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

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
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