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Abstract
The Center for Latino Achievement and Success in Education (CLASE) launched an online platform in summer 2016 for teachers to build a community of practice (CoP) around the Instructional Conversation (IC) pedagogy. Within 18 months, 382 teachers joined the CoP to seek ongoing support, share resources, collaborate with one another, and build community. This mixed methods study uses cultural-historical activity theory (CHAT) (Cole, 1996; Engestrm, 1987, 2001; Leontev, 1978; Vygotsky, 1978) and sociotechnical interaction networks (STIN) (Kling, McKim, & King, 2003; Meyer, 2006) to understand the formation, development, and evolution of an online teacher CoP. This study followed an explanatory sequential design (Creswell, 2014). In the first phase, a social network analysis (SNA) was conducted to identify network attributes, node centrality measures, and evidence for homophily (Kolaczyk & Csrdi, 2014; Scott, 2013; Wasserman & Faust, 1994). Then, in-depth interviews with two core contributors, two brokers, and two peripheral observers were conducted and coded using thematic analysis (Boyatzis, 1998; Braun & Clarke, 2006). The SNA revealed the structure of the network, patterns of engagement, and helped identify members of interest for interviews. Mixed evidence for homophily was found after triangulating quantitative and qualitative data. Participants reported positive attitudes towards the online CoP and increased opportunities for reflection, collaboration, and mentorship. Access to high-quality instructional resources was one of the main reasons for teachers to join the CoP. Teachers expressed a preference to reach out in person to members of the CoP at their workplace. All teachers interviewed reported creating value through the online CoP despite their limited time to participate. This study reinforces the critical importance of real-life interactions to strengthen trust and sense of community in online communities. Some of the nuances at the intersection between teacher communities and networks are examined (Wenger, Trayner, & de Laat, 2011). Implications for theory, research, and practice are discussed, as well as suggestions for future research.