Challenges and Innovative Applications of Global OTPD Program During the COVID-19 Pandemic by Culturally and Linguistically Diverse English Language Educators

• In Event: Highlighted Session: Leveraging ICT for student empowerment

Proposal

Rapid advances in information and communications technology (ICT) are allowing online teacher professional development (OTPD) opportunities to serve globally as potential scalable and sustainable solutions to delivering quality teacher PD (Boling & Martin, 2005; Dede, 2006; Dede et al., 2009; Renninger & Shumar, 2002). OTPD is defined as “any activities, programs, opportunities or experiences undertaken via Computer Mediated Communication (CMC) and related internet applications by teachers that lead to the enhancement of knowledge, skills, motivation and understanding of individuals or groups in learning contexts that may be identified by themselves or their institutions” (Kabilan et al., 2011, p. 96). Lieberman and Miller (2014) state that there is a growing body of evidence from both research and practice that authentic professional learning can be fostered through OTPD. Dede (2006) claims that OTPD provides flexibility for teachers who are unable to attend traditional professional development (PD) programs due to specific dates and times and long distances from their local areas. It can be “tailored to teachers’ busy schedules, [draw] on valuable resources not available locally, [provide] work-embedded support”, and therefore “has stimulated the creation of OTPD programs” (Dede, 2006, p. 2).
In light of such scalable, relevant, and sustainable potential of OTPD, it is important to view the effects and the learning drawn from empirical research in the COVID era in which we now live. Starting from the early months of the year 2020, the COVID-19 global pandemic began to disrupt life globally in unprecedented ways, including education (Dreesen et al., 2020). In order to prevent the spread of the virus throughout the communities, lockdown measures were abruptly put in place by governments. When the pandemic reached its peak in April 2020, schools closed in 194 countries worldwide and 1.6 billion learners were impacted by these closures (UNESCO, 2020a). The conditions required people to “stay at home, work, worship, and study at home” (Bahasoan et al., 2020, p. 100). The pandemic has only exacerbated the tensions that existed in equitable learning experiences for all, including continuing teacher education.
When such realities became visible, reconceptualization of teacher professional learning was brought forth. Namely, the pandemic-related research in teacher education implicated an overall call for preparing pre-service teachers in their programs of study, as well as providing professional learning opportunities for in-service educators in teaching and learning through technology (Kalloo et al., 2020; la Velle et al., 2020; Prestridge & Cox, 2020; Shin & Borup, 2020; Trust & Whalen, 2020). For example, Prestridge and Cox (2020) reported on how short videos presenting practical tips to designing and delivering online instruction as an effort to support Australian in-service teachers and built teacher knowledge and confidence at the onset of the pandemic. Similarly, a webinar series designed for English language teachers worldwide became opportunities for educators to gain new knowledge and skills for teaching remotely (Shin & Borup, 2020). The authors argue that webinars can play an important part in providing an immediate and impactful learning experience to a global audience.
Trust and Whalen (2020) makes several compelling suggestions to the providers of in-service teacher professional development and support. Teachers need quality and quantity technology experiences, opportunities to develop online teaching competencies, and professional learning networks to support their ongoing learning. The authors also recommended creating informal professional development that is characterized by social connection and teacher learning focused on “learner-centered activities that allow educators to develop knowledge and skills to help them teach with technology in any format or situation” (Trust & Whalen, 2020, p. 193). For educators globally, teaching their learners using technology and professionally learning through technology for themselves seem to be a clear direction forward in our post-pandemic world.
This case study examined the challenges that 20 English language educators from 16 different countries faced as well as innovative applications when implementing to their local classroom contexts the new knowledge and skills they gained from participating in an OTPD course during the first wave of COVID-19 pandemic. Sponsored by U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, Teaching English to Young Learners course has been designed, developed, and delivered by a large public university in the U.S. mid-Atlantic region. TEYL is 8-weeks long and focuses on theory and practice of teaching English language. Each weekly module includes video presentations, topic-relevant readings, self-assessment quiz, discussion board prompts, and a task-based assignment. Intentional effort was made in the online course development process to make the content as relevant as possible to diverse contexts when teaching English to YLs.
Research questions for this study are: In what ways did the TEYL participants apply and localize the OTPD content and experience in their practice and profession as a result of participating in an online course designed for a global audience, namely, educators of English as a Foreign Language? What were the constraints they faced and innovative reinventions they created when applying and localizing the content and experience from TEYL?
Data sources include two sets of semi-structured interviews conducted right after course completion and 12 weeks after, as well as their assignment submissions collected throughout the course and voluntarily submitted artifacts such as demo teaching videos, student work samples, and cascading resources. Content analysis using Desimone’s (2009) effective PD framework was employed to examine the data and thematic analysis revealed emergent themes. The findings showed the challenges faced and innovative practices implemented by the culturally and linguistically diverse English language educators in their local contexts from their OTPD experience during the 2020 global pandemic. Furthermore, because there are no operationalized framework for OTPD, emergent themes led to implications for designs elements for effective OTPD experience. These include promoting asset-based learning and cascading in the local contexts as active application of effective OTPD. This study is significant because it not only informs what the English language educators globally were actively applying despite the challenges that arose during the COVID-19 pandemic as they were engaged in online professional learning, but also implications for promoting applicable, sustainable, asset-based OTPD, contributing to the current research gap that exist.

Author

• Woomee Kim, George Mason University