The design and implementation of a holistic training model for language teacher education in a cyber face-to-face learning environment

Abstract

This study reports a qualitative investigation that examines the design and implementation of a holistic teacher training model in a cyber face-to-face language learning context. To this end, this study first proposes an e-training model called the Practice, Reflection and Collaboration (PRC) model, and discusses the rationale and theoretical framework underpinning each key component of the model. This is followed by the discussion of how the model was implemented in a 12-week e-teacher training program with the participation of trainee teachers and real distance students. This analysis focuses on how each component of the proposed model worked in our case, and what mechanisms were employed to nurture the trainees’ professional and personal development to become competent and confident e-teachers.

Introduction

This study aims to explore the design and implementation of a specifically designed teacher training model in a cyber face-to-face language learning context. We use the concept of cyber face-to-face to denote an integrated learning environment in which multiple and multimodal interaction with both human and materials can be facilitated. Such an environment is often supported by a Synchronous Learning Management System (SLMS) which combines synchronous and asynchronous functionalities such as audio, video and other data sharing and interaction tools (e.g., an interactive whiteboard, document sharing, desktop sharing and multimedia discussion forums) to provide a learning context similar to but different from that of physical face-to-face learning (Chen & Wang, 2008). The growing momentum of online teaching brings with it a sense of urgency, especially with regard to teacher training for managing a technically complex and evolving environment such as cyber face-to-face learning. As such a multimodal learning environment is still new to us, many crucial issues still remain unexplored. As far as teacher training in and for such an environment is concerned, an essential question is what an effective teacher training program should incorporate to respond to the challenges of training and teaching in such an environment, and in what ways these challenges can be managed effectively. We argue that it is not sufficient to cater just for the professional/skill development of the trainee in such a new and complex learning environment, and that the personal development of the trainee in overcoming their self doubt, anxiety and uncertainty to become a confident e-teacher is equally important.

The e-teacher training model we developed and implemented had practice, reflection and collaboration as its key features. Although each of the three features has its own theoretical underpinnings, they are interwoven elements linked by the theory put forward by Korthagen (2001) and Loughran (2006), that is, that a pedagogy of teacher education should go beyond the mere transmission of knowledge and focus on identity formation and personal growth. In much of the literature on teacher education, professional development often dominates the scene to such an extent that the personal development of the teacher has been largely ignored (see Loughran, 2006), although the influence of affective factors, such as attitudes, motivation and anxiety, on the success of learning has been recognized by some studies (e.g., Dörnyei and Skehan, 2002, Freeman, 1989, Kao and Tsai, 2009, MacIntyre et al., 1998, Mitchell and Myles, 2004, Paraskeva et al., 2008). We argue that personal development deserves equal, if not more, attention when it comes to teacher training in a cyber face-to-face learning environment as the spontaneity and high technical sophistication of such an environment place greater psychological demands on teachers new to online synchronous learning. Therefore, a holistic approach that embraces the whole teacher is urgently needed for teacher education in such a learning environment. We use the term holistic to emphasise the need to always introduce specific skills within the total learning context, and to practice these skills in an authentic learning and teaching environment. At the same time, a holistic approach also means that e-teacher training should cater for both skill and personal developments (e.g., self understanding and confidence building) of trainees in order to assist them to become competent as well as confident e-teachers.

The remainder of the article first discusses the content and the theoretical underpinnings of each key component of the model we designed and implemented in an e-teacher training program. We then move on to the crux of the article – the discussion of the implementation of this model in a cyber face-to-face environment supported by an advanced SLMS called Collaborative Cyber Community (hereafter 3C).¹ The purpose of this discussion is to illustrate how this model worked in our case and to identify the essential mechanisms built into the model that responded to the professional and personal needs of the trainees in their learning process.