The Influence of hybrid communities of practice on the development of teachers’ technological, pedagogical and content knowledge

Abstract

Prior to and after the publication of the White Paper on e-Education (DoE, 2004), South African provincial governments launched several programmes to encourage the use of technology for teaching and learning in public schools, notably the provision of Teacher Professional Development (TPD) opportunities. The Western Cape Government (WCG) launched four major projects to expand the availability of technological resources in public schools over the period of two decades commencing in 2001 with the Khanya Project. Despite universal recognition of their importance by educators and scholars, current TPD programmes, such as those launched by the WCG, have come under increasing criticism for their inability to encourage the successful integration of technology into teachers' pedagogical practices. The result of this has been in-service teachers coming to depend on their informal Communities of Practice (CoPs) rather than WCG's TPDs to acquire the knowledge they need to integrate technology effectively into their pedagogical practices. The main aim of this study was to explore the influence of hybrid CoPs on the development of the participating primary school in-service teachers' TPACK. The theoretical basis for this study was the Community of Practice (CoP) social learning theory (Wenger, 1998), Strong and Weak Tie Theory (Granovetter, 1973), and the Technological, Pedagogical and Content Knowledge (TPACK) model (Mishra & Koehler, 2006). A qualitative research approach was used, which included 12 teachers who participated in open-ended survey questionnaires and one-on-one semi-structured interviews and observational sessions. Document analysis, specifically from WhatsApp group chat screenshots, was conducted across the sampled schools as part of the research approach. Additionally, the research incorporated one (n=1) school principal and two (n=2) deputy principals who actively contributed to all data collection modalities with the exception of the survey questionnaires. The findings showed the hybrid CoPs at these schools, to a limited extent, to have influenced the development of the participating in-service teachers' TPACK. For instance, as supported by the literature, to some extent these hybrid CoPs had influenced the learning of in-service teachers TPACK mainly through certain innovative approaches they adopted. These included mutual engagement fostered by teamwork and diverse roles; joint enterprise fostered by the establishment of common goals; and shared repertoire enabled by the use of communication tools and the sharing of teaching resources. Additionally, the findings showed that these hybrid CoPs influenced in-service teachers’ TPACK learning through factors such as community, practice, meaning, and identity. A sense of community, fostered by structures such as ICT committees within schools, motivated in-service teachers to actively participate in their hybrid CoPs, facilitating the exchange of TK. However, the community aspect was found to pose challenges, as some in-service teachers reported experiencing feelings of isolation and lacked confidence, potentially hindering their learning of TK, TPK, TCK and TPACK within these hybrid CoPs. Concerning practice, in-service teachers' dissatisfaction with school ICT rules and customs was hindering them from potentially learning TK, TPK, TCK and TPACK in these CoPs. Yet, when it came to problem-solving strategies, practice was found to serve as a driving factor and the possibility existed that this could lead to teachers’ learning of TK and PK. These in-service teachers’ repeated dialogues within their hybrid CoPs motivated them through the creation of a sense of meaning and this was likely to lead to some success in their acquisition of TK and TPK. In terms of identity, personal characteristics such as resistance to change, the literature showed this to be a possible constraint in the process of in-service teachers’ developing their TK, TPK, TCK and TPACK. Notably, research has found that in-service teachers' sense of identity, shaped by the presence of new entrant teachers (newcomers) perceived as more knowledgeable in technology, serves as a motivating factor for their acquiring of TK, and the findings showed this to be the case in this study. Lastly, the findings showed that, to some extent, through bonding and bridging, in-service teachers had developed both strong and weak ties with each other during the COVID-19 pandemic's shutdown and partial school attendance, and this had resulted in the partial exchange of information which included CK and PK. In particular, the participant teachers gained more knowledge (CK and PK) through bridging as opposed to bonding, the latter resulting in the acquisition of CK only, it can be inferred that teachers' ties across all sampled schools were relatively weaker during the COVID-19 pandemic. From the findings, I developed the Community of Practice Teacher Technology Integration Model (CoPTTIM) with the aim of supporting in-service primary school teachers in acquiring the essential knowledge for effective teaching with technology. The CoPTTIM is specifically designed for use in schools, particularly primary schools, and particularly those located in historically disadvantaged regions. Its purpose is to enhance teachers' TK, TPK, TCK, and TPACK within the context of hybrid CoPs. The flexibility of the model enables the ongoing professional growth of teachers to persist, including during periods of isolation brought about by crises such as the COVID-19 pandemic. The South African government might benefit both from the findings of this study and the CoPTTIM, and these could assist government in redesigning and updating national ICT policies such as the White Paper on e-Education (DoE, 2004) and in structuring more useful TPD programmes in ways that ensure that they occur organically and sustainably in teachers' employment contexts.