2016 07-06 becoming a connected educator-ou_wi_p_emke

01/05/2023 Martina Emke, WiP seminar. The Open University

Becoming a connected educator:

Part-time language teachers’ serendipitous professional development on Twitter


Research background• Increase in number of Part-time language teachers (PTLTs) across

educational sectors (Beaton & Gilbert, 2013)• Increase in professional development (PD) demands (Locke, 2014)• Limited access to organised, formal professional development for

PTLTs (Stickler & Emke, 2015)• Time• Money

• Informal PD as a possibility to deal with these problems• Twitter as a space in which serendipitous PD can occur in rhizomatic ways


A Deleuze-Guattarian approach to research• What is a Deleuze-Guattarian approach to research?

• A Thousand Plateaus (Deleuze & Guattari, 1987): a book as a rhizome• Key questions: What does it do? How does it function?• Key concepts: assemblage, multiplicities, rhizome, becoming, affect

• Research questions• How does PTLTs’ professional development on Twitter work?• What is the affect of PTLTs’ professional development on Twitter?


Twitter: How does it function?


The research journey: The researcher• Becoming a rhizome researcher (Clarke & Parsons, 2013)

• The researcher as part of the research assemblage : …” research is always more than research, because it is conducted and constructed by people who (by doing research) engage in the complex challenge of symbolic meaning-making and identity-building, informed by changing life narratives.” (p. 36)

• Rhizome researchers start where they are (nomadic)• Rhizome researchers listen to the voices/things connected to them

(assemblages)• Rhizome researchers search for research aspects that are sometimes

ignored (different affects)


The research journey: The pilot study• ‘Doing’ rhizomatic research: always being “in the middle”, always

being “in-between”, always “becoming other-than”• Community Plateau (data collection 10 - 12 Nov 2015): investigating

connections in the multiplicity #mfltwitterati through Social Network Analysis (Newman, 2010; de Laat, 2010)

• Twitter for PD story Plateau (data collection 16 Nov – 6 Dec 2015): investigating PTLTs’ experiences of learning on Twitter through a narrative frames online questionnaire (Barkhuizen & Wette, 2008)


Community Plateau: The multiplicity #mfltwitterati (475 tweets, incl. retweets )


Community Plateau: Patterns of engagement in #mfltwitterati (241 users)


Community Plateau: Fluidity of multiplicities


Community Plateau: Interim results• #mfltwitterati: a fragmented network (37 sub-communities) with

distinct communication patterns, 5 dominant sub-communities• Some #mfltwitterati users bridge communication between sub-groups• PTLTs who want to use #mfltwitterati for PD could connect with actors

who are central to communications to foster their rhizomatic learning• Semantic analysis of the tweets shows that PD topics occur in

conversations; most conversations about teaching tips and resources• Hashtag analysis shows the fluidity of Twitter multiplicities


Twitter for PD Plateau: The narrative frames (n=8)

Research participants

(pseudonyms)

Gender Languages taught Volunteered for main study

Margaret female English yes

Rose female English, French, Italian yes

Kay ? French no

Robert male French, German yes (via Twitter)

Tony ? French, Irish no

Suzanne female French yes

Hanna female English, Czech yes

Rachel female English, German yes


Twitter for PD story Plateau: learning through connecting • [ I see Twitter as a professional learning tool because…]

• “it's a place to find leads to interesting articles, and it's a space to talk, reflect, share ideas, explore and connect” (Rachel)

• “You can connect with different teachers in relation to the subject that you teach and you can learn from each other” (Robert)

• [ I connect with other (language) teachers on Twitter by…] • “I tend not to connect with other teachers as some record their every thought on twitter

but I have linked with one who seems to share useful links for the classroom and try to reciprocate with useful ideas, too.”(Tony)

Possible tensions when learning in rhizomatic ways


Twitter for PD story Plateau: “becoming other than”• [I use Twitter for…] “escaping some of the difficulties/ frustrations in my

own working situation, getting to know others, sometimes seeking support from those who share some of my concerns/ views/ values, and sometimes curious to be challenged by different and fresh ideas.” (Rachel)

• I don't want to become old school, boring, old-fashioned and I want to keep up with the young generations. Also to find colleagues who are like me. / [There is one way that Twitter has shaped the way that I teach, and that is ….] “it has become more reflective, happier and imaginative. Also confident, because I know I am the modern educatior now:-)” (Hanna)


The research journey: insights from the pilot study• The pilot study has shaped the research process: stronger direction

towards Deleuzian thinking and ‘doing research’; implications for the main study with regard to approaching interviews and ‘reading’ data

• SNA has shown the complexity and fluidity of engagement on Twitter; longer term observation of individual and community engagement planned for the main study

• The narrative frames were useful for recruiting PTLTs for the main study and will inform the structure of the interviews planned for the main study; different interview questions needed to reflect Deleuzian thinking

• Ethical issues regarding research on Twitter


Thank you for your attention!…. And if you would like to know more, please contact me on

@MartinaEmke [email protected]

mailto:[email protected]

Education

2016 07-06 becoming a connected educator-ou_wi_p_emke