Preparation of teachers as educational researchers in the borderless new media

community

Yin-Mei WongNational Institute of Education

SingaporeEmail: wong.yinmei@yahoo.com

Outline

• Background • Changing landscape of teachers PD• Challenges in developing teacher-researchers• Potential of new media• Project Baby Butterflies• Reflections• Potentials and Challenges

Background Introduction• Global awareness and self-directed learning are

both seen as essential skills for 21st Century learning and teaching

• Teachers need to develop competencies in– Learner centred learning approach– Developing a research culture – Developing pupils with global awareness and

citizenship

Changing landscape in teachers’ professional development (PD)

• Changing role of NIE – Challenges of being a university Publication, Research, International staff and other ranking related factors takes priority over local school teaching experiences and familiarity with the Singapore education system.

• Changing role of schools – Senior staff with hands-on experiences dealing with changing student profiles, day-to-day challenges in completing syllables and teachers general well-beings

• Changing role of teachers -- Teachers-led PD. Reflective and inquiry-based learning becomes increasingly important. Research increasingly seen as important role in teachers PD. Research Activist in every school.

Common Types of Teachers’ Research

• Practitioner Research• Practitioner Inquiry• Problem Based Inquiry• Action Research• Action Learning

Challenges in preparing teachers as educational researchers

• Is there a venue for teachers to reach out to their international counterparts?– International Peer-Reviewed Journals?

• Are there proper training programmes to train the teachers?– Institution of Higher Education?

• Do teachers see themselves as competent researchers?– Literature research on teachers’ opinion

• Are sufficient resources given to support teachers research?– Educational Research funds are given to NIE, schools have little

access to research funds.

Potentials of new media

• Venue for teachers to reach out • Professional Development through

participation in global research• Development of teachers’ identity as

competent researchers• Support for teachers through innovation funds

Project Baby Butterflies

• Nature of study. A very preliminary and informal study to test the water

• Mission. Based on a bigger objective to develop a global community of teacher researchers

• Approach. Teachers develop with their students through research projects

• New Media Platform. Facebook

The projectParticipants - Conducted by two teachers with their childrenLearning Space - Carried out in an informal and private learning space for both teachers and childrenResearch method - Grounded theoryPeriod – two weeksInitiation (common experience) – both groups visited a butterfly farm in SingaporeExtension (individual work and sharing) – children brought home caterpillar kits Children learn to raise their caterpillars and supported each otherTeachers guided the children and teachers learnt together about conducting research

Extract on Day 5

Uploaded document Day 1

Uploaded document Day 8

End of Day 8:I put my butterfly container outside and waited for the butterfly to fly off, but it didn’t. Mum told me to bring it out to the garden to let it fly off. I brought the container out but before we could reach the garden, it flew out and landed a few meters away. I nearly wanted to bring it back but I turned around instead. Well… Good luck, butterfly! I hope we’ll meet again!

Uploaded document Day 8

Uploaded document Day 9

Extract Last Message

Reflection

• Facebook as a platform extended learning and engagement long after the field trip was over

• Compared to conventional trips, emotions and factual evidences were captured on the new media platform (Facebook)

Potentials and Challenges

• Global network of teacher researchers. Informal network. Separate groups may be created to facilitate teachers research knowledge

• Opportunities for global connections and friendship can develop through such sharing and communication

• Global cultural awareness. Explicit teaching of new media literacy for both teachers and students are needed prior to conducting similar projects for international collaboration

• Other new media platforms such as LinkedIn may be use if teachers do not wish to share students data

Q & A

Thank you