Teachers’ fleeting encounters in online professional development communities blended with strong school communities of practice

Type of content
Conference Contributions - Other
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Publisher
University of Canterbury. School of Literacies and Arts in Education
Journal Title
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Date
2010
Authors
Mackey, J.
Abstract

The intersections between virtual and physical communities provide an important but largely unfamiliar, undefined and overlooked context in which to examine teachers’ professional learning. Recent work in this field, for example Finlay (2008) and Slaouti (2007), signals the need to better understand the ways teachers blend formal online study with the situated learning which occurs within everyday participation in communities of practice. As Laferriere, Lamon and Chan (2006) state “despite much enthusiasm given to the use of technology in education, the potential of e-learning in transforming teacher learning is neither sufficiently explored nor well understood.” Research focusing on the intersections between work and study, and particularly the role of online learning for professional development, represents an area of growing interest. This is true not only in teacher education but in the wider field of professional learning, development and support (Stacey & Gerbic, 2009; Maor & Volet, 2007). This study examines teacher learning supported by elective study in a graduate diploma in information and communication technology programme offered by a New Zealand university. Participants were predominantly studying part-time while working in schools.

Description
Citation
Mackey, J. (2010) Teachers’ fleeting encounters in online professional development communities blended with strong school communities of practice. Warwick University, Coventry: British Educational Research Association Annual Conference 2010, 1-4 September 2010.
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Ngā upoko tukutuku/Māori subject headings
ANZSRC fields of research
Field of Research::13 - Education::1303 - Specialist Studies in Education::130313 - Teacher Education and Professional Development of Educators
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