Exploring how Grade 11 Physical Science learners make sense of the concept of rates of reactions through the inclusion of the indigenous practice of making oshikundu: a Namibian case study
- Authors: Nikodemus, Kristof Shingwilila
- Date: 2017
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MEd
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/8154 , vital:21360
- Description: It has been observed that the teaching and learning of the concept of rates of reactions is seen as being difficult for most Namibian learners. Concerns have been expressed in Examiners’ Reports about candidates showing little knowledge of the topic ‘rates of reactions’. Hence, this study sought to explore how indigenous knowledge and practices through a practical activity of making oshikundu, enabled or constrained learner-engagement and sense-making of the concept of rates of reactions in Namibian schools. Underpinned by an interpretive paradigm, the study tried to describe and understand how learners make sense of their world. Within the interpretive paradigm, a mixed-method case study approach was adopted. It is informed by Vygotsky’s socio-cultural theory, which recognises that learning and meaning-making are represented as originating from social interactions among individuals. The research study was conducted in a rural secondary school in the northern part of Namibia with Grade 11 Physical Science learners. Purposive sampling techniques were used to select three learners from the class, as the interview sample. A pre-test was used to gather data on the type of prior knowledge that Grade 11 Physical Science learners had of concepts related to rates of reactions. The pre-test’s content was validated by two Physical Science specialists. Observations were used to explore how learners make sense of rates of reactions during lessons. In addition to observations, interviews and a post-test were used in order to gather data on how the practical activity of making oshikundu enabled or constrained Grade 11 Physical Science: (a) learner engagement and (b) sense-making of the concept of rates of reactions. The findings of the study found that learners were more engaged and participated more fully in class than in previous year when the indigenous practice of making oshikundu was incorporated during the science lessons. The study thus recommends that indigenous knowledge and practices be integrated into Physical Science classrooms for effective teaching and learning and sense making of science concepts.
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- Date Issued: 2017
An investigation into the nature of mathematics connections used by selected Grade 11 teachers when teaching algebra : a case study
- Authors: Kanyanda, Ester Ndahekomwenyo
- Date: 2015
- Subjects: Mathematics -- Study and teaching (Secondary) -- Namibia -- Tsumeb , Algebra -- Study and teaching (Secondary) -- Namibia -- Tsumeb , Connections (Mathematics) , Teacher effectiveness -- Namibia -- Tsumeb
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MEd
- Identifier: vital:2036 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1017347
- Description: The purpose of this study was to investigate the nature of mathematical connections used by selected teachers when teaching the topic of algebra and to investigate their perceptions of their use of connections. The participants were selected on the basis of teaching experience as well as their willingness to share their ideas. An interpretive paradigm was used to collect and analyse data. The data was collected from three participating teachers. These participants were selected from the three secondary schools in the town of Tsumeb in Namibia. I used video recordings of two lessons per teacher as well as semi-structured interviews as my tools to gather data. After the two lessons were video recorded, I conducted a workshop with the teachers to introduce them to the 5 types of mathematical connections pertinent to this study. We analysed the videos together using Businskas' framework as a basis for analysis. This then formed part of the stimulated recall interviews. It was found that, even though teachers were not aware of the concept of mathematical connections before our interactions, there was strong evidence of connections being made and used in their lessons. The two types of connections that were used most frequently (24.1 percent each) were procedural and instruction-oriented connections respectively. Part-whole relationships connections were used the least with a frequency of 12 percent. All three teachers agreed that they needed to make more connections when teaching and that they would think more about connections in future, particularly when preparing their lessons. The study makes recommendations to encourage the continuous use of connections in teaching mathematics.
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- Date Issued: 2015
An analysis of the distribution and use of teaching aids in mathematics in selected Windhoek secondary schools
- Authors: Dzambara, Tobias Munyaradzi
- Date: 2013
- Subjects: Mathematics -- Study and teaching (Secondary) -- Namibia Teaching -- Aids and devices -- Research
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MEd
- Identifier: vital:1344 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1001410
- Description: This study investigates the types of mathematics teaching aids available at both public and private secondary schools in Windhoek. The study characterises their usage and source as well as teachers’ perceptions towards the use of such teaching resources in the Mathematics classroom. The study is grounded in an interpretive paradigm and employed a mixed methods approach to generate both quantitative and qualitative data in two sequential phases. Phase 1 of the research process, which involved 75 Mathematics teachers, took the form of an audit of the availability and use of teaching aids at 25 secondary schools in Windhoek. A case study methodology was adopted in Phase 2 which focused on five purposively selected schools that displayed different characteristics in terms of the availability of teaching resources. The study found that the majority of teachers at secondary schools in Windhoek have a positive attitude towards the importance and role of teaching aids in Mathematics, seeing them as promoters of hands-on engagement, visual reasoning, active participation and motivation amongst learners. However, in some instances schools are underresourced with respect to certain types of teaching aids, specifically graph boards, geoboards, geometric models and computers. A need for appropriate in-school support on the use of teaching aids was also identified
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- Date Issued: 2013
An exploration of teacher leadership : a case study in a Namibian urban primary school
- Authors: Zokka, Thomas Kayele
- Date: 2013
- Subjects: Educational leadership -- Namibia -- Kavango -- Case studies Teacher participation in administration -- Namibia -- Kavango -- Case studies School management and organization -- Namibia -- Kavango -- Case studies Education, Elementary -- Namibia
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MEd
- Identifier: vital:1399 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1001809
- Description: After independence in 1990, Namibian schools were required by the new government to shift from a hierarchical organisational structure with authoritarian leadership to a more democratic type of leadership that offers teachers the opportunity to participate in school leadership and in decision-making processes. This shift is suggested in a number of national policies in Namibia that highlight the sharing of leadership within the organization and, in particular, the sharing of leadership with teachers. As such, teacher leadership is a manifestation of distributed leadership which emphasizes that leadership can be located in the position of the principal but can spread over many people who work in a school at various levels. While teacher leadership is well researched in developed countries, it is under researched in Namibia. Against this backdrop, the purpose of my study was to explore the concept and practice of teacher leadership as an organizational phenomenon in a case study school in the Ncuncuni circuit of the Kavango region in Namibia. It also examined the factors that enabled and inhibited the practice of teacher leadership. My study was conducted within a qualitative interpretive paradigm and it adopted a case study approach in one school. The study used the following instruments to collect data: a closed questionnaire, document analysis, observations and individual interviews. The primary participants were the principal and three teachers, while the entire school teaching staff constituted my secondary participants. Quantitative data was analysed manually using descriptive statistics while qualitative data was analysed thematically using a model of teacher leadership (Grant, 2008). The findings of my study indicated that while the concept of teacher leadership was new to all participants, they had a common sense understanding of it. Although teachers in the study understood teacher leadership in a range of different ways, the overarching idea of the whole school was that teachers lead both in and outside the classroom. My study also found that teachers in the school practiced teacher leadership across the entire four zones. These included how teacher leadership was practiced inside the classroom and how teachers worked as leaders with colleagues and learners beyond their classroom in curricular and extra-curricular activities. It also included how teachers led outside their classroom in whole school development as well as how teachers led beyond their schools in the community. Teacher leadership was strong in the first three zones and weaker in the fourth zone, which constituted an example of 'successful teacher leadership' (Harris and Muijs, 2005). There were factors that promoted teacher leadership in the case study school such as a supportive culture and ongoing professional development. Factors that constrained the practice of teacher leadership were also evident like the SMT who used its power at times to control teachers' decisions and a lack of time also emerged as a barrier that impeded teachers from taking leadership roles because they already had full teaching programmes. Even though there were some barriers to teacher leadership, a dispersed distributed leadership context prevailed at the case study school.
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- Date Issued: 2013
Improving the reading abililties of grade 9 learners: a classroom-based inquiry: how do I facilitate improvement in the reading abilities of my Grade 9 learners?
- Authors: Didloft, Virginia Charmaine
- Date: 2008
- Subjects: Reading disability -- South Africa , Reading -- Ability testing -- South Africa , Reading -- Remedial teaching -- South Africa -- Aids and devices
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MEd
- Identifier: vital:9553 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/942 , Reading disability -- South Africa , Reading -- Ability testing -- South Africa , Reading -- Remedial teaching -- South Africa -- Aids and devices
- Description: This thesis is a narrative account of how I have transformed my learning and teaching strategies for Grade 9 learners, generating my own living theory of teaching within a social context with the aim of enabling my learners to construct their own knowledge. My value-embedded practice is reflected in the values I attach to equality, inclusivity, social justice and basic human rights. These embodied values are also a reflection of my commitment to my Christian values which encompass my entire existence and have become the living standards by which I judge the quality of my research. My classroom-based action research methodology is a living transformational process which heralds a change for a more just practice and the inclusion and recognition of the individual. My findings about my learners’ and my own learning offer new conceptualisations about the capacity of my learners to learn in their own unique ways and according to their own potential. I am claiming that the significance of my research is grounded in my ability to demonstrate how I can unleash the untapped potential of learners failing to attain the desired outcomes. I show them how to learn confidently and successfully within a social context using prior knowledge, scaffolding and motivation as teaching and learning tools. This has potential inspiration for new forms of practice and theory in aiming to improve learners’ potential. A significant feature of my account is how my Christian values have been translated into my critical epistemological standards of judgement, and the development of a living theory of practice that enables me to account for educational influences in my learners’ and my own learning.
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- Date Issued: 2008
Investigating the implementation of continuous assessment by grade 7 Social Studies teachers in the Oshana education region
- Authors: Matheus, Hilya
- Date: 2007
- Subjects: Educational tests and measurements -- Namibia Social sciences -- Study and teaching (Elementary) -- Namibia
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MEd
- Identifier: vital:1593 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1003475
- Description: Since independence in 1990, Namibia’s Ministry of Education Sport and Culture has focused on curriculum and assessment reforms. The introduction of Continuous Assessment (CA) for appraising learners’ achievement was considered to be a very important aspect of teaching and learning. This study focused on the implementation of CA in schools. The study explores how the selected grade 7 Social Studies teachers understand and implement CA. This study was conducted in the Oshana region of Namibia. Four grade 7 Social Studies teachers participated from two different schools. This study was done through a case study to gain insight into the implementation of CA in schools. Semi-structured interviews, observations and document analysis were the research methods used to collect the data. The findings indicate that these teachers have a theoretical understanding of what CA implies and what role it plays and are aware of assessment strategies. However these theoretical perspectives are not translated into practice. This implies a limited understanding of CA and reflects a gap between the teachers’ theoretical understanding of CA and its practical implementation. The study also identified various systemic factors that hamper the implementation of CA, which include overcrowded classrooms, increased teachers’ workload by CA, shortages of resources such as textbooks and lack of professional development. The nature of pre-service teacher education the participants went through, professional development programmes that are given to teachers as in-service training and a lack of guidelines in the syllabus on how to approach continuous assessment are clearly evident in the findings as factors that contribute to the teachers’ gap between theory and practice. The study concludes that even though a number of workshops on continuous assessment were conducted, the teachers still could not implement it as expected. The study findings inform my professional context as an Advisory Teacher and that of my colleagues. Therefore it made me realize what the teachers’ needs are and what kind of support they require.
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- Date Issued: 2007
An account of second language teaching and learning in a multi-standard farm school classroom, utilising an ethnographic approach
- Authors: Krause, Siobbhan Karen
- Date: 1998
- Subjects: English language -- Study and teaching -- South Africa -- Foreign speakers Rural schools -- South Africa Community and school -- South Africa English language -- Study and teaching -- Foreign speakers Education, Rural -- South Africa Black people -- Education -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MEd
- Identifier: vital:1416 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1003297
- Description: Multi-standard classrooms are a distinctive feature of many South African farm schools. This study adopts an ethnographic approach in order to explore how classroom life in one particular Eastern Cape multistandard farm school classroom is shaped by a set of circumstances which influence the nature of teaching and learning in that classroom. The research focuses on the extent to which the difficulties associated with teaching a multi-standard class dictate the teacher's approach to lesson planning and style of teaching and how the resultant pattern of interaction influences language learning within a second language context. Data from a variety of sources, obtained primarily through classroom observations, interviews and questionnaires, is presented. Findings tend to indicate that the demands made on the teachers and pupils in terms of large, multi-standard classes, second language medium of instruction and lack of teaching aids, encourages the use of rote learning techniques which are not conducive to language learning. The pattern of interaction that predominates is a teacher-led series of questions and prompts followed by a chorus response from the pupils. This pattern tends to undermine the communicative aspects of language learning by reducing natural interaction and results in pupil passivity as language learners.
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- Date Issued: 1998