25 Nov 2020
Introduction
This webinar is about the creation of WhatsApp group communities of practice (COPs) in rural areas of Côte d’Ivoire, where teachers often have little access to professional development opportunities.
It explains the reasons for using WhatsApp in the project. It also shows how the project began by learning from the outcomes of a similar activity in Rwanda, another challenging context.
These ideas led to the design of a workshop to launch COPs in Côte d’Ivoire. This webinar describes the content and delivery of the workshop and explores the challenges and possibilities of working in this way. It also shows how the findings are informing current projects and online teaching during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Speakers
Susan Dawson teaches various undergraduate and MA Education programmes, as Senior Tutor and Research Associate in the Manchester Institute of Education. Her main areas of interest are teacher professional development, inclusive practitioner research and Aristotelian perspectives on knowledge.
Gary Motteram teaches on MAs in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages and Digital Technology in Education, and the PGCert in Higher Education. He is a Senior Lecturer in Education at the Manchester Institute of Education. His research interests lie in the area of language teacher education at a distance.