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

APPENDIX 3
EXAMPLE OF JOURNAL ENTRIES
02/02/2003
Phoned two teachers who had previously indicated their willingness to take part in the
project. One was unable to commit because she was moving house in a few months and
did not feel that she could meet the requirements ofthe project. She did refer me to
another teacher on her staff. He also could not commit to the project because ofsports
commitments after school and on weekends, citing the fact that he was the only male
teacher on the staff and was fully occupied. The second teacher did not want to be part of
the project. I felt somewhat dejected as the sample size was slowly diminishing.
I conducted my first interview with Mary today. Mary- a polite, keen and eager person. I
expressed my appreciation for her commitment to the project. She expressed anxiety
about being observed in her classroom. I tried to reassure that it would not be an
evaluation - that I was not there to pass judgment on her teaching ability, but to simply
observe and understand how she approached the teaching ofEMS. I was glad to get the
first interview under my belt. Will transcribe this myself!
3/03/2003
Interviewed Ben today. Before the interview he informed me ofthe sudden death ofone
ofthe teachers. All schoolwork had stopped, as teachers were busy preparing the choir to
sing at the funeral. Ben agreed to continue with the interview as planned. I learnt that Ben
was in charge ofsetting up the school library. The school had been in existence for more
than ten years and did not have a library to date. Ben requested assistance in the form of
books and shelving. Ben was a temporary teacher at Pecan primary. He had taught
previously, had left the profession for a while and had recently returned and was trying to
secure a permanent position at the school.
5/03/2003
I set up a meeting with Debbie and Kim for today. Debbie mentioned that she could not
spend too much time with me, as she had to go home to prepare for her daughter's
birthday.
I promised not to be long and mentioned that it was only an information session. Both
teachers wanted more details about the project and the roles that they were expected to
play. I explained their involvement but got the distinct impression that the teachers were
still uneasy about the arrangement. I tried to reassure them that there was much that they
could benefit from working closely with me in developing a curriculum for EMS.
Both teachers expressed their anxiety and dissatisfaction with the way in which they had
been 'dumped in the deep-end' and expected to find their own way in EMS. Both
teachers had started teaching 'needs and wants' but were not sure whether they were
overlapping or pitching at the right level.
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