IRMA-International.org: Creator of Knowledge
Information Resources Management Association
Advancing the Concepts & Practices of Information Resources Management in Modern Organizations

Case Studies from the Inquiry Learning Forum: Stories Reaching Beyond the Edges

Case Studies from the Inquiry Learning Forum: Stories Reaching Beyond the Edges
View Sample PDF
Author(s): Rebecca Scheckler (Radford University, USA)
Copyright: 2010
Pages: 18
Source title: Online Learning Communities and Teacher Professional Development: Methods for Improved Education Delivery
Source Author(s)/Editor(s): J. Ola Lindberg (Mid Sweden University, Sweden)and Anders D. Olofsson (Umea University, Sweden)
DOI: 10.4018/978-1-60566-780-5.ch003

Purchase

View Case Studies from the Inquiry Learning Forum: Stories Reaching Beyond the Edges on the publisher's website for pricing and purchasing information.

Abstract

Two intense case studies were done of teachers using the Inquiry Learning Forum (ILF), an online space for professional development in inquiry pedagogies. Major findings included: The ILF initially conceived as an online professional development tool in the form of a Community of Practice (COP) was reconceived as an electronic tool within a larger space that included the online tool but also many co-present spaces pertinent to a teacher’s practice of inquiry pedagogy. These case studies also demonstrated the transformative nature of teachers engaging in a COP. Not only is the teacher changed but also the COP is changed by the practice. The cases demonstrated the need for teachers to feel disequilibrium in their practice before they are willing to engage in change of those practices. Lastly immersion in practice described as The Pedagogy of Poverty hampered one teacher’s progress in the ILF. These findings are based upon my empirical observations with the backdrop of John Dewey’s Theory of Inquiry and of Etienne Wenger’s concept of communities of Practice. Future trends in using online COPs for professional development need to look at practice in these terms where allowance for transaction, support outside the electronic space, and disequilibrium are considered.

Related Content

Carolyne Nekesa Obonyo. © 2024. 30 pages.
Darina M. Slattery. © 2024. 19 pages.
Derrick Raphael Pacheco, Brittany Devies. © 2024. 24 pages.
Yakkala B. V. L. Pratyusha, Bindi Varghese. © 2024. 19 pages.
Daniel Otieno. © 2024. 12 pages.
Youmei Liu. © 2024. 27 pages.
Kathleen O'Brien. © 2024. 36 pages.
Body Bottom