The design and use of a data base for the teaching of history at primary school level
- Authors: Paul, James R M
- Date: 1994
- Subjects: Education -- Data processing History -- Study and teaching (Elementary) -- Data processing Computer-assisted instruction
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MEd
- Identifier: vital:1490 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1003371
- Description: The changes brought about by society's move from an industrial to an information society has brought with it changes in the way that society operates - from the way we do business to the way we entertain ourselves and, increasingly, in the way we educate our children. That the society of tomorrow requires new skills to survive and operate had been, and continues to be, debated in a growing number of books and in the popular media. More and more educationists are calling for schools to 'restructure' so as to be able to provide the skills that this new society requires, especially those related to the management of information. The nature of these skills are discussed, together with the potential provided by information technology, particularly computers, to provide them. The current use of computers in schools is addressed, together with the apparent inability of schools to generate effective change from within using in-service training. The researcher suggests that this makes it imperative that teacher training institutions provide the next generation of teacher-trainees with a thorough understanding of the requirements of an information society and the tools that it uses. The research undertaken attempted to provide final year primary education teacher-trainees with one example of the way in which the electronic database can be used to change the teaching of history. By researching in the field and entering data into a data base, the teacher-trainees were able to look at information in new ways. By selecting and sorting data by different fields, they were able to act as ' true' historians - each interacting with the data in his or her own way to extract knowledge that is arguably unique for each participant. The data base was then used with a class of standard four pupils, with the researcher acting as participant observer. The reactions and responses of the pupils to the data was noted and these are discussed in the results . A non-participant observer, also a primary school history -teacher, provided input with respect to the validity of the learning experience and to act as a control. The research is described, together with the observations of the researcher, teacher-trainees and pupils involved. The observations of the non-participant observer are also discussed. Shortfalls and difficulties encountered are pointed out, and areas for further research suggested.
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- Date Issued: 1994
The need for a multicultural approach to mathematics curriculum design for the senior secondary school phase: a case study conducted at the Woolhope Secondary School, Port Elizabeth
- Authors: Govender, Vasuthavan Gopaul
- Date: 1994
- Subjects: Mathematics -- Curricula -- South Africa -- Case studies Multicultural education -- South Africa -- Case studies Education, Secondary -- Research -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MEd
- Identifier: vital:1676 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1003559
- Description: Multicultural countries such as England have recognised the need to multiculturalise their mathematics curricula to cater for the needs of all ethnic/cultural groups, to encourage racial harmony and have pupils of a specific culture learn about, and accord respect to, another culture (Duncan, 1986;Dyson, 1986; Gilbert, 1984). However, in South Africa, a multicultural country with its large Black majority, such an approach has not been given the necessary attention. Laridon (1990) has criticised the way in which curriculum development in mathematics is conducted in South Africa. He describes it as a "top-down" approach and based on input from non-representative samples of teachers and not taking into account the needs of all cultural groups in South Africa. He criticises the manner in which topics are added to or removed from the syllabus and calls this "syllabus tinkering". With a number of, mostly English medium, schools opening their doors to all races, it is possible that certain cultural groups are at a disadvantage when compared with others if modifications to the syllabus, to accommodate their needs, are not made. This study is a small scale case-study, conducted at Woolhope Secondary, a predominantly Indian school, but with a significant number of Black pupils (approximately 25%). The study focusses on the need for a multicultural approach to mathematics curriculum design. The views of the senior mathematics pupils and mathematics teachers are considered in this regard, and together with the relevant literature, broad guidelines for a multicultural mathematics curriculum design in South Africa are suggested.
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- Date Issued: 1994
The potential of the township landscape for fieldwork in the teaching of senior secondary school geography: a case study in Duncan Village/Gompo, East London
- Authors: King, Llewellyn
- Date: 1994
- Subjects: Geography -- Fieldwork -- Study and teaching Geography -- Study and teaching (Secondary) Children with social disabilities -- Education (Secondary) -- South Africa Duncan Village (East London, South Africa) -- Social conditions
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MEd
- Identifier: vital:1709 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1003592
- Description: The research emerged out of a need to address firsthand classroom concerns. The problem identified was that the D.E.T. geography syllabus had a Western-orientated world-view and, as such, was largely inappropriate to the experiences of township pupils. As a result, education in townships tends to maintain the status quo and the marginal position of the majority of South Africans. Recent unpublished research has shown that fieldwork is an effective compensatory tool. If fieldwork is used in the township , it can utilize the local environment which is familiar to pupils. Fieldwork, as an approach, has an additional advantage of being a vehicle for the empowerment of users. The research sets out to explore the potential of the township environment as a site in which fieldwork can be undertaken. Numerous opportunities are identified and these have been developed into fieldwork exercises. Out of the preparatory work, a need arose to establish the viability of doing township fieldwork. The concern is that, in spite of fieldwork appearing in the secondary school syllabus for a number of years, it is a largely unexplored teaching approach. This necessitated the testing and evaluation of fieldwork opportunities in the township environment. The chaotic conditions of township education impinged upon the research process, causing its premature termination. The latter part of the research process raises questions of an ethical nature. Notwithstanding these problems, several positive factors emerge; the negative aspects should not be allowed to overshadow the benefits of the research. An emancipatory action research framework is used to evaluate the research process. The study concludes by highlighting the main issues raised in the research and makes recommendations concerning topics requiring further investigation.
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- Date Issued: 1994
The use of a database to improve higher order thinking skills in secondary school biology: a case study
- Authors: Phipps, Owen Dudley
- Date: 1994
- Subjects: Education -- Data processing Biology -- Study and teaching (Secondary) -- Data processing Biology -- Study and teaching -- Data processing -- Case studies
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MEd
- Identifier: vital:1810 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1003696
- Description: The knowledge explosion of the last decade has left education in schools far behind. The emphasis in schools must change if they are to prepare students for their future lives. Tertiary institutions as well as commerce and industry need people who have well-developed cognitive skills. A further requirement is that the school leaver must have skills pertaining to information processing. The skills that are required are those which have been labelled higher order thinking skills. The work of Piaget, Thomas and Bloom have led to a better understanding of what these skills actually are. Resnick sees these skills as being: nonalgorithmic; complex; yielding multiple solutions; involving nuanced judgements; involving the application of multiple criteria; involving uncertainty; involving self-regulation of the thinking process; imposing meaning and being effortful. How these can be taught and the implication of doing so are considered by the researcher. The outcome of this consideration is that higher order - thinking entails communication skills, reasoning, problem solving and self management. The study takes the form of an investigation of a particular case: whether a Biology field trip could be used as a source of information, which could be handled by a computer, so that higher order thinking skills could be acquired by students. Students were instructed in the use of a Database Management System called PARADOX. The students then went on an excursion to a Rocky Shore habitat to collect data about the biotic and abiotic factors pertaining to that ecosystem. The students worked in groups sorting data and entering it into the database. Once all the data had been entered the students developed hypotheses and queried the database to obtain evidence to substantiate or disprove their hypotheses. Whilst this was in progress the researcher obtained data by means of observational field notes, tape recordings, evoked documents and interviews. The qualitative data was then arranged into classes to see if it showed that the students were using any of the higher order thinking skills. The results showed that the students did use the listed higher order thinking skills whilst working on the database.
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- Date Issued: 1994
Towards the development of an environmental curriculum for members of the planning professions
- Authors: Long, Stanford Staples
- Date: 1994
- Subjects: Ecology -- Policy Education -- Environmental aspects Curriculum planning -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MEd
- Identifier: vital:1802 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1003687
- Description: In exercising their professional duties professional planners inevitably impact on the environment. In the past, more often than not, this impact has been allowed to occur without sufficient forethought, and usually to the detriment of the environment. In this research it is proposed that this undesirable state of affairs arises from inadequacies within the professional education of the planners, and that greater emphasis on the environmental education of planners is called for. From the perspective of a participative approach to curriculum development, the opinions of professional planners in the Port Elizabeth area were canvassed to establish baseline data in respect of their environmental education needs. To provide further information and a background against which the perceptions of the professional planners could be assessed, the opinions of the learned societies of the planning professions and of key environmentalists were also sought. In all these opinion surveys postal questionnaires formed the basis of the methodology employed. The extent of environmental education presently available to professional planners at tertiary institutions in South Africa and overseas, with particular emphasis on that available in the civil engineering discipline, was also investigated. The surveys revealed a strongly felt need for environmental education within the planning professions. The natural environment, the social environment, environmental ethics and interdisciplinary action all emerged as acceptable themes of the said education. A number of environmental topics to be covered were also identified. Block-release and part-time courses emerged as the most popular format for such environmental education offerings. The limited environmental education practice within the civil engineering discipline at South African tertiary institutions was noted, and the overseas practice in this regard provided useful insights. The data gathered as outlined above, formed the basis from which proposals towards an environmental curriculum for professional planners were made. Although these proposals focused primarily on the civil engineering discipline within the ambit of technikon-based educational programmes, wider multi-disciplinary applications remained an important concern. In the first instance, proposals aimed at expanding the environmental component of the existing first-qualification course were suggested. Secondly, proposals in respect of a post-first qualification, interdisciplinary, environmental study programme leading to a technikon degree were formulated.
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- Date Issued: 1994