Analysing Learning Ties to Stimulate Continuous Professional Development in the Workplace

Abstract

In this chapter we look at Networked Learning in the context of the continuous professional development (CDP) of teachers. CDP in the workplace is difficult to analyse and evaluate because it is often invisible to others and even the learners themselves may not be aware of the learning that occurs. The knowledge acquired can be tacit and the learning activities are usually informal. Therefore a great need is recognised in research, policy and practice for tools that can analyse, value and support CDP activities in the workplace. In our research on professional development networks amongst teachers, we developed a methodology to be used as a reflection tool, to give professionals opportunities to gain insights into their own CDP activities and that of others in their organisation. This chapter illustrates how the methodology—founded on theories of Networked Learning, Social Network Theory, Social Capital and Communities of Practice—gives insights into the structure of CDP networks, the learning content and the learning context of the workplace. In addition, the methodology assists teachers with concrete artefacts to support in how to better organise the learning environment in the workplace to support their CDP. The methodology holds the potential to be adopted and plugged into the virtual world to detect, connect and investigate networked learning activities. These findings have recommendations for current research in Networked Learning about solutions and methodologies to gather and analyse relational data on learning to create a holistic view of peoples off-line and online CDP in education, work and society.