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Distributed communities of practice : an exploration of a distributed community of practice of South African Life Science teachers
Dissertation (MEd)--University of Pretoria, 2009.
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| Format: | Thesis |
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University of Pretoria
2013
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| _version_ | 1867613654173614080 |
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| access_status_str | Open Access |
| author2 | Cronje, Johannes Christoffel |
| author_browse | Cronje, Johannes Christoffel |
| author_facet | Cronje, Johannes Christoffel |
| collection | Thesis |
| dc_rights_str_mv | ©University of Pretoria 2007 E1125/ |
| description | Dissertation (MEd)--University of Pretoria, 2009. |
| format | Thesis |
| id | oai:repository.up.ac.za:2263/23160 |
| institution | University of Pretoria (South Africa) |
| last_indexed | 2026-06-10T12:39:34.803Z |
| license_str | Other — see source repository |
| provenance_str_mv | Harvested via OAI-PMH from UPSpace — University of Pretoria Institutional Repository |
| publishDate | 2013 |
| publishDateRange | 2013 |
| publishDateSort | 2013 |
| publisher | University of Pretoria |
| publisherStr | University of Pretoria |
| record_format | dspace |
| source_str | UPSpace — University of Pretoria Institutional Repository |
| spelling | oai:repository.up.ac.za:2263/23160 Distributed communities of practice : an exploration of a distributed community of practice of South African Life Science teachers Cronje, Johannes Christoffel Miller, Pamela Ann robmck@bridgehouse.org.za Mckay, Robert Forbes Teacher professional development Email Internet Knowledge management Life science Virtual communities Negotiation of meaning Distributed communities of practice Legitimate peripheral participation Identity formation UCTD Dissertation (MEd)--University of Pretoria, 2009. This study researches phenomenon of the Biology Teachers Network (BTN), a distributed Community of Practice (CoP). The membership of the BTN is voluntary. The BTN is supported by a core group of members and administered by single moderator. The network uses a manually operated email system to communicate and share information as an automatic listserv proved to be beyond the capabilities of the membership. Etienne Wenger is the authority on the theory of CoPs and provides in depth background to the processes that are evident in a CoP. A CoP consists of the Domain, Practice and Community and through a process of negotiation of meaning, learning takes place through identity formation. CoPs can exist online in the form of distribute CoPs. Passionate leadership is essential for the formation of a CoP as is the voluntary participation of the members. A Naturalistic case study methodology is considered to be the most appropriate research tool. In this study a focus group interview and a collection of emails were used as data sources. The data was analysed using three instruments derived from the literature. The conclusion from the analysis of the data was that the BTN is a vibrant and fully functional distributed CoP in the coalescing stage. Participation in the BTN has led to an increase in professional development and ICT skills amongst some of the member teachers. The fact that this was achieved through the use of email instead of sophisticated websites suggests that this model of distributed CoP is suitable for the professional development of teachers in South Africa. Curriculum Studies unrestricted 2013-09-06T14:40:32Z 2009-01-16 2013-09-06T14:40:32Z 2008-09-03 2009-01-16 2009-01-13 Dissertation 2007 E1125/gm http://hdl.handle.net/2263/23160 http://upetd.up.ac.za/thesis/available/etd-01132009-131320/ ©University of Pretoria 2007 E1125/ application/pdf University of Pretoria |
| spellingShingle | Teacher professional development Internet Knowledge management Life science Virtual communities Negotiation of meaning Distributed communities of practice Legitimate peripheral participation Identity formation UCTD Distributed communities of practice : an exploration of a distributed community of practice of South African Life Science teachers |
| title | Distributed communities of practice : an exploration of a distributed community of practice of South African Life Science teachers |
| title_full | Distributed communities of practice : an exploration of a distributed community of practice of South African Life Science teachers |
| title_fullStr | Distributed communities of practice : an exploration of a distributed community of practice of South African Life Science teachers |
| title_full_unstemmed | Distributed communities of practice : an exploration of a distributed community of practice of South African Life Science teachers |
| title_short | Distributed communities of practice : an exploration of a distributed community of practice of South African Life Science teachers |
| title_sort | distributed communities of practice an exploration of a distributed community of practice of south african life science teachers |
| topic | Teacher professional development Internet Knowledge management Life science Virtual communities Negotiation of meaning Distributed communities of practice Legitimate peripheral participation Identity formation UCTD |
| url | http://hdl.handle.net/2263/23160 http://upetd.up.ac.za/thesis/available/etd-01132009-131320/ |