Dialogic Online Professional Development: The Use of Technology to Build a Community of Practice in Educational Dialogue

Abstract

This research study explores the intersection of technology and dialogic pedagogy to enhance teacher professional development (TPD). It asks whether and how a mechanical Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) on educational dialogue can afford new, sustainable and scalable opportunities for practitioners and local facilitators to collaborate, reflect together, support one another and share their learning and practice. Using a design-based research approach, a three-course MOOC series on educational dialogue was iteratively designed and developed with the use of open source software. The MOOCs in this series host relevant resources and activities for participating educators to complete online as well as a community discussion forum, all of which aim to strengthen the understanding and use of dialogic pedagogy. Data was collected and analysed over three design cycles using mixed methods, whereby quantitative and qualitative research strands occurred simultaneously in a parallel manner (Teddlie & Tashakkori, 2009). This included collecting data from course participants via pre- and post-course questionnaires, discussion forum contributions, website analytics, key informant interviews, and participants’ reflective reports. Interviews were also conducted with sector specialists. Data sources were analysed using descriptive statistics and frequency counting for closed-ended questions and discussion forum contributions, and inductive thematic analysis and constant comparison methods for interview transcripts and open-ended survey questions. Three additional thematic inquiries were conducted based on emergent findings, drawing on in-depth insights, perceptions and experiences of participants. Findings highlight the importance of: (i) accountability mechanisms; (ii) balancing flexibility and structure in course design; (iii) dialogue and collaboration amongst course peers; (iv) reflective activities for participants to reconstruct knowledge; (v) engaging with participants systematically and consistently; (vi) positioning accessibility centrally; (vii) ensuring online TPD (oTPD) uses the pedagogy it seeks to impart; (viii) planning for the future of the course and considering whether and how scaffolding should be reduced; (ix) building systematic monitoring and evaluation of the course into its structure. Findings suggest that a dialogic approach for oTPD can increase collective learning participation and foster a community of practice. This was strengthened through supporting the role of the local facilitator, which was strongly associated with scalability, sustainability and impact. Drawing on these findings, ten design principles were developed for scalable and sustainable online professional development course models and communities of practice that promote practitioner reflection, agency and empowerment, and that view educators as valuable contributors to professional learning resources. The main output of the research is an iteratively produced prototype of a TPD MOOC series on educational dialogue that is relevant for a wide range of in-service school-level and higher education educators in varied geographies, along with the lessons for designers and educators learned from trialling it.