Computers in Human Behavior Computers in Human Behavior 20 2004 733 761 www elsevier com locate comphumbeh Case study of online workshop for the professional development of teachers Shu Ching Yang Shu Fang Liu Graduate Institute of Education National Sun Yat Sen University 70 Lien hai Road Kaohsiung 80424 Taiwan ROC Available online 5 March 2004 Abstract The study investigates the value and e ectiveness of online workshops as a tool for creating professional learning communities The pattern of interaction mentoring quality and attitude of teacher toward participation in a Web based Teacher s Professional Development Platform were addressed One hundred and twenty eight participants were co mentored by three senior elementary mathematics teachers to meet a professional development requirement Data collection involved content analysis and supplemental surveys The content analyzed included the participants message posts the quality of the dialogue and the quality of mentoring by assistants A survey was administered to elucidate participants attitudes towards and perceptions of the Web as a tool for professional development The study revealed that most participants claimed to have bene ted emotionally and intellectually from using telecommunications networks for professional development and support Positive learning e ects on members were satisfactory yet their participation was not highly interactive or as re ective as the authors would have wished Closely examining the messages posted by participants revealed that the categories general introduction and organization were most with the fewest associated queries and responses The assistants mentoring strategies mainly included feedback praise directing modeling questioning cognitive elaboration and e orts to explore accounted for less than 10 altogether That is the assistants focused more on social and organizational functions and less on intellectual function The study was signi cant in that the computer mediated workshop nurtured the teachers professional growth but their participation was neither highly interactive nor and even though there much anecdotal evidence supported the claim that members enjoyed and valued the online workshops The paper concludes by o ering some recommendations concerning the future design of technology in professional learning 2004 Elsevier Ltd All rights reserved Corresponding author Fax 886 7 5255892 E mail address shyang mail nsysu edu tw S C Yang 0747 5632 see front matter 2004 Elsevier Ltd All rights reserved doi 10 1016 j chb 2004 02 005 734 S C Yang S F Liu Computers in Human Behavior 20 2004 733 761 Keywords K 12 teacher Professional development community Computer mediated communication 1 Introduction Teacher professional development TPD and in service training have attracted increasing interest in recent years Faced with rapid change and demands for high standards teachers must become involved in continued learning to become more e ective in today s schools As the complexity and interdependency of professions increase educators must keep abreast of emerging knowledge and be prepared to use it continually re ning their conceptual and craft skills to become more competent Cervero 1988 Guskey 2000 Houle 1980 In response to the increased expectations on schools Corcoran 1995 urged teachers to deepen their content knowledge and learn new methods of teaching He claimed that they need more time to work with colleagues to critically examine the new standards being proposed and to revise curricula They need opportunities to develop master and re ect on new approaches to working with children p 1 In Taiwan continued professional learning has been incorporated into the formal structure of the teaching profession for licensure promotion or certi cation Teachers are required to participate in 30 36 h per year of in service professional development before they are able to renew their licenses The most common mode of professional development comprises formal training activities provided in single or half day workshop session led by an expert who introduces teachers to new practices or teaching strategies Other training is given in form of conferences at a university for days or even several weeks and months The shortcomings of such development include the time and money required to travel to the site of the workshop the arti ciality of professional development conducted outside the classroom the logistical problems of attempting to support changes in the practice of teachers who have returned to their schools and the di culty of trying to keep teacher training current in a discipline such as mathematics in which knowledge and practice evolve rapidly Furthermore conventional forms of professional development have been criticized as being fragmented excessively top down and too isolated from school classroom realities to have a strong e ect on practice they have also been claimed to lacking in focus and do not focus enough on a particular area of teaching discipline Furthermore follow up sought by teachers were often not present Real concerns about the e ectiveness of professional development practice accompany recognition of the importance and problems of professional development Accordingly by leveraging the growth and power in information technology Webbased PD provides opportunities for traditional PD that would otherwise be prevented by geographic and professional isolation time nancial resources and the irrelevance of aspects of conventional PD to rural teachers Harvey Purnell 1995 Kendal Rye 1996 Putt Henderson Patching 1996 The tools and resources generated on the internet network including for example conferencing white S C Yang S F Liu Computers in Human Behavior 20 2004 733 761 735 boards streaming and plug in technologies provide great opportunities for enabling and energizing PD Computer conferencing is an e ective medium through which teachers can share expertise try out new ideas re ect on practices develop new curricular ideas and most importantly develop an online learning teaching community Learning communities have been used e ectively to promote thoughtful educational practice by allowing teachers to engage in discourse with teacher educators and other teachers in a non threatening manner Harrington Hathaway 1994 Such communities help to develop norms of collegiality and cooperative problem solving Harasim 1987 and promote the growth of re ective discourse Dickson Franklin Hill 1987