A PROFESSIONAL LEARNING COMMUNITY APPROACH TO ENHANCE THE PROFESSIONAL

DEVELOPMENT OF TEACHERS AT A SPECIAL SCHOOL IN THE DOMAIN OF READING FOR

CROSS-CURRICULAR LEARNING

4TH SOUTH AFRICAN SYMPOSIUM ON TEACHER EDUCATION FOR INCLUSIVE TEACHING

TRACEY HERMANJULY 2019

To develop teachers’ professional

learning about reading forcross-curricular learning

Community ofPractice (CoP)/

Professional Learning Community

Institution-based professionaldevelopment initiatives-in their infancy in South Africa (RSA DBE, 2015: 35)

A group of teachers who voluntarily meet regularly to mutually support and learn with and from each other, by sharing and reflecting on information, knowledge and teaching experiences as they work collaboratively towards a common goal.

Professional Learning Community

Durrheim’s framework(1999: 33-34)

Purpose

To explore the use of a Professional Learning

Community (PLC) approach to in-service

teacher development in the domain of reading

for cross-curricular learning at a special school.

Context

Special school

The participants: 6 teachers; 3 critical monitors

and myself

Paradigm

Research methodology: qualitative research

Research Method: Participatory research.

Theoretical framework: Critical Community

Psychology

Techniques

Data collection techniques: focus group

discussions (PLC sessions), critical monitors,

researcher’s journal

Data analysis techniques: Thematic Analysis

A strain of psychology that focuses on how humans establish and sustain a community, not just for its own sake, but for the values that will improve society

Power relations

Collaboration and community participation

Sense of community

Respect for human diversity

Social justice

Influence of person and setting on each other

Commonly valued:

respectcollaboration

shared leadershipmembers given a voice

shared learninga sense of community

context specific learningteachers as researchers

ownership

Critical community psychology

socio-constructivist perspective

Community of practice

1. A problem or common goal is

identified within the PLC

2. The PLC meets to discuss and share knowledge, skills,

ideas and potential solutions

3. Strategies or potential

solutions are selected for exploration

4. Teachers implement strategies that they

have selected to explore within their

specific contexts

5. Teachers reflect on, and evaluate the

effectiveness of, the implemented

strategies through report back sessions

Barack Obama

READING FOR CROSS-CURRICULAR LEARNINGUsing every opportunity to develop learners’ reading and literacy.Implementing reading strategies and developing reading while facilitating learning in content subjects = reading for learning

Reading for learning

CHALLENGES IDENTIFIED:TEACHERS’ DEVELOPMENTAL/LEARNING NEEDS IDENTIFIED

Literacy & Language

development

Speaking

ReadingWriting

Language of Teaching and Learning (LoLT)

Communication in class

Read for enjoymentRead independentlyRead to learn (content subjects)Using textbooks

Writing independentlyCreative writingEssay writingDescriptionsSummarisingAnswering questions (in writing)

READING STRATEGIES

Facilitate reading and learning in content subjects

How can a PLC develop reading for cross-curricular learning in a special

school?

1. How do teachers’ underlying teaching philosophy influence their implementation of

reading for cross-curricular learning at this special school?

2. Which factors contribute to the establishment and maintenance of a PLC at a special

school?

3. What are the advantages and disadvantages of a PLC approach to teacher professional

development at a special school?

4. What are teachers’ perceptions of a PLC-approach to teacher professional development

at a special school?

5. What are teachers’ perceptions of reading for cross-curricular learning at a special school?

ADVANTAGES OF A PLC APPROACH TO TEACHER PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT AT A SPECIAL SCHOOL

• Changed perspectives …………from

• Greater teacher autonomy

• Motivation and enthusiasm

• Increased learner participation reported

• Promoted inclusive teaching practices

Yes, but the big thing is, when WE left Sub A (Grade 1), you could read!... and then you

read everything

Yes, like we did. It’s sounding out and drilling

words and rereading –and that’s the way we were taught to read.

CHANGED PERSPECTIVES – PROBLEM SOLVERS

The other thing that I’m conscious of is the fact

that every content subject is a language subject now. That, I also used to blame the teacher you know, but

now… I’m using the opportunity for language development in all my

subjects.

CHANGED PERSPECTIVES

Acknowledgement that all teachers should be responsible for developing reading for cross-curricular learningI think the learners are more

aware (of the strategies) than before – because I emphasise them more than I did before. I

believe they will start applying it if we just continue.

May 2013 October 2014I’m not saying we must do work parrot-

fashion, but OBE deprived our children of

many things – for example, at school we

learnt lists of abbreviations. Children’s

language is poorer because that has been

eradicated and now they jump around – a

few abbreviations this quarter, and a few

the next –I feel that’s a void – you do all

the abbreviations and that’s it.

I have seen with Carol, the Afrikaans

that she does, I find it interesting. Three

quarters of the textbook she uses has

reading passages, and then all the

language questions come from the

reading passage. Just the application of

the rules.

Gradual move towards a socio-constructivist approach to facilitating learning

VIEW ON READING FOR CROSS-CURRICULAR LEARNING

Grasping the significance of reading for cross-curricula learning

All those strange things were in one question paper and that was

the shock in the end…that’s not in the

language – not in my CAPS document.

Perhaps, we have a duty to make a mind-shift… we

must draw learners’ attention to it, like:

“Remember, you won’t only get drawings in NS”. They don’t always realise this –

the child thinks ‘Oh, but this is NS.

MOTIVATION AND ENTHUSIASM

• A positive effect on teacher morale

• Sense of community was created among participants

• A support network

It (the PLC) makes you think about all the strategies …I’ve

become more enthusiastic again. You look at the

problems all of the time and you lose a bit of your

enthusiasm – but now you’ve got new skills and new tools

that you can use.

If I have a problem and I bring it and ask

others what they think – perhaps

someone else sees something more…

This (the PLC) must please not end - onereally starts thinking, “Wait, there is another way I can do this.

Teachers who implemented the strategies reported a positive change in their learners’ participation and responses in class.

My learners’ end of the year results were…well, I was actually quite pleasantly surprised in the end.

I would say it’s really a positive influence on the learners and on myself.

INCREASED LEARNER PARTICIPATION

I think even my learners became more involved in class when I used prediction and visualization

PROMOTED INCLUSIVE TEACHING PRACTICES

Participants used the strategies in attempts to address the barriers to learning that certain learners were experiencing.

built up a repertoire of

PROFESSIONAL LEARNING

Context-specific professional learning

Participants engaged in reflective practice when reporting on the outcome of the strategies they explored in their classes.

Researchers into their own practice

Action Research

RECOMMENDATIONS

• Special schools as resource centresFuture research be done on the use of a special school as a resource centre in facilitating the establishment of PLCs in ordinary schools.

• Augment support to schools by Inclusive Education UnitThe exploration of the way in which PLCs can be used to augment and increase the support that district officials provide to teachers and learners at schools.

• Expansion of PLCs to more schools especially rural schoolsFor future study, it would be interesting to select participants who are exclusively content subject teachers in an ordinary or mainstream school. In this way, the strategies as a means of both developing reading for cross-curricular learning and as a means of promoting and implementing inclusive practices within ordinary schools, can be explored.

CONCLUSION

Participation in this PLC encouraged participants to address the needs of learners without teachers dependence on a so called ‘expert’ - we can thus conclude that, through PLCs…