The Connected Community Exploratory Research on Designing Online Communities of Practice for Educators to Create Value U.S. Department of Education, Offce of Educational Technology Tis report was prepared for the U.S. Department of Education under Contract No. ED-PEP-10-C-0059 with American Institutes for Research. Te mention of trade names, commercial products, or organizations in this report does not imply endorsements by the U.S. government. Tis publication also contains URLs for information created and maintained by private organizations. Tis information is provided for the reader’s convenience. Te U.S. Department of Education is not responsible for controlling or guaranteeing the accuracy, relevance, timeliness, or completeness of this information. Further, the inclusion of information or URL does not refect the importance of the organization, nor is it intended to endorse any views expressed or products or services ofered. U.S. Department of Education Arne Duncan Secretary Ofce of Educational Technology Richard Culatta Director April 2014 Tis report is in the public domain. Authorization to reproduce this report in whole or in part is granted. Tis report is available on the Department’s website at http://www.ed.gov/technology. Requests for alternate format documents such as Braille or large print should be submitted to the Alternate Format Center by calling 202-260-0852 or by contacting the 504 coordinator via e-mail at [email protected]. Contents Page Executive Summary . 1 Introduction . .1 How Communities Create Value . 2 Key Questions for Community Designers . 3 Introduction . .6 Research Design . .6 How Communities Create Value . .8 Key Questions for Planning and Implementing a New Community . 11 Establishing the Vision . 11 Planning and Development . 15 Implementation. 19 Evaluation . 22 Conclusion . 27 References . 28 Appendix A. Value Creation Research in Detail . 32 Appendix B. Sample Community Health Report . 37 Acknowledgments Tis brief was developed under the guidance of Richard Culatta and Bernadette Adams of the U.S. Department of Education, Ofce of Educational Technology. Darren Cambridge of American Institutes for Research (AIR) led the development of this brief and also served as the primary author. Tis brief draws upon internal reports written by Sherry Booth and Shaun Kellogg of the Friday Institute for Educational Innovation at North Carolina State University and Kathleen Perez-Lopez of AIR. Booth, Kellogg, and Perez-Lopez conducted the research, with the assistance of Rachel Crossno and Michelle Perry of AIR. Pamela Jacobs of AIR provided valuable feedback on earlier drafs. AIR Education Publications staf handled editing and graphic design. Tanks to all the organizations and individuals who served as informants for the research. Particular thanks go to Al Byers, from the National Science Teachers Association, who contributed to the design of the learning analytics research, and to the community managers we followed for the community evolution research, including Geof Fletcher and Lia Dossin, from the State Technology Directors Association; Andrew Gardner, from BrainPOP; and Sharon Roth, from the National Council of Teachers of English. Te primary technical working group for the Connected Educators project also provided key guidance and support. Members of the group, in addition to Byers and Gardner, are Tom Carroll, National Commission on Teaching and America’s Future; Gavin Dykes, Cellcove, Ltd; Andrew Gardner, BrainPOP; Steve Hargadon, Classroom 2.0; Mike Marriner, Roadtrip Nation; Sheryl Nussbaum- Beach, Powerful Learning Practice; Shelley Pasnik, Center for Children and Technology at the Education Development Center; Nichole Pinkard, Digital Youth Network and DePaul University; Linda Roberts, senior advisor to Apple and other companies; and Etienne Wenger-Trayner, Wenger-Trayner. Executive Summary Introduction During the past three years, the U.S. Department of Education’s Ofce of Educational Technology’s Connected Educators project—a project run by American Institutes for Research (AIR)—has sought to understand how to capitalize on the promise of online communities of practice to support professional learning for educators. Te Connected Educators project investigated two overarching questions in its research: • How do successful online communities of practice for educators create value for their members that may lead to improved outcomes for students? • For newly launched communities, what are the key challenges and decisions that leaders must negotiate in the crucial frst year? How can what is learned from successful communities inform the process of helping a new community thrive? To address these questions, researchers at AIR and the Friday Institute for Educational Innovation at North Carolina State University (Friday Institute) did the following: • Conducted two multiple case studies, one examining how mature communities create value for their active participants and a second tracking the evolution of newly launched communities during their frst year. • Incorporated design research into communities designed and managed by Connected Educators project partners. • Explored the application of learning analytics techniques in a mature community. Table 1 presents the communities that were studied. Table 1. Communities Studied Mature Communities Newly Launched Communities Connected Educators Communitiesa • Te English Companion Ning • Assess4Ed, which is focused on • Te Dropout Prevention and (English Ning), which is an informal supporting state leaders preparing Recovery Online Community of venue for English teachers to share for the online and computer-based Practice (Dropout Community), experiences and resources and build tests aligned with the Common Core which engages teams composed relationships State Standards of school-based practitioners and • Te National Science Teacher’s • BrainPOP Educators, which is their community partners Association Learning Center (NSTA focused on engaging teachers • Te CS10K Community (CS10K), Learning Center), which is designed concerning the company’s videos, which supports high school computer to support professional learning for games, and other resources science education for the National science teachers at all grade levels • Te Literacy and Learning Exchange, Science Foundation (NSF) • Te Teacher Leaders Network (TLN), which is focused on making the work which links participants in its teacher of local groups of educators working leadership initiatives to improve literacy instruction across • TFANet, which supports the subjects areas visible to others professional growth of Teach For • EPIC-Ed, which seeks to engage America corps members, alumni, teachers in addressing the challenge and staf of digital transition aAssess4Ed and EPIC-ed where project-run communities as well as cases in the community evolution research. Te Connected Community 1 How Communities Create Value Previous research, such as that surveyed in Connect & Inspire, an earlier publication of the Connected Educators project (U.S. Department of Education, 2011a), shows that participation in online communities of practice produces a range of values for teachers, students, schools, and districts. Researchers used the fve types of value defned by Wenger, Trayner, and De Laat (2011) to investigate the full range of values. Participants in the mature communities reported each type of value. Table 2 lists the key themes from data on the value created in each category. Table 2. Key Value Temes Created by Participation Immediate Value—Experienced immediately by participating in community activities • Feeling less isolated • Engaging in professional conversations with other teachers with whom they identifed • Receiving help and support • Providing advice or encouragement Potential Value—Knowledge, resources, and relationships that could prove useful in the future • Deepening knowledge through structured processes of engagement • Gaining a broader perspective by deprivatizing practice • Increasing self-confdence and a sense of professional identity • Expanding the network of professional connections • Accessing resources and tools • Increasing trust in individuals and the collective community Applied Value—Changes in practice applying knowledge, resources, and/or relationships • Teachers translated knowledge and relationships into practice: ■ Using lessons or ideas from the community in the classroom ■ Changing classroom practices • Teachers ofen changed the ways in which they shared knowledge with their peers and public audiences: ■ Initiating and leading professional development experiences for other teachers ■ Creating collections of materials for use by other teachers ■ Collaborating with other members to present at conferences and write for public audiences Realized Value—Improvements in outcomes caused by application • Improving communication and learning within an educational institution • Producing knowledge products that infuence educational policy at district, state, and national levels Reframing Value—Changes in an understanding of success • High-quality dialogue caused participants to rethink their views on not only specifc practices but also key issues in education and its role in society. • Teachers who previously saw their professional responsibilities as being limited to serving the students in their individual classrooms took on leadership roles and engaged in collaboration with other teachers to support professional learning throughout their schools and attempted to infuence the