An analysis of learning behaviour in a Virtual Learning Community: a case study of teacher professional development geared to the need of infomatisation

This article uses three online teaching teachers, analyse their understanding on the technical product and methods, and their students' learning behaviours when they used Capital Normal University Virtual Learning Community (CNUVLC) network instruction support platform to teach students. The results illustrate: (1) The instructional practice community formed by the novice teachers and the experienced teacher has a bigger positive effect in the teacher professional development geared to the need of information and communication technology; (2) There is no much difference on both a role of a guide and a role of a manager between the novice teachers and the experienced teacher. But, there is much difference on a role of both an organiser and a learning assistant between the novice teachers and the experienced teacher; (3) For the novice teachers, the role of the organiser is suppressed by the role of the guide and the manager, and the novice teacher is difficult to build a learning assistant role; (4) The teacher's behaviour affects the student's behaviour, but the effects are not the same for the novice teachers and the experienced teacher and (5) This sort of technical product like 'CNUVLC' intelligent network instructional support platform can support well the teacher professional development geared to the need of infomatisation.