A case study of using an online community of practice for teachers’ professional development at a secondary school in China

Abstract

In this case study, an online community was designed at a secondary school in China for the teachers to prepare their lessons collectively, reflect on their teaching practices, collect comments from peers, and share resources. A survey was administered to the teachers to investigate their perceptions on the online community for their professional development. Two hundred and eighty-three teachers responded to the survey and eight teachers were further interviewed by email. The result showed that most teachers liked using the online community as they could gain subject knowledge and could obtain support from peers, share experiences and get feedback, and exchange resources. Also, online entries confirmed that transformational changes in teaching pedagogy and students’ learning activities occurred along the time. However, certain teachers did not participate in the online community frequently. This paper describes the context of the case study, design dimensions of the online community, teachers’ positive perceptions on using the online community, and transformational changes. Also, strategies for promoting effective use of the online community are discussed and follow-up studies to address the challenges involved in this study are proposed.

Keywords:

• community of practice
• lesson planning
• professional development
• reflection
• technology

Notes on contributors

Qiyun Wang is an associate professor in the Academic Group of Learning Science and Technologies at National Institute of Education, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore. His research interests include web 2.0 tools, online learning, interactive learning environment design, and constructivist learning.

Zhiping Lu is a vice principal of Huantai Senior Secondary School, Shandong, China. He got his Master degree from National Institute of Education, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore. He is currently in charge of promoting classroom teaching and teachers' professional development in the school.