Thursday, March 15, 2012

My Dissertation in a Nutshell

Professional development at most K-12 schools across the country is generic, out-dated, and most-often delivered on a one-size-fits-all-basis. This top-down approach has very little meaning to teachers (Thompson, 2009). According to Minott (2010), “teachers are actively constructing their own work-related knowledge by interpreting events on the basis of existing knowledge, beliefs and dispositions and by learning from experiences” (p.327). That is to say teachers rely on their personal experiences to filter and make meaning of what they see and learn from within their environment. As such, professional development should not only take into account teachers’ prior knowledge, teachers should be given a choice in the kinds of professional development they receive (Thompson, 2009).

The purpose of my action research study is to determine the extent to which Personal Learning Networks (PLNs) will support the individual professional learning needs of teachers. Likewise, my study will establish the viability of using Twitter to build a Personal Learning Network (PLN).

This video is representative of how millions of teachers around the globe are using a PLN via Twitter for professional development.


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3 comments:

  1. October 24, 2012 at 5:38 PM

    Hi Will have you seen Professional Learning Communities: Divergence, Depth and Dilemmas
    isbn=0335220304
    Louise Stoll, Karen Seashore Louis - 2007

    I really like this book

    Also agree with you re PD and personalisation - what are the (financial) cost implications of complete personalisation? Can we 'move towards' the ideal?

    Reply
  2. October 26, 2012 at 8:53 AM

    Hey, thanks for leaving a comment as well as recommending the book. Total cost for complete personalization? If using digital media tools like Twitter, Google+, Youtube, and Diigo, etc, the cost is free! I am conducting a webinar in January on how school leaders can effectively use Google+ for PD as well as a way to connect with parents and community leaders.

    Thanks again for reading my post.

    Reply
  3. November 19, 2014 at 10:41 PM

    Hi, you have posted such precious and informative article which gave me lot of information. I hope that you will keep it up and we will have more informative and helping news from you. Thanks |

    Reply

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