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

MM:
Shirley:
learning outcomes and read the info, adapt in my head and then plan my
lesson. That's what I have to do. (sounding irritable)
Having read the outcomes, what do you understand by learning outcome one
which says that the learner will be able to demonstrate knowledge and
understanding of the economic cycle within the context of the economic
problem and learning outcome three says that the learner will be able to
demonstrate knowledge and the ability to apply responsibly a range of
managerial, consumer and financial skills. What do you think this means?
You know, although I read them, I don't exactly understand some of the
terms. Even some of the other teachers don't even know what they mean.
She went on to remark that she had little knowledge ofthe EMS learning area and that
she had received little support from the provincial department-run OBE workshops. It
appeared as if struggling teachers turned to each other for a measure ofsupport and
reassurance.
Extract from Shirley's initial interview:
Shirley: I'm being honest. I don't have much knowledge of EMS. This is the first time
I'm teaching it so what I do is I run to JJ's class and I ask her to help me. I
didn't have any knowledge of it. I didn't know what it was. And when I went
to the OBE workshop, they didn't do much with us. They just gave us a
handout about what is EMS and we had to read that on our own. So I had
basically the grade seven teachers that helped me with EMS this year. And
now that I am attending your workshops, I'm getting insight. I didn't know a
thing.
When questioned as to what she thought the EMS learning area was about, Shirley
referred to the EMS learning area as knowing how to budget one's money. She was
unable to take this very limited notion ofEMS any further at that point, indicating that
she had to learn more about it. In an extract from Shirley's initial interview she
expressed her desperation:
MM:
Shirley:
If someone were to ask you, as an EMS teacher, how would you describe
what EMS is all about. what would you say?
In a nutshell, EMS is about how to budget your money. And if they want a
further explanation, then I have to sit and think about it and work on it. As
I say it was totally new. It still is new to me, because this is the third month
that I am doing it. I'll have to find my way as to what it is before I can give
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