A critical analysis of selected teachers’ perceptions and experiences of the role that visualisation processes play in their Van Hiele level 1 teaching to migrate their learners to the next Van Hiele level
- Authors: Munichinga, Ben Muyambango
- Date: 2019
- Subjects: Hiele, Pierre M. van. Structure and insight , Visualization , Mathematics -- Study and teaching (Secondary) -- Namibia , Geometry -- Study and teaching (Secondary) -- Namibia , Mathematics -- Study and teaching (Secondary) -- Activity programs -- Namibia
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MEd
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/96735 , vital:31313
- Description: Learning is a process that involves building on prior knowledge, enriching and exchanging existing understanding where learners’ knowledge base is scaffolded in the construction of knowledge. Research on the teaching and learning of geometry in mathematics suggests that physical manipulation experiences, especially of shapes, is an important process in learning at all ages. The focus of the study was the migration of Grade 8 learners from one Van Hiele level to the next as a result of teachers incorporating visualisation processes and Van Hiele phases of instructions in their teaching. The study underpinned by the social constructivist’s theory, therefore aimed at teachers developing visual materials and using Van Hiele’s phases of instruction to teach two dimensional figures in Geometry. The study was carried out in Namibia, Zambezi region in Bukalo circuit. It involved four schools, with 93 learners and three teacher participants. The research is an interpretive case study of a planned intervention programme, which took a four weeks to complete. Participating learners wrote a Van Hiele Geometric test prior and post the intervention programme to determine their geometric level of thought. Participating teachers all received training on visualisation in mathematics and the Van Hiele theory before the intervention. During the intervention, teacher planned and each taught three lessons on two-dimensional figures. Qualitative data was collected from classroom observation, stimulus recall interviews and focus group interviews. Quantitative data came from the pre and post-test of learners. This study found that on average, Grade 8 learners who participated in the study were operating at levels lower than expected of pupils at their stage of schooling. This study also found that, visualisation processes and the Van Hiele phases are effective when used in geometry lessons to migrate learners from lower Van Hiele levels to higher. For teachers in the same circuit, partnership and planning of difficult topics on an agreed regular basis is recommended. When planning lessons teachers are encouraged to take advantage of the Van Hiele phases of instructions. This study thus recommends the incorporation of visualisation strategies of teaching geometry in particular at primary and lower secondary levels. Mathematics teachers are further encouraged to design visual materials such as Geoboards to use for every topic in geometry. Such visual materials should be carefully developed and evaluated to ensure that their use in the classroom is effectively linked to concepts under discussion in a given lesson.
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- Date Issued: 2019
A design experiment exploring the influence of visual and kinesthetic tools in learning Grade 8 linear algebra in a Namibian secondary school
- Authors: Kalua, Enos
- Date: 2019
- Subjects: Algebra -- Study and teaching (Secondary)-- Namibia , Mathematics -- Study and teaching (Secondary)-- Namibia , Information visualization , Visual learning -- Case studies
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MEd
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/92683 , vital:30724
- Description: Based on a broad literature review, understanding algebra is a challenge among learners in middle schools around the world. Early researches also indicated that algebra is often taught through inherent symbols and procedures. This does not exclude Namibian learners in secondary schools whom I have worked with for over 10 years. Examination reports (2014, 2016 and 2017) serve as evidence that learners performed poorly (below 45%) in the area of algebra, with these reports indicating that teachers need to strongly emphasise the issue of solving linear equations. Therefore, this study presents a proposed design research in an attempt to help learners develop meaningful understanding of linear algebra at Grade 8 level. Eight learners whose ages ranged from 13 - 14 years from one Namibian secondary school in Oshikoto region, in northern Namibia, were the participants in this study. The learners represented different groups of learning abilities, ranging from low learning abilities to high learning abilities. The designed programme for this intervention consisting of eight lessons was planned for three weeks and the lessons were conducted in the afternoon to avoid any interruption with normal learning hours. The study used four tools for data collection, namely, benchmark tests (pre-test and post-test), observation, focus groups and unstructured interviews. The data collected for this study was inductively analysed. The purpose of this study was to determine whether and how the specific visual and kinaesthetic teaching tools (diagrams, expansion box and balance method) used may have contributed to learners’ understanding of algebraic concepts and techniques (variables, expressions and equations). The study used diagrams (geometrical plane shapes) for separating terms, an expansion box for expanding brackets and the balance method for solving linear equations. The study revealed the use of diagrams helped the learners in understanding the separation of variable and constant terms when simplifying expressions through addition and/or subtraction. Moreover, the study also revealed that the use of an expansion box was useful for the learners in understanding expansion of brackets in expressions with more than one term. Regarding the use of the balance method, the study showed that learners were already able to solve linear equations by the transfer method, hence, the balance method was not necessary.
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- Date Issued: 2019
A phenomenological study of Senior Primary school teachers’ understandings of an English Across the Curriculum approach to language teaching in Namibia
- Authors: Kambonde, Emily
- Date: 2019
- Subjects: English teachers -- Training of -- Namibia , English language -- Study and teaching (Elementary) -- Namibia
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MEd
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/92381 , vital:30718
- Description: This is a phenomenological study designed to investigate English teachers’ understandings of the concept of English Across the Curriculum (EAC), and the extent to which such understandings inform their pedagogic practices at the Senior Primary phase, in a Namibian context. The study was located within the qualitative, interpretive paradigm, using a multi-method approach of semi-structured interviews, classroom observations and documentary evidence as research instruments. The participants were three English second-language teachers at a primary school in a suburban area. Findings from the study revealed that there were several understandings of EAC, and though there might have been an underlying understanding of the concept, classroom practices were incongruent with what EAC requires. It was also found that there are documents based on social constructivist and Genre Theory in the National Professional Standards for teachers, but teachers were not familiar with the content of these documents and they were not used by teachers as guiding documents on how they need to implement EAC. It is recommended that English teachers receive continuous professional development courses on language development theories and EAC, as well as specific training to implement EAC so that “every teacher can be a language teacher”.
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- Date Issued: 2019
An analysis of how the use of geoboards as visualisation tools can be utilised in the teaching of quadrilaterals
- Authors: Matengu, Given Kahale
- Date: 2019
- Subjects: Manipulatives (Education) , Information visualization , Visualization , Mathematics -- Study and teaching , Mathematics -- Study and teaching -- Activity programs , Geometry -- Study and teaching
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MEd
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/96724 , vital:31312
- Description: The relationship between visualisation processes and using manipulatives in the teaching and learning of mathematics is apparent and yet not so vocal in the literature. This could be because of the common mistaken understanding that because manipulatives are visual in nature, then visualisation processes should be obvious. Literature warns that just because something is visual therefore it is transparent, is incorrect. This study argues that the effective use of manipulatives in the teaching of mathematics helps learners to effectively understand mathematical concepts. Research on the teaching and learning of mathematics suggests that physical manipulation experiences, especially of concrete materials concerning shapes, is an important process in learning at all ages. One such teaching tool, the Geoboard, a physical manipulative that employs visualisation processes when correctly used, is explored in this study. The aim of this interpretive case study was to investigate and analyse the use of Geoboards as a visualisation tool in the teaching of the properties of quadrilaterals. The study focused on visualisation processes and the use of Geoboards through a teaching framework that was informed by the Van Hiele phases of teaching geometry. The study was conducted in the Opuwo circuit of the Kunene region, Namibia, and it involved three selected Grade 7 mathematics teachers, each from a different primary school. It was underpinned by a constructivist theory using the Van Hiele phases of teaching geometry and framed within visualisation processes. The study employed the use of qualitative data collection techniques such as observations and interviews. The analysis of the findings of this study revealed that Geoboards were very useful in demonstrating the visual representations of the properties of quadrilaterals in a cheap and yet novel way in the selected teachers’ classes. Moreover, the use of Geoboards by the selected teachers effectively fostered visualisation processes such as concrete pictorial imagery, dynamic imagery, perceptual apprehension, sequential apprehension, discursive apprehension and operative apprehension. It was also revealed that Geoboards enabled the selected teachers to structure and teach their lessons in a well-planned manner according to the Van Hiele phases, although it was difficult for them to adhere strictly to the hierarchy of the phases.
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- Date Issued: 2019
An analysis of the roles and functions of teachers’ gestures as visualisation tools in the teaching of mathematics at the junior primary phase (Grades 0 –3)
- Authors: Namakalu, Dietlinde Nelao
- Date: 2019
- Subjects: Gesture , Gesture in mathematics education , Visual learning , Visualization , Education, Elementary -- Namibia
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MEd
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/96713 , vital:31311
- Description: There is ample evidence in the literature that gestures are important hand and bodily actions that play vital roles during interactions between learners and teachers in the mathematics classroom. These gestures enable both the teacher and the learner to visualise mathematical concepts and ideas. The aim of this Namibian interpretive case study, located in enactivist theory, was to analyse the types of gestures that three selected teachers at the junior primary phase (Grades 0–3) used in their teaching of mathematics. The study also interrogated the roles that these gestures played in the teaching process of the three teachers. As I intended to analyse the types of gestures the selected teachers used and understand their views and perceptions of the roles and functions their gestures played as visualisation tools in the teaching of mathematics, I observed ten lessons of each teacher and video recorded them. I then interviewed them (one-on-one stimulus-recall interviews) and interpreted the gestures they used and utterances they made about using these gestures. The types of gestures that the participating teachers used are classified according to McNeill‘s (1992) framework, namely pointing (deictic) gestures, iconic (illustrators) gestures, metaphoric gestures, beat (motor) gestures and symbolic (emblems) gestures. The study found that the participating teachers incorporated a variety of gestures into their lessons and used them strategically. According to the teachers, gestures made the lessons interesting and encouraged active participation of the learners in the lessons. The teachers also revealed that gestures assist in explaining mathematical concepts and thus affected the learners‘ understanding positively. This study strongly suggests that the usefulness and efficacy of employing gestures as visualisation tools in mathematics education should be strategically harnessed.
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- Date Issued: 2019
An exploration of how Professional Learning Communities can contribute to the development of teachers’ capabilities and valued functionings in teaching environmental content knowledge in the Life and Living strand in Grade 8 Natural Sciences
- Authors: Thomas, Kgomotso Emily
- Date: 2019
- Subjects: Teachers -- Training of -- South Africa , Teachers -- In-service training -- South Africa , Science teachers -- In-service training -- South Africa , Science -- Study and teaching (Secondary) -- South Africa , Environmental education -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MEd
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/92584 , vital:30739
- Description: The study explored how professional learning communities can contribute to the development of teachers’ capabilities and achievement of valued functionings related to teaching environmental content knowledge in the Life and Living strand in Grade 8 Natural Sciences. This is in the context of the Curriculum Assessment and Policy Statement (CAPS), which is a content-referenced curriculum that requires active and critical approaches to learning, and to environment and sustainability content. This study is designed as a qualitative case study of a professional support forum (PSF) in the Mahikeng sub-district, in North West. The study made use of questionnaires, observations, interviews and document analysis as data generation methods. The Capability Approach was used as a theoretical and conceptual framework to explore teachers’ valued functionings, as well as the conversion factors related to those functionings. A functioning is defined as what a person values to be or do, hence the term valued beings and doings has been used interchangeably with the term valued functionings throughout the study. The analysis of data was done in three phases. Phase one analysis was inductive with the data from questionnaires, classroom observations, document analysis (work schedules and lesson plans or preparation books). The purpose of this phase was to answer the first research sub-question of how teachers teach environmental content. Phase two was a deductive analysis, and the purpose was to present teachers’ valued beings and doings in teaching environmental content, and in belonging to the PSF. The last phase of analysis was abductive, and it employed the theoretical framework of Sen’s Capability Approach to get a deeper understanding of factors that either enabled or constrained teachers’ valued beings and doings associated with their capabilities. The study found that teachers have gaps in their environmental content knowledge in the Life and Living strand grade 8 Natural Sciences. This was mainly as a result of teachers not having relevant qualifications, and/or not having any professional development in teaching the environmental content knowledge. Secondly, teachers used traditional methods which were teacher-centred to teach environmental content knowledge. The gaps in the environmental content knowledge were constraints to how the teachers taught environmental content in their classrooms. Teachers’ valued beings and doings related to teaching environmental content were discussed under the three conversion factors of the capability approach: personal, social and environmental conversion factors. The study found that teachers’ qualifications, experiences, passion for environmental content topics, level of confidence, teaching and learning resources, learners’ interest and participation, support, classroom and schools’ environment were among conversion factors that either enabled or constrained teachers’ valued functionings in teaching environmental content Findings also revealed that teachers have different valued functionings related to belonging to the PSF: shared responsibilities, shared values and vision, collaboration, and discussion of subject content. The conversion factors related to these functionings were found to be learning space, time and duration of the PSF, activities in the PSF, teaching and learning resources, teaching experience, and facilitation. The study recommends that teachers’ professional development programmes should promote subject content discussions as well as group and individual learning. They should also create supportive conditions that will expand teachers’ capabilities in teaching environmental content knowldge. Lastly, the teachers’ professional development programmes should explicitly take into account teachers’ valued functionings and conversion factors that can enable teachers to develop their professional capabilities.
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- Date Issued: 2019
An investigation into amaXhosa new initiates’ masculine identity construction, mediation and negotiation: implications for the Life Orientation Curriculum
- Authors: Mdaka, Sizwe
- Date: 2019
- Subjects: Xhosa (African people) -- Rites and ceremonies , Xhosa (African people) -- Social life and customs , Initiation rites -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Masculinity -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Life skills -- Study and teaching -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape -- Case studies , Life skills -- Study and teaching -- South Africa -- Curricula , Men -- Identity -- South Africa , Boys -- Education -- South Africa , Gender identity in education -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MEd
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/94926 , vital:31097
- Description: This study asked questions about dominant discourses shaping new amaXhosa initiates masculine identities. In particular, it asked questions on the interface between tradition and modern values and how the new initiates negotiate these in constructing masculine identities and the implications this has for schooling (and specifically LO classes). This was a qualitative case study that relied on multiple sources of data including individual and focus groups interview with AmaXhosa new initiates as well as individual interviews with teachers. The study also included classroom observations of Life Orientation classes as the selected schools. Initially, informal discussions with the new initiates were held to gain insights on their perspective of initiation schools. The findings of this study revealed three broad themes. The first was that normative masculine conceptions and manhood, with particular attention paid to constructions of manhood and masculine identity and their relation to emotional display, men as breadwinners and family providers, marriage, and heterosexuality and fatherhood. The second one was on gender space and power in the classroom which revealed masculine performance inside and outside the classroom, and the role played by sitting positions and spatial arrangements as a discursive spaces for the construction of particular masculine identities. The third related the curriculum in practice versus the stated LO curriculum and revealed a disjuncture between the two. With teachers tolerating the traditional male structures and behaviours in the classroom, despite being in conflict with the stated LO curriculum core messages on gender, patriarchy and equality, intentionally or unintentionally select a position of collusion rather than disruption of these classroom behaviours. The study results highlight the complex social space that new initiates inhabit in order to make meaning of their masculine identities, and the challenges for teachers and schools in mediating between the traditional values and behaviours of some leaners, some of which are in conflict with the values and behaviours espoused by the LO curriculum and the modernizing project goals of SA education and the Constitution.
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- Date Issued: 2019
An investigation of learning and emerging knowledge in the Mpophomeni Sanitation Education Project, Howick, KwaZulu-Natal
- Authors: Boothway, Reinetta Louina
- Date: 2019
- Subjects: Environmental education -- South Africa , Mpophomeni Sanitation Education Project (South Africa) , Water quality management -- Study and teaching -- South Africa , Knowledge and learning
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MEd
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/115377 , vital:34121
- Description: This study took place within the broader context of water resources management in South Africa. With the democratisation of water stewardship through an enabling international and South African water policy landscape, an opportunity opened up for citizens to participate in the effective management of their own water resources. In this context, a community-engaged citizen science project known as the Mpophomeni Sanitation Education Project emerged to demonstrate how a diverse range of knowledge agents can work and learn together to better manage their water resources and address problems of sewage pollution threatening their provincial water source. The following study aimed to shed light on the learning and emerging knowledge in the MSEP. The study was conducted in three phases. Wenger’s Communities of Practice (CoP) theory provided a lens to look at Phase One, which aimed to answer the following sub-question: Is the MSEP a CoP? Wenger’s CoP theory also assisted with the investigation during Phase Two, which looked at the following question: What is the nature of learning in the MSEP? Social realist theories of knowledge and education, and Tàbara and Chabay with their Ideal Type (IT) worldviews, provided suitable lenses for Phase Three’s investigation of the following question: What is the nature of emerging knowledge in the MSEP? The main finding for Phase One is that the MSEP does function as a CoP. With its strong focus on relationships, it’s clearly defined joint enterprise of solving the problem of sewage pollution, individual and joint commitment to engage with the problem and the sharing of a repertoire of tools, ideas and practices it is cultivating a culture conducive to purposeful learning. Regarding the exploration of the nature of learning in Phase Two, findings confirming the engagement of identity with learning and the importance of context for meaning-making emerged. Finally, study findings about the nature of knowledge in the MSEP found that the knowledge practices in the MSEP that are both social and epistemic in nature are produced by a diverse range of knowledge agents in an open knowledge space.
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- Date Issued: 2019
An investigation of the teaching of writing in Grade-9 English first-language classrooms: a case study of a selected government school in Namibia
- Authors: Martins, Simone Alexandra Domingues
- Date: 2019
- Subjects: English language -- Rhetoric -- Study and teaching -- Namibia , English language -- Study and teaching (Secondary) -- Namibia , English language == Composition and exercises -- Study and teaching (Secondary) -- Namibia
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MEd
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/92280 , vital:30699
- Description: The pedagogical practice choices teachers make when teaching writing in Grade-9 English first- language classrooms, as well as the extent to which these pedagogical practices appear to enable or constrain learners’ acquisition of writing skills as per grade-specific curricular expectations, are the focus of the study. It draws from Bernstein’s (1971) curriculum and society theory, as well as genre theory. Located within the qualitative case study approach, it is designed to investigate the reasons for Grade-9 English first-language learners’ underperformance in Paper 2, the composition component of the Namibian external examinations. Drawing from the interpretivist paradigm, the study uses one-on-one interviews, semi-structured classroom observations, as well as documentary evidence of the Namibian English first-language syllabus and examples of learners’ written work, to generate data. The research site and study participants were purposefully selected. The study involves two Grade-9 English first-language teachers and classrooms at one Namibian High School, and took place from the second to the third terms of 2017.
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- Date Issued: 2019
Exploring a shift in teacher practices after going through an intervention on the integration of local knowledge in grade 9 physical science lessons
- Authors: Mika, Rauha T
- Date: 2019
- Subjects: Physical sciences -- Study and teaching (Secondary) -- Namibia , Ethnoscience -- Study and teaching -- Namibia , Science -- Study and teaching (Secondary) -- Namibia , Curriculum planning -- Study and teaching -- Namibia
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MEd
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/96801 , vital:31323
- Description: It has been advocated by many scholars that the integration of local or indigenous knowledge into science classrooms might make science more relevant and accessible to learners, particularly in culturally diverse classrooms. As a result, the Namibian Grade 9 Physical Science curriculum expects teachers to integrate learners’ local or indigenous knowledge in their science classrooms. Despite these ideals, there are no clear instructions on how to go about doing this. This is exacerbated in part by the poor or lack of continuing professional development for science teachers. It is against this background that this study sought to explore an intervention on the integration of local or indigenous knowledge in Grade 9 Physical Science lessons. The study is underpinned by an interpretive paradigm and is informed by Vygotsky’s socio-cultural theory and Wenger’s community of practice. Within the interpretive paradigm, a qualitative case study approach was employed. It was carried out in four schools with four Physical Science teachers from Otjiwarongo circuit in Namibia. Qualitative data were generated using workshop discussions, document analysis, semi-structured interviews, classroom observations and reflections. A variety of data generation techniques were used for triangulation and validity purposes. Data were subsequently analysed inductively to come up with themes. The findings of the study revealed that before the intervention the teachers involved in this study had little knowledge about the integration of local or indigenous knowledge in science lessons. However, after their voluntary participation in the intervention, they were enabled to develop and mediate model lessons that integrated local or indigenous knowledge in their classrooms which their learners subsequently found to be stimulating. The findings of the study further revealed that integrating local or indigenous knowledge in science lessons had the potential to promote active participation by learners and foster learning using easily accessible resources. The study thus recommends that teachers should, where possible, strive to integrate learners’ local or indigenous knowledge in science lessons.
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- Date Issued: 2019
Exploring how Grade 11 Biology teachers mediate learning of osmosis when using easily accessible resources in the Oshikoto Region, Namibia
- Authors: Nangolo, Rosalia Ndawapeka
- Date: 2019
- Subjects: Biology -- Study and teaching (Secondary) -- Namibia , Osmosis -- Study and teaching (Secondary) -- Namibia , Ethnobiology -- Namibia
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MEd
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/92595 , vital:30740
- Description: Exploring the use easily accessible resources to carry out the hands-on practical activities to science learning has become one of the significant aspects in the educational research, particularly in science education. It could be deduced from the literature that hands-on practical activities are useful, enjoyable and foster conceptual understanding. The National Curriculum for Basic Education advocates empowering teachers to be knowledgeable on use of hands-on practical activities to produce learners who are scientifically equipped. Yet, the performance of the learners in Science and Mathematics continues to be worrisome and has not been improving over years as reported in TIMSS reports. For instance, the Namibian Examiners’ Reports have repeatedly reported that Biology is one of the subjects that are poorly performed. Essentially, the section on osmosis has been identified as one of the scientific concepts that is problematic to learners. In my view, in order for learners to understand osmosis and its associated concepts, there is a need to strengthen the use of hands-on practical activities. It is recognized that this is something that is lacking in most rural Namibian schools especially where laboratory resources are scarce. It is against this background that the goal of this study was to explore how Grade 11 Biology teachers mediate learning of osmosis when using easily accessible resources. This study is underpinned by an interpretive paradigm. Within the interpretive paradigm, a qualitative case study approach was employed to obtain in-depth understanding on how Biology teachers mediate learning. This study was conducted in two conveniently selected secondary schools in the Oshikoto region, which I could easily access. It focused on four Grade 11 Biology teachers. Data were generated through semi-structured interviews, workshop discussions, lesson observation and stimulated interviews. Vygotsky’s (1978) socio-cultural theory was used as a lens to analyse my data. The findings from semi-structured interviews revealed that teachers demonstrated positive attitudes towards teaching of osmosis using easily accessible resources. However, challenges regarding inadequate materials that hinder the teaching and learning process were registered. Another finding of this study was that teachers used a variety of mediation tools such as prior and local knowledge, language and easily accessible resources to enhance learning. The study thus recommends that, if teachers are exposed to numerous professional development platforms that include the use of easily accessible resources might improve their pedagogical approaches.
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- Date Issued: 2019
Exploring how the integration of indigenous knowledge in the topic of acids and bases influences Grade 10 Physical Science learners’ conceptions, dispositions and sense-making
- Authors: Haimene, Johanna Shetulimba
- Date: 2019
- Subjects: Physical sciences -- Study and teaching -- Namibia , Ethnoscience -- Study and teaching -- Namibia , Science -- Study and teaching -- Namibia , Curriculum planning -- Study and teaching -- Namibia
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MEd
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/94996 , vital:31105
- Description: The inclusion of indigenous knowledge (IK) in science education is gaining momentum. That is, it is acknowledged that the starting point in learning is what learners already know from their homes or community. This will be consolidated by what these learners will learn in classroom. It is for this reason that the Namibia National Curriculum for Basic Education (NCBE) advocates Learner Centred Education (LCE). The Physical science syllabus also encourages the use of practical activities to enhance the conceptual understanding of the learners. However, the views and beliefs that learners have towards science influence their learning of science. Looking at the same context, various studies carried out have pointed out that the attitude of learners towards the subject influences their performance in that specific subject. It is against this background that this study sought to explore how the integration of indigenous knowledge in lessons on acids and bases influences (or not) learners’ conceptions, dispositions, interest and sense-making. This study used a mixed-method approach whereby both quantitative and qualitative data were gathered. It is underpinned by the interpretive paradigm. Within the interpretive paradigm a case study approach was employed. The study was carried out with the Grade 10B Physical Science learners at Namaela Secondary School (Pseudonym) in the Oshikoto Region. To generate data, a variety of data generation techniques were employed, namely pre-and post-intervention questionnaires, pre-and post-test, observations, learners’ journal reflections and semi-structured interviews. Conceptions, dispositions and sense-making, and Vygotsky’s socio-cultural theory were used as a lens to analyse the data. A deductive-inductive approach was adopted for data analysis. The findings from the study revealed that learners were able to make sense of science concepts when IK is integrated in the lessons. Additionally, the learners’ conceptions and dispositions shifted positively due to the use of the everyday materials. It emerged that learners were able to learn science well when they link their everyday experiences to school science. This study thus recommends that teachers should be encouraged to integrate IK in their lessons. In order for teachers to effectively integrate IK, the curriculum developers should be explicit on how teachers should integrate IK in their lessons. Moreover, teacher-training institutions should include ways of integrating IK when they are training teachers.
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- Date Issued: 2019
Exploring Intersemiotic Complementarity in three Namibian Physical Science teachers’ classroom practice
- Authors: Nakakuwa, Tomas
- Date: 2019
- Subjects: Semiotics , Communication in science , Communication in education , Physical sciences -- Study and teaching -- Namibia , Science -- Study and teaching -- Namibia , Language and education -- Namibia , Science teachers -- Training of -- Namibia , Visual learning , Verbal learning
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MEd
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/96812 , vital:31324
- Description: The Namibian Science curriculum promotes learners’ development of self-confidence, self-knowledge and understanding of the world in which they live. The world we live in is increasingly multimodal, necessitating a multiliteracy in learners in order for them to engage meaningfully with knowledge and skills. Furthermore, scientists themselves engage in a range of inscription practices. While verbal language is the primary medium through which scientific knowledge and concepts are constructed, communicated, and learned, visuals can help learners to gain knowledge that they may not receive from verbal explanation alone. The verbal and visual semiotic modes can also function in a complementarity way, and this is significant in contexts where science lessons are for the most part in a second language - as is the case in Namibia where the language of learning and teaching (LoLT) of English is commonly not the learners’ mother tongue. However, no studies were found exploring the nature of verbal-visual intersemiotic complementarity in the practice of Namibian science teachers, or whether it was related to the number of years of science teaching experience. This study thus aimed to explore the dynamics of verbal-visual intersemiotic complementarity in the classroom practice of three Junior Secondary Physical Science teachers, with varying amounts of science teaching experience, in the Oshana region of Namibia. This qualitative case study, on the dynamics of verbal-visual intersemiotic complementarity in science teacher classroom practice follows in the path of earlier studies which employed Systemic Functional Linguistics (SFL) in the analysis of multimodal discourse. This thesis is also informed by Social Constructivism in which the various semiotic modes are recognised as components of the toolkit for mediating learning. The study adopted the interpretive paradigm. Data collection involved lesson observations and semi-structured interviews. Data analysis involved identification and coding of themes and categories inductively. The results reveal that the participant teachers employed the full range of intersemiotic sense relations which literature outlines. It was found that the ideational meanings in the verbal and visual modes of the science teachers’ practice are lexico-semantically related through these intersemiotic sense relations. While some teachers utilised some intersemiotic sense relations more often than others, there were no correspondences evident between the use of verbal-visual intersemiotic complementarity and the number of years of science teaching experience. The results also indicated that different intersemiotic sense relations served different purposes in the science classroom. The verbal-visual intersemiotic complementarity in the participant teachers’ practice tended to focus on: physical material, processes, symbolism or resemblance. This study has significant implications, providing an empirical basis for informing pre-service Physical Science teachers’ training and guiding the in-service training of Physical Science teachers in Namibia. Since its effective use may not be left up to teaching experience, Namibian Physical Science teacher training programmes need to include the use of verbal-visual intersemiotic complementarity in order to equip and empower Physical Science teachers.
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- Date Issued: 2019
Exploring opportunities for integrating indigenous knowledge and practices into animal husbandry in Grade 10 Agricultural Science lessons
- Authors: Siseho, Robert Simwanza
- Date: 2019
- Subjects: Agriculture -- Study and teaching -- Namibia , Ethnoscience -- Study and teaching -- Namibia , Ethnoscience -- Namibia
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MEd
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/96790 , vital:31320
- Description: The performance of learners in Agricultural Science at secondary schools in the Omaheke region of Namibia is worrisome. For some years performance in the subject has been below the national average, even though the region is known for its agricultural activities. My assumption is that this could be compounded by the fact that even though the Namibian curriculum encourages teachers to integrate local or indigenous knowledge (IK) in their lessons, it is not clear how this should be executed. It is against this background that this study set out to explore opportunities for integrating indigenous animal husbandry knowledge and practices into the animal husbandry section of Namibian Grade 10 Agricultural Science lessons. This was a qualitative case study underpinned by the interpretive paradigm. The study first focused on finding out what practices and knowledge might be integrated into animal husbandry within Grade 10 Agricultural Science. Secondly, it aimed at finding strategies for integrating indigenous knowledge into Grade 10 Agricultural Science. Thirdly, using my experience of co-developing model lessons with two Grade 10 Agricultural Science teachers, it sought to identify what assistance teachers need to integrate IK. The fourth goal was to observe the lessons taught in order to find out how the two teachers mediated the lessons featuring IK. Data were collected using interviews, workshop discussions, observations (videotaped lessons) and reflections. The data were validated through member checking and triangulation via various techniques. I used Vygotsky’s (1978) sociocultural theory and Wenger’s (1998) community of practice as a composite lens to analyse my data. The findings showed that there is indigenous knowledge in animal husbandry of disease prevention and treatment, the feeding of livestock, castration, de-horning and parasite control. Strategies to integrate IK included inviting or visiting parents or farmers, using the learners’ mother tongue and exploiting local resources. It emerged that teachers need help with teaching strategies, the development of worksheets, lesson planning and the use of technology. The mediation of the lessons included use of the chalkboard and a data projector, worksheets, the teacher assisting learners, and learners assisting one another. The study recommends that teachers integrate IK into their lessons to contextualize learning, increase learners’ participation in class and enhance their understanding of science. It also recommends that curriculum developers make it clear how IK should be integrated and assessed. The study further recommends that institutions of higher education should train teachers on how to integrate IK in the curriculum.
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- Date Issued: 2019
Exploring visual literacy development through films in senior phase English first additional language
- Authors: Khosa, Michael
- Date: 2019
- Subjects: Visual litearcy , Motion pictures in education -- South Africa , English language -- Study and teaching (Secondary) -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MEd
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/92672 , vital:30727
- Description: Despite learners’ general poor performance in English First Additional Language (EFAL), research indicates their wide exposure to film viewing which is untapped when teaching visual literacy in EFAL classes (Mnyanda, 2017). This study identified a golden opportunity of introducing film teaching in the senior phase in order to equip learners with the knowledge, skills and values for self-fulfilment, and meaningful participation in society as citizens of a free country. Two teachers’ meaning-making and pedagogical practices of teaching film were explored in a rural Eastern Cape District, South Africa. Qualitative research methodology was used to collect data from lesson observations using a video camera and post-lesson interviews with each teacher. I drew on Vygotsky’s (1978) socio-cultural theory of learning which privileges learners’ social interaction, More Knowledgeable Other and scaffolding in the learning process. Critical Discourse Analysis offered insights on challenging stereotypes available in designing and redesigning texts. It emerged that lack of resources in previously disadvantaged schools and teachers’ missed opportunities to teach film in context were major causes of underperformance. Findings also interestingly revealed that learners could perform better when taught through the film. This study recommends that schools should teach film since it is can improve learners’ results.
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- Date Issued: 2019
Hearing silenced voices: a learning-centred approach to sustainable land rehabilitation and natural resource management
- Authors: Wolff, Margaret Gascoyne
- Date: 2019
- Subjects: Watershed management -- South Africa -- Citizen participation , Water-supply -- Management -- Citizen participation , Environmental education -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MEd
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/94958 , vital:31101
- Description: South Africa is a semi-arid country with dysfunctional water management. The National Water Act encourages integrated water resource management and public participation in contributing to strategies for managing water within delineated areas. Various challenges hamper progress of integrated water resource management and meaningful participation by residents in catchments across the country. One of the challenges is the lack of knowledge about their role in water resource management. By viewing catchments as complex social-ecological systems, this case study investigates how to establish a learning-centred approach to catchment management forum (CMF) formation. The study addressed three sub-questions: What activity systems need to be prioritised for community participation in CMF formation? What existing learning can be identified within the activity systems? What are the sources for expansive social learning in and between the activity systems? The study draws on social learning theory, and on cultural historical activity theory as it offers a methodological approach to identifying a learning-centred approach to learning in a catchment context. Drawing on this theoretical framework, for research question 1, I identified five activity systems that are present in the study area, are partly representative of the people who live in the area, and are linked to land and water governance either through their positions as government employees within the sector, or the NLEIP in ways that influence communities’ lives and livelihoods. To address question 2, I ran learning-centred workshops and interviewed people who lived in the study area. Careful, respectful listening and participants’ use of home language created the safe space in which residents revealed that they know which water resources are important to protect and where breakdowns in communication happen. For question 3, I analysed the data from the workshops and interviews using a cultural historical activity theory framework to identify discursive manifestations of contradictions within and between activity systems which illuminate the potential for expansive social learning. This study recommends developing an understanding of the complex social-ecological context and prioritising co-learning and community participation in a learning-centred approach to catchment management forum formation. For this, there is need to develop in-depth insight into activity systems associated with water governance in local contexts. In this study I identified five of these activity systems, but the study points to a further range of activity systems that need to be considered for a learning-centred approach to be fully established. The study also found that communities are learning via engaging in the rehabilitation work, through engagements in workshops and within the municipal structures. Additionally, the study identified a number of contradictions that can provide sources of learning for taking an expansive learning approach further in CMF formation. Such an approach may provide the space to build bridges of trust between diverse knowledge systems, and has the potential to encourage sustainable co-operation in natural resource management.
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- Date Issued: 2019
Investigating how mediation tools enhance rural farmers’ learning towards rainwater harvesting and food security: a case study of a Green Village programme
- Authors: Shawarira, Patience
- Date: 2019
- Subjects: Mediated learning experience , Environmental education -- South Africa -- Sinxaku , Agricultural education -- South Africa -- Sinxaku , South Africa. Water Research Commission. Green Village Lighthouse
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MEd
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/96779 , vital:31319
- Description: Training programmes are often detached from people’s context and experiences. It is critical that training programmes are carefully situated and relevant to the target group. This can be achieved through the use of relevant mediation tools. This study investigates how the use of mediation tools within a training programme on rainwater harvesting and conservation conducted by the Water Research Commission (WRC) funded the Green Village project impacted on Community Works Project (CWP) farmers’ practices. The study looks at how rural farmer learning occurs through the use of mediation tools in the context of the CWP farmers operating in Sinxaku village, in the Eastern Cape, South Africa. The learning process in this study was tracked through observing a three-day training workshop. I observed the Green Village facilitator’s choice and use of mediation tools to facilitate learning during the training. I looked at ways in which the Green Village facilitator engaged with the participants during the training and how they used different mediation tools to aid the learning process. I was interested in how the CWP farmers engaged with the mediation tools and how learning occurred from the training. I also looked out for changes in the CWP farmers’ farming practices following the completion of the training. The study constituted as an interpretative case study using Cultural Historical Activity (CHAT) theoretical tools. The study also drew on previous research on mediation and learning processes in the water management sector. Using interviews, observations and document analyses, the study found that rural farmers learn better by practising what they are being taught. They also learn from visuals and illustrations as these explain technical concepts in a clear and easy to understand manner. Factors that impact on rural farmer learning, particularly in the context of the CWP farmers operating in Sinxaku village include ecological factors, availability of farm equipment and the structuring of the training programme. The study found that in facilitating a training programme with rural farmers, more time should be given to practical activities at the demonstration site and that these practical activities should be interspersed with knowledge sharing in a workshop setup. The study concluded that special attention should be given to the choice of mediation tools used in training programmes involving rural farmers. Attention should also be given to contextual factors that can potentially impact on learning and practice of rainwater harvesting and conservation practices that would have been taught in a training programme.
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- Date Issued: 2019
Investigating how outdoor environmental education programmes in South Africa respond to the needs of visually impaired learners via inclusive practices
- Authors: Eksteen, Hendrik Christiaan
- Date: 2019
- Subjects: Children with visual disabilities -- Education -- South Africa , Outdoor education -- South Africa , Environmental education -- South Africa , Outdoor recreation for children with disabilities -- South Africa , Inclusive education -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MEd
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/92716 , vital:30721
- Description: Outdoor environmental education programmes in South Africa are conducted at campsites and centres owned by the government, non-profit organisations and private owners. People suffering from impairments are often disabled by society because of their handicap. More than three percent (3%) of young people in South Africa aged between 10 – 19 years are disabled. This study investigates the status of inclusion of outdoor environmental education programmes for disabled young people; what is offered and what practices are working in the industry in South Africa. It also investigates barriers to inclusion. Though many disabilities have been identified, visual impairment is the focus of the study. This study also looks at what more can be done from an Ecological Systems Theory of Human Development point of view and investigates what underlying mechanisms influence the inclusion of visually impaired individuals in outdoor environmental education programmes in South Africa. What is done and what is not done to promote inclusion for visually impaired learners in these programmes is also investigated. This study aims to answer the question; What is the current status quo concerning the inclusion of visually impaired learners in outdoor environmental learning programmes in environmental education centres and campsites in South Africa? An initial focus group conducted informally prior to the study, helped me to understand the context. In this study, key-interviews and questionnaires were used as research tools. I also ran a photo narrative project throughout the research project which was used as a participatory activity and provided further insight into practices. Inductive, abductive and retroductive analysis approaches were used to identify emerging themes, and I applied method triangulation using all research tools in order to address the research questions. Some of the most important findings are that: • There are many barriers, some intrinsic others extrinsic, that hinder inclusion of visually impaired individuals in outdoor environmental education programmes in South Africa. • Although there are many things done in the industry to promote inclusion, there is much more that could be done. • The visually impaired individual him/herself influences inclusivity in outdoor environmental education programmes. • Interactions and influences in the mesosystem (between different microsystems and ecosystems) have an impact on the inclusivity of visually impaired individuals in outdoor environmental education programmes. • Dispositions of people have an impact on the inclusion of visually impaired individuals in outdoor environmental education programmes. • The diversity of generative mechanisms (drivers to events), that interact at the level of the real, influence the inclusion of visually impaired individuals in outdoor environmental education programmes. Disability/impairment is a much-neglected area of environmental education research in South Africa. This study has contributed scholarship to this area and has also identified possible further areas of study in creating awareness, creating an opportunity to reflect on practices, and finding possible solutions to the barriers of exclusion.
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- Date Issued: 2019
Investigating how the use of visual models can enhance the teaching of common fractions for conceptual understanding to Grade 8 learners
- Authors: Katenda, Aune Kashikuka
- Date: 2019
- Subjects: Fractions -- Study and teaching (Secondary)-- Namibia , Mathematics -- Study and teaching (Secondary)-- Namibia , Information visualization , Visual learning -- Case studies
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MEd
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/96746 , vital:31314
- Description: The intention of this study was to explore how selected mathematics teachers used visual models to improve the teaching of common fractions for conceptual understanding to Grade 8 learners as a result of an intervention programme. This research study is part of the VIPROmaths project which seeks to research the effective use of visualisation processes in the mathematics classroom in South Africa, Namibia, Zambia, Switzerland and Germany. This study which adopted a case study of teachers in Khomas Region, Namibia, is informed by constructivist learning theory. The study is situated within the interpretive paradigm and a multi-phase mixed method research approach was used. It focussed on analysing the use of visual models when teaching fractions namely: area model, number line model and a set model. The data were collected through survey questionnaires, observation and recall interview. The survey was conducted with the forty three mathematics teachers, from twenty secondary schools in Khomas region. The survey gave an overview of the nature and the use of visual models in schools. Three teachers purposively selected from the survey participated in the intervention program and were observed while teaching and interviewed after their teaching. Data were qualitatively and quantitatively analysed. The findings of this study reveal that visualising fractions is one of the methods that can improve both teaching and learning by providing concrete evidence of otherwise abstract ideas and concepts. The teachers highlighted that models themselves guide learners through to the answer, as compared to working out solutions using symbols only. They further indicated that visual models improve learners’ motivation, enhances understanding of fractions and encourages full participation of learners in the lesson. The study also found that use of visual models encouraged participation and it also boosted learners thinking capability. Teachers in this study preferred to use the area model as they found this model easier and more user-friendly in comparison with the number line and the set models. Teachers did not use the set model because of its complexity. This study concludes that the use of visual models can help enhance the conceptual teaching and understanding of common fractions. It is hoped that the study contributes towards improving the quality teaching and learning of fractions in Namibia. Furthermore, it informs the teacher-training institutions in Namibia to integrate the use of visualisation in their training programmes to promote conceptual understanding of mathematics.
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- Date Issued: 2019
Investigating the nature of grade six after school mathematics club learners’ shifts in mathematical number sense and procedural fluency
- Authors: Baart, Noluntu Via
- Date: 2019
- Subjects: Mathematics -- Study and teaching (Elementary) -- South Africa , Mathematics -- Study and teaching (Elementary) -- South Africa -- Case studies , Numeracy -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MEd
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/96825 , vital:31326
- Description: A wide range of research locally points to intermediate phase learners having extremely weak basic number sense resulting in the dominance of inefficient strategies for calculations with the four operations, irrespective of the number range. The grade six Annual National Assessments (ANA) diagnostic reports for 2012 to 2014 also point to errors and misconceptions that tend to dominate learners’ computations in the four basic operations; such errors are often attributed to the use of either tallies or incorrectly applied mathematical procedures. Having the above context in mind and following informal conversations with teachers in the Uitenhage Education District, five teachers expressed an interest in running the afterschool mathematics clubs based on the South African Numeracy Chair (SANC) project model. The SANC project team ran workshops in April, May and June 2016 with nine teachers (five as facilitators and four others as co-facilitators in five different club sites) in which teachers were provided with key resources for use in their clubs. Fifteen club sessions ran in each club with grade six learners across the 2nd and 3rd terms. These clubs form the empirical field for this research, which aims to investigate the nature of learners’ evolving number sense, procedural fluency and teachers’ experiences of working with learners in the club space. The unit of analysis in this study is both the shifts evident in learners’ number sense and procedural fluency as a result of participating in the clubs and the teacher’s experiences of working with learners in those clubs as club facilitators. A social constructivist perspective of learning guides this study. Especially Vygotsky’s (1978) notion that cognitive development stems from social interactions and guided learning within the Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD) of children, guided by more knowledgeable others. Furthermore, Kilpatrick et al.’s (2001) strands of mathematical proficiency provide the conceptual frame with a particular focus on procedural fluency and number sense. A mixed method approach to data collection was used. Quantitative data has been drawn from learner’s scores on pre- and post- assessments on four basic operations. Visual progression spectra have been adopted from the Pushing for Progression (PfP) Programme which is an intervention Programme developed by the SANC project for club facilitators. They provide explanations of learner progression trajectories and how to analyse learner methods. Qualitative narratives were drawn from learner progression data, as well as teacher post club questionnaires and one-to-one teacher interviews. The findings of this research suggest that learner workings when used in conjunction with visual progression spectra can provide important clues to researchers and teachers. This in turn contributes to an understanding of where learners are in their mathematical learning and gives ideas for how to support learners to progress using more flexible methods of calculation, particularly for poor performing learners. Included, is the discussion of the effectiveness of the club space to enable such shifts and improve learner flexibility, fluency and performance as displayed in learner methods and scores of the pre- and post- assessments. The teachers’ observations about the relaxed atmosphere in the club space, small sized groups, learning through play with co-members may have enabled the shifts in procedural fluency and number sense in club learners. Additionally, implications of the study are discussed, and tentative recommendations are made for the DBE to consider.
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- Date Issued: 2019