Holmes online learning communities bera

Online Learning Communities Case study of an eTwinning Learning Event for Teachers' Continuous Professional Development September 2011 BERA conference , London Brian Holmes, Lancaster University & European Commission Dr. Julie-Ann Sime, Lancaster University with the support of Tiina Sarisalmi, Municipality of Orivesi, Finland Anne Gilleran, European Schoolnet, Belgium

Online Learning Communities
Research context
Methodology
Results
Conclusions
http://www.slideshare.net/holmebn Case study of an eTwinning Learning Event for Teachers' Continuous Professional Development

Study on learning communities supported by ICT
Benefits for learners:
Online communities support intentional and non-intentional learning
Participants can follow and observe life of others, encouraging reflection
Support active learning of all key competences and transversal skills
Online communities provide new opportunities for equality (Ala-Mutka, 2010)
Greater individual understanding through a group endeavour (McConnell, 2006)
http://www.slideshare.net/holmebn 1. Research context Online learning communities

1. Research context Case study: an eTwinning Learning Event http://www.slideshare.net/holmebn
eTwinning supports teachers across Europe
Joint pedagogical projects
Continuous professional development
Thriving community of teachers
‘ Learning Events’
Short, intensive online sessions, in groups
Focused on a theme, led by a subject expert
Involve teachers in hands-on, non-formal learning with peers
My case
‘ Exploiting Web 2.0: eTwinning and Collaboration’
www.eTwinning.net

1. Research context Research questions
In an eTwinning Learning Event (LE) for teachers’ continuous professional development:
How does the online learning community influence the development of teachers’ competence and practice?
How do social and facilitation aspects influence collaboration and learning?
http://www.slideshare.net/holmebn

Research context
Methodology
Results
Conclusions

2. Methodology Theoretical framework http://www.slideshare.net/holmebn
Cognitive presence active learners in a community
Constructing meaning through sustained communication
Essential for critical thinking
Social presence feeling a person is ‘real’
Projecting personal characteristics into the community
Directly contributes to success of learning
Teaching presence design and support for active learning
Support and enhance cognitive and social presence for the purposes of learning
Design often led by teacher
Facilitation often shared with learners
(Garrison et al, 2000, p.88) Communication Medium Community of Inquiry COGNITIVE PRESENCE SOCIAL PRESENCE Supporting Discourse TEACHING PRESENCE (Structure/Process) Setting Climate Selecting Content EDUCATIONAL EXPERIENCE

2. Methodology Action research
Completed two cycles of action research
1. Initial LE, April 2010, 156 teachers
2. Revised LE, Oct-Nov 2010, 142 teachers
Participative research
Worked together with Tiina Sarisalmi, a teacher and the domain expert
Supported by EUN, the LE organisers
Participated as tutor
Data collection and analysis
Initial and final interviews
Final online questionnaire
Coding of discussion forums using the Community of Inquiry framework
http://www.slideshare.net/holmebn Cycle of Action Research (O’Leary, 2004; Koshy, 2010, p.7)

Research context
Methodology
Results
Conclusions

3. Results Recommendations from 1st LE http://www.slideshare.net/holmebn
Increase social presence
More support for socio-emotional aspects (Kreijns et al, 2003, Zenios & Holmes, 2010)
Give time to develop trust, shared values and reciprocity (McConnell, 2006)
Reinforce cognitive presence
Activities for critical thinking
Reflection in practice and meta-cognition (Schön, 1983, Kolb, 1984)
Strengthen teaching presence
Increase facilitation and ‘orchestration’ at key points (Dillenbourg, 2008)
Meta-cognition: reflection on own practice and competence Web 2.0 tools and collaboration Cognitive activities ° Introductions ° What is web 2.0? ° Documenting the learning ° Planning and managing a project ° Sharing videos, presentations, photos ° Collaborative learning ° Conclusion and evaluation Social activities ° Introductions ° Social interaction ° Mutual support ° Feedback ° Stories

3. Results The revised LE
Added time for practice and reflection
12 days for the LE cognitive activities, 19 days to try out in own teaching practice, 2 days of final reflection in the LE
Encouraged sharing of stories, feelings and reflections
Added a virtual staff room
A place for informal discussion and reflection in practice
Tables of small groups to foster stronger ties
Increased facilitation
Moderator/facilitator at key points to encourage and support
Encouraged mutual support and facilitation

3. Results All messages over time in staff room http://www.slideshare.net/holmebn Frequency of messages related closely to activities and to the messages from tutors Almost no messages whilst applying ideas in practice

3. Results Coding for cognitive presence
Example of Edita: illustrates the progression in cognition for a typical participant
http://www.slideshare.net/holmebn Cognition Critical thinking Coding suggests critical thinking reached in later stages Garrison et al (2001)

3. Results Views of participants
Applying ideas in practice …
http://www.slideshare.net/holmebn ‘ I was able to apply what I learned in the classroom and my pupils are very excited and they want to learn more’ (final questionnaire) Staff room … ‘ most of my time was spent in the staff room, to get ideas, to get support, and to feel proud and happy when my work got commented on. i think the idea of the staff room was the best’ (final interview) Collaboration does not always work… ‘ Well in the forum there is merely discussion and I understand that cooperation is a step further and collaboration even further, and I did not enjoy not being able to collaborate in my own group’ (final interview) Facilitation and feedback from the tutor is not always a good thing … ‘ I think those are things that can very easily smother the flame of creative thinking and learning’ (email feedback from Tiina) However ...

Research context
Methodology
Results
Conclusions

4. Conclusions From the teachers’ perspective
Online learning community
The online community supported teachers to develop their professional competence
The community provided an opportunity for mutual support, exchange of experience and reflection
The community was useful for as long as it supported learning
Learning by doing
Teachers who applied what they were learning in their own teaching practice were motivated, gained confidence and were more convinced
Guidance
It was beneficial to reinforce facilitation at key points and to back-off as and when peer support emerged
Social interaction
Social interaction was important, it facilitated learning and engendered a sense of community

4. Conclusions From an academic perspective
Community of Inquiry
The CoI model was a useful framework to analyse the interrelation between the cognitive, teaching and social aspects (Garrison et al, 2000)
Facilitation and mutual support
Increased teaching presence had a positive impact on cognitive presence (critical thinking) (Dillenbourg, 2008; Shea & Bidjerano, 2009)
Reflective practitioners
Applying ideas in practice and reflection with peers reinforced competence development (Schön, 1983; Kolb, 1984)
Social and community aspects
The learning community engendered mutual support, trust and sharing (Grossman et al, 2000; McConnell, 2006)
Social ties were important for learning, however interaction remained purposeful and the community was ephemeral (Kreijns et al, 2003; Zenios & Holmes, 2010)

References (1 of 2)
Ala-Mutka, K. (2010) Learning in informal online networks and communities, Institute for Prospective Technological Studies (IPTS), J., European Commission (ONLINE - http:// ipts.jrc.ec.europa.eu/publications/pub.cfm?id =3059 - accessed 18.11.2010)
Dillenbourg, P. (2008) 'Integrating technologies into educational ecosystems'. Distance Education, 29 (2), pp.127 – 140
Garrison, D. R., Anderson, T. & Archer, W. (2000) 'Critical Inquiry in a Text-Based Environment: Computer Conferencing in Higher Education'. The Internet and Higher Education, 2 (2-3), pp.87-105
Garrison, D., Anderson, T. & Archer, W. (2001) 'Critical thinking, cognitive presence, and computer conferencing in distance education'. American Journal of Distance Education, 15 (1), pp.7-23
Grossman, P., Wineburg, S. & Woolworth, S. (2000) What makes teacher community different from a gathering of teachers? , Center for the Study of Teaching and Policy, University of Washington
Kolb, D. (1984) Experiential Learning: Experience as the Source of Learning and Development. Englewood Cliffs, NJ, Prentice Hall.
Koshy, V. (2010) Action research for improving educational practice, 2nd ed., London, Sage publications Ltd.

References (2 of 2)
Kreijns, K., Kirschner, P. A. & Jochems, W. (2003) 'Identifying the pitfalls for social interaction in computer-supported collaborative learning environments: a review of the research'. Computers in Human Behavior, 19 (3), pp.335-353
McConnell, D. (2006) E-Learning Groups and Communities. Maidenhead, Open University Press.
O'Leary, Z. (2004) The essential guide to doing research, Sage Publications Ltd Riel, M. & Polin, L. (2004) 'Online learning communities: Common ground and critical differences in designing technical environments', in Barab, S., Kling, R. & Gray, B. (Eds.), Designing for virtual communities in the service of learning, pp.16-50, Cambridge University Press
Schön, D. (1983) The Reflective Practitioner: How Professionals Think in Action. London, Basic Books.
Shea, P. & Bidjerano, T. (2009) 'Community of inquiry as a theoretical framework to foster ‘‘epistemic engagement” and ‘‘cognitive presence” in online education'. Computers & Education, 52, pp.543-553
Zenios, M. & Holmes, B. (2010), 'Knowledge creation in networked learning: combined tools and affordances', Proceedings of the 7th International Conference on Networked Learning 2010, Copenhagen, pp.471-479

Thank you http://www.slideshare.net/holmebn [email_address] http://holmesbrian.blogspot.com/

Holmes online learning communities bera

by Brian Holmes on Sep 01, 2011

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