The emergence of digital communication channels has transformed faculty development, offering new opportunities for networking and collaboration. This paper explores successful practices for promoting connection and belonging among faculty members through platforms like Slack and Discord. Key strategies include creating dedicated channels for…

The Impact of Facebook-based Dissertation Support Groups on the Sense of Belonging and Community Among PhD Students. This dissertation addresses the feelings of isolation and lack of support doctoral students feel during their doctoral journey, which results in a high attrition rate. The study explores the role of Facebook-based dissertation…

Communities of practice in STEM education are important for promoting the improvement of teaching in the postsecondary curriculum. One community in particular is the Interactive Online Network of Inorganic Chemists (IONiC). IONiC aims to advance inorganic chemistry education through the creation of curricular materials (i.e., learning objects).…

Background: Social media provides new opportunities for teachers to learn, communicate and develop professional relationships. It has been proved to be a valid and helpful resource for teachers' professional learning purposes. Objectives: While previous studies pursued questions like how participants feel, how to support interaction and why…

This qualitative case study examines the learning experiences of self-organized Chinese and Chinese American adults from the X Care Group amid the political repercussions of the COVID-19 pandemic. The findings revealed how care group members created meaning in their daily life experiences, reformed their identity, and increased their Chinese and…

Thirteen years after the publication of the book "Social Network Theory and Educational Change," what can we say about the evolution of research connecting social network theory and analysis with teacher professional development? In this evolution, we can witness a conceptual shift in the literature connecting teacher professional…

The purpose of the current study was to explore how superintendents in small, rural districts in Texas utilized the various resources of professional networks to navigate leadership during the crisis caused by COVID-19. When faced with a crisis, superintendents lead the district's response and provide guidance and reassurance for the school…

Social Networking Sites or SNSs have been used as a form of self-guided professional development (PD) by educators of all grade levels. However, there are limited students regarding Secondary educators using SNSs as a form of self-guided PD and there is also a lack of an examination of how those educators are using what the learn from SNSs within…

In this collaborative analytic autoethnography, five researchers and teacher educators from various contexts describe how their participation in a network of critical action researchers led to rhizomatic growth across their landscapes of praxis. Through the authors' narratives, we learn how Deleuze and Guattari's (1987) concept of the rhizome and…

The graduate school experience is a relevant part of professional development and can be instrumental in framing future careers. There is, however, a lack of resources and understanding concerning how institutions can best develop a positive culture during graduate school. In this paper, six professionals outline their graduate program experiences…

This study examines the impact of a situated learning class framework on student learning and sense of belonging in a first-year introductory computer programming course offered at an urban commuter campus. The framework provided students opportunities to engage in hands-on activities embedded in authentic contexts facilitated or led by students…

Strong communities, measured in terms of belonging, are often shown to produce positive social and educational outcomes. Although useful, this approach narrows the potential scope of the concept and inadequately measures complex communities where positive outcomes, such as student engagement, can be mixed with negative outcomes, such as social…

Online learning communities are becoming increasingly popular as they are known to support collaborative dialogue and knowledge building. Previous studies have typically focused on small, closed learning communities from an individual, static, and aggregated perspective. This research aims to advance our understanding of open and large online…

Educational leadership preparation programs increasingly rely on adjunct faculty to teach aspiring leaders. Although the percentage of adjunct faculty serving as instructors continues to grow relative to full-time, tenured faculty, the role of part-time instructors/K-12 practitioners remains confined to instruction. This study explored how one…

Networked approaches to professional learning have been shown to offer broad influence and unique benefits to teachers' continuing development. However, despite decades of research into the professional learning community (PLC) approach within single schools, there is a paucity of research about network PLCs and a lack of models for effective…