5.2 Discussions
5.2.3 Participation in clusters developed teachers‘ confidence in content knowledge,
Another important feature of PLC‘s according to Richmond and Manokore (2010, p. 561) is that teachers gain confidence in Content Knowledge, Pedagogical Knowledge, and Practices in PLC‘s. The teachers in this study indicated that they have gained confidence in content knowledge, pedagogical knowledge and practice through their interactions with their colleagues and exchanging of knowledge and information in their clusters. An example of this is the exchanging of teaching methods of different concepts that teachers indicated take place during their cluster meetings. They also indicated that such discussions helped them gain confidence in delivering different aspects of the curriculum to their learners.
Another finding of this study indicated that teachers learnt different kinds of knowledge in line with Grossman‘s (1990) categories of teacher knowledge. For example, their Pedagogical Content Knowledge (PCK) was enhanced through their discussions of the English First Additional Language Curriculum. This was in accordance with Richmond and Manokore‘s (2010) view of professional learning communities that teachers meet regularly with the aim of learning from each other, sharing responsibilities and
125
collaborative development of pedagogical content knowledge. Newman and Wehlage, (1995) (as cited in Stoll et al., 2006, p. 227) also maintain that teachers develop their curriculum knowledge through their interactions with peers in professional learning communities. It was also observed and brought up by the teachers that most of the discussions on curriculum issues pursued if teachers had questions themselves about certain issues, although the subject advisor did bring the teachers attention to some issues at times
Teachers also indicated that they learnt subject matter knowledge which was relevant to EFAL. They stated that clusters helped them in this regard because if they were not cluster members they would probably ask their HoD‘s for clarity on things they were not sure of. And they would share knowledge with other teachers who were not EFAL teachers, and the knowledge and information received would most likely not be relevant and up-to-date EFAL information and knowledge.
Teachers also indicated that being members of clusters helped them expand their knowledge of the context. Teachers indicated that such knowledge was enhanced when they were discussing leaners with problems and they needed to know more about the leaner and their background. The teachers indicated that they learnt the importance of the context in which they were working in problem solving and looking at other issues of teacher practice. After discussing the learner‘s background, the teachers indicated that the colleagues would discuss means of helping the learners or strategies that other teachers had tried in dealing with similar problems. In this way, one teacher‘s problem would become other teacher‘s opportunity for learning.
They indicated that they set common examination papers to be written in their schools in order to have uniformity and to ensure that learners were doing the same work and that
126
they were all on the same level. Teachers also understood the importance of knowing the context in which they work and the context of their colleagues workplaces when setting termly tests for their cluster groups. The other cluster in the study had teachers of mixed race and teachers from diverse schools, so teachers setting tests needed to take cognisance of the different contexts when setting papers.This was beneficial to the teachers as they had to have a sound subject matter knowledge, pedagogical content knowledge and knowledge of context in which their colleagues worked in (Grossman, 1990).
Teachers also indicated that they also learnt about how to teach certain sections of the curriculum through discussions in the cluster meetings. Shulman (1986 a) (as cited in Grossman, 1990, p. 7) maintain that PCK also involves the understanding of ―the most powerful analogies, illustrations, examples, explanations and demonstrations.‖ The teachers learnt to use the latter through collaboratively participating in the cluster.
Teachers also mentioned that being members of the EFAL cluster helped improve using different teaching methods on different sections of the curriculum.
Another key finding of the study is that teachers learnt subject matter knowledge (Grossman, 1990) through participating in clusters. Teachers voiced out that sometimes a teacher would feel that his or her learners were not doing well in a certain section of the curriculum and he or she would go to the cluster and discuss this with their colleagues and sometimes the colleagues would suggest that the teacher uses a different method to teach and other teachers would share the methods they have used to teach certain sections. This was in accordance with what Grossman (1990) calls substantive structure knowledge, who argues that subject matter knowledge can be further subdivided into two categories, namely substantive and syntactic structures. Grossman (1990, p. 6) states that
―Substantive structure is when a teacher has a deep knowledge of the subject that he or
127
she can relate the themes and concepts and be able to teach them in a more meaningful way‖. The teachers indicated that these discussions with their colleagues helped them and improved their teaching methods and skills. Richmond and Manokore (2010) also maintain that when teachers interacted with their peers, they gained confidence and improved in their subject matter knowledge, as indicated by the teachers in this study.
Another key finding of this study is that teachers learnt General Pedagogical Knowledge (GPK) in their clusters. The teachers indicated that cluster meetings also helped them learn some effective ways of teaching certain sections of their work such as group instruction. What teachers learnt here was an example of what Grossman (1990) called small group instruction skills. It is the additional skills and knowledge that teachers need to learn, besides knowledge of the subject matter and pedagogy. This was evidence that teachers learnt through the interactions and discussions with their colleagues.