6.4 ANSWERS TO RESEARCH QUESTION 3
6.4.2 The teachers tried to emphasize the role of prior knowledge in their
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task situation that they have been given by the teacher so that there is effective learning.
Indeed, after Sabelo had given his learners a task to work in small groups, he went around observing what learners were doing in their groups without any interference with what they were doing in their groups. He made sure that learners were seated in groups and seemed to be working on something. His interventions fell short of ensuring that the learners were working together meaningfully while being engaged in the task. All he did was check if the answers were correct and provided the correct answers when necessary.
In the study, the teachers displayed narrow conceptions of meaningful learning in their personal enactments of “learner-centred” practices. Their conceptions of meaningful learning were rooted on what the learners were capable of doing in a classroom environment. Despite the teachers’ emphasis on the role of prior knowledge in their observed lessons, they did not associate it with it view in cognitive development. In cognitive development, meaningful learning is viewed in terms of learners’ association of new knowledge with what they already know.
6.4.2 The teachers tried to emphasize the role of prior knowledge in their
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Table 6.1: The three teachers’ lesson topics and their respective introductions Name of teacher Lesson topic Lesson introduction
Milton Constructing a
Triangle
Milton asked learners to give a definition of a triangle.
Themba The sum of the
interior angles of a quadrilateral
Themba asked learners the meaning of a quadrilateral and to give examples of quadrilaterals.
Sabelo Using problem-
solving model
Sabelo narrated a story to the learners about a gardener who found a big snake in his garden. He asked learners to state the problem the man was facing and decide on possible ways of solving it.
In the above table, Milton and Themba asked learners questions that elicit their information related to the new topic. According to them, asking learners questions about concepts that are related to the new topic would enable meaningful learning of the new topic. Sabelo on the other hand seemed to be using a context that was familiar to his learners (Dickinson et al., 2010;
Freudenthal, 1977). Sabelo believed that the story will assist learners to associate it with the new topic hence would ultimately enable meaningful learning. Just like Milton and Themba, he asked learners some questions in order to help learners relate their previous knowledge to his new topic about problem-solving.
In essence, classroom teachers would ask learners questions to find out what they already know and to assist them make links to what they know (Ausubel et al., 1978; Badham, 1994). They do this to make sure that learners’ prior knowledge is confirmed. Hattie and Timperley (2007) emphasize that leaners should be asked questions in order to elicit feedback information that bridges the gap between the new topic and what the learner already knows.
What was common among the teachers’ introductory lessons in the study was that they kept on asking learners some questions. According to Woloshyn,
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Pressley, and Schneider (1992), the reason for a teacher to ask learners some questions when introducing a topic is to confirm their prior knowledge and hence facilitate learners’ association of the new knowledge and existing knowledge. While Ausubel (1962) had argued that for meaningful learning to take place, the teacher should ensure that the learner already owns appropriate knowledge in his/her cognitive structure that s/he can assimilate the new knowledge. Hence the teachers in the study wanted to confirm ownership of relevant previous knowledge by learners that would eventually enable meaningful learning. The teachers in the study seemed to believe that learner- centred teaching is about confirming learners’ prior knowledge and asking them questions during their lesson introductions. They thought that their way of introducing the new topic, as they did, will enable meaningful learning.
In the study, the teachers had acknowledged the use of prior knowledge in their learner-centred practices during my interview with them. In order to get an in depth understanding of their use of prior knowledge, I then asked them to provide me with reasons for using it. The table below shows their reasons for using prior knowledge in their lessons that I observed them teaching.
Table 6.2 The teachers’ reasons for using prior knowledge
Name of teacher The teacher’s reason for using prior knowledge Milton To take the known to the unknown hence adding knew
knowledge to knowledge that already exist.
Themba To stimulate their thoughts hence linking old concepts with new concepts.
Sabelo To link what they have learnt previously with what they will learn during the lesson hence helping learners to build on what they know and learnt before.
From the above table, it seemed that the teachers value the significance of using prior knowledge in their “learner-centred” practices. They shared the same view that prior knowledge provides a link between what the learners have learnt previously and new knowledge. The teachers’ views about the prior knowledge resonated with Stephen & Simon’s (1999) argument that prior knowledge has
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to be confirmed by teachers when introducing a new topic in order to enable effective learning among learners. In the study, the teachers attempted to help learners to associate their previous knowledge with the current topic, however, it was done superficially and their lessons were not planned to take the prior knowledge into account.
In my interview with the teachers it also emerged that they tried to use prior knowledge regularly when teaching Mathematics. Their references to the use of prior knowledge during their lessons implies that they associated it with learner-centred teaching. Hence the teachers believed that using prior knowledge in their “learner-centred” practices basically enables meaningful learning.
The teachers’ use of prior knowledge implies that they were in fact enabling meaningful learning. Though the teachers did not associate prior knowledge with meaningful learning during my interview with them but clearly as they introduced their lessons, it can be assumed that learners assimilated new knowledge to concepts that they have learnt already know(Ausubel et al., 1978;
Harel, 2013; Piaget, 1970). This is because learners’ learning of new knowledge relies on what the learners already knows (Ausubel et al., 1978).
In sum, the teachers acknowledged the value of using prior knowledge in the teaching of Mathematics as they showed evidence of using it during their lesson introductions. They emphasised the role of using prior knowledge in their personal enactments of “learner-centred” practices that would ultimately enable meaningful learning.
6.4.3 The teachers emphasised the use of group work in their teaching