Josef de Beer

Doing an Ethnobotanical Survey in the Life Sciences Classroom

ABSTRACT On the basis of an ethnobotanical survey that we conducted on plant use by descendents of the Khoi-San people in the Northern Cape Province in South Africa, we introduce biology teachers to an adapted rapid-appraisal methodology that can be followed in the life sciences classroom. Such a project addresses a number of the content standards in the National Science Education Standards, such as science as a human endeavour, the nature of science, and the history of science. We also shed light on ethical considerations when engaging in an ethnobotanical survey, and address, among other issues, intellectual property rights. Examples are provided of how teachers in the United States can sensitize students to the rich ethnobotanical heritage of their country.

‘Situated’ in a separated campus – Students’ sense of belonging and academic performance: A case study of the experiences of students during a higher education merger

Fourteen years into post-apartheid South Africa, learning institutions are still facing the challenge of ensuring access to and success in education for all. Institutions for higher learning have experienced a number of mergers, and this article reflects on the surprising patterns of student performance in a case where one of the campuses of a historically black university (HBU) was incorporated into a historically white university (HWU). This mixed method research was done on two groups of foundation year students; one group placed at a suburban campus (the HWU), and the other group within a township (the HBU). Despite the fact that the academic programmes and support structures of the two campuses were comparable, and the student profiles regarding M-scores, socio-economic and cultural background, language proficiency, etc were similar, the academic performance of the students at the HBU campus was poor in comparison with that of the students at the HWU. From a Cartesian perspective the researchers were...

The affordances of case-based teaching for the professional learning of student-teachers

Abstract This paper reports on a qualitative enquiry into the affordances of case-based teaching for the professional learning of student-teachers. The context is a first-year foundational course in a four-year undergraduate teacher education programme, offered by an urban university in Johannesburg, South Africa, with a student enrolment of close to 700 students (divided into two groups of 350 students). Data sources used for this study were focus group interviews with student-teachers, individual interviews with teacher educators, video footage of classroom interaction, first-person reports by student-teachers in the form of reflective essays, student-teachers’ discussions on blackboard and examination scripts. The research showed that case-based teaching elicits engaged learning; assists with developing understanding of the complexities of teaching and enables student-teachers to relate theory-based ideas to predicaments of practice. Furthermore, the research revealed how case-based teaching can provide insights into student-teachers’ preconceptions of teaching. In this study, case-based teaching was used with large class groups. The findings suggest that case-based teaching, as used in the course reported on, could serve as an antidote for some of the issues that plague large course teaching.

An Exploration of the Value of an Educational Excursion for Pre-Service Teachers.

This paper addresses the question: What is the value of an educational excursion for first year students enrolled in a 4 year pre-service professional teacher education degree at the University of Johannesburg in South Africa? The excursion is an integral part of a first year module that focuses on the personal and professional development of teachers. This article compares the nature of student learning during the excursion with students’ learning and interaction in the traditional formal lecture room and argues that it operates as two different activity systems. Drawing on student reflections, questionnaire data and focus group interviews and using Veresov’s notion of ‘dramatical collisions’ and Cultural-Historical Activity Theory as a lens, this study highlights and explores the unforeseen dynamics and tensions created during the excursion. It focuses on the importance of social interaction during the excursion and how it affords students the opportunity to learn how to live and learn together and to work co-operatively in a natural setting. The major findings are that the excursion provides a different learning environment for personal and professional development and this assists students in planning their professional trajectory. These, it is claimed, hold much promise for teacher education.

The development and use of an instrument to investigate science teachers' views on indigenous knowledge

Science teachers in South Africa and globally experience difficulties with the integration of indigenous knowledge into their science lessons—a requirement of many science curricula. One of the reasons for this may relate to the views teachers hold about indigenous knowledge. Such views can form a barrier against successful inclusion of indigenous knowledge in the science classroom. It was, therefore, deemed useful to investigate teachers’ views on indigenous knowledge. This article reports on the development of a theoretical framework, and a questionnaire derived from it, to investigate teachers’ views on indigenous knowledge. The researchers were informed by the framework developed by Lederman, Abd-El-Khalick, Bell and Schwartz regarding the nature of science (NOS) and their views-on-the-NOS questionnaire. A qualitative study was done to develop and validate the views-on-the-nature-of-indigenous-knowledge instrument (VNOIK). The findings indicate that the VNOIK instrument is suitable to determine a wide range of views of science teachers on the nature of indigenous knowledge. We found that South African science teachers held mainly a partially informed view on the nature of indigenous knowledge. The new instrument can be used to measure the effect of a short learning programme and to identify further development needs of science teachers in addressing the tenets of science and indigenous knowledge effectively in the classroom.

Investigating the Influence of Karrikins on Seed Germination

ABSTRACT Recent research has identified a karrikin (a butcnolide derative) known as 3-methyl-2H-furo[2,3-c]pyran-2-one, formed from burning cellulose, that stimulates seed germination. Here, I present ideas on how to investigate the influence of karrikins on seed germination in the laboratory.

Use of a simulation game for HIV/AIDS education with pre-service teachers

The article describes the use of a simulation game in HIV/AIDS education with pre-service teachers in Johannesburg, South Africa. The use of a simulation game, as novel experiential pedagogy, was an attempt to raise awareness about HIV and AIDS and to demonstrate that anyone can be at risk of HIV infection. Using a generic qualitative research design, the data were collected over a three-year period by way of video recordings of the simulation game, recordings of large and small group discussions afterwards, and via questionnaires and written reflections by the education students four weeks afterwards. Content analysis and discourse analysis led to the construction of three main themes. First, we found that the novelty factor of the simulation game for raising HIV/AIDS awareness was confirmed both during the game itself and after a period of time had elapsed. Second, in light of many education students’ naivety about the intersection of biological, socio-cultural and economic issues at play in the spread of HIV, the game prompted more reflexivity about the disease and helped to broaden the participants’ discussions. Lastly, the data revealed the disjuncture between theory and practice in HIV/AIDS education. We propose that in raising awareness of HIV and AIDS, educators should move towards more engaging and challenging pedagogies that address the learning needs of the ‘new’ generation of university students.

The Affordances Of Cultural-Historical Activity Theory As A Research Lens In Studying Education From A Socio-Economic Perspective

In this paper the authors look at Cultural-Historical Activity Theory (CHAT) as a lens to study education from, not only a socio-cultural perspective, but also from a socio-economic perspective. CHAT has its origin in the work of Lev Vygotsky. It takes as a starting point that human practice is mediated by tools or signs. The unit of analysis is an activity system and, in this paper, several activity systems are used as examples to illustrate the use of CHAT. The examples used are not based on specific empirical data, but on selected literature, since the focus of this paper is to highlight the affordances and versatility of CHAT as a research lens. Rogoff stated that three planes, namely the personal, the interpersonal, and the institutional or community plane might be identified in a socio-cultural analysis using CHAT. Conventionally CHAT is used as a research lens on the personal plane, where the subject is an individual, for example, a science teacher, and the object is this teacher?s professional development. Secondly, CHAT can also be used on an interpersonal plane, looking at the interaction between various stakeholders. In this article the authors look at the changing nature of the interaction between university lecturers (facilitators) and tertiary students as an example of the use of CHAT on the interpersonal level. It is particularly on this interpersonal plane that this paper highlights the complexity of the ?object? in an activity system, by revealing the ?contradiction of control?. Rogoff identifies a third way of using CHAT, namely where the subject is a system or a theory. In this paper, we conclude with two examples of how CHAT can be used on this more systematic-theoretical plane, with the subject being South African and Finnish education respectively. This is an approach seldom used in activity theory publications. By learning from the international ?gold standard? in education (Finland) South Africa might succeed in improving its education, which can, in turn, catapult economic growth. We conclude this paper by looking at the #FeesMustFall student campaign in South Africa, where we juxtapose university management?s perceptions and expectations, with that of student bodies. The authors argue that the holistic view that CHAT provides on tensions within activity systems is essential in educational research in a complex 21st Century. Educational issues such as the #FeesMustFall is not simply a South African issue of concern, but a contemporary issue in a post-colonial world.

A scholarly contribution to educational praxis

This publication contains original research targeting scientific specialists in the field of education, through research endeavours grounded on a philosophical basis, as well as being embedded in the empirical. The research methodology of each chapter emanates from applicable philosophical assumptions in the form of an applicable theoretical and conceptual framework. The latter forms a firm basis for the application of sound empiricism. The content of this book adds to the body of scholarly knowledge in education. In his evaluation of the book, Acting Executive Dean, Faculty of Education and Training, Professor Akpovire Oduaran, made the following remarks: ‘To a large extent, the ideas put together in this book have come from data generated not just from literature found in books and journals but actual interactions with educators and the learning environment. So then, what the reader is offered in this volume is the articulation of ideas that have been interrogated, structured and presented in surprisingly simplistic and yet incisive and academically enriching content that can match the standards of scholarship that is available in the Western World. Yet, what makes this book so welcome, relevant and timely, is the fact that it is built around Afrocentric theories and practices such as one may find in imported literature.’