5.4 SABELO’S TEACHING
5.4.4 Interview with Sabelo
5.4.4.2 Learning practices
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by asking them provoking questions based on their responses and giving them timeous feedback would place ownership of the content to them.
During my interview with him, I also wanted to know the challenges he encountered when using learner-centred teaching. He replied by saying that My experience is that learner-centred approaches at times some lessons will demand materials that are sometimes then hard to get then you have to improvise at times. Most of the times it has not been that bad.
I noted that during his teaching, Sabelo never used any teaching material apart from chalk, chalk board duster and chalk board. He did not even make improvisation as he alluded above in my conversation with him.
From the foregoing, I noticed that Sabelo’s understanding of learner-centred teaching is not consistent with his teaching practices. Though he seemed to articulate the philosophy well but some aspects of his teaching are not consistent with it. He believed that in learner-centred practices there had to be learner- learner interaction throughout the lesson when at some instances the teacher had to make some intervention. Also, Sabelo had some ownership of the content wherein he did not allow learners to co-construct meaning especially during the time when there were group reporting. Perhaps he was moving towards it. He had only been teaching for two years, so he has to still develop in that regard.
As a young teacher he was taking steps towards transforming the class into learner-centred teaching one and he was also reflecting on where he falls short and acknowledges that he was not there yet.
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Sabelo: I think there was. At times when you check you find that they are doing it. Most of the time when it comes to problem solving, learners have a challenge with the English language.
According to Sabelo there was meaningful learning in his lesson because he saw learners solving each of the problems that he had given them. To him, when learners engaged themselves in a problem then meaningful learning was taking place. Of course in his lesson he did engage learners in some activities where they were solving a problem though they struggled to find its solution. On another note, he pointed out that normally his learners had a problem with the English Language. His observation was based on the learners’ struggling to communicate using the medium of instruction (English Language) as they solved the problem. Indeed during group discussion I also observed that in some of the groups, one learner worked on a task alone without communicating with members of the group. The group members were just watching him (see Figure 5.31) as he worked on the problem. As the groups worked on the task, Sabelo walked around making some observations and never bothered himself to tell them to communicate with one another among the groups. I then asked Sabelo more about his conceptual understanding of meaningful learning. My interview with him continued as follows:
Interviewer: What in your opinion do you understand about meaningful learning?
Sabelo: I think meaningful learning is when the pupils are able to express their learning and the teacher could be able to observe that learning has happened.
It seemed Sabelo’s belief about meaningful learning was consistent with his teaching practices. During the groups’ presentations of the task he had given learners to work out in small groups, I observed that each group representative conducted a question and answer whilst Sabelo watched them. He never interfered with the proceedings save for encouraging learners to raise their hands when ready to respond to questions paused by their peers. Basically Sabelo believed that meaningful learning is linked to learners’ expressing of their ideas and the teacher should observe that happening. With regards to his lesson, I
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wanted to find out whether there was meaningful learning as he taught the learners.
Interviewer: If I may ask you: Was there meaningful learning in your lesson?
Sabelo: I think there was meaningful learning just because while they were learning, the learners as they were in groups were able to express their understanding sort of.
Again Sabelo’s notion of meaningful learning was rooted on learners’
expressing of their ideas during his teaching. According to him, seeing learners discussing a problem and showing their understanding was indicative of meaningful learning. Furthermore, I asked him how he could facilitate meaningful learning when teaching.
Interviewer: Is there any way to make meaningful learning in any Mathematics lesson?
Sabelo: I believe there is a need. When we say there is meaningful learning, the learners will be kept busy and express understanding and its importance hence will take the learning seriously.
Sabelo believed that there must be meaningful learning in the teaching of Mathematics. He mentioned that meaningful learning occurs when learners express understanding and the importance of mathematical ideas. Sabelo seemed to connect meaningful learning with the instance when learners express conceptual understanding.
In my interview with him, I went on to find out about the strategies that he could use to facilitate meaningful learning when teaching Mathematics.
Interviewer: What strategies can you take to facilitate meaningful learning in any Math lesson?
Sabelo: I think it is giving the learners more ways of feeling part of the lesson keeping them busy. And at times as the teacher is conducting the lesson s/he can help them to see the importance of that learning.
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In his lesson, Sabelo encouraged his learners to work in their groups. He gave learners some tasks to work on. To him, meaningful learning was enabled by keeping learners work on a task and in groups. In particular he believed that when learners were busy with some work that had been given to them by the teacher and expressing their understanding, then there was meaningful learning.
During my interview with Sabelo I also wanted to find out from him whether he normally used concrete materials when teaching Mathematics. He responded in the affirmative but he said he did not use them most of the time. So I asked him why he used them and his response was as follows:
These kids love playing, when I come with something they can touch, something they can handle. You will find that during the course of the lesson they are just happy for the thing and it is hard for them to forget that lesson.
From his response, Sabelo seemed not to connect concrete materials directly with concepts in Mathematics. He associated them with play. Furthermore, he mentioned that concrete materials are for learners’ enjoyment as can be noted from the excerpt below.
Concrete materials are for making the lesson enjoyable to the learners. At times it will be like a game to them. While they are learning they enjoy.
Though Sabelo approved the value of concrete materials when teaching Mathematics, I noted that he did not use any concrete materials in his lesson save for a piece of chalk and a chalk board duster. After all the nature of the topic restricted him to the use of the materials that he used during the lesson. I then wanted to find out from him whether there was a link between concrete materials and conceptual understanding.
Interviewer: What about when it comes to the concept you are teaching. You see you are teaching the problem solving model, if you bring concrete objects what sort of link would it make.
Sabelo: When you come with an object, that concrete object usually as a teacher you will come with something relevant to the lesson. For example let’s say we are learning on place values so for them to enjoy if you come with may be an abacus you will find that they
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will begin to play with it. 10’s 1’s and 1000’s then it will be hard for them to forget.
Sabelo seemed to acknowledge the theoretical value of concrete materials in the teaching of Mathematics but he did not use them in his lesson. On another note, during the interview he never made any connection of concrete materials with meaningful learning.
One of the important components of my interview with Sabelo was to understand his knowledge about prior knowledge in the teaching of Mathematics. The following conversation ensued with him:
Interviewer: What is prior knowledge in teaching of Mathematics?
Sabelo: It is when we are allowing the pupils to reflect what they have learnt in their previous classes or lessons.
Sabelo’s conception of prior knowledge was related to learners’ understanding of lessons that they have been taught before. According to him, prior knowledge would take place if learners were permitted to reflect what they had learnt before. I continued to find reasons for using prior knowledge from him.
Interviewer: Why do you use prior knowledge when teaching Mathematics?
Sabelo: Every time you look at Mathematics, Mathematics is continually from Grade to Grade and class to class. So what they have learnt previously links with what they will learn at that particular lesson.
Sabelo’s response above about prior knowledge revealed that he connected it with what learners had learnt from previous lessons. He did not mention the idea of learners linking what was new to them with what they had learnt. In his lesson introduction, Sabelo narrated a story of a big snake in a garden which was a problem to the gardener. That according to him was a problem which needed to be solved. To me, his story linked well with his current lesson. It served as prior knowledge. Indeed he took into account learners’ previous knowledge which seemed to be learners’ everyday experience. Here, Sabelo seemed to acknowledge the idea of the existence of prior knowledge in the teaching of Mathematics but did link it to meaningful learning. Though he
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pointed out during my interview with him that he had used prior knowledge most of the time when he taught Mathematics, he never mentioned that it was connected with meaningful learning.
From Sabelo’s lesson that I observed and my interview with him, it emerged that meaningful learning would occur when:
Learners are able to express their ideas while they were working in groups.
Learners are kept busy discussing a problem and showing their understanding.
Sabelo’s understanding of meaningful learning seemed to be associated with some learning processes during the lesson and he did not link it to the aspect of cognitive development where connections are made between prior knowledge and new knowledge.
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CHAPTER 6
DISCUSSION OF FINDINGS