Vol. 36 No. 1 (2021)
Research Articles

Exploring Teachers’ Cognitive Processes and Web-Based Actions During a Series of Self-Directed Online Learning Sessions

PDF HTML
  • Pamela Beach,
  • Elena Favret,
  • Alexandra Minuk
Pamela Beach
Queen's University
Bio
Elena Favret
Queen's University
Bio
Alexandra Minuk
Queen's University
Bio

Published 2021-07-16

How to Cite

Beach, P., Favret, E., & Minuk, A. . (2021). Exploring Teachers’ Cognitive Processes and Web-Based Actions During a Series of Self-Directed Online Learning Sessions. International Journal of E-Learning & Distance Education Revue Internationale Du E-Learning Et La Formation à Distance, 36(1). Retrieved from https://ijede.ca/index.php/jde/article/view/1191
Copyright Notice

Abstract

This exploratory study used screen-capture technology and a cued retrospective think aloud called the virtual revisit think aloud to understand teachers’ self-directed online learning (SDOL) experiences. Three elementary teachers were involved in a series of in-depth one-on-one SDOL sessions where they informally used the Internet for their professional learning. Nine think aloud transcripts and three interview transcripts were analyzed using qualitative methods. Additionally, nine 20-minute screen-capture recordings were analyzed using a time sampling observation analysis in which participants’ web-based actions were tallied in 10-second intervals. The analyses led to four main themes related to participants’ cognitive processes as well as overall trends of participants’ web-based actions. Additionally, findings from this study provide preliminary insight into the feasibility and value of SDOL over time.

PDF HTML

References

  1. Ayyildiz, Y., & Tarhan, L. (2015). Development of the self-directed learning skills scale. International Journal of Lifelong Education, 24(6), 663–679. https://doi.org/10.1080/02601370.2015.1091393
  2. Barzilai, S. & Zohar, A. (2012). Epistemic thinking in action: Evaluating and integrating online sources. Cognition and Instruction, 30(1), 39–85. https://doi.org/10.1080/07370008.2011.636495
  3. Beach, P., & Willows, D. (2014). Investigating teachers’ exploration of a professional development website: An innovative approach to understanding the factors that motivate teachers to use Internet-based resources. Canadian Journal of Learning and Technology, 40(3). http://dx.doi.org/10.21432/T2RP47
  4. Beach, P. (2017). Self-directed online learning: A theoretical model for understanding elementary teachers’ online learning experiences. Teaching and Teacher Education, 61, 60-72. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tate.2016.10.007
  5. Beach, P., & Willows, D. (2017). Understanding teachers’ cognitive processes during online professional learning: A methodological comparison. Online Learning, 21(1), 60-84. http://dx.doi.org/10.24059/olj.v21i1.949
  6. Beach, P., Minuk, A., & Favret, E. (2020). Online teacher professional development in Canada: A review of the literature. Manuscript submitted for publication.
  7. Bullock, S. M. (2013). Using digital technologies to support self-directed learning for preservice teacher education. The Curriculum Journal, 24(1), 103–120. https://doi.org/10.1080/09585176.2012.744695
  8. Callanan, M., Cervantes, C., & Loomis, M. (2011). Informal learning. Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews: Cognitive Science, 2(6), 646–655. https://doi.org/10.1002/wcs.143
  9. Campbell, C., Osmond-Johnson, P., Faubert, B., Zeichner, K., & Hobbs-Johnson, A. (with Brown, S., DaCosta, P., Hales, A., Kuehn, L., Sohn, J., & Steffensen, K.). (2016). The state of educators’ professional learning in Canada. Learning Forward. https://learningforward.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/state-of-educators-professional-learning-in-canada.pdf
  10. Canadian Teachers’ Federation. (2014). Highlights of CTF survey on the quest for teacher work-life balance. Canadian Teachers’ Federation. https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED546884.pdf
  11. Carpenter, J. P., & Krutka, D. G. (2015). Engagement through microblogging: Educator professional development via Twitter. Professional Development in Education, 41(4), 707–728. https://doi.org/10.1080/19415257.2014.939294
  12. Creswell, J. W. (2007). Qualitative inquiry and research design: Choosing among five traditions (2nd Ed.). Sage Publications.
  13. Damico, J., & Balidon, M. (2007). Examining ways readers engage with websites during think-aloud sessions. Journal of Adolescent and Adult Literacy, 51(3), 254–263. https://doi.org/10.1598/JAAL.51.3.5
  14. Darling-Hammond, L., & Richardson, N. (2009). Research review/teacher learning: What matters. Educational leadership: Journal of the Department of Supervision and Curriculum Development, N.E.A , 66(5), 46–53. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/287590851_Teacher_Learning_What_Matters
  15. Desimone, L. M. (2009). Improving impact studies of teachers’ professional development: Toward better conceptualizations and measures. Educational Researcher, 38(3), 181–199. https://doi.org/10.3102/0013189X08331140
  16. De Vries, S., van de Grift, W. J., & Jansen, E. P. (2014). How teachers’ beliefs about learning and teaching relate to their continuing professional development. Teachers and Teaching, 20(3), 338–357. https://doi.org/10.1080/13540602.2013.848521
  17. Ericsson, K. (2002). Towards a procedure for eliciting verbal expression of non-verbal experience without reactivity: Interpreting the verbal overshadowing effect within the theoretical framework for protocol analysis. Applied Cognitive Psychology, 16(8), 981–987. https://doi.org/10.1002/acp.925
  18. Ericsson, K. (2003). Valid and non-reactive verbalization of thoughts during performance of tasks: Towards a solution to the central problems of introspection as a source of scientific data. Journal of Consciousness Studies, 10(9-10), 1–18.
  19. Ericsson, K. A., & Simon H. (1984). Protocol analysis: Verbal reports as data. The MIT Press.
  20. Ericsson, K. A., & Simon, H. (1993). Protocol analysis: Verbal reports as data (Rev. ed.). The MIT Press.
  21. Garrison, D. R. (1997). Self-directed learning: Toward a comprehensive model. Adult Education Quarterly, 48(1), 18–33. https://doi.org/10.1177/074171369704800103
  22. Golafshani, N. (2003). Understanding reliability and validity in qualitative research. The Qualitative Report, 8(4), 597–607. https://doi.org/10.46743/2160-3715/2003.1870
  23. Hall, L. A. (2018). Using blogs to support reflection in teacher education. Literacy Research and Instruction, 57(1), 26–43. https://doi.org/10.1080/19388071.2017.1367055
  24. Heo, G. M., & Lee, R. (2013). Blogs and social network sites as activity systems: Exploring adult informal learning process through activity theory framework. Journal of Educational Technology & Society, 16(4), 133–145. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/258515553
  25. Hursen, C. (2016). The impact of curriculum developed in line with authentic learning on the teacher candidates’ success, attitude and self-directed learning skills. Asia Pacific Educational Review, 17, 73–86. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12564-015-9409-2
  26. Jurasaite-Harbison, E., & Rex, L. A. (2010). School cultures as contexts for informal teacher learning. Teaching and Teacher Education, 26(2), 267–277. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tate.2009.03.012
  27. Knowles, M. (1975). Self-directed learning: A guide for learners and teachers. Association Press. https://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED114653
  28. Krutka, D. G., Carpenter, J. P., & Trust, T. (2016). Elements of engagement: A model of teacher interactions via professional learning networks. Journal of Digital Learning in Teacher Education, 32(4), 150–158. https://doi.org/10.1080/21532974.2016.1206492
  29. Kuusela, H., & Paul, P. (2000). A comparison of concurrent and retrospective verbal protocol analysis. American Journal of Psychology, 113 (3), 387–404. https://doi.org/10.2307/1423365
  30. Kyndt, E., Gijbels, D., Grosemans, I., & Donche, V. (2016). Teachers’ everyday professional development: Mapping informal learning activities, antecedents, and learning outcomes. Review of Educational Research, 86(4), 1111–1150. https://doi.org/10.3102/0034654315627864
  31. Lantz-Andersson, A., Lundin, M., & Selwyn, N. (2018). Twenty years of online teacher communities: A systematic review of formally-organized and informally-developed professional learning groups. Teaching and Teacher Education, 75, 302–315. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tate.2018.07.008
  32. Lincoln, Y. S., & Guba, E. G. (1985). Naturalistic inquiry. Sage Publications.
  33. Marcià, M., & García, I. (2016). Informal online communities and networks as a source of teacher professional development: A review. Teaching and Teacher Education, 55, 291–307. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tate.2016.01.021
  34. McCartney, R., Boustedt, J., Eckerdal, A., Sanders, K., Thomas, L., & Zander, C. (2016). Why computing students learn on their own: Motivation for self-directed learning of computing. ACM Transactions of Computing Education, 16(1), Article 2, 1–18. http://dx.doi.org/10.1145/2747008
  35. Mello, L. V. (2016). Fostering postgraduate student engagement: Online resources supporting self-directed learning in a diverse cohort. Research in Learning Technology, 24. https://doi.org/10.3402/rlt.v24.29366
  36. Moore, M. G. (2016). Thirty years later: Self-directed learning and distance education—In retrospect. International Journal of E-Learning & Distance Education, 31(2). http://www.ijede.ca/index.php/jde/article/view/1000
  37. Morris, T. H. (2019). Self-directed learning: A fundamental competence in a rapidly changing world. International Review of Education, 65(4), 633–653. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11159-019-09793-2
  38. Mullins, R., & Hicks, D. (2019). “So I feel like we were just theoretical, whereas they actually do it”: Navigating twitter chats for teacher education. Contemporary Issues in Technology and Teacher Education, 19(2), 218–239. https://citejournal.org/volume-19/issue-2-19/social-studies/so-i-feel-like-we-were-just-theoretical-whereas-they-actually-do-it-navigating-twitter-chats-for-teacher-education
  39. Olmsted-Hawala, E., Murphy, E., & Hawala, S. (2010). Think-aloud protocols: Analyzing three different think-aloud protocols with counts of verbalized frustrations in a usability study of an information-rich website. 2010 IEEE International Professional Communication Conference, 60–66. https://doi.org/10.1109/IPCC.2010.5529815
  40. Parsons, S. A., Hutchison, A. C., Hall, L. A., Parsons, A. W., Ives, S. T., & Leggett, A. B. (2019). US teachers’ perceptions of online professional development. Teaching and Teacher Education: An International Journal of Research and Studies, 82(1), 33–42. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tate.2019.03.006
  41. Putnam, R., & Borko, H. (2000). What do new views of knowledge and thinking have to say about research on teacher learning? Educational Researcher, 29(1), 4–15. https://doi.org/10.3102/0013189X029001004
  42. Shapiro, E. J., Sawyer, A. G., Dick, L. K., & Wismer, T. (2019). Just what online resources are elementary mathematics teachers using? Contemporary Issues in Technology and Teacher Education, 19(4), 670–686. https://citejournal.org/volume-19/issue-4-19/mathematics/just-what-online-resources-are-elementary-mathematics-teachers-using/
  43. Shulman, L. S., & Shulman, J. H. (2004). How and what teachers learn: A shifting perspective. Journal of Curriculum Studies, 36(2), 257–271. https://doi.org/10.1080/0022027032000148298
  44. Simons, P. R. J. (2000). Towards a constructivistic theory of self-directed learning. Self-Learning, 1–12. https://dspace.library.uu.nl/handle/1874/6994
  45. Tour, E. (2017). Teachers’ self-initiated professional learning through personal learning networks. Technology, Pedagogy and Education, 26(2), 179–192. https://doi.org/10.1080/1475939X.2016.1196236
  46. Tough, A. (1971). The adult’s learning projects: A fresh approach to theory and practice in adult learning. Ontario Institute for Studies in Education.
  47. Trust, T. (2016). New model of teacher learning in an online network. Journal of Research on Technology in Education, 48(4), 290–305. https://doi.org/10.1080/15391523.2016.1215169
  48. Tschannen-Moran, M., & Johnson, D. (2011). Exploring literacy teachers’ self-efficacy beliefs: Potential sources at play. Teaching and Teacher Education, 27(4), 751–761. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tate.2010.12.005
  49. Upitis, R., & Brook, J. (2017). How much professional development is enough? Meeting the needs of independent music teachers learning to use a digital tool. International Journal of Music Education, 35(1), 93–106. https://doi.org/10.1177/0255761415619426
  50. Van Bommel, J., Randahl, A. C., Liljekvist, Y., & Ruthven, K. (2020). Tracing teachers’ transformation of knowledge in social media. Teaching and Teacher Education, 87, Article 102958. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tate.2019.102958
  51. Visser, R., Evering, L., & Barrett, D. (2014). #TwitterforTeachers: The implications of Twitter as a self-directed professional development tool for K–12 teachers. Journal of Research on Technology in Education, 46(4), 396–413. https://doi.org/10.1080/15391523.2014.925694
  52. Yin, R. (2012). Case study methods. In H. C. Cooper, P. M. Camic, D. L. Long, A. T. Panter, D. Rindskopf & K. J. Sher (Eds.), APA handbooks in psychology®. APA handbook of research methods in psychology, Vol. 2. Research designs: Quantitative, qualitative, neuropsychological, and biological, 141–155. American Psychological Association. https://doi.org/10.1037/13620-000
  53. Yurkofsky, M. M., Blum-Smith, S., & Brennan, K. (2019). Expanding outcomes: Exploring varied conceptions of teacher learning in an online professional development experience. Teaching and Teacher Education, 82, 1–13. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.TATE.2019.03.002