Ayoub Kafyulilo

Teacher design in teams as a professional development arrangement for developing technology integration knowledge and skills of science teachers in Tanzania

This study investigated the impact of teacher design teams as a professional development arrangement for developing technology integration knowledge and skills among in-service science teachers. The study was conducted at a secondary school in Tanzania, where 12 in-service science teachers participated in a workshop about technology integration in science teaching and worked in design teams to prepare technology-enhanced biology, chemistry and physics lessons. Through collaboration in design teams, teachers were able to make science animations using PowerPoint and record videos to use in their teaching. The designed lessons were taught in the classroom and reflected upon thereafter by all teachers. In order to determine the change in teachers’ technology integration knowledge and skills, data were collected before and after the professional development arrangement by using questionnaire, interview and observation data. Focus group discussion and reflection questionnaire data were used to assess teachers’ experience of working in design teams at the end of the professional development arrangement. Findings showed an increase in teachers’ technology integration knowledge and skills between pre- and post-measurements. Collaboration in design teams had the potential for teachers to share knowledge, skills, experience and challenges related to technology-enhanced teaching.

Factors affecting teachers' continuation of technology use in teaching

This study was conducted to investigate the continuation of technology use in science and mathematics teaching of the teachers who attended a professional development program between 2010 and 2012. Continuation of technology use was hypothesized to be affected by the professional development program and by personal, institutional, and technological factors. Twelve teachers and three school leaders participated in the study. Data was collected through interviews. Findings showed that the continuation of technology use differed for the teachers involved in the professional development program. While all teachers reported to have gained knowledge and skills through the professional development program and were positive about technology use in education, only some teachers continued the use of technology. The data revealed that despite the challenges that all teachers in the sample encountered when using technology in their teaching (such as large classrooms, problems with electricity supply, lack of time and lack of technology tools), the encouragement of school management was a critical factor in teachers’ continuation of technology use. Implications of the findings are discussed.

Professional Development through Teacher Collaboration: An Approach to Enhance Teaching and Learning in Science and Mathematics in Tanzania.

Abstract This study introduces ‘teachers’ collaboration’ as an approach to teachers’ professional development geared at enhancing science and mathematics teaching in Tanzania secondary schools. Teachers’ professional development through teachers’ collaboration has been reported to be effective for the improvement of schools’ performance and students’ learning outcomes in all curriculum subjects. In this study, various researches and theoretical papers about teachers’ collaboration were gathered and sorted out according to the type of collaboration adopted in each. From these studies, four main forms of teachers’ collaboration for professional development were identified. These forms of collaboration include; community of practice, lesson study group, professional learning communities and teacher design teams. Reviewed literatures have shown that the four collaboration approaches are effective for teachers’ improvement of their teaching practices which in turn had impact on students’ learning outcomes. Studies from around the world have shown that, teachers’ collaboration has impact on teachers’ competencies, confidence and attitude towards science and mathematics teaching.

Teachers' perspectives on their use of ICT in teaching and learning: A case study

This article presents the perspectives of science and mathematics teachers on their use of information and communication technology (ICT) in teaching and learning in Tanzania. The findings show that few teachers used computers for teaching and learning purposes while majority of them used computers for administrative purposes. Additionally, teachers were found to have limited confidence in using technology to facilitate specific concepts or skills, to support creativity, and to support students to learn complex concepts. Therefore, it is suggested that schools explore strategies ICT integration strategies that focus more on making a shift from teaching technology or using technology for administrative purpose to appropriate pedagogical uses that could enhance student learning.

Prevalence of Overweight and Obesity Among Primary School Children in Tanzania: Experiences from Kinondoni and Njombe Districts

The purpose of this study was to investigate the extent to which overweight and obesity are challenges among primary school children in Kinondoni and Njombe districts. The study sought to investigate those aspects in terms of prevalence, causes and impacts on social, health as well as children learning behaviours and outcomes. Systematic random sampling was used to select schools while stratified sampling and simple random sampling were used in selecting pupils and teachers. Measurement of weights and height were done to determine Body Mass Index (BMI), measurements of skinfolds were also done to determine body fat percentage. Questionnaires, semi-structured interview schedule and focus group discussion guides were also used. Findings revealed an average of 13.5% children, were overweight and obese. Economy status, household occupations, nutrition and inactivity were significant causes of overweight and obesity. Hypertension, excessive sweating, teasing and peer rejection were common to obese children. In addition, overweight and obese children were reported to underperform in academic and physical activities. The study revealed that overweight and obesity were not friendly healthy conditions to children, thus a need to work it out. The study suggests for establishment of education programs through mass Medias, to raise people’s awareness on implications of obesity in children’s health, social, and learning behaviours and outcomes.

Supporting Teachers Learning Through the Collaborative Design of Technology-Enhanced Science Lessons

This study used the Interconnected Model of Professional Growth (Clarke & Hollingsworth in Teaching and Teacher Education, 18, 947–967, 2002) to unravel how science teachers’ technology integration knowledge and skills developed in a professional development arrangement. The professional development arrangement used Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge as a conceptual framework and included collaborative design of technology-enhanced science lessons, implementation of the lessons and reflection on outcomes. Support to facilitate the process was offered in the form of collaboration guidelines, online learning materials, exemplary lessons and the availability of an expert. Twenty teachers participated in the intervention. Pre- and post-intervention results showed improvements in teachers’ perceived and demonstrated knowledge and skills in integrating technology in science teaching. Collaboration guidelines helped the teams to understand the design process, while exemplary materials provided a picture of the product they had to design. The availability of relevant online materials simplified the design process. The expert was important in providing technological and pedagogical support during design and implementation, and reflected with teachers on how to cope with problems met during implementation.

Implications of Childhood Overweight and Obesity on Learning Behaviour and Classroom Performance

This article is based on a study carried out from October, 2007 to May, 2008 that investigated the extent to which overweight and obesity were challenges among primary school children in Kinondoni and Njombe Districts in Tanzania. Systematic random sampling was used to select schools while stratified sampling and simple random sampling were used in selecting pupils and teachers who participated in the study. Measurement of weights and heights was done to determine Body Mass Index (BMI), while measurement of skin folds was done to determine body fat percentage. Close-ended questionnaires, semi-structured interviews and focus group discussions were used to collect data on the implications of overweight and obesity on health and learning behaviours. Findings of the study revealed that an average of 13.5% of children were overweight or obese. Hypertension, excessive sweating, teasing and peer rejection were common to obese children. In addition, overweight and obese children were reported to perform less than their peers in academic and physical activities. This study rerecommends among other things the establishment of education programs through mass media to raise people’s awareness of how overweight and obesity affects children’s health, social and classroom learning behaviours as well as performance.