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

stemmed from a discussion at the TEMS workshop where the issue of corporal
punishment had surfaced. Some teachers had voiced their disapproval ofthe practice and
reflected on how it had affected them as pupilS. Some questioned whether they were
prepared to accept the practice ofcorporal punishment ifit were meted out to their own
(biological) children. The issues that emerged (although not all teachers appeared
convinced at the time), was that there was no need for pupils to be terrified oftheir
teachers and that'good' teachers generally earned the respect oftheir pupils. This
discussion appeared to have had a marked impression on Ben and his approach to his
own class. Although classroom rituals such as the pupils' rhythmic clapping ofhands and
standing up to answer questions were still very present in Ben's lessons, they were not as
pronounced as they had been in the first lesson. Ben had begun to ask more questions and
was more tolerant ofincorrect answers. However, the quality ofthe engagement and
questions asked still required simple recall ofinformation. Pupil involvement took the
form ofverbal responses to the teacher's questions and a five-minute paired 'activity'
requiring pupils to respond to three straightforward recall questions.
Ben still preferred not to maintain any form oflesson plan. Apart from the chalkboard no
charts, pictures, worksheets, texts or other teaching resources were used in this lesson.
Evidence from the transcripts above indicates that Ben's practice had shifted minimally.
While 'questioning and rapport' and 'pupil involvement' had changed from being weak
and non-existent to becoming scant and still inadequate, 'teaching resources' remained
non-existent.
6.3.6 A synopsis of Section Two
From the above analysis ofBen and Debbie, it is clear that learning had occurred for both
teachers. The nature and extent of the learning was, however, markedly different for both
teachers. Debbie's career trajectory and history ofongoing reading and study allowed her
to embrace the new EMS learning area with well-developed skills. Debbie's 'superior'
cultural capital (Bourdieu 1986), that is her disposition and way ofthinking, knowledge,
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