Collaboration and Transfer in Multi-Actor School Networks - Crossing Boundaries and Creating Opportunities for Professional Learning Addressing Education in a Digital World

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Collaboration and Transfer in Multi-Actor School Networks –Crossing
Boundaries and Creating Opportunities for Professional Learning
Addressing Education in a Digital World Digi
NetSchul
Marco Hasselkuß1, Anna Heinemann2& Manuela Endberg1
1Working Group on Educational Research | 2Learning Lab, University of Duisburg-Essen

2
Background
Integration of digital technologies to support teaching and learning in school understood as cross-sectional challenge
→can best be tackled when working collaboratively
(Drossel et al., 2016; Hobbs & Coiro, 2016; Cress, Moskaliuk & Jeong, 2016)
School
development Digitalization Collaboration/
School networks

3
Teacher collaboration
Forms of teacher collaboration
(Gräsel, Fußangel & Pröbstel, 2006)
Co-Construction
Division of work
Exchange
Sorted bottom-up by
•Increasing task difficulty
•Increasing degree of trust
•Decreasing autonomy
Examples:
•Exchange: e.g. exchanging materials, informing each other
about new curricula
•Division of work: e.g. preparing exams together but with
respective tasks for each teacher
•Co-construction: aligning individual knowledge so as to acquire
new knowledge/ develop new solutions (e.g. team teaching)

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The “DigiSchoolNet” study (2018-2021)
Subproject 1:
Reconstruction of processes of
„digital“ school development
Methodology:
Content analysis of ICT
concepts, school strategies +
Interviews
n = 60 documents and
n= 100 interviews with
teachers
Subproject 2:
Relevance of relations and
communication structures for
transfer processes regarding
„digital“ school development
Methodology:
Recurring ego-centric network
analyses via network maps to
be filled in by teachers
(3 years, 10 MTP)
Sample: 3 school networks,
4- 5 schools each
Retrospective Analysis
Longitudinal Analysis
DigiSchoolNet

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Survey: Longitudinal egocentric network analysis
Forms of teacher collaboration:
Data analysis: Ego-network maps for each teacher, measurement time point (t) and form of collaboration
Symbols:
= Ego
= alters
= color indicates type
of organization
= arrows show direction
of flow of information
(i.e. exchange)
= no arrows (undirected relation),
i.e. division of work, co-
construction
= numbers indicate
frequency of
interaction (1-5)
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Data collection
→Teachers at ten schools in two networks involving schools, university,
school maintaining body, local authorities, teacher professional development

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Instances of cross-boundary collaboration (t1-t5)
School
Received
Forwarded
DW
CC
Total
A (BK)
10
2
8
1
6
0
2
0
3
B (BK)
11
0
15
0
9
0
3
5
5
C (BK)
2
4
5
4
4
5
2
2
15
D (BK)
6
0
7
0
3
0
3
2
2
E (BK)
3
2
2
0
3
1
3
0
3
School
Received
Forwarded
DW
CC
Total
A (
Gym)
10
9
17
7
19
6
19
5
27
B (
Gym)
a
15
5
13
0
8
1
10
1
4
b
5
5
10
3
6
0
5
0
10
c
13
0
8
1
9
1
7
1
4
C (
Gym)
18
5
23
2
15
0
14
2
13
D (Sec)
10
2
6
1
8
2
10
2
9
E (
Gym)
a
6
9
21
0
8
0
4
1
10
b
16
0
11
0
4
0
5
5
5
Network D1 Network D2
BK = vocational schools (in the German dual system of
vocational training)
Gym = German “Gymnasium”: general education,
traditionally leading to A-levels
Sec = “Secondary school”, type of school in general
education in some of Germany’s federal states

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Cross-boundary collaboration (network D1, school A)
t1
t2
t3
t4
t5
Exchange: Received
Exchange:
Forwarded
Division of work
Co
-construction
1
4 1
1
4
3
4
4
4
5
45
5
3
2
1
5
5
4
5
55
5
1
555
4
14
4
4
55
5
5
5
4
555
4
3
5
55
3
4
555
115
55
44
55
44
2
4
4
4
5
5
44
4
1
1
4
4
11
3
4
4444
44
2
5
55
5
4
4
→“Gymnasium”, teacher (ego) is part of (extended) school leadership board, working group on ICT, ICT coordinator
= own
school
= other
school in
network
= teacher
professional
development
agency
= university
= school
maintaining
body

8
Cross-boundary collaboration (network D1, school A)
→“Gymnasium”, teacher (ego) is part of (extended) school leadership board, working group on ICT, ICT coordinator
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
In Out DW CC
Network 1, school a: Contents of cross-boundary
collaboration
Technical development Teacher professional development
Development of lessons Organisational aspects
Communication Strategy (e.g. school's ICT strategy)
N/A
Collaborative culture in newtork1, school a:
→questionnaire on underlying conditions of collaboration
- Supportive framework with dedicated time and methods
for collaboration
-Strong support but no “directives” to collaborate by school
leadership board: Also for cross-boundary collaboration
- Seems to happen mostly during network meetings

Intermediate results from interview:
Suggestions from school staff for network meetings
•Present Best-Practice from the other
participants
•Collaborate according to subject / topic
→lesson development often topic of
collaboration
•Discuss specific topics
•Moderating institution should have
professional knowledge
•Promoting social networks
•School staff must not lose autonomy
Content Organisation
9

Intermediate results from interviews:
What school staff rated positive about the networks in the research project
•Regularity of meetings
•Reassurance and reflection of own professional activities
•boost for individual school on different levels
•protected space for sharing experience and knowledge without
being judged
•Creating liabilities
10

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commitment to collaboration
school concepts for dissemination
Principals actively support the collaboration
Intermediate results from interviews:
What schools in networks need in order to benefit from cross-boundary
collaboration

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Teacher collaboration in times of the pandemic
•Teacher collaboration (in networks) often debated as (too) time-consuming
(cf. Koltermann, 2013; Jungermann, Pfänder & Berkemeyer, 2018)
•Esp. facing the pandemic cross-boundary collaboration in networks offers potentials
–Exchanging and adapting ideas and solutions, pooling resources and competencies
–Promoting mutual learning processes for participants
–Organizational learning processes
•However: The special circumstances of social distancing and lack of infrastructure to remotely
collaborate using ICT might be hindering factors for networking
•“Emergency teaching” seems to block too much time, hindering reflexive/collaborative activities with
others
•Individual school cases show that in schools with a generally strong culture of collaboration cross-
boundary collaboration is still made use of
Outlook

Thank you very much!
Contact:
Marco Hasselkuß: marco.hasselkuss@uni-due.de
Anna Heinemann: anna.heinemann@uni-due.de
Manuela Endberg: manuela.endberg@uni-due.de
https://digi-ebf.de/digischulnet