The problems in the education of Africans started a long time ago, even before the introduction of Bantu education in 1953. African education was now in the hands of the Department of Education and Training - DET.
STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM
A noticeable decline in the number of applicants for the higher grade and a corresponding increase in applicants for the standard grade in the year 2000. There was a slight improvement in the year 2000 in both the standard grade (SG) and the higher grade (HG).
SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY
INTRODUCTION
TEACHING STYLES
- Educator-Centred Approach
- Learner-Centred Approach
- Developments in Science Teaching in South Africa and Elsewhere
- Lessons from Research on Inquiry-Based Classrooms
In her report, Crawford (2000) identified the following six themes that were characteristic of the educator's inquiry-based classroom. Questions asked were said to be demanding in terms of the kind and depth of answers expected.
USE OF RESOURCES IN SCIENCE TEACHING
This means that students do not know which part of the presentation to focus on. Second, the table reflects the similarity of the skills that students need to acquire, which are mostly higher-order skills.
ASSESSMENT
Contemporary Issues in Assessment
This suggests an assessment that is prospective - that is, assessing the student's ability to do what he or she can do. It is argued that this assessment is holistic in at least three ways: first, it requires students to be assessed in multiple ways. integrated results, results.
Some Assessment Constraints
Ruiz-Primo and Shavelson (1996) report a study of important claims about scientific performance evaluations. A performance appraisal requires thorough preparation, as its effectiveness depends on the quality of the task.
SUMMARY
The point of view is that assessment must support learning and is thus integrated with learning and teaching and must therefore be continuous. In other words, what we need to find out is the learner's competence.
SOME GAPS IN THE LITERATURE
In 1999, the Department of Education and Culture (KZNDEC, 1999d, 1999e) stipulated that the final grade of the Matriculation Certificate would consist of the end-of-year examination 50% and school-based "continuous assessment" 50%. But what appears to be worrying is that the desire to inculcate high-level skills is likely to be hampered by reliance on external examinations (testing).
INTRODUCTION
A THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK
Selecting a Theoretical Framework
The first premise is that human beings act toward things based on the meaning that things have for them. His assumption is that people act because of the meaning that those things have for them.
RESEARCH APPROACH
The Qualitative Research Approach
The present study is naturalistic, holistic and participatory in the sense that the researcher was present at the research sites, but the researcher did not participate in the teaching itself. In order to understand, the researcher had to be as "close" to the situation as possible, derive the meaning of the interaction that took place in the classroom, interpret these meanings and reach some conclusions. But to keep the situation natural, I had to avoid intervention, and therefore he did not participate in the teaching process.
Ethical Issues
The problem may be how close the researcher should be without invading the privacy of the participants. The essence of qualitative research is to provide a "thick description" of an observed phenomenon or situation (Geertz, 1973). One of the dilemmas I faced in this study was to reveal the purpose of the study.
THE CASE STUDY METHOD
Observation
Other participants may treat the observer as one of the group members. In this method, the observer records his observation, including the interactions of the participants, the description of the activities, the actions and gestures of the participants. Field notes should be descriptive rather than speculative so that a broad, interpretable picture can be built.
Interview
In the third type, focused observation, an observer concentrates on a particular teaching technique, for example, on questioning. The details of these observation methods are beyond the scope of this study. Hitchcock and Hughes (1989) suggest that writing field notes should follow a sequence of stages starting from scribbled notes with key words or key phrases to the development of recurring themes, patterns and features. It is flexible in the sense that the interviewer is able to ask more questions beyond the planned questions or probe for deeper understanding and the interviewee (interviewee) can expand his/her answers (Hitchcock and Hughes, 1989).
Documents
34;unstructured" interview is a misnomer, since even the so-called "unstructured" does have a plan, "a truly non-directive interviewing approach is simply not suitable for research". It is assumed that if the interviewer has good relationships can develop with respondents he/she can get a deeper and more meaningful information The documents will depict what is taught and how it is taught and also what is assessed and how it is assessed.
RESEARCH DESIGN
Research Questions
Eisner, cited in Lubisi, summarizes the importance of documents and states: "documents provide a kind of operational definition of what teachers value."
Selection of Cases
The schools were previously disadvantaged; for example, they were underfunded, leaving them without physical resources. The majority of teachers obtained a 3-year College Diploma, which is also considered inferior compared to a 4-year Diploma (for the other races) or University education. The selected schools were given pseudonyms to ensure anonymity and confidentiality and to further improve collaboration between teachers.
Access Into Schools
The main reason for doing this was to gain the teacher's trust and confirm his/her status as a key player in the study. During these initial meetings, I described the topic and purpose of the research, ensuring confidentiality and anonymity. The district manager had no problem with this as he knew the researcher as one of the teachers in his district.
DATA COLLECTION
- Educator Profile and School Profile
- Observation Guide
- Designing Interview Schedules
- Documents
This information was considered important for the general understanding of the educators, it will also help with the analysis of findings. The first topic was to address the perceptions of the educators about the use of resources and whether they (educators) do develop certain teaching materials. From the textbooks I could determine the nature and level of the questions the educator asks.
DATA ANALYSIS
Validation
To ensure the quality and accuracy of the research, the findings must be validated. The concept of validity is a continuum, we are talking about the extent to which the findings are valid. At the three vertices of the triangle are an educator, the student and the researcher.
INTRODUCTION
PRESENTATION OF THE CASE STUDIES .1 Case Study of School A
Context and Profiles
The pass rate at school A started very low both in the matriculation exam as a whole and in physics. What is reflected in the table is that the physics pass rate is always better than the overall matriculation pass rate. The materials MR A had in his physical laboratory are shown in photo 1, appendix H.
Mr A's Teaching Style
It was observed that the educator did not check whether the learner had done the homework or not. Educator: What is the name of the compound (CH1CI2). it was observed that the learners read the answers from their notebooks) Educator: What will happen if we keep pumping in chlorine gas. Mr A's questioning appears to be less effective due to the following reasons: firstly, the learners read answers from their notebooks.
Case Study of School B .1 Context and Profiles
- Assessment of Learners
The table also reflects that the pass rate of learners in Physical Sciences is always lower than the pass rate of the matric. Ms B: Chamane comes to draw a structure of propene. the learners laughed, it seems Chamane is not a promising learner. It seems as if the educator was successful in familiarizing her learners with the standard of the questions and how to answer the questions.
Case Study of School C .1 Context and Profiles
The educator was successful in demonstrating the cleaning effect of sulfuric acid on metal surfaces. What is significant about this table is that it was the idea of the educator, it was not entered from the book. In most cases, the educator set questions that had been discussed in class in the form of examples, class assignments or homework.
Case Study of School D .1 Context and Profile
- Ms D's Teaching Style
- Assessment of Learners
Some of these models are shown in photo 4, Appendix H. The educator was also involved in the Science Expo competition. The educator intended to review by asking questions, but did not prepare a set of questions. The teacher did nothing about it, and the boys remained seated for the rest of the period.
INTRODUCTION
DISCUSSION
- The Challenge of Effective Classroom Interaction
- Questioning for Understanding Versus Control
- Creating an Environment to Support Meaningful Learning
- Assessment Methods: Same Make Different Blend Name
It is argued that a pleasant learning environment can motivate students and improve their attitudes and improve learning. The difference was between the assessment of the 12th grade teachers (Mr. A and B) and the 11th grade teachers. This is one of the indicators showing that educators still adhere to the traditional approach to teaching.
SUMMARY
It is argued that students should be assessed based on what they know and can do. In order to assess students' abilities, it is recommended that students are assessed while performing activities (NRC 1996, DoE 1998b). Although teachers articulated that students were not empty vessels, their actions did not seem to bear this out.
CONCLUSION
INTRODUCTION
IMPLICATIONS OF THE FINDINGS .1 Implications for Policy
- Implication for Practice
- Implications for INSET
This is far from the aim of national education policy, which is to produce critical thinkers (DoE, 1996b). For example, the issue of resources, the pressure of the final exam and the problem of large classes. Unfortunately, it does not end there, lecturers need the support of INSET in implementing the new policies.
LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY
ISSUES FOR FURTHER RESEARCH
CONCLUSION
The purpose of the study is to examine the classroom practices of physical science educators. This observation is part of the research project which is carried out under the auspices of the University of Natal. The purpose of this project is to examine the classroom practices of physical science educators.
If yes, how did you solve it?
Making inference from the present practice to the past
Inferring future practice from the present
The desks in your classroom are arranged in rows, do you allow your learners to work in groups. The desks in your classroom are arranged in groups, you actually work in groups. I saw how the desks are arranged in groups, do you learn in groups (do you do group discussions).
