ETD Collection

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    Changing minds : Training educators to use drama as an alternative method for life orientation teaching
    (2008-11-11T12:21:29Z) Diemont, Alix
    South Africa’s education system has undergone substantial changes in the last ten years. The shift to Inclusive Education attempts to provide all learners, regardless of their disability, learning difficulty, or disadvantage with access to education (Department of Education1, 2001). Curriculum 2005, in the context of an Outcomes Based Education (OBE) philosophy was an attempt by the Education Department to address the inadequate ‘Bantu’ education of the past. OBE was intended to replace teacher-centred approaches by encouraging children to become actively involved in the learning process, to gain knowledge as well as skills, and to think independently and creatively (DoE, 1998b). School ‘subjects’ of the past were changed to ‘Learning Areas’ some undergoing dramatic shifts in content and teaching strategies. These new Learning Areas also emerged with alternative assessment practices. Life Orientation (LO) is one such learning area. Many educators were suddenly required to teach these new Learning Areas, despite having little or no training in them. As a result many educators experienced frustration with the demands now placed upon them, and some felt unable to teach effectively. This study used a qualitative actionresearch design to obtain an in-depth understanding of the educators’ capacities to change their teaching practices in their Life Orientation classrooms. Six educators in a public primary school setting participated in a series of workshops aimed to introduce them to drama methods to be used in their Life Orientation teaching. The workshops were highly experiential in nature and were designed with the specific personalities and needs of each educator in mind. The results of the research indicate that educators are highly responsive to training, provided that they feel acknowledged as individuals and provided that the training builds upon their current expertise rather than attempting to change their practices altogether. Another key finding from the training was the opportunity for the educators to engage in the training as human beings with their own difficulties and frustrations being openly acknowledged. Many of the educators experienced the workshops as therapeutic and reported that this made the training both useful and personally fulfilling.
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    Learning with/from others : teachers' perceptions of peer collaboration and group work in the OBE classroom.
    (2008-09-10T13:36:27Z) Byers, Nicole
    Post 1994 the South African education system has focused on creating education for all under a single core syllabus. It also stressed the need for a shift from the traditional teacher-centred approach to a learner-centred approach. As a result, the shift was made from an aims-and-objectives education to Outcomes Based Education (OBE). OBE has placed a different set of demands on teachers and the way in which they assess. Specifically teachers are required to use peer collaboration to bring about learning and simultaneously assess that learning has transpired. However, many teachers are left feeling uncertain about the efficacy of OBE. This report reviews the relevant literature as well as theories needed to understand the process learning. The objective of this research report is to establish teacher’s current perceptions are of OBE. More so, the research aimed to ascertain how useful peer collaboration is in facilitating learning. The results from this study show that teachers are uncertain about the efficacy of OBE. Although a significant number of teachers strongly agree with the underlying principles of OBE they feel that implementation as intended by policy makers is idealistic. Furthermore, they are conflicted about the notion that peer collaboration can sufficiently facilitate learning. Lastly, the findings of this study suggest that in implementing peer collaboration successfully, tenets from social psychology such as group dynamics need to be considered.