In this study I wanted to engage the students in sustainable learning connected to real life situations, through 'project-based learning'. I hereby declare that the research involved in my thesis, entitled: A Participatory Inquiry into Project-Based Learning as Mediated in an Electricity Teaching Unit for Year 8 Students, is entirely my own work and has not been submitted for any grade or .
Introduction and Contextual framework
Introduction
The context of education in South Africa
RNCS, Grades R-9 Schools, 2003, p.6 The new curriculum envisions a new type of learner who will be "..imbued with the values and act in the interest of a society based on respect for democracy, equality, human dignity, life and social justice" (RNCS, Overview, 2002, p.8). Stemming from the Ministry of Education's vision for education, and the need for collaborative relationships, is the need for clearly defined roles for educators.
Researcher's background
In view of this, I claim that project work is the most suitable method that enables the achievement of a new vision of education, as advocated by the RNCS. It is not [students'] fault that their learning habits wither within a passive curriculum” (p. 17).
Research purpose
RQ: How 8th grade students use the unit on electricity to negotiate their identities in a learning context. The topic of electricity is chosen at the request of the municipal councilor of the local community, namely problems in the consumption and supply of electricity (see chapter 3, number 3.3 and figure 2).
Context of the study
The majority of the students live close to the school (10 students walk to school), while the others live further away (3 students live about 1 km and therefore walk to school, while one student lives about 2 km from the school) . and comes to school by bus). Most students live with their parents (12 students), while the rest live with their relatives (2 students) in formal houses with electricity and piped water (11 students) or in an informal settlement without electricity and piped water from outside (11 students). 3 students) and have privacy at home to do homework (7 students).
Outline of the study
The insights gained from this study will influence the way teachers help students both inside and outside the classroom. Data analysis is based on the results of the data collected from the main research question.
Description of terms used in the study
- Learning experience
- Lifelong learning
- Mediator
- Mediation
- Interaction
- Reciprocity
Meaning gains energy when the teacher addresses the student's cognitive, affective or motivational needs (Feuerstein et ai, 1988). This study extends the idea that students are the most important stakeholders in education and that learning should be meaningful to the learner.
Project work
The purpose of transcendence in a mediated learning experience is to help the students apply what they have learned in a classroom setting to other appropriate settings or contexts. Project work is a long-term investigative study from which students produce a culminating presentation, and a way for students to apply what they learn (Kellough and Kellough, 2003).
Preview of Subsequent Chapters
Theoretical Framework and Literature Review
Introduction
Theoretical Framework
- Purpose and argument being advanced
- Project based learning and Mediation
- Link between project based learning and mediation
Sharing the results of this characteristic of MLE, researchers argue that the teacher or mediator goes beyond the concrete context or immediate experience and teaches the rules and generalizations that govern the experience (Tzuriel, 1999), and about the mediator's role in bridge building, Haywood (1988) argue that" .. the facilitator) to get students to draw examples from their own experiences or situations where the same process works. Assessment should be made public and the learner should be involved in the design of the assessment.
Role Players
The collaborative aspect, which is also present in project-based learning, provides the learner with the opportunity to work with others, including the teacher or other adults as participants. Below you will find a schematic representation of meaningful learning through learning experience combined with project-based learning.
I ~NTER- ACTION I ~
Conclusion
This argument is explored further in Chapter 3 when we look at the methodology and in Chapter 4 when we look at the results.
Research Methodology
- Introduction
- Engaging Participants
- How Participants were recruited for meaningful engagement
In such research, researchers are part of the social world they study (Hammersley and Atkins, 1983). The quantitative data was used to enrich and add value to the qualitative nature of the study within the assessment area. The use of the term learning program in the study refers to the new term, that is, lesson plan.
The recruitment of the participants took place on two levels as described in the table below. In connection with the study, the research participants sat in the same group. After introducing the subject of electricity to the students, I briefed them on the imperatives of the new education system.
Learner's Ideas 1. Questionnaire
Meaning making based on
- Analysis of Data (Stage One)
- Introduction
- Portfolio Boards - interpretation and discussion
As for the out-of-school interventions, the students each present their portfolio boards ready for electricity in front of an audience. This data source is an answer to CQ 1 in a way that the participants understood the activities and what they took away from the activities. The data obtained using the above seven questions (derived from the interviews and reflective journals in phase 4) would be matched with the data provided by the comments and other information provided by the students on the portfolio boards during the performance assessment (in phase 3).
As stated earlier (see 3.5 p. 84) the participants' answers from the interviews will be compared or related to what they learned from the lesson, as reflected in the presentation of the portfolio tables or final products. The participatory nature of the study is at the level of the participant and the research instruments. The presentation and analysis of the results of this study is done in two stages.
HOMES
PROBLEM
ELECTRICITY
The heading of PB 1 reads: 'Problem' and below that is a report containing a request from a local councilor seeking the pupils' help in relation to problems relating to electricity and local residents in the community. High up on the PB are pictures of the city mayor and city manager with a picture of huge poles near electrical cables, a familiar sight and feature in the community. In this case, the connection is in connection with the supply of electricity, as shown in the picture of the poles.
The student builds a 'story' together to show how a sector of the local community has only recently gained access to existing infrastructure and electricity supply. The content of the above reports highlights the problems faced by local residents and the problems faced by the electricity department of the local council which is responsible for the supply of electricity. Figure 8, on the next page, is a pictorial representation of the actual portfolio table (which is PB 2) constructed by.
COME FROM 1
WHERE DOES ELECTRICITY
ELfCTR1C1T:I
Furthermore, in the example above, although we are interested in the abstract idea of the flow of electric current through a conducting wire, we provide opportunities for the student through project work and MLE to "explore its meaning through concrete examples" (Malcolm, 1992: 82). In the second section of PB 4, Lwazi describes the process of generating electricity in a power plant. The third part of the PB 3 information consists of clear and relevant pictures showing the internal moving components of various parts of the power plant, with captions that read: water boilers, steam turbine, generator coils.
The information on the lower part of the sign follows the steps in the transport of electricity from the power station to our homes. Lwazi's response to meaningful learning above is consistent with that reported by Boaler (1997), namely that a student's experience with PBL is associated with a reduction in anxiety towards the subject, and a greater willingness on the part of the student to . Figure 10, on the next page, is a pictorial representation of the actual portfolio board (this is PB 4) built by Thapelo in consultation with his peers.
HOMES?
ELECTRICITY GET TO OUR
How DOES
C()L()UH C()DES
In the first one he has a picture of a house showing the different rooms and the electrical appliances, sockets, switches and light fixtures, and, two diagrams showing parallel and series circuits with. Thapelo uses the second focus area to draw a diagram to show an 'Electric Circuit in the House'. The bottom area of the PB is used to show:. l) the diagram of an open 3-pin plug showing the color-coded wire connections and the plug pins.
This knowledge, linked to real life in the student's home or school, explains Perkins' (1992) idea of. They may end up in activism, in which case students work in the community and/or try to improve some local problem in the world around them. Cameron chose to begin with two images, one of a woman outside a rural home, with a solar panel outside her mud house, with the caption: 'Left in the dark', and next to this is an image of the country's president , with electricity poles running out to a country road.
SAFETY WITH ELECTRICITY iN OUR HOMES
Conclusion
- Expression of concern for own and other's personal safety, and strong ultruistic tendencies with regard to the supply and use of electricity
- Analysis of Critical Question 2
- What kinds of meanings were arrived at?
- Why Grade 8 learners do what they do?
- Power relations
- Self realization and affirming one's self
Care should also be taken to democratize teaching and learning interactions in the classroom. In this chapter, we present the analysis of the second phase and then consolidate the main argument presented in the study. CQ.2: How students mediate their own learning in learning a science unit on electricity through PBL.
The above understanding or participant learning shows how engaging PBL can be in generating the kinds of meanings students can make. Discovering the obstacles that stand in the way of achieving the desired learning. The excerpts above convey the uniqueness of each individual learner in the process of creating meaning through project-based learning.
Recommendations
An RPL activity in the form of a questionnaire was administered to the students and the results were analyzed according to each question. 11. The type of metal that allows electricity to flow. Seven (7) responses indicated that it is 'copper wire, easily through plug or radio'. Do you think we should move the magnet very slowly in the coil, or move it faster.
Turbine spins go to Takes from f-+ Create fire to f-+ Steam turns -. to turn the f-+ pylons towards. the mines boil water, turbine generator, to take. nuclear energy heat energy turbine rotates generator masts. Yes, the switch was off (pointing to the diagram), you can see it in the photo. Siyabonga opens the plug, and when he lifts the lid, all the other students stand up, lean forward with heads almost bumping into each other to discover for themselves a 'hidden truth', which is what letters are there and what color is there . each of the individual copper wires, that is, the color code.
