UNDERSTANDING INFORMAL LEARNING IN VIRTUAL PROFESSIONAL COMMUNITIES OF TEACHERS IN KAZAKHSTAN

Reinforced internationally in the context of educational improvement, teachers’ professional networks, as a source of social capital, have been conceptualised as an integral part of teacher professionalism, as well as an essential element of successful educational change, and in the context of what Van Dijck, Poell and De Waal (2018) call “the platform society”, the use of social media platforms within professional networks of teachers has become an agenda for both research and practice. Therefore, with the overarching aim of understanding how to promote informal learning of teachers in virtual professional communities in Kazakhstan, this study explored this phenomenon within the conceptual framework identified by a review of related concepts, in particular a triangle of learning factors, namely, the need for professional connectedness, knowledge sharing self-efficacy, and knowledge sharing and receiving. This parallel mixed-method study was carried out in 29 schools of Kazakhstan by collecting teachers’ self-reported practice with the help of a paper-based questionnaires (n=440) and face-to-face interviews (n=41). An emergent trend within the identified findings is that teachers in Kazakhstan use social media within professional communities in order to obtain knowledge, which is manifested in an overlapping mixture of news, information, opinion, experience and resources, suggesting that virtual professional communities are one of the spaces for informal learning since they provide the opportunity to gain public and/or personal knowledge related to the teaching profession. In line with the identified conceptual framework, the results of the study provide a partial explanation for teachers’ engagement in virtual professional communities in the context of informal learning. The study suggests that both the need for professional connectedness, as part of professional identity and commitment for learning, and knowledge sharing self-efficacy are positively associated with knowledge sharing and receiving. As well as identifying contextual types of virtual professional communities, the study identifies some of the contextual factors associated with the need for professional connectedness in the research context, such as professional isolation of teachers in rural schools, the need for mentoring support, and the context of educational change, and contextual sources of knowledge sharing self-efficacy, such as professional comparison and sense of professional connectedness. Finally, in contribution to the growing body of research, the present study also argues for the importance of face-to-to face collaboration within and beyond schools in order to promote professional knowledge exchange within virtual professional communities. The research has clear implications for research and practice in the fields of teacher professional learning, particularly in Kazakhstan, hence it is believed that present study can help future efforts to support informal learning in virtual professional communities

Teacher Beliefs on Personal Learning, Collaboration, and Participation in Virtual Communities of Practice

Virtual communities of practice have been used to improve teachers\u27 instructional practice; yet, many of these communities do not take into account the effect of teachers\u27 personal learning and collegial collaboration beliefs on engagement within this model. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to examine if teaching was enhanced through participation in virtual communities of practice and determine if teachers\u27 personal beliefs prior to entering these communities influenced their engagement. Wenger\u27s social learning theory served as the conceptual framework. The research questions asked how teachers\u27 beliefs on personal learning and their beliefs on collaboration influenced their engagement in virtual communities of practice and how personal learning networks facilitated extended technology-based learning in the classroom. Data were collected through 2 semi structured interviews with 9 teacher participants and analysis of digital records from the Classroom 2.0 and Flat Connections Nings. Manual, open-coding of the data revealed themes which explained the use of personalized learning networks for instructional growth and social networking for collaborative practice. Findings indicated that while teachers\u27 previously held ideas were not significantly altered, the social, supportive environments created through virtual learning communities made a suitable setting for professional development. These findings may effect positive social change as virtual communities of practice for teachers evolve into professional development environments that challenge teacher beliefs, use progressive technologies, and engage teachers in collaborative activities

Social networks as spaces for informal teacher professional development : challenges and opportunities

With the spread of the Web 2.0 there has been a proliferation of web-based communities for learning, across platforms that enable the creation of virtual communities. However, unlike business, the emergence of educational networking is still beginning. Recent research shows that social networks are powerful educational tools that offer teachers the opportunity to develop their knowledge and competences, contributing to lifelong learning and professional development in informal settings. In order to investigate the potential of educational networking as a source for teachers’ growth, a social network named PROEDI (http://www.proedi.com) was created in the beginning of 2011. In this project, the Interconnected model of teacher professional growth (Clarke and Hollingsworth, 2002) was the basic framework for the analysis of professional growth in informal settings. In this paper, the conceptual framework of the research is presented, as is some evidence obtained on the analysis of discussion forums created inside the community that underpin a discussion on the challenges and opportunities that social networking offer for teacher education.Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT

Assessing Communities of Practice in health policy : A conceptual framework as a first step towards empirical research

Peer reviewe

Student engagement in virtual space

In this paper, a university course (subject or unit of study) that currently enjoys positive formal student reviews is used as a case study to demonstrate how theoretical knowledge about student engagement is effectively put into practice. This investigation identifies key aspects that have contributed to the positive student feedback with particular emphasis on student engagement online, or in virtual space. The investigation involves identifying what is considered good practice with respect to student engagement and then benchmarking the case study course against this. A key contribution of this paper is the presentation of practical examples demonstrating how the current theory is effectively realised in practice. The conclusion was that the course complied with key elements of what is considered good practice and successfully engaged students. Other practitioners may use the examples in their own context to help inform the practice of engaging students when teaching in virtual space

Challenging the five-stage model for e-learning: a new approach

The five‐stage approach to e‐moderating has provided a coherent model upon which to base online learning design in higher education. However, despite its growing popularity, there are concerns that the model is becoming a dominant discourse, being adapted as a template for the design of all online teaching and learning, to the exclusion of other ideas. It is suggested that the five‐stage model may not be the panacea it appears and alternative models of e‐learning cannot be ignored. This paper reviews the five‐stage model and contrasts it with a new conceptual model, ‘the e‐learning ladder’, conceived as part of research with healthcare students in the higher education setting

Exploring online community participation

Firm-hosted online brand communities, in which consumers interact regarding brand-centric topics, represent a fascinating context to study the motives of participation within the community. Theories of social capital and collective action are extended to begin understanding why individuals contribute, as they receive no immediate benefit, and “lurkers” have the same access to that contributed knowledge as everyone else. Building on the concept of means-end chain, that is we seek out certain attributes as a means to achieve a desired end state, the linkage between online brand community attributes, individual need, and personal values is ethnographically examined. By way of in-depth laddering interviews, why individuals participate will be answered through understanding how that participation fulfils individual need and enhances personal value. The main study comprises two approaches – participant observation in the community, and individual in-depth interviews with 32 community members. Over 2222 data points and 750 ladders were discovered and analysed using the laddering technique. Seven themes emerged as to why individuals actively participate in an online brand community – belonging, recognition, helping others, knowledge, professional advancement, personal development, and entertainment

The Tumblarians

This paper examines the tumblarians as an information community and discusses community membership, information behaviours, and complementary models for a situated understanding of this unique personal-professional community. A review of the literature concerning LIS bloggers is presented as a complement to the tumblarians, who have no in depth treatment in the research as yet. Characteristics particular to the tumblarians are explored through informal conversation with a community member, and Fisher, Unruh, and Durrance\u27s (2003) information communities model is employed to provide a deeper understanding of the information behaviour of the tumblarians. This paper offers suggestions for future research based on the preliminary findings of the tumblarians as LIS bloggers and a virtual community

Using Cloudworks to Support OER Activities

This report forms the third and final output of the Pearls in the Clouds project, funded by the Higher Education Academy. It focuses on evaluation of the use of a social networking site, Cloudworks, to support evidence-based practice. The aim of this project (Pearls in the Clouds) has been to evaluate the ways in which web 2.0 tools like Cloudworks can support evidence-informed practices in relation to learning and teaching. We have reviewed evidence from empirically grounded studies surrounding the uses of web2.0 in higher education and highlighted the gap between using web2.0 to support learning and teaching, and using it to support learning about learning and teaching (in an evidence-informed way) (Conole and Alevizou, 2010). We have reported on findings from a case study focusing on the use of Cloudworks by a community of practice - educational technologists - reflecting upon, and, negotiating their role in enhancing teaching and learning in higher education (Galley et al., 2010). The object of this study is to explore and evaluate the use of the site by individuals and communities involved in the production of, and research on, the development, delivery and use of Open Educational Resources (OER)