Anthony Lelliott

Forms and substance in learner-centred teaching: teachers' take-up from an in-service programme in South Africa

Abstract In this paper we examine the ways in which teachers, enrolled on an in-service programme in South Africa, have taken up learner-centred practices. We introduce the notions of forms and substance in learner-centred teaching and describe how these are developed in the programme. We then analyse the teachers’ practices in these terms, using data from classroom observations and interviews. We argue that teachers take up learner-centred practices in different ways. The majority of teachers took up the forms without the substance, but some managed to be substantively learner centred.

Big Ideas: A review of astronomy education research 1974–2008

This paper reviews astronomy education research carried out among school students, teachers, and museum visitors over a 35‐year period from 1974 until 2008. One hundred and three peer‐reviewed journal articles were examined, the majority of whose research dealt with conceptions of astronomical phenomena with 40% investigating intervention activities. We used a conceptual framework of “big ideas” in astronomy, five of which accounted for over 80% of the studies: conceptions of the Earth, gravity, the day–night cycle, the seasons, and the Earth–Sun–Moon system. Most of the remaining studies were of stars, the solar system, and the concepts of size and distance. The findings of the review have implications for the future teaching of, and research in, the discipline. Conceptions of the Earth and the day–night cycle are relatively well‐understood, especially by older students, while the Moon phases, the seasons, and gravity are concepts that most people find difficult both to understand and explain. Thoroughly planned interventions are likely to be the most effective way of implementing conceptual change, and such studies have been well‐researched in the past 15 years. Much of this recent research has worked with constructivist theories resulting in methodological and theoretical insights of value to researchers and practitioners in the field. It is recommended that future research should work across the disciplinary boundaries of astronomy education at school and teacher education levels, and aim to disseminate findings more effectively within the education systems.

Issues of Teaching & Learning in South Africa: A disjunction between curriculum policy and implementation

Abstract This article examines how issues of teaching and learning have been implemented in South African classrooms. We apply a framework of curriculum implementation (Rogan & Grayson, 2003) to studies of classroom teaching and learning reported in the literature. In doing so, we use the framework to categorise and comment on the research studies and determine the applicability of the framework to science and mathematics classrooms. Our review findings show that the frameworks constructs of ‘profile of implementation’ and ‘capacity to innovate’ can be applied, with some adaptation, to both mathematics and science classroom studies. Fewer studies have involved the third construct ‘outside support’. We conclude that there is an inevitable dislocation between policy and curriculum implementation, and that the framework provides a useful notion of ‘feasible implementation’ by suggesting how (in a series of small steps) individual schools can put into practice new curriculum policy.

Scientific literacy and the South African school curriculum

The notion of scientific literacy is contested terrain, particularly when the term is used in school curricula. Using a scientific literacy framework of Vision I (covers science products and processes) and Vision II (based on science-related situations as a starting point for discussion), the article analyses the Natural Science (grades 7–9) curricula in South Africa developed and implemented over the past two decades. The Revised National Curriculum Statement (RNCS) and the Curriculum and Policy Statement (CAPS) were scrutinised for indicators of each vision. Findings indicate that, while the RNCS espoused the concept of scientific literacy, the CAPS made little mention of it. While both curricula are dominated by Vision I indicators, particularly science products and processes, the CAPS document focuses almost exclusively on these. The implications of highly specified content and narrow interpretations of scientific literacy have consequences for teacher education and textbooks authors, as well as learners who will exit the school system before grade 10 and who need to be scientifically literate to function effectively as citizens in South Africas nascent democracy.

Dialogic Talk in Diverse Physical Science Classrooms

Dialogic talk, in which different ideas are considered, promotes conceptual understanding in science, and is in line with South Africas school curriculum. The problem is that dialogic talk is difficult to facilitate and may run counter to cultural norms. As a result, classroom talk is often not dialogic. This paper reports on the nature of classroom talk in the classrooms of eight physical science teachers who were prepared in their initial teacher education for a student-centred school curriculum. An observer spent two school days in each teachers classroom, writing a narrative description of each lesson. A grounded analysis revealed two significant dimensions in the lessons: the nature of the talk and the apparent purpose of the teacher. The classroom talk could be classified as exposition, question and answer (Q&A) or conversation. The teaching purposes were: introduction of general principles, application, feedback and revision. The three types of talk were used to serve all four teaching purposes. Dialogic talk was present with all the teachers showing that dialogic talk is possible across the diversity of classrooms investigated. We consider factors that may inhibit dialogic talk, and ways to address these. We recommend that initial teacher education provides students with personal experience of dialogic talk in science classrooms, a framework for thinking about classroom talk and suitable pedagogies for facilitating dialogic talk.

Recent Research on Science Communication and Engagement in Informal Settings in South Africa

This chapter provides an analysis of recent research which has been conducted in South Africa in the fields of science communication and science engagement in informal settings. The majority of science communication research has been made available via meetings such as the Public Communication of Science and Technology (PCST) and the African Science Communication Conference (ASCC). Presentations at PCST have been varied, from Indigenous Knowledge Systems (IKS) and outreach to health and social media, while the majority of presentations at the two ASCC conferences focused on science journalism, “show and tell” and policy issues. The relatively few published articles with the field of science communication indicate that there is considerable scope for an expanded research agenda. The field of science engagement research has tended to rely on the interests of a few individuals. Despite this, it has confirmed that many of the findings of similar research in developed countries hold true in South Africa, for example, that learning is incremental, and affective outcomes are as important as cognitive ones. Research studies on science fairs show impressive agency and initiative by the student participants, but resource constraints are hampering greater engagement with such informal learning opportunities. In summary, while informal sites are making strides in science communication and engagement, there are historical inequities in terms of space and culture which need to be addressed to ensure greater participation by the majority of the population.

Opening up the Dialogic Space. Using Questions to Facilitate Deeper Informal Learning

The aim of this chapter is to provide anyone working with visitors to informal learning settings with knowledge and ideas to provide high quality learning experiences through better social interactions using questioning. Questions can be between learners and any number of adults. One of the key attributes of good teaching and learning is being able to ask the right question at the right time, something that the best teachers do regularly. Good questions come from listening to learners to provide further points in dialogue that challenge thinking and promote deeper learning. In informal learning spaces such as museums and galleries the challenge, for people not trained and experienced as teachers, is to interact with learners without reproducing the formalities of the classroom. Providing worksheets of questions can deaden the experience and excitement of learners and might limit meaningful and free exploration. What is needed are careful strategies, sympathetic to informal learning environments, but capable of stimulating the sort of ‘breakthrough behaviours’ that lead to deeper learning. In this chapter we discuss research on what makes oral questioning and in written text most productive and how this can be applied to informal settings. Several examples, used in museums and galleries, to help museum staff, docents, volunteers and teaching assistants interact with learners more productively, to better question artefacts and exhibits, and interact with each other are shown and discussed.

Sharing Science in Africa

In a 2004 article about science education research in South Africa, Malcolm and Alant asked the question, “Where to begin?” As possible starting points they considered the land itself, ubuntu (see below), colonisation and apartheid, the post-colony, the reality of conditions for current citizens, the HIV/AIDS pandemic, and finally the science education researchers themselves.

Language choices in the teaching of human reproduction

Abstract The choice of which language strategies to use in schools in Africa is the subject of much debate. In the Life Sciences, cultural issues associated with the use of biological terminology add to this debate. In our study, we examined the language choices made by Grade 7 Natural Sciences teachers in South Africa during their teaching of human reproduction. A mixed method approach was employed, involving firstly a survey questionnaire amongst 40 teachers in urban schools followed by a multiple case study of 10 of these teachers. Data were collected during classroom observations by means of field notes and audio-recordings followed by interviews which were transcribed and coded. We found that teachers used a variety of language strategies including use of home languages, English or code switching. The teacher’s and/or learners’ fluency in English and the teacher’s perception of the need for learners to feel at ease when discussing human reproduction influenced their choices. In addition, teachers’ belief in the importance of using biological terminology rather than traditional metaphors in order to create a more formal and thus respectful discourse, led them to use the English version of the biological terms. We argue that different language choices are appropriate for different urban contexts, and that teachers should use the language/s in which learners are most comfortable in order to enable deep and rich discussions on the sensitive subject of human reproduction.

Teaching and Learning with ICT in the Primary School: Edited by Marilyn Leask and John Meadows, Routledge/Falmer, London, 2000, 269 pp. ISBN 0-415-21505-6, GBP14.99 paperback.

the Catalan Open University (UOC) in developing comprehensive learning environments for distance learning use (pp. 37, 93, 275). In the last of these (p. 275), the authors illustrate UNED’s efforts to design and develop a web-based learning environment which allows for reusability of resources, yet provides a sound, easy to use content design facility based on instructional templates. An interesting paper, ‘Learning Basque in a distance-adaptive way’, achieves a good balance of technical and pedagogical reasoning, revealing an unusual partnership of educational institutions (a university and a secondary school) with industry (a software company) and the media (a regional newspaper); all backed by financial support from the local government. The closing paper is somewhat different from the rest, which makes it stand out but also rounds off the collection on an unexpected, theoretical note. Entitled ‘Computer-Human Learning. Learning through Natural Language on the Internet’, it does not describe any particular system but rather considers the role of natural language in knowledge acquisition and development, recognising the role of linguists and computational linguistics as key contributors to the cognitive sciences and the use of computers in education in particular. Readers need to get over the hurdle of non-native language writing (or more likely poor translations) which makes reading the first two plenary lectures in particular a hard task, but most of the short papers in Part II are written in perfectly good English, with some painful exceptions. The book will be of interest primarily to computer scientists and developers of educational software. For others, it will provide a brief insight into artificial intelligence and the future of educational software, but they must be ready to deal with the abundance of technical terms and concepts presented. At £80, this book is more likely to be found on library shelves than in lecturers’ studies.