Abstract
Professional development interventions in South Africa are not addressing teachers’ needs or resulting in improved student outcomes in science. Consequently, this empirical qualitative study focussed on a much needed new brand of comprehensive professional development in order to address the poor quality of science teachers and teaching in the country. Comprising three cycles of formative design-based research, the study addressed South African teachers’ learning of science and their emerging science pedagogy.
The University of Johannesburg launched a unique project, titled ‘The A-team project - Excelling in Science Education’ in October 2010, focussing on development of the pedagogical content knowledge of science teachers using an inquiry-based learning approach. The aim of this longitudinal empirical and ethnographical study was to introduce teachers to new and exciting science experiences in a hybrid ecology of learning practice. In this intervention they experienced a wide range of different activities, and shared experiences at short monthly workshops and two longer workshops of between three to five days per annum. They could collaborate and scaffold each other in online communities and write online reflections. Many of these sessions included real-life experiences in science and computer laboratories in addition to the school visits and their online reflections. The overall design-based research method included three cycles of continuous improvement and resulted in the refinement of design principles for professional development interventions specifically for science teachers in a South African context. The hybrid group involved teachers from privileged private schools, ex-model C schools and previously disadvantaged schools in the greater Johannesburg area. This study employed a snowball method of sampling, following both a top-down and bottom-up approach for this particular intervention. We tapped into the overwhelming social capital resources of scientists, professors and the teachers themselves, sharing a wealth of experience and information. The multiple data collection methods included observations, interviews, questionnaires, teacher reflections, visual data such as photographs and videos, and other artefacts. After the first cycle of the intervention, teachers already expressed their delight with the approach: “We sacrificed a September holiday in 2010 and came back to school invigorated! Far better than any holiday!” Additional findings revealed that hands-on professional development activities in the continuing professional development of science teachers not only improved their technological pedagogical content knowledge but also motivated them to include inquiry-based teaching strategies in their classroom practices. Some made time to embark on further studies.
D.Phil.