New Contexts for Professional Learning - Analyzing High School Science Teachers’ Engagement on Twitter

Oct 15, 2026

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Analyzing Advanced Placement (AP) Biology teachers’ engagement in microblogging, a mixed-methods observational study examines three Twitter hashtag communities (#apbiochat, #apbioleaderacad, #apbioleaderacademy) with data from 121 users and 2,253 tweets. Educational data mining, qualitative content analysis, social network analysis, regression, and hierarchical linear modeling show that teachers’ Twitter use aligns with aspects of high-quality professional development. Twitter’s nonhierarchical structure enables shared content creation and distribution, supports temporal participation patterns, and personalizes learning experiences. Positive interaction framing may reduce perceived professional isolation, prompting encouragement of microblogging for professional learning.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages20

Reading Time50 min

AccessFree to download

Overview

Study Design and Data Sources

Analytical Methods

Key Findings

Professional development quality indicators

Participation patterns and personalization

Supportive community and reduced isolation

Implications for policymakers and school leaders

AERA Open October-December 2019, Vol. 5, No. 4, pp. 1–20 DOI: 10. 1177/2332858419894252 Article reuse guidelines: [sagepub.com/journals-permissions](sagepub.com/journals-permissions)[ ](sagepub.com/journals-permissions)© The Author(s) 2019. [http://journals.sagepub.com/home/ero](http://journals.sagepub.com/home/ero) New Contexts for Professional Learning: Analyzing High School Science Teachers’ Engagement on Twitter Christian Fischer University of Tübingen Barry Fishman Sarita Yardi Schoenebeck University of Michigan This mixed-methods observational study analyzes Advanced Placement (AP) Biology teachers’engagement in microblogging for professional learning. Data from three hashtag-based Twitter communities—\#apbiochat, \#apbioleaderacad, and \#apbioleaderacademy (121 users; 2,253 tweets)—are analyzed using educational data mining, qualitative two-cycle content analysis, social network analysis, linear and logistic regression analyses, and hierarchical linear modeling. Results indicate that teachers’use of Twitter reflects aspects of high-quality professional development. Notably, Twitter’s nonhierarchical organization affords shared content creation and distribution. Additionally, Twitter allows for different temporal participation patterns and supports the personalization of learning experiences aligned to teachers’ needs and preferences. Furthermore, teachers frame their interactions on Twitter positively—thus, creating a supportive environment for professional learning that might reduce perceived professional isolation. Based on this analysis, policymakers and school leaders should feel comfortable encouraging teachers to use microblogging as part of their professional learning activities. Keywords: microblogging, science teacher education, professional development, virtual communities of practice, Advanced Placement In times of accelerated technological advancements, traditional framings of teacher learning stand to benefit from reexamination in new contexts. These include opportunities that might extend, complement, or replace traditional face-to-face professional development (PD) activities. Microblogging platforms, which allow users to communicate with their followers through short messages, are an example of new contexts in which teachers engage in activities that may rise to the level of more established PD. Twitter is the largest of the microblogging platforms with more than 313 million monthly active users whose postings can be seen by more than 1 billion unique visitors (Twitter, Inc., 2017) . Features that distinguish Twitter from other online communities are its usability (e.g., limited technology knowledge necessary), accessibility (e.g., support of mobile applications), personalization (e.g., unique information displayed to every user), low financial costs (e.g., no sign-up fees or other costs), breadth and depth of available information (e.g., diverse user groups), limited time commitments for individual tweets (e.g., 280-character limit), and dynamic display of new information (e.g., real-time updates) . These attributes distinguish Twitter from other platforms meant to support online teacher communities, such as web-based discussion boards, including the College Board’s own Advanced Placement Teacher Community (APTC; Frumin et al., 2018); more comprehensive social media sites such as Facebook, Reddit, or Pintrest (Carpenter, Cassaday, & Monti, 2018; Hu, Torphy, Opperman, Jansen, & Lo, 2018; Trust, Krutka, & Carpenter, 2016; Willet & Carpenter, 2019); simulations (Arici, Barab, Sewell, & Mcllroy, 2014); or older online media such as email-based discussion groups and listserves (McMahon, 1996) . Twitter also has norms different from many social media sites, and teachers often use it for professional purposes including interactions with students and teacher-to-teacher interactions without students (Carpenter, Kimmons, Short, Clements, & Staples, 2019; Forte, Humphreys, & Park, 2012)

FAQs

What is the focus of the study on teachers’ Twitter use?

The study analyzes how AP Biology teachers engage in microblogging for professional learning using data from three Twitter hashtag communities.

Which data and communities are analyzed?

It uses hashtag-based Twitter communities: #apbiochat, #apbioleaderacad, and #apbioleaderacademy, covering 121 users and 2,253 tweets.

What do the results suggest about Twitter as professional development?

The results indicate Twitter reflects aspects of high-quality professional development, including shared content creation and distribution and support for varied temporal participation patterns.

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by Cart