Date
Friday, 19 April 2024 - 5:30pm to Friday, 26 April 2024 - 6:30pm
Additional information
This is a 2-session workshop. First session: 19 April at 17:30 hrs. and second session: 26 April at 17:30 hrs

This workshop will consist of two linked sessions and will explore the value of online communities of practice (CoP); how to set them up and how to support them to run effectively. Drawing upon the spirit of chai pe charcha (tea and talk), the workshop makes use of storytelling as a key feature of the process of setting up CoPs, as well as their ongoing maintenance.

In the first session, through guided storytelling activities, participants will talk about their professional development journey and their needs for further development. The stories we tell each other will serve as the raw material for a collective reflection on the challenges, triumphs, needs and aspirations within the group. Storytelling helps build connections and relationships, but also enables a group to decide what their Continuous professional development (CPD) needs are. Additionally, we will talk about different online tools that can help you to collect these stories for analysis in the second workshop.

 In the second session, participants will collectively analyse the stories to identify common themes and underlying issues pertinent to their professional development. Building upon this group reflection, the workshop will show how we move from the initial set-up stories to materials and activities which are used in class and then reflected on again with the community of practice, thus developing knowledge and skills and building the community.

The workshops will encourage teachers to take ownership of their professional development, fostering a sense of agency and autonomy. Through the establishment of a supportive network, participants will have opportunities to sustain momentum beyond the workshop, engaging in resource exchange, and collaborative problem-solving.

Speaker details

Taslima Ivy, Lecturer, University of Manchester - UK

Felix Kwihangana, Lecturer, University of Manchester – UK

Gary Motteram, Honorary Senior Research Fellow, University of Manchester – UK