SIGNS OF CONSTRUCTION OF A PROFESSIONAL LEARNING COMMUNITY IN LANGUAGE EDUCATION: A CASE STUDY

The project “Languages and Education: constructing and sharing professional knowledge” (PTDC/CED/68813/2006 | FCOMP-01-0124-FEDER-007106) evolved around the development of a com-munity-based environment organised in thematic working groups of teachers, educators and research-ers. The research purpose was to study the construction of such community, as well as the professional development trajectories of its members.The community’s dynamics were mainly based on face-to-face communication through regular meet-ings. Notwithstanding, the Moodle platform, particularly the discussion forums were used to bridge the gap in-between meetings. This study analyses the interactions (discussion forums and chat) and the documents shared in the Moodle platform of one thematic working group, in order to identify signs of emergence/construction of the aspired professional learning community.This investigation seeks to contribute to knowledge generation about professional learning communities in language education, and puts forward possible routes to follow-up networks or partnerships which may enhance and nurture the culture of collaboration initiated within the project.