TITLE:
Learning Communities and Teacher Professional Development: The Case of eTwinning Seminars
AUTHORS:
Apostolos Kostas, Dimitra Ioannidou
KEYWORDS:
e-Learning, Teachers Professional Development, eTwinning, Learning Com-munities, Professional Learning Communities
JOURNAL NAME:
Creative Education,
Vol.14 No.13,
December
29,
2023
ABSTRACT: eTwinning seminars provide in-service teachers with
opportunities to develop skills and competences, through teamwork and
interaction in an online environment, supporting them to enrich their teaching
practices in the classroom and strengthen their self-efficacy. In this article,
we present results from the evaluation of eTwinning seminars in Greece, with
the aim to investigate how participation obstacles were managed by the
trainees, what type of interaction was developed among the trainees, and the
extent to which trainees acquired skills which they could apply in their
classroom. The study followed a quantitative
design, using an online survey with a sample of 753 participants
(in-service K-12 teachers). Results indicated that most of the participants have met their expectations and acknowledged
the adequacy of the educational material and the professional
development opportunities. Moreover, results showed that demographic
characteristics had a statistically significant effect on respondents’
perceptions and practices.