Teachers Learning to Teach English Learners in an Online Community of Practice in an Urban District

This chapter reports on a study that investigated the knowledge and skills for teaching English learners (ELs) that in-service teachers displayed during their participation in an online community of practice. Teachers' conversations were analyzed using a priory and inductive codes. Findings showed that teachers demonstrated an understanding of practices that support ELs in overcoming language demands that disciplinary content standards in the U.S. pose, including promoting ELs' participation, teaching language within content and in the four modes, assessing ELs' progress during instruction, and offering differentiated language scaffolds. The online community of practice offered in-service teachers an environment in which they engaged in learning tasks related to theories that they had learned and to their practice. Online communities of practice can facilitate information flow, peer collaboration, and content application in teacher preparation programs. However, tasks need to leverage technology tools affordances and to establish equitable participation expectations.

‘Meitheal Múinteoirí’: Planning for an Online Community of Practice (OCoP) with post-primary teachers in the Irish-medium (L1) sector

This paper will set out the key planning considerations regarding the establishment of a dedicated online portal for Gaeltacht and Irish-medium schools at post-primary level as detailed in the Policy on Gaeltacht Education 2017-2022 (PGE). The research topic is intrinsically linked with action points highlighted within strategy and policy papers concerning the improvement of online supports for teachers in recent years by the Department of Education (DE) in Ireland. The Digital Strategy for Schools 2015-2020 refers to the objective of establishing digital communities of practice and the PGE highlights the need for a ‘dedicated online portal’ for Irish-medium schools. Embracing a problem-solving spirit, forging coalitions, building inter-agency collaboration, and ensuring teacher buy-in from the outset are all critical factors in the necessary planning process. Through the adoption of a mixed-methods approach, questionnaire and focus group respondents verified the most important thematic issues for L1 (Irish-medium) post-primary teachers respecting the establishment of what has the capacity to become a flourishing online community of practice (OCoP). The research process cast a spotlight upon how best to serve the teachers’ professional needs, confirmed the need for a collaborative approach that prioritised the significance of the collective, ascertained the existence of greater teacher openness to systemic change, and the centrality of transformative digital solutions in the L1 educational sphere.