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design|resources|service

Digital tools emerge as key means to support rural teachers

3rd April 2020

By: Schalk Burger

Creamer Media Senior Deputy Editor

     

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Research has found that mobile messaging service WhatsApp can provide rural teachers with organisational support, serve as virtual communities of practice (VCoPs) and support skills and professional development, Stellenbosch University (SU) Life Sciences facilitator and SU Centre for Pedagogy (SUNCEP) ICT coordinator Dr Pauline Hanekom found in her doctoral study.

Previous research showed how WhatsApp groups can support the creation of networks between teachers in rural areas. The latest study highlighted the value of such groups for teachers who are far from other short-course participants, and in many cases are the only natural or Life Sciences teachers in their respective schools, and have positive impact on the performance of learners.

“Communities of practice (CoPs) are used globally to offer professional learning support to in-service teachers in these types of courses. When participating in short courses for their own professional development, teachers at remote rural schools should be supported via WhatsApp groups to help them overcome many of the challenges they face and provide organisational support to help implement new knowledge and skills in the classroom,” she highlights.

An example of a CoP could be a group of teachers who share a concern about the educational needs of their learners, and who feel the need to deepen their knowledge and expertise by joining a teacher professional learning CoP. In a CoP, they can interact on an ongoing basis, sharing lesson plans, videos of lessons, and reflecting on interesting learner interactions and assessment tasks. They could also discuss educational challenges and lend moral and even physical support to each other.

The study found that VCoPs are being increasingly used in situations where the physical remoteness of schools affects the feasibility of physical CoPs. Little is, however, known about the ways in which VCoPs can support participants, or how they can effectively be designed, implemented and maintained, notes Hanekom.

“Feedback from the participants in her study showed that they perceived WhatsApp groups to be very effective as VCoPs. They said the groups allowed them to discuss and problem-solve academic issues raised during the course, as well as their own teaching. They could share practical skills through photos and videos from their classrooms. As, in some of the groups, subject advisers from the education departments formed part of the VCoP, they could easily assist the teachers with policy and school curriculum issues.”

“These groups also allowed them to keep in contact, even though they stayed hundreds of kilometres apart, and they could plan the sharing of often limited science resources with each other for practical activities.”

As part of her study, Hanekom created three WhatsApp groups consisting of in-service, qualified teachers in Natural Sciences (Grade 7-9) and Life Sciences (Grade 10-12), education department officials and course facilitators.

Teachers in each group attended teacher professional learning (TPL) short courses that took place in three cycles. The first group participated in a five-month course, while the second and third participated in four-month courses.

Hanekom developed a set of design principles that consider the conditions that could lead to the success or failure of WhatsApp VCoPs. The Departments of Higher Education and Basic Education have called for a set of guidelines to not only support the creation of, but also aid in the optimisation of VCoPs.

“Teachers have been hesitant to use WhatApp as platform for a virtual community of practice, because they did not have such a set of guidelines until now. The design principles can also inform the use of VCoPs in all future TPL courses at SUNCEP,” adds Hanekom.

As part of her study Hanekom created three WhatsApp groups consisting of in-service, qualified teachers in Natural (Grade 7-9) and Life Sciences (Grade 10-12), education department officials and course facilitators.

Teachers attended teacher professional learning (TPL) short courses which took place in three separate cycles. The first group participated in a five-month course, while groups two and three each participated in courses of four months.

Participants were interviewed and she analysed the WhatsApp group messages exchanged during the different course cycles.

In the first cycle, participants could speak freely about any relevant TPL short-course content and were allowed to post messages of mutual encouragement and even off-subject content, including social conversations.

In cycle two, they were discouraged to post off-subject content. They shared questions or problems that they encountered during the course and while teaching the TPL short-course material.

The third cycle was a structured VCoP guided by the facilitator. Participants could also, via the WhatsApp group, ask questions or pose problems that they encountered when teaching the TPL short-course material.

Hanekom says the WhatsApp groups also served to relay logistical arrangements for practical online sessions, and as a discussion platform (during the broadcasts) on which participants could share their thoughts and input, as well as photos of their participation.

Story highlights:

* WhatsApp communities of practice can support rural teacher professional development, and provide peer support to help overcome challenges.

* Communities of practice allow teachers to solve academic issues, share practical skills, photos, lesson plans and videos from their classrooms, and have a positive impact on the performance of learners.

Edited by Martin Zhuwakinyu
Creamer Media Senior Deputy Editor

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