1) The study aims to determine if personal learning networks (PLNs) built using Twitter can support teachers' individual professional development needs. Teachers will develop PLNs over six weeks to support goals related to improving their practice. 2) Data collection includes analyses of teachers' Twitter feeds, focus group interviews, meetings between the researcher and teachers, and a final survey. The researcher will code and analyze qualitative data for themes about how teachers used their PLNs and their perceptions of Twitter for professional learning. 3) Findings may provide implications for using informal learning theories and PLNs to individualize professional development for teachers.

1. Social Media and Self-Directed Teacher Professional
Development: An Action Research Implementation of
Twitter to Support the Development of a Personal
Learning Network
IRB Defense by Will Deyamport, III, Ed.D. Candidate

2. Action Research
 The purpose of action research is to work with an
organization to implement an intervention to address an
opportunity or problem.

3. Problem
 Teacher survey results and informal communications in
the fall and spring of 2010 indicated that nearly half the
teachers at Wilson Elementary School (20), found
professional development opportunities at Wilson
Elementary to be limited and undifferentiated in ways
that would meet the individual needs of the teachers.
Professional development is provided on a one-size-fits-
all basis according to grade level and subject area.
Support for personalized, differentiated learning
opportunities is not provided.

4. Purpose
 The purpose of this proposed action research study is to
determine the extent to which Personal Learning
Networks (PLNs) will support the individual professional
learning needs of teachers at Wilson Elementary School.
Likewise, this study will establish the viability of using
Twitter to build a Personal Learning Network (PLN).

5. Theoretical Basis of Study
 The theoretical framework for this study is informal
learning.
 Informal learning is based on the idea and practice of
learners seeking out professional growth opportunities
according to their individual specific interests, values,
and/or needs (Downes, 2007).
 Though undertaken by the individual, informal learning
occurs within a social context (Livingstone, 2000).
 The informal learning method used for this study is a
Personal Learning Network – which is a, self-
constructed, self-directed diverse professional network
whose purpose is supporting the personal or professional
learning needs of the individual.

6. Importance and Implications of
the Study
 In the past, teachers had to participate in face-to-face
professional development activities, such as workshops
and conferences, in order to meet and network with
other professionals in the field.
 Personal Learning Networks (PLNs), through the
development of social media, are changing the way
many teachers and administrators view professional
development.
 The theoretical implications for this study lie in the
potential of school leaders being able to implement
informal learning theory through the use of Personal
Learning Networks (PLN) via Twitter as part of the
school’s professional development plan.

7. Research Questions
 Qualitative: In what ways, if any, can the use of a Personal Learning
Network enhance teachers’ personal professional development?
 Sub Questions:
 1. How can Twitter be used to develop a Personal Learning Network?
 2. What types of resources and learning opportunities do teachers
find using Twitter?
 3. What are teachers' perceptions of the value of a Personal
Learning Network to support their professional learning goals?
 4. What are teachers' perceptions of the efficacy of Twitter to
individualize professional development?
 5. How can teachers enhance their progress toward a professional
development goal via the use of a Personal Learning Network?

8. Intervention
 The intervention for this study is the guided development of
a Personal Learning Network (PLN) via the use of Twitter, to
support individualized professional learning needs among
teachers. A Personal Learning Network (PLN), sometimes
called a Professional Learning Network, is an open, informal
learning network that provides people the space to take
charge of their own professional learning experiences.
 The participants (teachers at Wilson) will spend one hour a
week on Twitter seeking out resources and learning
opportunities related to an individual professional develop
goal, submitted to the researcher prior to the start of the
intervention. To support the participants throughout the
study, the researcher will meet with the participants weekly
during their planning period. In addition, the researcher will
be available to the participants via email and by cell phone
to further answer any questions or concerns the
participants' may have during the intervention.

9. Methods: Intervention
 Participants will use Twitter to develop a Personal
Learning Network to support their individual professional
development goal.
 Participants will spend an hour a week on Twitter. The
intervention will last six weeks.
 To provide support to the participants during the
intervention, the researcher will conduct in-person
meetings, send out weekly emails, and take part in
participant-initiated phone communications.

10. Methods: Data Collection
 The data sources are: the participants' Twitter feeds, three
focus group interviews, in-person meetings with the
participants, email and participant-initiated phone call
communications, as well as an end of the study survey.
 Twitter Feeds will be monitored daily to document how
teachers are using a Personal Learning Network for
professional development. Conducted every two weeks
during the intervention, the focus group interviews will be
video-taped. The in-person meetings will be audio-taped
and conducted weekly to offer the participants support
during the intervention. The emails, which will be sent as a
follow-up to the in-person meetings, will recap what took
place during the meeting, and offer ideas and suggestions
related to the issues or concerns brought up during the
meeting. The phone calls, if any, will be participant initiated.
The researcher will take notes during the phone calls. The
teacher perception survey will be conducted at the
conclusion of the intervention.

11. Methods: Data Analysis
 The Twitter feeds will be analyzed for patterns and themes
related to the ways in which the participant’s Personal
Learning Network assisted them in moving toward their
professional development goal. The common characteristics
of a Personal Learning Network are content, reciprocity, and
application (Downes, 2006). Therefore, the analysis will
focus on how the participants’ tweets reflected the content,
the reciprocal exchanges of information, and application of
information related to their professional development goal.
These are the initial coding categories, which will be
aggregated by grade level and subject area. Additional
themes will be developed from the subjects, ideas, and/ or
comments most commonly posted by the participants
(Creswell, 2005).

12. Methods: Data Analysis
 The focus group interviews will be analyzed to identify
the participants’ concerns, attitudes, and experiences
regarding the use of a Personal Learning Network to
support their individual professional learning needs. The
focus will be on how the participants used a Personal
Learning Network to achieve their professional
development goal. This will be done by searching for
patterns and themes in the participants’ responses. The
data will also be analyzed to identify the types of
resources and learning opportunities the participants’
found on Twitter. The data will be coded into themes,
which will be disaggregated by the individual participant,
and reported both individually (using pseudonyms) and
as aggregate data. The themes will be developed from
the subjects, ideas, and/ or comments most commonly
discussed by the participants (Creswell, 2005).

13. Methods: Data Analysis
 The in-person meetings will be analyzed to identify how
the participants’ used their Personal Learning Network to
support their individual professional learning needs, as
well as to identify and investigate the types of resources
and learning opportunities the participants’ found on
Twitter. The data will be coded into themes, which will be
disaggregated by grade level and subject area. The
themes will be developed from the subjects, ideas, and/
or comments most commonly discussed by the
participants (Creswell, 2005).

14. Methods: Data Analysis
 The follow-up emails will be analyzed to identify some of
the issues and problems the participants’ had with
developing a Personal Learning Network, as well as the
issues they had with using Twitter. The data will be
coded into themes, which will be disaggregated by the
individual participant. The themes will be developed
from the comments most commonly mentioned by the
participants (Creswell, 2005).
 The phone communications, if any, will be analyzed to
identify any issues and difficulties the participants’ had
with the intervention. The data will be coded into
themes, which will be disaggregated by the individual
participant. The themes will be developed from the
comments most commonly mentioned by the
participants (Creswell, 2005).

15. Methods: Analysis
 The Teacher Perceptual survey will be analyzed to
identify the participants’ perceptions of the value of
Personal Learning Networks to support the individual
learning needs of teachers, as well as , and the
effectiveness of Twitter as a means for developing a
Personal Learning Network. Using descriptive statistics,
the results will be aggregated to present the collective
perceptions of the participants. The responses to the
opened questions will be analyzed for both patterns and
outliers among the individual responses. That should add
detail in the answering the research questions (Creswell,
2005).