Abstract
This chapter studies the role of telecollaboration in facilitating teacher professional development, specifically focusing on the perceptions of future English language teachers. By examining how telecollaboration serves as a tool for professional growth, this study aims to shed light on the significance of this approach in teacher education. In this study, pre-service teachers from Ukraine and Türkiye participated in bi-monthly telecollaboration exchanges as part of their practicum course. Through an analysis of the data collected from an online questionnaire, the chapter shows that the participants recognized the telecollaboration exchanges as meaningful opportunities for their professional growth. The results offer valuable implications for incorporating telecollaboration into teacher professional development programs and enhancing professional experiences within the teaching community. The chapter concludes with insights into areas where improvements can be made to optimize the telecollaboration experience for teacher development.
TopBackground
Thanks to the advancements in technology, collaboration evolved into virtual exchanges (O’Dowd, 2018) where the participants are freed from the boundaries of time and setting (Barbosa & Ferreira-Lopes, 2021). Students and teachers can create and maintain international partnerships through telecollaboration (Akiyama & Cunningham, 2018; Lawrence & Spector-Cohen, 2018). With the start of telecollaboration, students and teachers can now connect with colleagues from around the world without leaving their classrooms or homes (Akiyama & Cunningham, 2018; Lawrence & Spector-Cohen, 2018). This has opened new opportunities for international collaboration in teacher education, particularly in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic when virtual meetings have become the norm (Wu, 2021).The significance of telecollaboration grows more vibrant in the post-COVID-19 world, where daily social exchanges have become increasingly online (Wu, 2021). Following the breakout of the pandemic, not only school walls turned into virtual classrooms, but also professional development practices emerged as online meetings. This transformation was especially imperative for teacher education settings where the practice teaching component was conducted in face-to-face mode (Kidd & Murray, 2020). The COVID-19 pandemic has emphasized the importance of technology in teacher education, as online platforms became essential for delivering courses and facilitating communication among teachers and students. Thus, the integration of technology in language teacher education has become a necessity, and telecollaboration has emerged as a promising tool in this regard.
Key Terms in this Chapter
Practicum: The component of undergraduate teacher education where the participants are required to complete a series of practical and theoretical tasks in the appointed schools for obtaining teaching experience.
Supervisor: A university-based teacher trainer who is responsible from observing, evaluating, and supporting the prospective teachers during the practicum process.
Mentor: An in-service teacher who monitors, evaluates, and guides the pre-service teachers during the practicum process.
Intercultural Competence: The set of abilities that are needed for effective and appropriate communication and collaboration between the individuals of different cultures.
Corrective Feedback: The reaction that language learners get when they make language related errors in the target language.
Teacher Professional Development: A range of endeavors geared towards enriching teachers' competencies and expertise through engagement, training, and ongoing assistance.
English as a Foreign Language (EFL): Settings in which English is neither spoken as the native language nor serves as the official language. To give an example, Japan, Ukraine, and Türkiye are EFL contexts.