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

learning area, but for her own personal development. The effect ofDebbie's quest for
more content knowledge and her changing ability to experience EMS and EMS teaching
as meaningful, could be seen in her changing practice discussed below. The extracts
above indicate a definite shift in Debbie's ability to make meaning ofthe new EMS
learning area. Her content knowledge and pedagogical content knowledge had certainly
improved substantially. She had moved from having had a 'partial or scant knowledge' of
EMS and economic phenomena to what can be described as more than an adequate
knowledge ofthe learning area (see Table 6.5 on page 247).
In the extracts below, I provide evidence ofDebbie's evolving practice by analysing the
extent ofher changing content knowledge, pedagogical content knowledge, her
questioning skills and rapport with her pupils and the teaching resources that she
employed in her lessons.
6.3.3.1 Observation of Debbie's teaching early in the TEMS project
The following extract from the lesson observation report describes the context in which
Debbie's teaching took place.
Many pupils in Debbie's class were very poor. Some pupils had very old uniforms, some not
looking clean (unwashed, not ironed); some pupils' hair was unkempt, oily/greasy. White socks
were discoloured, shirt buttons and dress buttons missing from some uniforms. Fingernails
long and dirty. A few pupils on the other hand appeared to be well dressed and well cared
for. Debbie began the lesson by reminding pupils about the scissors and glue they were
asked to bring to school for that lesson. She walked around to check and expressed
disappointment that some children did not have anything. Some children offered reasons for
not having the requisites (forgotten, did not have etc.) Debbie had borrowed three pairs of
scissors earlier (from another class) and asked pupils to share them. She reminded them to
be careful, as she had to return them.
In the context in which Debbie taught, borrowing and sharing was the norm. It was
unreasonable to expect poor children who did not bring sandwiches to school to be able
to afford luxuries like glue and scissors. For lessons that required such resources, Debbie
had to be resourceful in order to ensure that all pupils had the opportunity to engage in
the planned activity.
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