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.
This is one of the main findings of a recent doctoral study at Stellenbosch University (SU).
“WhatsApp groups, as virtual communities of practice (VCoPs), could support the professional development of teachers, provide organisational support to implement the new knowledge and skills in the classroom, and ultimately have a positive impact on the performance of learners," says Dr Pauline Hanekom, a Life Sciences Facilitator and ICT Coordinator at SU's Centre for Pedagogy (SUNCEP). She recently obtained her doctorate in Curriculum Studies at SU.
Pointing to previous research, which showed how WhatsApp groups can support the creation of networks between teachers in rural areas, Hanekom says her study “highlighted the value of such groups for those 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."
Hanekom says communities of practice (CoPs) are used globally to offer professional learning support to in-service teachers in these types of courses.
“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 this CoP they can interact on an ongoing basis, sharing and reflecting on lesson plans, sharing videos of lessons, interesting learner interactions and assessment tasks. They could also discuss educational challenges and lend moral and even physical support to each other."
“What we've found, however, is that virtual communities of practice (VCoPs) are being used more and more in situations where the physical remoteness of schools affects the feasibility of physical CoPs. However, little is known about the ways in which VCoPs can support participants or how they can effectively be designed, implemented and maintained."
Hanekom says the feedback from the participants in her study showed that they perceived WhatsApp groups to be very effective as VCoPs.
“The students commented on how the groups allowed them to discuss and solve academic issues raised during the course, as well as their own teaching. It also allowed them to keep in contact, even though they stayed hundreds of kilometres apart. They could even plan the sharing of their often limited science resources for practical activities with each other.
"They could also share their practical skills through photos and videos from their classrooms. As, in some of the groups, subject advisors from the education departments formed part of the VCoP, they could easily assist the students with policy and school curriculum issues."
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. The 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 groups two and three each participated in courses of four months.
To test the effectiveness of WhatsApp as a VCoP, Hanekom interviewed the participants and asked them to complete a questionnaire. She analysed this data, along with their WhatsApp group messages exchanged during the respective course cycles.
During 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, e.g. social conversations. During the second cycle 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 highly structured VCoP guided by the facilitator. Via the WhatsApp group, participants could also 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 served as a discussion platform (during the broadcasts) on which participants could share their thoughts and input, as well as photos of their participation.
She also developed a set of design principles that consider the conditions that could lead to the success or failure of WhatsApp VCoPs. In this regard, Hanekom points to the Department of Higher Education and Department of Basic Education, which called for a set of guidelines to not only support the creation of, but also aid in the optimisation of VCoPs.
“Even though teachers use WhatsApp as a messaging service to parents and learners, many have been hesitant to use it as a platform for a virtual community of practice, as they, until now, did not have such a set of guidelines."
“The design principles can also inform the use of VCoPs in all future TPL courses at SUNCEP," adds Hanekom.
FOR MEDIA ENQUIRIES ONLY
Dr Pauline Hanekom
Centre for Pedagogy
Faculty of Education
Stellenbosch University
Tel: 021 808 9197
Email: pwh@sun.ac.za; pwhanekom@gmail.com
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Martin Viljoen
Manager: Media
Corporate Communication
Stellenbosch University
Tel: 021 808 4921
Email: viljoenm@sun.ac.za
