A virtual community of practice approach to teacher professional development and learning
type: CreativeWork
description: Research over a long period has suggested that professional development and learning for teachers often produces disappointing results. Recent theory suggests that teacher professional learning presented within a situated learning and community of practice framework is likely to be more effective than the more traditional forms of in-service professional development and learning. Further, recent technological developments since the mid 1990s have created increasingly sophisticated means of bringing widely distributed learners together, within flexible timeframe, online (virtual) discussion communities. This study set out to develop a workable approach to teacher professional development and learning (TPDL), using situated learning and community of practice learning theory and the opportunities afforded by Web 2 virtual learning environments. The literatures of learning theory, teacher professional development and communities of practice were reviewed and best practice principles identified. These principles were then used to design a virtual community of practice (VCoP) approach to teacher professional development and learning. The approach was then implemented as the underpinning framework for three virtual professional development modules for secondary school Geography and Social Studies teachers. The study used a grounded theory and action learning action research methodology, which enabled the researcher and the research participants to evaluate and fine tune the approach throughout the study. A mixed method research design resulted in the collection of rich quantitative and qualitative data during each module. Naturalistic data were drawn from the online module record and from semi-structured focus group discussions. More structured and reflective data were collected through a final post-module evaluative questionnaire. The data collected were analysed using a range of techniques, including narrative analysis, structural analysis, semantic analysis, and domain …
abstract: Research over a long period has suggested that professional development and learning for teachers often produces disappointing results. Recent theory suggests that teacher professional learning presented within a situated learning and community of practice framework is likely to be more effective than the more traditional forms of in-service professional development and learning. Further, recent technological developments since the mid 1990s have created increasingly sophisticated means of bringing widely distributed learners together, within flexible timeframe, online (virtual) discussion communities. This study set out to develop a workable approach to teacher professional development and learning (TPDL), using situated learning and community of practice learning theory and the opportunities afforded by Web 2 virtual learning environments. The literatures of learning theory, teacher professional development and communities of practice were reviewed and best practice principles identified. These principles were then used to design a virtual community of practice (VCoP) approach to teacher professional development and learning. The approach was then implemented as the underpinning framework for three virtual professional development modules for secondary school Geography and Social Studies teachers. The study used a grounded theory and action learning action research methodology, which enabled the researcher and the research participants to evaluate and fine tune the approach throughout the study. A mixed method research design resulted in the collection of rich quantitative and qualitative data during each module. Naturalistic data were drawn from the online module record and from semi-structured focus group discussions. More structured and reflective data were collected through a final post-module evaluative questionnaire. The data collected were analysed using a range of techniques, including narrative analysis, structural analysis, semantic analysis, and domain …
author: Keown, Paul Ashley
keywords: community of practice, teacher professional development, virtual communities, online communities, teachers, teacher learning
date published: 2009
date modified: 2026-07-24T05:57:52Z
provider: University Waikato
publisher: Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations
type: WebPage
source organization: The University of Waikato