Zugl.: Bamberg, Univ., Diss., 2009

Zugl.: Bamberg, Universiẗat, Diss., 2009.

The first years in the teaching profession are challenging, unforgettable, and shape the professional development of novice teachers. This study aimed at exploring the participation experiences of novice teachers in English teaching communities of practice and examining if this participation influenced their reported approaches to teaching English. Wenger, McDermott and Snyder’s theory of communities of practice was used and data was collected from online close and open-ended surveys, interviews, and staff meeting observations. The findings show that, independently of the social background of students and the financial resources of different school contexts, community support has a direct impact on the quality of the practices of novice teachers in CoPs, their participation and integration in the communities, and their reported approaches to teaching English. Moreover, in supportive contexts, NTEs’ approach to teaching was communicative-focused because their communities allowed them to experiment with language and try new ideas. This study extends the work of Wenger, McDermott and Snyder on organisational and managerial communities by providing insights into the field of second language education. Furthermore, it extends the work of scholars with novice teachers in English language teaching by addressing the socioeconomic aspect of their experiences and by connecting community support directly to the approaches to teaching of novice teachers. This research offers insights to novice teachers on the practices carried out in English teaching communities in the Chilean context and offers experienced teachers the opportunity to reflect on how they treat and work with novice teachers.

This study aims to describe and analyse the actions of the school coaches at the National sport upper secondary schools in light of the conditions that govern and shape the activities at those schools. The theoretical standpoints are based on Lave and Wengers' (1991) theoretical concept community of practice, and as an explanatory theoretical framework Scott's (2008) interpretation of new institutional theory is used. In the analysis of the coaches’ space for actions given the current conditions, Berg's (2014) free space theory is used. The study has a qualitative approach and the design is based on four case studies, where interviews and document analyses have been used to produce the data. The main findings can be summarized in that the cultural-cognitive conditions are very strong, whereas the regulatory and normative conditions play a less significant role. The coaches belong to a community of practice, where the sport’s inherent culture becomes the reference point for how the practice will be run, even though they are part of the school.

A disconnect exists between research and practice that is impeding the flow of knowledge between researchers, practitioners and decision makers. This obstruction of knowledge is acting as a barrier to the use of evidence in decisions and also as a barrier to informing research of important questions that need answering through scientific investigation. This divide between research and practice can be crossed by building a bridge between researchers and practitioners across which knowledge can be transmitted, translated and exchanged. <br /><br /> A possible mechanism to understand the key contributors to bridge building is by using Wenger's Community of Practice model as a framework upon which to understand the importance of and how to build connections between research, policy and practice. The defining characteristic of a Community of Practice is the interaction between members in order to jointly determine and embrace goals, eventually resulting in shared practices. Crucial to the success of a Community of Practice is the engagement between community members. Without engagement, a Community of Practice can not share knowledge and achieve its negotiated goals. <br /><br /> This thesis studied a Community of Practice that is being deliberately formed to facilitate the development of a pan-Canadian population health research network. This network, CANSPANN (Canadian School Physical Activity and Nutrition Network) aims to bring together researchers, practitioners, and decision makers to create research programs studying the social-environmental influence of schools on youth physical activity and healthy eating that address priorities for policy and practice. <br /><br /> This thesis assessed if a quantitative questionnaire tool could validly and reliably measure the level of engagement between CANSPANN members. The questionnaire also aimed to determine if engagement predicted knowledge use. Eighteen items in the NEQ validly measure engagement of CANSPANN members. Sufficient content validly was established for these items. Of these eighteen items, only four subscales significantly predicted knowledge use. <br /><br /> Through reliability testing with qualitative interviews it was determined that the Network Engagement Questionnaire reliably measures engagement for CANSPANN members who are centrally involved. It is far less able to reliably measure engagement for peripheral members. Further testing with the NEQ is necessary in order to increase its reliability.

Knowledge plays an increasingly important role in business, company, and organization,it is the ability for organization to learn and assimilate new knowledge in orderto make plans or business progresses. However, when comes to the tacit knowledge,in most cases, as Polanyi (1969) said ”we can know more than we can tell”, whichmeans in our daily lives, most of the knowledge stored in our brain can not be expressedout to others easily, we call this kind of knowledge ”tacit”. Therefore, tacitknowledge holds most part of our knowledge - and at the same time - harder to identifyand share.There is an popular approach called ’Community of Practice (CoP)’ which aimsat creating and sharing knowledge through informal practicing and learning. Thus,in this study, a qualitative research is desired to be made on the approach of communityof practice as well as its effects on tacit knowledge sharing. The purpose of thisstudy is to understand the pattern of sharing tacit knowledge among communitieswith social communication technologies (Tencent QQ) embedded, and to explorethe mechanisms of generating and transferring tacit knowledge with ”community ofpractice”.

A disconnect exists between research and practice that is impeding the flow of knowledge between researchers, practitioners and decision makers. This obstruction of knowledge is acting as a barrier to the use of evidence in decisions and also as a barrier to informing research of important questions that need answering through scientific investigation. This divide between research and practice can be crossed by building a bridge between researchers and practitioners across which knowledge can be transmitted, translated and exchanged. <br /><br /> A possible mechanism to understand the key contributors to bridge building is by using Wenger's Community of Practice model as a framework upon which to understand the importance of and how to build connections between research, policy and practice. The defining characteristic of a Community of Practice is the interaction between members in order to jointly determine and embrace goals, eventually resulting in shared practices. Crucial to the success of a Community of Practice is the engagement between community members. Without engagement, a Community of Practice can not share knowledge and achieve its negotiated goals. <br /><br /> This thesis studied a Community of Practice that is being deliberately formed to facilitate the development of a pan-Canadian population health research network. This network, CANSPANN (Canadian School Physical Activity and Nutrition Network) aims to bring together researchers, practitioners, and decision makers to create research programs studying the social-environmental influence of schools on youth physical activity and healthy eating that address priorities for policy and practice. <br /><br /> This thesis assessed if a quantitative questionnaire tool could validly and reliably measure the level of engagement between CANSPANN members. The questionnaire also aimed to determine if engagement predicted knowledge use. Eighteen items in the NEQ validly measure engagement of CANSPANN members. Sufficient content validly was established for these items. Of these eighteen items, only four subscales significantly predicted knowledge use. <br /><br /> Through reliability testing with qualitative interviews it was determined that the Network Engagement Questionnaire reliably measures engagement for CANSPANN members who are centrally involved. It is far less able to reliably measure engagement for peripheral members. Further testing with the NEQ is necessary in order to increase its reliability.

abstract: This longitudinal exploratory research study examines a Russian language online community of creative writers who refer to themselves as Real Padonki. Grounded theory was used as the method of data collection and analysis. Based on analysis of the texts published on udaff.com and interactions between the members of this community several conclusions were made. It is proposed that udaff.com should be viewed as an online resource for writers who have created a new form of literature: post-Soviet Russian literature. This new of form literature is characterized by several features that distinguish it from previous forms. This new form of literature is based on the cultural model of a Real Padonak - a new kind of person that embodies both the writer and the hero (a new archetype) created by this writer. In the same way as dissident writers made criminal argot a part of Russian literature, the writers of udaff.com rely on the use of Albanskij, a linguistic innovation, a variation of the Russian language that they have created. Finally, this new literature uses the Internet as its main medium of publication. As a new archetype, Real Padonak represents a continuum of characters (real life people as well as invented literary characters) created by udaff.com writers. From the perspective of Discourse analysis, the cultural model of Real Padonak is shown as multiglossia of Discourses that represent beliefs, attitudes, values, and practices that exist in contemporary Russian society. / Dissertation/Thesis / Doctoral Dissertation English 2015

Faculty who teach online courses at large research institutions have unique professional development and support needs. Communities of practice may provide a solution to feelings of isolation reported by faculty who teach online courses. Through a community of practice faculty may offer support to each and share online instructional best practices. Using a developmental study, research-based practices were operationalized using the ADDIE model to form guidelines for building and maintaining a virtual community of practice for online teaching faculty. An expert review validated and led the revision process for the set of guidelines. This study describes the development of the guidelines, the expert review, and the validation of the final product. / Ph. D.

Thesis advisor: Martin M. Scanlan / Problem and Purpose: Professional learning has the potential for significant impact within the realm of teaching and learning. District and school-based leaders spend valuable time mapping professional development calendars and planning learning opportunities for staff. In addition to the time spent, professional learning has a significant impact on the budget. Planning and implementing professional learning is a timely and expensive endeavor. However, professional learning often falls short in delivery. Impacts are limited and sometimes even negative when staff have a bad experience. During a time of crisis, professional learning is paramount as all stakeholders respond and adjust. Time is of the essence during a crisis. As a result, effective delivery of professional learning is critical for managing and maintaining the instructional core. The purpose of this study is to further explore and understand what influences teacher professional learning and instructional practices. Additionally, this study will seek to identify the ways in which principals create the conditions to support teachers’ professional learning. Understanding teacher learning and leadership support for learning will help practitioners to design for learning that has an impact. Methods: To answer these questions, a qualitative case-study of one medium sized urban district in Massachusetts was studied. The district reflects a diverse student body that includes English Language Learners, students with disabilities, and students identified as high needs. Interviews, observations, and document review were utilized for data collection. Analysis of the data was informed by Communities of Practice. Implications: In order for professional learning opportunities to be meaningful and to have an impact, district and school based leaders should remain mindful that learning is a social endeavor. Balancing vertical and horizontal power with creating space for partnership will contribute to professional learning plans that are productive for teachers and that engage principals in creating the conditions to support teacher learning. / Thesis (EdD) — Boston College, 2022. / Submitted to: Boston College. Lynch School of Education. / Discipline: Educational Leadership and Higher Education.