Exploring the role of contextual knowledge in the pedagogical content knowledge of grade 9 natural sciences teachers : a case study of township teachers in South Africa
- Authors: Mavuru, Lydia
- Date: 2016
- Subjects: Science teachers - South Africa , Science - Study and teaching (Secondary) - South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Doctoral (Thesis)
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10210/232400 , uj:23703
- Description: Ph.D. , Abstract: The purpose of this study was to explore teachers’ knowledge and understanding of their learners’ socio-cultural practices, experiences and beliefs (contextual knowledge, or CK) and how they use the knowledge to provide situationally appropriate learning experiences for their learners. Specifically, highlighting the role of CK in pedagogical content knowledge (PCK), the study unpacked the interplay of four knowledge domains, which are subject-matter knowledge (SMK), pedagogical knowledge (PK), teachers’ orientations to science teaching and CK as they are transformed into PCK. The overarching research question was: How does CK influence the PCK of selected Grade 9 Natural Sciences teachers at township schools in South Africa? The study employed social constructivism as a theoretical framework as CK is an important factor in the contemporary teaching perspective of social constructivism. The study adopted a qualitative case study approach and involved three Natural Sciences (NS) teachers from three different township schools as participants. Data sources included interviews done before lessons, lesson observations, interviews done after the lessons and analysis of documents. Data analysis involved a constant comparative method which allowed themes and patterns to emerge from the codes derived from the data. In answering the first research sub-question: what do Grade 9 NS teachers know about learners’ socio-cultural practices and beliefs in relation to teaching topics in Natural Sciences?, the findings revealed that teachers were aware of the learners’ poor socioeconomic backgrounds which they used as a resource in problem-based learning of NS. This teaching and learning strategy engaged learners in deep rather than surface learning as it enhanced learning experiences. Teachers were also knowledgeable about learners’ socio-cultural practices, experiences and beliefs which they used to harmonise the conflict between learners’ worldviews and scientific knowledge...
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- Authors: Mavuru, Lydia
- Date: 2016
- Subjects: Science teachers - South Africa , Science - Study and teaching (Secondary) - South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Doctoral (Thesis)
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10210/232400 , uj:23703
- Description: Ph.D. , Abstract: The purpose of this study was to explore teachers’ knowledge and understanding of their learners’ socio-cultural practices, experiences and beliefs (contextual knowledge, or CK) and how they use the knowledge to provide situationally appropriate learning experiences for their learners. Specifically, highlighting the role of CK in pedagogical content knowledge (PCK), the study unpacked the interplay of four knowledge domains, which are subject-matter knowledge (SMK), pedagogical knowledge (PK), teachers’ orientations to science teaching and CK as they are transformed into PCK. The overarching research question was: How does CK influence the PCK of selected Grade 9 Natural Sciences teachers at township schools in South Africa? The study employed social constructivism as a theoretical framework as CK is an important factor in the contemporary teaching perspective of social constructivism. The study adopted a qualitative case study approach and involved three Natural Sciences (NS) teachers from three different township schools as participants. Data sources included interviews done before lessons, lesson observations, interviews done after the lessons and analysis of documents. Data analysis involved a constant comparative method which allowed themes and patterns to emerge from the codes derived from the data. In answering the first research sub-question: what do Grade 9 NS teachers know about learners’ socio-cultural practices and beliefs in relation to teaching topics in Natural Sciences?, the findings revealed that teachers were aware of the learners’ poor socioeconomic backgrounds which they used as a resource in problem-based learning of NS. This teaching and learning strategy engaged learners in deep rather than surface learning as it enhanced learning experiences. Teachers were also knowledgeable about learners’ socio-cultural practices, experiences and beliefs which they used to harmonise the conflict between learners’ worldviews and scientific knowledge...
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The understanding of the nature of science among physical sciences teachers from the Badplaas circuit of the Mpumalanga Province
- Authors: Gwebu, Mkhubo Isaac
- Date: 2015
- Subjects: Physical sciences - Study and teaching - South Africa - Mpumalanga
- Language: English
- Type: Masters (Thesis)
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10210/214549 , uj:21295
- Description: Abstract: This interpretivist qualitative study investigated the teachers’ understanding of the nature of science (NOS). The participants comprised 12 Physical Sciences teachers from the Badplaas Circuit in the Mpumalanga Province of South Africa. The participants were selected from 8 secondary schools by using convenience sampling and purposive sampling. Data was obtained by using the Views of the Nature of Science (VNOS) Questionnaire (Form C) developed by Abd-El-Khalick, Lederman, Bell and Schwartz (2002), which consist of 10 open-ended questions. The interview data was obtained by using semi-structured questions adapted from Abd-El-Khalick (1998). All the teachers included in the sample were engaged in teaching Physical Sciences at secondary level. Participants’ responses, based on questionnaire and interview data, was coded as either naïve, transitional (-), transitional (+) or informed. The following tenets of the nature of science were coded for: scientific knowledge is tentative; empirical; theory-laden; partly the product of human inference; imaginative and creative; socially and culturally embedded; that there is a distinction between observation and inference; that there is no universal recipe-like method for doing science; and that there is a distinction between scientific theories and laws. The analysis of the data revealed that all the participants held naïve to transitional understandings of the nature of science. Recommendations for future research were raised. , M.Ed.
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- Authors: Gwebu, Mkhubo Isaac
- Date: 2015
- Subjects: Physical sciences - Study and teaching - South Africa - Mpumalanga
- Language: English
- Type: Masters (Thesis)
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10210/214549 , uj:21295
- Description: Abstract: This interpretivist qualitative study investigated the teachers’ understanding of the nature of science (NOS). The participants comprised 12 Physical Sciences teachers from the Badplaas Circuit in the Mpumalanga Province of South Africa. The participants were selected from 8 secondary schools by using convenience sampling and purposive sampling. Data was obtained by using the Views of the Nature of Science (VNOS) Questionnaire (Form C) developed by Abd-El-Khalick, Lederman, Bell and Schwartz (2002), which consist of 10 open-ended questions. The interview data was obtained by using semi-structured questions adapted from Abd-El-Khalick (1998). All the teachers included in the sample were engaged in teaching Physical Sciences at secondary level. Participants’ responses, based on questionnaire and interview data, was coded as either naïve, transitional (-), transitional (+) or informed. The following tenets of the nature of science were coded for: scientific knowledge is tentative; empirical; theory-laden; partly the product of human inference; imaginative and creative; socially and culturally embedded; that there is a distinction between observation and inference; that there is no universal recipe-like method for doing science; and that there is a distinction between scientific theories and laws. The analysis of the data revealed that all the participants held naïve to transitional understandings of the nature of science. Recommendations for future research were raised. , M.Ed.
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The professional development of life sciences teachers’ pedagogical content knowledge and profile of implementation concerning the teaching of DNA, meiosis, protein synthesis and genetics within a community of practice
- Authors: Van Wyk, Grizelda
- Date: 2013-07-18
- Subjects: Life sciences - Study and teaching , Science teachers - Training of , Science teachers - In-service training , Biology - Study and teaching (Secondary)
- Type: Thesis
- Identifier: uj:7623 , http://hdl.handle.net/10210/8493
- Description: M. Ed. (Science Education) , South African Life Sciences teachers have been subjected to three policy changes during the past six years. The first new curriculum was implemented in 2006, and when it was found that this curriculum lacked sufficient botany content, a new version of the curriculum was implemented in 2009. Following this, a new curriculum was being implemented in 2012 in all subjects, leaving Life Sciences teachers fatigued as a result of all the professional development workshops they had to attend each year. One principle of the new curriculum was that teachers had to use a constructivist approach to teaching, but research had found that this was not the case in South African classrooms. Furthermore, research also showed that some South African teachers lacked the necessary content and pedagogical knowledge to teach science to grade 12 learners. The aim of this study was to see whether teachers’ pedagogical content knowledge could be improved by the use of communities of practice over a period of time. The content that was focused on was DNA, protein synthesis, meiosis and genetics, as these topics were flagged as problematic topics in the National Senior Certificate examinations in 2008. A generic qualitative design was used as this research was situated in an interpretive framework. The genre of the research was phenomenology with design based elements. Before the intervention started, teachers had to complete a questionnaire and this questionnaire had to be completed again after the intervention. Interviews and feedback tools were used to obtain teachers’ views on these communities of practice. The interviews also had a section that pertained to teachers’ pedagogical content knowledge. Structured classroom observations were used to see whether teachers were implementing a constructivist approach when teaching the content. It also served as a method to ascertain whether the activities done during the community of practice sessions were implemented into classroom practice. It was found that communities of practice are an effective way of developing teachers’ pedagogical content knowledge, but that it should be continuous and would be more v effective over a longer period of time. Teachers also enjoyed these meetings, shared resources and motivated each other. Another finding of this research was that teachers did not implement a constructivist approach to their teaching as required by the new curriculum, even though they indicated that they preferred this approach to teaching. A recommendation of this research is that teachers’ professional development should take place in an informal community of practice where teachers could share ideas and resources. A keystone species is required for these communities of practice to stay sustainable. These communities of practice should be implemented on a continuous basis in order to have a positive effect on teachers’ practice.
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- Authors: Van Wyk, Grizelda
- Date: 2013-07-18
- Subjects: Life sciences - Study and teaching , Science teachers - Training of , Science teachers - In-service training , Biology - Study and teaching (Secondary)
- Type: Thesis
- Identifier: uj:7623 , http://hdl.handle.net/10210/8493
- Description: M. Ed. (Science Education) , South African Life Sciences teachers have been subjected to three policy changes during the past six years. The first new curriculum was implemented in 2006, and when it was found that this curriculum lacked sufficient botany content, a new version of the curriculum was implemented in 2009. Following this, a new curriculum was being implemented in 2012 in all subjects, leaving Life Sciences teachers fatigued as a result of all the professional development workshops they had to attend each year. One principle of the new curriculum was that teachers had to use a constructivist approach to teaching, but research had found that this was not the case in South African classrooms. Furthermore, research also showed that some South African teachers lacked the necessary content and pedagogical knowledge to teach science to grade 12 learners. The aim of this study was to see whether teachers’ pedagogical content knowledge could be improved by the use of communities of practice over a period of time. The content that was focused on was DNA, protein synthesis, meiosis and genetics, as these topics were flagged as problematic topics in the National Senior Certificate examinations in 2008. A generic qualitative design was used as this research was situated in an interpretive framework. The genre of the research was phenomenology with design based elements. Before the intervention started, teachers had to complete a questionnaire and this questionnaire had to be completed again after the intervention. Interviews and feedback tools were used to obtain teachers’ views on these communities of practice. The interviews also had a section that pertained to teachers’ pedagogical content knowledge. Structured classroom observations were used to see whether teachers were implementing a constructivist approach when teaching the content. It also served as a method to ascertain whether the activities done during the community of practice sessions were implemented into classroom practice. It was found that communities of practice are an effective way of developing teachers’ pedagogical content knowledge, but that it should be continuous and would be more v effective over a longer period of time. Teachers also enjoyed these meetings, shared resources and motivated each other. Another finding of this research was that teachers did not implement a constructivist approach to their teaching as required by the new curriculum, even though they indicated that they preferred this approach to teaching. A recommendation of this research is that teachers’ professional development should take place in an informal community of practice where teachers could share ideas and resources. A keystone species is required for these communities of practice to stay sustainable. These communities of practice should be implemented on a continuous basis in order to have a positive effect on teachers’ practice.
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The empowerment evaluation of a grade 9 natural sciences teacher in shifting towards an inquiry-based pedagogy
- Authors: Makhubalo, Augustine Nceba
- Date: 2015
- Subjects: Science - Study and teaching (Secondary) , Science teachers - Training of
- Language: English
- Type: Masters (Thesis)
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10210/214679 , uj:21311
- Description: Abstract: In South Africa, the introduction of inquiry-based instruction has met with a lot of challenges, such as the poor training of teachers in the face of accelerated curriculum reform. Teacher training has been plagued with traditional “one-shot” approaches to professional development that are inadequate and do not provide teachers with opportunities for immediate and direct application of what they have learnt (Zakaria & Daud, 2009). I worked with a Grade 9 Natural Science teacher with the goal of improving the quantity and quality of inquiry-based instruction implemented in the classroom, by employing empowerment evaluation approach to teacher development. The professional development experience was informed by the 4Ex2 instruction model, which combines key components of inquiry instruction (Engage, Explore, Explain, Extend) with formative assessment and reflective practice integrated into each of the inquiry components. By employing the Electronic Quality of Inquiry Protocol (EQUIP) a classroom observation tool, I conducted six classroom observations, assessing the teacher on 19 indicators associated with inquiry spreading over four constructs: Instruction, Curriculum, Discourse and Assessment. The current study investigated conceptions the teacher held with regard to inquiry-based teaching and learning, and attempted to shift the Natural Sciences teacher’s instructional approach towards inquiry instruction, by employing the concept of empowerment evaluation. The data was collected using interviews and lesson observations with one teacher from a rural school setting. Findings from this study show that the teacher held positive views of the inquiry-based approach, but felt that its classroom practice suffered negatively from a number of challenges, primarily lack of teacher confidence due to poor training. The findings also reveal that through empowerment evaluation, teacher practices in the classroom can shift towards an inquiry-based approach. , M.Ed.
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- Authors: Makhubalo, Augustine Nceba
- Date: 2015
- Subjects: Science - Study and teaching (Secondary) , Science teachers - Training of
- Language: English
- Type: Masters (Thesis)
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10210/214679 , uj:21311
- Description: Abstract: In South Africa, the introduction of inquiry-based instruction has met with a lot of challenges, such as the poor training of teachers in the face of accelerated curriculum reform. Teacher training has been plagued with traditional “one-shot” approaches to professional development that are inadequate and do not provide teachers with opportunities for immediate and direct application of what they have learnt (Zakaria & Daud, 2009). I worked with a Grade 9 Natural Science teacher with the goal of improving the quantity and quality of inquiry-based instruction implemented in the classroom, by employing empowerment evaluation approach to teacher development. The professional development experience was informed by the 4Ex2 instruction model, which combines key components of inquiry instruction (Engage, Explore, Explain, Extend) with formative assessment and reflective practice integrated into each of the inquiry components. By employing the Electronic Quality of Inquiry Protocol (EQUIP) a classroom observation tool, I conducted six classroom observations, assessing the teacher on 19 indicators associated with inquiry spreading over four constructs: Instruction, Curriculum, Discourse and Assessment. The current study investigated conceptions the teacher held with regard to inquiry-based teaching and learning, and attempted to shift the Natural Sciences teacher’s instructional approach towards inquiry instruction, by employing the concept of empowerment evaluation. The data was collected using interviews and lesson observations with one teacher from a rural school setting. Findings from this study show that the teacher held positive views of the inquiry-based approach, but felt that its classroom practice suffered negatively from a number of challenges, primarily lack of teacher confidence due to poor training. The findings also reveal that through empowerment evaluation, teacher practices in the classroom can shift towards an inquiry-based approach. , M.Ed.
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Foundation phase learners' concepts of the natural world
- Authors: Naude, Francois
- Date: 2018
- Subjects: Natural history - Study and teaching (Primary) - South Africa , Science - Study and teaching (Primary) - South Africa , Cognition in children - South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Doctoral (Thesis)
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10210/402195 , uj:33647
- Description: Abstract : This study aimed to find out how early grades learners express their thinking about some of the themes in the school science curriculum. In a cross-sectional, qualitative study, with data from Grade R and Grade 3 children at a primary school in Soweto, it was evident that the learners had not advanced in their thinking beyond naïve conceptions of vitalist biology ('living and non-living objects) and observational astronomy. The research was undertaken to fill a gap in the knowledge of local children's emergent concepts of the natural world and how these are elicited in the classroom. It is a problem space because natural science is not explicitly included in the foundation phase curriculum. It only occupies a marginal, and often 'concealed' space, within the life skills subject strand known as ‘beginning knowledge’. I argue that this exclusion, along with the absence of suitable science content teaching (and pedagogy) in initial teacher education programmes, need to be addressed in research. I argue that it is important for student teachers and teachers in practice to know as much as possible about how children see the natural world. With such knowledge, curriculum and instruction can be designed to suit the children. The study comprised two phases: interviews were conducted in informal discussion format after all the learners (n=53) had watched a series of classroom demonstrations. The second phase consisted of a smaller sample (n=20), when individual, clinical, task-based interviews were conducted about two topics, namely 'living and non-living things’, and 'earth, sun and moon'. The findings show that there is limited progression over the three-year period (from Grade R to Grade 3) of the participating children’s concept development. This study shows, also, that, although many of the participants may lack normative science concepts, they were able to reason sufficiently to understand some of the causal relationships in natural phenomena. But overall, the detailed analysis of the children's discourse and activities show that they need systematic instruction and language advancement to express their understanding. The study was conducted as an exploration of conceptual change and the work of theorists in the field, such as Susan Carey, Alison Gopnik, Elisabeth Spelke and others formed the framework of the study. Science learning and conceptual change theorising of specialists such as Stella Vosniadou and Andrea diSessa complemented the literature framework. The analysis of the video and audio data were analysed qualitatively, coding and categorising the content, and selected data for discourse analysis. The research was conducted with an interpreter who could serve as back and forth translator for isiZulu, which was utilised by children and the interviewer in code-switching... , Ph.D. (Education)
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- Authors: Naude, Francois
- Date: 2018
- Subjects: Natural history - Study and teaching (Primary) - South Africa , Science - Study and teaching (Primary) - South Africa , Cognition in children - South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Doctoral (Thesis)
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10210/402195 , uj:33647
- Description: Abstract : This study aimed to find out how early grades learners express their thinking about some of the themes in the school science curriculum. In a cross-sectional, qualitative study, with data from Grade R and Grade 3 children at a primary school in Soweto, it was evident that the learners had not advanced in their thinking beyond naïve conceptions of vitalist biology ('living and non-living objects) and observational astronomy. The research was undertaken to fill a gap in the knowledge of local children's emergent concepts of the natural world and how these are elicited in the classroom. It is a problem space because natural science is not explicitly included in the foundation phase curriculum. It only occupies a marginal, and often 'concealed' space, within the life skills subject strand known as ‘beginning knowledge’. I argue that this exclusion, along with the absence of suitable science content teaching (and pedagogy) in initial teacher education programmes, need to be addressed in research. I argue that it is important for student teachers and teachers in practice to know as much as possible about how children see the natural world. With such knowledge, curriculum and instruction can be designed to suit the children. The study comprised two phases: interviews were conducted in informal discussion format after all the learners (n=53) had watched a series of classroom demonstrations. The second phase consisted of a smaller sample (n=20), when individual, clinical, task-based interviews were conducted about two topics, namely 'living and non-living things’, and 'earth, sun and moon'. The findings show that there is limited progression over the three-year period (from Grade R to Grade 3) of the participating children’s concept development. This study shows, also, that, although many of the participants may lack normative science concepts, they were able to reason sufficiently to understand some of the causal relationships in natural phenomena. But overall, the detailed analysis of the children's discourse and activities show that they need systematic instruction and language advancement to express their understanding. The study was conducted as an exploration of conceptual change and the work of theorists in the field, such as Susan Carey, Alison Gopnik, Elisabeth Spelke and others formed the framework of the study. Science learning and conceptual change theorising of specialists such as Stella Vosniadou and Andrea diSessa complemented the literature framework. The analysis of the video and audio data were analysed qualitatively, coding and categorising the content, and selected data for discourse analysis. The research was conducted with an interpreter who could serve as back and forth translator for isiZulu, which was utilised by children and the interviewer in code-switching... , Ph.D. (Education)
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