Abstract
South Africa is a country characterized by social and educational inequalities, which are mainly exposed
by the differences in performances between learners from urban (advantaged) areas and rural
(disadvantaged) areas. Such differences are exposed by the performance of South African learners in
international systematic assessments as Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study
(TIMSS) 2015 (Naidoo & Sibanda, 2020), in which performance of grades 5 and 9 South African learners
were compared with performance of same aged learners from a number of international countries. The
educational inequalities are also a major factor in the differences in performance between learners from
rural and urban areas in grade 12 National Senior Certificate (NSC) examinations which are conducted
annually (Govender, 2020). Learners attending poorly resourced rural schools perform worse than their
peers in well-resourced urban schools (du Plessis & Mestry, 2019). Learners graduating from rural
schools with poor understanding of science often find it difficult to adapt and become active and
productive citizens in the rapidly changing world. A better understanding of science generally enables a
person to make informed decisions on issues related to climate change, technological advancements,
and treatment of diseases.
Apart from the availability of teaching and learning resources, one major contributor to learners’
performances is the quality of teaching in the classrooms (du Plessis & Mestry, 2019). Teachers’
practices, their choice of teaching strategy and the classroom activities that are given to learners during
learning, have a much bigger impact on learning than all other factors combined (Mji & Makgato, 2006).
The acknowledgement of the role played by a chosen teaching strategy to the quality of teaching and
learning has been at the centre of education reform and curriculum transformation worldwide. Over the
past decade, formative assessment (also known as assessment for learning) has gained popularity as
an effective pedagogical strategy (Ramsey & Duffy, 2016). Formative assessment that is integrated into
the teaching/learning process involves continuous gathering of information about learner learning and
giving feedback to the learners, which helps both the teacher and the learner to modify, make decisions
about and improve the teaching/learning process (Lopez-Pastor, 2009). Formative assessment gives
teachers timely information about what their learners are doing to inform their lesson planning and help
them adjust instruction to meet learner needs (Ramsey & Duffy, 2016). Bennett (2011) argues that, while
research suggests that formative assessment practices can facilitate learning, there is a need for new
development that focuses on conceptualising specified approaches which are built around processes and
methodologies rooted within specific content to make it possible to realise maximum benefit of formative
assessment. Such conceptualisations should incorporate fundamental principles that recognise the value
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of substantial time and professional support needed if more teachers are to become proficient users of
formative assessment (Bennett, 2011).
This study investigates how a learning progression for the particle model of matter can be used to support
enactment of formative assessment in science classrooms in three rural schools in Mpumalanga. As a
baseline, a questionnaire assessing learners’ knowledge and understanding of the particle model of
matter was administered to grades 8 and 9 Natural Sciences and grade 10 Physical Sciences learners.
This was followed by classroom observations aimed at establishing teachers’ classroom practices.
Interviews were conducted with the teachers to determine their views on the teaching of the particle
model of matter and the use of formative assessment as a pedagogical strategy. Teachers were then
involved in a specifically designed professional teacher development programme aimed at assisting
teachers to understand formative assessment and gain skills on how to use learning progression to
support enactment of formative assessment in science classrooms. Interviews with the teachers and
classroom observations were also conducted post the professional teacher development programme to
assess changes in views, knowledge, understanding of formative assessment and learning progression
and possible shift in classroom practices.
The baseline results of learners’ performances in the questionnaire showed that learners across the three
grades have a poor understanding of the particle model of matter. Pre-intervention interviews revealed
that teachers have limited knowledge and understanding of formative assessment and relatively poor
knowledge and understanding of learning progression. Pre-intervention classroom observations showed
that teachers prefer the traditional teacher-centred lecture teaching approach in their classrooms.
The professional teacher development took the form of physical and virtual discussion and video analysis.
The post-intervention interviews showed an improvement in teachers’ knowledge and understanding as
well as an appreciation of formative assessment as pedagogical strategy and a slight improvement in
teachers’ knowledge and understanding of learning progression. Teachers’ classroom practices also
showed integration of some aspects of formative assessment; attempts were made to make classes more
learner-centred and an improvement in the participation of learners in their learning compared to preintervention
phase was noted.