Bringing it to the teachers: building a professional network among teachers in isolated schools.
McLean, Fiona M. ; Dixon, Roselyn M. ; Verenikina, Irina 等
ABSTRACT
Teachers in isolated schools are often under-resourced and
overwhelmed with additional pressures. Teaching in an isolated community
can sometimes challenge teachers' skills and knowledge,
particularly when additional pressures such as behavioural issues
associated with students with Oppositional Defiant Disorder (ODD) like
behaviours are present. Teachers in isolated schools catering for
students exhibiting elements of ODD need additional support and
resources, but distance and isolation are barriers to the provision and
receipt of these services. Professional support networks are often
relied on by these teachers, but these support communities can be hard
to build because of the physical distances occurring in rural NSW. Thus,
teachers in isolated schools are often faced with dealing with stress
and student behaviours on their own, with very little support, which
might leave them feeling disconnected. One method of connecting isolated
teachers is through an online Community of Practice (CoP).
Websites which can enable the development of a CoP have been
proposed as a way of solving this problem. This study was developed to
examine the building of an online support structure named 'Bringing
It To The Teachers' to provide for an emergent online professional
network for teachers in isolated rural NSW schools. The study involved
ten teachers from five isolated schools catering for students who had
been identified as displaying oppositional and defiant behaviours. This
paper presents the preliminary findings of the study, investigating the
elements required for successful development of an online CoP for
teachers in isolated rural communities.
INTRODUCTION
Teachers in isolated schools in NSW, also known as Country Area
Program (CAP) schools, report being unprepared and burdened with student
behavioural issues, which are often perceived as more challenging than
those experienced in urban schools (McLean & Dixon, 2010). These
teachers' effectiveness is challenged even further if those issues
are associated with students who display behaviours characteristic of
Oppositional Defiant Disorder (ODD) (McLean & Dixon, 2010). ODD is a
behavioural disorder diagnosed using prerequisites in the Diagnostic and
Statistical Manual of Mental Disorder (DSM-IV) (American Psychiatric
Association, 1994), and is generally diagnosed by psychologists or
psychiatrists in urban areas. However, because of factors related to
isolation, CAP school counsellors are able to give students a
'mental health' diagnosis, which attracts the same funding as
an ODD diagnosis would in urban areas. Moreover, whilst in some schools
there are no students with a formal diagnosis, the behavioural problems
associated with ODD like behaviours still exist.
Teachers in CAP schools need additional support and resources, but
distance and isolation are barriers to the provision and receipt of
these services, placing these teachers at a significant disadvantage
(Lyons, Cooksey, Panizzon, Parnell, & Pegg, 2006). Like their urban
counterparts, these teachers rely on professional support networks.
However, due to the physical distances occurring in rural NSW, these
support communities are difficult to build and maintain (McLean &
Dixon, 2010). Thus, teachers in isolated schools are often forced to
deal with student behaviours, and the resultant stress, on their own
with very little support.
An innovative online network called Bringing It To The Teachers
(BITTT) was instituted by the researcher to address the isolation and
lack of professional support of teachers in isolated rural NSW schools.
The study examined the building of such a network involving ten teachers
from five isolated schools who were teaching students identified as
displaying oppositional and defiant behaviours. The conceptual framework
of Community of Practice (Wenger, 1999) was adopted to inform the
development of the online professional network.
A Community of Practice (CoP) is a group of like-minded people
sharing common concerns, problems, passion or experiences (Wenger,
McDermott, & Snyder, 2002). A feature of a CoP is that members have
the opportunity to learn socially from each other, through a mutual
discourse, which enhances social interactions. These social interactions
can be important as they, in turn, enhance social relationships and
mitigate the isolation felt by teachers in isolated schools. Further a
CoP can play an important role in the building of professional knowledge
by community members engaging in reciprocal interactions, which in turn
promotes professional connectedness (Reading, 2010, pp. 3-4). Teachers
in isolated communities who are unable to meet face to face may benefit
from the sense of professional connectedness offered by a dedicated
virtual CoP (Reading, 2010). Further, participants in the CoP are able
to have professional discussions without judgment and therefore gain
additional emotional support from the community. However, CoPs are not
born in their final state (Wenger, McDermott, & Snyder, 2002, p. 68)
rather they have to undergo several stages of transformation to become
mature. This paper presents the results of the early stages of the
development of the BITTT network and identifies the elements required
for its successful start.
Research Design
The research project utilized a design-based approach as an
overarching research framework that guided the researcher in analysing
the problem and developing solutions to the issues identified by
teachers in isolated schools with having access to professional support
(Barab & Squire, 2004; Cobb, Confrey, diSessa, Lehrer &
Schauble, 2003). Design-based research was chosen as appropriate to the
main purpose of the study--to design an online network, which could
supports the teachers in CAP schools who work with children displaying
oppositional and defiant behaviours.
The four phase research design used for the study included
identifying and analysing the problem, developing an informed practical
solution, the development of iterative cycles of improvement and
reflection. Based on a process described by Creswell and Plano Clark
(2007) the local impact of this solution was evaluated through a series
of iterative cycles of testing and refinement before the broader impact
of the intervention was evaluated. The authors' previous research
(McLean & Dixon, 2010) provided initial understanding of the needs
of teachers in isolated schools catering for the needs of students with
oppositional behaviours. Phase one of the research involved consultation
with a behaviour expert, a focus group on best practice strategies, and
interviews with the participant teachers, which allowed for refining the
understanding of the needs of teachers in isolated schools and for
developing initial design principles for the development of the Bi t I T
site. Phase two was the development and testing of the BITTT site. Phase
three involved the cycles of evaluation and improvement that occurred
during the research period. Phase four will involve a reflection on, and
the development of the revised design principles for the BITTT online
community of practice, with phases one to three have been completed and
phase four is currently in progress.
Theoretical Framework
The theoretical framework of this study is based on the concept of
Vygotskian social constructivist theory and Neo-Vygotskian activity
theory. Social constructivist theory suggests that people construct
knowledge based on prior experiences and social negotiation (Daniels,
2008). Knowledge and learning is gained through social interactions and
these social interactions within a 'community' are used for
the continuity and development of knowledge (Daniels, Cole, &
Wertsch, 2007, p. 82). In this study the 'community' refers to
the community of practice, as depicted in Figure 1. It was this
Community of Practice (CoP) that the BITTT site was seeking to develop
to support teachers and their ongoing professional development in
isolated schools. Activity theory examines the relationship between the
subjects, objects, tools and community (Engestrom, 1998). Further
Activity Theory explains the correlation between these aspects and
normative societal rules (Engestrom, 1998). In this study the
interactions examined will be between the teachers (subjects), the
website (tool), the professional development (object), a code of conduct
(rules), the experts and participant teachers (division of labour) and
the community of practice (community). The figure below (Figure 1) gives
a pictorial representation of the interactions as seen in the BITTT
project.
[FIGURE 1 OMITTED]
Each element interacts and is dependent on tensions from the other
elements to maintain its structure: for example, the community of
practice will only develop if there are teachers participating in the
website who are interested in improving knowledge through gaining advice
and sharing knowledge.
Participants
Schools
This study involves five isolated CAP schools in NSW. The NSW
Country Areas Program (CAP) is an equity program run by the NSW
Department of Education and Communities. Its target outcomes include
reducing the impact of geographical isolation on NSW schools. To qualify
for the Country Areas Program schools must be more than 90 kms from a
centre with a population over 10,000 and meet an isolation index
criteria (NSW DET, 2009). The schools and participants are outlined in a
Table 1, the size of the schools varied from 146 students to 316
students, with all schools categorized as isolated. The distances
between the schools in this study varied, with the greatest distance
between schools being 475 kms: for example, if all teachers had come
together at the nearest regional centre, where professional development
generally occurs, the return distance travelled by the teacher
participants would be between 322 and 740 kms. Isolation impacts in
other ways: additional costs for travel and replacement staff,
additional time that the teachers are out of the school, interruption of
learning programs for teachers and a disruption to the routine for
classes.
Teachers
The participant schools were identified by the regional District
Guidance Officer, as schools catering for students with oppositional and
defiant behaviours. A presentation was then made at each of the schools
to recruit participants. The ten teacher participants had an average of
nearly eight years of experience with four inexperienced teachers (under
three years) and two very experienced teachers (over 14 years). There
were three male teachers and seven females. Table 1 outlines the
participant and school profiles.
Description of the Online BITTT Model
The Bringing It To The Teachers (BITTT) professional network was
developed in 'Edmodo', an education specific social networking
site for use by teachers and students. This site contains folders with
resources, strategies and information about ODD, IBPs, as well as a
'Facebook' style chat feed that allows participants to post
comments and resources, store a library of resources, make comment on
other participants' questions and commentary and ask questions of
the community of participants. The BITTT site has folders of resources
for public access, which include: Individual Behaviour Plans (IBPs),
information about ODD, links to outside web resources and specific
teaching strategies.
Methods of Data Collection
The methods of data collection in this study included a focus group
and a series of semi-structured telephone and face-to-face interviews,
combined with questionnaires which focused on specific site usage
questions. These methods of data collection were used to inform each of
the phases of DBR, where phase one utilized the focus group, phase two
utilized the data from the initial phone interview, phase three utilized
the iterative cycle questionnaires and phase four the final,
face-to-face interviews. Semi-structured interviews and online
questionnaires were designed to inform the iterative cycles of
improvement and were conducted during each of the iterative cycles. The
data collection commenced with initial interviews, which were conducted
via phone at a mutually convenient time in mid-2011. The BITTT site was
developed and launched in September of 2011, with the data collection
period lasting nine months. Final interviews were conducted face-to-face
in July 2012 at the participant schools. The online questionnaires were
conducted throughout the nine month data collection period to inform the
iterative cycles. These cycles were completed in July 2012.
Data Analysis
Data were analysed using thematic analysis, the data were put into
a coding matrix developed from the 'Conceptually Clustered
Matrix' (Miles & Huberman, 1994, p. 128) using the themes
identified by the researcher as they emerged from the findings. This
matrix used groupings from design research principles developed in phase
one of the research including: a) provide the teachers with specific
information on oppositional and defiant behaviours as they felt
underprepared in this area; b) enable consultations with experienced
professionals, c) support teachers' problem solving skills, d) meet
teachers' needs for belonging by providing space for peer
communication, e) provide easy and simple access to the site for
effective use of time and resources. The matrix allowed the researcher
to make connections between the data and the design of the learning
environment. Further it allowed for the relationships within the data to
be uncovered and cross-comparisons made (Miles & Huberman, 1994).
The preliminary analysis of the iterative cycle questionnaires
identified themes, which led to improvements in the BITTT site. These
themes included the need for expert help, a desire for professional
discussion and a request for visual resources.
Results and Discussion
Preliminary analysis of the data revealed common themes and
highlighted enablers and barriers of the CoP professional network
developing within the BITTT site. The development of the CoP was very
slow because of the small number of participants; however, the
individual elements of the site proved to be effective. The elements of
the BITTT site that the participants identified as being most valuable
included: easy to use site, 'ask an expert' feature, effective
teaching strategies and relevant resource links. These are expanded
further below.
An initial principle identified in phase one of the research was
the need for consultation with experienced professionals, this need was
met by the very 'ask an expert' element, which required
participants post a question or problem that was then attended to by one
of a panel of experts. Below is an example of a teacher's question.
Having an issue at the moment--The child struggles with Maths and
this is setting them off for the rest of the day ... tantrums, crying,
hiding or moving around the room--it's becoming a pattern everyday
... I am giving them all of the support I am capable of in class but I
am just wondering if you have any suggestions? (Teacher 4)
The behaviour expert's reply was extensive and included
strategies such as: setting up a Maths contract, designing activities
that link to the student's preferred activity, using interactive
Maths games online as a class reward. Teacher 4 implemented some of
these strategies and had success. The 'ask an expert' feature
proved to be popular, with 80 per cent of participants listing this as
an essential element of the site in the final interview. The questions
and replies were public for all participants to see, with participants
adding tips that worked for them at times.
The need for belonging was addressed by providing space for
communication in an attempt to further development the CoP. Whilst most
participants (60 per cent) commented on the importance of the discussion
board, they were reticent to be the first to ask for help. The
participants suggested they were willing to contribute to discussions
and wanted advice, but were unwilling to ask for help. Participants were
happy to ask the expert, but were unwilling to ask the general
population of teacher participants. They were also willing to contribute
but did not want to be seen by colleagues as incapable. A typical
comment was as follows:
I liked the discussion and am happy to participate, but I
wouldn't want to initiate it ... just not comfortable with it.
(Teacher 8)
Providing for an effective use of time and resources was an initial
principle for the development of BITTT site and the most valuable
element identified by the participants was its simplicity of use and the
ease of access provided by an open site. The participants identified the
BITTT site as easy to use (70 per cent), however, as it was a research
site, and it was closed to the public, and teachers felt it was
"just another user name and password I have to remember, I have so
many already" (Teacher 2). An open site with the same resources was
suggested as a possible improvement. Due to the participants isolation
standard professional development was intermittent and often caused
disruption to the classroom. The site allowed participants to access
informal professional development in a time and cost effective manner,
which the participants were satisfied with, however they identified the
need for behaviour specific resources and strategies to be included on
the website.
The participants (50 per cent) appreciated the time effective
access that the site provided to strategies and resources and commented
on the collection of expert recommended resources and strategies being a
valuable asset to their teaching practice. This also applied to both
initial principles that teachers feel underprepared and needed more
specific information about working with children, and that they need
clear problem solving solutions and strategies, by providing them with a
simple avenue to access resources and strategies.
Most participants (90 per cent) cited competing priorities as a
barrier to seeking and developing a professional network. One of the
most significant limitations related to the effective use of the site
was the large workload placed upon teachers in isolated schools, with
many spending up to four hours outside of school hours on preparation,
meetings, planning, programming and mandated activities. This restricted
the amount of time they had available to them for browsing the site, or
learning about new skills and strategies. One participant felt if it was
mandated by the boss he would do it but otherwise it was shoved to the
bottom of the pile (Teacher 5). A typical comment was as follows.
So the workload that is getting pushed on you, unless it is
mandated, like I get emails and I looked at them and thought 'oh
yeah' it's always in my inbox, like you don't even have a
folder you are still in my inbox and I'll deal with that I'll
come back to it. You never ever come back to it. So how you make that
something that teachers go 'this is a priority that I need to deal
with'. (Teacher 5)
Other barriers to accessing the BITTT site included lack of time,
inappropriate Internet access, and the need to use a password, which
made the site less approachable. Some participants (40 per cent) cited
ease of access as important and preferred not to have to enter
passwords; however, this was not appropriate in a research website, as
this needed to be a closed website for the data collection period. Whist
the password situation could be addressed in a post study BITTT site,
the issue of internet access and lack of time are complex issues in the
hands of the individual, school and a wider community such as relevant
government organisations.
It was found that individual working styles impacted on the BITTT
site usage, with some teachers (40 per cent) only referring to the site
when they faced a difficult or unfamiliar situation. When an incident
occurred, they consulted the site in search of answers, using a reactive
style of classroom management. Conversely some other participants had a
'just browsing' approach (30 per cent), which would suggest a
more proactive method of classroom management. However, both the styles
need to be catered for.
Further research might need to consider moving the site to an open
forum, broadening the content and the context to cater for all teachers
in isolated schools and to cover a wider range of special needs. The
BITTT site could be reconfigured to make the chat component less
dominant and, therefore, less demanding and intimidating to the
teachers. Further research is necessary to understand what could assist
teachers' engagement in chats with peers, thus allowing for further
development of the CoP, which currently is still in its early stage. The
change of format to a more resource and effective strategy based site
would cater for a broader audience than the current format, as the chat
was seen as a secondary interest to the teacher participants, not the
reason they wanted to visit. Live chat with an expert would also be an
integral component of the future BITTT site. The future of BITTT would
be dependent on funding, which would impact the accessibility.
CONCLUSION
The preliminary findings indicate that there is a need for this
type of professional network in rural NSW. The principles identified in
phase one were refined and strengthened with the data collected and
expanded to include additional features.
The specific features of the site identified by the teachers as
being most useful were the 'ask an expert', professional
network and the availability of specific and relevant resources. These
features were valued by participants and could be enhanced with a
further roll out of the site to encompass the wider rural teaching
community.
The specific features of the site that needed to be adjusted were
an expansion of the 'ask an expert' to include a 'live
chat' component, where teachers can ask experts questions and get
immediate responses, allowing for follow up questions and clarification.
The layout of the site also requires some adjustment with a greater
focus on resources and perhaps a lesser focus on the chat to avoid its
supremacy. This would allow teachers searching for specific resources
and strategies to access information more readily. Yet the ways that the
'chat with peers' can be made more appealing and engaging for
teachers require further investigation.
The future directions of the development of the BITTT would see the
site move to a more accessible forum, broadening the context from
teachers of students with ODD to cater for all teachers in isolated
schools. Further information on a wider range of disabilities, including
links to organisations and departments would attract a greater number of
participants, allowing for the CoP to further develop. The BITTT site
might need to be reconfigured to make the chat component less dominant,
allowing a more resource and effective strategy based site that would
cater for a broader audience than the current format. Live chat with an
expert would also be an integral component of the future BITTT site,
which would be dependent on funding. The findings to date are promising
and reveal this to be a valuable initiative.
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Fiona M. McLean, Roselyn M. Dixon, Irina Verenikina
University of Wollongong
Table 1: Participant and school profile
School Size * Participant Gender Experience
(in years)
A 211 1 F 14
B 146 2 F 1.5
C 316 3 F 3
4 F 5
5 M 4.5
6 F 30
D 158 7 M 2.5
8 F 1.5
9 M 8
E 210 10 F 7
* Information from My School website (ACARA)
