learning. We learned through this team teaching assignment that preservice teachers also created a PLC that allowed for them to recognize that they needed to work together to achieve their collective purpose of teaching and impacting student learning. With many schools adopting PLC as structures for professional learning among peers, teacher education programs and educators working with preservice teacher education courses should consider incorporating as many collaborative jobembedded activities and experiences for our preservice teachers. In doing so, we believe our preservice teachers will be better equipped with the skills and dispositions to work collaboratively in professional learning communities. Finally, professional learning community created a community of practice that supported the preservice teachers working together to achieve a collective goal in mathematics teaching and learning, particularly the shared experiences, reflective dialogue, and their effort in making their teaching public helped them develop their professional vision for teaching mathematics.

REFERENCES

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American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education (AACTE) Clinical Practice Commission. (2017). A pivot toward clinical practice, its lexicon, and renewing the profession of teaching: Executive summary. Retrieved from http://aacte.org/cpc Colestock, A., & Sherin, M. G. (2009). Teachers’ Sense-Making Strategies While Watching Video of Mathematics Instruction. Journal of Technology and Teacher Education, 17(1), 7–29. Darling-Hammond, L., Wei, R. C., Andree, A., Richardson, N., & Orphanos, S. (2009). Professional learning in the learning profession: A status report on teacher development in the United States and abroad. Palo Alto, CA: National Staff Development Council.

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Desimone, L. M., Porter, A. C., Garet, M. S., Yoon, K. S., & Birman, B. F. (2002). Effects of Professional Development on Teachers Instruction: Results from a Three-year Longitudinal Study. Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis, 24(2), 81–112. doi:10.3102/01623737024002081 Hammerness, K., Darling-Hammond, L., & Bransford, J. (2005). How teachers learn and develop. In L. Darling-Hammond & J. Bransford (Eds.), Preparing teachers for a changing world: What teachers should learn and be able to do (pp. 358–389). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass. Hatch, T., Hill, K., & Roegman, R. (2016). Investigating the Role of Instructional Rounds in the Development of Social Networks and District-Wide Improvement. American Educational Research Journal, 53(4), 1022–1053. doi:10.3102/0002831216653205 Hill, H. C., Kraft, M. A., & Herlihy, C. (2016). Early findings report: Developing Common Core classrooms through rubric-based coaching. Retrieved from http://cepr.harvard.edu/files/cepr/files/mqicoaching-research-findings.pdf Holmes Group. (1986). Tomorrow’s teachers: A report of the Holmes Group. East Lansing, MI: Authors. Holmes Group. (1995). Tomorrow’s schools of education: A report of the Holmes Group. East Lansing, MI: The Holmes Group, Inc. Jacobs, V. R., Lamb, L. L. C., & Philipp, R. A. (2010). Professional noticing of children’s mathematical thinking. Journal for Research in Mathematics Education, 41(2), 169–202. Koerner, J. D. (1963). The miseducation of American teachers. Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin. Lampert, M., Beasley, H., Ghousseini, H., Kazemi, E., & Franke, M. (2010). Using designed instructional activities to enable novices to manage ambitious mathematics teaching. In M. K. Stein & L. Kucan (Eds.), Instructional explanations in the disciplines (pp. 129–141). New York: Springer. doi:10.1007/978-14419-0594-9_9 Learning Mathematics for Teaching. (2014). Mathematical Quality of Instruction (MQI) 4-point version. Retrieved from http://isites.harvard.edu/icb/icb.do?keyword=mqi_training&tabgroupid=icb. tabgroup120173

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National Center for Teacher Effectiveness. (n.d.). Mathematical quality of instruction. Retrieved from MQI training web site: http://isites.harvard.edu/icb/icb.do?keyword=mqi_training National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE). (2010). Transforming teacher education through clinical practice: A national strategy to prepare effective teachers. Report of the Blue Ribbon Panel on clinical preparation and partnerships for improved student learning. Retrieved from http://www.ncate.org/LinkClick.aspx?fileticket=zzeiB1OoqPk%3d&tabid=715 Sherin, M. G., & van Es, E. A. (2009). Effects of Video Club Participation on Teachers Professional Vision. Journal of Teacher Education, 60(1), 20–37. doi:10.1177/0022487108328155 Suh, J. M., King, L. A., & Weiss, A. (2014). Co-Development of professional practice at a professional development school through Instructional Rounds and Lesson Study. In Professional Development Schools and Transformative Partnerships (pp. 177-189). Academic Press.

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van Es, E. A., & Sherin, M. G. (2002). Learning to notice: Scaffolding new teachers’ interpretations of classroom interactions. Journal of Technology and Teacher Education, 10, 571–596. van Es, E. A., & Sherin, M. G. (2008). Mathematics teachers learning to notice in the context of a video club. Teaching and Teacher Education, 24(2), 244–276. doi:10.1016/j.tate.2006.11.005 Yendol-Hoppey, D., & Franco, Y. (2014). In search for signature pedagogy for clinically rich teacher education: A review of articles published in the Journal of Teacher Education and School University Partnerships. School-University Partnerships Journal, 7(1), 17–34. Zeichner, K. (2010). Rethinking the connections between campus courses and field experiences in college- and university-based teacher education. Journal of Teacher Education, 61(1-2), 89–99. doi:10.1177/0022487109347671

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This work was previously published in Innovative Practices in Teacher Preparation and Graduate-Level Teacher Education Programs; pages 37-47, copyright year 2018 by Information Science Reference (an imprint of IGI Global).

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Chapter 40

Sustaining a Teacher Professional Learning Community in China Through Technology Jayne Fleener North Carolina State University, USA Lianfang Lu University of Arkansas at Little Rock, USA Jian Dun Beijing Institute of Education, China Yang Mingquan Beijing Normal University, China

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ABSTRACT This study explores the evolution of a professional learning community (PLC) of Chinese teachers over a multi-year period. A group of 16 teachers participated in a three-semester PLC over the 2008-2009 school years to develop master mathematics teachers in a school district in Beijing, China. The goal of the PLC, as identifed by the teachers, was to improve instruction for greater student autonomy, creativity, and problem solving as they developed their master capacity building skills and networked relationships. This paper explores what has happened to these 16 teachers six years later, specifcally considering how they may have used technology to further their development as master teachers. This study shows the potential of a PLC for self-adaptive, emergent behaviors and understandings that are instructional for transforming teaching practices, sustaining changes in teaching practices and preparing students for 21st century engagements.

DOI: 10.4018/978-1-7998-7294-8.ch040

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Research Anthology on Facilitating New Educational Practices Through Communities of Learning, edited by Association, Information Resources Management, IGI Global, 2020. ProQuest

 Sustaining a Teacher Professional Learning Community in China Through Technology

INTRODUCTION

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China initiated a mathematics curriculum reform movement in K-12 schools nationwide in 2005 to focus on strategies to improve teaching to support greater student autonomy, creativity, and problem solving in mathematics (Yang, 2009). The reform movement was prompted by concerns expressed throughout the global mathematics education and policy communities that students need to be able to use mathematical knowledge to creatively solve problems to engage in 21st century global economies. One of the strategies used in China has been to create local lead teacher learning communities (Hairon & Dimmock, 2012; Yang, 2009). Lead teacher development in China follows a layered approach of expertise and support, often including university-teacher educators and researchers who work with classroom teachers over a long period of time. Lead teachers then assume responsibilities within their schools and districts to model PLC strategies (DuFour, 2004) for other teachers. China first began using the Lead Teacher approach in the early 1950s when the Chinese Ministry of Education focused on improving the quality of teaching overall. Implementation of a Lead Teacher strategy includes grouping classroom teachers by subject area and having lead teachers model ideal lessons for their peers. Regular meetings provide opportunities for discussion of model lessons and shared approaches to lesson design. Recent approaches to the Lead Teacher Development initiative have focused on preparing teachers to support their students’ development as 21st century learners. The concern, in mathematics, has been that students are taught to perform well in mathematics but do not know how to apply their knowledge creatively (Huang, Li, Zhang, & Li, 2011; Yang & Leung, 2013), requiring more opportunities for students to develop 21st century problem solving and innovation skills. This study extends research on the cultivation of middle school lead mathematics teachers and the lead teacher learning community created through a PLC project in a school district located in Beijing, China (Fleener, Lu, & Dun, 2016). The previous study examined the lead teacher development process of the PLC through a Communities of the Future (COTF) framework for developing Master Capacity Builders (MCBs), a key component of future forward thinking and teaching that is missing in many PLC approaches to school transformation. The COTF framework for developing MCB considers the following as key attributes for MCBs (See Smyre & Richardson, 2016): • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

Open to New Ideas Willing to Take Appropriate Risks Patience Passion for Learning Ability to Share Thoughts and Emotions Listen for Value in What Others Say Help Each Other Succeed Look for Connections Among Disparate Ideas and Factors “And/Both” Connective Thinking Ability to Identify Future Trends and Weak Signals Know How to Lay Seeds for Long Term Transformation Ability to Ask Appropriate Questions Maturity in Thinking and Acting A Balance of Human, Moral, Ethical, Spiritual, and Economic Values 801

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•

Concern for Others Developing MCBs includes strategies such as:

• • • • • • • •

Adopting a Futures Perspective Thinking Systemically Asking Appropriate Questions Connecting Disparate Ideas Building Parallel Processes Looking for Multiple Access Points for Learning Identifying Risks and Their Application Designing and Nurturing Projects of True Transformation (pp. 60-62)

The teachers participating in the PLC already possessed many of the characteristics of MCB, which was one reason they were selected to participate in the Lead Teacher project. The PLC was structured to facilitate their growth in becoming MCB by providing opportunities for identifying future needs of their students, developing strategies for action research to explore their students’ understandings and access points, learning to question and listen to their students’ reasoning, and implementing a problem focused approach to teaching while maintaining important mathematical skills learning. The expectation was that most of them would become lead teachers responsible for developing MCB attributes with other teachers after the three semester PLC experiences. This study explores how these teachers have implemented PLC strategies, evolved as instructional leaders and MCBs, and used technology as an instructional and communication tool six years after their PLC participation and as an indication of their continuing growth as MCBs.

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Complexity Approaches to Schools and Schooling Craig Cunningham’s book (2014), Systems Theory for Pragmatic Schooling, explores the perspective of schools as complex adaptive social systems with abilities to adapt and transform as learning systems. A systems perspective serves as the conceptual framework for our study as we explore the sustainability of a professional learning community (PLC) six years after teachers participated in a formal, three-semester PLC designed to develop them as master/lead teachers. The master/lead teacher initiative in China is an example of a whole-system approach to mathematics education reform and is particularly relevant for exploration from a systems perspective. Extending a systems approach to understanding educational change, we also utilize a futures perspective as described by Rick Smyre and Neil Richardson (2016) in their book, How Do We Prepare for a World that Does Not Exist – Yet? to explore the sustainability of strategies to develop master teachers. Using their ideas of transformational learning and master capacity building, we revisit the teachers from the PLC to understand how they have utilized the strategies and understandings of the PLC six years after the formal PLC ended and evolved as MCBs. China’s reform efforts in mathematics have been driven by both systems and future perspectives as Chinese educators have long recognized they know how to teach their students to do well in mathematics but do not do well in teaching their students to think mathematically and inventively (Yang, 2009). The whole-system approach to mathematics curriculum reform in China, beginning in 2005 and focusing on 802

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 Sustaining a Teacher Professional Learning Community in China Through Technology

improving teaching to support greater student autonomy, creativity, and problem solving, serves as the social context for understanding sustainability of teaching practices and networked relations of teacher reform strategies developed by teachers in a local PLC.

A Systems Approach to Educational Transformation Cunningham (2014) describes a systems approach to understanding schooling entailing complex adaptive systems characteristics of: • • • • • •

Shared purpose Process orientation Interactive complexity Cohesive identity Emergent capabilities Adaptive potential

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Described by Maturana and Varella (1980) as living systems, social systems with adaptive capabilities maintain a system’s purpose over time and are continually adapting to environmental and contextual changes and challenges, supporting change while maintaining focus. Complex social systems maintain networked ways of knowing to support growth and encourage focus on shared understandings. Rather than focusing on end-products, such as achievement tests, a systems perspective considers process dynamics as indications of system health and adaptive potential. Examining the mathematics education curriculum reform movement, in general, and the practices of the teachers in the PLC, in particular, from a systems perspective therefore considers how PLC values, focus, and connections are maintained and evolved over time and throughout individual and collective change. This approach to understanding transformational change does not use a causal model but reflects an eco-systems approach to exploring how change is sustained and nurtured over time and how educational environments can support those changes. We have seen, in the U.S., how mandated, external drivers to change seldom work. A systems approach considers how interactive complexity and system purpose are maintained throughout autonomous action and distributed leadership so individual teachers “can manage the complexity they are facing with more flexibility and agility” (Cunningham, 2014, p. 74). Distributed leadership throughout a complex system, as described by Senge (1990), is an important strategy for system health where whole system control is impossible or maladaptive for addressing local contexts and individual differences. Systems theory places a premium on relational dynamics, information flow, cooperation, coordination, and integration (Banathy & Jenks, 1990) as systems interact with their environments and maintain unity of purpose.

Master Capacity Building for Transformational Potential Beyond a systems perspective, however, Smyre and Richardson (2016) describe the importance of MCBs as leaders for transformation. As they describe the needs for 21st century learning: 21st century leadership will require more than just shifting from tasks to processes, or from linear thinking to systemic thinking. It will require rethinking the very nature of the overall leadership experience. (p. 60)

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Characteristics of a MCB as described above by Smyre and Richardson (2016) include openness to new ideas, embracing diversity, risk taking, passion for learning, ability to communicate, questioning and listening skills, ability to maintain parallel structures or processes for change, and desire for laying the seeds for change. Considering teachers as MCBs explores their shift from “strategic planning, outcomes based analysis, and top down command and control leadership” to their ability to “build capacities for transformation” in their students and schools in order “to adapt quickly to changing conditions” (p. 63). From the perspective of the mathematics reform movement in China, the teacher as MCB entails the ability to prepare students to think mathematically and autonomously to problem solve and create new approaches to mathematical challenges. MCBs also consider the future needs of students, build off of student understandings, and use questioning to explore and shape student thinking.

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The Use of Technology for Master Capacity Building According to Smyre and Richardson (2016), MCBs place a premium on “building capacities for transformation” by “building webs of relationships, creating interlocking networks, and (supporting) innovative ecosystems” (p. 64). We were interested in exploring how the teachers in the PLC used technology to maintain communications with each other and with their students, and how they expanded their influence through communications technologies with other teachers in their role as MCBs six years after the PLC. Their adoption of innovation, while not directly attributable to PLC activities, may serve as an indication and outcome of developing MCB skills and attributes. While studies have suggested mathematics teaching in China has made tremendous strides in providing students with opportunities to apply mathematical understandings and reasoning to solve mathematics problems (Cai & Hwang, 2002; Cai & Nie, 2007; Gu, 2002; Gu, Huang, & Marton., 2004; Zhu & Fan, 2006), technology use in China for communicating across mathematics education contexts is still limited. As Chap Sam Lim (2007) describes in her study of schools in Shanghai, mathematics teachers have evolved to emphasize logical reasoning and mathematical thinking using problems that provide for multiple solution pathways and student collaboration. Teachers focus on developing student-teacher relationships in the classroom but seldom support student learning through the use of technology. In their review of the literature, Vince Geiger, et al., (2012) found technology use in mathematics instruction in China was limited to how technology (computers, calculators, or the internet) was used in the classroom to develop students’ mathematical capacities. The use of technology as a communication tool by teachers has not been widespread in China until recently with the introduction of WeChat (Fang, 2016). WeChat has been used in China similar to how email is used in the United States to communicate directly with students, parents and peers. The study by Hu and McGrath (2011) on English language teachers in China similarly reports teachers have not used information and communication technologies in their teaching and for professional development. Citing the adoption of innovation literature, they suggest one aspect of adoption of innovation may be the quality of the teachers. Since the teachers in our study were already identified for their potential as master teachers with responsibilities for supporting other teachers in their development, we were interested in seeing if they were more amenable to using information and communication technologies in their mathematics teaching and professional relationships. We thus explored whether and how the teachers in the PLC used technology as a communication tool to maintain networked relations among members of the PLC and to support communications with students in their role as MCBs. 804

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METHODS

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Context This study is part of a larger study investigating mathematics teaching reform in China (Lu, 2011) and an in-depth analysis of the evolution of a PLC in Beijing, China over a three-semester period (Fleener et al., 2016). Sixteen teachers from ten schools in the district participated in the Lead Teacher PLC over three semesters in 2008-2009. The teachers were identified by their district and/or school leadership as potential leaders and were being groomed to become Lead Teachers. Establishing the PLC was different in this group than in other groups we observed in the larger study (Lu, 2011) and mirrored strategies of developing MCBs (Smyre & Richardson, 2016) that included: (a) anticipating the future (and children’s needs to be more creative problem solvers); (b) collaborative and adaptive planning; (c) continual and networked feedback from a variety of perspectives; (d) openness to new ideas and approaches; and (e) importance of changes in expectations and actions for transforming student learning outcomes. All PLCs were designed to provide opportunities for the teachers to identify their professional learning needs and goals. The focus was on improving student learning as part of the Reform Agenda. Because this PLC had first identified a clear vision for their work, beyond the mandates for implementing the reformed curriculum agenda, they continually revisited the tenets of letting go of control and understanding individual student needs to guide their evolving inquiry during implementation of the PLC over three semesters. The theme of letting go of control was unique to this PLC and emerged from their early conversations about preparing their students to become better and more inventive problem solvers in the future. The activities of the PLC were also more organic than in the other PLCs in the original study. Rather than each phase seeming distinct, there was a clear sense that the PLC was evolving and building on previous conversations and activities while remaining focused on the vision of the PLC to change practices for a more future-forward orientation. Participating in the PLC was designed to impact the participating teachers in three ways: 1) develop a new vision of teaching, 2) increase pedagogical knowledge and content knowledge, and 3) enhance professional inquiry into their own teaching. Nominated and supported by their school and/or district administrators, the ultimate goal for the teachers participating in the PLC was to become master/lead teachers, a status of teaching in China that places expectations on teachers to become leaders and supporters of other teachers. The participating teachers in this community began to assume new levels of responsibility to the group from the very beginning, providing opportunities for all participants of the PLC to learn from each other. As their understandings and practices evolved, the teachers participating in the project began sharing in their schools with support from their school administrators, assuming the role of MCBs for other teachers. This study surveyed the 16 teachers who participated in the PLC six years after completion of the formal PLC activities to explore how they have continued to develop as master teachers and the extent to which they use technology to maintain contacts with PLC members and as a communication tool with their students to meet individual student needs and with other teachers in their role as lead teachers. Teachers were asked to participate via email and the survey was administered and returned to the primary researchers in the US via e-mail.

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Procedures The university collaborator who organized the lead teacher PLC in China for the 16 teachers provided current contact information in order for us to invite the teachers to participate in this follow-up study. Fifteen of the 16 teachers responded via e-mail and agreed to complete the Word survey, including providing their demographic information, which is described below. The survey asked teachers to provide updates about current professional activities and demographic data, and to respond to seven open-ended questions asking them to reflect on the impact of the PLC, and their use of technology in teaching and to maintain professional relationships and support communications (see Appendix). As part of the IRB process, participants also returned informed consent forms indicating their willingness to participate in the survey. The participant questionnaires and consent forms were first translated into Mandarin Chinese by the primary researchers. Responses were directly e-mailed back to the U.S. researchers in case follow-up queries were needed and to ensure respondent confidentiality. All responses were translated into English by the research team.

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Survey Instrument The first part of the survey collected background and demographic information. Specific items addressed number of years teaching mathematics, degrees earned, current position, school level, classes currently teaching, and number of classes taught per day. Open-ended questions asked the participants to reflect on their experiences in the PLC from six years ago, describe their career trajectory since they participated in the PLC, explain whether they continue to keep in touch with other members of the PLC and, if so, how they have maintained those contacts, and consider how the PLC impacted their teaching practices. They were also asked to provide feedback on how the PLC experience could have been improved and what aspects of the PLC may not have been effective in their daily practice. Although they had been asked about the impact of the PLC after their earlier participation, this latter question was intended to have them reflect on their PLC experiences after six years’ experience and now in the context of their current positions. Another series of open-ended questions asked them to specifically address the extent to which they have participated in lead teacher activities since their participation in the PLC. These activities include: holding key teacher stations; providing exemplary teaching demonstrations; using open-classroom teaching; providing teaching seminars; participating in specialized training; presenting specialized training to others; and developing and sharing new problem-centered learning activities for their students. They were also asked to indicate whether they had participated in and to provide examples of activities in which they had shared teaching strategies with other teachers on the internet; used the internet to communicate with students; used the internet to communicate with parents; and used the internet to present course content to students. The teachers were also asked whether they had received any awards or recognitions for their teaching, and to describe activities they had participated in to improve their teaching. They were also asked to reflect on how their professional development over the past six years since the PLC impacted their teaching and reflected the focus of the PLC. Because they were selected by their schools to participate in the PLC to become lead teachers, we anticipated most would have become lead teachers. The ques-

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tions were intended to explore key components of MCBs over time. Their professional engagements and awards were considered as indications of their evolving roles as MCBs. We anticipated that it would take approximately 30-45 minutes for each teacher to complete the survey. The survey responses came directly to the U.S. researchers so respondent confidentiality could be maintained.

Participants The 15 teachers participating in the study are characterized below based on their responses to the demographic survey questions. A total of 15 of the original 16 teachers participating in the PLC completed the survey questionnaire for a response rate of 94%. The 15 teachers represented nine distinct middle schools and a school district institute. Among them, 13 are classroom teachers (one with part-time administrative duties) and two are full-time administrators. On average, the teachers reported teaching two classes per day. This is consistent with teaching loads for key/lead teachers in this district who also serve as home-room teachers with responsibilities for supervising student mentees, managing daily activities, coordinating with other subject-area teachers, contacting parents, guiding student extracurricular activities, and supervising study time in addition to participating in mentoring other teachers. The teachers participating in this study had substantial teaching experience with only one teacher with less than 16 years teaching experience. Most of the participants were experienced teachers with 16-30 years of teaching experience and one had over 30 years teaching experience. Eight of the 15 teachers reported having no degree and only six reported having a bachelor’s degree. All of those reporting they did not have a degree had over 15 years of teaching experience. These data are consistent with teacher certification policies in China 20 years ago that required passing an exam to be accepted into a two-year specialized teacher training program.

Analyses Responses to individual survey items were coded and categorized by emergent themes. As expected, many of the response categories reflected perspectives teachers had developed during the initial PLC and were considered evidence of sustained PLC impact. While there was no assumption of direct causality, sustained and expanding efforts to engage students in their learning experience, listen to student reasoning, and examine student errors to gain perspectives of student thinking reflected PLC goals.

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FINDINGS Advancement in Career Since their participation in the PLC to become master teachers, as expected, 13 out of 15 teachers are still in middle school classrooms as key/lead teachers with other supervisory and mentoring responsibilities. Three of them have been promoted to administrative positions. One is the director of the local school district institute, one is a coach/specialist at the district level, and one maintains classroom responsibilities while also assuming school administrative duties. Among them, six are senior secondary school teachers and one is an advanced-skills/master teacher, which are other levels of lead teacher status. While 807

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the expectation was that they would assume lead teacher responsibilities and roles in their schools and districts, the different kinds of lead teacher roles were varied, in comparison to the lack of opportunities for teacher advancement in the U.S. In addition, seven out of 15 teachers indicated they received promotions beyond becoming key/lead teachers as a result of their participation in the PLC. With regard to accomplishments since participating in the PLC, nine teachers indicated they had received awards that included: outstanding teacher competition awards; outstanding teacher awards from their schools; and recognition from students and parents. Other awards listed included national awards for teaching, and awards for a micro-teaching video, lesson plan design, mathematics teachers’ problem solving, improving teaching effectiveness, and outstanding teachers in technology creation. Four teachers also mentioned funded project-based awards including a district level teaching and research grant and funding to improve teaching quality, empower students and teachers through project-based learning, and develop instructional materials to address mathematics learning differences in the classroom.

Teaching Philosophy and Leadership All 15 participating teachers indicated that their teaching philosophies have changed since and because of their participation in the PLC, reflecting a more open and problem-centered approach to mathematics instruction and a more systems understanding of mathematics. Specific themes were consistent across responses that included: “teaching mathematics based on students’ needs” and “placing emphasis on the students and their learning.” One teacher expanded these ideas and described how participation in the PLC allowed her to see mathematics as a knowing system (for students) and teaching mathematics as a comprehensive approach to mathematical understandings through grade-level articulation, treating the curriculum as a system as well. She also commented that now, as a lead teacher, she uses many of the same strategies used in the PLC in her own professional development sessions. As she described:

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In the past, my teaching was basically following the curriculum. I did not study the role of key mathematical ideas and difficulties students may have in the middle grades. Now I pay attention to connections among knowledge with the students and across the curriculum such as connections between middle and elementary school, and between middle school and high school. In the professional development project for district middle school teachers, which I was in charge of, I made sure that each unit was built on the basis of the whole knowledge system in middle school. [Translated from Mandarin] Other comments reflected the ideas that the mathematics curriculum should focus on the big ideas (“essentials of mathematics”), should explore student thinking “through verbal and written processes,” and teachers should “pay attention to students’ responses, attention and attitudes” while facilitating their problem solving (“I help students to solve problems based on their needs”). These comments were also reflected in their responses to question 3 about the impact of the PLC on their teaching practices. Twelve of the 13 teachers still in the classroom also mentioned in response to question 3 that they were employing student-centered approaches to mathematics instruction. One specifically mentioned engaging in action research to understand student difficulties and adjust instruction to address student understandings and interests. As he described: I focus more on designing lessons and activities based on students’ needs. Teaching involves two-sided understanding and it is impossible to have a good teacher without engagement of students. I study students

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prior to a lesson, create an environment which allows students to do exploration, make conjectures and do problem solving. I then provide interventions as needed. [Translated from Mandarin] Another mentioned: Student-centered is our forever theme of study. The methods and strategies I learned in the PLC have guided my study of teaching, my reflection on teaching through cases. [referring to the action research approach used in the PLC; Translated from Mandarin] Four specifically mentioned they put themselves in the position of students in order to understand students’ mathematical thinking and to design lessons that build off of student experiences, emotional needs, and interests, which were strategies they developed during the PLC six years earlier (for example, “In teaching, I like to know students’ learning experiences including their understandings, strategies and challenges” and “I take efforts to get to know the challenges that students may have”). All teachers indicated their focus had shifted from content to addressing the needs of each individual learner in their mathematics classroom, another key focus area identified by the PLC as important to support student mathematics learning. One teacher, for example, who is now a mathematics coach/specialist in the local school district, summarized the changes in his perspective and approaches to mathematics instruction that he attributed to the PLC by focusing on three aspects:

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1. Paying attention to the vertical alignment of the curriculum across grade levels; 2. Focusing on students’ work and designing lessons based on the analysis of student learning, creating a climate where students are the center of learning; and 3. Being involved in professional development activities, including hosting master teacher work station. As a district mathematics coach, he used these ideas to guide teaching seminars held for other middle school teachers in the district. The importance of classroom teacher action research to understand student learning difficulties was a key aspect of the second semester of the PLC which has become central to his strategies working with other teachers now. In response to the checklist in question 5, teachers described a variety of kinds of teacher-leader activities and reflected on the impact they felt the PLC had on their success in these activities (Table 1). One teacher described in the comments section a collaborative activity with a work station activity from another province. Her master teacher work station team invited a group of master teachers from another province to participate in a seminar where they shared exemplary teaching lessons. During the model teaching, she demonstrated how she used individual student interests and needs to guide instruction. The university partner who had participated in the PLC six years ago then led a discussion based on the observations of the classroom teaching episodes and presented research on the importance of instruction driven by student needs. This teacher indicated some of these work station activities were also posted online for teachers who were not able to attend. In addition to master teacher work station activities, six teachers indicated in their check-listed items in response to question 5 that they had led exemplary teaching demonstrations in their schools, district, and city that included presenting ideas about supporting student learning of fundamental mathematical concepts and skills. Exemplary teaching demonstrations are typically followed by debriefing discussions. 809

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Table 1. Teacher responses to MCB leadership activities

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Activity

Yes

Impact of PLC on this Activity (High, Medium or Low)

Hold key teacher station

4

All H

Exemplary teaching

6

H-3; M-3

Open-class teaching

11

H-8; M-3

Teaching seminars

8

H-5; M-3

Participated in specialized training

9

H-6; M-3

Presented specialized training for others

6

H-2; M-4

Shared teaching with other teachers on the internet

2

M-1; L-1

Used the internet to communicate with students

6

M-5; L-1

Used the internet to communicate with parents

5

H-1; M-2; L-2

Used the internet to present lessons to students

1

L-1

Developed new problem centered learning activities for your students

4

H-3; M-1

Received awards or recognition for your teaching

6

H-5; M-1

Eleven teachers also noted in question 5 that they had participated in open-class teaching for teachers to observe their teaching. Open-class teaching demonstrations include same-topic lessons often conducted by different teachers with different groups of students using multiple instructional strategies. Eight teachers indicated they had conducted teaching seminars, including curriculum study, end of semester review sessions, master-teacher teaching demonstration discussions, and visiting teachers’ demonstrations for teachers outside of their province. One teacher mentioned that he conducted a project on “autonomous learning through small groups” and presented teaching seminars about the project across the district. The teachers also reported their continuing professional development. Nine teachers noted they had participated in specialized training by the school district where experts presented teaching methods, curriculum study, and preparation of students for the high school entrance exam. Six of the teachers also led professional development sessions for other teachers. One teacher answered yes to nine out of 12 items regarding the activities she was involved in as a teacher leader in the years following the PLC, including working with other teachers in a master teacher work station in the district, giving exemplary teaching in her school and in the district, having open-class teaching, participating in specialized training for superior teachers in other cities, conducting teaching seminars, contacting trainers for other teachers, and using the internet to tutor students and communicate with parents. Each leadership item in the list in question 5 was selected at least once. It is not surprising that the teachers felt the PLC had most directly and highly influenced their subsequent activities in their roles as MCBs. It is also not surprising that they did not, with two exceptions, use the internet to share teaching with other teachers on the internet. Five of the six teachers who indicated they used the internet to communicate with their students did, however, highly attribute their use of the internet to communicate with students to their participation in the PLC, likely because of the emphasis in the PLC on communications

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with students and reaching individual students where they are. The positive impact of the PLC on their current careers was also evident in their responses to question 2.

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Impact of the PLC In response to question 2, all 15 teachers said they have kept in touch with other members of the PLC and were enthusiastic about the influence the PLC had on their current success. Thirteen specifically mentioned contacts were maintained by jointly attending and interacting at professional development training offered at the district level. Twelve mentioned they continued to collaborate with PLC colleagues through QQ, WeChat, email, or phone. Several mentioned the PLC network worked together to conduct teaching demonstrations with four specifically commenting on joint efforts to conduct teacher workstations at the district level. Four others mentioned joint teaching demonstrations and presentation seminars as ways they had continued to connect with colleagues from the PLC. The one teacher who is now the mathematics specialist for the school district indicated he maintains contact with all of the teachers from the PLC as well as the university faculty who coordinated PLC activities. The PLC teachers expressed positive feelings about how the PLC was conducted and evolved, specifically emphasizing how the PLC helped them focus on, learn about, and understand their students to better meet their mathematics learning needs. Six of the teachers, in response to question 3, mentioned the value of learning to do action research to explore student misunderstandings, identify errors in student thinking, and relate to student frustrations. Three others, while not mentioning action research specifically, also referred to the importance of studying students’ thinking and focusing on student needs rather than just the mathematics content. About half (seven) of the teachers specifically mentioned they felt they were more effective teachers because of their participation in the PLC and they felt the PLC had provided clear direction for their professional activities. Three of the teachers felt the PLC helped them better understand mathematics and five felt they had gained a better understanding of the curriculum. A majority of the teachers (nine) felt observing expert teaching was extremely important for their development as lead teachers and have utilized similar strategies in their own exemplary lesson presentations. As mentioned by one teacher, “Each activity touched our hearts, gave unexpected joy, and allowed us to reflect on our own teaching.” The teachers were also asked to reflect on and provide feedback in the context of six years later on how the PLC experience could have been improved and what aspects of the PLC may not have been effective in their daily practices in the subsequent six years (question 4). These questions were designed to encourage their reflections and gain insights into how they have maintained PLC perspectives and focus over the subsequent six years. Their responses fell into three categories: more teaching observations; closer connections between research and practice; and more training on student questioning and classroom conversations for deeper learning and problem solving. Comments about more teaching observations specifically mentioned observing more diverse settings, including rural settings and schools outside of their district, and teaching in classrooms with a wider range of student understandings and misunderstandings, reflecting a systems perspective of and value for diversity. Several specifically noted the importance of and would have liked more experiences with diagnostic and prescriptive analyses of student learning to gain insights into how their students think. They also felt follow-up observations would have provided for on-going analyses. With regards to the research to practice connections, mentioned by four teachers, comments were somewhat contradictory with two individuals commenting that they wanted more research and theory and two mentioning they wanted less. Two specifically mentioned they 811

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wanted more opportunities to do action research and to have more demonstrations of other teachers’ use of action research in their classrooms. Only one teacher mentioned the desire to have specific instruction on online teaching and the use of technology to communicate with parents and students.

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Technology Use Questions 5-7 specifically asked teachers to reflect on their use of technology in their roles as either a classroom teacher or MCB. Although the use of technology in the PLC was not a part of the original professional development activities, we were interested in how the teachers have used technology in the past six years to keep in contact, to direct their own professional growth, and to communicate with parents and students. In their role as MCBs, it was anticipated they would be more willing to embrace innovation, so asking about their technology use was considered as a possible indication of their evolution as MCBs. Six teachers said they shared their teaching ideas and practices with other teachers through social media and educational websites, even though on question 5, only two responded they shared teaching with other teachers on the internet. This discrepancy may be due to their perceived difference in roles as a colleague sharing ideas through social media and their formal role as Master Teachers. Other comments in response to the open-ended questions 6 and 7 reflected the value of communicating with students and parents, facilitated by the internet. As far as technologies being used, two teachers indicated they used PowerPoint and multimedia to create teaching videos that were posted online through their school district website, Beijing Digital School, and social media such as QQ and WeChat. They also noted they had participated in competitions on making high-quality teaching videos. Six of the teachers indicated they had used social media such as WeChat, QQ, and the internet to communicate with students. The primary foci of those communications were for answering questions, assigning homework, tutoring students in mathematics, and mentoring. Five teachers also indicated they communicated with parents through WeChat, QQ and the internet. Four of the teachers indicated they had used the internet to conduct teaching (even though only one specifically noted this in response to question 5). The uses of the internet for teaching included making resources available for students outside of class, providing multimedia examples, and using educational websites. One teacher reported conducting a long-distance professional development session for teachers, and one teacher mentioned that when classes were cancelled due to weather, she had used the internet to answer questions online. Instructional software was used by three of the teachers with one specifically mentioning the use of a geometric sketchpad. Only three teachers mentioned using smartboards in their classrooms and only four specifically mentioned overhead projectors used in teaching mathematics. It is not clear whether the other teachers failed to mention supportive technologies used in teaching because they were not using them or because their use was so ubiquitous they failed to recognize them as unique. This is specifically the case with their use of overhead projectors and smartboards which are readily available in their classrooms. When asked about the advantages of using technology in teaching, teachers mentioned that “technology makes concepts more visual,” “enhances student understanding,” allows for “covering more content during each class period”, and “improves teaching quality which supports student understanding.” They felt using technology allowed for richer and more dynamic content and allowed students to focus on the most essential topics. They also mentioned the advantages of using technology for managing and organizing student data, monitoring student performance, and providing feedback to students and parents. 812

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Four specifically mentioned that technology allowed for more inclusive resources for lessons, learning materials and teaching methods, supporting and engaging student learning, and stimulating student interest. Communications with technology were mentioned as another important advantage, making communications more convenient and fast while also increasing the capacity for communicating with students, parents, and other teachers. And five of the teachers specifically commented on the value of technology in supporting their own growth and learning.

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DISCUSSION Changing and sustaining teaching practices that move away from content-focused to student-focused curriculum is difficult (Darling-Hammond & Lieberman, 2011). To be sustainable, instructional change and curricular reform requires a supportive school environment and can be facilitated through a professional learning community (PLC) with characteristics of (1) shared sense of purpose, (2) focus on student learning, (3) shared decision making, (4) deep collaboration, and (5) mutual trust and support (Lauer & Dean, 2004). The teachers in this study participated in such a learning community where these five important aspects of a PLC were exhibited (Fleener et al., 2016). Six years later, it appears their roles as MCBs have evolved and the ideas and approaches explored in the PLC were maintained as the 15 teachers have become lead teachers and thought leaders in their district. While the impact of the PLC on the teachers’ career trajectories was implicated, we recognize, after six years, there are many influences on a teacher’s career and do not mean to imply their subsequent successes were causally determined by their participation in the PLC. Their participation in the PLC, however, can be indirectly credited with these successes in three ways. The PLC was a district sanctioned activity used to identify and prepare teacher leaders and their selection into, and participation in, the program were significant factors in them being considered as future leaders. They came to the PLC already with the mindset that they wanted to assume leadership roles in their district, and their collaboration while participating in the PLC was with the understanding that they were potentially going to be conducting these kinds of activities we asked them about six years later. Their responses to the survey items and reflections on their experiences perhaps most directly shows that the promise they displayed six years ago was achieved and their positive experiences while participating in the PLC shaped how they thought about the future development of other teachers and students. While the other PLCs from the original study were not surveyed, anecdotal comments made by our Chinese collaborators suggest not all PLCs have evolved and maintained focus after six years the way this one has. Direct indications of the impact of the PLC can be traced to participant comments pertaining to learning about teacher action research, interest-driven teacher inquiry, and the use of problem centered, individualized learning teaching practices. Transformational change in their teaching practices as reported through the survey and reflections was supported through the PLC and sustained over six years with many of the strategies developed in the PLC now being shared with other teachers and teaching professionals. Teacher action research, interest-driven and problem-centered activities, and probing students’ thinking were all self-reported as the teachers described how they modeled exemplary teaching strategies with other teachers in their role as MCBs. The PLC, in retrospect, assumed characteristics of a complex learning system with shared purpose, process orientation, interactive complexity, cohesive identity, emergent capabilities, and adaptive potential (Cunningham, 2014; Senge, 1990). Maintaining system purpose over time and developing 813

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networked ways of knowing to support on-going growth and shared understandings are characteristics of self-organizing, self-adapting, learning systems (Maturana & Varella, 1980) and are evident in the behaviors and reflections of the participants of the PLC as they have grown over time. From an ecological perspective, causality is not the focus but, rather, learning dynamics are considered over time as evolutionary, adaptive, and self-sustaining. With regard to extending teaching strategies beyond those explored in the PLC in their roles as MCBs, we were interested in specifically asking about their technology use because this was not a part of their original PLC participation. Again, with the cautionary note that we cannot entirely attribute their later adoption of technological innovation to the PLC, we feel the dispositions and understandings they developed in their collaborative and inquiry experiences contributed to their becoming early adopters of innovation in China. The teachers who participated in the PLC became innovators who have incorporated technology into their teaching and in their facilitation of others’ teaching. Technology use was not a focus of the original PLC activities, but because so many of the teachers have used technology in the subsequent six years suggests they have continued to learn and explore in their teaching practices with confidence to incorporate innovative uses of technology. The use of WeChat, in particular, is an indication of the openness of the teachers to engage new technologies. WeChat is a relatively recent occurrence in China and is being touted as a revolutionary way of supporting mentorship and online learning (Chen, 2016; Fang, 2016; Sun, 2016). The use of technology by these teachers further supports the perspective of the PLC as a living system with learning and adaptive characteristics. Through a systems theory lens, the on-going and expanding professional relationships and learning-community evolution, as well as the use of technology to support relational dynamics, information flow, cooperation, coordination, and integration (Banathy & Jenks, 1990) further support the claim that this PLC was a learning organization. Through their activities as lead teachers and their use of technology, the teachers in the PLC six years later appear to have evolved as MCBs (Smyre & Richardson, 2016) with coordinated and adaptive planning, consideration of long-term impact of teaching practices and innovations, openness to new ideas, use of technology, focus on student needs, use of questioning, and embrace of diversity of ideas and approaches to mathematics teaching. In this way, the teachers participating in the study have supported other teachers’ development while increasing the capacities of their students to learn meaningful mathematics and become autonomous mathematics learners in the future. Their use of technology served an important MCB function for building relationships and creating networks of learners while supporting basic communications with parents and students.

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Significance Replicating the impact of the PLC is no easy matter. We knew, six years ago, that the sense of unity of purpose and collaborative spirit of the PLC was remarkable (Fleener et al., 2016). What was surprising and encouraging was that the focus of the PLC was maintained as the PLC participants continued to grow in their professional careers, evolving as MCBs, and sharing their learning with others. As so many studies of educational reform reveal, sustaining change is difficult. Environmental factors that supported the continuation of PLC practices and understandings included the status these teachers received as lead teachers, the awards and recognitions they were given for their teaching practices and professional activities, and their commitment to continued growth and sharing of ideas and practices. As MCBs, the

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teachers have not evolved by some master plan, but because their environments supported their developing capacities for transformation and adaptation to changing educational contexts. This study shows the potential of a PLC for self-adaptive, emergent behaviors and understandings that are instructional for transforming teaching practices, developing teachers as MCBs and preparing students for 21st century engagements. Openness to innovation includes early adoption of communication technologies that support PLC on-going activities and networked knowing as key to evolving learning organizations.

REFERENCES Banathy, B. H., & Jenks, C. L. (1993). The transformation of education: By design. International Journal of Educational Research, 19(2), 105–115. doi:10.1016/0883-0355(93)90021-B Cai, J., & Hwang, S. (2002). Generalized and generative thinking in US and Chinese students mathematical problem solving and problem posing. The Journal of Mathematical Behavior, 21(4), 401–421. doi:10.1016/S0732-3123(02)00142-6 Cai, J., & Nie, B. (2007). Problem solving in Chinese mathematics education: Research and practice. ZDM —The International Journal on Mathematics Education, 39(5-6), 459-473. Chen, F. (2016, March 31). The revolution of education in China: WeChat brings us back the mentorship education model [Blog post]. Retrieved from https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/revolution-educationchina-wechat-becoming-biggest-digital-fang-chen Cunningham, C. (2014). Systems theory for pragmatic schooling: Toward principles of democratic education. New York: Palgrave Macmillan. doi:10.1057/9781137449320 Darling-Hammond, L., & Lieberman, A. (2011). Teacher education around the world: Changing policies and practices. London: Routledge. DuFour, R. (2004). What is a ‘professional learning community’? Educational Leadership, 61(8), 6–11. Fang, B. (2016). How WeChat is reshaping online education. Fresh Voices from Today’s China, Sixth Tone. Retrieved from http://www.sixthtone.com/news/how-wechat-changing-online-learning-we-know-it

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Fleener, M. J., Lu, L., & Dun, J. (2016). Teacher professional learning communities: Preparing students (and teachers) for communities of the future. Unpublished. Geiger, V., Forgasz, H., Tan, H., Calder, N., & Hill, J. (2012). Technology in Mathematics Education. In B. Perry, T. Lowrie, T. Logan, A. MacDonald, & J. Greenlees (Eds.), Research in Mathematics Education in Australasia 2008–2011 (pp. 111–141). Rotterdam, The Netherlands: Sense Publishers. doi:10.1007/978-94-6091-970-1_7 Gu, L. (2002). An initial comparison of the development approaches of the Shanghai and Hong Kong school mathematics curricula. In Mathematics Classroom Teaching Reform for the Full Implementation of Quality Education (pp. 1–19). Beijing: People’s Educational Press.

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Gu, L., Huang, R., & Marton, F. (2004). Teaching with variation: A Chinese way of promoting effective mathematics learning. In L. Fan, N. Y. Wong, J. Cai, & S. Li (Eds.), How Chinese learn mathematics: Perspectives from insiders (Vol. 1, pp. 309–347). Singapore: World Scientific Publishers. doi:10.1142/9789812562241_0012 Hairon, S., & Dimmock, C. (2012). Singapore schools and professional learning communities: Teacher professional development and school leadership in an Asian hierarchical system. Educational Review, 64(4), 405–424. doi:10.1080/00131911.2011.625111 Hu, Z., & McGrath, I. (2011). Innovation in higher education in China: Are teachers ready to integrate ICT in English language teaching? Technology, Pedagogy and Education, 20(1), 41–59. doi:10.1080/1 475939X.2011.554014 Huang, R., Li, Y., Zhang, J., & Li, X. (2011). Improving teachers’ expertise in mathematics instruction through exemplary lesson development. ZDM—The International Journal on Mathematics Education, 43(6-7), 805-817. Lauer, P. A., & Dean, C. B. (2004). Teacher quality toolkit. Aurora, CO: McREL. Lim, C. S. (2007). Characteristics of mathematics teaching in Shanghai, China: Through the lens of a Malaysian. Mathematics Education Research Journal, 19(1), 77–88. doi:10.1007/BF03217450 Lu, L. (2011). Making Transitions: A Multiple Case Study of Mathematics Classroom Teaching Reform in China (Doctoral dissertation). Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA. Maturana, H., & Varela, F. J. (1980). Autopoiesis and cognition: The realization of the living. Dordrecht, The Netherlands: Reidel. doi:10.1007/978-94-009-8947-4 Senge, P. M. (1990). The fifth discipline. New York: Century Business, Doubleday. Smyre, R., & Richardson, N. (2016). Preparing for a world that doesn’t exist, yet: Creating communities of the future. Bethesda, MD: Changemaker Books. Sun, Y. (2016). WeChat is extending China’s school days well into the night. Technology Review, 8(March). Retrieved from https://www.technologyreview.com/s/600943/wechat-is-extending-chinasschool-days-well-into-the-night/

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Yang, X., & Leung, F. K. (2013). Conception of expert mathematics teacher: A comparative study between Hong Kong and Chongqing. ZDM—The International Journal on Mathematics Education, 45(1), 121-132. Yang, Y. (2009). How a Chinese teacher improved classroom teaching in Teaching Research Group: A case study on Pythagoras theorem teaching in Shanghai. ZDM—The International Journal on Mathematics Education, 41(3), 279-296. Zhu, Y., & Fan, L. (2006). Focus on the representation of problem types in intended curriculum: A comparison of selected mathematics textbooks from Mainland China and the United States. International Journal of Science and Mathematics Education, 4(4), 609–626. doi:10.100710763-006-9036-9

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KEY TERMS AND DEFINITIONS Exemplary Teaching Demonstrations: Model lessons as part of teacher professional development that focus on specific content. Lead Teacher: A special designation for teachers in China who are classroom teachers but have responsibilities for supporting and providing professional development for other teachers. The Lead Teacher initiative in China is an example of a differentiated staffing approach to levels of teacher professionalism. Master Teacher: Teacher who has advanced skills and expertise in teaching. A level of teacher professional status above Lead Teacher. Master Teacher Workstation: A hub where a Master Teacher gathers a group of teachers in a district for professional development that might include teaching seminars, lesson studies, curriculum studies, teaching demonstrations, and so on. Open-Classroom Teaching: Teaching demonstrations within the context of an actual classroom. Teaching Seminars: Presentations and discussions as part of professional development for teachers that typically does not include modeling teaching activities with students. Teaching Station: Focused teaching demonstrations on a particular topic such as problem centered learning or student questioning.

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This work was previously published in Digital Transformation and Innovation in Chinese Education; pages 80-99, copyright year 2018 by Information Science Reference (an imprint of IGI Global).

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APPENDIX Key Teacher PLC Follow-Up Survey (Survey was translated and administered in Mandarin)

I. Background Information Name _____________________________ Email ____________________________________ School____________________________________ 1. Years of Experience of Teaching Mathematics: ___ 5-10; ___ 11-15; ___ over 15, please specify 2. Degree earned ___________________ 3. Current position (select all that apply): ___ Classroom teacher; ___ School administrator; ___ Other. Please specify 4. School Level: ___ Elementary ___ Middle School ___ High School 5. Classes you are currently teaching _____________________________ 6. Number of classes per day ________________

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II. Survey Questions 1. Since your participation in the (name) professional teaching learning community (PLC) in 2010, how has your career trajectory been? 2. Do you continue to keep in touch with members in the PLC? If so, how? Have you engaged in any activities with any of them? Please describe. 3. What is the impact of PLC on your teaching practice? Please provide a few specific examples as well as your general feelings about the impact. 4. What can you tell us about how the PLC experiences could have been improved? a. What do you wish you had done while in the PLC? b. What has not worked as well in your every-day practice? 5. Check the kinds of teaching activities you have participated in since the PLC in the six years from 2010-2016. In your own words, describe the activities you have engaged in as a teacher leader in the reform teaching. What was the level of impact of your participation in the PLC on your activities these past six years? (Table 2)

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Table 2. Teaching activity checklist Activity

Yes or No

Describe

Impact of PLC on this Activity (High, Medium or Low)

Hold key teacher station Exemplary teaching Open-class teaching Teaching seminars Participated in specialized training Presented specialized training for others Shared teaching with other teachers on the internet Used the internet to communicate with students Used the internet to communicate with parents Used the internet to present lessons to students Developed new problem centered learning activities for your students Received awards or recognition for your teaching Other (please describe)

6. In your own teaching and activities that you described above, how has technology been used? (For example, emails, WeChat, Webo technology that you used to communicate with your students and colleagues; websites that you used to upload your teaching materials, and multimedia, DVD, projector, video, and distance/online interactive activities.) About what percentage in your teaching has technology been used? How does this compare to other teachers in your school? 7. What do you feel about using technology to improve your practice? Do you have access to WeChat, Webo, or web page designed for math education? If so, please provide the links.

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Thank you for your participation!

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Chapter 41

The Role of a WhatsApp Group of a Professional Learning Community of Chemistry Teachers in the Development of Their Knowledge Ron Blonder https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4796-4678 Weizmann Institute of Science, Israel Ruth Waldman Weizmann Institute of Science, Israel

ABSTRACT

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The authors analyze chemistry teachers’ discourse in a WhatsApp group. This online communication platform is used for continually studying the communication behavior of leading chemistry teachers who are members of a professional learning community (PLC). They describe the network of chemistry teachers’ PLC in Israel, which provides the context for the study. WhatsApp enables sustained ongoing, intensive interaction, and sharing of knowledge that is practical, directly related to the members’ needs, and is participant driven and constructivist in nature. A theoretical perspective of teachers’ knowledge and professional development (PD) was developed in 2015 by Gess-Newsome, which was applied to examine the mechanism underlying teachers’ knowledge development.

INTRODUCTION The McKinsey report (Barber & Mourshed, 2007), which investigated successful education systems, describes two basic requirements needed in order develop a high-quality education system: (1) to attract high-quality teachers to the system; and (2) teachers need to continuously develop their professionalDOI: 10.4018/978-1-7998-7294-8.ch041

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ism. Teachers are the key for achieving good education, and therefore, effective ways in which they can develop their knowledge and skills are essential to improve education systems. This chapter discusses the knowledge development of leading chemistry teachers who participate in a Professional Learning Community (PLC) of chemistry teachers; it focuses on the contribution of a WhatsApp group to this development. In Israel, chemistry PLCs were initiated in 2014 and operate at the Weizmann Institute of Science with support from the Ministry of Education and the Trump Foundation. Chemistry teachers meet in the PLC regularly to explore their teaching practice and their students’ learning achievements. The PLC facilitators try to create a feeling of trust (Tschannen-Moran, 2009) among the teachers in the PLC. In practice, however, not all the communities work—many fail. The trust and the created sense of community (McMillan & Chavis, 1986) lead to creating a safe environment in which teachers can share their questions regarding teaching, their difficulties, and also their successes (Booth, 2012). The main emphasis in the PLC is on developing the teachers’ pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) in an environment, which for the PLC members, supports a sense of belonging. These activities focus around the students (Rogers, 1983). Using students’ data is a key component of effective professional development design (Guskey, 2003; Little, 2012) Namely, teaching is discussed less than the influence of a selected pedagogy on students’ learning. These goals are achieved by including the following components in the chemistry teachers’ PLC meetings: • • • •

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• •

An opening exercise that deepens the social and personal acquaintance of the chemistry teachers in the PLC. Investigation of students’ understanding and misconceptions in chosen chemistry topics using diagnostic tools that were designed for the chemistry teachers’ PLC. Discussion of pedagogical ways to deal with the misconceptions that teachers fnd in their own classes (based on evidence revealed by analyzing the diagnostic tools in class). “My corner”: A section in which one of the PLC teachers presents a short activity that the other teachers can easily adapt to their own class. This section can be a lab experiment, a demonstration, or a technological tool that can be integrated into the chemistry lesson. Chemistry Laboratory: New experiments and their integration into chemistry class. “Teachers’ Questions”: A section in which the teachers in the PLC raise a problem that they face in their own chemistry class, for which they need help from the PLC.

The chemistry teachers’ PLC operates in a net model (shown in Figure 1). A leading PLC, which includes leading chemistry teachers, meets every other week at the Weizmann Institute of Science. In the other week, the leading chemistry teachers lead in pairs a regional chemistry teachers’ PLC. Eight regional chemistry teachers’ PLCs have operated close to the teachers’ home (CtH), which have spread throughout Israel in the last 4 years. About 200 chemistry teachers, namely, 30% of the chemistry teachers in Israel, are members of these PLCs. Other important elements that should be considered from the components of the PLC meeting are the direction of influence and the direction in which knowledge flows in the PLC. Part of the activities are designed by the facilitators (e.g., the diagnostic questionnaires, some of the lab experiments). In this part the direction of knowledge is top-down: from the facilitators to the teachers who are PLC members. However, there is another part in which a bottom-up direction dictates the activities in the PLC meetings. This part includes sections such as “My corner”, “teacher’s questions”, and the results of the students’ diagnostic questionnaires, which lead to pedagogical discussions during the meetings. 821

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The activity of the PLCs is supported by a philanthropic foundation (the Trump Foundation), which supports the development of science and mathematics education in Israel, and by the Ministry of Education. This double-source of support enables us to receive a budget to operate the PLC net, and also to be part of the Israeli educational system, which is essential for sustaining the PLC in the future.

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Figure 1. The chemistry teachers’ PLC net model of operation. The leading chemistry teachers create the central PLC, and lead in pairs the regional close to home (CtH) chemistry teachers’ PLCs

In this chapter, we analyze the knowledge development of the leading chemistry teachers’ PLC. More specifically, we examine the knowledge development of the individual teachers in the group. In addition to the face-to-face meetings of the PLC teachers, a PLC WhatsApp group was initiated by the PLC facilitators. The WhatsApp group includes all the PLC teachers and the facilitators that lead the activity. The WhatsApp group helps the PLC members remain in contact and enhances the effectiveness of teachers’ professional learning as well as continues the interactions among the PLC members between meetings, effectively creating an online community (Waldman & Blonder, submitted). The goal of this work is to examine how the WhatsApp group contributes to the process of developing teachers’ knowledge in the PLC. It is important to emphasize that the model of professional development (PD) includes participating in the chemistry teachers’ PLC with the aid of the WhatsApp group. In this study we especially assigned the contribution of the WhatsApp group to the process of developing teachers’ knowledge. For that purpose, a current model of teachers’ knowledge is used as the theoretical perspective of the study, which will be presented next.

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BACKGROUND

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Theoretical Framework of Teachers’ Knowledge The concept of pedagogical content knowledge (PCK), originally proposed by Shulman (1986), distinguishes between teachers’ knowledge and the knowledge of an expert in the field. Since then, many models describing PCK, especially in science teaching, have been developed (e.g., Magnusson, Krajcik, and Borko (1999)). A summit of leading researchers in the field of teachers’ knowledge and professional development (PD) was organized to reach a consensual model that will serve the research community (Gess-Newsome, 2015). In this study, we used this model to examine the development of chemistry teachers’ knowledge in their WhatsApp group (the individuals in the group). According to this model (Gess-Newsome, 2015), and compared to previous models (Kind, 2009), teachers’ knowledge and skills are perceived in a more holistic manner and include components that add to the teachers’ professional knowledge bases. Two main differences distinguish this model from the previous PCK (Kind, 2009). In the ensuing years since PCK was defined by Shulman and adopted by the community of science educators, the absence of the aspect of teachers’ beliefs and attitudes related to knowledge development has hindered the usefulness of the PCK concept. In the new suggested model (Gess-Newsome, 2015), teachers’ beliefs were introduced to act as amplifiers and filters in the process of teachers’ knowledge construction. The second difference is the perception of PCK as personal pedagogical content knowledge and skills (as opposed to the knowledge that is known by the science education community about how to teach a specific scientific content). The new model is presented in the black printed parts in Figure 2. The suggested model includes several components and will now be briefly explained (Gess-Newsome, 2015). The teachers’ professional knowledge bases (TPKB) are as follows: assessment knowledge, pedagogical knowledge, content knowledge, knowledge of the students, and curricular knowledge. There is a wide consensus regarding those components that are essential for good teaching. These TPKBs are generic; knowledge derived from the TPKB informs users and is updated by the topic-specific professional knowledge (TSPK). The TSPK is the knowledge shared by the science education community regarding the teaching and learning of a specific topic. This category of knowledge contributes in three aspects: “1) It makes explicit that content for teaching occurs at the topic level (i.e., force and motion) and not at the disciplinary level (i.e, physics or science); 2) this knowledge blends subject matter, pedagogy, and context; and 3) it is recognized as a public knowledge, or knowledge held by the profession, allowing it to assume a normative role…” (Guess-Newsome, 2015, p. 30). These two knowledge components, TPKB and the TSPK (presented in the top two frames of Figure 2), are context free, whereas the remaining components in the model refer to classroom context. Traditionally, “the focus of models for teacher pedagogical knowledge and skills has been on the knowledge that is held by [the] profession and accessed by teachers. But in order to personalize knowledge, it must pass through the lens of the teachers. As [a] free agent, a teacher has the opportunity to embrace, reject, or modify new knowledge skills and practices” (Guess-Newsome, 2015, p. 34). The lenses used by teachers are (1) their own beliefs and (2) their interpretation of students’ reactions to their teaching (presented in Figure 1) as the “amplifiers and filters” that can support or inhibit the development of teachers’ knowledge bases. There are many reasons why teachers do NOT implement new knowledge and skills in their teaching. The good-old teaching that has been using for years is working well and a new method/approach/textbook might not work. There is a need to invest a huge amount of time to adapt

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new materials to the classroom’s context, and that time might be wasted if the students will not positively react and will not learn as they do using the regular methods (Ron Blonder & Mamlok-Naaman, 2016). The amplifiers and filters are very influential in the process of teachers’ knowledge development and promote or inhibit teachers from implementing new topic-specific professional knowledge that teachers have learned through their own teaching. For example, if a chemistry teacher thinks that using technology in the lesson distracts students’ attention, she will not try a new animation that she learned in the PD. A strong factor that can influence and modify these amplifiers and filters is students’ reactions to the implementation. Continuing with the above example, if the teacher eventually decides to try animation in her chemistry class and saw its positive influence on her students’ understanding, it might modify her previous beliefs about the negative influence of integrating technology into chemistry lessons as well as her topic-specific professional knowledge and her knowledge bases. This influence is caused by mastery experience (Bandura, 1986). However, this mechanism is restricted to those new experiences that the teachers eventually decided to bring to their class. According to social-cognitive theory, there are other sources that can influence teachers’ beliefs (Bandura, 1986; Britner & Pajares, 2006) besides mastery experience. Using vicarious experience, namely, watching a teacher who is similar to you while she tests the simulation in her own class, can influence one’s own beliefs. However, there are not many occasions, if at all, in which a teacher can watch her colleague testing new pedagogical approaches and can observe its influence on students’ learning. This is true in face-to-face meetings, but by using the potential of online platforms, we might find that these limited occasions can turn into a source of opportunities. Online communities play an important role in the sense that teachers voluntarily participate in learning, reflect on their own practices, share them with other teachers, and provide mutual emotional support (Macià & García, 2016). In the current study we aim to identify the mechanism underlying the teachers’ knowledge development that occurs in these PLCs. Although the teacher is surrounded by many people (her students), she is isolated, since she is teaching alone in class. Even when it comes to disciplinary teams in school, which can provide support to teachers, chemistry teachers in Israel cannot benefit from this resource since most schools have only one or two chemistry teachers. This aspect of chemistry teachers’ professional isolation is studied using quantitative tools and will be described elsewhere. In order to support teachers’ professional growth, the teacher needs to have access to other professionals with whom she can discuss her doubts, share her difficulties, reflect upon her experiences in class, and more. The literature suggests several methodologies to overcome teachers’ isolation. Using video-recorded lessons, which have become a resource for pedagogical guided-discussion, is one solution (Arcavi & Karsenty; Karsenty & Arcavi, 2017; Karsenty & Sherin, 2017). The video-recorded lessons provide a wide platform for teachers’ reflection. Another approach is the evidence-based PD. When teachers are asked to bring to the PD meeting data they have collected from their students, which provide evidence for the learning process and achievements, they actually “open the walls of their classroom” to their colleagues in the PD (Taitelbaum, Mamlok‐Naaman, Carmeli, & Hofstein, 2008). This approach is usually integrated into the teachers’ PLC (Little, 2002). The chemistry teachers’ PLC described here works according to this approach, which is based on the socio-cultural aspects of learning (Cobb, Yackel, & Wood, 1992; Sfard, 1998). The chemistry teachers’ PLC provides the community that decreases teachers’ isolation and it is where teachers can learn and develop their professionalism. The mobile online platform that was used in the study provides a means of continuing teachers’ interactions beyond the PLC meetings (Ndlovu & Hanekom, 2014).

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Figure 2. Model of teachers’ professional knowledge and skills including PCK, as proposed by GuessNewsome (2015). The black parts are taken from the original model and the blue parts show how the teachers’ PLC WhatsApp group contributed to the development of the teachers’ professional knowledge.

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The WhatsApp Online Communication Platform in Education Settings As mentioned before, teachers’ professional learning communities (PLCs) are groups of teachers who regularly meet face to face in order to examine their knowledge and practices and thus, improve their teaching. Since face-to-face meetings typically take place only once every few weeks, the WhatsApp mobile online platform was integrated to maintain the communication among the PLC members between the face-to-face meetings; the WhatsApp group provides an informal setting for the PLC members to communicate. The use of the mobile application does not replace formal PLC meetings; rather, it offers a way to extend the support of learning outside the formal meetings, to the conversations and interactions of everyday life (Sharples, Taylor, & Vavoula, 2010). Online communities or networks, empowered by social media technologies, have the potential to respond to teachers’ individual and collective needs; thus, they facilitate teachers in creating learning processes that can help them adapt to changes, with an atmosphere of openness and colleagueship (Lieberman & Mace, 2010), and which create a sense of community (Waldman & Blonder, submitted). It has been found that social networks promote knowledge sharing and establish dialogues, which facilitate obtaining suitable resources and finding solutions (Forkosh-Baruch & Hershkovitz, 2012; Rap & Blonder, 2016; Wenger, 2011). During the last few years, the WhatsApp application has become one of the most heavily used applications for online immediate communication (Seufert, Hoýfeld, Schwind, Burger, & Tran-Gia, 2016). One of its main characteristics is its ability to conduct and enhance group communication (Bouhnik & Deshen, 2014). A recent study among Israelis found that WhatsApp was used by 67% of the respondents and 52% reported that they send messages in WhatsApp groups on a daily basis (Avidar, Ariel, Malka, & Levy, 2013). WhatsApp groups are characterized by unique features that make them suitable for use by the PLC teachers (Bouhnik & Deshen, 2014; Church & de Oliveira, 2013). These characteristics can be sorted into technical, communication, and educational aspects. The technical aspects of WhatsApp groups include their simplicity of operation, and that they are free of charge, free of advertisements, available on cellular phones, and are immediate. In addition, they maintain the privacy of the group participants and they are very popular in Israel (Avidar, Ariel, Malka, & Levy, 2013). The aspects related to group communication include the following: the WhatsApp feature to create a group, the option to communicate within the group’s boundaries, the ability to conduct an ongoing conversation with many friends simultaneously, and to share content such as text messages, attached images, audio files, video files, and links to web addresses. The third aspect is related to the educational potential of WhatsApp: It enables learning any time and anywhere, the possibility to correct mistakes immediately, along with the presence of the teacher. Having accessibility to online learning materials, it is a platform for sharing materials, and it provides a secure environment for the group discourse. However, WhatsApp has several challenges that should be also addressed when considering its use in education settings. The group might cause the flooding of irrelevant or nonsensical messages, messages that are sent at late hours in a way that might burden and annoy the users, especially if they have more than one group or groups that have more than 15 members. Several studies and review papers have examined the potential of harnessing the advantages of the WhatsApp mobile online platform for teachers’ professional development. Teachers share on WhatsApp groups field knowledge, pedagogical content knowledge, in-school teaching practices, and provide emotional support to their colleagues (Cansoy, 2017). A high portion of the discussions can be classified into Shulman’s categories of teachers’ knowledge (Ndlovu & Hanekom, 2014). However, according to 826

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the literature review by Baran (2014), “more research is needed to understand how teachers and teacher educators’ professional development can be supported with mobile learning.”

RESEARCH GOALS AND QUESTIONS In a previous study (Waldman & Blonder, submitted) in which the discourse in the PLC WhatsApp group was analyzed, we showed that about a third of the goals of opening a WhatsApp discourse dealt with asking for help, clarification, and consultation regarding chemistry, chemistry teaching, and management (Waldman & Blonder, submitted). In all cases, the members received satisfactory answers from the group. However, we did not analyze the contribution of the WhatsApp group to the development of professional knowledge of chemistry teachers participating in the PLC. The socio-cognitive stance for learning, in which learning is described as participation in discourse, was used in the present study (Lave & Wenger, 1991; Sfard, 2008). We will therefore analyze the teachers’ discourse in the WhatsApp group by referring to the following research questions: 1. What teachers’ professional knowledge is developed in the PLC’s WhatsApp group? 2. What development mechanism of teachers’ professional knowledge is unique to the WhatsApp group? By finding the answer to the first question, we will be able to compare the contents of the discussions in the present PLC’s WhatsApp group to other teachers’ discussions via mobile online platforms. By studying the second question, we will add to the existing literature a theoretical understanding of the development mechanism.

METHODOLOGY The research population includes a PLC of 14 chemistry teachers and 5 community facilitators (CFs). The PLC meets every other week at the Weizmann Institute of Science. In addition to the actual meetings, the community has a very active WhatsApp group in which members continue to discuss different aspects related to the professional chemistry community. The activity in this WhatsApp group was analyzed throughout two academic years (2015-2017).

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Research Methods The study qualitatively analyzes the WhatsApp discourse and utilizes an inductive approach in which data were analyzed using a qualitative research methodology (Strauss & Corbin, 1998). The posts, discussions, and shared information in the WhatsApp group were divided into Discourse Episodes (DEs), which were defined as follows: A discourse event that was opened in the WhatsApp group and that deals with a certain topic. Each DE includes all the posts in the discourse event until a new DE is initiated. During the two years of research, 6,100 posts were posted. These posts were assembled into 300 DEs. For each DE, the topic of the discourse was identified using a bottom-up approach: First, each DE was coded according to its topic. These initial codes were then classified into general categories 827

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(Miles, Huberman, & Saldana, 2013). For example, the DE topic of “Chemistry teaching” included the initial codes of content knowledge, pedagogical content knowledge, curriculum knowledge, student diagnostics, technological pedagogical content knowledge, questions regarding matriculation exams, and in-school teaching practices. Then, 25% of the DEs were given to a second researcher, who used the coding scheme of the general categories. In cases of disagreement, the two researchers discussed the gaps. These discussions led to modifications of the categories scheme, and the DEs were re-classified using the new coding scheme. Here we will also present two DEs that will enable further discussion of the mechanism underlying professional knowledge development enabled by the WhatsApp group.

RESULTS

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Topics of the Discourse Episodes in the PLC WhatsApp Group The DEs comprise episode topics that include professional knowledge discussions, and other episodes that are related to other aspects in the teachers’ PLC, as shown in Table 1. First, we refer to professional knowledge discussion episodes: We found that 37 and 27% (in the first and the second years, respectively) of the DE topics deal with chemistry teaching. The chemistry teaching episode topic is composed of the following sub-categories: content knowledge, pedagogical content knowledge, curriculum knowledge, student diagnostics, technological pedagogical content knowledge, questions regarding matriculation exams, and in-school teaching practices. The second sub-category of professional knowledge discussion is “Leading the CtH regional PLCs” (Table 1), which received 25 and 21% (in the first and the second years, respectively). In this subcategory, the PLC teachers share via the WhatsApp group unique activities they conducted that are related to their role as PLC leaders. In this chapter, we will not focus on those aspects related to their role in leading the regional PLC. In addition, the DEs that were categorized “PLC meetings” (Table 1) include issues that were discussed in the face-to-face PLC meetings and are also rich in chemistry teaching topics. The last subcategory of professional knowledge discussion deals with laboratory experiments (8 and 9% (in the first and the second years, respectively). We found discourses dealing with the experiment itself, discussions of the phenomenon being explored, as well as ways to design experiments for enhancing students’ motivation to learn and for demonstrating the theoretical principles being studied. Table 1 shows the professional knowledge discussions divided into four different topics. In addition to episodes that dealt with professional knowledge, two other topics were found and categorized as “other”: LMS, and social. The DEs that were categorized under the Learning management systems (LMS) topic include technical and organizational parts of the PLC (e.g., when is our next meeting? Can someone pick me up from the train station?). The social DEs deal with social aspects of PLC members, such as birthday greetings. Examining the DE topics revealed that many of the DEs contain chemistry and chemistry education content. According to (Rap & Blonder, 2016; Sfard, 2006), the teachers’ discussion that is related to their professional knowledge constitutes learning. However, how does the discussion actually promote the PLC teachers’ professional knowledge? In order to address this question, a detailed analysis of two DEs will be presented. These DEs were chosen based on their representative nature, and will serve here as two vignettes that will allow us to discuss the way these discussions influence teachers’ professional knowledge. 828

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Knowledge Development of PLC Teachers First Vignettes: A New Laboratory Experiment Several DEs that dealt with a specific laboratory experiment called “Colored arm-wrestling” are presented (the experiment is detailed in Appendix 1). These DEs occurred during one month (January 30-February 27, 2018). The first DE concerning this experiment was conducted on January 30, 2017, during the PLC meeting. The experiment was developed by the PLC facilitators. During the face-to-face PLC meetings, several photos of teachers conducting the experiment were posted in the WhatsApp group (one of these photos is shown in Figure 3, A). The experiment was conducted during the PLC meeting, which all the PLC teachers attended. They discussed how the experiment is connected to different parts in the chemistry curriculum and posed suggestions for possible inquiry questions that could be carried out as a possible continuation of the experiment. Note that the teachers are not obligated to conduct the experiment in class. Two days after the PLC meeting, some of the teachers further explored the experiment in their school labs (before using it in their teaching). On February 2, Ben, one of the PLC teachers, examined the experiment and shared it with the PLC by posting 8 photos (two of them are presented in Figure 3, B & C in the WhatsApp group with the text: “Different variations – trying to adapt to the glassware I have in my school lab”. Table 1.The DE topics in the WhatsApp group during the academic years 2015-6 and 2016-7. Each DE can include more than one topic and can be counted more than once. Discourse Episode Topic

2015-2016

2016-2017

Number of DE (%)

Number of DE (%)

Professional Knowledge Discussions Chemistry teaching

55 (37%)

75 (27%)

Leading the CtH regional PLCs

38 (25%)

58 (21%)

PLC meetings

29 (19%)

46 (17%)

Chemistry laboratory

15 (8%)

27 (9%)

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Other LMS

35 (23%)

87 (32%)

Social

26 (17%)

41 (15%)

Total DE

149

273

Discourse Episode DE 1: Ben tried to adapt the experiment to the glassware available in his school lab, and the responses from three members of the PLC (February 2, 2017). 1. Different variations – trying to adapt to the glassware I have in my school lab (Ben, after posting photos B-D, Figure 3). 2. Did you try with an Erlenmeyer? (Karin) 3. I have liter Erlenmeyers, but not for 6 groups…(Ben)

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Figure 3. PLC teachers conducting the “Colored arm-wrestling” experiment during the face-to-face meeting. Different stages of knowledge building are reflected in the photos. A) Conducting the experiment during the PLC meeting. B-C) Ben checking the experiment in the school lab and determining the conditions needed to conduct it in school. D) Abed (a PLC teacher who is an expert in the lab experiment) conducted the experiment in different educational settings. E-F) Conducting the experiment with students or with other PLC teachers they lead. G) Hanna presenting her successful results.

4. What about the pickle jar? (Mira, Facilitator) 5. I don’t have them and I don’t know who can eat so many pickles in a short time [excited face]. (Ben). 6. You need to have a high flask volume. (Mira, Facilitator) 7. I can see that CO2 is created…and the air doesn’t leave the flask. So what I don’t understand is if I’ll decrease the quantity of the materials according the volume of the flask, should it work? The glove should be sucked into the flask? Right? (Ben) 8. It is supposed to… you are right. I think that it’s better to let the air go out first and only then cover it with the glove. (Mira, Facilitator) 9. I tried. This really works better. (Ben)

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10. It also works with a 1 litter Erlenmeyer and a balloon instead of a glove. The glove works with the pickle jar. I prefer that because of the effect of a glove being sucked in. (Sandy, Facilitator) 11. Try it with the smaller flask and decrease the amount of chemicals. (Sandy, Facilitator) 12. I think that you can buy an empty jar in the grocery story; it doesn’t cost much. (Sandy, Facilitator) 13. I think that this is what I’ll do. (Ben) Discourse Episode DE 2: One of the teachers posted a successful trial of the experiment, which led to a discourse involving 8 PLC members. (February 27, 2017). 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8.

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9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16.

Successful at last…Yeyyy (Hanna) (Hanna) What I was just trying didn’t work again!!! What’s the secret? (Karin) LOL (Karin) I bought myself a pickle jar yesterday. (Shir) (Shir) Hanna, share with us step by step. What did you do? (Dalit, Facilitator) I let the air out, I took 6 instead of 7 g of sodium hydroxide. I don’t have powder, so I used grains that I crushed. (Hanna) Thank you Hanna, I will try it again now (Tali) [Thumbs up] (Hanna) (Hanna) Your persistence was worthwhile! Great (Rose, Facilitator) Great! (Avi) How much air did you let out? And for how long? (Mira, Facilitator) Just a little bit for one second. (Hanna) Thanks! (Mira, Facilitator)

DE1 was initiated by Ben, other teachers in the PLC, and the PLC facilitators responded, as presented in DE 1 (posts 1-5). They asked about other laboratory glassware that Ben tried to use. However, his school lab does not have enough of these items. The PLC facilitator (Sandy) recommended that he use the same jar of pickled vegetables that was used at the PLC meeting, but this solution was also not practical for Ben. Then, participants discussed the conditions that lead to a successful experiment (DE 1, posts 6-11). During the discourse, they asked questions and tried to explain the chemistry reactions that occurred. Throughout the discussion, they realized that the volume of the glassware used in the experiment influenced the surprising part of the experiment, in which the glove is impressively sucked-in. The discussion dealt with additional aspects of the experiment such as the role of the acid-base indicator used, and replacing the glove with a balloon, which might be sound technical, but actually influenced the experiment since it also influenced the volume of the reaction system. The DE contains several posts that provide the participants with a sense of appreciation and social support. This was reflected in the positive feedback that Hanna received after she posted the photo of her successful experimental system as well as PLC members’ questions regarding the experimental details.

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Several days later, on February 7, one of the PLC members (Abed) conducted the experiment in a different educational setting. Abed, who has much experience in the chemistry lab, posted a photo showing him conducting the experiment with a chemistry teachers’ PLC that he leads in northern Israel. In addition, he received very supportive feedback from a PLC member in the WhatsApp group. This DE is not presented in the paper. In the next DE (DE 2), which is presented here, on February 27, another teacher (Hanna) posted a photo of herself successfully conducting an experiment in her school lab, with the text: “Successful at last…Yeyyy”. This post resulted in opening a DE that includes enthusiastic posts from PLC members and also requested detailed explanations from Hanna, so that everyone will be able to conduct the experiment successfully in their school. She replied to all the questions and provided the information based on her experience in successfully conducting the experiment. Later on, during the year, additional teachers posted different photos related to the experiment: buying pickle jars, trying other conditions, and also included photos after they had conducted the experiment at school (Figure 3, E-F). Each of these posts in the WhatsApp group received comments from the PLC members. What professional knowledge was involved in the discussion? Several DEs in the PLC WhatsApp group dealt with different aspects of an experiment that was presented during the PLC face-to-face meeting. At first, they recorded themselves during the meeting. Then, they discussed the conditions needed for conducting the experiment with the available school laboratory equipment. Finally, they posted photos showing themselves conducting the experiment with their students or in their other educational settings. We found that specific professional knowledge regarding the experiment was generated in the discourse. This includes a detailed understanding of the specific chemical reaction and the conditions that influence the amount of gas products. This is an acid-base reaction that involves the use of an acid-base indicator, phenolphthalein, which changes color during the experiment, and the generation of CO2(g), which is generated and then reacts, thus influencing the pressure in the reaction. We also noted how different teachers personalize this general knowledge to their own school laboratory context, and relate that aspect to the teachers’ personal PCK. Feedback interviews that were conducted at the end of the academic year provided additional support indicating that the WhatsApp discourse during this experiment helped the PLC teachers conduct the experiment in their own chemistry class. Second vignette: Using candies for chemistry teaching. In the second vignette, we describe teachers’ professional knowledge development that dealt with developing experiential teaching. Using a variety of teaching methods is a recommended approach (R. Blonder & Sakhnini, 2012). In science teaching, it is used to increase students’ interest in science, to motivate them to learn new challenging topics in science, and to support their understanding. There are many ways used for experiential teaching, e.g., integrating dance or body movement into the learning process (Zohar, Bagno, Eylon, & Abrahamson, 2017), and the creation of visual art products as part of the learning process (Sharaabi-Naor, Kesner, & Shwartz, 2014). In the example presented, we show how candies were used in teaching chemistry. During the last meeting of the CtH PLC in the first research year, one of the PLC teachers (Erez) initiated DE 2, and posted 4 photos from an activity that he had conducted in which the CtH PLC teachers built models of molecules using different sweets, candies, and snacks as the building blocks of the model (photo A, Figure 4). Erez also explained the photos: “In the activity we asked the teachers to build the structural formula for different molecules with candies”. One of the facilitators commented: “Today we’re getting out of the box ☺”.

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Figure 4. Using candies in chemistry teaching. Different stages of knowledge building are reflected in the photos: A). The first time, the idea was suggested by Erez, one of the PLC teachers. B) Another PLC teacher conducts a similar activity with the PLC she leads. C-D) Activities with students.

It is important to note that the idea of using candies in chemistry teaching, which was presented by Erez, was an original activity initiated by him and was not shown in any other professional development framework for chemistry teachers in Israel. After Erez posted his activity with the teachers, we discussed the idea of using candies in chemistry lessons with teachers (not in the WhatsApp group). The PLC chemistry teachers did not express enthusiasm about the idea of bringing candies for group work during the lesson. They raised many concerns. For example, students would not take the chemistry class seriously, students might play and eat the candies instead of learning chemistry, and the group work with the candies could create a mess in class. In the next CtH PLC meeting, which was at the beginning of the next academic year, one of the PLC teachers posted photos showing her conducting a similar activity using candies to build models of molecules with the text: “Building sweet molecules and exposing our knowledge about materials” (photo B, Figure 4). This teacher adopted Erez’s activity, which he posted in the WhatsApp group. She used candies to conduct experiments within a chemistry teacher’s PLC that she leads in central Israel. In her photos, she also includes the activity sheet that was used, which she later shared with the PLC members by Email. After one week, one of the PLC facilitators posted a photo showing an activity she conducted with her students to address their difficulties in understanding what happens to bi-atom molecules in the evaporation process. She used two different candies and asked her students to use the candies to build two different materials (He(g), and H2(g)) that would resemble the gas phase under the same pressure and temperature conditions (photo C, Figure 4). This teacher used experiential teaching methods to deal with a misconception she had discovered in her class, using one of the diagnostic questionnaires that were presented at the PLC meetings. At the beginning of the next

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activity year, another PLC teacher conducted a variation of the candies activity with the CtH PLC she leads. She posted 4 photos of her PLC teachers while they used candies to build the molecules (e.g., photo D, Figure 4). In this activity, she connected the use of candies to a different part of the chemistry curriculum in Israel, which is related to functional groups. In the topic, the students are requested to remember the structure of different functional groups (e.g., carbocyclic acid, ketones, and alcohol) and to be able to recognize them. Many students have difficulties in recalling the different functional groups; however, the activity with the candies, since it is experiential, supports better and longer learning. As was mentioned in the previous example, every photo that was posted received many supportive responses as well as discussions regarding the exact way the teaching method should be used in class. This example shows how an idea proposed by one of the PLC teachers was discussed in the PLC WhatsApp group and from there, reached the chemistry classes and the chemistry students of other PLC teachers.

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DISCUSSION In the chemistry PLC, a group of chemistry teachers systematically reflect upon their knowledge and practice in order to improve their teaching. The teachers’ PLC has already been shown to be a supportive environment in which teachers can build their professional knowledge and practices (Cochran-Smith & Lytle, 1999; Darling-Hammond & Sykes, 1999). We will now discuss how the WhatsApp group (or other similar online immediate message platforms that share the same features, as mentioned in the introduction section) contributed to the development of the PLC teachers’ professional knowledge. According to the analysis of the topics that were discussed in the PLC WhatsApp group (Table 1), much of the discourse in the WhatsApp group included chemistry teaching issues and chemistry contents. Most of the discourse dealt with professional aspects of chemistry teaching. However, other topics of discourse were also found and include DEs that were more social and DEs that dealt with organizational aspects of the PLC (LMS). In addition, the discourse in the WhatsApp group combined the presence of the PLC facilitators with PLC teachers’ posts, as demonstrated in the vignettes discussed. Previous studies of online communities indicated that the presence of discourse regarding the learned content as well as social, and teaching aspects is essential in order to achieve learning with an online community (Garrison, Anderson, & Archer, 1999; Rap & Blonder, 2016). In the present study, three components were identified: the discourse includes a discussion about chemistry teaching (here – the content learned), and social and teaching presence is shown here by the presence of the PLC facilitators. Therefore, this online PLC fulfills the conditions that are needed in order to achieve learning for its participants. In this study, we re-examined the model of teachers’ professional knowledge and skills (Guess-Newsome, 2015), and suggested an additional path by which teachers develop their knowledge and skills, which is denoted by the blue path in Figure 2. According to the original model (presented in black, Figure 2), the teacher uses her amplifiers and filters before she decides whether to introduce a new pedagogy or a new activity to her class, for example, the laboratory experiment that was discussed in the Results section. Although the experiment was presented to the PLC teachers by the PKC facilitators using a top-down approach, the PLC teachers thought about the experiment, and some of them tried it in their school lab with their lab technician, and then decided whether they would introduce the experiment to their students. However, in the PLC supported by the WhatsApp group the teachers who investigated the experiment in their schools and discussed the conditions in the WhatsApp group, the “blue path” was opened for other teachers. In doing so, they deepened their understanding of the experiment’s chemistry explanations, and 834

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experienced its technical challenges before introducing it to their students. When one of the PLC teachers actually tried the new lab experiment in his class or with the teachers in the CtH PLC he leads, and posted his experience to the group, he provided the other PLC members of the WhatsApp group with a personal example of successfully conducting the experiment (R. Blonder et al., 2013). The WhatsApp group members undergo vicarious experience (Bandura, 1986) by seeing their colleagues’ results when trying out the new lab experiment. They also received the reactions of students in the teacher’s class to the experience, which can also influence their attitudes and decision to perform the new experiment in their own class. This additional path is denoted in blue in Figure 1. Teachers who hesitate to conduct a new experiment with their students, because they might believe that it technically will not work, or they are afraid that their students might not be able to conduct the experiment or understand it, can receive authentic information about the effectiveness of the experiment in a real class context. They can read the discussion in the PLC WhatsApp group and receive artifacts from PLC members, which arrive directly from their class. This path (indicated in blue, in Figure 2) provides an additional route by which teachers’ filters and amplifiers can be influenced and it can also influence teachers’ PCK&S regarding the new experiment without teachers trying the new experiment in their own class. Let us examine the second vignette, which is provided in the Results section, in light of the suggested path (the blue path, Figure 2). One of the teachers posted an example of an experiment he conducted with his students as part of experiential teaching pedagogy. He used candies for experientially teaching the topic of the structural formula of molecules. This activity is an example of a pedagogical approach in which a variety of teaching methods are used by a teacher in responding to each student’s needs. Candies were used after the traditional teaching of structural formula. This enables many students to study chemistry in ways that are more aligned with their own interests and learning styles (Young, Klemz, & Murphy, 2003). Implementing a wide spectrum of instructional techniques and ways of measuring students’ achievement and progress requires matching an appropriate assessment tool for each technique (R. Blonder, 2018). In practice, however, it is often difficult to employ a wide repertoire of instructional methods (Hofstein, Mamlok, & Rosenberg, 2006). In addition, teachers might feel that adopting a different pedagogy is beyond their capabilities and therefore, they would not introduce it to their class, and would never receive their students’ responses to the pedagogy. In the example provided in the second vignette, the different pedagogy is the group work with candies. By using the new path provided by the PLC WhatsApp group (the blue path, Figure 2), the teachers can experience the trials of other PLC members in their classes and can see the reactions of the other teachers’ students to the activity. Again, the vicarious experience influenced teachers’ attitudes, and consequently, their professional knowledge development. Exposure to an idea that works for other teachers, offered by their PLC peers, not only broadens the teachers’ repertoire, but also makes this idea accessible. In this example, there is no directed hierarchy of knowledge flow. The idea originated from one of the PLC teachers and was accepted, adapted, and implemented by other PLC members in a bottom-up process. This process contributed to the building of social capital residents in the PLC, which leads to behavioral change—a change that results in greater knowledge sharing, which in turn, positively influences teachers’ performance (Lesser & Storck, 2001). Knowledge creation in PLCs occurs when people participate in the problem solution process and share the knowledge needed to solve them (Wenger, 1999). The community enables members to jointly deal effectively in finding solutions in innovative ways (Manville & Foote, 1996). A study that was conducted using a Delphi methodology found that 42% of the knowledge that experts need in order to conduct their work comes from other people’s advice, opinions, and answers (Uriarte, 2008). This finding supports 835

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the educational use of teachers’ PLC, especially if we consider the isolated situation of disciplinary teachers (e.g., chemistry teachers) in schools. However, using the WhatsApp group to present evidence from teachers’ classes regarding a specific activity (e.g., trying a new lab experiment, using candies for experiential teaching) was found to contribute significantly to the knowledge-building process of teachers’ personal PCK&S via the suggested mechanism. We found that the PLC teachers raised questions that they faced while teaching (including how to vary their teaching) and this initiated a bottom-up process of knowledge development. This path also included practical and technical issues, as well as innovative teaching ideas. We also found that different professional knowledge requires the top-down direction of knowledge flow. New lab experiments, a new pedagogical approach (such as using diagnostic tools, or a personalized teaching approach) were initiated by the PLC facilitators using a top-down approach. Using this mechanism of providing teachers with the opportunity to present their teaching in front of their colleagues was found to be a very effective approach to enhance the PLC teachers’ self-efficacy beliefs, and was used in previous studies during face-to-face meetings, and thus, influenced their filters and professional knowledge (R. Blonder et al., 2013). In the current study, the online platform of the PLC WhatsApp group provided a method by which this process can continue between the meetings in a very accessible and useful way. Research shows that social factors are important in the development and maintenance of communities. They facilitate the maturing of the community, knowledge sharing, longer engagements, and the community’s outcome expectations (Macià & García, 2016). In addition, Grossman, Wineburg, and Woolworth (2001) claimed that holding real-life meetings in PLCs is not enough to ensure the development of a sense of community. It has also been shown that participation in face-to- face meetings does not always involve cooperation between community members, especially in those cases that require greater commitment from participants, e.g. a collaborative creation of artefacts (Coutinho & Lisbôa, 2013). In addition, the literature regarding online PLCs distinguishes between two types of participants in the online communication platforms: the active users that post photos and text and react to others (such as Ben in DE1 and DE2), and the passive participants, who usually read the contents that are posted but do not contribute their own ideas and perspectives. Most of the studies reported that the percentage of passive participants is high (Ardichvili, Maurer, Li, Wentling, & Stuedemann, 2006; Preece, Nonnecke, & Andrews, 2004). Regarding the chemistry teachers’ PLC studied here, the norms of the group created a WhatsApp group that is very actively used by the vast majority of the PLC members. These norms of trust are essential for the sharing of contents and for the active participation of the PLC teachers in the discourse. Teachers initiated discourses (as shown in DE2, which dealt with the candies) and felt confident enough to post their doubts and their unsuccessful trials (as was shown in DE regarding the experimental system of the new lab experiment). This is an essential aspect for developing teachers’ professional knowledge. The two vignettes presented in the current chapter represent many other DEs in which the development of teachers’ professional knowledge was demonstrated. Other examples include discussions about other topics and other dimensions in chemistry teaching. We wish to stress that the attention given in the PLC meetings on developing trust among the PLC members created a sense of community that supported the development of teachers’ knowledge.

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CONCLUSION AND IMPLICATIONS In this study we linked the model for teachers’ professional knowledge development (Gess-Newsome, 2015) to an online platform used for group communication. We showed that the WhatsApp group, when used by the teachers’ PLC, provided an additional means of developing teachers’ professional knowledge by adding the shared vicarious experiences of other teachers in the PLC for the benefit of the entire PLC community. PLC teachers could read the discourse in the online mobile WhatsApp group and discover how their peers experienced a new pedagogy in their class. This process influences the PLC teachers’ attitudes towards this pedagogy and could affect their personal PCK&S. It is therefore recommended to add the technologically supported path to the theoretical model of teachers’ professional knowledge and to further investigate its contribution and its working mechanism. We would like to suggest that better understanding the mechanism by which the group communicates via WhatsApp could help managers of online groups enhance this process. For example, they can invite the group members to share their classroom experiences with the group. This can be done when one of the PLC members shares with the facilitators that she or he tried out a new activity in chemistry class. In this way, we can transform our research insights into practical contributions to develop teachers’ knowledge through online platforms.

ACKNOWLEDGMENT This research was supported by the Trump Foundation [grant numbers 154]; the National Chemistry Teachers’ Center and was supported by the Ministry of Education [Tender: 09.07.13]. We would like to thank the leading team of the chemistry PLC: Dr. Dvora Katchevich, Dr. Malka Yayon, Dr. Rachel Mamlok-Naaman, Mrs. Sara Ekons, and Mrs Enas Easa.

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This work was previously published in Mobile Technologies in Educational Organizations; pages 117-140, copyright year 2019 by Information Science Reference (an imprint of IGI Global).

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Research Anthology on Facilitating New Educational Practices Through Communities of Learning, edited by Association, Information Resources Management, IGI Global, 2020. ProQuest

The Role of a WhatsApp Group of a Professional Learning Community of Chemistry Teachers

APPENDIX Lab-Manual of the Experiment: “Colored Arm-Wrestling” The experiment was adapted by Mrs. Sara Akons from (Hofstein, Shore, & Kipnis, 2004). Note: Protective glasses and gloves must be worn! General Instructions ◦◦ Read all the instructions well before beginning the experiment. ◦◦ Check that you have all the necessary equipment and materials at your disposal in order to conduct the experiment. Equipment and Materials ◦◦ 6 g NaOH(s) ◦◦ 10 g of NaHCO3(s) ◦◦ 10 g of citric acid ◦◦ 100 ml of red cabbage solution ◦◦ A 100 ml cylinder ◦◦ A 3-liter pickle jar ◦◦ A lab glove ◦◦ 1 clip ◦◦ A rubber band ◦◦ 3 plastic spoons

Stage A: The Course of the Experiment Pay attention to:

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• • • • • • • • • • • • •

Follow the instructions for carrying out Stage A. Record as many observations as possible. Have all members of the group participate in carrying out the various tasks. Use correct and precise scientifc language throughout the process. Take an empty lab-glove and add 6 g NaOH powder to one of the glove fngers. Close the fnger with clips. Carefully add to the same glove (not to the fnger) 10 g of NaHCO3 powder and 10 g of citric acid. Measure with the cylinder a 100 ml red cabbage solution. Add the red cabbage solution to the pickle jar. Carefully close the jar with a glove. Make sure that it is closed well and use a rubber band to tighten the glove to the jar. The powder that was added to the glove in stage 3 will be poured into the jar. Observe the system until no change can be seen. Open the clips that closed the fnger with the powder from stage 2, and pour the powder into the jar (keep the jar closed). Mix intensively until all the powder in the jar is dissolved.

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Research Anthology on Facilitating New Educational Practices Through Communities of Learning, edited by Association, Information Resources Management, IGI Global, 2020. ProQuest

The Role of a WhatsApp Group of a Professional Learning Community of Chemistry Teachers

Stage B: The Steps of the Inquiry

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1. Formulate 5 varied, relevant questions that arose following the observations. a. Choose one of these questions that you want to investigate. b. Formulate this question clearly as an inquiry question and if possible, as a link between two variables. c. Formulate clearly a hypothesis for the question you chose to investigate. d. Give reasons for your hypothesis, based on correct, relevant scientific knowledge. 2. Plan an experiment that will check the validity of your hypothesis. a. Detail all the stages of the experiment, including the control stage. b. List the equipment and materials needed on an equipment request form. c. Consult with the teacher and, if necessary, make changes. d. Submit the list of equipment and materials to the laboratory technician. 3. Get the teacher’s approval for your proposed experiment. a. Carry out the experiment that you proposed after receiving your teacher’s approval.

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Research Anthology on Facilitating New Educational Practices Through Communities of Learning, edited by Association, Information Resources Management, IGI Global, 2020. ProQuest

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Index

21st century education 638, 674-675 21st century learning 571, 590, 638, 803 360-degree video 566-567, 574

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A Aberystwyth University 673 Activity System 192, 530, 535 Activity Theory 191-192, 194-196, 220, 222, 343, 522, 701 Agglomeration 411 Anderson 138-139, 142, 187, 192, 223, 225-226, 229, 235, 237, 260, 289, 301, 366-367, 369-370, 375, 377-379, 444, 453, 514, 533-534, 714-715, 730, 741, 761, 834, 839 Andragogy 2-4, 16, 52-54, 68, 516, 734-736, 738, 740, 762-763 Assessment literacy competencies 787 Assessment literacy demographics 787 Assessment literacy implementation 787 Assessment literacy self-efcacy 787 Asynchronous 2, 13, 17, 31, 202, 225, 227-228, 230234, 257, 299, 303-306, 317, 337, 367, 369-371, 381, 437-439, 441, 536, 538-539, 541, 543, 548-549, 561, 569, 626, 658, 662-663, 666, 673, 716-718, 727-729, 731-732 Asynchronous Communication 305, 317, 369, 658, 662-663, 666, 673 asynchronous online instruction 732 Authentic Assessment 456, 477 Authentic Learning 64, 327, 337, 343, 395-396, 400, 404-405, 407-410, 424, 576-577, 586-589, 717718 Authentication 411

B benevolence 382, 385-387, 389, 392 Blogging 284, 353, 557-558, 561-564, 572-574, 634

bonding 240, 242, 252-254, 258, 263, 265, 313, 321 bonding social capital 253-254, 265 Bootstrapping 411, 415-416, 421 Bourdieu 240, 247-248, 252, 260 Brain Research and Teaching 765 brand awareness 312-313 Bridging 77, 82, 88-89, 240, 242, 252-254, 258, 263, 265, 495, 518, 584-586, 590, 671, 731 bridging social capital 253-254, 265

C Carol Dweck 12, 744-745, 757-758 Case Study 41, 69, 86, 89, 166, 183, 187, 223, 276, 284, 301, 337, 344, 353, 361, 366, 371, 379, 392, 422, 433, 436, 453-454, 456, 458-459, 462, 472, 475-477, 491, 496, 505, 517, 519-520, 536, 539, 550, 553, 566-567, 614, 637, 639, 643, 655, 665, 671-672, 762, 768, 771, 773-774, 816, 839 Center for Educational Excellence (CEE) 73, 87 chemistry teachers 653, 820-824, 827, 832-834, 836838, 841 CLIL 602, 613, 616 CLT 576, 595-596, 598-599, 601, 604-606, 610, 616 CoCreata Consultancy and Research 478 Co-Creation 142, 177, 478, 481-482, 485, 487, 489 COEs 616 COEZ 595, 598-599, 601-604, 606, 610-611, 616 Cognitive Presence 229-231, 233-234, 715-716, 728-729 Collaboration 1, 3, 5, 13-15, 21, 23, 26, 40, 54-57, 6061, 64, 69-70, 72, 77, 84, 86, 92, 95, 98, 105, 118, 120, 124, 132-133, 136-143, 155, 163, 166, 169, 174, 176-177, 179-182, 185, 191-192, 219, 221, 224, 234, 241, 255, 262-263, 269, 287-292, 296, 299-300, 302-306, 316-319, 321, 323, 326-327, 331-334, 341, 348, 353-354, 367, 407, 419, 423, 435, 444, 460, 465-467, 470, 472, 481-482, 485486, 489, 491, 497, 499-500, 504, 519, 525, 529,

 Volume I: pp. 1-412; Volume II: 413-834

Research Anthology on Facilitating New Educational Practices Through Communities of Learning, edited by Association, Information Resources Management, IGI Global, 2020. ProQuest

Copyright © 2020. IGI Global. All rights reserved.

Index

537-538, 549, 557, 561-562, 564, 568-573, 577579, 587-588, 597-601, 604, 606, 610, 613, 615, 622, 649, 652, 671-672, 694, 702, 714-716, 719, 726-727, 747-749, 752, 762, 771, 790, 804, 813 Collaborative Learning 32, 48, 55, 120, 132, 136-137, 205, 274, 278-279, 286-292, 295-301, 354, 443, 458, 495, 523, 533, 548, 576, 579-580, 587-589, 706, 734, 746, 751 collaborative learning community 458, 706, 734, 751 Collaborative Practices 116, 557, 561 Collective 4-6, 8-11, 18, 21, 32, 36, 56, 77, 94, 116118, 120, 123, 125-126, 130-133, 136-144, 146, 153, 170-174, 179-181, 194, 219, 227, 230, 232, 242-243, 245, 247-249, 251-253, 279, 288, 296, 350, 414-415, 417, 458, 462, 477, 479, 499, 524, 546, 579, 581, 597, 601-602, 606, 615, 642, 645646, 662, 681, 683, 726-727, 741, 743, 752, 762, 768, 777, 788, 790, 792-797, 803, 826 collective creativity 117, 130-132, 138, 141-142, 144, 146 Commonalities 348, 441, 722, 729, 767-768, 773-778, 781-784 Commonality 25, 157, 270, 776, 778-779, 781-783, 787 Communicative Language Teaching (CLT) 576, 595596, 616 Communities Of Practice (COP) 3, 32, 75, 192-193, 241, 265, 267-268, 326, 328, 368, 411-412, 414, 478 Community 1, 3-4, 6-9, 17-30, 32-33, 40-41, 43, 4849, 51-52, 56-57, 59, 61-64, 66-67, 69-70, 72-77, 79-84, 87-89, 91-94, 96, 98, 100-102, 105-109, 113, 121-126, 130, 145, 149-152, 154-155, 161, 167, 172-173, 177-178, 184, 188, 191-193, 195200, 202-226, 229-234, 238, 241-242, 244-246, 248-249, 251-258, 260-264, 267-270, 273-275, 277-283, 285-286, 288, 290, 313, 319-320, 324326, 331, 333-335, 339-340, 343-344, 347-354, 356-362, 365, 367-370, 373-374, 376, 379-384, 388, 393, 395-396, 398, 401, 403, 405-407, 410412, 414-415, 417-421, 423, 437, 442-443, 447, 454-459, 461, 463-464, 467, 469-473, 479-480, 482, 488-489, 491-493, 495-500, 504, 513-514, 517, 522-533, 535-536, 539, 546, 548, 550-554, 557-558, 560, 562, 564-565, 568-569, 571, 577, 579, 587, 595-599, 601, 603-604, 606, 612-614, 616, 622, 624, 626-629, 631-635, 637, 639, 642-643, 645-646, 649-650, 652, 654, 658, 660, 662, 672, 674, 680, 682-683, 687-689, 692, 695696, 699, 701, 704-707, 714-715, 727, 729-732, 734-736, 750-752, 757, 762, 764-766, 768, 771, 788-790, 792, 795, 797, 800-802, 805, 813, 815,

818, 820-824, 826-827, 834-837, 839-841 Community College 18-20, 30, 324, 732 Community Of Inquiry 225-226, 229, 238, 577, 714715, 729-731 Competence 123, 172, 195, 211, 261, 300, 332, 413, 494-495, 497, 504, 589-591, 594, 596-597, 600, 604, 606, 609, 611-612, 614-616, 671, 741, 743 Competencies 20, 28, 33, 37, 55, 120, 152, 159, 164, 247, 254, 296, 411-415, 418, 420, 461, 558-559, 578, 649, 768-769, 772-773, 775, 777-778, 781783, 786-787 computer-mediated communication 261, 270, 286, 301, 305, 317 Constant ICT 265 continuous professional development (CPD) 638, 674-675 Cooperation 76, 137, 147, 151, 153, 155, 165-166, 189, 259, 298, 350, 371, 386, 390, 478-481, 485, 515, 611, 658, 666, 803, 814, 836 CoP Moderator 188 Courage 78, 382, 385-389, 392, 482 Creating 3, 5, 11, 18, 21, 23, 25, 32-33, 35, 50, 56, 58-59, 62, 73, 83, 85-86, 96, 101, 117, 119, 127, 129, 132, 148, 150, 153, 171-173, 179-180, 188, 195-196, 207, 211-212, 215, 219, 222, 232-233, 243, 245, 254, 257, 265, 269, 288, 300, 302, 318320, 326, 334, 343, 352, 376-377, 389, 399, 409, 415, 417-418, 421, 436, 440-441, 455, 466, 469470, 479, 508, 538, 543, 547, 562, 568, 572, 578, 581, 588-591, 600, 605, 613, 626, 629-630, 641, 658, 678, 681, 694, 704, 719, 734-736, 750-751, 759, 791-792, 804, 809, 814, 816, 821-822, 826 Creative Exchange 130, 143, 146 creative leadership 91-92, 96-98, 100, 103 Creativity 91-92, 97-98, 101-103, 110, 116-118, 120, 126, 130-133, 136-144, 146, 148, 151-152, 157159, 164, 244, 265, 286, 327, 330, 338, 342, 344, 346, 419, 425, 494, 504, 508, 604, 649, 654, 665, 694, 800-801, 803, 841 Culture 23, 26, 28-30, 35-36, 39-40, 56, 60, 66, 74, 76, 80, 93, 107, 116-117, 119, 130-131, 134, 136-138, 142, 146-150, 154-155, 157, 159-164, 168-169, 176-177, 179-183, 186, 191, 202, 212215, 217-218, 221, 227, 248, 251, 259, 264, 270, 276, 334, 343, 364, 376, 390, 417, 425, 451, 467, 475, 479, 496-497, 499-501, 504, 507, 516, 523, 530, 534, 549, 557-558, 561, 567, 570-572, 574575, 580, 589-591, 597, 601, 603-606, 613, 625, 631, 634, 670-671, 703, 749, 764, 768, 771, 773, 782, 786, 790 Curriculum 3, 9, 15, 19, 30, 54, 62, 67, 70, 87, 89, 92,

Research Anthology on Facilitating New Educational Practices Through Communities of Learning, edited by Association, Information Resources Management, IGI Global, 2020. ProQuest

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Index

95, 98, 112, 227, 237-238, 268-269, 278, 285, 287, 297, 334, 340-341, 343, 362, 395, 397, 399, 401, 403, 405-406, 408-409, 423, 431, 443, 446, 448-449, 498, 506, 552, 578, 589-590, 595-596, 599-601, 603-604, 609-610, 612, 615-616, 641, 678, 680, 687, 692, 696, 698-699, 709, 716717, 727, 729, 734-736, 750, 752-754, 756-757, 759-760, 764, 770, 774, 786, 789, 801-803, 805, 808-811, 813, 816-817, 828-829, 834

D David Sousa 735-736, 739-740, 743, 753, 755, 759-760 Demographics 258, 503, 623, 767-769, 771-773, 775778, 780-783, 787 De-ontology 411 Design-based research (DBR) 194 Designs for Learning 456, 458, 477 Developmental 9, 16, 20, 27, 30, 59, 80, 86, 112, 219, 278, 457, 515-516, 732, 764 digital literacy 530, 557-561, 571, 649 digital literature circles 557-558, 561, 568-570 Digital Spaces 376, 472, 537, 557 Disciplinary Literacy 374, 536-540, 542-553 discourse community 455, 522-523, 525-526, 528, 531-532, 535, 662 Dispersed Communities of Practice 265 Distributed Community of Practice 195, 219, 224 Distributed Leadership 8, 16, 93, 102, 148, 734, 736, 749, 762, 803 double-loop learning 129, 269, 286 dualities 185, 191, 195, 215-216, 218, 224, 240, 247, 258-259 Dufour 1-2, 4-5, 15, 56, 66, 347-348, 350-351, 362, 560, 572, 597-600, 602, 605-607, 610, 612, 642, 646, 651, 653, 681, 683, 703, 768, 779, 786, 790, 801, 815

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E Early Childhood 69, 108, 456, 473-475, 491-496, 498-501, 503-506, 508, 512, 515-520, 633, 762 Early Years 474, 477, 492, 518, 520, 574, 763 Early Years Education 477, 520 efective online instruction 228-229, 235 elementary pre-service teachers 536 Engagements 21, 214, 352, 395, 397, 401-403, 406407, 409, 800, 807, 815, 836 English Learners 622-625, 629-630, 633-634 envisionment 427-428, 440, 444, 446, 455 Epistemology 35, 411

Event 11, 109, 344, 371, 428-430, 432-433, 436, 441, 443, 445, 447, 455, 507, 585, 670, 774, 790, 794, 827 Excellence 20, 27, 32-33, 38, 40-41, 68, 72-73, 87, 90, 95, 148, 159, 746, 768-769 exemplary teaching demonstrations 806, 809, 817 exploitation 118-119, 184, 240, 247, 253, 255, 258-259 Exploitative Form of Organizational Learning 265 Exploration 75, 82, 119, 130, 184, 226, 240, 247, 253, 255, 258-259, 326, 360, 385, 390, 392, 426, 432, 445, 457, 460, 467, 477, 495, 519, 570, 578, 590, 596, 613, 649, 692, 696, 715, 722, 728, 765, 786, 802, 809 Explorative Form of Organizational Learning 265

F Face-To-Face Instruction 225, 228, 732 Faculty Development 18-20, 30-31, 80-82, 85, 87, 220-222, 391, 422, 424, 432, 436-437, 452 Faculty Learning Community (FLC) 87 Faculty Mentoring 18-21, 23, 30, 518, 520 Faculty Professional Development 23, 192, 221, 224, 424 Feedback 5, 7-8, 12-13, 26-27, 29, 38, 41, 59, 61, 64, 70, 72-79, 83, 130, 137-138, 150, 181, 227, 268, 274, 278, 290, 334, 338, 375, 389, 404-405, 407, 434, 436, 439, 444, 464, 466-467, 469, 471, 509, 522, 524-532, 537-538, 540-542, 544-549, 552554, 568, 582-588, 594, 596, 602, 604-608, 618, 632, 649-650, 657-659, 661, 664-667, 670-671, 685, 711, 714, 726, 728-729, 735-736, 738, 742744, 746-748, 755, 805-806, 811-812, 831-832 fxed mindset 744-745, 765 Flipgrid 569, 574 Fourth Industrial Revolution 116-118, 120, 131, 138, 140, 145-146 Framework 5, 8, 20, 24, 30, 32, 55, 96, 105, 132, 142, 144, 157, 161-162, 164, 170-171, 180-181, 186, 193-195, 211, 221-223, 225-227, 229-230, 234-235, 238-240, 242-243, 265-266, 274, 284, 288, 318, 325, 327-330, 332, 337, 340-341, 343, 345, 352, 354, 361-362, 380, 397, 404, 409, 412, 415, 428, 432-433, 436, 443, 445-446, 450-451, 458, 460-461, 463, 467, 473-474, 479, 487, 491, 496, 500, 502, 513, 519, 533, 553, 559-560, 568, 573, 577, 602-603, 606, 611, 624, 635, 639-642, 644-646, 650-654, 659-662, 677-678, 680-686, 688, 697, 699, 701-705, 707-708, 715-716, 719, 727, 730-731, 769, 773, 789, 794, 796, 801-802, 823, 833, 839

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Research Anthology on Facilitating New Educational Practices Through Communities of Learning, edited by Association, Information Resources Management, IGI Global, 2020. ProQuest

Index

G Galileo Educational Network 458-460, 463, 467, 474, 575, 577, 587, 589-591 general education curriculum 395, 397, 401, 405, 409 Globalization 35, 93, 152, 240, 246-247, 421, 494, 503, 575, 589-591 guiding tool 478, 486

H Hashtag (#) 381 heart map 98-99, 103 Higher Education 1-2, 13, 15, 23, 32, 68, 71, 84-87, 89, 150, 162, 192, 218-222, 226, 228-229, 237238, 267-268, 272, 286, 299, 319, 325-326, 337, 341-342, 362-367, 370-371, 377-381, 395-397, 401, 407-412, 423, 444, 446, 448, 452, 495, 512513, 515, 518, 523, 534, 549-550, 715, 730-731, 816, 839 Hipp 1-2, 4-5, 16, 597, 613, 642, 653, 681, 704, 768, 771, 786

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I ICT 70, 191, 194-195, 197, 200, 207, 211-212, 216, 219, 240, 242, 247, 252, 254-259, 265-266, 287301, 344, 653, 676, 696, 700, 705-707, 816 ICT use 287, 293, 298 IDDIRR Model 637 identity formation 104-107, 112, 217, 224 Implementation 3, 9, 15, 33, 38, 56, 58-59, 69-70, 88, 102, 117, 146, 157, 168, 170, 177, 183, 185, 210, 221, 226, 237-238, 276-277, 288, 292, 296, 315-316, 330-331, 339, 346, 397, 401, 404, 414-415, 419, 460-461, 463, 494-496, 504-505, 517, 557-558, 562, 564, 578-579, 592, 596, 600, 602, 605-607, 610-611, 613, 624, 626-627, 632, 642, 645, 654, 656, 676, 679-682, 687, 699, 702, 705-706, 710-711, 713-714, 726, 728-729, 750, 765, 768-769, 771-773, 775, 777-778, 781-783, 786-787, 797, 801, 805, 815, 824 Indicators 38, 300, 411, 414, 418, 467, 767-769, 771773, 775, 777-779, 783-784, 791-793, 795 Informal Learning 57-58, 162, 167-169, 171, 174-177, 182, 184-186, 188, 267-271, 274-275, 277-282, 284-286, 343, 347, 352, 361-363, 376, 378, 660, 671 Information Technology 13, 35, 92, 101, 185, 193, 248, 256, 260, 262-263, 271, 283, 288, 298, 343, 382, 384, 390, 392, 474, 476, 503, 552, 671, 706,

708, 838 Innovation 3, 29, 40, 58, 73, 75, 77, 84, 90, 95, 102, 116-118, 120, 128, 130-133, 136-144, 146-150, 154, 157-163, 165, 167-171, 180-186, 188, 199, 204, 215, 219, 224, 241, 244-246, 248, 260-261, 264, 276, 291, 297, 299, 301, 318, 325, 328-329, 339, 342, 344, 346, 361-362, 393, 395, 411, 418, 420-421, 468, 476, 478, 481-483, 485-489, 590, 635, 801, 804, 812, 814-817 inquiry-based learning 462, 472, 474, 487, 575-579, 587, 589, 592 In-Service Teachers 287, 289-291, 296, 298, 546, 600, 622-626, 637-639, 641-644, 650-652, 680, 700, 703 Instant ICT 265 Instructional Design 9, 13, 228, 231, 234, 273, 298, 395-398, 405-410, 443, 457, 460, 469, 549, 637, 639, 644, 650, 654, 675, 683, 685, 699, 705 intellectual engagement 456, 458, 460, 464-466, 472473, 475-477, 493 intentionality 399, 401, 403, 406-407, 410 intercultural communication 496, 513-514, 516, 658659, 670-671, 673 Interdisciplinary 72-73, 75-76, 81, 85, 87-88, 98, 118119, 144, 282, 319, 329, 517 interpretation levels 776, 779, 782-783, 787

J Jo Boaler 745-746, 748-749 Journaling 103

K Knowledge 2-3, 6, 10-14, 19, 21-24, 27-28, 31-41, 46, 48-50, 52-59, 63, 66, 74-76, 78, 81-82, 87, 91-96, 105, 108-109, 116-122, 124-127, 129-134, 136155, 158-174, 177-189, 192-194, 206-207, 210, 215-217, 222-224, 227-231, 233-234, 237-238, 240-255, 257-270, 272-274, 276, 278-280, 283285, 287-291, 295-298, 301, 305-306, 318-319, 322, 327, 344, 346, 348-349, 352, 361, 368-369, 384, 387-388, 392-393, 396-398, 400, 404, 406, 408-409, 412-421, 423, 425-433, 435, 437, 439-440, 442-447, 451, 455, 457-459, 462, 467, 471-473, 475-477, 479, 481, 488, 492-494, 497, 499, 501-504, 506-509, 512, 523, 537-538, 549, 552, 559-560, 568, 572-573, 578-580, 589-590, 592, 595-598, 600, 603-604, 608, 614-616, 622, 624-629, 631-634, 636-642, 644-645, 647-654, 660, 665, 670, 672, 674-682, 684-685, 687, 689,

Research Anthology on Facilitating New Educational Practices Through Communities of Learning, edited by Association, Information Resources Management, IGI Global, 2020. ProQuest

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Index

691-695, 697-710, 713-717, 719-721, 726-727, 729-732, 734, 737, 743, 746, 751-752, 755, 758, 766, 768, 771-772, 783, 785, 787-788, 792-794, 796, 801, 805, 808, 820-830, 832-841, 843 Knowledge Appropriation 687, 699, 709 knowledge economy 116, 145-146, 164, 246 Knowledge Enactment 699, 709 Knowledge Management 3, 32-34, 41, 49-50, 92-93, 96, 116-121, 127, 132, 136-137, 142-147, 149, 154, 162-163, 165-172, 182, 184-189, 222, 241, 247, 254, 257, 259-262, 264-265, 322, 349, 589, 837, 841 knowledge mobilisation 687, 709 Knowles 2-3, 6, 16, 52-54, 68, 516, 736-738, 740, 762-763

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L lead teacher 801-802, 805-808, 817 Learning 1-33, 35, 38, 40-41, 48-82, 84-89, 91-98, 100102, 104-105, 108-110, 112-120, 122, 126-133, 136-141, 143-154, 157-177, 179-188, 191-196, 198-199, 201, 204-255, 258-292, 295-301, 304, 306, 315, 317-318, 320-321, 325-332, 334-335, 337, 339-354, 356-382, 384, 392-393, 395-411, 413-415, 417-421, 422-428, 431-441, 443-482, 486-490, 493, 495-500, 509-510, 513-520, 523526, 530-535, 537-539, 542, 544, 546, 548-553, 557-562, 564-584, 586-616, 622-627, 630-657, 659-660, 666-667, 671-674, 676-687, 692, 694-697, 699-711, 713-721, 723-732, 734-759, 761-773, 777, 779, 782-783, 785-786, 788-790, 792-811, 813-818, 820-824, 826-828, 832-835, 837-841 Learning Design Collaborative 395-397, 399, 401, 403, 405, 410 Learning Organization 1-2, 16, 67, 164, 186-187, 285, 350-351, 363-364, 417, 814 learning resistance 18-19, 28-29, 31 Legitimate Peripheral Participation 3, 16, 22, 24, 30, 105, 113, 163, 220, 241, 245, 248, 262, 269-270, 283, 299, 348, 358, 363, 368, 379-380, 420, 475, 634, 839 lesson cycles 537, 540-545, 547 Literacy 67, 164, 226, 228, 234, 236, 374, 380, 391, 422, 424-425, 427-428, 430-432, 434, 436-437, 444-449, 451-452, 454-455, 457, 459, 475-476, 519, 523, 526, 530, 534, 536-540, 542-554, 557562, 564-565, 567-574, 600, 623-625, 629, 644, 649, 660, 672-673, 681-682, 701-702, 767-769, 771-777, 779, 781-784, 787

Location-Based Communities of Practice 265 locus of control 102

M Masaryk University 658-659, 673 Mashed-Up Contents 286 Massively Multiplayer Online (MMO) Game 535 Master Capacity Builder 800 master teacher 807, 809-810, 817 Master Teacher Workstation 817 Math Phobia 766 Mentoring 18-31, 40, 58-59, 77, 82, 84-85, 88, 148, 150, 165, 171, 188, 236, 245, 273, 298, 359, 423, 450, 455, 460, 491-520, 622, 625-627, 633-636, 807, 812 Mentoring Program 18-29, 495-496, 625 Microblog 381, 512 Mindset 12, 15, 53, 148, 157, 231-232, 235, 237, 401, 734-735, 743-748, 757, 759, 762, 765, 813 Mixed Methods 88, 184, 299-300, 363, 371, 474, 715, 730, 775 mock trials 659, 663, 673 MOOC 267-268, 271-272, 275, 278, 280-281, 283-286, 384, 522, 524-526, 529-534 multidisciplinary 76, 78, 81, 86-87, 117-118, 120-121, 143, 401 Multiple Disciplines 72 Multiple Measures of Data 767, 769

N National Commission for Colleges of Education 611, 613, 616 NCCE 598, 600-602, 604, 607-608, 611, 613, 616 NCE 598, 600-603, 607, 609, 616, 621 Network 33, 75, 93, 96, 121, 138, 149-150, 166, 169, 179, 193, 220, 223, 236, 246, 251-252, 254-255, 257, 260-261, 264, 268, 270, 274-275, 281-282, 284, 291, 325-341, 343, 345-348, 352-353, 356358, 361, 364-366, 371-372, 376-378, 381-382, 384, 390, 415, 421, 458-460, 462-463, 466-467, 474, 497-498, 549, 551, 571, 575, 577-578, 587, 589-591, 599, 673, 811, 820, 840 Newly Qualifed Teachers 595 Nigeria 595-596, 598, 600-602, 604, 609, 611-614, 616, 621 Nonaka 50, 118, 148, 163, 240, 248-251, 257-258, 263 Noticing 26, 199, 790-794, 798

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Research Anthology on Facilitating New Educational Practices Through Communities of Learning, edited by Association, Information Resources Management, IGI Global, 2020. ProQuest

Index

O Online Communities of Practice (oCoP) 265 Online Discussion Forum 522, 535 online participation 196-198, 201, 203, 205, 208, 214-215, 224 Online Professional Communities 270, 362, 536-540, 549 Online Professional Community 224, 270, 530, 536, 552, 554 Open-Classroom Teaching 806, 817 organisational culture 116, 134, 137-138, 177 Organisational Structure 116, 137, 169, 602 Organizational Learning 38, 67, 117, 119, 143-144, 152-154, 158-163, 165, 183-184, 186-188, 240, 242, 247-248, 253, 255, 258-260, 262, 265-266, 269, 286, 362, 420, 613

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P PCK 560, 639-640, 651, 677, 685, 710, 820-821, 823, 825, 832, 835-837, 839 PCL 595-611, 616 PD 58, 191-196, 201, 204-206, 208, 211-218, 472, 820, 822-824 Peer-Review 554 Perceptions 30, 54-55, 68, 71, 106, 108, 110, 157, 207, 221, 238, 246, 273, 283-284, 290-291, 317, 321, 347-348, 356, 372, 379, 467-468, 491, 495-496, 505, 512, 539, 543, 548-549, 551-552, 569, 571, 607, 612, 636, 643, 646-648, 654, 670-671, 675676, 705-706, 716, 731, 741, 771-772 PLC 2-6, 8-11, 13-15, 55-56, 63, 350-352, 354, 357, 359-360, 479-480, 483, 558, 560-561, 564-567, 569-570, 578-580, 586, 588-589, 614, 637, 639, 642-643, 645-647, 650-652, 674, 680-687, 699700, 766-768, 771-779, 781-785, 787, 792, 795, 797, 800-815, 818, 820-822, 824-837 Plcs 1-6, 8-15, 51, 55-58, 64-65, 347-348, 350, 354, 356357, 365, 478-480, 486, 488, 557-558, 560-561, 565-566, 568, 574, 576-577, 579, 586-587, 703, 752, 767-769, 771-779, 781-785, 789-793, 795796, 805, 813, 821-822, 824, 826, 828, 835-836 PLNs 55, 57-58, 347-348, 352, 354, 356-357, 365, 371 Power 1, 7, 15, 23, 39, 65, 67, 69, 101, 107-110, 117, 122, 130, 134, 136-137, 145, 147, 149-150, 152, 159-160, 165, 181, 195, 218, 269, 284, 301, 352, 357, 364, 368-369, 388, 424-425, 430, 450, 482, 487-488, 571, 605, 626, 668, 672, 714, 736, 741, 760 Practice 1-4, 9, 13, 15-33, 35-36, 38, 40, 43-44, 55-60,

64, 66, 68-70, 72, 75, 77, 79, 81-82, 84-87, 89, 9194, 96-98, 100-102, 104-110, 112-113, 115-116, 120-126, 130, 132, 134-137, 143-150, 161-172, 179-188, 191-193, 195-196, 202-203, 206-207, 210-214, 216-228, 234-235, 238, 240-241, 244-245, 247-248, 250-251, 260-265, 267-272, 274-275, 277-288, 290, 296-301, 321-322, 325335, 337-340, 342, 344-350, 352-354, 356-359, 361-365, 368-369, 376-378, 380, 387, 389, 391, 395-397, 400-401, 405-412, 414-415, 417-421, 423, 426, 429, 431, 433, 435, 440-441, 443-444, 447-454, 456-459, 461-464, 469-473, 475-476, 478-479, 481-482, 486, 489-493, 495-500, 504510, 512-513, 516-520, 522-523, 525-526, 529535, 538-540, 548, 551-553, 559, 561-562, 564, 569, 571, 573-577, 579-592, 595-608, 610-615, 621-636, 638, 640-642, 645, 650-653, 655, 658, 660-664, 666-668, 671-672, 674-675, 677-681, 683, 685-689, 692, 695, 697-699, 701-703, 705709, 714, 716, 719, 728, 730, 735-736, 744, 751, 755, 763, 770-773, 777, 779, 786-787, 789-792, 794-798, 806, 811, 815, 818-819, 821, 834-835, 837-841 preservice teacher education 538, 700, 788, 797 Pre-Service Teacher Education 329, 538, 550, 554, 561, 590 problem and project-based learning (PBL) 194 Professional Community of Learning 595-596, 598, 601, 603, 616 Professional Development (PD) 191-193, 820, 822-823 Professional Learning 1-2, 4-9, 15-16, 51, 55-59, 64, 66-70, 92, 96, 104-105, 108, 110, 112, 185, 191-192, 210, 218, 220-221, 223, 225-226, 228, 230, 233-239, 246, 275, 287, 290, 300, 347-348, 350-353, 356-359, 361-367, 369-373, 376-382, 393, 422-424, 426, 431-433, 435-437, 443-446, 454, 456-461, 463, 466, 468-473, 477-480, 482, 486, 488-490, 518, 520, 537, 550-553, 557-561, 564, 566, 568, 571-572, 574-576, 590-591, 597598, 600, 612-615, 634-635, 637, 639, 642, 646, 649-650, 652-655, 674, 680, 682-683, 686-687, 697, 699, 701-707, 713-714, 727, 732, 734-738, 740-743, 746, 748-757, 759, 762-768, 770-772, 786, 788-790, 792, 797, 800, 802, 805, 813, 815816, 820-822, 826, 841 Professional Learning Communities (PLC) 55, 800 Professional Learning Network (PLN) 381 Professional Practice 172, 179, 181, 192-193, 207, 210, 353, 426, 431, 433, 461, 574, 596, 599, 601, 610, 635, 674-675, 686, 688-689, 695, 697, 699, 709, 798

Research Anthology on Facilitating New Educational Practices Through Communities of Learning, edited by Association, Information Resources Management, IGI Global, 2020. ProQuest

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Index

Professionalization Teachers 478 public administration 167-170, 172-177, 180-183, 186-187, 189

Q Qualitative 19, 24-25, 67, 154, 174, 183-184, 194, 292, 298, 300, 302-303, 307-308, 310, 317, 320, 322, 324, 337, 347, 354-355, 361-364, 372, 378, 431, 433, 449, 452, 459, 462-463, 473-475, 491, 513519, 522-523, 526, 529-530, 536, 544, 548, 582, 584, 589, 598, 612, 633, 635, 649, 703, 730-731, 734, 775-776, 779, 785, 787, 827, 840-841 Qualitative Case Study 183, 491, 536

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R Refection 12-13, 56, 74, 84, 86, 99-100, 160, 170, 172, 179-180, 194-195, 197-199, 206, 216, 224, 229, 233-234, 268, 270, 286, 288, 354, 373, 376, 384, 387, 425-426, 455, 462, 467, 471, 479, 486, 489, 494, 504, 531, 534, 536, 538-540, 543-549, 554, 565, 567, 576, 592, 597, 599, 602, 605, 614, 623, 634, 637, 642, 644, 649, 653, 657, 667, 679-680, 684, 692, 697, 702, 711, 714, 718, 724, 726-728, 789-794, 796, 809, 824, 837 Refective Learning 575, 586, 592 Reform 61-62, 67, 95, 110, 112-113, 239, 275, 390391, 400, 494, 502, 504, 596, 604, 614-616, 676, 727, 763-764, 767, 769, 771, 787, 801-805, 813-816, 818 Research 2, 4, 15, 24-25, 29-30, 32, 35, 38, 41-43, 48-50, 52, 54, 58-59, 64-70, 73-74, 76-78, 81, 83-86, 88-90, 96, 98, 100-102, 104, 108, 112114, 136-137, 140, 142, 144-145, 154, 162-163, 165-167, 169, 174, 181, 184-187, 189, 192-194, 199, 212, 217-223, 225-228, 231-239, 241, 247, 255, 258, 260, 264-265, 267, 272-274, 280-281, 283-291, 296-301, 304, 307-308, 310, 313, 317-321, 326-329, 336-337, 339-346, 348, 352, 354-356, 359-370, 372, 374, 376-381, 383-386, 388-393, 395-400, 404-409, 415-418, 420-421, 422-424, 426, 429, 433, 438, 441-442, 444-446, 448-463, 469, 472-480, 483, 487-497, 499, 503504, 506, 512-520, 522-523, 527-529, 532-539, 547, 549-553, 558, 560, 562, 570-592, 596, 600, 610, 612-616, 623, 628, 630, 632-633, 635-636, 638-639, 642-643, 651-655, 658, 660-662, 665, 672, 675-677, 680-681, 685, 687, 699-708, 714, 716, 719, 730-736, 740-741, 744, 750-751, 757, 761-766, 768-769, 771, 773-779, 784-786, 790,

792-795, 798, 801-802, 806, 808-809, 811-813, 815-816, 823, 827, 832, 836-838, 840-841 Results Only Work Environment (ROWE) 302, 316 Rhetorical Genre Theory 529, 535 rhetorical situation 522, 528-529, 535 rural banzhurens 382-383, 385-386, 388-389, 392-393

S Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL) 72, 87 Science Education 68, 146, 223, 301, 379, 552, 653, 706-707, 719-720, 762, 823, 838-840 Second Language Acquisition 575-576, 580-582, 589, 591-592, 627, 702 Seesaw 564, 566-567, 574 Self-Efcacy 19, 24, 26, 28-29, 101, 131, 160, 273-275, 282-283, 285, 289, 350, 376, 610, 652, 681, 694695, 698, 700, 704, 734-735, 740-746, 750-752, 761-762, 764-765, 767-769, 772-773, 775-776, 778, 780, 782-783, 787, 836-838 Sharing expertise 262 Shulman 560, 573, 639, 654, 677, 697, 699, 706, 823, 826, 840 Single-Loop Learning 269, 286 Social Capital 3, 147-149, 155, 160, 162-163, 166, 240, 242, 247, 252-266, 418, 489, 493, 835 Social Learning 19-20, 23-24, 26, 28-29, 115, 122, 145, 150, 171, 185, 195, 211, 272, 275, 279, 281, 342, 349, 361-362, 365, 497, 509, 513, 519, 587, 636 Social Learning Theory 20, 23, 26, 28-29, 150, 349, 361, 497, 509, 513 Social Media 57, 96, 100, 171, 183, 185, 223, 226, 257-258, 262-263, 266, 271, 286, 308, 312-314, 320-321, 325-327, 329-332, 334-335, 337-341, 343, 347-348, 352-360, 362, 365-367, 369-371, 374, 377-381, 442, 471, 510-512, 553, 623, 651652, 658, 685, 700, 812, 826 Social Networks 21, 94, 122, 124, 146, 223, 256, 264, 270, 278, 313, 326, 339, 366, 415, 553, 558, 798, 820, 826, 838-839 social platform 275, 279, 281, 286, 372 Social Presence 3, 5, 13, 229-230, 232, 234-235, 238239, 366, 369, 374-378, 715-716, 727-728, 731 social ties 256, 302, 314 Soft Skills 148, 649, 662-663, 666-668, 671, 673, 694, 710 Stance 148, 158, 160, 234-235, 237, 427-428, 433, 443, 446-447, 455, 720, 827 standardized 477, 758, 767, 772-773, 775, 787 Student Engagement 60, 286, 370, 375, 378, 395, 399-400, 403-404, 408, 410, 459, 461, 465, 567,

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Research Anthology on Facilitating New Educational Practices Through Communities of Learning, edited by Association, Information Resources Management, IGI Global, 2020. ProQuest

Index

746-747 student math growth (SMG) 773, 787 Summative 6, 405, 585, 771, 773, 787 Supporting Innovation in Teaching and Learning 325 Sustainability 23, 51-52, 55, 73, 75, 77, 138, 146, 148, 154, 160, 214, 416, 419, 610, 705, 730, 802-803 Sustaining 30, 32, 69, 86, 126, 187, 246-247, 351, 367, 591, 601, 606, 800, 813-814, 822 Synchronous Communication 202, 663, 673 synchronous learning 227, 366, 381 synchronous online instruction 733

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T Teacher Development 63, 104, 217, 283, 390, 392, 453, 615, 634, 638-639, 652-653, 675, 705, 797, 800-801 Teacher Education 5, 29, 65, 67, 69-71, 101, 108, 112114, 186, 220-221, 223, 237, 286-289, 296-298, 300, 329, 344, 364-366, 377-380, 391-392, 409, 423-424, 431-432, 434, 436, 441, 444-445, 450454, 472, 476-480, 483, 489-490, 493, 496, 502, 513-514, 516-520, 536, 538-539, 548-554, 558, 560-561, 566, 572-573, 576, 578-579, 587-588, 590-592, 596, 600, 602-603, 610, 612-616, 622623, 625, 634-635, 638, 652-655, 671, 680, 700, 703-708, 713-714, 730-733, 765, 785, 788-789, 797-799, 815, 837, 839-840 teacher efcacy 597, 741, 743, 746, 762-766 Teacher Identity 104-105, 107-109, 111-115, 518, 695, 701-702 Teacher Knowledge 227, 230, 462, 573, 638, 642, 651, 654, 674-677, 685, 687, 691-692, 695, 697, 701, 705, 707 Teacher Preparation 226, 366, 377, 473, 477, 551552, 554, 570, 622, 635-636, 680, 788-789, 792, 796-797, 799 Teaching 1-2, 5-6, 8-9, 15-16, 19-23, 25-27, 33, 4041, 43-44, 46, 48-49, 54-56, 58, 60-61, 64-65, 67-78, 81-87, 89-90, 102, 105, 108-115, 161-163, 184, 186, 191-196, 201, 203-204, 207, 210-213, 215-217, 219-222, 225, 227, 229-231, 233-234, 236-238, 260, 275-276, 281, 285-290, 292, 295301, 317, 320, 325, 327, 339-340, 342, 344-345, 351, 353, 357, 361, 369, 371, 374, 378-381, 383385, 388, 392, 397-398, 402, 405-409, 422-427, 431-454, 458-460, 462-463, 466-469, 472-475, 477, 479, 490-491, 493-495, 497-499, 501-502, 504-506, 508-513, 515, 517-520, 522, 524-525, 530, 538, 545, 548-553, 557-561, 564-571, 573580, 586-593, 595-600, 602-608, 610-617, 621-

644, 647-650, 652-660, 671-672, 676-680, 682, 684-687, 692-697, 699-711, 715-717, 719-721, 723-724, 726-732, 734-735, 737-738, 740-741, 743, 745-746, 750, 753-761, 763-765, 768, 770, 775-776, 785-790, 792-819, 821, 823-824, 826829, 832-836, 838-840 Teaching Knowledge Test 595-596, 616 Teaching Presence 225, 229-231, 234, 715-716, 727728, 731, 834 teaching seminars 806, 809-810, 817 Teaching Station 817 Technology 9, 13, 16-17, 19, 25, 31, 33-35, 38, 48, 51-52, 54-55, 57-71, 76, 86, 91-92, 94, 100-101, 116-119, 128, 131, 134, 136-137, 143, 148, 157, 159, 164, 171, 173, 184-185, 192-193, 195-196, 202-203, 205, 211-215, 218-223, 228, 231-232, 235, 238, 241, 246, 248, 255-258, 260-268, 270271, 274-275, 280, 283-286, 288-289, 297-299, 301, 304, 306, 313, 315, 319-321, 325-326, 329, 331, 337-339, 341-348, 353-354, 357, 361-365, 367, 371-372, 377, 379-381, 384, 390, 392, 396398, 400, 406, 408-409, 411-413, 415-416, 420, 424, 431, 435, 439, 444, 450, 452, 456-470, 472477, 494, 503, 551-553, 558-566, 568, 570-574, 578, 580-581, 590, 593, 622-626, 632, 635-642, 644, 647-654, 656-658, 660-663, 667, 671-682, 684-687, 692-711, 716-717, 719, 729-731, 759, 763, 770, 788-789, 797, 799-800, 802, 804-806, 808, 812-816, 819, 824, 837-838, 840-841 technology enabled learning environments 473, 477 Technology Integration 52, 54-55, 60, 66, 68, 70, 286, 450, 460, 558-560, 562-566, 571, 573, 637-639, 642, 648-650, 652-654, 674-677, 679-682, 685687, 693-700, 702-703, 705, 707-709 Technology Integration Practice 699, 709 technology-based projects 682, 688, 709 Technology-Enabled Learning Environments (TELEs) 477 Tensions 89, 104-105, 108, 110-112, 114, 163, 191-192, 194-195, 197-199, 202-203, 205-206, 208-209, 211-212, 215, 217, 298, 422, 424-426, 431, 433, 436-437, 440-441, 445, 447-448, 453, 523, 626, 694, 696 tensions and emotions 104, 112 Text 35, 140, 194, 228, 256-257, 276, 297, 301, 370, 381, 402, 404, 428-432, 436, 443-447, 452, 455, 535, 559, 561, 565-567, 569, 574, 630, 667, 672, 721, 735, 753, 826, 829, 832-833, 836 The Netherlands 219, 299, 448, 450, 454, 478, 489, 763, 815-816, 840 TKT 596, 600, 602-605, 607-610, 613, 615-616,

Research Anthology on Facilitating New Educational Practices Through Communities of Learning, edited by Association, Information Resources Management, IGI Global, 2020. ProQuest

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Index

620-621 TPACK 392, 473, 476, 557, 559-560, 568, 570, 572573, 637, 639-642, 645-647, 650-653, 674-675, 677-683, 685-686, 695-704, 706-708 Transaction 169, 256, 261, 275, 428-430, 447, 455 Transfer 5, 28, 33, 39, 46, 48, 59, 117, 120, 130, 134, 138, 146, 148, 154-155, 164-165, 171, 248, 255, 257, 262-263, 265, 417, 531-532, 534-535, 599, 603, 625, 636, 642, 679, 687, 707, 719, 731 Transformative Leadership 92, 98, 103 Transformative Learning 67, 424, 426, 450, 455 Triple-Loop Learning 269, 286 Trust 3, 9-10, 19-20, 23, 27, 56, 60, 66, 85, 93, 119, 124-125, 134, 136, 138, 142, 147-149, 151, 153155, 157-158, 161, 163-164, 166, 173, 181, 209210, 218, 223, 251-254, 256, 259, 264-265, 270, 290, 306-309, 312, 319-320, 323, 329, 344, 354, 361, 364, 370-371, 380, 401, 406-407, 419, 482, 485, 497, 499, 524, 549, 553, 599-600, 606, 613, 629, 756, 796, 813, 821, 836, 838, 841 tweet 223, 353, 359, 370, 376, 381 Twitter 57, 226, 312-313, 327, 330-331, 334-336, 338, 340, 344, 347-348, 352-354, 356-359, 362-381, 471, 531

285, 288, 291, 297, 299, 301, 314, 321-322, 326, 330, 337, 344, 346, 348-349, 357-358, 363-365, 368, 376, 379, 401, 406, 409, 414, 420-421, 457-458, 475-476, 479, 490, 497-498, 516-517, 519, 525, 529, 534-535, 569, 577, 587, 591, 624, 826-827, 835, 839, 841 WhatsApp 644, 682, 685, 820-823, 825-829, 832838, 840 Wisdom 53, 78, 382, 384-389, 392-393, 494, 502, 706 work teams 193, 302, 306, 319 Workplace Learning 50, 92, 167, 177, 181, 183-186, 188, 219, 612 World Language Learning 592

Y Yammer 564-566, 574 young children 456-459, 473-477, 493, 499, 503, 508510, 512, 745, 756

U undergraduate research 575-578, 580, 587, 589, 592 University of Helsinki 673

V Validation 160, 195, 374, 412-413, 420, 433, 451, 611 VCoP 103 video-based professional learning 788 Videoconferencing 67, 255, 305, 321, 658, 660, 671-673 virtual collaboration 302-306, 318-319, 321, 323

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W Wechat 382-383, 385-393, 510, 512, 804, 811-812, 814-816, 819 Wenger 16-17, 19-24, 26, 29-31, 75, 77, 82, 86, 92-94, 102, 105-107, 113, 115, 122, 136, 145, 148-150, 152, 155, 163, 165, 172, 187, 192-193, 195-196, 199, 207-209, 211, 214-215, 217, 220, 223, 240242, 244-248, 252, 262, 264, 269-270, 280, 283,

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Research Anthology on Facilitating New Educational Practices Through Communities of Learning, edited by Association, Information Resources Management, IGI Global, 2020. ProQuest