Browsing by Author "Beni, Saritha."

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A case study of intermediate phase learner's success with science problem-solving tasks.
(2006) Beni, Saritha.; Hobden, Paul Anthony.
This is an evaluative case study to determine what science problem-solving skills learners have developed at the end of the Intermediate Phase. Grade six learners were used in this study as they represented the last grade within the Intermediate Phase. The main question that framed this study: How successful are learners with science problem-solving tasks at the end of the Intermediate Phase? An attempt has also been made to answer the key research questions relating to learners' success at solving problems, the types of problem tasks they can solve, any relationship between their ability at solving problems and their normal science achievement, any differences between groups such as male and female or across different classes, and the opportunities that enabled them to develop problem-solving skills? Operating in a post-positivist/realist paradigm, qualitative as well as quantitative data were gathered through participant observation. The quantitative data was obtained by administering "paper and pencil" and group problem tasks to 116 learners in grade six. Learners' responses to the problem tasks provided the answers to questions relating to their success with science problems as well as the problem-solving skills used. The qualitative data was obtained from questionnaires based on the task and from semi-structured and focus group interviews with learners to attain a deeper understanding on how they responded to the problem tasks and thus determining their success. Documents were analysed from grades four, five and six in an attempt to view the type of problem-solving skills learners had experienced in their science lessons within the Intermediate Phase. An interrogation of the documents provided answers to the research questions dealing with the opportunities learners were given to develop these problem-solving skills. The grade six learner's final Natural Science marks as well as the problem-solving tasks were analysed quantitatively as well as qualitatively to see if there was a relationship between the two. From this study, it was found that in general learners' success was uneven. Learners had more success when problems were closed, inside type requiring one step simple reasoning and were presented as tables rather than as diagrams. They also seemed to have more success when answering the multiple-choice component of the question but had little success explaining their choice of answers. There was not a strong relationship between learners doing well at their normal school tests and being able to solve problems. Learners appeared to be unable to use reasoning to explain their answers. They were unable to work with more than one variable simultaneously. Group differences within the case revealed that Black and Coloured learners had different levels of success with the problem tasks. There was no difference in the marks for boys and girls scores for the problem tasks but there was a difference in their scores for the Natural Science test. In general, learners within the 11 year age group had greater success with the problem tasks. The findings of this study indicate that learners at the Intermediate Phase level are not taught to solve problems and therefore have very limited success with solving problem tasks. However, learners' uneven success also implies that although some learners were unable to solve problems there are others that do have the ability to use problem-solving skills even if they were not formally taught these skills within their science lessons. Learner's inherent ability to solve problems by constructing their own knowledge from their experiences forms the core of this study. Teachers need to build on these in the science classroom, which will result in learners becoming expert problem solvers. This study suggests that providing learners with experiences relating to solving science problems can only assist in developing learners' problem-solving ability and thus benefiting society. The intention of this study is to open up the possibility of a more detailed research into science problem-solving in the primary school within the new reforms of our South African education system.
Foundation phase teachers' interpretation and implementation of the natural science curriculum in the life skills learning programme : a case study.
(2014) Beni, Saritha.; Stears, Michele.; James, Angela Antoinette.
Since 1994, Early Childhood Development has been acknowledged and recognised as an essential focus theme for South Africa’s social and economic transformation and development. Early learning is an imperative for the growth of an educated South African society. The focus of the study is on teachers’ abilities to interpret and implement a new innovative curriculum. This interpretative, qualitative, case study attempts to explore foundation phase teachers’ interpretation and implementation of the Natural Science Curriculum within the Life Skills Learning Programme in South Africa. The study was prompted by personal observations of how teachers and students viewed the purpose of Natural Science in the Foundation Phase. Four foundation phase teachers, one from each Grade (R to Three) participated in the study. The learning environment was selected as the unit of analysis since this is where the learners, teachers, curriculum and educational resources meet. The theoretical framework for this study is entrenched in the relationship between the prescribed and the implemented curriculum and was developed by adapting the theory of implementation proposed by Rogan and Grayson (2003). It served as a guide to identify factors that influenced the way foundation phase teachers implement the Natural Science Curriculum in the Life Skills Learning Programme. The Zone of Feasible Innovation (ZFI) is the proposed theory of implementation. The ZFI is a hypothetical construct, which suggests that innovation should not exceed current practice by too large a gap between existing practice and the demands of the innovation. It provided the lens for positioning teachers at particular levels with regard to their capacity to implement a curriculum. The theoretical frameworks were used to answer the research questions and design the data collection instruments: a questionnaire, semi-structured interviews schedules, document analysis, classroom observation schedules and a rating scale were used to analyse the data. The levels for each teacher were determined for each construct of interpretation and implementation and subsequently used to determine their respective ZFIs. The teachers were located at relatively low levels of interpretation and implementation, resulting in very narrow ZFIs. The implications are that these teachers’ current practices are too far removed from that which the curriculum expects of them. Examples of such practices are: emphasis on Numeracy and Literacy; misunderstanding of the meaning of integration of subjects and a lack of science content knowledge and instructional methods used to teach Natural Science. The most significant finding, however, is that teachers have very little chance of expanding their ZFIs due to a misalignment between the Natural Science Curriculum and the Foundation Phase Curriculum that makes implementation of Natural Science in the Foundation Phase particularly problematic. The outcomes of this finding have resulted in the development of a proposed model which depicts a barrier preventing expansion of the teachers’ ZFI. A number of recommendations are proposed as possible actions to remove this barrier. It is envisaged that the findings of this study may provide useful insights for curriculum planners in the design of appropriate, innovative curricula for the Foundation Phase and beyond.