Hodges & Cady (2013)

Blended-Format Professional Development and the Emergence of Communities of Practice

The article Blended-Format Professional Development and the Emergence of Communities of Practice was written by Thomas Hodges and JoAnn Cady and published in the Mathematics Education Research Journal in 2013. The article is available from SpringerLink at http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s13394-012-0065-0.

Abstract

In this paper, we draw on Wenger’s (1998) conception of communities of practice to observe the emergence of a community of practice among middle grades mathematics teachers who participated in a two-year blended-format (online synchronous, online asynchronous, and face to face) professional development program designed to increase middle-grades mathematics teachers’ content and pedagogical content knowledge, as well as foster the evolution of local communities of practices. Results indicate that the professional development program supported the development of a community of practice among a subset of participating teachers, while others failed to develop what constitutes a community of practice. Issues related to professional development design in light of these findings are discussed.

Outline of Headings

• Situating professional development in an online context through communities of practice
• Context
  • Professional development course design
  • Course activities
• Methodologies
  • Participants and context
  • Data sources and analysis
• Findings
  • Developing communities of practice
    • The professional development courses community
    • School-based communities of practice
  • Views of the professional development program
• Discussion
  • Professional development activities and the evolution of communities of practice
  • Blended-format design as a catalyst for supporting communities of practice
  • Professional development design
    • Making use of school structures for professional development experiences
    • Searching for and building upon common issues
    • Mechanisms for communication beyond the professional development
  • Beneficial data
• Final thoughts

Also

APA

Hodges, T. E., & Cady, J. (2013). Blended-format professional development and the emergence of communities of practice. Mathematics Education Research Journal, 25(2), 299–316. doi:10.1007/s13394-012-0065-0

BibTeX

@article{Hodges2013,
author = {Hodges, Thomas E. and Cady, JoAnn},
doi = {10.1007/s13394-012-0065-0},
journal = {Mathematics Education Research Journal},
keywords = {communities of practice,online,professional development},
number = {2},
pages = {299--316},
title = {{Blended-format professional development and the emergence of communities of practice}},
url = {http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s13394-012-0065-0},
volume = {25},
year = {2013}
}