ABSTRACT

Background

Professional development (PD) in a range of occupations has become increasingly digitised. Numerous digital courses are available, with evidence that social media, blogs and apps are increasingly being used for PD. Yet despite clear benefits, there is little robust evidence on the characteristics of digital PD that impact positively on learning and practice, particularly for physical education (PE) teachers and youth sport coaches. This paper provides new insights into the characteristics of effective PD in the context of a complex digital landscape.

Purpose

While advocated as an innovative genre from which to optimise learners’ proclivity for sharing, curiosity and discovery, little is known about how professional learners respond to massive open online courses (MOOCs) courses to inform their practice. The purpose of this study was to understand how participants responded to the learning design of two MOOCs (n = 13,104 from 155 countries) in the fields of physical education and youth sport coaching.

Methods

Drawing from a mixed methodology, data were generated from semi-structured interviews (n = 27) and online survey methods (n = 66) with participants across both MOOCs.

Findings

New data offer insights into the features of course design that practitioners found positive in promoting engagement. It was apparent in the data, for example, that four features were influential: establishing relevance, facilitating bridging, designing for personalisation, and building community. Constructed themes reflect how participants organised and negotiated MOOC experiences, and illuminate the ways in which they navigated and used course content. Evidence from this study provides insights into the ways in which digital genre for PD might be structured to facilitate engagement and presents broader challenges to the ways in which pedagogy is conceptualised and practiced online.

Conclusions

The refined focus on digital genre as a form of social action in this study seeks to ensure that learners needs can be met in a complex and ever-changing PD digital landscape. In this regard, a more nuanced approach is required that helps explicate the cognitive tools that participants engage as they organise their learning experiences on digital platforms, and how this aligns with their expectations and needs of online PD.

中文翻译：

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面向专业发展的大规模开放在线课程（MOOC）：满足体育教师和青少年体育教练的需求和期望

摘要

背景

一系列职业的专业发展 (PD) 已变得越来越数字化。有许多数字课程可供使用，有证据表明社交媒体、博客和应用程序越来越多地用于 PD。然而，尽管有明显的好处，但几乎没有有力的证据表明数字 PD 的特征对学习和实践产生积极影响，特别是对体育 (PE) 教师和青年体育教练而言。本文为复杂数字环境中有效 PD 的特征提供了新的见解。

目的

虽然提倡作为一种创新类型来优化学习者的分享、好奇心和发现的倾向，但对于专业学习者如何响应大规模开放在线课程 (MOOC) 课程以告知他们的实践知之甚少。本研究的目的是了解参与者对体育和青少年运动教练领域的两个 MOOC（ n  = 13,104 来自 155 个国家）的学习设计有何反应。

方法

采用混合方法，数据来自半结构化访谈（n  = 27）和在线调查方法（n  = 66），参与者来自两个 MOOC。

发现

新数据提供了对课程设计特征的见解，从业者发现这些特征对促进参与具有积极意义。例如，在数据中很明显，有四个特征具有影响力：建立相关性、促进桥接、个性化设计和建立社区。构建的主题反映了参与者如何组织和协商 MOOC 体验，并阐明了他们浏览和使用课程内容的方式。这项研究的证据提供了对 PD 数字类型可能被构建以促进参与的方式的见解，并对在线概念化和实践教学法的方式提出了更广泛的挑战。

结论

本研究将数字类型作为一种社会行为形式进行了精细的关注，旨在确保学习者的需求能够在复杂且不断变化的 PD 数字环境中得到满足。在这方面，需要一种更细致入微的方法，以帮助解释参与者在数字平台上组织学习体验时所使用的认知工具，以及这如何与他们对在线 PD 的期望和需求保持一致。