Teachers’ CALL professional development in synchronous, asynchronous, and bichronous online learning through project-oriented tasks: developing CALL pedagogical knowledge

Abstract

The popularity of online education has prompted computer-assisted language learning (CALL) teachers to attend online teacher professional development (OTPD) courses. Online education has necessitated a deeper look into online delivery in professional development courses. Hence, an exploratory qualitative case study was conducted to investigate how synchronous, asynchronous, or the blend of both, called bichronous online learning, could develop teachers’ CALL pedagogical knowledge through project-oriented tasks. In light of data from technology-review projects and discussions, it was revealed that bichronous online learning benefited teachers significantly in acquiring CALL pedagogical knowledge, specifically in selecting, developing, and evaluating CALL materials. Bichronous online learning incorporates the best affordances of synchronous and asynchronous modalities. The findings showed that synchronous and asynchronous modalities complement each other and should not be substituted for each other. This study could be considered a contribution on account of informing the community of inquiry about the pedagogical affordances of bichronous online learning and proving that bichronous online learning is an ideal learning setting to aid CALL teacher education programs.