Abstract:

For millennia the intensity and format of teachers’ continuous professional development in Kazakhstan was quite traditional via accumulating new knowledge delivered by a lecturer and tested with closed questions. In the digital world, self-accessed courses have emerged. MOOCs have found their niche within the lifelong learning system in Kazakhstan thanks to their abundant resources in multimedia formats and learning via peer interaction, which implies self-regulated learning via finding, processing and applying knowledge according to the theory of connectivism (Siemens, 2004). However, Kazakhstani in-service teachers’ interests are bounded with certificates rather than upgrading their knowledge and teaching skills. Thus, the “MOOC Facilitated Sessions” project was initiated across Kazakhstan to increase efficiency of MOOCs and to upgrade EFL teachers’ English level, equip them with web learning skills and online teaching techniques.

This presentation reveals the facilitators’ roles and their strategies of enhancing trainees’ conceptual knowledge within the MOOCs’ syllabus and online learning skills. Presentation participants will be introduced to the methodology facilitators applied to enhance trainees’ English level and content knowledge within the course syllabus as well as diverse web applications outside the MOOC platform. The strategy of small group interaction outside the MOOC platform will be shared to demonstrate the outcomes of participants’ interactive learning that contributed to their language and subject conceptual knowledge and prepared them for peer-reviewed assignments within the MOOCs.

The project outcome reveals participants’ intake, embedded applications, and techniques in their own teaching as well as their changing attitude to MOOCs. The results of this project can be applied by institutions of continuous education both formal and informal to assist teachers with learning on MOOC platforms and increase their teaching repertoire for their teaching contexts.

Keywords:

MOOC, continuous professional development, massive open online courses, efficiency, EFL teachers, facilitated sessions.