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

persons and is not considered solely as the property ofindividuals (Putman and Borko
2000). Lave (1988) and Lave and Wenger (1991) suggest that cognition is distributed or
'stretched over' the individual, other participants and various artefacts and tools. The
distribution ofcognitive tasks across participants and tools makes it possible for the
community or group to accomplish tasks beyond the capabilities ofany individual
participant. Participants "experience transformation in unique yet socially supportive
ways", as they extend each other's thinking beyond what they might do as individuals
(Long 2004: 144). In this way, teachers are better able to engage in learning that may
influence their practice. Putman and Borko (2000) concur that for teachers to be
successful in learning new knowledge and pedagogic skills, they need opportunities to
participate "in a professional community that discusses new teacher materials and
strategies and that supports risk taking ... entailed in transforming practice" (Putman and
Borko 2000:8).
In learning communities, teachers' professional knowledge is public and is represented in
a form that enables it to be accumulated and shared with other members ofthe
community. This knowledge is constantly verified and improved and is communicated
among colleagues through a process ofcollaboration (Hiebert, Stigler and Gallimore
2002). Collaboration ensures that what is discovered will be communicable because it is
discovered in the context ofgroup discussions. It forces participants to make their
knowledge public and understood by fellow participants.
Although learning communities have immense potential for improving teachers learning
and practice, they also present tensions that have to be skilfully handled. Grossman et al
(2001) note that the essential tension ofprofessional development - that ofcurriculum
development and deepening subject matter knowledge - is prevalent in teacher learning
communities. Curriculum development focuses on the improvement ofstudent learning,
while teachers' attempts at deepening subject matter knowledge focuses on teachers as
students ofsubject matter. These two perspectives are essentially a contrast between the
promise ofdirect applicability to classroom practice and the long-term goal ofpersonal
intellectual renewal. While these two foci can be held in a productive tension, they can
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