Cultivating a global professional learning network through a blended-learning program – Levers and barriers to success

• In Event: Knowledge Mobilization in Professional Learning Networks

Abstract

Over the past decades, networks have gained increased prominence as forms of collaboration and of professional development. In response, educators and policymakers are increasingly turning their attention to networked forms of learning as a way of improving education through increasing relevant competencies of teachers. Additionally, education has become increasingly interconnected across national boundaries. International student assessments, but also international exchanges in the physical and virtual realm have contributed to education becoming an increasingly global phenomenon. A case can therefore be made for connecting educators and educational policy makers on a global level. This is one of the central goals of the INEMA program, a blended learning, further education program aimed at educators across the globe. It aims to create a global community of peers and learners that share knowledge and improve education (their own as well as the educational settings in which they operate). This contribution reports findings from a study into the effectiveness of this program. The questions guiding the research were: 1. What levers and barriers to establishing viable networks are identified by its members? 2. What – if any – indications of knowledge transfer within the networks can be identified?

Author

• Pierre Tulowitzki, FHNW University of Applied Sciences and Arts Northwestern Switzerland