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

Extract from the lesson:
John:
Pupil:
John:
Pupil:
John:
Pupil:
John:
Pupil:
John:
Pupil:
What is work? Why do people work?
To earn money.
Why do you need money?
To buy food.
Yes to buy food, yes, (points to another pupil)
Support your family.
Support your family.
To build .__
Yes (points).
To rent.
John began by asking what was 'work', but did not go onto establishing an answer. He
moved directly on to why people work and why people need money. Responses that were
accepted by the teacher were common sense constructions from everyday knowledge that
did not illuminate the concept of 'work' but rather, the instrumental purposes people see
in work.
John: To rent, if you bought a house, what are you paying?
Pupil: A bond
John: Yes, a bond. So you know that it is very important to work. What happens
when a person does not work? (pause - repeats the question) . What do you
call it - what is that word? Yes Ashwin?
Pupil: Recession.
John: No, the word for not working (emphasises)
Pupil: Unemployed.
John: Yes ... unemployed - yes but for a short while the person collects something,
what is it. For a short while after they lose their jobs, what is it, yes
(points)
Pupil: Unemployment.
John: Yes, we call it unemployment but it is an unemployment benefit fund that
they collect money from. So they actually pay UIF and for a short while,
probably six months, I think it's gone to nine months now, they collect R250
a month. It's very very little.
John introduced the concept 'bond' and assumed that everyone understood what it meant.
He did not provide an explanation or attempt to establish its meaning. The concept
'recession' crept into the answers that were being provided by pupils. John's response
was simply to say 'no', without giving a reason for the inadequacy ofthe answer, and to
repeat the question.
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