Download fulltext HTML

https://doi.org/10.18502/gespr.v3i2.12616

statistics

  • 374 Abstract Views
  • 210 PDF Views
  • 0 HTML Views

authors

Published Date

  • Jan 16, 2023

“Who Is That Teacher I See, Staring Straight Back At Me?”: Teachers’ Reflections on Their Engagement in Communities of Practice and Learning Spaces During the Pandemic

Gulf Education and Social Policy Review (GESPR) / Gulf Education and Social Policy Review (GESPR): Volume 3, Issue 2 / Pages 294–317

Abstract

When COVID-19 hits the world, education as a sphere of learning breaks through doorways to explore opportunities for how teachers engage in professional development communities. Exploring Parker Palmer’s The Courage To Teach, and the notion of undivided life, teachers’ reflective practices mirror the utmost goal of emergency remote teaching and their professional development, specifically in the Gulf region. To support this pedagogical approach highlighting the undivided life, teachers reflect through communities of practice (CoP) on how their engagement can help bridge the gap in enhancing the education system, professional development, and teaching in higher education. This paper investigates the practicality and usefulness of Palmer’s context of undivided life in uncovering teachers’ lives through understanding their “own” engagement in different CoP. Ultimately, the investigation espouses relevant findings relating to how teachers adapt to the changing needs of professional learning communities to cope with the demands of time through reflecting on their professional identities, collaborative practices, and the importance of community belongingness. The stories documented in this paper through the in-depth interview (IDI) hope to provide meaningful perspectives on guided principles of CoP as teachers engage, collaborate, and reflect on the divided–undivided lives during the pandemic. Perspectives and views that have impact on positive education are also considered in this study to support teachers in building deeper understanding of their own construct of resilience. Thus, adding more foci in transforming positive psychology in developing teachers’ professional development during the pandemic.

Keywords:

Professional development, Communities of practice, Reflective practice, Lived experiences, Remote emergency teaching

References
[1] Abatayo, J. (2018). Developing communities of practice through language teacher associations in Oman. In A. Elsheikh, C. Coombe, & O. Effiong (Eds.), The role of language teacher associations in professional development: Second language learning and teaching (pp. 105–116). Springer.

[2] Anderson, E. W. (2021). Dominant discourses and teachers’ comparative sensemaking through internationally sited professional development experiences. Gulf Education and Social Policy Review, 2(1), 31–45.

[3] Ardichvili, A., Page, V., & Wentling, T. (2003). Motivation and barriers to participation in virtual knowledge-sharing communities of practice. Journal of Knowledge Management, 7(1), 64–77.

[4] Barbour, M. K., & Harrison, K. U. (2016). Teachers’ perceptions of K-12 online. Journal of Educational Technology Systems, 45(1), 74–92.

[5] Brinkman, S., & Kvale, S. (2015). Characterizing qualitative research interviews. Interviews: Learning the Craft of Qualitative Research Interviewing, 27–54.

[6] Bolisani, E., Fedeli, M., De Marchi, V., & Bierema, L., 2020. Together we win: Communities of practice to face the COVID crisis in higher education
[Paper presentation]. Proceedings of the 17th International Conference on Intellectual Capital, Knowledge Management & Organisational Learning ICICKM (pp. 72–80).

[7] Bolton, G. (2010). Reflective practice: Writing and professional development. SAGE publications.

[8] Boyce, C., & Neale, P. (2006). Conducting in-depth interviews: A guide for designing and conducting in-depth interviews for evaluation input. Pathfinder International.

[9] Brownlee, J., & Berthelsen, D. (2006). Personal epistemology and relational pedagogy in early childhood teacher education programs. Early Years, 26(1), 17– 29.

[10] Buchanan, M. L., Morgan, M., Cooney, M., & Gerharter, M. (2006). The University of Wyoming Early Childhood Summer Institute: A model for professional development that leads to changes in practice. Journal of Early Childhood Teacher Education, 27(2), 161–169.

[11] Burke, J., & Arslan, G. (2020). Positive education and school psychology during COVID-19 pandemic. Journal of Positive School Psychology, 4(2), 137–139.

[12] Campbell, A., McNamara, O., & Gilroy, P. (2004). Professional identity: Who am I? What kind of practitioner am I. Practitioner Research and Professional Development in Education, 28–48.

[13] Collins, A., & Bielaczyc, K. (1997). Dreams of technology-support learning communities. Proceedings of the Sixth International Conference on Computer- Assisted Instruction, Taipei, Taiwan.

[14] Day, C. (1999). Developing teachers: The challenge of lifelong learning. Falmer Press.

[15] Dubé, L., Bourhis, A., & Jacob, R. (2005). The impact of structuring characteristics on the launching of virtual communities of practice. Journal of Organizational Change Management, 18(2), 145–166.

[16] Fowler, K., & Robbins, A. (2006). Being reflective: Encouraging and teaching reflective practice. Mentoring in the Early Years, 31–45.

[17] Ghamrawi, N. (2022). Teachers’ virtual communities of practice: A strong response in times of crisis or just another Fad? Education and Information Technologies, 27, 5889–5915. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10639-021-10857-w

[18] Godbold, N., Irving-Bell, D., McSweeney-Flaherty, J., Torcivia, P., Schlesselman, L., & Smith, H. (2021). The courage to SoTL. Teaching and Learning Inquiry, 9(1), 380–394.

[19] Hargreaves, A., & Fullan, M. G. (1992). Understanding teacher development. Teachers College Press.

[20] Howard, N. J. (2021). Barriers and drivers in online micro-course professional development: Navigating issues of teacher identity and agency. Teaching and Teacher Education, 105, 103397.

[21] Jen, E., Mathijssen, S. & Hoogeveen, L. (2022). Supporting professional development for educators during the pandemic: Lessons from an international blended learning diploma program. Prospects, 51, 583–587. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11125-021-09591-5

[22] König, J., Jäger-Biela, D. J., & Glutsch, N. (2020). Adapting to online teaching during COVID-19 school closure: Teacher education and teacher competence effects among early career teachers in Germany. European Journal of Teacher Education, 43(4), 608–622.

[23] Lantz-Andersson, A., Lundin, M., & Selwyn, N. (2018). Twenty years of online teacher communities: A systematic review of formally-organized and informally-developed professional learning groups. Teaching and Teacher Education, 75, 302–315.

[24] Lave, J., & Wenger, E. (1991). Situated learning: Legitimate peripheral participation. Cambridge University Press.

[25] MacLure, M. (2001). Arguing for yourself: Identity as an organising principle in teachers’ jobs. Teacher Development: Exploring Our Own Practice, 1, 167.

[26] Manning-Morton, J. (2006). The personal is professional: Professionalism and the birth to threes practitioner. Contemporary Issues in Early childhood, 7(1), 42–52.

[27] Moon, J. A. (1999). Learning journals: A handbook for academics, students and professional development. Routledge.

[28] Palmer, P. (2007). The courage to teach: Exploring the inner landscape of a teachers’ life. Jossey-Bass.

[29] Reed, M. (2008). Professional development through reflective practice. Developing Reflective Practice in the Early Years, 160–169.

[30] Roller, M. R., & Lavrakas, P. J. (2015). Applied qualitative research design: A total quality framework approach. Guilford Press.

[31] Roth, W. M. (2002, November). Designing learning communities. In Trabajo presentado en Changes and challenges. A conference on Natural Sciences and Technology. Consultado el (Vol. 30).

[32] Schön, D. A. (2017). The reflective practitioner: How professionals think in action. Routledge.

[33] Signer, B. (2008). Online professional development: Combining best practices from teacher, technology and distance education. Journal of In service Education, 34(2), 205–218.

[34] Seligman, M. E. P., Ernst, R. M., Gillham, J., Reivich, K., & Linkins, M. (2009). Positive education: Positive psychology and classroom interventions. Oxford Review of Education, 35(3), 293–311. https://doi.org/10.1080/03054980902934563

[35] Tan, C. (2019). Sense-making and sensegiving in schooling reform: South Korea and China. Globalisation, Societies and Education, 17(4), 536–547.

[36] Tan, S. C., & Wong, A. F. (Eds.). (2003). Teaching and learning with technology: An Asia-pacific perspective. Pearson Prentice Hall.

[37] Teräs, H. (2016). Collaborative online professional development for teachers in higher education. Professional Development in Education, 42(2), 258–275.

[38] Vu, P., Cao, V., Vu, L., & Cepero, J. (2014). Factors driving learner success in online professional development. International Review of Research in Open and Distributed Learning, 15(3), 120–139.

[39] Wenger, E. (1998). Communities of practice: Learning, meaning, and identity. Cambridge University Press.

[40] Wenger, E., McDermott, R., & Snyder, W. (2002). Cultivating communities of practice. Boston, MA: Harvard Business Press.

[41] Whitty, G. (1999). Teacher professionalism in new times [Paper presentation]. The Annual Conference of the Standing Committee for the Education and Training of Teachers, Dunchurch, Rugby, 26-28 November.