Philosophiae Doctor - PhD / The study investigated the impact of a dialogical argumentation instructional model (DAIM) as an intervention teaching strategy to assist pre-service science teachers to implement integrated science-indigenous knowledge (IK) lessons during their seven week block teaching practice at schools in the Western Cape. This imperative is found in Specific Aim 3 of the Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statement (CAPS) of the South African School Curriculum (Department of Basics Education, 2011). The study focussed on the pre-post conceptions of pre-service science teachers’ conceptions of the nature of science and the nature of indigenous knowledge. In addition the study examined pre-service teachers’ sense of self-efficacy in deploying a dialogical argumentation instructional model to implement an integrated science-IK lesson. The sample consisted of a cohort of thirty (30) Post-graduate Certificate of Education (PGCE) students training to teach at the Further Education and Training (FET) phase of school. They were a combined class enrolled for method in Natural Sciences, Life Sciences and Physical Sciences. A mixed methods approach was used to generate quantitative and qualitative data using a series of questionnaires, reflective diaries, journals and focus group interviews. Transcripts provided a rich bank of data of which only exemplars were used to highlight trends and to illustrate how theoretical constructs were used as analytical tools. The theoretical constructs used were Toulmin’s (1958/2003) Argumentation Pattern (TAP), Ogunniyi’s (1997) Contiguity Argumentation Theory (CAT) and Banduras’ Social Cognitive Theory (1986). The findings showed that the pre-service teachers appeared to overestimate their sense of self-efficacy (i.e. the ease and comfort) in using DAIM to implement a science- IK curriculum at the pre-test than at the post-test. The study also identified important implications for policy, teacher training programmes, teaching practice, pre-service science teachers, learners and further research. Furthermore, the pre-service reflective experiences indicated their increased awareness of the challenges and successes related to using dialogical argumentation to integrate a science-IK lesson. The most important contribution of this study to an argumentation paradigm was the emergence of a visual model called the Pyramid Argumentation Model that succinctly connected the apparent disparate module units in a holistic way (To be discussed in follow-up reports). The findings revealed numerous complexities as the participants navigated their own cosmologies of a scientific worldview and that of their indigenous knowledge worldview. Finally, the findings have not only corroborated the findings in earlier studies with respect to the merits and demerits of argumentation instruction but also identified various challenges that prospective and even practicing teachers might encounter in an attempt to make school science relevant to the sociocultural environment of learners especially those living in indigenous or traditional societies like the participants in this study.

Magister Educationis - MEd / Over the last 15 years the Department of Education has rolled out various projects in an attempt to improve Mathematics and Science results and to increase the amount of learners who exit their schooling with those subjects. The 2010 - 2014 matric results show a decrease in the number of students who exiting with Science. One of the factors that might influence the learners' decision to do science can be ascribed to the methodologies that the teachers are using to teach Science. In response to the latter, this study investigated the cognitive shifts of grade two learners' conceptual knowledge of the day and night cycle after being exposed to a Dialogical Argumentation Based Instructional Model. The Contiguity Argumentation Theory (CAT) and Toulmin's Argumentation Pattern (TAP) were used as a framework to capture and interrogate learners' arguments with argumentation frames developed to categorize the learners’ argument responses. Analytical approaches were used to assess learners' argumentation skills along four stages namely intra-argumentation, inter-argumentation, whole class discussion and trans-argumentation. The study employed both quantitative and qualitative methods. The data was collected from grade 2 learners in a primary school in Cape Town, Western Cape Province in the form of a pre-post questionnaire, focus group interviews and classroom observation. The major findings of this study indicated that ● The Dialogical Argumentation Instructional model can assist learners to develop argumentative skills. ● The grade two learners in this study had alternative conceptions regarding the day and night cycle which is not scientifically valid. ● The views that learners hold are egocentric. ● DAIM is an effective teaching strategy to help learners to eliminate the misconceptions This study has shown that the Dialogical Argumentation Instructional Model (DAIM) seems to be effective in enhancing the learners’ understanding of the day and night cycle. / National Research Foundation

Magister Educationis - MEd / The clamour in the country about the poor performance of learners in the area of physical science is a concern and this problem had been attributed to different facets of learning which include the amendment of curriculum over the years. But my question is; can the curriculum amendment succeed without effective teaching approaches? This poignant question formed the central concern for this investigation. This study examined two cohorts of grade seven learners’ conceptions of conservation of energy using a Dialogical Argumentation Instructional Model (DAIM) as well as the Traditional Lecture Method (TLM). The study involved 48 learners selected from two public schools in Cape Town. Using a quasi-experimental (Non-equivalent groups) design, the study examined the two groups from different schools (24 learners in each). It exposed one group to the Traditional Lecture Method (TLM) and the other group to a Dialogical Argumentation Instructional Model (DAIM) which was based on two argumentation frameworks– Toulmin’s Argumentation Pattern (TAP) and Contiguity Argumentation Theory (CAT).

<p><span style="font-size:12.0pt / line-height:150% / font-family: &quot / Times New Roman&quot / ,&quot / serif&quot / mso-bidi-font-family:&quot / Times New Roman&quot / mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi / mso-bidi-font-weight:bold">The basic premise of this study was that when a learner is confronted with two contradictory explanations of the same phenomenon, there is cognitive dissonance in the learner as the learner tries to determine which of the two explanations is correct. An argumentation-based instructional intervention programme (ABIIP) was created for and used on and by the Grade 10 learners in order to attempt to ameliorate this cognitive conflict. </span><span style="font-size:12.0pt / line-height:150% / font-family: &quot / Times New Roman&quot / ,&quot / serif&quot / mso-bidi-font-family:&quot / Times New Roman&quot / mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi">The purpose of this study was to determine the relative impact of that intervention programme on Grade 10 learners&rsquo / conceptions of lightning and thunder. The programme was designed to help learners to develop argumentative skills and use the acquired skills to negotiate and harmonise divergent and conflicting explanations of the nature of lightning and thunder that are propounded by different worldviews (Science and indigenous knowledge).</span><span style="font-size:12.0pt / line-height:150% / font-family: &quot / Times New Roman&quot / ,&quot / serif&quot / mso-bidi-font-family:&quot / Times New Roman&quot / mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi">The research design was primarily a case study of 16 Grade 10 learners of the Xhosa ethnic group at a high school in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa. The Xhosa people are a typical example of a people whose cultural values were undermined and whose voice was silenced by the colonisers and whose local knowledge has been repressed and replaced by forms of Western privileged knowledge and understandings but who remain, deeply and resolutely, steeped in their cultural values and practices, making them a classic example of a people who would battle to harmonise the indigenous and the scientific explanations of natural phenomena. The research instruments used were questionnaires which were administered to learners, educators, community leaders, indigenous knowledge holders and experts to solicit information on causes, dangers and prevention of lightning / individual and group activities as learners went through the lessons on both argumentation and on lightning / follow up interviews and discussions with learners individually or in groups to seek further clarification of the ideas the learners would have raised in their earlier responses to questionnaires or group discussions / guided and reflective essays by the learners to determine the learners&rsquo / levels of understanding of the major tenets of the two thought systems and the relationship between the two worldviews and to determine the qualitative gain, if any, that the learners got from the intervention programme / observation schedules used by the researcher during participant observation of group discussions and during the lessons on lightning / an achievement test on lightning / field notes used by the researcher for memoing observations and reflections as the research process proceeded / informal and serendipitous sources of information. <span style="font-size:12.0pt / line-height:150% / font-family: &quot / Times New Roman&quot / ,&quot / serif&quot / mso-bidi-font-family:&quot / Times New Roman&quot / mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi">The collected data were analysed, mostly, qualitatively. Frequencies, percentages and t-test values were used to express and analyse quantitative data. Aspects of several analytical frameworks that included Toulmin&rsquo / s Argumentation Pattern (TAP) [and its modified versions such as that of Leitao (2000) and that of Osborne et al (2004)] and Contiguity Argumentation Theory (CAT) were used to attach meaning to the collected data and to address the research questions.</span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12.0pt / line-height:150% / font-family: &quot / Times New Roman&quot / ,&quot / serif&quot / mso-bidi-font-family:&quot / Times New Roman&quot / mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi / mso-bidi-font-weight:bold">The basic premise of this study was that when a learner is confronted with two contradictory explanations of the same phenomenon, there is cognitive dissonance in the learner as the learner tries to determine which of the two explanations is correct. An argumentation-based instructional intervention programme (ABIIP) was created for and used on and by the Grade 10 learners in order to attempt to ameliorate this cognitive conflict. </span><span style="font-size:12.0pt / line-height:150% / font-family: &quot / Times New Roman&quot / ,&quot / serif&quot / mso-bidi-font-family:&quot / Times New Roman&quot / mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi">The purpose of this study was to determine the relative impact of that intervention programme on Grade 10 learners&rsquo / conceptions of lightning and thunder. The programme was designed to help learners to develop argumentative skills and use the acquired skills to negotiate and harmonise divergent and conflicting explanations of the nature of lightning and thunder that are propounded by different worldviews (Science and indigenous knowledge).</span><span style="font-size:12.0pt / line-height:150% / font-family: &quot / Times New Roman&quot / ,&quot / serif&quot / mso-bidi-font-family:&quot / Times New Roman&quot / mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi">The research design was primarily a case study of 16 Grade 10 learners of the Xhosa ethnic group at a high school in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa. The Xhosa people are a typical example of a people whose cultural values were undermined and whose voice was silenced by the colonisers and whose local knowledge has been repressed and replaced by forms of Western privileged knowledge and understandings but who remain, deeply and resolutely, steeped in their cultural values and practices, making them a classic example of a people who would battle to harmonise the indigenous and the scientific explanations of natural phenomena. The research instruments used were questionnaires which were administered to learners, educators, community leaders, indigenous knowledge holders and experts to solicit information on causes, dangers and prevention of lightning / individual and group activities as learners went through the lessons on both argumentation and on lightning / follow up interviews and discussions with learners individually or in groups to seek further clarification of the ideas the learners would have raised in their earlier responses to questionnaires or group discussions / guided and reflective essays by the learners to determine the learners&rsquo / levels of understanding of the major tenets of the two thought systems and the relationship between the two worldviews and to determine the qualitative gain, if any, that the learners got from the intervention programme / observation schedules used by the researcher during participant observation of group discussions and during the lessons on lightning / an achievement test on lightning / field notes used by the researcher for memoing observations and reflections as the research process proceeded / informal and serendipitous sources of information. <span style="font-size:12.0pt / line-height:150% / font-family: &quot / Times New Roman&quot / ,&quot / serif&quot / mso-bidi-font-family:&quot / Times New Roman&quot / mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi">The collected data were analysed, mostly, qualitatively. Frequencies, percentages and t-test values were used to express and analyse quantitative data. Aspects of several analytical frameworks that included Toulmin&rsquo / s Argumentation Pattern (TAP) [and its modified versions such as that of Leitao (2000) and that of Osborne et al (2004)] and Contiguity Argumentation Theory (CAT) were used to attach meaning to the collected data and to address the research questions.</span></span></p>

Magister Educationis - MEd / The research reported in this paper involves the use of dialogical argumentation in scientific context with 7-9 year olds as part of teaching and learning in primary classrooms. To develop an understanding of scientific concepts, four suitable collaborative activities on river pollution were used as a stimulus to effectively engage learners in scientific reasoning and use evidence for decision-making through cognitive harmonization. The research, involved four groups of five children each. Data were collected through analysis of children’s Water Pollution Questionnaire (WPQ), classroom observation, documentation of field notes, conversations and focus group interviews. The study found that all groups were able to engage in the activities to some extent, but that good quality argumentation develops when children are familiar with working in this manner. This study sought to investigate the opportunities, possibilities and challenges associated with a dialogical argumentation teaching and learning approach in a primary school science class A mapping technique was used to analyze the children’s discussions and identify the quality of their different “levels” of argument. This study confirmed that an argumentation based instruction was an effective way of enhancing learners’ understanding of river pollution. The learners’ listening skills improved tremendously and they were actively involve during discussions and provided claims with valid grounds or reasons. They were also very enthusiastic and challenged each other’s claims during these argumentation lessons, but most of all was the enjoyment that was visible on their young faces. Further research needs to be carried out over a longer period to determine the effectiveness of an argumentation based instruction. / South Africa

Philosophiae Doctor - PhD / The basic premise of this study was that when a learner is confronted with two contradictory explanations of the same phenomenon, there is cognitive dissonance in the learner as the learner tries to determine which of the two explanations is correct. An argumentation-based instructional intervention programme (ABIIP) was created for and used on and by the Grade 10 learners in order to attempt to ameliorate this cognitive conflict. The purpose of this study was to determine the relative impact of that intervention programme on Grade 10 learners’ conceptions of lightning and thunder. The programme was designed to help learners to develop argumentative skills and use the acquired skills to negotiate and harmonise divergent and conflicting explanations of the nature of lightning and thunder that are propounded by different worldviews (Science and indigenous knowledge).

Magister Scientiae - MSc / This study was based on the Science and Indigenous Knowledge Systems Project (SIKSP) at the School of Science and Mathematics Education, University of the Western Cape. The project seeks to enhance educators' understanding of and ability to implement a Science-IKS curriculum (Ogunniyi, 2007) through using the theoretical framework of argumentation (Toulmin Argument Pattern) to the extent that learners would value the significance of both worldviews. This study sought to find the effects of an Argumentation-Based Instruction on grade 10 learners' understanding of the causes of pollution at a river site. Since the integration of Science and IKS are envisaged by Curriculum 2005 (C2005), two theoretical argumentation constructs have been used namely, Toulmin's (1958) Argumentation Pattern (TAP) and Ogunniyi's (1995) Contiguity Argumentation Theory (CAT). / South Africa

Magister Educationis - MEd / Two grade 11 classes of two high schools in Cape Town were taught some concepts of sound by means of indigenous musical instruments. The purpose was to find out the relative effects (or none) of two instructional strategies. Toulmin (1958)’s Argumentation Pattern, Ogunniyi (1997)’s Contiguity Argumentation Theory and Reiner et al. (2000)’s Substance Schema formed the theoretical framework. A pre-post-test quasi-experimental design was employed and data collated using questionnaires, a sound conceptual test, argumentation worksheets, and classroom observation schedules. One teacher taught the experimental group using dialogical argumentation while another teacher taught the comparative group using lecturedemonstration method, coupled with the use of ICTs for duration of four weeks. Data were analysed using a mixed (quantitative and qualitative) methods approach. The findings revealed that many the learners held some scientifically valid conceptions of sound prior to formal instruction. However, the learners also held many scientifically invalid conceptions in relation to the speed of sound in air, sound propagation, and sound produced by stringed instruments. The alternative conceptions of learners in the C group remained largely unchanged after instruction, while those of the E group changed appreciably, but not completely. The E group learners changed the alternative conceptions that were worked into structured argumentation activities better than those which were not. Also, the learners in both groups seemed to hold indigenous beliefs in relation to sound which did not seem to change after instruction. Most learners had a positive attitude towards the use of indigenous knowledge in the science class. No significant difference was found between male and female learners with respect to conceptual understanding of sound, indigenous beliefs, and interest in the integration of science and indigenous knowledge.

Magister Educationis - MEd / The study employed a quasi-experimental design to determine the effect of DAIM on learners’ conceptions of lightning. The experimental group was taught using DAIM while the control group was taught the same content using TLM. Data was collected using the Science Attitude Questionnaire (SAQ), Beliefs about Lightning Questionnaire (BALQ), Conceptions of Lightning Questionnaire (COLQ) and Science Achievement Test on Lightning (SATOL) which was used to determine learners’ overall performance on the topic of electrostatics. The data was analysed using both qualitative and quantitative methods. The findings of the study revealed that prior to the intervention (DAIM); the two groups of learners had both the scientific and the indigenous knowledge about lightning. A majority of the learners believed that lightning is caused by witches and traditional doctors. After being exposed to the DAIM most of the learners in the experimental group were found to have changed to the more scientific explanation of cause of lightning and protective measures against lightning. Few learners in the control were classified as possessing an equipollent worldview in terms of the CAT after the post tests. Some learners’ conceptions about lightning wavered between the scientific and traditional worldviews. The Science Attitude Questionnaire showed that both groups of learners had a positive attitude towards science. The findings also suggested that the inclusion of indigenous knowledge in science lessons promoted active participation from the learners, reinforced the learning of science because it promoted conceptual development and scientific literacy. The learners in the study also supported the integration of the scientific and the traditional worldviews about lightning. After the instruction, the learners in both groups seemed to still hold indigenous beliefs in relation to lightning. The post-test results showed that the DAIM group seemed to have been able to link the concept of lightning with electrostatics when they related lightning storms to electric discharge. The experimental group was found to be more elaborate in their explanations of the scientific nature of lightning than the control group which was not exposed to DAIM