Self-directed teacher inquiry: exploring the dynamics of synchronous and asynchronous collaborative learning Monica Batac Presented at OISE/University of Toronto Dean’s Graduate Student Research Conference March 23, 2012

1. Self-directed teacher inquiry:
exploring the dynamics of
synchronous and asynchronous
collaborative learning
Monica Batac
OISE/University of Toronto
Dean’s Graduate Student Research Conference
March 23, 2012
@monicabatac

2. Agenda
• My journey & inquiry
• Participants
• Findings
• Next Steps

3. My Journey
• Master of Teaching (OISE/UT); Preservice
training, seminars, & research
• Dr. J Hewitt & Dr. K MacKinnon
• Elective in “Computers in the Curriculum”
• ISTE Conference; Philadelphia PA - June 26-29

4. INI
ISTE Inspiration

5. Telling the stories
George
David Lisa

6. Mirrored theoretical framework
TK
George
David Lisa
PK CK
TPACK (Mishra& Koehler 2006)

7. Shared beliefs and experiences
Authentic modeling of technology use for
student & teacher learning
also means
Practice
what you
Preach
(at all
levels)

8. “I carry around technology on my
“If you want to do Bring person… I just breathe it every day.
I have the internet in my pocket
Your Own Device, where
and can connect with you, with
you get students to the world, and learn. Any-time
bring their own devices, learning, 24/7.” - George
do you bring your own
device? Because that’s
not an event. That’s a “Every week there’s something new
culture you’re going to out there. I have struggled to
always want to buy something new.
have to develop. And I have to go back and ask if it meets
you have to be part of my [instructional] needs, or why
that culture.” – David am I changing my plan… I am
always showing the kids my
learning.” – Lisa

9. Shared beliefs and experiences
Mentorship/relationship building with other
educators
provides
just-in-time,
differentiated,
meaningful
sharing & support

10. What does this look like?
“I got connected to people who I formed relationships with,
who taught me things…
I met people who helped me be a better teacher.” - David
How?
“By getting tapped on the shoulder. From them being introduced…
by learning very slowly but surely to become a networked
professional. To surround myself with people I looked up to and
learning with them, instead of learning by myself or only in my
school.”
But, how did we meet?

11. I met Lisa & David first on-line through Twitter, reading their blogs …
“I really, really need the on-line professional learning
community because that moves me forward in my thinking
and learning. No one here knew [how to solve issues], so I
was the only one in the school, in the whole town who was
using the iPad [for learning] last year. I didn’t have anyone
that I could really bounce ideas off of.
I needed that on-line community.” – Lisa
just-in-time,
differentiated support;
for her needs

12. “There needs to be the face-to-face support, the on-line
support, and you need to have communities.” - Lisa
Lisa’s context
“Two years ago, none of us [face-to-face colleagues] were on[line]. We were craving our
face-to-face meetings. We’d get together & it’d just be talk, talk, talk, talk, talk. We
wouldn’t actually accomplish as much in our meetings because we would have all these
other questions to share and ask…
Now, when we arrive, the conversations continue
because we are all on[line] sharing… follow[ing each
other’s] thinking… when we meet now, it’s just to
pick up on our last tweet [Twitter] and go forward
with our planning.”

13. Shared beliefs and practices
• Build and maintain
professional Self-directed inquiry
relationships with
both face-to-face and & professional
on-line peers growth using
• Different blended
environments/networ
ks environments

14. How do you support teacher inquiry
and/or collaboration (for technology
integration) utilizing both synchronous
& asynchronous environments?
(blended)
… comes back to my own inquiry
As researcher As practitioner

15. Various titles since submission
• On-line and Offline Relationships:
Exploring the dynamics of teacher learning for
technology integration (OTF/OADE)
• Self-directed teacher inquiry in technology
integration: Exploring the dynamics of
synchronous and asynchronous collaborative
teacher learning (MT/OISE paper)

16. Upcoming May presentations
• Toward a Sustainable Professional Development Model:
Action Research and Teacher Inquiry (ConnectED Canada)
• Transforming Professional Development with Reflective
Practice: Personalization Before Prescription – Panel
Discussion (MaDLAT; l'Université de Saint-Boniface)
• Personalization Before Prescription: Exploring and
examining on-line professional learning for K-12 teachers
(4T Virtual Conference at the University of Michigan )
Progression; Applications at
school, board & institutional
levels

17. self & shared inquiry
mentoring sharing knowledge
connecting
@monicabatac
monica@monicabatac.com