Research On The Support Model Of Virtual Learning Community To Promote Teacher Professional Development

The rapid development of the computer network communication technologymakes the knowledge update rapidly, the knowledge and skills teacher obtained attraditional academic education stage have been difficult to deal with the practicalproblems in the practice of teaching. If teachers do not want to be eliminated in therapidly changing technological age, they should constantly update their professionalknowledge and enhance their professional skills, meet challenges actively. But as aparticular social group, teachers have to face pressures from families, schools, parentsand society, despite their willingness to update their own teaching philosophy, and toimprove their own skill level, it is difficult for them to learn modern teachingtheoretical knowledge systematically and master a variety of operating skills in ashorter time due to their limited time and energy. The majority of teachers carry outteaching and research activities every week, but they do not have opportunities todiscuss with subject specialists. As a result, theoretical knowledge can not beaccumulated, technical operations are not updated, the teaching problems can not besolved in time, classroom teaching remains low efficiency. The ability of teachers’professional knowledge and their development will directly impact on teachingquality and students’ learning. Therefore, it is necessary to find an all-round meanswhich could support teachers’ professional development in autonomy learning,teaching and research, and practical activities.Through literature study, the researcher had a comprehensive overview of thedomestic and foreign research status on the virtual learning community and teacherprofessional development, got a clear understand about the concepts, features,characteristics, classification, tools of the virtual learning community and acquired anew comprehension about teacher professional development connotation, orientation,pattern and indicators.It is asserted that the virtual learning community will promotethe teacher professional development to a certain extent. On the basis of design study,researcher proposed the support model of virtual learning community to promoteteacher professional development, with four sub-models and relevant strategies. Thevirtual learning community consisted of thematic network courses, thematic networkteaching and research communities, and support services. Support services include remote mixed guidance and interaction which are oriented towards the thematicnetwork course and thematic network teaching and research community activities.Network courses, network teaching and research community, and support services invirtual learning community do not exist independently, but interrelated with eachother. The researcher believes that the all-round support to teachers’ independentstudy, teaching and research, the practice of teaching, reflection and other activitiesby means of the virtual learning community can effectively promote teachers’comprehensive and sustainable development.The virtual learning community support model researcher proposed is applied totwo teacher training programs. During the study, data collection and analysis methodssuch as research method, content analysis and observation are integrated. Thequestionnaire, interview and network courses background statistics are used tounderstand the participation of the network course of the project school teachers,learning outcomes and the assistance of network courses to teachers, with the aim ofverifying thematic network courses to promote teachers’ professional knowledge(pedagogical knowledge) acquisition and enhance learning efficiency. Thequestionnaire, interview, background statistic of network teaching and researchcommunities are applied to understand the project school teachers’ participation,satisfaction and efficiency in network teaching and research communities activities.Through the analysis of the data and the results of the teaching and research process,the enhancement of teachers’ teaching and research capabilities and the ability toreflect are verified. By analyzing the instructional designs and classroom teachingvideos, the effect of knowledge, skills migrating to teachers’ own teaching ability, andthe ability to reflect are verified.After a series of studies, the researcher believes that the virtual learningcommunity plays an important role in promoting the professional development ofteachers. Thematic network course makes it possible for teachers’ acquisition oftheoretical knowledge and skills of a particular topic in a short time. Thematicnetwork teaching and research community effectively links the theory of knowledge,skills and teaching practice, enhance teachers’ teaching ability, teaching and researchcapability and the ability to reflect. Network remote mixed guidance model and its strategies promote the teachers’ professional development under the guidance ofexperts in the network environment, and it could help teachers to solve problemstimely in network learning, teaching and research, and practice activities. Themultilateral mesh interaction model and its strategies can effectively avoid theemotion missing in network environment, and promote participants’ self-reflectionand group reflection ability to some extent. The study has guiding significance for thedesign and development of online course and teaching and research community, italso has guiding significance for the network remote guidance and interactionactivities under the guidance of experts. The researcher hopes this study will be areference to the same type of teacher professional development.