In this seminar we address the complex question of: What should online support for Australia’s teachers look like? We provide an overview of the complicated network of government, commercial, and research websites that provide resources and communities for teachers. We turn to the literature and the theory to discuss the gaps that remain. For example, why, in the face of so many online portals, do teachers resort to querying through Google? We posit suggestions about the kinds of online support would have a significant impact, in terms of initial teacher education, professional identity, job satisfaction, and retention. Our talk is grounded in four years’ experience developing TeachConnect (www.teachconnect.edu.au) a design-based research project creating an online platform to support teachers. We discuss the policy context within which the challenge of supporting teachers online occurs and pragmatic approaches to research within this paradigm.

1. Online support for teachers:
theory, design & impact
Dr Nick Kelly & Steven Kickbusch
Queensland University of Technology
image: jaime.fernandes@ipsos.com

2. “The isolation chamber
known as the
classroom”
(Hope, 1999)

3. “Only connect! That was the whole of
her sermon. Only connect the prose
and the passion, and both will be
exalted, and human love will be seen at
its height. Live in fragments no longer.”
E.M. Forster (Howards End, 1910)

4. “Insufficient attention seems to
being given to the role of
relationships in learning teaching
and doing teaching, including
relationships with students and with
colleagues and other members of
school communities”
(Mayer et al., 2017)

5. Connectivity during ITE
• Peers
• Lecturers
• Supervising teachers
• University supervisors
• Designated mentors

6. Systems within systems

7. The rise of the PLN

8. The challenges of PLNs
• Not widely adopted
• Mindset not outcome
• “Successful users of PLNs overwhelm the uninitiated with techno-
babble”
• https://www.edutopia.org/blog/how-do-i-get-a-pln-tom-whitby
• Confusion
https://www.edutopia.org/blog/how-do-i-get-a-pln-tom-whitby

9. RESOURCES
COMMUNITY
GOVERNMENT/INSTITUTION
CORPORATE/FOR-PROFIT/FOUNDATION
STEM discussions
(mailing list)

11. video

12. Research in teacher online support
• Why?
• What?
• Understanding
• Improving
• Impacts
• How?
• Design-based research
• Collaborations
• Universities
• School sectors
• Teacher registration boards
• Government?

13. initial teacher
education
early career
support
early career
job satisfaction
intention to leave the
profession
(Kelly, Cespedes, Clarà, & Danaher, under review)

14. Teacher support in Facebook groups
(Kelly & Antonio, 2016)

15. Findings from studying social media
• Public Facebook groups of teachers:
• Support for declarative knowledge
• Not for situational knowledge (no reflection or modelling of practise)
• Private Facebook groups of teachers
• Support during casual employment
• Accessing collegial support from existing connections
• Support to deal with a challenging work environment
(Kelly & Antonio, 2016; Merceica & Kelly, 2017)

16. A model of early career teacher support
Staff in Australia’s Schools, 2007 and 2010 data with >4000 ECTs total

17. ITE, ECT satisfaction, support, & attrition
• ITE and attrition
• “Working with other teachers”
• 134-204%
• “Diverse student needs”
• Support and attrition
• Mentors and opportunities to discuss
• Job satisfaction and attrition
• 4-9 times as likely (overall, also teaching and clerical work)
• ITE and satisfaction (low impact)
• Support and satisfaction (orientation, reduced f2f)
• 69% of variance explained (unsupported + satisfaction)

18. Factors of job satisfaction
• Factor analysis: EFA and SEFA in 2007 and 2010
• Context and conditions of work
• Teaching & non-teaching work
• Work-life balance, salary, society’s value
• Working relationships and opportunities
• Opportunities for PD, career advancement
• Working relationships with colleagues & principal
• Freedom and feedback
• Relationships with students
• Student behaviour
• What you’re accomplishing

19. Theories of teacher connectedness
• Fundamental human needs:
• Ryan & Deci (2000)
• Autonomy
• Competence
• Relatedness
• Quality retention (Gu & Day, 2007)
• Relational agency (Edwards, 2005)
• Designing for intrinsic motivation

21. Outcomes
• All 9 universities in Queensland
• Workshops with PSTs
• Mentoring program
• Online CPD, circles, MET
• Ministerial endorsement and media
• Over 1000 members
• Ongoing development
• Moving towards better online support for teachers

22. Community Q&A
Growing
Knowledge
database
Answering
questions
Sharing
resources
Giving
adviceKnowledge
never lost
Helping
one
another
A space for Community Knowledge
Sharing where teachers help one
another
Shared knowledge is easily accessible to
the rest of the wider community.

23. A private space for deep reflection
upon teaching practice.
Circles
Small
Private
Trusted
Stable

24. Design principles
• Separation between public and private
• Anonymous default
• Simple, quick and easy to use
• Single purpose (distraction free)
• Restricted to the profession
• Independent and universal (across sectors)
• Knowledge is re-usable
• Inclusive and altruistic (culturally)

27. Circles
Phase #1
• Only one circle per user
• Circles participants determined
by administrators
• No of participants limited
• No awareness of other circles Phase #2
• More than one circle
• Circle themes determined by
users
• No limits on circle user numbers
• Awareness of other circles and
ability to request membership

29. Future work
TeachConnect (v1)
TeachConnect (v2)
Knowledge re-use
(open)
Conditions for
private groups

30. One of the things I've found is that if
any one of a group of people with
similar problems asks a question
there's a good chance that the
question will reflect some of the
thinking of their peers.
- Myles Horton

31. References
• Carvalho, L., & Goodyear, P. (2014). The architecture of productive learning networks.
Routledge.
• Edwards, A. (2005). Relational agency: Learning to be a resourceful practitioner.
International journal of educational research, 43(3), 168-182
• Gu, Q., & Day, C. (2007). Teachers resilience: A necessary condition for effectiveness.
Teaching and Teacher education, 23(8), 1302-1316.
• Hope, W. C. (1999). Principals' orientation and induction activities as factors in
teacher retention. The Clearing House, 73(1), 54-56.
• Mayer, D., Dixon, M., Kline, J., Kostogriz, A., Moss, J., Rowan, L., . . . White, S. (2017).
Studying the effectiveness of teacher education. In D. Mayer, M. Dixon, J. Kline, A.
Kostogriz, J. Moss, L. Rowan, B. Walker-Gibbs, & S. White (Eds.), Studying the effectiveness
of teacher education: Early career teachers in diverse settings (pp. 13-26). Singapore:
Springer Singapore.
• Ryan, R. M., & Deci, E. L. (2000). Self-determination theory and the facilitation of
intrinsic motivation, social development, and well-being. American psychologist, 55(1), 68.

32. References
• Kelly N., Reushle S., Chakrabarty S. & Kinnane A. (2014). Beginning teacher support in
Australia: Towards an online community to augment current support, Australian Journal
of Teacher Education 39(4), pp. 68-82 http://dx.doi.org/10.14221/ajte.2014v39n4.6
• Kelly N., Russell N., Kickbusch S., Barros A., Dawes L., & Rasmussen R., (Under review), A
network of preservice teachers for transition into the profession: TeachConnect as
design-based research, Australasian Journal of Educational Technology
• Kelly N. and Antonio A. (2016). Teacher peer support in social network sites, Teaching
and Teacher Education, 56: 138-149 http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.tate.2016.02.007
• Kelly N., Sim S., & Ireland M. (Under review). Slipping through the cracks: Teachers that
miss out on early career support, Asia-Pacific Journal of Teacher Education
• Kelly N., Cespedes M., Clarà M., & Danaher P., Investigating the complex relationships
between teacher education, early-career support, job satisfaction and intention to leave
the profession. Target: Journal of Teacher Education

33. Steven Kickbusch
Steven.Kickbusch@qut.edu.au
Contact us
Nick Kelly
Nick.Kelly@qut.edu.au
www.nickkellyresearch.com