5. DISCUSSION
5.2. KEY THEMES
5.2.4. LEARNING BY COLLABORATING
The teachers seemed to use the words “peers” and “colleagues” interchangeably referring to teachers they worked with teaching the same subject or grade, or those teachers they shared a closer relationship with. All teachers spoke positively of how they learnt from their peers. Learning from each other helped to foster an essence of team working among the teachers. Some described how teachers sit and plan their lessons and programmes together, another spoke of how she learnt by being tutored by her peers, while novice teachers experienced some degree of mentoring from the experienced teachers. This is what Mawhinney (2010) refers to as ‘beehive activity’. An example of this was when a grade controller mentioned, in passing a new technique she was trying out, to the novice teacher.
This incidental learning exposed the novice to a new strategy.
However, generally, learning from their peers happens more informally from their casual conversations and liaisons with each other. The merit of learning from peers seems to be the support that teachers feel from their colleagues. Novice teachers especially, felt that
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having such support gave them the courage to persevere. The peers support at the school seems to happen naturally and frequently. A novice teacher also noted the role some non teaching staff played in her development.
The collaborative nature of learning at school was evident in the various ways that teachers learnt form each other. Teachers appeared to be comfortable consulting and liaising with the teachers in their respective departments on issues of coping with the syllabus,
administrative duties, examination procedures, etc. Much of this learning took place quite incidentally. The successful experiences of the teachers’ collaborative learning bears testimony to Kwakman’s (2003) view that communities not only support but also stimulate learning.
Experienced teachers also engaged in collaborative learning by being part of networks and clusters. As researchers like Putnam and Borko (2000) suggest, teacher learning extends beyond the classroom and the school.
5.2.4.1. NETWORKING
Research studies indicate that teachers’ learning should ideally take place in actual classrooms, however it is also emerging that experiences outside the classroom are also essential to learning, (Putnam and Borko, 2000). This study revealed a similar understanding with teachers interacting with teachers outside their own school context.
While experienced teachers network frequently with teachers from other schools, the novice teachers have not yet established such links with teachers. Their collaboration is still confined within the school.
Knight (2002) strongly advocated that communities, which we earlier established as an informal group engaging and sharing mutually, are prime sites for teacher learning. The experienced teachers all teach senior classes and it appears that meeting policy
requirements and syllabus demands leads them to collaborate with other teachers. During these collaborations they claim to share knowledge, ideas, resources etc. to make their teaching experience a pleasant one resulting in what Wilson and Berne (1999) referred to as
“shared meanings.”
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New groups of teachers form networks after meeting at formal gatherings like workshops and matric marking sessions. In this way teachers get the chance to see how teaching happens outside their areas. When teachers learnt from teachers at other schools, it illustrated that learning is not confined to the school, but extends beyond, to other schools as well. This was highlighted by Kwakman (2003) who reiterated that teachers working contexts also encompasses communities outside school.
While cluster meetings represent planned learning opportunities, they do not follow a prescribed or structured formal programme of learning. Teachers revealed that much of their learning that happened in this forum was informal.
5.2.4.2. CLUSTER MEETINGS
Experienced teachers spoke of their interactions in cluster meetings. These meetings bring teachers, usually matric teachers of particular subjects together to moderate learner assessments and plan testing schedules. Often teachers share how they are coping or not and others render assistance in the form of advice and resources to help teachers cope. As novice teachers are teaching in the GET phase, they have not been able to experience attending cluster meetings.
While cluster meetings themselves are beneficial to teachers from different schools sharing ideas and challenges, the teachers also extend their communication outside these meetings.
The experienced teachers spoke of how they are in constant contact either telephonically or by email, supporting each other in dealing with the challenges of the curriculum or with sharing, designing, preparing resources. This illustrates Wenger’s (1998) point that working in a community strengthens ones practice by creating a sense of belonging and shaping ones practice.
The respondents who had the experience of working in clusters spoke fondly of the value such interactions had on their development. For all of them the cluster group served as a crucial form of support in dealing with the curriculum and related issues. These teachers embraced the true essence of working in a community. Knight (2002, p.233) found that communities have a positive impact on teacher development and helps to “socialise them into established ways.”
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Researchers found that communities are at the centre of teacher learning and encourage teachers to be a part of such communities to strengthen their development, Lieberman and Mace (2009); Knight (2002); Mawhinney (2010); Wenger (1998).
5.2.4.3. SUBJECT COMMITTEE MEETINGS
As discussed above this planned (intentional) programme also offers teachers the opportunity to develop their informal learning.
Only one teacher did not mention learning at subject committee meetings. It is possible that since the teacher is an HOD, therefore leads such meetings, that he did not mention it as part of his development. The other teachers cited it as a good place to learn as it exposes teachers to different ideas as they pool their thoughts together when planning.
Teachers spoke of how at these meetings they are able to plan their approaches to the syllabus, share ideas on how to teach content, decide on assessment strategies, design spreadsheets particular to their subject requirements and plan remediation programmes for poor performance.
One novice teacher said that she found her subject committee ‘workshops’ very useful and felt that other departments should host similar workshops and that it should happen more often. The experienced teachers said that the subject committee meetings allowed them to work as a team in their planning for the year right from programmes of assessments to work schedules and lesson plans.
One of the novice teachers highlighted the value of what she called mini workshops that their subject committee put together. These workshops are designed to assist the teachers in the department with issues that they might be finding challenging. By engaging in
collaborative learning the teachers were encouraged to share knowledge and ideas and consequently feel empowered. Teachers in the research conducted by Abrahams (1997) expressed similar sentiments about being involved in collaborative learning.
Subject committee meetings fall into the category of planned learning opportunities in school. For the four teachers who admitted learning at these meetings, the experience of working as a team, supporting each other, and working on solutions together, brainstorming
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ideas etc. proved to be an essential part of their development. This idea is supported by Darling-Hammond and Richardson (2009) who advocate that learning communities are effective as learning strategies are sustained, embedded and collaborative encouraging a healthy interaction and a sense of team work among colleagues.
5.3. RESEARCH QUESTION 2: TO WHAT EXTENT DOES INFORMAL LEARNING CONTRIBUTE