Abstract
Implementing innovations in classrooms often evokes a variety of recurrent difficulties, especially feelings of resistance among experienced teachers. Modern teacher education aims at reducing their opposition by empowering these teachers for developing new knowledge, beliefs, and skills. A growing number of these teacher courses is designed as teacher learning communities (TLC-s). A specific category of them, online networks, is the scope of the present paper. Main values and attributes of these communities are addressed. This is followed by presenting some leading principles for designing TLC-s. Important principles are: (i) creating subcommunities within large-scale online networks, (ii) combining online activities with face-to-face meetings, and, (iii) facilitating more equality in online group participation. These principles are illustrated by examples of real practices. Finally, main conditions for successful new online TLC-s are presented. Prospects for advanced studies of practices of these communities are also given.
Highlights
Education in many countries is strongly influenced by the growing demand from society to prepare students for a changing world in which they are able to actively participate in complex societal discussions and difficult societal decisions
Teachers need guidance and empowerment for engaging in productive discussions and innovative teaching. Their professional development should be embedded in teacher courses that are based on modern views on teacher learning
Large-scale online teacher learning communities (TLC-s) have the profit of providing a broad range of electronic resources and tools for developing and sharing expertise and experiences for use in own practice
Summary
Implementing innovations in classrooms often evokes a variety of recurrent difficulties, especially feelings of resistance among experienced teachers. A growing number of these teacher courses is designed as teacher learning communities (TLC-s). A specific category of them, online networks, is the scope of the present paper. Main values and attributes of these communities are addressed. This is followed by presenting some leading principles for designing TLC-s. Important principles are: (i) creating subcommunities within large-scale online networks, (ii) combining online activities with face-to-face meetings, and, (iii) facilitating more equality in online group participation. These principles are illustrated by examples of real practices. Main conditions for successful new online TLC-s are presented.
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