Investigating the Development of Experiential Skills in Grade 11 Life Sciences
Date
2023-09
Authors
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Journal ISSN
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Publisher
University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg
Abstract
The aim of this study is to investigate the development of experiential skills in Grade 11 Life Sciences learners, and the influence of experiential skills on learner proficiency. The study seeks to gain insight into experiential skills development as a teaching approach, while aligning assessments with the needed cognitive levels for improved proficiency. South Africa’s educational system uses the Curriculum Assessment Policy Statement (CAPS) to guide teachers in developing and assessing learners’ Life Sciences proficiency, which tests the extent to which skills and knowledge are applied successfully in assessments. Experiential skills involve a cyclic process, the stages of which are necessary to the achievement of a desired performance objective (Lalwani, 2020). However, McPherson-Geyser et al. (2020) argue that teachers’ limited knowledge of experiential skills is challenged when they are faced with the four modes of experiential skills development, namely: concrete experiences, reflective observations, abstract conceptualisation, and active experimentation (Kolb & Kolb, 2005). When developing experiential skills in the Life Sciences classroom, the correct tool as a guiding source is needed, and this study uses lesson plans as that tool. Competent lesson planning is vital for effective teaching and can be used to best facilitate the development of experiential skills among learners across each topic covered in the classroom (Daft & Marcic, 2014). The study reported an interconnection between the interpretivist and positivist paradigm when applied in a mixed method study containing both qualitative and quantitative approaches. Qualitative descriptive case studies were used to analyse experiential skills development lessons, which were created using the conceptual framework. Concurrently, quantitative pre, during, and post-testing—together with questionnaires completed by 66 learners—explored the extent to which the experiential skills developed influenced learner proficiency. Findings from both the quantitative and the qualitative approaches were triangulated to give an in-depth understanding of the study. The qualitative data proved that effective lesson planning by the teacher bears a significant influence on learner experiential skills development. Conversely, it can be hypothesised that the ineffective use of lesson planning can negatively influence learner experiential skills development. Therefore, understanding what aspects are needed in designing an effective experiential skills lesson shows itself to be of great importance in the process. The quantitative data findings clearly indicate that there were significant differences between the means of the pre-test and the during-test, as well as the pre-test and post-test, across the entire group of 66 learners. A significant difference was found between the answers and explanations learners gave in the pre-test, as compared to their answers and explanations in the during and post-tests, displaying different levels of Bloom’s Taxonomy, a classification system used to distinguish levels of cognition. The participating learners also indicated that there was a significant improvement in their experiential skills, which in turn had a positive influence on their proficiency in assessments. I perceived that moving towards a more student-centred classroom assignment was most effective when it included the development of all four modes of experiential learning. Learners identified that the lessons, and the sequence in which they were taught, allowed for the development of a variety of experiential skills. In the pre-test, results showed that if learners merely complete assessments for the sake of complying with the Department of Education’s requirement, without developing the related experiential skills, there is no long-term benefit for upcoming assessments as the skill will soon be forgotten or lost. The study showed that these experiential skills can be acquired through experiential skill lesson planning. I then developed a tool to assist teachers when planning for experiential skill lessons using the given conceptual framework. If the tool is implemented and used effectively to develop experiential skills, teachers may fulfil more than the requirements in the Curriculum Assessment Policy Statement of the Department of Education. This study recommends research into the use of this tool in the development of experiential skills, measuring the tool’s effectiveness both in classrooms and during assessments, and identifying any attributes and shortcomings which would influence overall learner proficiency.
Description
Thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirement for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, to the Faculty of Humanities, Wits School of Education, at the University of the Witwatersrand Johannesburg, 2023.
Keywords
Experiential skills, Proficiency, Life Sciences, Concrete experiences, Reflective observations, Abstract conceptualisation, Active experimentation, UCTD
Citation
McPherson-Geyser, Genevieve. (2023). Investigating the Development of Experiential Skills in Grade 11 Life Sciences. [PhD thesis, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg]. WIReDSpace. https://hdl.handle.net/10539/41010