Hidden in Plain Sight : Knowledge Broker Teachers and Professional Development

This qualitative study was prompted by initiatives that addressed the need for teachers to engage in professional development that enables them to be 21st century ready. Recommendations put forth by government and business have stressed that professional development foster connected teaching and create networked educators by emphasizing peer-topeer collaboration and sharing. Despite this focus, little attention has been paid to the role that regular teachers play in becoming professional developers for their colleagues. My study investigated how four K-12 teachers, that I termed “knowledge broker teachers,” created new pathways for informal, teacher professional development in their schools. Extending on the concept of “knowledge brokers” from business studies, knowledge broker teachers serve as an informal source of professional development, moving knowledge from those who have it to those who need it. This study’s purpose was to examine examined how knowledge broker teachers built and shared their knowledge, and to identify their attributes. I applied a situated learning approach to frame this study, emphasizing the social nature of learning. Participants included four K-12 knowledge broker teachers and 12 of their teacher colleagues with whom they shared knowledge. Data collection included the use of interviews with participants and screen casts of the knowledge broker teachers’ online activity. Data analysis employed open coding to generate categories, then themes. Three findings about knowledge broker teachers emerged: brokers, brokering, and brokerage. Brokers encompassed the context-dependent ways the four knowledge broker teachers shape-shifted and assumed different personas (e.g. knower-learner, comrade, cheerleader, shrinking violet) enabling them to be knowledge broker teachers. Brokering entailed the processes they used to build and share knowledge. These included processes of making connections through online and face to face opportunities, taking advantage of moments of kismet, and tailoring knowledge to match their colleagues’ ability. Brokerage involved the actions that affected the quality of social relationships and the emergence of trust between the knowledge broker teachers and their colleagues. Brokerage actions presented by the knowledge broker teachers included giving and taking knowledge with colleagues, recognizing and honoring their colleagues’ potential, and being expected to go above and beyond. My study recognized the existence of knowledge broker teachers and their effect on informal professional development. However, given the findings, formalizing their roles in schools may have a detrimental effect on their ability to build and share knowledge. Considering ways to leverage these findings may provide new ways for thinking about informal teacher professional development

Thrive: Success Strategies for the Modern-Day Faculty Member

The THRIVE collection is intended to help faculty thrive in their roles as educators, scholars, researchers, and clinicians. Each section contains a variety of thought-provoking topics that are designed to be easily digested, guide personal reflection, and put into action. Please use the THRIVE collection to help: Individuals study topics on their own, whenever and wherever they want Peer-mentoring or other learning communities study topics in small groups Leaders and planners strategically insert faculty development into existing meetings Faculty identify campus experts for additional learning, grand rounds, etc. If you have questions or want additional information on a topic, simply contact the article author or email [email protected]://digitalcommons.unmc.edu/facdev_books/1000/thumbnail.jp

An Investigation of Elementary Schoolteachers' Use of Twitter for Their Professional Learning

This mixed methods study explored how elementary school teachers who use Twitter extensively use it to support their professional learning and development. Four research questions guided this study: 1. How are teachers using Twitter for their professional learning and development? 2. What do teachers report learning from their use of Twitter? 3. What do teachers say they do with the information they have learned from using Twitter? 4. What support do teachers have when they want to implement what they have learned from Twitter? An online survey was distributed via Twitter targeting teachers of elementary grades. A total of 107 participants were included in the final sample. Interviews were conducted with a purposeful sample of 19 teachers. Document analysis of tweets from a subsample of interviewees and from a sample of tweets from the #2ndchat Twitter community served as triangulation. The key findings from this sample illustrated several ways teachers learn from Twitter. In response to the research questions, teachers reported using Twitter as a source of motivation and support, explaining that it provided them with feedback, encouragement and peer accountability. Second, teachers reported learning about many topics, especially technology integration techniques. Third, teachers described using the information they learned to alter some of their teaching practices and to pursue other educational opportunities. Lastly, more than half of teachers reported having administrators who supported their efforts to implement Twitter-based ideas. In addition, teachers appreciated certain affordances of Twitter including immediacy, choice, and access to other educators. These findings have several implications for teachers, school leaders, and policymakers. Teachers reported that they believed they were getting trustworthy information from highly reputable Twitter users. However, it would be important for them to critically review the information and ensure its alignment with evidence-based teaching practices for how students learn. Further, teachers’ responses seemed to indicate that they want input and control over their learning, which has important implications for traditional professional development offerings. As Twitter continues to expand and gain acceptance as a source of learning for teachers, considerations for its use as a 21st century tool must be taken into account

Exploring the impact of remote working on Melbourne millennials during COVID-19 : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Business Studies at Massey University, Albany - Auckland, New Zealand

The COVID-19 pandemic catalysed, for the first time, a forced global experiment in remote working with unprecedented volumes of employees working from home. Previously physically co-located teams became entirely virtual, having a significant impact on relationships between team members and leading to implications for workplace performance. Millennials were among the most affected demographic groups in the COVID-19 pandemic, with increased vulnerability and lack of experience to similar hardship in the workplace. As the youngest cohort in the workforce, their limited experience had not enabled them to build the same resilience as their elders. Furthermore, a preference for working collaboratively and a desire for social interaction made them particularly vulnerable to social isolation while working from home. My research explored the impacts of remote working on social cohesion from the perspective of millennials working in the most COVID-19 affected region in Australia: Melbourne, Victoria. There is a gap in the literature and an opportunity to further understand teams who have, like during the pandemic, been forced to work entirely virtually and the effect of this on their capability to form social bonds. Social cohesion has long been on the agenda of researchers due to its connection to workplace performance, organisational productivity, and employee happiness. This qualitative study utilised virtual semi-structured interviews and thematic analysis through an interpretive lens to better understand individual’s perceptions and experiences of how remote working impacted social cohesion. The findings from ten research interviews strongly indicated that the platform of communication, from face-to-face to virtual methods of interaction, significantly impacted the ability to develop and maintain social cohesion in work teams. There were both advantages and disadvantages to virtual communication in the context of social cohesion, ultimately determining that virtual relationships can be as fulfilling as those forged in person if given enough time to develop. However, the methods used to support social cohesion in face-to-face teams did not translate seamlessly to virtual communication, which was perceived as awkward and unnatural. A theoretical pivot in the study saw an evolution of social capital and social identity theory, instrumental in developing an interview schedule, toward communication-based theories utilised in thematic analysis. The study furthers the application of media naturalness and social information processing theory to explain how virtual interaction has affected cohesion and highlight that these teams are still able to build strong relationships with time. The contribution of my study to the research literature are four-fold; firstly, they further understanding of the importance of social connection in virtual teams. Secondly identifying the role of cohesion in the workplace for millennial employees. Thirdly, they extend knowledge on media naturalness theory in application to the current context and update the continuum of Kock’s (2001) original theory. Finally, the findings develop social information processing theory in relation to understanding the relationships of virtual and hybrid teams. My study emphasises that the world of work has changed irrevocably because of the pandemic. Future strategies to support engagement in millennial teams will need to shift to better support virtual relationships and social cohesion in the workplace

Understanding (professional) learning in online and distance work-based university degree courses: an exploratory study - Implications for curriculum design

This research investigated two online, distance, work-based learning (ODWBL) courses to identify how learning takes place in such courses and (related) workplaces, and which factors affect learning. The two courses were the Postgraduate Certificate in Learning and Teaching in Higher Education (LTHE) and the Postgraduate Certificate in Medical and Health Care Education (MHCE), both taught at Anglia Ruskin University (ARU). The research aimed to identify, what facilitated the knowledge transfer from the course to the workplace, specifically how students learned on an ODWBL course and then applied, used and shared the course knowledge in the workplace. The literature review positioned these two courses within the field of work-based learning, distance and online curriculum models, and teacher development in Higher Education (HE). I analysed how learning takes place in online courses and the workplace informed by Evans et al.’s (2010) recontextualisation framework. The research used a case study methodology and qualitative research (i.e., surveys, interviews, and participant reflections). My research findings which have implications for the design and delivery of ODWBL courses are: • All four types of Evans et al.’s (2010) recontextualisations are interlinked. • Learner engagement patterns and needs vary between different learners and activities which need to be considered in course pedagogic design and facilitation. • While a virtual learning community is important for some learners it should not be the only pedagogic design focus. • The transfer of knowledge from the online course to the workplace can be scaffolded and enhanced through authentic activities and assessments. While learning journeys can be scaffolded, the responsibility for learning success is ultimately the learners. The findings suggest a range of skills and approaches for learners to succeed. Finally, the depth of impact the learner achieves with recontextualising course knowledge in their workplace depends on whether their workplace culture is restrictive or expansive

All Culture is Local

This book is an outcome from a five year Australian Research Council funded research project, CAMRA cultural asset mapping in regional Australia project (LP0882238). Over this time four universities, four local governments, and peak regional, state and federal agencies sought to develop knowledge that would enable better informed planning for arts and cultural development in rural and regional communities. Over the course of the project, it became evident that rural-regional local government staff and cultural decision makers need better place-specific data and are keen to learn from the experiences of other local governments to inform their own planning. This book is CAMRA’s response to that need and includes 17 case studies on good practice in (1) Cultural Mapping and Data Collection and (2) Cultural Planning. The case studies have been written with the aim of making ideas and processes transferrable for any regional local authority - with the resource implications made clear – and are ordered using Australian Standard Geographical Classification-Remoteness Areas for local government area