Technological pedagogical content knowledge: an examination of rural secondary school life sciences teachers’ integration of technology in Eastern Cape province
- Authors: Shambare, Brian
- Date: 2024-10-11
- Subjects: Uncatalogued
- Language: English
- Type: Academic theses , Doctoral theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/466458 , vital:76730 , DOI https://doi.org/10.21504/10962/466458
- Description: Rural education, particularly in the Global South, faces distinct challenges flowing from low socio-economic conditions, limited resources, and inadequate funding. These issues notably affect rural teachers’ abilities to deliver quality education. Although technology integration offers potential benefits and rural teachers have increased access to various technologies, they frequently adopt these tools spontaneously without guidelines. While many teachers in rural schools choose specific technologies to address teaching challenges, technology has to be integrated with a clear pedagogical intent. The rural teachers’ frequent adoption of technologies hints at technological pedagogical content knowledge (TPACK) development, consciously or unconsciously. However, the process of developing this expertise remains largely unknown. Furthermore, the development of TPACK among teachers in rural Global South schools, particularly those who did not receive formal or informal technology training during their initial teacher education or professional development, remains unclear. Therefore, this research delved into the practices, factors, and experiences influencing the development of TPACK, all from the perspective of Life Sciences teachers in rural schools. The voices of teachers in rural regions have been notably absent in the broader discourse of TPACK research, making the current study’s insights particularly significant. This qualitative and investigative study, located within the interpretivist paradigm, is grounded in Vygotsky’s (1978) socio-cultural theory and Koehler and Mishra’s (2006) Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge framework. Seven Life Sciences teachers participated in the study. The teacher participants were purposively sampled from schools in the Joe Gqabi district in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa. Multiple data-generation instruments were employed. These included a questionnaire, semi-structured interviews, lesson observations, and sharing circle discussions. A thematic analysis approach, guided by the study’s dual theoretical perspective, was applied to dissect and analyse the data. The study’s findings challenged the prevailing assumption that rural schools lack access to technological resources, unveiling that rural Life Sciences teachers in this research had access to diverse educational technologies. Nevertheless, despite improved technology accessibility, these teachers predominantly employed ‘simple skill-based’ technologies for content delivery, resulting in limited learner engagement. Notwithstanding the challenges posed by inadequate school infrastructure, limited electricity access, and poor Internet connectivity, this investigation found that Life Sciences teachers in rural settings who lack formal technology integration training demonstrated enthusiasm for incorporating technology into their teaching methods. Furthermore, these teachers exhibited strength in non-technological TPACK domains, such as content knowledge (CK), pedagogical knowledge (PK), and pedagogical content knowledge (PCK), while demonstrating limited expertise in technology-related domains, such as technological knowledge (TK), technological pedagogical knowledge (TPK), and technological pedagogical content knowledge (TPACK). The study uncovered nuanced factors, practices, and experiences contributing to TPACK development among rural Life Sciences teachers. These include learning from their learners, collaborating with peers, and engaging in self-directed learning. The study also proposed a new theoretical perspective to the existing TPACK framework to cater for technology integration in rural school contexts. Overall, this research provided a unique perspective on TPACK development in rural schools, particularly in the Global South. The study recommended targeted investments in professional development, promoting peer collaboration, and fostering a culture of self-directed learning. Furthermore, the current research emphasised the importance of recognising the evolving educational landscape as a two-way knowledge exchange between teachers and learners to foster TPACK development in rural schools. , Thesis (PhD) -- Faculty of Education, Secondary and Post-School Education, 2024
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2024-10-11
- Authors: Shambare, Brian
- Date: 2024-10-11
- Subjects: Uncatalogued
- Language: English
- Type: Academic theses , Doctoral theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/466458 , vital:76730 , DOI https://doi.org/10.21504/10962/466458
- Description: Rural education, particularly in the Global South, faces distinct challenges flowing from low socio-economic conditions, limited resources, and inadequate funding. These issues notably affect rural teachers’ abilities to deliver quality education. Although technology integration offers potential benefits and rural teachers have increased access to various technologies, they frequently adopt these tools spontaneously without guidelines. While many teachers in rural schools choose specific technologies to address teaching challenges, technology has to be integrated with a clear pedagogical intent. The rural teachers’ frequent adoption of technologies hints at technological pedagogical content knowledge (TPACK) development, consciously or unconsciously. However, the process of developing this expertise remains largely unknown. Furthermore, the development of TPACK among teachers in rural Global South schools, particularly those who did not receive formal or informal technology training during their initial teacher education or professional development, remains unclear. Therefore, this research delved into the practices, factors, and experiences influencing the development of TPACK, all from the perspective of Life Sciences teachers in rural schools. The voices of teachers in rural regions have been notably absent in the broader discourse of TPACK research, making the current study’s insights particularly significant. This qualitative and investigative study, located within the interpretivist paradigm, is grounded in Vygotsky’s (1978) socio-cultural theory and Koehler and Mishra’s (2006) Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge framework. Seven Life Sciences teachers participated in the study. The teacher participants were purposively sampled from schools in the Joe Gqabi district in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa. Multiple data-generation instruments were employed. These included a questionnaire, semi-structured interviews, lesson observations, and sharing circle discussions. A thematic analysis approach, guided by the study’s dual theoretical perspective, was applied to dissect and analyse the data. The study’s findings challenged the prevailing assumption that rural schools lack access to technological resources, unveiling that rural Life Sciences teachers in this research had access to diverse educational technologies. Nevertheless, despite improved technology accessibility, these teachers predominantly employed ‘simple skill-based’ technologies for content delivery, resulting in limited learner engagement. Notwithstanding the challenges posed by inadequate school infrastructure, limited electricity access, and poor Internet connectivity, this investigation found that Life Sciences teachers in rural settings who lack formal technology integration training demonstrated enthusiasm for incorporating technology into their teaching methods. Furthermore, these teachers exhibited strength in non-technological TPACK domains, such as content knowledge (CK), pedagogical knowledge (PK), and pedagogical content knowledge (PCK), while demonstrating limited expertise in technology-related domains, such as technological knowledge (TK), technological pedagogical knowledge (TPK), and technological pedagogical content knowledge (TPACK). The study uncovered nuanced factors, practices, and experiences contributing to TPACK development among rural Life Sciences teachers. These include learning from their learners, collaborating with peers, and engaging in self-directed learning. The study also proposed a new theoretical perspective to the existing TPACK framework to cater for technology integration in rural school contexts. Overall, this research provided a unique perspective on TPACK development in rural schools, particularly in the Global South. The study recommended targeted investments in professional development, promoting peer collaboration, and fostering a culture of self-directed learning. Furthermore, the current research emphasised the importance of recognising the evolving educational landscape as a two-way knowledge exchange between teachers and learners to foster TPACK development in rural schools. , Thesis (PhD) -- Faculty of Education, Secondary and Post-School Education, 2024
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2024-10-11
An exploration of working with grade 11 life sciences educators on the use of Virtual Lab to mediate learning of energy transformations
- Authors: Shambare, Brian
- Date: 2021-04
- Subjects: Life sciences -- Study and teaching (Secondary) -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Energy conversion -- Study and teaching , Educational technology -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Teaching -- Aids and devices , Virtual Lab
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MEd
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/174388 , vital:42473
- Description: The Department of Basic Education (DBE) examiners’ diagnostic reports for 2012-2019 indicate that National Senior Certificate (NSC) learners mostly perform poorly in examination questions based on scientific investigations. The low performance by learners in these questions has been attributed to the failure by teachers to effectively mediate the learning of scientific concepts due to lack of science laboratories or poorly resourced laboratories in most rural schools. As a result, most learners are finding that scientific concepts are decontextualized and hence abstract. Thus, this study explored making use of Virtual Lab to mediate learning of scientific investigations using the topic Energy transformations. The study was located within an interpretive paradigm and a qualitative case study approach was employed. The study was conducted in four different rural schools in the Joe Gqabi district and seven Grade 11 Life Sciences teachers participated. Data was generated using semi-structured questionnaires, semi-structured interviews, lesson observation, workshop discussions, and journal reflections. The study was informed by Vygotsky’s (1978) Socio-Cultural Theory (SCT) as the theoretical framework, and Thompson and Mishra’s (2006) Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPACK) as the analytical framework. The results of this study showed that most educators have a positive predisposition towards the integration of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) in their practice. The study found that using the Virtual Lab to teach Life Sciences has several benefits such as safe environment for conducting experiments; convenience and accessibility; positive teacher and learner attitudes and improvement on learner performance; elimination of physical limitations of a real lab; and availability top-class lab equipment and up-to-date reagents. The study also revealed some shortcomings that were associated with the use of the Virtual Lab. These are; lack of lab partner and peer-learning; and lack of direct supervision by a more knowledgeable facilitator. This study concluded that using the Virtual Lab enhances the quality of teaching scientific experiments in the selected under-resourced rural secondary schools. The study recommends the adoption of the Virtual Lab as a viable alternative to the conventional lab.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2021-04
- Authors: Shambare, Brian
- Date: 2021-04
- Subjects: Life sciences -- Study and teaching (Secondary) -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Energy conversion -- Study and teaching , Educational technology -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Teaching -- Aids and devices , Virtual Lab
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MEd
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/174388 , vital:42473
- Description: The Department of Basic Education (DBE) examiners’ diagnostic reports for 2012-2019 indicate that National Senior Certificate (NSC) learners mostly perform poorly in examination questions based on scientific investigations. The low performance by learners in these questions has been attributed to the failure by teachers to effectively mediate the learning of scientific concepts due to lack of science laboratories or poorly resourced laboratories in most rural schools. As a result, most learners are finding that scientific concepts are decontextualized and hence abstract. Thus, this study explored making use of Virtual Lab to mediate learning of scientific investigations using the topic Energy transformations. The study was located within an interpretive paradigm and a qualitative case study approach was employed. The study was conducted in four different rural schools in the Joe Gqabi district and seven Grade 11 Life Sciences teachers participated. Data was generated using semi-structured questionnaires, semi-structured interviews, lesson observation, workshop discussions, and journal reflections. The study was informed by Vygotsky’s (1978) Socio-Cultural Theory (SCT) as the theoretical framework, and Thompson and Mishra’s (2006) Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPACK) as the analytical framework. The results of this study showed that most educators have a positive predisposition towards the integration of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) in their practice. The study found that using the Virtual Lab to teach Life Sciences has several benefits such as safe environment for conducting experiments; convenience and accessibility; positive teacher and learner attitudes and improvement on learner performance; elimination of physical limitations of a real lab; and availability top-class lab equipment and up-to-date reagents. The study also revealed some shortcomings that were associated with the use of the Virtual Lab. These are; lack of lab partner and peer-learning; and lack of direct supervision by a more knowledgeable facilitator. This study concluded that using the Virtual Lab enhances the quality of teaching scientific experiments in the selected under-resourced rural secondary schools. The study recommends the adoption of the Virtual Lab as a viable alternative to the conventional lab.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2021-04
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