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

means that teacher development initiatives that employ a community ofpractice approach
have to necessarily view teachers' practice as an essential component ofteacher learning.
The ability to see communities ofpractice and how they serve to mediate teacher learning
and teachers' response to policy such as C2005 is a first step toward harnessing that
energy in the direction that supports positive change in classroom practice. Teacher
learning communities must be seen as sites for mediating teachers' responses to
institutional reform (Galluci 2003). They are important for sustaining momentum for
change. Phillips (2003) reminds us that teacher learning communities can provide
opportunities to create powerful learning for teachers, the result ofwhich is likely to be
seen in improved student achievement, even in contexts where students are diverse in
terms ofsocio-economic circumstances, academic ability and ethnic background.
8.3.9 Challenges in adopting a communities of practice framework for CPD
In developing teacher development programmes, it is useful to take cognisance of the
problematic issue of 'transfer' as the immediate manifestation ofthe products of teacher
learning. Although Avery and Carlsen (2001) alert us to the potential that the
development ofstrong subject content knowledge has for classroom practice, immediate
transfer is not likely to occur. While it may be assumed that teachers who develop strong
content knowledge are more likely to develop strong pedagogic content knowledge and
become effective teachers as compared to teachers with weak content knowledge, it must
be noted that teacher learning through professional development may not result in
changed practice and improved student performance. Day and Sachs point to an
increasing understanding by researchers and teacher developers in recent times, that
continuing professional development" will not, should not, and cannot always produce
direct 'pay-off' in classroom learning and student achievements. There are too many
other variables which prevent immediate transfer oflearning" (Day and Sachs 2004:29).
Continuing professional development can only have an indirect impact on student
learning (Bolam and McMahon 2004). Adler, Slonimsky and Reed (2002: 136) note that
a common assumption is that " ... knowledge ofsubject matter for teaching is ofprimary
importance, for without this, teachers would not be able to engage their learners in high-
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