ETD Collection

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Subject: search.filters.subject.National Curriculum Statement

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Now showing 1 - 6 of 6
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    Evolution of my subject matter knowledge for teaching energy resources and its uses in Grade 11 : self study.
    (2013-07-24) Khumalo, Maureen K.
    The implementation of a new curriculum is a challenging issue to educators in many countries. In this country training for an implementation of a curriculum is done in one week and it takes a form of one a size fits all. The study investigated how I transform my content knowledge when teaching a new topic in the new curriculum. The aim of this study was to carry a self- study of how I transformed my content knowledge when teaching energy resources and its uses to make it comprehensible to learners. The following research question guided the study:  How did my PCK develop as I developed the broad content of the energy resources and its uses into focused, teachable and comprehensible content?  How did my planning and reflecting on practice change as I participated in the process of planning, developing and implementing the lesson plans? When teachers teach, they draw upon knowledge of their subject matter, general pedagogy as well as context. This could be improved by the contribution of the concept of pedagogical content knowledge where content and pedagogy are blended. Therefore, for this study I have chosen PCK as a theoretical framework because I will be looking at how my content knowledge can be transformed into content knowledge for teaching. The study employed a qualitative research, which uses multiple realities that are socially constructed through collective and individual definitions of the situations. It is a self –study focusing on my own teaching and intending to improve my practice as a teacher. The focus is myself teaching two grade 11 classes in a township school. Khumalo M. iv Data was collected in a form of concept maps, reflective journals, lesson plan and CoRE s and PaPeRs. CoRes and PaPe-Rs were used to capture and portray my PCK. The methodological tools used to document and portray my Pedagogical Content Knowledge when teaching energy and resources, used representations called Content Representation (CoRe) and Pedagogical and Professional – experience Repertoires (PaP-eRs). The CoRe elaborated on my construction of content, which framed the topic and each Pa-PeR, was a narrative derived from the classroom observations and the journal. Findings in this study indicate that using the CoRe and PaPeR as a tool to portray PCK helps in the development of content knowledge. Some elements of PCK could be identified and the implementation of developed lessons led to insight into my teaching. Learners participated more freely and develop confidence when home language was used. I gained confidence using the CoRe to develop lessons.
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    Facing the challenge of learning and teaching gold mining grade 11 in the new curriculum : a self-study.
    (2012-08-31) Ndhlovu, Majabulile
    The South African government that was elected in 1994 made tremendous changes in the Education system. The new government came up with the new curriculum for Basic Education (grade R- 12). The new curriculum had new topics in physical science. This made me as a teacher doubt whether I would be able to teach new topics. During my time as a student, I was not taught mining at school or college. As a result, I decided to do a self study in order to investigate how I would learn gold mining as a topic in order for me to be able to teach it to my learners. My study involved studying my own teaching practice while learning and also finding out the key things that made me understand the content knowledge involved in the topic of gold mining. The self study was done in order to ensure that I understood the content knowledge and how best to teach it to the learners. I used a collaboration team, reflective journal, group interviews classroom observation and learners’ responses to collect data. The participants were my grade 11 learners and myself. My data was analysed using a PCK model, CoRes and PaPeRs. I had to learn the content knowledge and transform it to make it understandable to learners. I designed lessons using the prior knowledge of learners and integrating Physical Science and Geography. Lessons did not go as smoothly as I had expected. Learners wanted some of their existing knowledge to be included. The classroom activities depended entirely on the relationship between the teacher and learners. I carried out my study bearing in mind that implementation of the new curriculum depends not only on classroom interactions (DoE, 2002) but most importantly on the content knowledge that the teacher has and how it is transformed. Learners taught me to understand gold mining from the geographical point of view as well from the scientific point of view. From the beginning of the study they were really excited and were looking forward to new things. Using the learners’ science prior knowledge helped me design lessons that allowed me to learn to be a facilitator.
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    Professional development of educators : an illuminative evaluation of INSET for life orientation.
    (2012-02-29) Shah, Zahira
    In-service education and training (INSET) has become a key vehicle for the professional development of educators in the school context. However, its role and impact has yet to be fully comprehended. This study resulted from the realization that educators often attend short training courses without being tracked or monitored afterwards. Using an illuminative approach to evaluation, this study aimed to establish the impact of INSET on educators’ ability to effectively implement the Life Orientation (LO) curriculum, after attending national INSET in 2005. It was also important to gauge if educators had gained the knowledge and skills to deal with emergent issues not addressed during the training. The field of adult education offered a particular lens through which I aimed to look at both LO and INSET. The sample selected for this study consisted of three teachers teaching at co-educational government schools in Johannesburg, who attended the 2005 Gauteng provincial training in LO for grade 10. Data collection methods included questionnaires, naturalistic observations, semi-structured interviews and document analysis. The findings of this study suggest that the success of this INSET programme depends heavily on the individuals who attend them and their personal experiences and beliefs. The study concluded that for educators to implement LO effectively they would not only have to develop professionally but they should also be committed to lifelong learning.
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    Tradition and transformation : a critique of English setwork selection (2009-2011).
    (2010-03-15T07:49:38Z) Silverthorne, Rosemary Ann
    This Research Report critiques the English Home Language Literature setwork selection for the period 2009-2011 in terms of the National Curriculum Statement for English Home Language for Grades 10- 12 to establish whether there is consonance between policy and practice in this section of the syllabus and to determine whether the new national syllabus offers a traditional or a transformational approach to the subject. In order to do this, the National Curriculum Statement is analysed in terms of the principles and outcomes which it intends to be actualised in the study of English and selects those that seem applicable to literature studies. Questions are formulated encapsulating these principles and used as the tools to critique the new national literature syllabus both as regards its individual constituent parts and as regards the syllabus as a whole. A brief comparison between the current prescribed literature selection and setworks set from 1942 to the present day establishes whether the new syllabus has departed from old syllabus designs, whether it acknowledges the new target group of pupils in multiracial English Home Language classrooms by offering a revised, wider and more inclusive selection of novels, dramas, poems and other genres such as short stories, or whether it remains traditionally Anglocentric in conception. The conclusions reached are that although the setworks conform to the letter of the requirements set down in the NCS, the underlying spirit of transformation is not realised. The inclusion of some poets from Africa and South Africa is merely content addition to a Eurocentric core curriculum, a form of tokenism which does not reorientate the syllabus significantly or move it away from its traditional trajectory. The report suggests that literature of merit from both Africa and South Africa be included in every part of the syllabus so that it reflects in some degree the contributions that the continent makes to English literature, in this way including in its scope the interests and identities of the wide range of learners studying English Home Language in the South African context.
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    Faces of mathematics teachers in policy and practice
    (2009-09-30T05:42:42Z) Basbozkurt, Hakan
    This paper will report on the findings of the research that was conducted in a private school in Johannesburg about mathematics teachers’ identities described in policy and how these are demonstrated in practice. The central questions that guided the study were: ‘How are identities of mathematics teachers described in the new mathematics curriculum policy?’ and ‘How are these identities demonstrated in practice?’ I anticipated comparing teacher’s personal pedagogic and official pedagogic identities in classroom practice for Further Education and Training (FET) band from learners’ perspective since learners are at the center of the Outcome-Based-Education (OBE). This study was informed by theoretical concepts of ‘identity’ from Gee (2001), Boaler and Greeno (2000), and Jansen (2001). Naidoo and Parker’s (2005), Jita and Vandeyar (2006) and Parker (2006) analyzed tension between personal pedagogic and official pedagogic subject identities of South African teachers provided me a contextualized framework for this study. My analysis confirms that although the two teachers’ identities still have tension, reconstruction of the ‘new face’ of the teachers is on progress that has relation with ‘the kind of teacher’ is referred by the NCS.
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    The hole in holism : a critical appraisal of the "holistic development of learners" with specific reference to the emotions
    (2008-06-23T09:20:51Z) Dix-Peek, Dominique
    The National Curriculum Statement argues that it takes all of the different components of the individual into account when attempting to educate each learner. It states that one of the goals of the National Curriculum Statement is to promote the “holistic development of learners”, and within this area to take each learner’s emotions into account. This is a bold statement that has many practical implications for the learner, the educator, and the lecturers in teacher training programmes. There appears to be very little guidance provided in the National Curriculum Statement or teacher training programmes with regards to how one should take the “holistic development of learners”, and specifically the emotions into account. For this reason, this research focuses on whether it is possible to prepare teachers to take the “whole child” into account, with particular reference to the emotional dimension of the learner. The research also focuses on whether educators in schools feel adequately prepared to look at the emotions, and what different factors come into play when attempting to look at the both the emotions and the “holistic development of learners”. In order to do this, the current research focuses on Life Orientation, since it appears to be the subject that is most able to deal with the cognitive, spiritual, physical social and emotional needs of the learners. With the purpose of achieving the abovementioned objectives, the researcher conducted a qualitative research study which involved the interviews of six Life Orientation Educators from six different public schools in the Northern Suburbs of Johannesburg; as well as three lecturers who lecture Life Orientation at the University of the Witwatersrand. The findings of this research report indicate that most of the educators and lecturers who participated in the research feel inadequately prepared to take the emotions, and the holistic development of learners, into account in the teaching /learning process. There are a number of reasons for this. First, many participants felt that both the emotions and holism are implied within the curriculum. However, the participants felt that there is not an explicit explanation for what these elements of the individual are. As a result of the lack of a coherent explanation of the different elements of the individual, the participants felt that it is difficult to teach the non-cognitive aspects of the individual. Second, because the emotions and holism are implicit rather than explicit, it was felt that there are no clear indications provided by the National Curriculum Statement, or in the Life Orientation courses or workshops on how it is possible to teach or assess the whole child, and the emotions specifically.