Asynchronous professional development for school teachers using the community of inquiry framework

Abstract

Teacher professional development in Lebanon has been traditional in nature and limited to the synchronous face to face workshops and training for quite some time. The recent global pandemic that the world has been facing for the past two years has forced schools and teachers to operate virtually and from a distance. Teachers were found unprepared for this unanticipated and rapid online shift in teaching and learning. The aim of this research study is to explore and examine the effectiveness of an online professional development approach using the Community of Inquiry (COI) framework as the theoretical framework for the study. The research sought to explore teachers' perceptions about professional development and investigates to what extent teachers are willing to participate in an online professional learning experience. A professional development intervention was created and was explored through an instrumental case study. Data was gathered through three different strategies, including semi-structured interviews, research diaries, and analytics. Convenience purposive sampling was used to generate the research population. The sample consisted of 8 English teachers at a private co-educational school in Tripoli, Lebanon. The results showed that teachers developed a positive attitude towards online professional development and exhibited intrinsic motivation towards online learning. Evidence of learning was found related to the 3 elements of the COI framework: the cognitive presence, the social presence, and the teaching presence and suggests the establishment of an online professional learning community of teachers.