| A common practice of teachers seeking National Board Certification (NBC) is to join a support program of other teachers also seeking NBC. A review of the literature reveals that such support programs can help candidates through the National Board (NB) process. However, there is a lack of research on the characteristics of online support for NB candidates. Focusing on two online NB candidate support groups, this study investigated the roles online NB support groups play in achieving NB certification.; Analyses were conducted through qualitative and quantitative methods, to include data from the discussion board posts in the online groups, a NB candidate survey, and a NB support provider survey. This study contributes to the research literature in understanding the roles online support groups play in assisting a teacher in achieving NB certification. There were four main findings of this study. First, NB candidates in online groups sought the support of the social and situated learning environment of the online NB support group as demonstrated by the codings of the online posts in the groups. Second, there is no evidence that the NB online support groups added to or deterred from the transformation of a NB candidates' teaching practice. Third, there are mixed levels of satisfaction with an online group and with the accuracy of the information provided by the group. In this study, participants in one of the online NB support groups were satisfied with the group and with the information provided by the group. Participants in the second online NB support group were less satisfied with their online group and the accuracy of information. Fourth, there is a positive relationship in the online group being a CoP, the satisfaction rate with the online group, and the NB assessment scores. |
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