Tools and Processes for Online Knowledge-Building Communities

2019 ◽  
pp. 47-80
Keyword(s):  
Teacher Educators ◽  
Knowledge Building ◽  
Inservice Teachers ◽  
Learning Trajectory ◽  
Learning Tools ◽  
Pedagogical Content ◽  
Course Content ◽  
Instructional Processes ◽  
Knowledge Building Communities ◽  
Critical Reflections

Knowledge-building communities exploit the combination of inquiry experiences, discourse, and critical reflections. They facilitate learning through collaborative explorations and investigations where the explorations might involve using new and more robust digital technologies as learning tools. Such communities have the potential for supporting teachers in transforming their technological pedagogical content knowledge (TPACK) as they explore new technology-infused experiences. The challenge for this researcher team was to identify and implement a plan for establishing knowledge-building communities that effectively transformed inservice teachers' TPACK through online instruction. Using a design-based research methodology, a social metacognitive constructivist instructional lens was used to frame the online learning trajectory for organizing the course content and experiences by interweaving descriptive inquiry tasks with specific pedagogical strategies. These strategies included discourse and critical reflections for encouraging a transformation in teachers' knowledge through experiences in knowledge-building communities. The resulting trajectory provided a dynamic interaction of key tools and instructional processes for scaffolding the content for transforming TPACK understanding. The resulting researcher-conjectured, empirically supported online TPACK learning trajectory provided guidelines for teacher educators in the design of new online coursework for guiding teachers towards understanding the pedagogical challenges involved in orchestrating and managing knowledge-building communities as they integrate multiple technologies in their classroom instruction.

Online Learning Trajectory for Knowledge-Building Communities to Reframe Inservice Teachers' TPACK

2018 ◽  
pp. 839-862 ◽  
Author(s):  
Margaret L. Niess
Keyword(s):  
Online Learning ◽  
Knowledge Building ◽  
Inservice Teachers ◽  
Learning Trajectory ◽  
Learning Tools ◽  
Pedagogical Content ◽  
Course Content ◽  
Content Development ◽  
Instructional Processes ◽  
Knowledge Building Communities

Knowledge-building communities facilitate learning through collaborative explorations and investigations using today's technologies as learning tools. Such communities support teachers in developing their Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (or TPACK) so they are able to rearrange educational experiences using a systems pedagogical approach for engaging students in communication, collaboration and inquiry-oriented technologies. A current educational setting for reframing inservice teachers' knowledge involves online instruction. A researcher conjectured, empirically supported online TPACK learning trajectory provides guidelines for teacher educators as they design new online coursework for guiding teachers in enhancing their TPACK. Using a design-based research methodology, a social metacognitive constructivist instructional lens frames this online learning trajectory for organizing the course content development by interweaving descriptive tasks with specific pedagogical strategies towards reframing inservice teachers' knowledge through knowledge-building communities. The resulting trajectory describes a dynamic interaction of key tools and instructional processes for scaffolding the content towards an enhanced TPACK understanding.

Online Learning Trajectory for Knowledge-Building Communities to Reframe Inservice Teachers' TPACK

2016 ◽  
pp. 21-52
Keyword(s):  
Online Learning ◽  
Knowledge Building ◽  
Inservice Teachers ◽  
Learning Trajectory ◽  
Learning Tools ◽  
Pedagogical Content ◽  
Course Content ◽  
Content Development ◽  
Instructional Processes ◽  
Knowledge Building Communities

Knowledge-building communities facilitate learning through collaborative explorations and investigations using today's technologies as learning tools. Such communities support teachers in developing their Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (or TPACK) so they are able to rearrange educational experiences using a systems pedagogical approach for engaging students in communication, collaboration and inquiry-oriented technologies. A current educational setting for reframing inservice teachers' knowledge involves online instruction. A researcher conjectured, empirically supported online TPACK learning trajectory provides guidelines for teacher educators as they design new online coursework for guiding teachers in enhancing their TPACK. Using a design-based research methodology, a social metacognitive constructivist instructional lens frames this online learning trajectory for organizing the course content development by interweaving descriptive tasks with specific pedagogical strategies towards reframing inservice teachers' knowledge through knowledge-building communities. The resulting trajectory describes a dynamic interaction of key tools and instructional processes for scaffolding the content towards an enhanced TPACK understanding.

Applying the TPACK Learning Trajectory in Blending Practical Teaching Experiences with Online Community of Learner's Explorations

2016 ◽  
pp. 102-131
Keyword(s):  
Online Community ◽  
Classroom Practices ◽  
Teaching Practice ◽  
Inservice Teachers ◽  
Learning Trajectory ◽  
Classroom Observations ◽  
Theoretical Knowledge ◽  
Pedagogical Content ◽  
Geographically Dispersed ◽  
Practical Experiences

Inservice teacher preparation balances theory with practical experiences to support teachers in integrate their theoretical knowledge into their teaching practice. Online instruction holds potential for this education but questions how classroom observations are conducted in the teachers' classroom practices, particularly where the teachers are geographically dispersed. This multiple case descriptive study examines an online analogue to traditional classroom observations, where the Scoop Notebook (Borko, Stecher, & Kuffner, 2005) reveals inservice teachers' Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPACK), more specifically their TPACK-of-practice (Cochran-Smith & Lytle, 1999). The Scoop Electronic Portfolio development process describes teachers' engagement in classroom practices, transitioning their scholarly theoretical knowledge to practical knowledge through in-depth, rich reflections from classroom actions and artifacts. This course blends the practical experiences of the Scoop process with asynchronous community of learners' explorations of instructional strategies. The results describe teachers engaged in action research using Scoop artifacts as objects to think with for transforming their TPACK for integrating technologies in teaching their content, ultimately transforming their TPACK-of-practice.

Innovative Instructional Strategies for an Online Community of Learners

2018 ◽  
pp. 542-569
Author(s):  
Margaret L. Niess ◽  
Henry Gillow-Wiles
Keyword(s):  
Professional Development ◽  
Instructional Strategies ◽  
Instructional Practices ◽  
Online Community ◽  
Learning Trajectory ◽  
Community Of Learners ◽  
Learning Tools ◽  
Pedagogical Content ◽  
Content Development ◽  
Teacher Professional

This qualitative, design-based research identifies innovative instructional practices for teacher professional development that support an online community of learners in reconstructing their technological pedagogical content knowledge (TPACK) for teaching mathematics. This analysis describes instructional practices that guide inservice teacher participants in inquiring and reflecting to confront their knowledge-of-practice conceptions for integrating multiple technologies as learning tools. The research program describes an online learning trajectory and instructional strategies supporting the tools and processes in steering the content development in a social metacognitive constructivist instructional framework towards moving from “informal ideas, through successive refinements of representation, articulation, and reflection towards increasingly complex concepts over time” (Confrey & Maloney, 2012). The results provide recommendations for online professional development learning environments that engage the participants as a community of learners.

Scaffolding Instructional Practices in Online Problem-Based Inquiry Instructional Design

2019 ◽  
pp. 108-138
Keyword(s):  
Digital Image ◽  
Creative Thinking ◽  
Teacher Educators ◽  
Systems Approach ◽  
Inquiry Learning ◽  
Thinking Skills ◽  
Inservice Teachers ◽  
Learning Trajectory ◽  
Pedagogical Approach ◽  
Pedagogical Reasoning

The systems pedagogical approach enhances teachers' pedagogical reasoning for integrating multiple technologies in inquiry, communication, and collaboration. However, inservice teachers must rely on educational experiences for learning to incorporate the systems thinking with their current TPACK understanding. The systems pedagogical approach supports the TPACK online learning trajectory through technological pedagogical thinking and reasoning as teacher educators design opportunities for transforming teachers' TPACK. The research in this chapter focuses on the impact of this systems approach on teachers' technological pedagogical reasoning as they learn about integrating multiple technologies in their classrooms. The course design takes advantage of knowledge-building communities through the application of the online TPACK learning trajectory. This research-based application highlights how the systems pedagogical scaffolding approach supports problem-based inquiry learning for reframing teachers' TPACK towards integrating digital image and video technologies with 21st century inquiry thinking skills: critical thinking, creative thinking, communicating, and collaborating. Through such designed key experiences, teachers gain experiences with multiple instructional strategies for collaboration, communication, and inquiry in designing problem-based online inquiry learning. The process guides them in refining their mental models for integrating multiple technologies in teaching that relies on an increasingly complex technological pedagogical understanding as they learn about the technologies and teaching with those technologies. Participants' products, interactions, and reflections demonstrate their engagement in high levels of thinking and learning with digital image and video technologies. Such a systems pedagogical understanding is at the core of teachers' development of the technological pedagogical reasoning for supporting the transformation of their TPACK.

Innovative Instructional Strategies for an Online Community of Learners

2017 ◽  
pp. 499-526
Author(s):  
Margaret L. Niess ◽  
Henry Gillow-Wiles
Keyword(s):  
Professional Development ◽  
Instructional Strategies ◽  
Instructional Practices ◽  
Online Community ◽  
Learning Trajectory ◽  
Community Of Learners ◽  
Learning Tools ◽  
Pedagogical Content ◽  
Content Development ◽  
Teacher Professional

This qualitative, design-based research identifies innovative instructional practices for teacher professional development that support an online community of learners in reconstructing their technological pedagogical content knowledge (TPACK) for teaching mathematics. This analysis describes instructional practices that guide inservice teacher participants in inquiring and reflecting to confront their knowledge-of-practice conceptions for integrating multiple technologies as learning tools. The research program describes an online learning trajectory and instructional strategies supporting the tools and processes in steering the content development in a social metacognitive constructivist instructional framework towards moving from “informal ideas, through successive refinements of representation, articulation, and reflection towards increasingly complex concepts over time” (Confrey & Maloney, 2012). The results provide recommendations for online professional development learning environments that engage the participants as a community of learners.

Applying the TPACK Learning Trajectory in Blending Practical Teaching Experiences With Online Community of Learner's Explorations

2018 ◽  
pp. 1346-1366
Author(s):  
Margaret L. Niess
Keyword(s):  
Online Community ◽  
Classroom Practices ◽  
Teaching Practice ◽  
Inservice Teachers ◽  
Learning Trajectory ◽  
Classroom Observations ◽  
Theoretical Knowledge ◽  
Pedagogical Content ◽  
Geographically Dispersed ◽  
Practical Experiences

Inservice teacher preparation balances theory with practical experiences to support teachers in integrate their theoretical knowledge into their teaching practice. Online instruction holds potential for this education but questions how classroom observations are conducted in the teachers' classroom practices, particularly where the teachers are geographically dispersed. This multiple case descriptive study examines an online analogue to traditional classroom observations, where the Scoop Notebook (Borko, Stecher, & Kuffner, 2005) reveals inservice teachers' Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPACK), more specifically their TPACK-of-practice (Cochran-Smith & Lytle, 1999). The Scoop Electronic Portfolio development process describes teachers' engagement in classroom practices, transitioning their scholarly theoretical knowledge to practical knowledge through in-depth, rich reflections from classroom actions and artifacts. This course blends the practical experiences of the Scoop process with asynchronous community of learners' explorations of instructional strategies. The results describe teachers engaged in action research using Scoop artifacts as objects to think with for transforming their TPACK for integrating technologies in teaching their content, ultimately transforming their TPACK-of-practice.

scholarly journals Designing an online learning environment on Open Educational Resources for science education

2013 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-11
Author(s):  
Shironica Karunanayaka ◽  
Chandana Fernando ◽  
Vajira de Silva
Keyword(s):  
Science Education ◽  
Online Learning ◽  
Learning Environment ◽  
Science Teachers ◽  
Teacher Educators ◽  
Open Educational Resources ◽  
Educational Resources ◽  
Online Learning Environment ◽  
Design Decisions ◽  
Course Content

The concept of Open Educational Resources (OER) is a major breakthrough in education, which promotes sharing, adaptation and contextualisation of course content. Promotion of using OER can be very cost effective, since development of new course content would be both expensive and time consuming. However, awareness raising and capacity building of teachers and learners is crucial, in order to exploit the full potential of OER.The Faculty of Education at the Open University of Sri Lanka, initiated a research project to create an Online Learning Environment (OLE) on OER for science education, witha view to raise awareness, develop competencies and enhance adapting, adoption and creation of OER by teachers. This is developed in Moodle Learning Management System, as a supplementary material for science teachers enrolled in a distance mode professional development programme. The research team, together with a group of science teachers and teacher educators, who are their students, is engaged in this action research conducted in several stages: analysis, design, development, implementation and evaluation. This paper discusses the first three stages, concerning the following objectives: to identify sources of OER for science education, to make key design decisions of the OLE, and to design and develop the OLE on OER for science education.The analysis of need, learner, task and context, resulted in making decisions on information, instruction, interaction and interface design. Some initial design decisions are: Structuring of information on finding, using and creating OER related to teaching science, while making it relevant and meaningful for teachers; Use of exploratory instructional strategies enabling teachers to select OER; Incorporate frequent interactions encouraging teachers to adopt, adapt, create and share OER; and Use of different media elements to make the visual layout motivating. A prototype will be pilot tested with science teachers with a view to revise and improve the OLE on OER. Allowing student teachers/teacher educators to work collaboratively with their instructors, as a team, enable both parties to face challenges together, in this novel experience of designing and developing an OLE on OER.

scholarly journals MYENGLISHLAB AS ONE OF THE GROUNDBREAKING BLENDED LEARNING TOOLS

2021 ◽  
Vol 17 (2 (24)) ◽  
pp. 85-91
Author(s):  
Marianna Ohanyan
Keyword(s):  
Learning Styles ◽  
Blended Learning ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
English Language ◽  
Educational Activity ◽  
English Language Learning ◽  
Learning Tools ◽  
Course Content ◽  
European Languages ◽  
Grammatical Skills

Online learning is one of the most rapidly growing trends in educational use of digital technologies. The article touches upon the importance of MyEnglishLab as one of the newest tools for blended English language learning. Due to the pandemics of the 2020 many learners began to implement different tools of digital technology to an increasing extent. An effective and appropriate tool for learning English aimed at developing communication skills allows to increase individualization of educational activity, to optimize mastering language structures and grammatical rules, and also to overcome some obstacles of both oral and written competences of the students. An interactive platform is one of the newest blended learning tools that combines different English language learning activities in a variety of formats. It is a web-based system providing learners 24 hours a day, 7 days a week online access to the teacher-managed course content, supports different learning styles, provides students with a large number of supervised practices. The platform MyEnglishLab contains lexical and grammatical tasks, audio materials listening and reading as well as watching videos. Tasks are performed in three stages: the formation of lexical and grammatical skills; improvement of language skills and using those phrases and sentences that were consolidated in the first stage in the dialogue with a computer; development of skills to use lexical and grammatical knowledge acquired during the previous two stages. The platform has options for choosing the number of attempts to perform both test exercises and training. In this article we present a research carried out among the freshmen of Yerevan State University Faculty of European Languages and Communication.

scholarly journals Japanese and Swedish Mathematics Teacher Educators’ Pedagogical Content Knowledge – An Institutional Perspective

2019 ◽  
Vol 21 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yukiko Asami-Johansson ◽  
Iiris Attorps
Keyword(s):  
Problem Solving ◽  
Pedagogical Content Knowledge ◽  
Content Knowledge ◽  
Prospective Teachers ◽  
Teacher Educators ◽  
Institutional Perspective ◽  
Pedagogical Content ◽  
Mathematics Teacher Educators ◽  
Structured Problem Solving ◽  
Area Determination

The aim of this paper is to investigate which kind of conditions and constraints affect Japanese and Swedish teacher educators’ pedagogical content knowledge (PCK). We analyse the praxeologies of the lessons in which the educators teach area determination. Our study shows that the Japanese teacher educators’ PCK are more explicitly shared by the community of the teacher educators compared to the Swedish counterpart. Also, the detailed Japanese curriculum and the structured problem solving approach promote to illustrate how to construct rich mathematical and didactical organisations for prospective teachers.

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