The document discusses several topics related to social and professional identity in education: 1) Examples of real-world research projects and their messy but vital nature. 2) The sociocultural paradigm and how it defines learning as a social activity. 3) The concept of "bricolage" or fashioning research instruments from available materials. 4) The development of a community of practice for teachers using a virtual world to support ongoing professional development.

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Gary Motteram
Social /
Professional
Identity
Pennington
(2002)

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Main strands in this talk
• real world research (Rogers, 2002); messy, but vital;
• the sociocutural paradigm (Roth and Lee, 2007 and
many others);
• fashioning research instruments (Levy-Strauss);
• examples from my own practice (various)

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Results from the research at Chadderton
• The pupils got a good grounding in IT with particular
emphasis on skills associated with language development
and when interviewed said they felt it had helped them; the
teacher agreed;
• One child started to make significant improvement in other
classes and eventually won a school prize;
• One child stopped truanting and came in regularly for the
extra lunchtime classes;
• One child went on to do an IT degree at a local university
against all expectations
(Motteram, 1999, p 209)

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However, why use theory?
Two views from Wilson (1978):
Theory provides a means of integrating and
interpreting available information and influences
the search for new knowledge. (p 218)
In short, the appeal is either to an organized
conceptual framework or a melange of personal
preference, intuition and subjective judgement. (p
218)

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Theory in the conference abstracts
concerned with teacher education
reproduction of knowledge
reflective practice/ and (collaborative) action
research
situated practice/ situated teacher cognition
Communities of Practice
activity theory
critical theory

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All of these fall within the general realm of sociocultural
theory, which Karen Johnson in her recent book (2009) has
defined in the following way:
At its core… the epistemological stance of a
sociocultural perspective defines human learning as a
dynamic social activity that is situated in physical and
social contexts, and is distributed across persons, tools
and activities (p 1)

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Genetic method (Vygotsky)
Microgenetic -- particular event
Ontogenetic -- series of events
Phylogenetic -- adding to our sum total of knowledge about CALL
and its developments
See Lantolf and Thorne (2006) for a useful introduction

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Fashioning an instrument/ creating a lens (AT)/ Bricolage

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There still exists among ourselves an activity which… is what is
commonly called 'bricolage' in French. In its old sense the verb
'bricoler' is applied to ball games and billiards, to hunting, shooting
and riding. It was however always used with reference to some
extraneous movement: a ball rebounding, a dog straying or a
horse swerving from its direct course to avoid an obstacle. And in
our own time the 'bricoleur' is still someone who works with his
hands and uses devious means compared to those of a
craftsman. The characteristic feature of mythical thought is that it
expresses itself by means of a heterogeneous repertoire which,
even if extensive, is nevertheless limited. It has to use this
repertoire, however, whatever the task is in hand because it has
nothing else at its disposal.
(Claude Levi-Strauss, 1966 [1962] The Savage Mind, Chicago, IL: The University of
Chicago Press. p 19
[http://varenne.tc.columbia.edu/bib/info/levstcld066savamind.html])

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…someone able to perform a whole range of specialist functions or
even to employ unconventional methods. It is the notion of a person
who makes something new out of a range of materials that had
previously made up something different. The bricoleur is a makeshift
artisan, armed with a collection of bits and pieces that were once
standard parts of a certain whole but which the bricoleur, as bricoleur,
now reconceives as part of a new whole. Levi-Strauss provides an
example. The bricoleur has a cube-shaped piece of oak. It may once
have been a wardrobe. Or was it part of a grandfather clock? Whatever
its earlier role, the bricoleur now has to make it serve quite a different
purpose.
(Crotty, 1998, p 50)

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Context Theory /ies Methodology
MA students at
Manchester
Reconstructive
processes/ situated
practice
Narrative
Teachers in their own
classrooms
Situated practice/ 3rd
generation AT/
teacher beliefs
Case studies
Teacher education in
2nd Life
COP Ethnography

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Project 1: Narrative research
Reconstructive processes
20 students from various countries: 10 onsite and 10 offsite
“The teachers were invited to tell their stories about how they came to
us for their professional development, their expectations, the ways in
which the course impacted on their thinking and what they have done
since they graduated.” (Slaouti and Motteram, 2006, p81)
Teachers showed how they had come to understand that it wasn’t
simply a matter of gaining knowledge (of various types following
Shulman, 1986) and skills, but of exploring these in relationship to the
contexts in which they found themselves
Our course creation also relies on our own similar reflective processes
and own ecology.

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Project 2: Researching teachers, technology and
context (CUP)
• Teacher (370) and learner (178) surveys
– Technology access and locations of use
– Teacher perceptions of the roles that technology plays
– Teacher perceptions of digital resources (bespoke and teacher-created)
– Teacher perceptions of EFL materials (digital and print), the role of content
providers, and aspirations for the future
• Case study
– 17 teachers (Asia, Europe, Middle East, North Africa, South America)
– online interviews
– weekly reports of technology use collected from each teacher
– detailed reports from teachers on their use of technology in two chosen lessons
– documents (photos taken by teachers of their use of technology, teaching
materials, links to online resources)

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Cultural history
of CALL

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Third generation Activity Theory
Engeström (2001)
Plug and play

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Web pages (Web 1.0)
Hot Potatoes exercises
(Web 1.5)
YouTube videos (Web
2.0)
Embedded listening
Dictionary link
UK teacher/
Japanese
undergraduate
learners
Teacher/ Learners/
Other teachers
Institution
Parents
Other learners
Higher education
Government policies
Teacher
provides extra
materials
Learners use
and evaluate it
Supportive institution
Motivated teacher with
particular beliefs about the role
of technology in language
learning
Technical infrastructure exists
Net savvy learners
Materials connected to the
syllabus
Develop
knowledge of
the UK/ skills
development

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Teacher decision-
making

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Jinhe

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Project 3: AVALON
You can find more detail at: avalonlearning.eu
The project: Access to Virtual and Action Learning live
ONline

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Developing a Community of Practice for teachers
The domain. A community of practice (COP) is not merely a club of friends or a
network of connections between people. It has an identity defined by a shared domain
of interest. Membership therefore implies a commitment to the domain, and therefore
a shared competence that distinguishes members from other people.
The community. In pursuing their interest in their domain, members engage in joint
activities and discussions, help each other, and share information. They build
relationships that enable them to learn from each other.
The practice. A community of practice is not merely a community of interest--people
who like certain kinds of movies, for instance. Members of a community of practice
are practitioners. They develop a shared repertoire of resources: experiences, stories,
tools, ways of addressing recurring problems—in short a shared practice. This takes
time and sustained interaction.
http://www.ewenger.com/theory/

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What does a COP looks like?
Problem solving "Can we work on the design of the island and brainstorm
some ideas; I need your input."
Requests for information “How can I find out more about Sloodle?"
Seeking experience "Has anyone got experience of teacher training inside 2nd
Life?"
Reusing assets "I have a proposal for a reward model that we
implemented with the students in our school."
Coordination and synergy "Can we work together to make sure that we do a good
job on the teacher training course?"
Discussing developments "What do you think of the new Open Source holodeck? Is
it going to be useful for your needs?"
Documentation projects “Let’s use a wiki to keep a track of our work packages."
Visits "Can we have a tour of z island to see how they are doing
this?"
Mapping knowledge and identifying gaps "Who knows what, and what are we missing? What other
groups should we connect with?"
http://www.ewenger.com/theory/

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Initial professional community
• The partners bring their own communities to the planning table and
experience of previous projects both European and others
• These will include some of the associate partners

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A range of voices
• Managerial
• Academic
• Pedagogic
• Professional
• Technical
• Learner
• Business
• MUVE community

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Partners
Associate
partners
and other
colleagues
Already
engaged
professional
and
academic
community
Broader
professional
and
academic
community
Centripetal
movement

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Tools that we are using
• Ning
• Twitter
• Blog
• Wiki
• 2nd
Life itself

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Teacher course
• Has been created and piloted
• Hope to encourage new teachers to join and be a part of our
community

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Thanks for listening
Any questions?
Gary.Motteram@manchester.ac.uk

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References
Crotty, M. (1998) The foundations of social research: Meaning and perspective in the research
process. London: Sage.
Johnson, K. E. (2009). Second language teacher education: A sociocultural perspective. London:
Routledge.
Lantolf, J. P., & Thorne, S. L. (2006). Sociocultural theory and the genesis of second language
development. Oxford: OUP.
Levi-Strauss, C. 1966 [1962] The Savage Mind, Chicago, IL: The University of Chicago Press. p 19
[http://varenne.tc.columbia.edu/bib/info/levstcld066savamind.html])
Motteram, G. (1999) Changing the research paradigm in Debski, R. and Levy, M. (1999) World CALL:
Global perspectives on CALL. Abingdon: Swets & Zeitlinger
Pennington, M. (2002). Pennington, M. (2002) Teacher identity in TESOL http://www.quality-tesol
ed.org.uk/downloads/Martha_P's_paper,_AGM_2002.pdf
Roth, W. M., & Lee, Y.J. (2007). Vygotsky’s neglected legacy: Cultural historical activity theory.
Review of Educational Research, 77 (2), 186-232.
Salaberry, M. R. (2001) “The use of technology for second language learning and teaching: A
retrospective.” MLJ, 85/1.
Shulman, L. S. (1986) Those who understand: Knowledge growth in teaching, Educational
Researcher, 57, pp 1-22.
Slaouti, D. and Motteram, G. (2006) Reconstructing practice: Language teacher education and ICT in
Hubbard, P. and Levy. M. (2006) Teacher education and CALL. Amsterdam: John Benjamins.
Robson, C. (2002) Real world research. Oxford: Blackwell.
Wilson, G. T. 1978 The importance of being theoretical: A commentary on Bandura’s “self-efficacy:
towards a unifying theory of behavioral change.” Journal of Adv. Behav. Res. Ther. Vol. 1, pp. 217-
230.