YEARS K–6 IDEAS FOR THE CLASSROOM
Using Online Professional Learning Networks (PLNs) (continued)
2017; Huberman, 1985; Hume, 2016; Loughran, 2013; Shulman,
1988, 2015) are critically important to primary science teacher
professional development. Studies have found these teacher
professional knowledge factors impact on learners, and a main
goal of any professional development for teachers is to improve
student outcomes. Research includes self-efficacy (Mansfield
& Woods McConney, 2012; Campbell & Chittleborough, 2014),
reflective practice (Loughran, 2007), professional and inquiry
identity (Carrier, Whitehead, Walkowiak, Luginbuhl, & Thomson,
2017; Cripps Clark & Groves, 2012) as important considerations
for primary teachers of science to be effective. Grosemans et al
(2015) acknowledge that primary teachers learn much informally,
and value their autonomy. Professional learning networks seem
to have potential in these areas. Research so far has found
some professional development value to participating in these
online spaces for teachers (Rutherford, 2010; Visser, Evering,
& Barrett, 2014), so perhaps they could also be worthwhile for
primary teachers to further build science education knowledge
and practice.
internationally for advice and support, engaging in reflective
practice and resulting in extended and inspired strategies for
teaching that promote their own professional development.
These researchers further propose a framework for educators to
enrich their PLN by considering intention for the ongoing building
of their PLNs. For example, teachers reflect on their current
professional needs and PLN, then identify the tools, spaces and
‘people’ connections which could augment their PLN for specific
purposes. In these personalised goal-setting ways PLNs could
be valuable to support teacher growth in content, pedagogical
and ICT knowledge, and contribute to teacher development.
Limitations to using PLN’s as teacher professional
development
There have been contradictory findings such as the suggestion
that PLN interactions may not always be of sufficient depth for
reflective purposes (Kelly & Antonio, 2016). Other discrepancies
in findings are: whether there are significant differences in benefit
for teachers of varying experience (Jones, Gardner, Robertson, &
Robert, 2013; van Waes et al., 2016) and age. Whether teachers
align themselves within like-minded opinion groups with the
effects of limiting development possibilities (Sadeck, 2016); or the
opposite behaviour, of actually engaging with like and disparate
minded groups and members, as more usual (Reasoner, 2017),
is another point of contention, with implications for effective
professional development. Additional research explores the
effectiveness of using social learning for professional development
when there is a range of how socially-minded teachers might be,
and if this mode is suitable (Meijs, Prinsen, & de Laat, 2016).
The nature of typology of interaction styles in terms of levels of
contribution and motivations for different participation have also
been explored for ICT teachers (Prestridge, 2019). There are few
reports as to the effects of expertise which is distributed: whether
it can lead to improvements in, or attenuated views of, science
teaching. Research is emergent on ways to realise and leverage
the valuable opportunities available from self-initiated and self-
directed use of PLNs for teacher professional development.
What makes PLNs an interesting way to learn and
develop teaching?
Research on Professional Learning Networks has already
contributed some promising findings for other groups developing
pedagogical and content knowledge as well as building ICT
competencies. These findings have been reported for secondary
school teachers (Curwood, 2011) and academics (Pataraia,
Margaryan, Falconer, & Littlejohn, 2015); and pre-service primary
teachers studying in a science education course (Nielsen, Moll,
Farrell, McDaid, & Hoban, 2013). Varying affordances have
emerged from their PLN activity, whether formally or informally
initiated, within Professional Learning Communities (PLCs),
or online communities of practice and less clearly defined
affinity spaces, or highly defined special interest groups. Using
specific online platform contexts such as Facebook groups gave
support to Italian special needs educators’ developing practice
(Ranieri, Manca, & Fini, 2012), and Twitter chats were found
to be useful for social studies teachers’ professional learning
(Noble, McQuillan, & Littenberg-Tobias, 2016). Research has
further shown benefits for final year undergraduate teachers,
using mobile learning devices for their PLN activity, like making
connections to experts relevant to their discipline to boost
their content knowledge and feelings of competency. Some
challenges were also reported: critical management of number
of links that did not dilute relevance; and greater comfort in using
private over public group chat spaces. Researchers suggested
participants may benefit from guidance in effectively managing
their PLNs (Kearney & Maher, 2019). A wealth of benefits and
few constraints are detailed by Krutka, Carpenter & Trust (2017)
where teachers can go beyond accessing online expertise
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SCIENCE EDUCATIONAL NEWS VOL 68 NO 1