A social network analysis of teaching and research collaboration in a teachers' virtual learning community

British Journal of Educational Technology - Tập 47 Số 2 - Trang 302-319 - 2016
Xiaoyue Lin, Xiaoyong Hu, Qintai Hu, Zhichun Liu

Tóm tắt

AbstractAnalysing the structure of a social network can help us understand the key factors influencing interaction and collaboration in a virtual learning community (VLC). Here, we describe the mechanisms used in social network analysis (SNA) to analyse the social network structure of a VLC for teachers and discuss the relationship between face‐to‐face and online collaborations. In contrast to previous research applying SNA to analyse measuring indexes alone, we emphasise the mechanisms combining SNA, questionnaires, content analysis and focus group interviews—the key methodology to analyse complex interaction in a VLC. On this basis, we present an analysis model for teachers' VLC and apply it to a teachers' VLC known as ‘IRIS’. The study participants comprised 172 K12 teachers aged between 25 and 55 years. This study collected collaboration data from 2006 to 2012 and analysed the social network structure using sociograms, centrality, cohesive subgroups, clique phenomenon, and matrix correlation of SNA. These findings suggest that face‐to‐face and online collaborations are both indispensable in teaching and in research and continuously supplement and remedy each other in professional development. Moreover, the model succeeded in accessing, describing and analysing the social network structure of a VLC.

Từ khóa


Tài liệu tham khảo

10.1007/s10984-012-9115-5

10.1007/s10984-012-9117-3

Anderson T., 2001, Assessing teaching presence in a computer conference context, Journal of Asynchronous Learning Networks, 5, 1

Argyle K., 1996, Cultures of Internet: Virtual spaces, real histories, living bodies, 58

Aviv R. Erlich Z.&Ravid G.(2003).Cohesion and roles: network analysis of CSCL communities. In Advanced Learning Technologies 2003. Proceedings. The 3rd IEEE International Conference on (pp. 145–149). IEEE.

10.1007/s11192-012-0764-z

10.1007/s10639-007-9030-z

10.1007/s10984-012-9119-1

Bryman A., 2012, Social research methods

10.1016/j.compedu.2005.07.003

10.1145/358974.358979

10.1111/j.1467-8535.2009.00970.x

10.1007/s11412-007-9006-4

Denzin K., 2005, Handbook of qualitative research

10.1007/s10984-012-9116-4

10.1111/j.1467-8535.2009.00953.x

Dunlap J. C., 2009, Tweeting the night away: using Twitter to enhance social presence, Journal of Information Systems Education, 20, 129

Elliott J., 1991, Action research for educational change

10.1086/225469

10.2190/7MQV-X9UJ-C7Q3-NRAG

10.1111/j.1365-2729.2011.00467.x

10.1046/j.0007-1013.2003.00360.x

10.1111/j.1467-8535.2012.01360.x

Krackhardt D., 1992, Networks and Organizations: Structure, Form, and Action, 216

Krackhardt D., 1993, Informal networks, Harvard Business Review, 71, 104

10.1525/aa.1990.92.1.02a00100

10.1080/0141192950210306

10.1111/j.1467-8535.2011.01184.x

10.1111/j.1467-8535.2010.01150.x

10.1111/j.1740-8784.2011.00230.x

10.1016/j.compedu.2003.06.001

10.1023/A:1022556401959

10.1080/03634520500356394

Sha L.&vanAalst J.(2003).An application of social network analysis to knowledge building. In annual meeting of the American Educational Research Association Chicago.

10.1111/j.1467-8535.2006.00530.x

10.1007/s10984-012-9118-2

Wasserman S., 1997, Social network analysis: methods and applications

Wellman B., 1997, An electronic group is virtually a social network, Culture of the Internet, 4, 179

Yeh Y. C., 2001, Are Virtual Social Relationships independent from Reality?, Journal of Cyber Culture and Information Society, 1, 33

Thông tin
Thông tin xuất bản

British Journal of Educational Technology

Tập 47 Số 2

302-319

Thông tin tác giả