The Iowa Communities of Practice and Innovation Pilot: Teachers’ Perceptions of an Initiative to Support Blended Learning and the Integration of Technology in the Classroom

Authors

  • Diane M Culver University of Ottawa
  • Erin Kraft School of Human Kinetics University of Ottawa Ottawa, Canada
  • Nancy Movall Independent

Abstract

The purpose of this research was to examine the value created through the IOWA Pilot Communities of Practice and Innovation and teachers’ experiences of participating in this professional development program, in particular if they believed their practices were affected (or not) by their participation in the community of practice (CoP). An intrinsic qualitative case study involved collecting data in two phases; once during the two-year pilot (60 participants) and once three years later (17/60 participants). Wenger and colleagues (2011), Value Creation Framework (VCF) paper guided the data collection, with participants completing the personal narrative templates included in the VCF (phase 1).  These templates have participants assessing the value created from their engagement in the CoP. Phase 2 involved an online interview. A deductive thematic analysis was used (Braun, Clarke, & Weate, 2006). The findings were strongly affirmative, and included the participants’ aspirations for the project, many examples of potential value, and participants’ discussing their increased ability to influence others within their context. Although the educators did encounter challenges, the overall effects this CoP had on the educators’ confidence and understanding of blended learning curricula demonstrates the potential influence of an innovative professional development program designed to provide ongoing support for changing practice.

Author Biographies

Diane M Culver, University of Ottawa

Diane Culver is an Associate Professor in the School of Human Kinetics, University of Ottawa in Canada. Her PhD is in Teaching and Learning, from the faculty of Education, University of Ottawa. Her research interests include the development of educators and qualitative research. She is currently funded by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada. In her teaching, research, and consulting she is particularly interested in social learning theory and building social learning capability. Diane is also an Alpine ski coach who has worked with all levels of skiers from youth to Olympic levels. She now coaches masters’ skiers and mentors youth coaches.

Erin Kraft, School of Human Kinetics University of Ottawa Ottawa, Canada

Erin Kraft is a doctoral candidate in the School of Human Kinetics at the University of Ottawa. As a former swim coach with over 10 years of experience, Erin primarily coached children with developmental disabilities at the developmental level. She continues working with children with disabilities in the classroom and in the pool as an occasional teacher across Ottawa. Erin’s master’s in education examined coaches’ experiences teaching children with Autism Spectrum Disorders in aquatic programs. Her ongoing doctoral research is focused on Canadian parasport coaches.

Nancy Movall, Independent

Nancy Movall is an independent educational consultant and project manager. She has demonstrated excellence in leading geographically distributed teams across organizational and professional cultures.  She possesses strong communication, teaching, and facilitation skills in a variety of media for working with a wide range of audiences, including students, teachers, administrators, technologists, and policy makers. Her work history speaks to her proven experience in managing the full life cycle of a project, including implementation and evaluation of electronic curriculum and innovative teaching practices.

Downloads

Published

01-09-2019

Issue

Vol. 4 (2019): What might professional development look like?

Section

Articles

License

Copyright (c) 2019 Diane M Culver, Erin Kraft, Nancy Movall

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:

    1. Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.

    1. Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.

  1. Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work (See The Effect of Open Access).