Their words have been rewritten but reference has been made to the general information attributed to them. Where their exact words were used, their writing was placed in quotation marks and referred to.
INTRODUCTION
The research focuses on geography clusters and investigates the functioning of clusters as learning communities for teachers. The aim of the research is to investigate the ways in which clusters function as learning communities for teachers.
BACKGROUND
Turkey (2004, cited in Mphahlele, 2014), asserts that groups are tools that can be used to foster learning and exchange among teachers in the same field who wish to improve content and pedagogical content knowledge of the subject. Cluster structures usually consist of a cluster coordinator, a subject advisor and between five and seven schools.
FOCUS AND PURPOSE
Clusters are defined as structures of mutual support and cooperative learning for teacher development (Mphahlele, 2014). The purpose of a cluster is to network schools to reduce imbalances between neighboring schools.
RATIONALE
This study hopes to contribute to the understanding of the new phenomena of clusters that have recently been introduced in South Africa. The study hopes to contribute to the knowledge of policy initiators to improve teacher development strategies.
RESEARCH QUESTIONS
LITERATURE REVIEW AND CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK
Learning communities
What is prevalent in the literature on teacher learning communities is that teachers meet monthly to exchange ideas based on their subject content and knowledge of teaching, similar to learning. The research used a conceptual framework based on the characteristics of teacher learning communities and which will be used to analyze the data to answer the question 'to what extent do the clusters function as teacher learning communities?' An appropriate conceptual framework because it synthesizes the characteristics of teacher learning communities and uses them to analyze the functioning of the geography clusters.
What are the characteristics of learning communities?
DESIGN AND METHODOLOGY
Design
Sampling
Data generation in this case study was conducted through participant interviews and cluster meeting observations.
OVERVIEW OF THE DISSERTATION
CONCLUSION
INTRODUCTION
THE CONCEPT OF LEARNING AND TEACHER LEARNING
2016) argue that informal learning will never be successfully isolated, implying that formal learning is paramount in teacher learning. Bandura (1969) argues that learning is a cognitive process that takes place in a social context when people interact.
HISTORICAL CONTEXT OF LEARNING COMMUNITIES AND KEY CONCEPTS 15
McLaughlin and Talbert (2006) identify three benefits of learning communities: a) building and managing knowledge to improve practice. Therefore, teacher learning communities provide teachers with the opportunity to reflect on different types of knowledge and everyday problems.
CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK
CHARACTERISTICS OF TEACHER LEARNING COMMUNITIES
These characteristics must be present in clusters before they can be considered teacher learning communities. Characteristics of teacher learning communities. a) shared mission, vision and values (b) collaborative learning culture (c) collective research into best practices and current realities (d) action orientation.
TEACHER LEARNING THROUGH TEACHER CLUSTERS
CONCLUSION
INTRODUCTION
RESEARCH PARADIGM
RESEARCH DESIGN
RESEARCH APPROACH (STYLE)
DATA COLLECTION METHODS
Interviews
The interview etiquette included a brief summary of the purpose of the interview and was written and addressed orally to the participants. In the study, the interviews were conducted in the school education center and libraries and were not conducted during school working hours. The interviewer can sometimes unconsciously give clues to the interviewee; this may lead to unreliable answers being obtained from the respondent.
I have transcribed the interviews which will be stored securely at the university for a period of five years.
Observation
With the above discussion, the semi-structured interview is the most appropriate tool for data collection because it ensures that the researcher is immersed with the participants. The challenge with collecting data using observation is to ensure that your presence does not influence the behavior of the participants in the setting. This shows that before choosing to observe, the researcher should be aware of some sensitive situations.
Along with the two mentioned methods, document analysis was also used to triangulate the methods and strengthen the reliability of the study.
Researcher’s field notes
The observation was recorded on paper: I wrote down the important activities that took place during the cluster meetings. To ensure “reliability”, all observation schedules are compiled and stored securely for a maximum period of five years. This information collected during the observation was used to answer the main research question from Chapter One.
SAMPLING PROCEDURE
The research participants’ biographical data
The participants were four Geography teachers from different schools, two of whom were cluster coordinators, and the subject advisor, all from one district. Initially, the data collection was planned to start in January 2016 and end in November of the same year. Ayanda holds a Bachelor of Science and Postgraduate Certificate of Education (PGCE), specializing in Geography and Mathematics, with 8 years of teaching experience.
She holds a Bachelor of Education Honors degree, has 20 years of experience as a teacher and 4 years of working as a deputy principal.
ETHICAL ISSUES
Researcher’s role
The role of the researcher was to generate and analyze data and draw conclusions about findings from the data. Being a teacher helps me understand the responsibility of a teacher and gives me a clear understanding of teacher development and the importance of teacher learning.
TRUSTWORTHINESS
This will ensure that data from similar participants from the same context can replicate the data. Credibility: Credibility implies that the findings reflect the reality and experiences of the participants (Christiansen et al., 2014). Petty, Thomson & Stew (2012) also define credibility as the process by which the findings from the study can be trusted by the participants.
Different data collection methods were used: triangulation, interviews that allow the participant to express themselves, and observation so that the researcher experiences the context of the phenomenon.
CONCLUSION
The main goal was to collect reliable data that reflect a true reflection on the researched phenomenon, i.e. teacher learning.
INTRODUCTION
RESEARCH QUESTIONS
Cluster meeting one
The subject supervisor asked the cluster coordinators to facilitate the discussion of the matrix's final results for 2015. Two facilitators (cluster coordinators) with supervision from the subject supervisor were given blank A3 charts with markers. The clusters in the first hour were expected to engage in discussion as a group led by the cluster coordinator.
For example, each cluster led by a cluster coordinator was expected to discuss and answer questions based on the climatology chapter.
Cluster meeting two
Each group was led by the cluster coordinator and the answers were discussed by the whole group of teachers present at the meeting. The number of teachers per cluster varies, depending on the number of students each school has. At the beginning of the discussion, the teachers were afraid to share their experiences about the content.
This provided an opportunity for the majority of teachers to raise different concerns about the approach of certain chapters.
THE NATURE OF LEARNING ACTIVITIES IN GEOGRAPHY TLCS
Assessment
It's like a workshop: a subject advisor helps us understand new concepts, topic-based teaching methods, how to ask questions, then we do group activities related to our topics. The teacher comes together to discuss the issues of assessment, moderation and placement of question papers across teachers and schools of the same group. However, this year there was a discussion about the content at the first meeting of the group members in the present of the subject advisor.
We discuss issues of assessment, of setting papers, because in the past we used to make papers that did not match the standard of children. ... honestly, there are quite a few activities, the later helped me with the assessment.
Content Discussions
Again, the discussion of some content chapters because it developed my knowledge in the content as a new teacher in Geography Grade 12. I remember in the first cluster meeting our subject advisor warned us to focus more in climatology because in the last few years , learner performance was affected by those two topics. The comments from participants show that there has been some transformation in the type of activities in groups, as time has now been allocated for content discussion.
In the cluster meeting observations, the teachers worked in groups in the first meeting to design A2 charts that discussed content issues.
Teacher sharing experiences
After discussions, each group was expected to present the content summary based on that chapter or their topic. On their topics, they also discussed the major problems and experiences in answering the questions.
TO WHAT EXTENT DO CLUSTERS FOR GEOGRAPHY FUNCTION AS TEACHER
- Collegiality
- Collaborative Learning
- Shared Trust Amongst The Teachers
- Shared Personal Practice
- Supportive Conditions
- Shared Vision, Values, And Goals
- Teacher-driven
The element of sharing prevails in most of the teachers' answers as one of the main characteristics of the grouping. Brodie (2013) emphasizes that one of the characteristics of successful professional learning communities is collaboration between the educators. In most of the discussions, the participants indicated that teachers should share information, learn from each other (co-learning).
The above two participants agree that most of the cluster members do not share the same vision of cluster meetings.
CONCLUSION
The Education Department initiates the meeting because it comes in a cascade through the national Department of Education. For the entire activity to take place as a subject advisor, I have to be there to ensure that everything goes well. This emphasizes that the subject advisor believes that teachers within the clusters get an opportunity to socialize and interact with the environment to improve teaching and learning in their schools.
However, these cluster meetings are not professional learning communities initiated by teachers to address what they perceive to be their professional development needs.
INTRODUCTION
Overview of the study
The following are the key findings: There has been a transformation in cluster activities because teachers are able to discuss content knowledge as well as assessment issues. It is clear that the issue of assessment was a priority in all cluster meetings observed.
SUMMARY OF FINDINGS
The second critical question aimed to understand the extent to which clusters function as teachers' learning communities. The characteristics of teacher learning communities from different researchers were synthesized as the most common across all researchers: (a) shared vision, values, and goals. b) shared management; (c) supportive relationships; (d) shared personal practice; e) collective investigation; (f) shared trust among teachers; and (g) teacher-driven or centered. The collected data show that the Geography clusters do not reflect all the characteristics of professional learning communities.
In conclusion, the data analysis shows that I cannot conclude that the Geography groups reflect all the characteristics and, therefore, they cannot be considered as teachers' learning communities.
LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY
RECOMMENDATIONS
CONCLUSION
The study discovered that the clusters cannot be considered teacher-learning communities because they do not exhibit all the characteristics of teacher-learning communities. Exploring the relationship between special education teachers and professional learning communities: Research implications for administrators. Building professional learning communities to promote continuing professional development in South African schools.Kamla-Raj Research Journal.
A review of research on the impact of professional learning communities on teaching practice and student learning. I am currently conducting a research project titled "Exploring Clusters as Teacher Learning Communities for Grade 12 Geography Teachers in Vulindlela/Sweetwaters Circle". The aim of the project is to fully understand how clusters function as teacher learning communities.
