Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Introduction
Increasing student achievement requires focusing on the needs, interests, and learning preferences of teachers.
Sergiovanni (2005) states that “all of the learning and all of the support we want students to experience depends in
large measure on the support that teachers receive” (p. 101). To offer effective and efficient support, teachers need
professional development efforts that account for these needs.
Professional development deals with finding ways to address the knowing-doing gap. DuFour, DuFour, & Eaker
(2008) add that “…closing the knowing-doing gap will require purposeful action to alter not only the existing
structures of schools and districts, but more importantly, the cultures that have created and sustained those traditional
structures” (p. 79). Thus, how one interprets “purposeful action” then becomes key to understanding its effects on
organizational change. Purposeful action for administrators, principles, teachers, students, parents, and community
leaders – all of whom are vital educational stakeholders – often leads to a variety of perspectives. Since teachers
know how to improve education but lack the resolve to actually do it (DuFour, DuFour, & Eaker, 2008),
investigating teachers and how they pursue their own professional development becomes juxtaposed to a top-down,
“directive control behavior” (Glickman, Gordon, & Ross-Gordon, 2007, p. 144) approach that views the teacher as
the object of a professional development effort.
Instead of being an object of professional development, the educator thus becomes the central focus or the principal
change agent responsible for personalized learning. Personal learning networks (PLNs), for example, provide an
individual approach to selecting other individuals, non-human objects, and artifacts (i.e., nodes) through both
synchronous and asynchronous communication. Moreover, delivery of one’s PLN can either be online, offline, or
some combination of the two. Finally, a crucial part of a PLN is that knowledge “rests in the network” (Siemens,
2006, p. 31). That is, knowledge not only resides within the individual (i.e., cognitivism or social constructivism
learning theory) but also resides in one’s own PLN which can be accessed as needed. The manner in which one
accesses this knowledge depends on the type of tie, connection, or link we have with the individual nodes. Indeed, it
becomes more important to cultivate one’s PLN and to treat it not as an end but as a means to an end.
Within the context of teaching and learning English-as-a-foreign language (EFL), educators benefit from developing
a PLN as well. The social connections teachers make with others help form relationships that can assist in one’s
learning. The cognitive connection that develops through social interaction helps form the mindframes that give EFL
educators perspective. That is, professional development becomes a support system for developing cognitive and
social connections in a way that best serves individual needs, interests, and learning preferences (i.e., a teacher’s
professional competence). Thomas (1987) states that a teacher’s professional competence includes (a) language
skills, (b) pedagogical skill and knowledge, and (c) knowledge about how languages are learned (as cited in Bartels,
2005). Therefore, EFL educators not only have to decide on how to develop their PLN but they must also decide on
how their PLN will increase professional understandings, knowledge, skills, and dispositions with regard to their
own teaching practice. Given that every teacher has specific needs, interests, and learning preferences, an individual
approach to professional development is the paradigm that will contrast a more directive approach that sets out to list
behavioral objectives and goals that educators must adhere to.
Connective English Language Learnings 2
Professional development for EFL educators requires that knowledge, learning, and leading be viewed as a complex
and emergent process. Adler (1982) presents teacher roles as falling under three broad categories: (a) “didactic (or
direct) instruction”, (2) “facilitation of understanding and related habits of mind”, and (c) “coaching of performance”
(as cited in Wiggins & McTighe, 2007, p. 129). Instead of limiting these three roles to the teacher, each actor (i.e.,
teacher, curriculum designer, administrator, etc.) within the network actually takes on a combination of these three
roles at any particular moment. Therefore, instead of classifying the three categories as roles, they are classified as
activities given how each one materializes through the forces surrounding any given situation.
Learning and leading within the TESOL field is a continuous process of developing one's English communicative
skill, pedagogical skills, and knowledge about how the language is learned. Professional development affords EFL
educators the opportunity to develop personal goals and to nurture a personal learning network that support the social
and cognitive networks, enabling educators to improve their practice. As a learning ecosystem, professional
development remains open, diverse, interactive, and autonomous so that EFL educators become entitled to create
educational plans and processes that support research-based protocols. Only once a culture of sharing has been
established can a professional learning community work successfully towards systems that measure higher student
achievement.
Annotated Bibliography
Bartels, N. (2005). Applied linguistics and language teacher education. New York: Springer.
Chen, Y. (2008). A mixed-method study of EFL teachers’ Internet use in language instruction. Teaching and Teacher
Education. 24, 4, 1015-1028. doi:10.1016/j.tate.2007.07.002
Creswell, J. (2009). Research design: Qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods approaches. Los Angeles: Sage.
Douglas, C. (2009). A comparison of what teachers know versus what teachers practice (Doctoral dissertation).
Retrieved from http://library.ncu.edu/ncu_diss/download.aspx?dissertation_id=1413
Gadotti, M. (1996). Pedagogy of praxis: A dialectical philosophy of education. Albany, NY: State University of New
York Press.
Glickman, C., Gordon, S., & Ross-Gordon, J. (2007). Supervision and instructional leadership: A developmental
approach. New York: Pearson.
Liang, T. (2004). Organizing around intelligence. London: World Scientific.
Moodle. (2010). Retrieved on March 19, 2010 from http://moodle.org/
Sardar, Z. & Abrams, I. (1999). Introducing Chaos. Cambridge: Icon Books Ltd.
Siemens, G. (2006). Knowing knowledge. Retrieved on March 7, 2010 from http:/ / www. elearnspace. org/
KnowingKnowledge_LowRes.pdf
Siemens, G. (2008). Groups and networks. Retrieved on March 7, 2010 from http:/ / elearnspace. org/ media/
CCK08_Wk5/player.html
Universidad Autónoma de Aguascalientes. (2010). Retrieved on March 19, 2010 from http://www.uaa.mx/
Problem Statement
The lack of focus on teacher professional development among EFL educators has resulted into teachers working in
isolation, ultimately failing to enhance the learning of English as a foreign language. Although teachers know what
to do in the classroom, they lack the wherewithal to link their knowledge to practice. Instead of “directive control
behaviors” (Glickman, Gordon, & Ross-Gordon, 2007, p. 144) to professional development, a more personalized
paradigm seeks to diversify the learning process as EFL educators thus begin to reflect and take action on how to
improve a teacher’s competence (Thomas, 1987) such as language skills, pedagogical knowledge and skill, and one’s
understanding of how foreign languages are learned (as cited in Bartels, 2005).
Connective English Language Learnings 4
Developing one’s personal learning network is not a collective effort in that particular objectives are directed towards
faculty, but rather is a connective effort where EFL educators learn how to share knowledge and experiences with
others in a non-threatening way. EFL educators also learn how to connect with other educators outside the university
through understanding how to use the latest technologies and related techniques. The contrary tends to be the norm
today. EFL educators rarely maintain ongoing dialogs with EFL educators from the same university let alone EFL
educators from around the world, thus sound professional development can assist in this regard.
Purpose Statement
The purpose of this study is to provide the theoretical justification for pursuing a practical approach to professional
development in a way that is diversified enough to be of use to every EFL educator. By adapting a questionnaire to
include research-based practices related to EFL teaching, quantitative data will be used to categorize areas where
professional development is needed. Concurrently, interviews and observations will be used through the application
of an online professional development course (led by the researcher and author) in the form of action research that
will be used to provide additional qualitative and quantitative data in order to explain the ways in which EFL
educators develop their PLN.
Research Questions
• How do EFL educators develop Personal Learning Networks (PLNs) around research-based teaching practices?
• How does an EFL educator's own perception of English language proficiency, pedagogical skill set/orientation,
and knowledge of applied linguistics impact one's contribution to a personal learning network?
• How does pursuing a PLN influence the English language learners' and the EFL educator's perspectives of past
teaching practices?
Summary
A personalized approach to professional development is complex. Since the essence of any professional development
endeavor is knowledge and learning, a framework that embodies complexity theory will position individual pursuits
of connectivity with all the apparent options that they entail through the recognition of patterns. The patterns that
will result will likely come from the EFL educator perspective as well as the external influences the personal
learning network has on the individual. Through a mixed methods study, the research and author will be one of many
influences within the learning ecosystem that places the networked learning experience in terms of action research.
Independent of the action research process, a survey of what teachers know, based on current research, will be
applied at the beginning of the study as a way to compare how EFL educators ultimately approach their PLN. The
objective is to disclose nuances of the learning process that are specific to a particular learning context (i.e.,
professional development of EFL educators in Mexico) while at the same time present patterns that are generalizable
and valid across a wider contextual learning ecosystem.
Connective English Language Learnings 5
References
Active learning practice for school (ALPS). (n.d.). Retrieved on May 6, 2010 from http:/ / learnweb. harvard. edu/
alps/tour/about.cfm
Argyris, C., & Schon, D. (1974). Theory in practice: Increasing professional effectiveness. San Francisco:
Jossey-Bass.
Bartels, N. (2005). Applied linguistics and language teacher education. New York: Springer.
DuFour, R., DuFour, R., & Eaker, R. (2008). Revisting professional learning communities at work: New insights for
improving schools. Bloomington, IN: Solution Tree.
Echevarria, J., Vogt, M., & Short, D. (2003). Making content comprehensible for English language learners: The
SIOP model. New York: Pearson.
Facebook. (2010). Retrieved on May 6, 2010 from http://www.facebook.com/
Galloway, N. (2008). Native speaking English teachers in Japan: From the perspective of an insider. Journal of
English as an International Language, 3, 127-188. Retrieved from Education Research Complete database.
Glickman, C., Gordon, S., & Ross-Gordon, J. (2007). Supervision and instructional leadership: A developmental
approach. New York: Pearson.
Google Docs. (2010). Retrieved on May 6, 2010 from http://docs.google.com
Google Wave. (2010). Retrieved on May 6, 2010 from https://wave.google.com
Mason, M. (2008). Complexity Theory and the Philosophy of Education. Educational Philosophy & Theory, 40(1),
4-18. doi:10.1111/j.1469-5812.2007.00412.x.
Ning. (2010). Retrieved on May 6, 2010 from http://www.ning.com/
Schon, D., & Rein, M. (1994). Frame reflection: Toward the resolution of intractable policy controversies. New
York: Basic Books.
Serviovanni, T. (2005). Strengthening the heartbeat: Leading and learning together in schools. San Francisco:
Jossey-Bass.
Siemens , G. (2006). Knowing knowledge. Retrieved on April 6, 2010 from http:/ / www. elearnspace. org/
KnowingKnowledge_LowRes.pdf
Twitter. (2010). Retrieved on May 6, 2010 from http://twitter.com/
Warlick, D. (2009). Grow Your Personal Learning Network. Learning & Leading with Technology, 36(6), 12-16.
Retrieved from Education Research Complete database.
Wiggins, G., & McTighe, J. (2007). Schooling by design: Mission, action, and achievement. Alexandria, VA:
Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development (ASCD).
Wiggins, G., & McTighe, J. (2005). Understanding by design. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and
Curriculum Development (ASCD).
Connective English Language Learnings 6
Links
Research Questions
• Crafting a Research Question [1]
• Research Questions [2]
Literature Review
• University of Toronto: A Few Tips on Conducting a Literature Review [3]
• University of Madison, Wisconsin: literature review guidelines [4]
• Purdue (Owl): The Annotated Bibliography [5]
• Cornell University Library: How to Prepare an Annotated Bibliography [6]
• University of Canberra: Academic Skills Program, Annotated Bibliography [7]
• NCU Writing Center: Conducting Research [8]
References
[1] http:/ / learners. ncu. edu/ writingprogram/ writing_center. aspx?menu_id=108
[2] http:/ / learners. ncu. edu/ writingprogram/ writing_center. aspx?menu_id=1
[3] http:/ / www. writing. utoronto. ca/ advice/ specific-types-of-writing/ literature-review
[4] http:/ / www. wisc. edu/ writing/ Handbook/ ReviewofLiterature. html
[5] http:/ / owl. english. purdue. edu/ owl/ resource/ 614/ 01/
[6] http:/ / www. library. cornell. edu/ olinuris/ ref/ research/ skill28. htm
[7] http:/ / www. canberra. edu. au/ studyskills/ writing/ bibliography
[8] http:/ / learners. ncu. edu/ writingcenter/ wl_template. aspx?wc_id=42
Article Sources and Contributors 7
License
Creative Commons Attribution Share-Alike License
http:/ / creativecommons. org/ licenses/ by-sa/ 3. 0/