scholarly journals Building Effective Working Relationships among Academics through Participation in Communities of Practice

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Adeola Folasade Akinyemi ◽  
Vuyisile Nkonki ◽  
Lulekwa Sweet-Lily Baleni ◽  
Florence Rutendo Mudehwe-Gonhovi
Keyword(s):  
Professional Development ◽  
Communities Of Practice ◽  
Community Of Practice ◽  
Teaching Practice ◽  
Practical Knowledge ◽  
Working Relationships ◽  
University Teachers ◽  
Further Development ◽  
Common Agenda

This chapter addresses the significance and importance of communities of practice in the professional development of academics as university teachers. Its documents the role of communities of practice in enabling and enhancing the development of a professional knowledge base, the acquisition of skills, and competencies for effective teaching practice, as well as the dissemination of practical knowledge needed within a community of teaching practitioners. It provides details of how a community of practice comes into being, and how working relations within a community of practice are fostered. There is an elaboration on how members of a community of practice come to perceive their substantive issues the same way, and how a common agenda is formed around those issues. It also discusses peculiar ways of dealing with the identified issues, and the manner in which expertise, resources, resourcefulness and experiences are exchanged and shared with improvement, change and further development of academics’ teaching practices in sight.

scholarly journals Benchmarking of University teachers’ professional development: successful European, Chinese, and Russian practices

2021 ◽  
Vol 99 ◽  
pp. 01004
Author(s):  
Tatiana Tregubova
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Professional Development ◽  
Teaching Practice ◽  
Effective Practices ◽  
Teaching Activities ◽  
University Teachers ◽  
European Universities ◽  
Teachers Professional Development ◽  
Higher Education Organizations ◽  
The University

In the context of socio-pedagogical transformations of higher education organizations, the modernization of the system of teachers’ professional development becomes an integral component of the reforms. Today university teachers have to be ready for continuous development and advanced training throughout their lives. Thus, the study of the problem of university teachers’ professional development in Russia and abroad is very relevant and timely as a response to the modern requirements of civil society for the personality of the teacher. The need for professional development among university teachers is closely related to his (her) desire for more successful indicators in teaching activities. To do this, it is necessary to fulfill several pedagogical conditions, including the teacher's own awareness of the need for professional development; the interest of the university administration and the availability of resources to organize an effective professional development system, etc. The purpose of the article is to show some successful practices of the teachers’ professional development in Russian, Chinese and European universities which the author observed while visiting those universities within the realization the project “Enhancing teaching practice in the universities of Russia and China”. The article presents the possibilities of benchmarking in higher education, in particular, the use of the benchmarking technology as a method of studying the effective practices of organizing the teachers’ professional development in a modern university.

Information Superhighway and Continuous Professional Development for the Networked Teachers

2018 ◽  
pp. 1761-1776
Author(s):  
Asli Lidice Gokturk Saglam
Keyword(s):  
Professional Development ◽  
Communities Of Practice ◽  
Online Communities ◽  
Continuous Professional Development ◽  
Learning Networks ◽  
Personal Learning ◽  
Impact Of Technology ◽  
Online Communities Of Practice ◽  
The Impact

This chapter focuses on the impact of technology on teacher training through online communities of practice (CoP) and investigates its potential for facilitating continuous professional development for the educators who can create personal learning networks on the web. Wenger's Community of Practice Theory (1998) and Garrison et al.'s (2000) Community of Inquiry (CoI) are explored as underlying theories of CoP. Furthermore, examples of online communities of practice will be briefly enlisted. The chapter will provide brief information how online learning is operationalized within the confines of CoP. The chapter will also discuss role of online communities of practice for teachers' continuous professional development with reference to current literature, explore challenges and focus on suggestions and avenues for further research.

Case Studies from the Inquiry Learning Forum

2010 ◽  
pp. 42-59
Author(s):  
Rebecca Scheckler
Keyword(s):  
Professional Development ◽  
Communities Of Practice ◽  
Community Of Practice ◽  
Case Studies ◽  
Inquiry Learning ◽  
Online Professional Development ◽  
Future Trends ◽  
Online Tool ◽  
Development Tool ◽  
Electronic Tool

Two intense case studies were done of teachers using the Inquiry Learning Forum (ILF), an online space for professional development in inquiry pedagogies. Major findings included: The ILF initially conceived as an online professional development tool in the form of a Community of Practice (COP) was reconceived as an electronic tool within a larger space that included the online tool but also many co-present spaces pertinent to a teacher’s practice of inquiry pedagogy. These case studies also demonstrated the transformative nature of teachers engaging in a COP. Not only is the teacher changed but also the COP is changed by the practice. The cases demonstrated the need for teachers to feel disequilibrium in their practice before they are willing to engage in change of those practices. Lastly immersion in practice described as The Pedagogy of Poverty hampered one teacher’s progress in the ILF. These findings are based upon my empirical observations with the backdrop of John Dewey’s Theory of Inquiry and of Etienne Wenger’s concept of communities of Practice. Future trends in using online COPs for professional development need to look at practice in these terms where allowance for transaction, support outside the electronic space, and disequilibrium are considered.

scholarly journals Trust and Positive Working Relationships among Teachers in Communities of Practice as an Avenue for Professional Development

2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (5) ◽  
pp. 136
Author(s):  
Adeola Folasade Akinyemi ◽  
Symphorosa Rembe ◽  
Vuyisile Nkonki
Keyword(s):  
Professional Development ◽  
South Africa ◽  
High Schools ◽  
Communities Of Practice ◽  
Mixed Methods Research ◽  
Structured Interview ◽  
Research Approach ◽  
Working Relationships ◽  
Strong Ties ◽  
Good Working

This study explores trust and positive working relationships among teachers in communities of practice as an avenue for professional development in high schools in South Africa. A mixed methods research approach was employed for this study with the use of a semi-structured interview and semi-structured questionnaires as data collection instruments. Ten schools were purposively selected for this study and seventy-nine participants were selected as samples. The findings of the study show that teachers had good working relationships with their colleagues. The good working relationships they had enabled them to assist their colleagues, share their classroom challenges with them, confide in their colleagues, and they were able to get assistance from them. It was established from the study that a great number of teachers feel safe to be part of the communities of practice activities in the sampled high schools, thus, they engage in diverse of discussions with their colleagues and they were able to relate to their colleagues the difficulties they have in terms of their work. The study recommends that teachers should spend an adequate time in their meetings, see themselves as colleagues, interact as teams, and build strong ties to have good relationships and a strong level of trust among themselves.

scholarly journals Corpus linguistics and continuous professional development: participants’ prior knowledge, motivations and appraisals / Linguística de corpus e formação profissional contínua: conhecimento prévio, motivações e avaliações dos participantes

2021 ◽  
Vol 29 (2) ◽  
pp. 1485
Author(s):  
Vander Viana ◽  
Lu Lu
Keyword(s):  
Professional Development ◽  
Prior Knowledge ◽  
Corpus Linguistics ◽  
Teaching Practice ◽  
Continuous Professional Development ◽  
Master's Programs ◽  
Language Teacher Education ◽  
Teaching And Research ◽  
Main Barrier

Abstract: Previous studies on the application of corpus linguistics (CL) to education have primarily examined language-related contexts where students are pursuing a formal degree (e.g. undergraduate and Master’s programs). Little do we know about the informal learning of CL especially by (but not limited to) academics/professionals who are not educated and/or do not work in language-oriented fields. The present study addresses these research gaps by examining the perspective of participants in a non-credit-bearing continuous professional development (CPD) project aimed at academics/professionals in a range of disciplines, who did not need to have any prior knowledge of CL. More specifically, we administered a questionnaire to 28 participants of a UK-based CPD project on CL with a view to researching four main aspects: (i) these participants’ CL background; (ii) their motivations to participate in this type of project; (iii) the advantages and barriers of employing CL in their teaching practice; and (iv) their appraisal of corpus analysis integration in their research practice. The results point out to the role of CPD projects in democratizing access to CL education both to language-oriented and non-language oriented academics/professionals and in potentially raising their interest in CL learning. Lack of knowledge is perceived to be the main barrier in embedding corpus approaches to teaching and research, thus reinforcing the relevance of developing formal and informal CL learning opportunities for academics/professionals in different fields.Keywords: corpus linguistics; continuous professional development; educational corpus integration; evaluation of corpus use in professional practices; corpus application to teaching and research; language teacher education; translator education; interdisciplinarity.Resumo: Estudos sobre a aplicação da linguística de corpus (LC) à educação examinaram uma série de contextos diferentes – principalmente aqueles em que os alunos recebem um diploma de colação de grau (por exemplo, cursos de graduação e mestrado). No entanto, pouco se sabe a respeito da aprendizagem informal da LC, especialmente por (mas não se limitando a) acadêmicos/profissionais que não tem uma formação educacional e/ou não trabalham em áreas relacionadas aos estudos da linguagem. A presente pesquisa preenche essas lacunas, examinando a perspectiva dos participantes de um projeto de formação profissional contínua destinado a acadêmicos/profissionais de várias disciplinas, que não precisavam ter conhecimento prévio de LC. Mais especificamente, administramos um questionário a 28 participantes de um projeto de formação profissional contínua na área de LC realizado no Reino Unido com o objetivo de pesquisar quatro aspectos principais: (i) a formação educacional em LC dos participantes; (ii) suas motivações para participar desse tipo de projeto; (iii) as vantagens e barreiras de empregar a LC em suas práticas pedagógicas; e (iv) suas avaliações sobre a integração da análise de corpus em suas práticas de pesquisa. Os resultados apontam para o papel dos projetos de formação profissional contínua na democratização do acesso à educação em LC para profissionais tanto da área de estudos da linguagem quanto de outras áreas e no potencial aumento do interesse desses profissionais na aprendizagem de LC. A falta de conhecimento é percebida como a principal barreira para a incorporação de abordagens de corpus para o ensino e a pesquisa, reforçando assim a relevância do desenvolvimento de oportunidades de aprendizagem formal e informal para acadêmicos/profissionais em diferentes áreas.Palavras-chave: línguística de corpus; formação profissional contínua; integração educacional de corpora; avaliação do uso de corpora em práticas profissionais; aplicação de corpora no ensino e na pesquisa; formação de professores de línguas; formação de tradutores; interdisciplinaridade. 

scholarly journals Critical Factors that Enhance the Effectiveness of Online Communities of Practice: EFL Coordinators’ Patterns of Involvement - The Greek EL Teachers Cops Professional Development Paradigm

2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 128
Author(s):  
Katerina Kourkouli
Keyword(s):  
Professional Development ◽  
Communities Of Practice ◽  
Online Communities ◽  
Teaching Practice ◽  
Continuing Professional Development ◽  
Development Project ◽  
Critical Factors ◽  
Training Experience ◽  
Quantitative And Qualitative Research ◽  
Online Communities Of Practice

The paper examines Greek EFL Coordinators’ involvement in online Communities of Practice (CoPs) in terms of its impact on participating teachers’ professional development. The study focuses on four online CoPs hosting 49 Greek EFL teachers as participants and four Greek EFL Coordinators, using an online platform named 2gather developed by the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens in the context of a national in-service professional development project in Greece. The study involves investigating the Coordinators’ patterns of involvement and their trainees’ response using a mixed-methods approach which combines quantitative and qualitative research as collective case studies of the four groups. Differentiations between the four Coordinators’ reported patterns of involvement and teachers’ reported effectiveness of their CoP training experience enables us to identify critical factors that contribute to the enhancement of effectiveness. A comparison of the Coordinators’ and their trainees’ responses per online CoP highlights the factors that have supported teachers’ reported reconstruction of knowledge and practices and the reported effectiveness of the CoP training experience regarding their everyday teaching practice. The findings contribute to furthering our understanding of effective online CoPs implementation in the context of continuing professional development.

scholarly journals Learning to Teach in Higher Education for Sustainable Professional Development

2020 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 33-41
Author(s):  
Bibi Haroon ◽  
N. B. Jumani ◽  
Kehkashan Arouj
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Professional Development ◽  
Knowledge Exchange ◽  
Sampling Technique ◽  
Professional Status ◽  
Chi Square ◽  
University Teachers ◽  
Academic Management ◽  
Chi Square Test

The role of teacher in higher education is very complex. It is recognized that academicians have a greater responsibility to pursue excellence in several directions including leadership, academic management, teaching skills, pursuing scholarships, research and knowledge exchange, supervision, and many more to maintain their professional status.  Academic practice is a term to encompass all these sides. The main objective of the study is to take the views of the teachers about the participation in different learning opportunities and to see their effect for sustainable professional development of university teachers. All the teachers of public sector universities in Islamabad and Rawalpindi encompass the population of the study. Using purposive sampling technique, data was collected through questionnaires. Chi-square test through SPSS was applied to analyze the data.  Data was presented in the form of tables, percentage with graphs and the results were interpreted accordingly.

scholarly journals STUDY OF PERCEPTIONS AND THE ROLE OF ESP TEACHERS ABOUT EFFECTIVENESS OF ESP COURSES IN LANGUAGE TEACHER EDUCATION DURING PRE-AND IN-SERVICE TEACHING PRACTICE

2015 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 674-680
Author(s):  
Nesa Artishedar ◽  
Fatemeh Najafi ◽  
Fatemeh Najafi ◽  
Fatemeh Najafi ◽  
Houman Bijani ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Teacher Education ◽  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Teaching Practice ◽  
Teacher Education Program ◽  
Language Teacher Education ◽  
Good Image ◽  
University Teachers ◽  
Practice Teaching ◽  
School Period

It is believed that the time that  the undergraduate students register in Teacher Education Program they  have an extensive amount of  experience, but English for specific purpose (ESP) teachersor pre-service ESP teachers are regarded as valuable resources for recognizing attitudes or perceptions of effectiveness of ESP teachers whose classless are taught by them. Pre-service teachers surely have several specific perceptions about their future career and the effectiveness of ESP teachers whose classes are being taught by them during practice teaching. If ESP teachers are asked the question why do you want to be anESP teacher? They may have different responses such as: I want to be an ESP teacher because I have a very good image of my teachers during my school period or I want to be a  ESP teacher because I would like to follow the methods and procedures of effective teaching that my university  teachers did during teaching specific courses. However, some might have an opposite perception. Anyway, this study tries to compare the perceptions of ESP teachers before (pre-service) and after (in-service) teaching period.

Critical Factors that Enhance the Effectiveness of Online Communities of Practice: EFL Coordinators’ Patterns of Involvement - The Greek EL Teachers Cops Professional Development Paradigm

2019 ◽  
Vol 5 (3) ◽  
pp. 52
Author(s):  
Katerina Kourkouli
Keyword(s):  
Professional Development ◽  
Communities Of Practice ◽  
Online Communities ◽  
Teaching Practice ◽  
Continuing Professional Development ◽  
Development Project ◽  
Critical Factors ◽  
Training Experience ◽  
Quantitative And Qualitative Research ◽  
Online Communities Of Practice

The paper examines Greek EFL Coordinators’ involvement in online Communities of Practice (CoPs) in terms of its impact on participating teachers’ professional development. The study focuses on four online CoPs hosting 49 Greek EFL teachers as participants and four Greek EFL Coordinators, using an online platform named 2gather developed by the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens in the context of a national in-service professional development project in Greece. The study involves investigating the Coordinators’ patterns of involvement and their trainees’ response using a mixed-methods approach which combines quantitative and qualitative research as collective case studies of the four groups. Differentiations between the four Coordinators’ reported patterns of involvement and teachers’ reported effectiveness of their CoP training experience enables us to identify critical factors that contribute to the enhancement of effectiveness. A comparison of the Coordinators’ and their trainees’ responses per online CoP highlights the factors that have supported teachers’ reported reconstruction of knowledge and practices and the reported effectiveness of the CoP training experience regarding their everyday teaching practice. The findings contribute to furthering our understanding of effective online CoPs implementation in the context of continuing professional development.

Communities of Practice as a Source of Open Innovation

2019 ◽  
pp. 333-343
Author(s):  
Diane-Gabrielle Tremblay
Keyword(s):  
Organizational Learning ◽  
Communities Of Practice ◽  
Informal Learning ◽  
Community Of Practice ◽  
Organizational Support ◽  
Knowledge Creation ◽  
Open Innovation

In this chapter, the authors define communities of practice. They present the concept as described by the creators of the concept but also comment on the role of these communities in organizational learning or informal learning. They follow with some of the results, centering on the conditions of success and challenges that emerge, as well as limits in the learning and sharing process, which are often underestimated. The authors highlight some results from a study on communities of practice in Canada, in particular the main conditions and challenges of such new modes of knowledge creation and management, which don't always work automatically. They compare these results to other recent research. Research clearly confirms that participants' commitment and motivation in the project, dynamism and continuity of leadership, organizational support and recognition of employees' involvement are the key elements in a community of practice, and they can contribute to open innovation.

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