#PDBookChat: A Case Study of Professional Learning via Twitter Chat

• In Event: 25.038 - Technology as a Mechanism for Supporting Learning, Motivation, Identity, and Social Interaction

Abstract

This qualitative interpretive case study focuses on an hour-long Twitter chat for a voluntary professional online book club by and for educators. This community of practice (Lave & Wenger, 1991) of 55 active participants included classroom teachers, librarians/media specialists, reading teachers/specialists/coaches, teacher educators, and independent consultants from 16 states and Canada. The first level of analysis included a thematic analysis of responses to the host’s posted questions providing insight into the participants’ personal responses to the book. Secondary analysis considered the topics that garnered attention through Replies and Retweets. The topics that educators found most interesting in both the book and their own discussion included student choice in reading, connecting with authors, and organizing a classroom library.

Author

• Suzanne L. Porath, Kansas State University