Teacher talk on social media: creating space for learning

Teachers are increasingly using social media as a form of professional development. Online teachers’ communities can be beneficial for teachers, including the opportunity to self-direct their learning, network with peers without barriers of time and space, and find support. However, we still lack an understanding of how their interactions with others help teachers learn on social media. This article reports on a study in which dialogues from a large Facebook group for English language teachers were analyzed. Different types of talk were identified in the group: talk that was productive, talk that was less productive and talk that was toxic for learning. The concept of dialogic learning frames how teachers co-construct understandings through dialogue, and what actions may enable or constrain learning. Recommendations, reflective questions and a model are provided to assist teachers and other stakeholders to understand how interactions on social media may affect opportunities for learning.