holmes oeb 2011
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Improving Teachers’ Professional Development in an eTwinning Online Learning CommunityOnline Educa Berlin, 2011TRANSCRIPT
Improving Teachers’ Professional Development in an eTwinning Online Learning Community
December 2011Online Educa conference, Berlin
Brian Holmes, Lancaster University & European Commission
with the support ofDr. Julie-Ann Sime, Lancaster University, UK
Tiina Sarisalmi, Municipality of Orivesi, Finland Anne Gilleran, European Schoolnet, Belgium
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Improving Teachers’ Professional Development in an eTwinning Online Learning Community
1. Research context
2. Methodology
3. Results
4. Conclusions
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Study on learning communities supported by ICT
Benefits for learners:• Online communities support intentional and
non-intentional learning
• Participants can follow and observe life of others, encouraging reflection
• Support active learning of all key competences and transversal skills
• Online communities provide new opportunities for equality (Ala-Mutka, 2010)
• Greater individual understanding through a group endeavour (McConnell, 2006)
1. Research context
Online learning communities
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1. Research context
Case study: an eTwinning Learning Event
• eTwinning supports teachers across Europe
° Joint pedagogical projects ° Continuous professional development° Thriving community of teachers
° ‘Learning Events’
° Short, intensive online sessions, in groups
° Focused on a theme, led by a subject expert
° Involve teachers in hands-on, non-formal learning with peers
° My case
° ‘Exploiting Web 2.0: eTwinning and Collaboration’
www.eTwinning.net
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1. Research context
Research questions
In an eTwinning Learning Event (LE) for teachers’ continuous professional development:
– How does the online learning community influence the development of teachers’ competence and practice?
– How do social and facilitation aspects influence collaboration and learning?
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1. Research context
2. Methodology
3. Results
4. Conclusions
Improving Teachers’ Professional Development in an eTwinning Online Learning Community
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2. Methodology
Theoretical framework
• Cognitive presence active learners in a community° Constructing meaning through sustained
communication° Essential for critical thinking
• Social presence feeling a person is ‘real’° Projecting personal characteristics into the
community° Directly contributes to success of learning
• Teaching presencedesign and support for active learning° Support and enhance cognitive and social
presence for the purposes of learning° Design often led by teacher° Facilitation often shared with learners
(Garrison et al, 2000, p.88)
COGNITIVEPRESENCE
Communication Medium
SOCIALPRESENCE
SupportingDiscourse
Community of Inquiry
TEACHING PRESENCE(Structure/Process)
SettingClimate
SelectingContent
EDUCATIONALEXPERIENCE
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2. Methodology
Action research• Completed two cycles of action research
1. Initial LE, April 2010, 156 teachers
2. Revised LE, Oct-Nov 2010, 142 teachers
• Participative research
Worked together with Tiina Sarisalmi, a teacher and the domain expert
Supported by EUN, the LE organisers Participated as tutor
• Data collection and analysis
– Initial and final interviews
– Final online questionnaire
– Coding of discussion forums using the Community of Inquiry framework
Cycle of Action Research (O’Leary, 2004; Koshy, 2010, p.7)
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1. Research context
2. Methodology
3. Results
4. Conclusions
Improving Teachers’ Professional Development in an eTwinning Online Learning Community
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3. Results
Recommendations from 1st LE
• Increase social presence° More support for socio-emotional
aspects (Kreijns et al, 2003, Zenios & Holmes, 2010)
° Give time to develop trust, shared values and reciprocity (McConnell, 2006)
• Reinforce cognitive presence° Activities for critical thinking° Reflection in practice and
meta-cognition (Schön, 1983, Kolb, 1984)
• Strengthen teaching presence° Increase facilitation and
‘orchestration’ at key points (Dillenbourg, 2008)
Meta-cognition: reflection on own practice and competence
Web 2.0 tools and collaboration
Cognitive activities
° Introductions° What is web 2.0?° Documenting the learning
° Planning and managing a project
° Sharing videos, presentations, photos
° Collaborative learning
° Conclusion and evaluation
Social activities
° Introductions° Social interaction° Mutual support° Feedback° Stories
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3. Results
The revised LE
• Added time for practice and reflection– 12 days for the LE cognitive activities, 19 days to try out in own
teaching practice, 2 days of final reflection in the LE
– Encouraged sharing of stories, feelings and reflections
• Added a virtual staff room– A place for informal discussion and reflection in practice
– Tables of small groups to foster stronger ties
• Increased facilitation– Moderator/facilitator at key points to encourage and support
– Encouraged mutual support and facilitation
week
1st LE
2nd LE
Cognitive activities Applying ideas in practice Final reflection
41 2 3
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3. Results
All messages over time in staff room
Frequency of messages related closely to activitiesand to the messages from tutors
Almost no messages whilst applying ideas in practice
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3. Results
Coding for cognitive presence
Example of Edita: illustrates the progression in cognition for a typical participant
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 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33
Messages in order of time (first to last)
Cogn
itive
pre
senc
e
Other
Triggeringevent
Exploration
Integration
Resolution
Cog
nitio
nC
ritic
al t
hink
ing
Coding suggests critical thinking reached in later stages Garrison et al (2001)
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3. Results
Views of participantsApplying ideas in practice …
‘I was able to apply what I learned in the classroom and my pupils are very excited and they want to learn more’ (final questionnaire)
Staff room …‘most of my time was spent in the staff room, to get ideas, to get support, and to feel proud and happy when my work got commented on. i think the idea of the staff room was the best’ (final interview)
Collaboration does not always work…‘Well in the forum there is merely discussion and I understand that cooperation is a step further and collaboration even further, and I did not enjoy not being able to collaborate in my own group’ (final interview)
Facilitation and feedback from the tutor is not always a good thing …‘I think those are things that can very easily smother the flame of creative thinking and learning’ (email feedback from tutor)
However ...
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1. Research context
2. Methodology
3. Results
4. Conclusions
Improving Teachers’ Professional Development in an eTwinning Online Learning Community
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4. Conclusions
From the teachers’ perspectiveOnline learning community The online community supported teachers to develop their professional
competence The community provided an opportunity for mutual support, exchange of
experience and reflection The community was useful for as long as it supported learning
Learning by doing Teachers who applied what they were learning in their own teaching
practice were motivated, gained confidence and were more convinced
Guidance It was beneficial to reinforce facilitation at key points and to back-off as
and when peer support emerged
Social interaction Social interaction was important, it facilitated learning and engendered a
sense of community
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4. Conclusions
From an academic perspective
Community of Inquiry The CoI model was a useful framework to analyse the interrelation between
the cognitive, teaching and social aspects (Garrison et al, 2000)
Facilitation and mutual support Increased teaching presence had a positive impact on cognitive presence
(critical thinking) (Dillenbourg, 2008; Shea & Bidjerano, 2009)
Reflective practitioners Applying ideas in practice and reflection with peers reinforced competence
development (Schön, 1983; Kolb, 1984)
Social and community aspects The learning community engendered mutual support, trust and sharing
(Grossman et al, 2000; McConnell, 2006)
Social ties were important for learning, however interaction remained purposeful and the community was ephemeral (Kreijns et al, 2003; Zenios & Holmes, 2010)
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References (1 of 2)
Ala-Mutka, K. (2010) Learning in informal online networks and communities, Institute for Prospective Technological Studies (IPTS), J., European Commission (ONLINE - http://ipts.jrc.ec.europa.eu/publications/pub.cfm?id=3059 - accessed 18.11.2010)
Dillenbourg, P. (2008) 'Integrating technologies into educational ecosystems'. Distance Education, 29 (2), pp.127 – 140
Garrison, D. R., Anderson, T. & Archer, W. (2000) 'Critical Inquiry in a Text-Based Environment: Computer Conferencing in Higher Education'. The Internet and Higher Education, 2 (2-3), pp.87-105
Garrison, D., Anderson, T. & Archer, W. (2001) 'Critical thinking, cognitive presence, and computer conferencing in distance education'. American Journal of Distance Education, 15 (1), pp.7-23
Grossman, P., Wineburg, S. & Woolworth, S. (2000) What makes teacher community different from a gathering of teachers?, Center for the Study of Teaching and Policy, University of Washington
Kolb, D. (1984) Experiential Learning: Experience as the Source of Learning and Development. Englewood Cliffs, NJ, Prentice Hall.
Koshy, V. (2010) Action research for improving educational practice, 2nd ed., London, Sage publications Ltd.
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References (2 of 2)
Kreijns, K., Kirschner, P. A. & Jochems, W. (2003) 'Identifying the pitfalls for social interaction in computer-supported collaborative learning environments: a review of the research'. Computers in Human Behavior, 19 (3), pp.335-353
McConnell, D. (2006) E-Learning Groups and Communities. Maidenhead, Open University Press.
O'Leary, Z. (2004) The essential guide to doing research, Sage Publications Ltd Riel, M. & Polin, L. (2004) 'Online learning communities: Common ground and critical differences in designing technical environments', in Barab, S., Kling, R. & Gray, B. (Eds.), Designing for virtual communities in the service of learning, pp.16-50, Cambridge University Press
Schön, D. (1983) The Reflective Practitioner: How Professionals Think in Action. London, Basic Books.
Shea, P. & Bidjerano, T. (2009) 'Community of inquiry as a theoretical framework to foster ‘‘epistemic engagement” and ‘‘cognitive presence” in online education'. Computers & Education, 52, pp.543-553
Zenios, M. & Holmes, B. (2010), 'Knowledge creation in networked learning: combined tools and affordances', Proceedings of the 7th International Conference on Networked Learning 2010, Copenhagen, pp.471-479
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Thank you
http://holmesbrian.blogspot.com/