Drinking from the Firehose: The Structural and Cognitive Dimensions of Sharing Information on Twitter

Abstract

and educational professionals do not have to rely solely on formal support roles and institutions. Instead, they can draw on informal networks wherein they can share their ideas and collaboratively reflect on their practice (e.g., Fox and Wilson 2015). Even more so, scholars such as Rhodes (2000) propose a new, more dynamic network approach that focuses on the informal, horizontal communication between actors, highlighting their interdependence. This notion is supported by research suggesting that professional development can be fostered through social interactions, where individuals gain access to each other's resources, such as information, experience, and knowledge (Borgatti and Foster 2003;Bourdieu 1986;Coleman 1988;Lin 1999). Furthermore, Hattie ( 2013) found that teacher-driven activities, being conducted within collaborative communication networks, tend to be more effective than professional development interventions imposed by formally instated actors and institutions. Currently a growing number of studies of professional development and educational reform have begun to illustrate the importance of networks and social interactions among teachers and leaders in schools (e.g., Daly et al. 2010) as well as in the educational system in which these schools are embedded (Moolenaar et al. 2012). However, despite the recent surge of social media use, there is little empirical evidence about the way educators interact in educational networks online. This study aims to contribute to filling this empirical gap and focusing on better understanding the social interaction in this online informal network dimension.This study departs from the work of Richter et al. and defines formal learning as "structured learning environments with a specified curriculum" and informal learning as "not follow[ing] a specified curriculum and . . . not [being] restricted to certain environments" (2011, 117). García-Peñalvo et al. (2012) posited that MARTIN REHM works at the University of Education Weingarten, Germany. His research interests include informal learning, social capital, social media, and mixed-methods social network analysis.FRANK CORNELISSEN is an associate professor in the Department of Child Development and Education at the University of Amsterdam (the Netherlands) and an affiliated lecturer at the University of Cambridge (UK) who specializes in social network analysis, workplace learning, and educational change.

Exploring online social networks of school leaders in times of COVID‐19

“…The point of departure for this study are two types of data sources. On the one hand, we collected data from a US nation‐wide sample of 15 Twitter conversations on popular hashtags among school leaders 1 (Rehm et al, 2020). Moreover, we specifically searched for leadership and COVID‐19 related discussions within this larger dataset (Bruns & Stieglitz, 2013; Kouzy et al, 2020).…”

“…Even more so, there have been unprecedented efforts among educators to use social media to possibly cope with the situation (Azorín, 2020a; Doucet et al, 2020). Both strategies suggest the importance of informal learning networks in supporting teachers and school leaders in their professional development (del Fresno García et al, 2016; Daly et al, 2019, Rehm et al, 2020; Krutka & Carpenter, 2016). Yet, how these networks develop and what type of content is being shared therein remains under‐researched.…”

“…Social capital has been promoted as a valuable theoretical construct to better understand how informal learning networks develop and evolve (e.g. Rehm & Notten, 2016; Rehm et al, 2020; Dubos, 2017; Phua et al, 2017). Tsai and Ghoshal (1998) consider social capital to be “relational resources embedded in the cross‐cutting personal ties” that “are useful for the personal development of individuals” (p. 464).…”

“…The rise of social media has led to a panoply of online communication spaces, such as Facebook and Twitter, wherein individuals can potentially access and share a wide variety of resources (Owen et al, 2016). Moreover, a growing number of studies have shown that educational professionals use social media, such as Twitter, to access and share information that helps them and others to face their everyday challenges (Rehm et al, 2020; Risser, 2013). As social media are embedded in educators’ immediate personal and professional environments, they constitute social opportunity spaces (del Fresno García et al, 2016, Rehm, 2018, Rehm et al, 2020) that provide affordances to connect with others, share information, resources, and insights, and foster a process of critical reflection.…”

“…Yet, while the role of school leadership has become increasingly important in the process of supporting change and facing new challenges (Penuel et al, 2009; Pitts & Spillane, 2009), we continue to have a lack of research that examines the role of school leaders, particularly in terms of accessing and leveraging informal learning networks situated in social media (Rehm et al, 2020; Cho & Jimerson, 2017). Current research on informal learning networks in social media has either focused on Facebook (Sibona & Walczak, 2011; Tang et al, 2016), has been conducted among students (Selwyn & Stirling, 2016; Zachos et al, 2018), or neglected the role and impact of school leaders (Antheunis et al, 2012; Chung, 2013).…”