Professional Development, Motivation, and Community in a Moscow In-service Recertification Course

Abstract

Between September 2010 and May 2013, the author conducted six cycles of an 8-week recertification course for in-service English teachers in Moscow, Russia. The course syllabus was built on developing a community of practice, as a motivating factor in teacher development. The community was fostered both during in-person meeting time and online participant interaction. While the participants’ objectives were varied, the overarching goal of the course – beyond knowledge and skill building – was to engender a sense of ownership among the participants, both of the course itself and of their own continuing professional development. This was realized in both small incremental ways, such as launching a new discussion online, and in bolder, farther-reaching ways, such as organizing a mini-conference for a local school district.

Keywords

• professional development
• motivation
• exploratory practice
• community of practice
• collaboration