Case study: A community of practice for constructivist professional development in e-Learning

Abstract

Communities of practice, social learning and constructivist learning are all increasingly seen as models for workplace learning but have rarely been applied in educational institutions for professional teacher development. This case study describes the use of both a constructivist and community of practice approach to e-learning skill development through two online events – the ‘e-Treat’ and ‘Ask the Experts: Mind-mapping’. These events have been designed using an e-Design template in order to embed constructivist principles of e-learning that support and scaffold learning. The ‘e-Treat’ also incorporated an e-Buddy system to provide peer-support and mentoring to participants. These events suggest that it is possible to plan, design and deliver effective professional development that incorporates a constructivist pedagogy in a community of practice approach.