Interactions with external resources in link-intensive online professional development courses : a collective case study

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Keri Champion Jones
Keyword(s):  
Professional Development ◽  
Professional Learning ◽  
Information Overload ◽  
Online Professional Development ◽  
University Of Missouri ◽  
Collective Case Study ◽  
Course Content ◽  
External Resources ◽  
Resource Collection

[ACCESS RESTRICTED TO THE UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI AT AUTHOR'S REQUEST.] In online professional development (PD) for teachers, links to external resources are often integrated into courses with the expectation that they enhance learners' interactions with content. Little is known, however, about how teachers interact with link-intensive content in online PD and how to design for interactions with links so as to maximize their benefits, particularly in asynchronous courses which lack instructor mediation. The goal of this mixed methods collective case study was to explore how a group of teachers interacted with external resources in their link-intensive online PD courses. The course content pages were visited with a frequency and timing that aligned with course expectations, but participants interacted with only 38% of the links to external resources. While the courses with the fewest links had the highest rates of interaction with links, there was substantial variation in the interaction rates across participants. This study revealed no significant differences in degree of link-use across individual differences such as reasons for taking the PD, tolerance for information overload and online learning readiness. Participants evaluated the relevance of the information they expected to find at a link before interacting with it. Attitudes, guiding behaviors and information goals were associated with their decisions to interact with the links. Participants preferred authentic, teacher-produced resources and tended to skim the content at the linked resources to get the information they needed. They employed a variety of self-directing strategies in their interactions with content and reported benefits of link-intensive content systems including access to a vetted resource collection, increased satisfaction, and professional learning.

scholarly journals A social-cognitive study of Indonesian Google educator groups

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Pratiwi Artati
Keyword(s):  
Professional Development ◽  
Educational Technology ◽  
Professional Learning ◽  
Social Cognitive ◽  
Learning Opportunities ◽  
Technological Environment ◽  
Web Based ◽  
Case Study Methodology ◽  
Education Groups

<p>Self-directed professional learning is distinct from the traditional approach of directed professional development. The introduction of the Internet into Indonesian society provides the opportunity for teachers to use digital tools for their teaching and to access professional learning without attending mandated professional development. An emerging phenomenon in Indonesia is the establishment and use of Google Education Groups (GEGs) for professional learning about the use of educational technology (ed-tech) in the schooling sector. Two research questions guided the examination of Indonesian educators’ experiences of GEGs: (1) how do Indonesian educators participate in the GEGs for ed-tech professional learning? and (2) how do the GEGs function to enable Indonesian educators’ ed-tech professional learning? Collective case study methodology was applied, and three Google Education Groups were examined, one from a metropolitan area, one from an urban area and the third from a rural context. In each case study, the leader of the group and three group members with varying levels of online engagement were interviewed and online forum conversations were examined. Data were analysed using Stake’s method of categorical aggregation leading to within-case assertions and cross-case analysis. A social cognitive perspective was used as a framework to analyse and interpret findings. It was found that the Indonesian educators had an agentic approach to professional learning, which was context-dependent with three major interrelated aspects: the regional-technological environment as context, the individuals as agentic learners, and the connectedness as social learners enabled meaningful learning experiences. The regional-technological environment influenced how the GEGs functioned. The Metropolitan group was innovative and collaborative, focusing on the use of web-based tools to improve productivity of ed-tech practices. The Urban group aimed to explore how they could use web-based tools to improve efficiency through paperless classroom practices and school administration. The Rural group sought to use of web-based tools for simple teaching and learning practices within a context of low bandwidth and limited ICT infrastructure. In addition, certain conditions that support online collaboration and factors that can minimise and optimise ed-tech learning opportunities are identified. Participants overcame limitations and constraints by enacting agency and developing social connectedness in learning through the groups. The group leadership positions were voluntary and found to be driven by a desire to share expertise and practices that support, inspire, and empower others rather than about gaining positional authority. Participation in online informal groups such as Google Education Groups appears to be a supportive method of professional learning that facilitates agentic and experiential learning about the use of educational technology in Indonesia. This model can enhance professional learning opportunities for Indonesian educators. It can also be implemented into the design of government-supported ed-tech PD programmes, to create an empowering and safe learning environment that can optimise their potential in learning and improve practice.</p>

Engaging Teachers in Science Practices and Discourse Through Online Professional Development

2019 ◽  
pp. 413-435
Author(s):  
Mary V. Mawn ◽  
Kathleen S. Davis
Keyword(s):  
Professional Development ◽  
Science Teachers ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Online Courses ◽  
Online Professional Development ◽  
Science Practices ◽  
Time Distance ◽  
Elementary And Middle School

Online professional development courses and programs provide science teachers with ongoing and relevant professional development opportunities that overcome time, distance, and budget pressures. To demonstrate the effectiveness of this approach, this chapter presents a case study of elementary and middle school teachers enrolled in two online courses in chemistry and science education. Based on this work, three themes emerged: the ability to incorporate inquiry-based teaching and learning in online environments, the importance of online discourse and reflection, and the role of linking theory with practice. Specifically, teacher participants reported increased experience exploring content via inquiry, felt actively engaged with their peers as they constructed their knowledge, and expected to adapt inquiry-based activities in their classrooms as a result of these online courses.

Computer-Supported Collaborative Learning and Assessment

2020 ◽  
pp. 389-413
Author(s):  
Joyce W. Gikandi
Keyword(s):  
Data Analysis ◽  
Collaborative Learning ◽  
Online Education ◽  
Descriptive Statistics ◽  
Multiple Sources ◽  
Computer Supported Collaborative Learning ◽  
Collective Case Study ◽  
Course Content ◽  
Gradual Process

This chapter focuses on re-interpreting the findings of a recent study based on collaborative learning perspectives. The study utilized a case study design in which two online postgraduate courses were investigated as a collective case study. Online observations, analysis of the archived course content and interview transcripts were used as data collection techniques. The data from multiple sources were triangulated. Qualitative techniques were used in data analysis and descriptive statistics were integrated to extend the meaning of qualitative data. The findings of the study suggest that social interactivity is pivotal to facilitating meaningful learning in formal online education. The findings further illustrate that development of productive communities in continuing (in-service) education is a gradual process that evolves through four stages starting from community of interest to community of practice.

Enhancing teachers' and administrators learning experiences through school–university partnerships: a qualitative case study in China

2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Guoyuan Sang ◽  
Jun Zhou ◽  
Abdulghani Muthanna
Keyword(s):  
Professional Development ◽  
Qualitative Study ◽  
Professional Learning ◽  
Qualitative Case Study ◽  
Process Analysis ◽  
Learning Experiences ◽  
School Teachers ◽  
Case Study Methodology ◽  
Content Type

PurposeThis qualitative study aimed to explore how the school–university partnership (SUP) enhances the elementary teachers' professional development in a school-based setting.Design/methodology/approachBy following the qualitative case study methodology, this case study employs semi-structured interviews (the authors designed) with 10 school teachers and administrators. The authors adapted the iterative process analysis (Miles and Huberman, 1984) for compiling, coding, annotating the data and interpreting the interview transcripts. The authors also used the member checking technique that establishes credibility in a qualitative study (Lincoln and Guba, 1985) with six participants.FindingsThe findings suggest that participating in a series of professional learning activities led to the enhancement of teachers' and administrators learning experiences in view of educational theories, action research abilities, teaching efficiency, teaching research capacities and improvement of school guidelines. Further, they reveal that the participants' expectations for future SUP collaborations centred on realizing the sustainability and effectiveness of collaborations, and autonomy of teachers.Research limitations/implicationsThe limitations of the current study include its focus on a single SUP within one school and the reliance on data collected only by interviews during the SUP process. This study offers implications for teacher learning within SUP collaborations. First, schools should consider how to involve and influence all teachers rather than SUP core members only. To this end, authentic professional learning communities need to be constructed. Second, universities should pay much more attention to the professional development of their faculty members towards integration of theoretical knowledge and practical experiences.Originality/valueThis original study explores practical ways of improving teachers' theoretical and practical teaching practices/experiences through SUP projects, and contributes new knowledge to the teaching professional development of school teachers and administrators.

Beyond the workshop: An interpretive case study of the professional learning of three elementary music teachers

2020 ◽  
pp. 1321103X1987107
Author(s):  
Jody Stark
Keyword(s):  
Professional Learning ◽  
Professional Growth ◽  
Music Teachers ◽  
Individual Case ◽  
Elementary Music ◽  
Collective Case Study ◽  
Field Notes ◽  
Cross Case Analysis

This article outlines the methodology and findings from an interpretive collective case study exploring the professional learning of three elementary music teachers. Participants were purposefully selected based on their differing career stages, background, and teaching situations, and each participant was interviewed five or six times over the course of the 5-month study. Additional data sources included field notes from classroom observations, a variety of artifacts provided by the participants, and responses to Pre-Interview Activity prompts. Through hermeneutic analysis of individual case data related to each participant’s teaching and experience of professional learning, participants were found to have a variety of highly personalized learning processes which they used as mechanisms for their ongoing professional growth. Cross-case analysis revealed three larger themes related to the participants’ professional learning: (1) The quality of the participants’ learning was always instrumental and related to specific personal goals for/issues in practice; (2) meaningful professional learning had a temporal element and was characterized by continuity; and (3) the participants’ professional learning was social in nature.

Design and Hands-on Experiences for Undergraduates: Case Study on Design, Construction and Testing of Small Aircraft Models

1997 ◽  
Vol 25 (2) ◽  
pp. 118-136
Author(s):  
F. Finaish
Keyword(s):  
Learning Opportunities ◽  
Design Problems ◽  
University Of Missouri ◽  
Course Content ◽  
Content Organization ◽  
Hands On ◽  
Analytical Work ◽  
The University ◽  
Small Aircraft

This article describes the development of a new design course in the Aerospace Engineering curriculum at the University of Missouri-Rolla offered during the second (sophomore) year. The course is designed to offer learning opportunities that apply the fundamentals of design along with hands-on experience. The students are required to analyse and solve open-ended design problems, test and experiment with different concepts, build models that illustrate what they have proposed in the analysis phase, and use engineering process skills such as teamwork and development of technical reports. An emphasis is placed on the connection between theory and design applications, comparisons of analytical work with test results, reporting, and working with peers. Details of the course content, organization, and guidelines to develop small aircraft models along with the testing hardware needed are given.

A Dashboard to Monitor Self-Regulated Learning Behaviours in Online Professional Development

2021 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
pp. 18-34
Author(s):  
Flavio Manganello ◽  
Francesca Pozzi ◽  
Marcello Passarelli ◽  
Donatella Persico ◽  
Francesca Maria Dagnino
Keyword(s):  
Professional Development ◽  
Professional Learning ◽  
Online Professional Development ◽  
Learning Networks ◽  
Self Monitoring ◽  
Current Configuration ◽  
Self Regulated Learning ◽  
Actual Usage ◽  
Regulated Learning ◽  
Learning Behaviours

This paper reports on usage and impact on learning achievements of a dashboard developed to help monitor self-regulated learning behaviours in an online professional development path. The design of the path as well as of the dashboard were grounded on a pre-existing conceptual framework distinguishing between four different types of self-regulated learning behaviours taking place in professional learning networks and underpinning professional practice sharing. One of the objectives of the path was to promote such behaviours among participants, and the dashboard was designed to support their self-monitoring. Data were collected through usage log files analysis, a survey, and pretest and posttest. The results shed light on participants' actual usage of the dashboard, their opinion regarding its usefulness in relation of its capability to measure and support their SRL processes, and the dashboard's actual impact on their learning achievements. Moreover, some limitations in the current configuration of the dashboard emerged, which can guide further development.

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