1. EDUCATORS’ PERCEPTIONS AND REPORTED
BEHAVIORS ASSOCIATED WITH PARTICIPATION IN
INFORMAL, ONLINE PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
NETWORKS
Debbie Fucoloro, Ph.D.
32nd Research-to-Practice Conference in Adult and Higher Education
Lindenwood University, St. Charles, MO
September 20-21, 2013

2. ABOUT ME
• B.A. and M.A.T. Webster University
• 19 total years in teaching
• Classroom teacher – 10 years + 9 years
• 3rd, 4th, 6th S.S., 7th Sci., and digital video to
middle schoolers
• Instructional Technology Specialist – 9 years
• Currently Technology Coordinator

4. Computers are not being utilized as education
tools as expected.
Bauer and Kenton (2005), Toward Technology Integration in the Schools: Why It Isn’t Happening

6. Overriding sentiment:
“It’s been 30 years since the advent of the personal
computer and we’re still struggling to get teachers
and administrators to integrate digital
technologies into their daily work in ways that are
substantive and meaningful.”
~ Scott McLeod (2011)

7. Purpose
Investigate educators who use social media for
informal professional learning.
What motivates them:
• to seek out and connect with other educators
• to advance their professional learning
• on their own time

8. Importance of the Research
filling the gap in literature
http://globaltoynews.typepad.com/.a/6a0133ec87bd6d970b014e86e58ea8970d-500wi

9. So What?
- shed light on how to better support all
educators professionally
- nurture reluctant technology users
- encouraging and mentoring their participation
in these environments
- increasing their ability to use best practices in
technology integration in order to positively
impact student learning

10. Conceptual Framework Evolution
1. How do we encourage and support educators
to incorporate best practices in technology
integration when planning lessons?
2. Can educator use of social media for informal
professional development increase
technology integration and, in turn, student
learning?
3. However, first it is important to learn more
about educators who currently use social
media for informal professional
development.

11. Foundation of Conceptual Framework
• Paulo Freire – learning is a social act and
dialogue is the heart of education

12. Foundation of Conceptual Framework

13. Literature Review
• Adult Learning Theory
• Professional Development
• Personal Learning Network

14. “Friends educating each other”
Basil Yeaxlee, 1925
Adult Learning Theories

15. Self-directed
learning, desire
for
control, flexibili
ty, and
feedback

16. • Inclusion (giving voice)
• Empowerment (belongingness)
• Opportunities to negotiate between
and across cultures

17. CoPs enable adults
to learn with and
from each other
Adult Learning

18. Adult Learning
Connectivism
focuses on the
amplification of
learning,
knowledge, and
understanding
through the
extension of a
personal network
via social media

19. Professional Development

20. Professional Development
• the community
concept (social
media) and
• the knowledge
aspect (access to
information) of
learning

21. Personal Learning Networks
PLN = connections to people and
resources, both offline and
online, who enrich our learning

22. PLN = “friends educating each other” revived

24. Typical Teacher Network
by Alec Couros

25. The Networked Teacher

26. Socially Networked Teacher

27. New Paradigm Suggested
• Self-directed
• Differentiated
• Ongoing
• Job embedded
• Flexible
• Encourages self-analysis and personal
reflection

28. New Paradigm
• PLNs should be validated as a powerful
professional development component
• Not: Traditional vs Informal
• But a mix of:
traditional & emerging, formal & informal

29. Research Questions
Q1 What are educators’ perceptions
and reported behaviors associated
with participation in informal, online
professional development networks?

30. Research Sub-Questions
Q1a motivation
Q1b types
Q1c specific

31. Q2 Do educator’s perceptions and
reported behaviors differ based on:
• current assignment
• years in education
• age
Research Questions

32. Methodology
“Unless researchers first generate an accurate
description of an educational phenomenon as it
exists, they lack a firm basis for explaining or
changing it.”
~ Gall, Gall & Borg

33. Instrumentation
• 1st Demographics
• 2nd Traditional Professional Development and
Technology Integration
• 3rd Using Social Media/Networks to Meet
Professional Development Needs

34. • establish a baseline description of
knowledge regarding educators who use
social media for professional development
• lay the groundwork for further in-depth
studies based on the findings

35. Variables
1. Current assignment – grade
level, position, subject area, and school
setting
2. Years in education--categories included 1-10
years, 11-20 years, and 21+ years
3. Respondent’s age included a drop-down box
for exact age

36. Population Sample
• Pre-K through higher education
• Teachers, administrators, librarians and media
specialists, specialists (Art, Music, P.E., Foreign
Language)
• Instructional support personnel (Technology
Specialists, Special Ed., Counselors, Gifted
Ed., Language acquisition)
• Education industry
(retirees, consultants, bloggers, authors)

37. Population
• Snowball sampling method to access
approximately 16,900 educators via Twitter
and Nings
• 1,000 Twitter followers
• 10,000 members of Educator’s PLN Ning
• 6,000 members of ISET Community Ning

38. Sample
“…return rates for Internet surveys are lower
than mail surveys and sometimes abysmal.”
~ Cox & Cox, 2008
Hoped to get at least 100 participants.

39. Findings

40. Demographic Sample
• 4,950 visited survey
• 147 began
• 14 dropped out before end of demographic
info and were excluded
• 133 participants

41. Key Descriptive Findings

42. Respondent
Demographics
Average Age
43 years-old

44. Findings
Favorite social media application to use
for informal professional development:
http://bettergraphic.com/free-and-paid-fonts-used-in-logos-of-popular-brands/

45. Open-ended Themes - Why Twitter?
Community & Convenience
“It is the modern equivalent of the 18th century
coffeehouse—a place teaming with
ideas, opinions, research, discussion, collaborati
on, and bold vision.”
http://blog.songcastmusic.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/twitter-community-600.jpg

46. Open-ended Themes – Why Twitter?
Informal Learning & Sharing
“I have created a PLN that I feel meets my needs
by providing resources, ideas, and challenges to
improve learning for my students.”
http://images.wisegeek.com/people-independently-working-in-a-cafe.jpg

47. Open-ended Themes – Why Twitter?
Professional Improvement
“I have developed more as a professional since
participating in #edchat than I did in the last five
years.”
http://appliedsimplicity.org/files/u2/group_3w.jpg

48. Open-ended Themes – Why Twitter?
Isolation Reduction*
“The largest difference is that I no longer feel
alone in the classroom. I think it is hard for
those outside of education to realize how
isolated teachers were before social media.”

49. Findings
• Educators (99%) believed they should take
personal responsibility for continued
professional growth and improvement.

50. Findings
How well did each of the following prepare you
to make effective use of technology for
instruction?

53. Key Comparative Findings

54. Administrators vs Classroom Teachers
http://leadershipfreak.files.wordpress.com/2010/08/disagreeement.jpg

55. Current Assignment - Position
• Administrators perceived that employers used
more methods to support technology
integration than classroom teachers.
• Administrators had a more positive view of
the effectiveness of PD in educational
technology provided by school, district, or
campus than classroom teachers.

56. Yes
No


{

58. As age increased:
• confidence using technology decreased
• PD activities made respondents feel more
prepared
• use of social media decreased

59. Other Relevant Findings

64. ?

66. Key Recommendations & Implications
• Researchers
• Educational leaders
• Teachers

67. Key Recommendations to
Future Researchers
1. Examine successful programs currently
supporting the use of, and giving credit to
and recognizing educators for participation
in informal, online professional development
networks.

68. Key Recommendations to
Future Researchers
2. Is there a correlation between participation in
informal, online professional development and:
- Improved practice
- Increased student learning
- Increased technology integration
- Increased confidence in tech integration and
lesson planning
- Increased feeling of belongingness—less isolation
- Increased satisfaction with personal professional
development

69. Key Recommendations to
Future Researchers
3. Conduct longitudinal studies to investigate:
- quality of teacher education programs
- employer-provided professional development
on the integration of technology for
instruction

70. Key Implications for
Education Leaders
1. Make technology integration a priority.
Focus on sound pedagogy and lesson
planning rather than just tools and
application use.

71. http://www.flickr.com/photos/kjarrett/4138613146/

72. Key Implications for
Education Leaders
2. Allow educators input regarding professional
development:
- differentiated
- self-directed
- example – unconference and edcamp models
or cMOOCs

73. Key Implications for
Education Leaders
3. Provide professional development that is
ongoing and job embedded.
4. Encourage (don’t demand) participation in
informal professional development networks
and support development of PLNs.

74. Key Implications for
Education Leaders
5. Explore ways that would support, honor, and
give credit for time spent in informal, online
professional development.
6. Administrators need to lead by example by
modeling effective use of technology—for
example, in communicating with
students, parents, and staff.

75. Implications for
Educators
1. Participate in informal, online professional
development by starting your own PLN built
on your needs and passions—start small, find
mentors, be patient.
1. Take responsibility for your own professional
growth and improvement.

76. Implications for
Educators
3. Advocate for the legitimacy and recognition
of time spent participating in informal, online
professional development networks.
4. Advocate for professional development that is
self-directed, differentiated, ongoing, and job
embedded.

77. Implications for
Educators
5. Be bold and share what you learn in these
environments and encourage others to join in
the conversation.
6. Model lifelong learning by staying as up to
date as possible regarding technology
integration.

78. The next best thing to being wise oneself
is to live in a circle of those who are.
~ C. S. Lewis
The next best thing to being wise
oneself is to live in a circle of those
who are. ~ C. S. Lewis

79. http://sociability.ca/blog/thanks-21st-century/

80. Find me at:
Twitter: @debbiefuco
Blog: The Educators’ Café
Email: debbie.fucoloro@gmail.com