A Study On The Development Of College Efl Teachers’ TPACK In Flipped Classroom Community Of Practice

Nowadays,due to the development of information technology,teachers are increasingly required to be equipped with higher teaching competencies and skills.When it comes to foreign language teaching,there is an urgent need for EFL teachers to employ technological pedagogical content knowledge(TPACK)in addition to fostering their language teaching ability.Besides,the development of sociocultural theory highlights the increasingly crucial contribution of teachers’ learning and growth.In particular,attention has been paid to the considerable importance of sociocultural environment and mediating tools in language teaching.Given this,with Activity Theory as a theoretical lens,the present study proposes the following three questions:(1)What changes do EFL teachers in flipped classroom community of practice experience in their TPACK?(2)What are the sociocultural factors contributing to the development of EFL teachers’ TPACK in flipped classroom community of practice?(3)What contradictions,if any,exist within the activity system of EFL teachers’ TPACK development?Taking a qualitative longitudinal case study approach,this study employed semi-structured interviews,reflective journals and observations as qualitative research instruments.This study lasted for 5 months and the participants involved four EFL teachers from the same community of practice of a university in northeast China.The present study yielded the following research findings:(1)The community of practice made it possible for the four EFL teachers to improve their TPACK to varying degrees.Specifically,the three experienced teachers experienced changes on TK,TCK and TPK to a deeper degree than the novice teacher,who experienced changes on CK,PK and PCK to a deeper degree.Both experienced and novice teachers improved their TCK,TPK and TPACK in the community of practice.(2)Community of practice,as an activity system,affected teachers’ TPACK development through the dynamic interactions of different elements in it,including the interaction of four EFL teachers and the object,tools,rules,community and division of labor.(3)Within the activity system of college EFL teachers’ TPACK development,the interactions of object and subject,tools,rules,community and division of labor were responsible for the inner contradiction,which mainly reflected in teachers’ anxiety,language fossilization phenomenon,pressures from teachers’ families,the insufficient training and sustainable resources,the lack of authority in teachers,the lack of fully empowered,the lack of solidarity and collaboration and the lack of personalized division of labor.The current study makes EFL teachers have a clearer and deeper understanding of TPACK and re-examine the weakness in their teaching capabilities,accessible mediating tools and surrounding sociocultural environment.Moreover,the study makes it possible for school leaders to better understand and utilize a community of practice,resolve potential contradictions and help teachers to facilitate their TPACK and professional development.