Teacher Learning in a Community of Practice: A Case Study of ...

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John regarded the close interaction ofteachers in the TEMS project as crucial for the development ofteachers. He suggested that it had allowed the work ofthe group to be more 'focussed'. It also allowed for greater continuity and flow since each new session did not have to be preceded by 'ice breakers' for teachers to begin engagement with each other. TEMS teachers had become familiar with each other and the schools in which they taught. He contrasted this with other workshops that he had attended in the past. Extract from final interview: MM: How is this programme different from any other INSET or department run programmes? Is there a difference? John: There is a difference. I think here there is greater interaction. You see here, because we seem to know each other, but if you go to the department workshop, you generally don't know most of the people there. And the interaction is not as good as it was here. So what I'm saying is that this is more focussed. If you have bigger, larger groupings then interaction won't be so great. Then you have to have things like icebreakers sessions to get to know each other. See we are talking here, we tend to know each other's school; we know each other's background. We know the children in the school, so it's easier for US to talk about these issues. Earlier John had explained how he had been invited by a principal in another region to deliver a workshop on EMS and EMS teaching. From this we see John's distinct changing alignment to various communities. He had extended his 'professional community' to include teachers from outside his region, teachers from the TEMS project, teachers and pupils within his school, in his own class, and teachers ofother learning areas. John's networks had widened considerably. This extended networking and participation in the TEMS project and beyond illustrates John's increasing confidence and competence as an EMS teacher and a learner in the TEMS project. 5.7 A COMPOSITE PICTURE OF JOHN'S LEARNING Using Wenger's four components oflearning, namely, meaning, practice, identity and community, the table below depicts a summary ofthe key areas of change with respect to John. Although all the four components are linked in intricate and complex ways, meaning and practice (representing subject content and pedagogy) have been grouped, as 189
they are closely related and mutually informing. Similarly, identity and community are also closely related and are grouped under one heading. The table is designed to present and compare aspects ofJohn's learning before participation in the TEMS programme and after eleven months ofinvolvement in TEMS activities. Table 5.2: A composite representation of John's learning BEFORE (PRE-TEMS) AFTER (POST-TEMS) Meaning and Practice Meaning and Practice Poor subject content knowledge Had developed significant subject content knowledge Intimidated by complex jargon of C20D5 as it applied More confident in the use and application of to EMS C20D5 discourse and EMS discourse Limited knowledge ofbasic tenets ofeconomics Had developed insight into the economic (economic problem), namely, scarcity, choice and the problem and was able to identify and relate economic cycle various topics to the economic problem. Narrow perception ofEMS as constituting Life Skills More knowledgeable ofthe breadth and scope and basic Entrepreneurship ofEMS as a discipline. Focussed on keeping pupils occupied to prevent Able to plan more meaningful pupil activity indiscipline - stifled discussions aimed at achieving EMS learning outcomes using EMS conceots - and more learner centred Lessons built on everyday understanding of economic Lessons developed with an understanding of phenomena the concepts ofthe discipline Limited meaningful questioning - little or no attention Improved questioning - testing EMS paid to levels of questions asked - Inability to probe conceptual skills - Confidence to engage with incorrect responses incorrectresoonses Insular approach to content and its boundaries Easily identified opportunities for integration across learning areas Identity and Community Identity and community Low self esteem - regarded himself as unskilled Confident - identified skills recently developed Identified himself as a Language teacher - recognised Identified himself strongly with EMS - began by school as such to lead EMS development at his school and wider EMS community Limited recognition for involvement in school and Eamed the respect ofschool management and wider teaching community colleagues and wider teaching communitybroadened networks Concerned with day-to-day survival Long-term plans for the future ofEMS development in the region. Limited involvement in the learning ofcolleagues Began to take an interest in, encourage and create opportunities for colleagues' learning Peripheral membership ofTEMS Core member - active participation and leadership in TEMS 190
Page 1 and 2:
Teacher Learning in a Community of
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ABSTRACT Conceptualising teacher le
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DEDICATION This thesis is dedicated
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DECLARATION I, Suriamurthee Moonsam
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ASSOCIATED CONCEPTS UNDER STUDY WIT
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Observation ofJohn's teaching after
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A SYNTHESIS OF THE STUDy...........
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TEMS RNCS EMS GET DoE INSET ELRC SA
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In describing the subject-pedagogy
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teachers lacked content knowledge r
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acknowledges the importance and pec
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some formal Mathematics teacher edu
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study, the coordination functions w
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It foregrounds the fact that the co
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school. Higher education opportunit
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frame models for projecting future
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teacher education by the state, (as
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schools, classrooms, management and
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Although the Teacher Audit indicate
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One ofthe first curriculum reform i
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entrenched design feature of C2005,
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In Chapter Five, I set up a narrati
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LITERATURE REVIEW 2.1 INTRODUCTION
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As indicated in the previous chapte
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This view is supported by Putman an
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Learning is social in nature (Putma
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Constant reflection on and understa
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Teachers drew on their membership i
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The above arguments about the lack
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change. She highlights the importan
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Differences in the cultures oflearn
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persons and is not considered solel
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and offers insights into how learni
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America. Goodson (1992) and Calderh
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learned meaning and value for them
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'accommodation' and intimates that
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staffroom and a 'pragmatic' teacher
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Davisson (1984), Lumsden and Scott
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directive in that it guides choices
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economic discourse, the economics p
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• Understand and promote the impo
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2.7 CONCLUSION This chapter began b
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(Walford 2001; Anderson 1999). With
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• It places value on the research
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The main research question in this
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Lave and Wenger emphasise the centr
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3.3.2 The Work ofWenger (1998): Com
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agree with the way it takes place o
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Figure 3.3: Refined intersection of
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eflecting. The ability of a communi
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object to something that in reality
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practice is not just an aggregate o
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system or institution and the influ
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3.3.2.4 Learning Practice has to be
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new possibilities for meaning. Brok
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These characteristics indicate that
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engage with one another and acknowl
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A structural model ofa community of
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who were regarded as peripheral. A
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Ideally I would have wanted teacher
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they represent key ingredients in s
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that the Wenger framework presents
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more useful and effective than part
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3.6 CONCLUSION This chapter provide
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• While my professional input int
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• Cycle ofhypothesis and theory b
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observer played themselves out. A c
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organised events and linked communi
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In keeping with ethnographic princi
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In this qualitative study, my inter
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collection. He questions whether co
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physical context, the complex body
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completed, final text: rather, they
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the teacher over classroom events (
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'connoisseurship'. I realised that
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In this study, the criteria for the
Page 154 and 155: In Chapter One I described the sequ
Page 156 and 157: tactic by indicating to research pa
Page 158 and 159: On the occasions that I delivered b
Page 160 and 161: "Confidentiality involves a clear u
Page 163 and 164: were cordial and professional. The
Page 165 and 166: CHAPTER FIVE HOW HAD TEACHER LEARNI
Page 167 and 168: individual participants changed dif
Page 169 and 170: He received his schooling under the
Page 171 and 172: school regularly updated the books
Page 173 and 174: gone on to become really wealthy. I
Page 175 and 176: John noted that in planning the cur
Page 177 and 178: Significant changes had thus occurr
Page 179 and 180: just transfer it. For example, bank
Page 181 and 182: Extract from the lesson: John: Pupi
Page 183 and 184: schoolwork as 'economic work'. This
Page 185 and 186: John: Now we are not looking at thi
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Page 189 and 190: John: Now I want you to remember wh
Page 191 and 192: John succeeded in drawing on the sp
Page 193: at her maths books to which the tea
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Page 198 and 199: 5.5 JOHN'S CHANGING PROFESSIONAL ID
Page 200 and 201: to achieve their joint enterprise o
Page 202 and 203: 5.6 JOHN'S INCREASED PARTICIPATION
Page 206 and 207: As stated earlier, because the 'con
Page 209 and 210: CHAPTER SIX USING WENGER'S CONSTRUC
Page 211: 6.2 SECTION ONE AN ANALYSIS OF TEAC
Page 214 and 215: understanding it at all. I just don
Page 216 and 217: In the final interview that took pl
Page 218 and 219: MM: Shirley: learning outcomes and
Page 220 and 221: the little things like we started i
Page 222 and 223: understandings and conceptions ofth
Page 224 and 225: Extract from Mary's final interview
Page 227 and 228: Teachers were able to describe the
Page 229 and 230: The essential differences between D
Page 231 and 232: Debbie's school, Eden Primary was l
Page 233 and 234: what he's saying. And in that lesso
Page 235 and 236: they were excellent, really good. I
Page 237 and 238: Extract from first lesson observati
Page 239 and 240: out of the material that they had.
Page 241: largely recall, repetition or were
Page 244 and 245: Third extract from Debbie's second
Page 247 and 248: From the above extracts and discuss
Page 249 and 250: with a new set ofsubjects. Without
Page 251: was three kilometres away from the
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In the next extract, Ben referred t
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for making bread. The difficulty an
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T: P: T: P: T: P: T: Look again. Is
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stemmed from a discussion at the TE
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Key to the table A = Good/substanti
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was doing the budget and where they
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ofher school and the TEMS community
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Extract from Beth's final interview
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fox the invitations and arrange for
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Table 6.6: Teachers' learning in te
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CHAPTER SEVEN AN ANALYSIS OF TEACHE
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As we saw in Chapter Six, the core
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who did or did not want to become f
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The following extract offers a narr
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difficulties (ibid.). In the above
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A community moves from the potentia
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Cindy began the workshop with a tho
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oundaries" (Wenger et al 2002:97).
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7.4 AN ANALYSIS OF THE TEMS GROUP A
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necessary to learn what they needed
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Figure 7.2: Brokering relationships
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the group. Wenger (1998) notes that
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knowledge ofothers. It is therefore
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MM Shirley MM: Mary: MM: Mary Have
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The following extract from a worksh
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MM: Shirley: How many EMS workshops
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Table 7.2: Criteria for the emergen
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Soudien, a leading South African ac
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hand, adopts a 'narrow' perspective
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As mentioned earlier, Wenger's work
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literature review revealed that the
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Another important feature ofWenger'
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'Identity' namely, 'learning as bec
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(Hargreaves 1995). Teacher professi
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for the purposes ofprofessional dev
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teacher growth. CPD in Africa subsc
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knowledge of subject content is ser
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South Africa, due cognisance must b
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8.3.7 An arena for engaging and con
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the provision of appropriate profes
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level conceptual thinking". They wa
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Collaboration within teacher learni
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has for teacher learning in a South
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Bourdieu, P. (1986) The Forms ofCap
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Department ofEducation (2002) Revis
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Homan, R. (2002) The principle of i
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Mattson, L. (2000) Teacher identiti
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Smylie, M.A., Bay, M. & Tozer, S.E.
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Westheimer,1. (1998) Among schoolte
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APPENDIX 2 INTERVIEW SCHEDULES (INI
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2. What information have you been g
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APPENDIX 3 EXAMPLE OF JOURNAL ENTRI
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APPENDIX 5 EXAMPLE OF INDEPENDENT O
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