What are beginning teachers looking for online?
The TeachConnect story(and what can be learnt from it)
Nick Kelly and Steven KickbuschQueensland University of Technology
Online teacher support
What would a utopia of online support for teachers look like?• Technology• A national profession• The potential of connectedness• Asking teachers (participation)• Independent, focussed, inclusive• Elements of the vision
• Facebook• BRITE• StackExchange, Quora• AirBnB, Uber
What is TeachConnect?
Online support for teachers
• Altruistic
• Broad stakeholders / diverse participants
• Continuity
Knowledge – professional, searchable, growingMentorship – peer, one to oneLive Chat – events, synchronous, storedEvidence - APST
Narrative
• Design-Based Research• Participation of teachers and teacher educators
• Four years• Consultation, research, productive failure, authentic
• (Collins, Joseph, & Bielaczyc, 2004)
1. Theoretical foundations
2. Phases of designTheory, survey, TeachQA, TeachConnect, Iterations
3. Outcomes from each phase
4. Overall lessons learned
Is TeachConnect a success (yet)?
• We’re working on it• Usage data
• Engagement• Initial experience• Frequency of returning
• Emailing• Events• Quality of content
• Sense of belonging• Social, affective, cognitive presence
• Mentorship training• Working closely with groups• Creating social norms in platform
Recipe for online teacher support
• Technology• Platform• Hosting
• Support of key stakeholders across systems• Accreditation body (QCT, BOSTES, Registration Board, VIT, TQI,
AITSL)
• Work with universities• Breadth of relationships – inclusivity• Depth – embed in courses
• Work with everybody• Schools, school system, existing groups, government,
personal networks• Find mutual benefit everywhere
Towards Utopia…
• National, international
• Looking for champions
• AITSL, Government• Does anybody know how to do this?!?
• Sharing design principles• Independent, focussed
• Breadth & depth of stakeholders
• Low threshold for participant involvement
• Integrated into the profession
• Focus on altruism and mutual benefit
• Wide community with trust for reflection
Thank you
One of the things I've found is that if any one of a group of people with similar problems asks a question there's a good chance that the question will reflect some of the thinking of
their peers.
Myles Horton
Paulo Freire & Myles Horton (1990)We Make the Road by Walking
Recent Australian references
Designing online networks for teachers
• Clarà, M., Kelly, N., Mauri, T., & Danaher, P. (2015). Can massive communities of teachers facilitate collaborative reflection? Fractal design as a possible answer. Asia-Pacific Journal of Teacher Education, 1-13.
• Herrington, A., Herrington, J., Kervin, L., & Ferry, B. (2006). The design of an online community of practice for beginning teachers. Contemporary Issues in Technology and Teacher Education, 6(1), 120-132.
• Kelly, N., & Antonio, A. (2016). Teacher peer support in social network sites. Teaching and Teacher Education, 56, 138-149.
• Kelly, N., Clará, M., Kehrwald, B., & Danaher, P. (In press). Online Learning Networks for Pre-service and Early Career Teachers. UK: Palgrave Pivot.
• Mansfield, C. F., Beltman, S., Broadley, T., & Weatherby-Fell, N. (2016). Building resilience in teacher education: An evidence informed framework. Teaching and Teacher Education, 54, 77-87.
• Prestridge, S. (2016). Conceptualising self-generating online teacher professional development. Technology, Pedagogy and Education, 1-20.
• Redmond, P. (2015). Discipline specific online mentoring for secondary pre-service teachers. Computers & Education, 90, 95-104.
• Sari, E., & Herrington, J. (2013). Using design-based research to investigate the design and development of an online community of practice for teacher professional development.
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