Using Blogging in Support of Teacher Professional Identity Development: A Case Study

This case study explores the affordances a weblog (blog) offered to “Ms. Frizzle,” an urban middle school science teacher and exceptional blogger, to support her professional identity development. The 316 posts she wrote over 1 school year were systematically analyzed and triangulated with data from e-mail exchanges and interviews with Ms. Frizzle and her colleagues. Ms. Frizzle used her blog to tell stories of herself and her classroom, reflect on her practice, work through dilemmas, solicit feedback, and display competence, among other things. By doing so, she was able to wrestle with many issues that are central to the practice of urban science teaching and be recognized by herself and others as a “reform-minded” teacher committed to excellence and equity in education. To realize these benefits, however, Ms. Frizzle invested significant time and energy into her blogging and made certain uses of blogging features. Thus, although this study empirically supports the potential of blogging for teachers’ professional identity development, it also indicates that the way in which teachers use blogging will determine the extent of the benefits they can derive from this practice.