Cultivating a Community Cultivating a Community of Practice amongst Smart of Practice amongst Smart School Teachers: Problems School Teachers: Problems

and Challenges and Challenges Puvaneswary Murugaiah Thang Siew Ming Hazita AzmanCarol HallRadha NambiarAzizah Yaa’cob

INTRODUCTIONINTRODUCTION

• The e-CPDelt Vision 2020 model • Collaborative participation -

community of practice (CoP).

COMMUNITY OF PRACTICECOMMUNITY OF PRACTICE

• Wenger (1998) defined a CoP as:…a group of people who share a

concern, a set of problems, or a passion about a topic and who deepen their knowledge and expertise in this area by interacting on an ongoing basis.

• Knowledge building via interactions

COMMUNITY OF PRACTICECOMMUNITY OF PRACTICEWenger (1998) elaborated:• CoPs are formed by people who engage

in a process of collective learning … a tribe learning to survive, a band of artists seeking new forms of expression, a group of engineers working on a problem, a clique of students defining their identity in the school, a group of first-time managers helping each other to cope…

Virtual Community of Virtual Community of PracticePractice

• Hunter (2002) – a VCoP is a group of Hunter (2002) – a VCoP is a group of people who interact with each other, people who interact with each other, learn from each other’s work, and learn from each other’s work, and provide knowledge resources to the provide knowledge resources to the group related to certain agreed-upon group related to certain agreed-upon topics of shared interest online topics of shared interest online

KEY COMPONENTS OF A KEY COMPONENTS OF A CoP CoP

1. Mutual engagement – mutually 1. Mutual engagement – mutually engage in activities related to daily engage in activities related to daily practicespractices

• - have opportunities to contribute - have opportunities to contribute and react to decisions related to and react to decisions related to practicepractice

KEY COMPONENTS OF A KEY COMPONENTS OF A CoPCoP

2. Shared repertoire of practices – all 2. Shared repertoire of practices – all members share similar practicesmembers share similar practices

- their practices continually change - their practices continually change as they gain more experience by as they gain more experience by sharingsharing

KEY COMPONENTS OF A KEY COMPONENTS OF A CoPCoP

3. Joint enterprise – shared goals of a 3. Joint enterprise – shared goals of a community community

- members are both learners and - members are both learners and practitionerspractitioners

- focus on achieving common goal; - focus on achieving common goal; e.g. improving instructional methodse.g. improving instructional methods

Cultivation of a CoP via e-Cultivation of a CoP via e-CPDeltCPDelt

Media Mix: Blogs, VIP

Teacher Collaboration

Amount & Type of Online Interaction

Development of Cognitive Presence,

Social Presence

Forming a Community

Mentor Support

Problems Problems

Poor response to blog activity – till Feb. 1

CommunitCommunitiesies

No. of No. of MemberMemberss

No. of No. of Blog Blog EntriesEntries

No. of No. of CommentCommentss

English 6 5 1

Science 9 4 0

Mathematics

5 5 4

ParticipationParticipation

• Read & contributeRead & contribute• Read contributionsRead contributions• Neither read nor contributeNeither read nor contribute

Active participation = sense of Active participation = sense of belonging and communitybelonging and community

Mentors’ ReactionsMentors’ Reactions

• Examine reasons for poor participation

• Propose ways to overcome the problem

i. Online discussionii. Brainstorming workshop

Mentors’ Perspective on Mentors’ Perspective on Contributing FactorsContributing Factors

• Lack of trust and closeness - between teachers

M6: They seem to lack confidence about the M6: They seem to lack confidence about the quality of what they post. Five teachers said quality of what they post. Five teachers said their biggest worry was they were not very their biggest worry was they were not very sure whether their posting would be sure whether their posting would be interesting enough for the other teachers. interesting enough for the other teachers. They feel they need to think of something They feel they need to think of something good to put up; if not they would be good to put up; if not they would be embarrassed…because they don’t know embarrassed…because they don’t know each other well.each other well.

Mentors’ Perspective on Mentors’ Perspective on Contributing FactorsContributing Factors

• Lack of rapport - with mentors

M3: I strongly feel that we need to M3: I strongly feel that we need to establish good rapport with the establish good rapport with the teachers as they need teachers as they need encouragement to proceed with this encouragement to proceed with this ‘new’ way of sharing and learning ‘new’ way of sharing and learning practice.practice.

Mentors’ Perspective on Mentors’ Perspective on Contributing Factors Contributing Factors

• Task – too generalTask – too generalM5: I think we may have been a little M5: I think we may have been a little

ambitious in asking them to come out with ambitious in asking them to come out with blog entries out of nothing.blog entries out of nothing.

• Relevance of taskM7: They can’t see how they can benefit

from just blog entries and discussion as well as the VIP.

M5: Perhaps they don’t see the relevance of what they are doing to their own professional development.

Mentors’ Perspective on Mentors’ Perspective on Contributing FactorsContributing Factors

• Time constraintTime constraintM3: The teachers were busy with M3: The teachers were busy with

examinations and administrative work: examinations and administrative work: SPM marking in November and December SPM marking in November and December and new school term in January.and new school term in January.

• Internet availability and accessibility problems

M3: Some of the teachers informed me that M3: Some of the teachers informed me that they had problems with the internet they had problems with the internet connection in their schools. One teacher connection in their schools. One teacher doesn’t have internet at home.doesn’t have internet at home.

Proposed Immediate Proposed Immediate MeasuresMeasures

1. Submit more blog postings1. Submit more blog postings• M9: M9: to promote more sharing is to to promote more sharing is to

share yourselves….share yourselves…. make more make more postings, commenting and postings, commenting and encouraging views from others… this encouraging views from others… this will encourage greater rapport and will encourage greater rapport and genuine emotional as well as genuine emotional as well as intellectual contact which most intellectual contact which most people find more rewardingpeople find more rewarding

Proposed Immediate Proposed Immediate MeasuresMeasures

2. Informal face-to-face meetingnformal face-to-face meeting • M5: We need to investigate what is the issue M5: We need to investigate what is the issue

with the teachers, in my opinion. Why are they with the teachers, in my opinion. Why are they not participating? They seemed interested in not participating? They seemed interested in the initial stage itself so what is the problem the initial stage itself so what is the problem now. Perhaps we need to have another face to now. Perhaps we need to have another face to face session and using whatever we already face session and using whatever we already have in the blogs point out the relevance of have in the blogs point out the relevance of this project to what they are doing. Once they this project to what they are doing. Once they see the value of what some have done it see the value of what some have done it might help.might help.

Contributing Factors – Contributing Factors – Mentors’ & Teachers’ Mentors’ & Teachers’

PerspectivesPerspectives• Contributing Factors:Contributing Factors:

-- Lack of trust/closeness Lack of trust/closeness– Task-related problemsTask-related problems– Time ConstraintsTime Constraints– Technical glitchesTechnical glitches

• Congruent with that of teachers’Congruent with that of teachers’

Teachers’ Perspective on Teachers’ Perspective on Contributing FactorsContributing Factors

• Lack of rapport/trustLack of rapport/trust

E2: I think it boils down to being afraid to show E2: I think it boils down to being afraid to show our weaknesses. Not sharing because we’re our weaknesses. Not sharing because we’re afraid that people will judge us. We think afraid that people will judge us. We think that people will analyse us, judge us…this that people will analyse us, judge us…this shouldn’t be done, they should not have a shouldn’t be done, they should not have a lesson conducted this way. Probably lesson conducted this way. Probably because of that, we are very careful of what because of that, we are very careful of what we write. You see, we are not from the same we write. You see, we are not from the same schools, we do not know each other, their schools, we do not know each other, their backgrounds.backgrounds.

Teachers’ Perspective on Teachers’ Perspective on Contributing FactorsContributing Factors

• Task: Relevance of informationTask: Relevance of information

E1: I think one of the things is we are E1: I think one of the things is we are all teaching different levels. all teaching different levels. Sometimes when we want ideas, we Sometimes when we want ideas, we realize our friends are not teaching realize our friends are not teaching that particular level. They can’t give that particular level. They can’t give us ideas for that level.us ideas for that level.

Teachers’ Perspective on Teachers’ Perspective on Contributing FactorsContributing Factors

• Task: Doubts on expected outcomesTask: Doubts on expected outcomes

E1: When we saw member X’s E1: When we saw member X’s comments, we thought that’s what’s comments, we thought that’s what’s expected of us. I was afraid if I were expected of us. I was afraid if I were to write something simple, it’s way to write something simple, it’s way far from her standard. I printed out far from her standard. I printed out the tasks and was wondering how to the tasks and was wondering how to write….must be long and formal. write….must be long and formal.

Teachers’ Perspective on Teachers’ Perspective on Contributing FactorsContributing Factors

• Time Constraint– Burdened with administrative and other duties

S4: We don’t have enough time because we have a lot of duties in school. For example, in my school there are a lot of functions and teachers have to work for the functions. Also a lot of paperwork…

- Slow responseMt1: Either there is no response or it is very late in

coming… and mostly they don’t comment. Instead they ask questions.

Teachers’ Perspective on Teachers’ Perspective on Contributing FactorsContributing Factors

• ICT & technology glitchesMt2: When someone sends a message, there’s

no alert system in our e-mail, like some others.

E3: I keep forgetting the address. S1: We have our own building without any

facilities, computers. So for any facilities we have to come to the main block. By the time we come to the main building either a teacher is using the computers or the computers have broken down. Always break down.

Teachers’ Perspective on Teachers’ Perspective on Contributing FactorsContributing Factors

• Work climateWork climate

E1: We worry about what the administrators will E1: We worry about what the administrators will say. You see, like you ask me a problem, what say. You see, like you ask me a problem, what problems I face in the IT class. Sometimes the problems I face in the IT class. Sometimes the students will go to other websites when I tell students will go to other websites when I tell them not to…I get very tired scolding them. Of them not to…I get very tired scolding them. Of course, I don’t want to put this in the problems course, I don’t want to put this in the problems that I face. Then the principal might say, ‘why that I face. Then the principal might say, ‘why do you want others to know about the do you want others to know about the problems we face in the school’. That’s our problems we face in the school’. That’s our fear.fear.

Ways to Reduce ProblemsProblems

• Support – social networking, emotional, technical

• Task-related problems – teachers’ views

• Time constraint - subjective

Impact of Measures Impact of Measures Taken Taken

Significant increase in the number of blog postings.

* Parentheses – number prior to actions takenCommunitCommunitiesies

No. of No. of MemberMemberss

No. of No. of Blog Blog EntriesEntries

No. of No. of CommentCommentss

English 6 6 (5) 24 (1)

Science 9 10 (4) 6 (0)

Mathematics

5 5 (5) 8 (4)

Challenges

• How to sustain the community well?– Paradigmatic– Purposes and needs must be balanced

• Independence rather than dependence– ‘at what point does a vision of

empowerment become a vision that directs teachers to empowerment?’ Pedretti (2002)

ChallengesChallenges

• Designed vs emergent community– Communities are natural– Developing VCoPs, need facilitation

• Initial design plans vs what happens in real practice

• Dealing with problems peculiar to online interactions

ConclusionConclusion

• Cultivating a CoP via e-CPDelt – hope Cultivating a CoP via e-CPDelt – hope or hype?or hype?

• Hope – to build a community that Hope – to build a community that would promote CPD for teachers, by would promote CPD for teachers, by teachers?teachers?

• Hype - with little chance of success?Hype - with little chance of success?• Based on progress thus far, a CoP is Based on progress thus far, a CoP is

beingbeing cultivated and there’s hope it cultivated and there’s hope it would be a realitywould be a reality