Teacher training in a synchronous cyber face-to-face classroom: characterizing and supporting the online teachers' learning process

Abstract

This article discusses the learning process undertaken by language teachers in a cyber face-to-face teacher training program. Eight tertiary Chinese language teachers attended a 12-week training program conducted in an online synchronous learning environment characterized by multimedia-based, oral and visual interaction. The term “cyber face-to-face” is used here to describe this environment as it both resembles and differs from the physical face-to-face environment. This article discusses a two-phased program with a four-week online platform training (Phase 1) followed by an eight-week online teaching practice and observation (Phase 2), conducted from November 2006 to February 2007. Data collected throughout the program indicate a learning curve that could best be characterized by four stages – the “wow” stage, the “oh-oh” stage, the anxious stage, and the internalizing stage. This article focuses on how the trainees progressed through these four stages, and describes how their learning was supported in each stage through a cyclic approach of action, reflection, and improvement. The characterization of the four stages not only helps us to capture how trainee teachers learn about teaching online, and respond to the challenges and potentials this new form of teaching presents, but also helps the trainer to determine what knowledge and skills should be taught and what kinds of support should be provided at what points in the process.

Keywords:

• online teacher training
• online synchronous learning
• language teacher education
• cyber face-to-face learning
• computer-assisted language learning

Acknowledgements

This project was funded by a Griffith University Signature Grant. The participation and contribution by Prof. Nian-Shing Chen in this project was supported by the National Science Council, Taiwan, under contract no: NSC97-2511-S-110-005-MY3 and NSC98-2631-S-024-001. We wish to thank all the teachers participating in this research for their time, patience, and valuable input. Without their participation and perseverance, this research would not have been possible. We are also most grateful to the reviewers for their valuable suggestions.

Notes

1. For more discussions on SLMSs, see Wang and Chen (2007, 2009) and Chen and Wang (2008).

2. 3C was funded by the Taiwan National Science Council and has been constantly upgraded by the National Sun Yat-sen University in Taiwan. In terms of scalability, the server running 3C has a capacity to support up to 500 online asynchronous users and 200 online synchronous users.

3. One teacher was not available for Modules 2 and 3 but returned for the rest of the training program.