School-Based Study Groups
for Online Teacher Professional Development
introduction
What are School-Based Study Groups?
School-based study groups consist of a group of teachers at school who meet up to participate together in online teacher professional development activities. The aim of the group is for teachers to support and motivate each other so as to benefit from online professional development opportunities. During the study group meetings the teachers complete online activities together, support each other with technical or other issues, and discuss the topics of the professional development activities.
School-based study groups are best used for international professional development activities which require teachers to work in a foreign language and to interact with an international community of peers in an online environment, both which can be particularly challenging to less experienced teachers.
Why School-Based Study Groups ?
Although accessibility to professional development for teachers might be increased at a basic level through the offer online activities, benefiting from them requires a certain level of digital and self-regulated learning competences. For internationally organised activities teachers in addition require sufficient foreign language competences to be able to benefit from them. Without these competences, teachers derive little benefit from being able to access more training opportunities.
Moreover, research suggests that for teachers to benefit from professional development and subsequently implement what they have learned as part of their daily practice, the school environment they operate in is of key importance (Darling-Hammond et al., 2017). Accordingly, in order for online professional development to be more effective, finding a framework that links or embeds online professional development into a teachers’ school context is crucial.
The solution to these challenges are...
School-Based Study Groups !
School-based study groups can offer a framework for embedding online professional development activities into the school environment of a teacher and at the same time ensure that teachers with less advanced competences receive the support they need to fully benefit from online professional development. The result is an accessible and effective form of organising professional development activities for teachers.
School-based study group Pilot
The Pilot 2019 - 2022
The concept of school-based study groups for online teacher professional development was piloted by 12 teachers from across Europe in the period 2019 - 2022. Each of the teachers organised school-based or local study groups alongside online professional development activities organised by the European Commission's School Education Gateway and eTwinning initiatives. Both initiatives have recently been merged into the European School Education Platform, the single integrated platform for schools in Europe.
The study groups organised by the pilot teachers ranged from 4 to 35 participating teachers per group and proved highly successful at engaging teachers who had never considered participating in international and online professional development activities. Moreover, the pilot teachers found that the study groups would often develop into a broader school-based learning community whose remit went beyond the initial focus on the online professional development activity. These learning communities brought together a variety of actors from across a school to participate in sustained, collaborative and school-specific professional development activities.
The pilot teachers documented their process and their experiences through the use of action plans, learning diaries, and ebooks which can be accessed below.
pilot teachers
Elena Pezzi
Kömür Istek Aksak
Marisa Badini
Mareike Raabe
Gabriela Ciolpan
Mirela Radosevic
Alexandra Duarte
Celeste Simões
Guillermo Medrano
Đurđica Stanešić
Cristina Nicolaita
Lisanne Verwer
resources to help you Setup a Study Group at your school
Below, you can find the resources (e-books, action plans, websites and learning diaries) which were created by the pilot teachers to help other teachers learn from their experiences and replicate the success of the study groups created at their schools. Use these resources to get started with setting up your own study group at school.
E-books, Learning Diaries, Websites
In the e-books, learning diaries and websites created by the pilot group teachers, you can find an overview of the study groups created, their action plans and other resources, reflections and lesson learnt. Click on the photos of the teacher to access them.
Cristina
Nicolaita
Elena
Pezzi
Mareike
Raabe
Celeste
Simoes
Mirela
Radosevic
Lisanne
Verwer
Guillermo
Medrano
Alexandra Duarte
action plans
In the action plans created by the pilot teachers you can find the background of the schools where the pilot teachers are located, the implementation steps according to the timeline and resources required, and some reflections from the teachers. Click on the photos of the teacher to access them.
Kömür Istek
Aksak
Marisa
Badini
Gabriela
Ciolpan
Alexandra
Duarte
Cristina
Nicolaita
Elena
Pezzi
Đurđica
Stanešić
Additional Resources
take a look at the video
This video provides an overview of how to organise school-based study groups alongside Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) for teachers.
report
Webinars
Watch the webinars about school-based study groups featuring the pilot teachers
Online Courses
Check the online professional development opportunities offered by the European School Education Platform
Pilot Follow-Up:
School-Based Study Groups & eTwinning Schools
The use of school-based study groups is a powerful example of your school being a a collaborative and innovative learning organisation, two key elements enshrined in the eTwinning School Mission. School-based study groups can therefore be used as evidence for any application to become an eTwinning School.
The eTwinning School label was launched in 2017 with the aim to recognize schools that embed the values of eTwinning in the school’s policies, practices and professional development. The eTwinning School Mission is the compass of all eTwinning Schools and emphasises elements such as: Shared leadership; Collaboration and teamwork; Students’ agency; Inclusion and innovation.
In order for a school to be awarded the eTwinning School label they need to provide evidence for a series of statements linked to each of the areas identified in the eTwinning School Mission. The use of school-based study groups can be in particular used as evidence to support the following statements:
- Teachers collaborate with each other in common projects and/or they engage in co-teaching activities.
- The school creates and supports continuous learning opportunities for all staff e.g., participation in trainings, conferences, distant learning
- The school promotes team learning and collaboration among all staff.
- The school nurtures a culture of inquiry, innovation and exploration.
Accordingly, as an outcome from the work conducted as part of the pilot, school-based study groups will be shared as an example of a good practice to be used by eTwinning schools. This means that from 2023 onwards the study group concept will be integrated into existing or new trainings for eTwinning schools or those who aim to become one. The resources from the pilot activities will be shared also in dedicated support and community channels for aspiring or current eTwinning schools.
European School Education Platform and eTwinning are initiatives of the European Union and funded by Erasmus+, the EU’s programme to support education, training, youth and sport in Europe. This material has been prepared for the European Commission by European Schoolnet under a contract with the Union, however it reflects the views only of the authors, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.