Cognition

The INSTEP project seeks to align the principles of effective in-service teacher education, as expressed in the Teacher Professional Learning and Development Best Evidence Synthesis, with the limited research and anecdotal evidence about developing effective online communities of practice.

This will result in publication of evidence-based protocols, accompanied by indicators and exemplars of effective practice in online facilitation, to inform the future development of online communities in New Zealand and elsewhere. It will also provide Cognition with an opportunity to draw on its experience with online communities of practice through an in-depth exploration of what works and what doesn’t in those communities.

Tracy Bowker leads a project team comprising the current online community moderators from Arts Online, the NCEA English Forum and the Principals’ Electronic Network. Dr Phil Coogan is project director, and the work of the team is supported by the in-house expertise of Chris Jager, Maria Lute and Mary Sinclair.

This project allows Cognition to not only enhance the work of our current online communities, but to make a significant contribution to the emerging research about this increasingly important aspect of teacher development.

 Read the report:

INSTEP Consolidation Phase - Online Communities of Practice   (.pdf)