Technology-Facilitated Continuous Professional Development During a Pandemic: A Hong Kong Primary School Case Study

Abstract

This article reports a case study of one local primary school in Hong Kong implementing a continuous professional development cycle for English-as-a-second-language teachers during a COVID-19 pandemic. The study focused on factors that impacted teacher continuous professional development and explored whether technology could be used to facilitate school-based professional support. An intervention implementing the technology-integrated continuous professional development cycle was conceptualised and implemented in the study. A teacher educator, together with eight English teachers, implemented the technology-integrated continuous professional development cycle. A blended approach to school-based professional support revealed that teachers valued the technological tools that facilitated professional development. These tools (such as Google Drive, Google Meets and WhatsApp) allowed for teachers to collaboratively conduct action research with the teacher educator. The study identified what factors engaged teachers in professional development as well as how technology facilitated continuous professional development. The study concluded that a mixture of different modes of continuous professional development allowed for greater teacher professional development to take place, as well as leading to applying the professional development in the classroom context.