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

just transfer it. For example, banking, it was very convenient to do it in class,
because I had the information with me. It's relevant. They know it's a long-term
plan. They will need student loans in about six years time. How to open a bank
account now and build up your bank account so that when they apply for a loan they
know, the bank manager will say that this person has got this savings account for a
long time and they've been saving. You know the chances are that they could have a
good record. So we're putting all that into effect now with regard to banking. We
make them aware of the banks closest to them, the types of banking. It went on
very well, especially now when I switch to HSS and we discuss the types of early
banking, the barter system, the early banks in South Africa, you know.
MM: How would you compare your current knowledge of EMS to your knowledge when you
first joined the project?
John: It has certainly grown, I've learnt from the subject matter it that has been given to
me, eh, sharing other ideas, I think I've learnt more.
John identified the co-operative group sessions as particularly useful for sharing ideas
amongst participants and generating new ideas as well as learning from other teachers'
expenences.
MM: Which specific aspects of the workshops would you say were most useful to you?
John: I think when we had our group discussions. In the group discussion, we were able to
share a lot of ideas and the come up with new ideas, find out what other people were
doing in their own schools, try what they are doing in their schools, in my school, and
eh, in fact it was a good learning experience.
It was clear that John's stated or claimed changes in his classroom practice as revealed
by the interviews did in fact translate into changes in his classroom practice. Classroom
observations and reflection sessions were conducted at two different points during the
TEMS project. For John's first lesson observation, a semi-structured observation
schedule was used to guide the observation, and detailed notes were taken ofthe lesson.
The lesson observations focussed on critical incidents that may have arisen in each
lesson, especially those that may have related to ambiguities, misconceptions, confusion,
attempts at clarity, and the depth ofsubject matter knowledge being engaged.
The section that follows begins with a discussion and comparative analysis ofJohn's
teaching before he began any significant engagement in the TEMS programme and then
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