M.Ed. / The goal of this research study was to provide psycho-educational guidelines that will facilitate a positive experience of physical science for grade 10 learners. The stakeholders in this research study were grade 10 physical science learners and grade 10 physical science educators. A positive experience of physical science is important for various reasons. One reason is that there is a declining interest in learners pursuing scientific careers (Lepkowska, 1996:33). The main reason for this is that learners do not feel they are able to master the subject. They often do not understand what they are being taught in class and how it is applicable to their lives. Learners therefore experience a “love/hate” relationship with the subject – when they do well in the subject they like it and when they achieve poorly, they hate it. This complex relationship is often misunderstood by physical science educators. Educators often do not realise how they can change learners’ experience of the subject. It was one of the main aims of this research study to provide educators with practical guidelines on how to facilitate a positive experience of physical science. Three main themes were identified during the research: 1. Grade 10 learners’ experience of physical science is related to the psychosocial characteristics of the learner and his/her interaction with the environment. 2. Grade 10 learners’ experience of physical science is related to the method of instruction or the teaching method thereof in the classroom. 3. Grade 10 learners’ experience of physical science is related to the educators’ attitude, words and actions towards learners during the teaching of physical science.These three themes can be further substantiated by the following categories: • The feedback loop between the learners’ ability to understand physical science and their self-image in the presence of other learners. • Learners experience a love-hate relationship with physical science influenced by their ability to understand the subject. • Implementing practical activities such as experiments, practical assignments and attending science outings makes the subject more interesting, fun and able to understand. • Group activities in learning about physical science adds to the experience of it being fun and enable learners to learn more about others. • Physical science taught by relating its meaning in the learners "real life" is more interesting and easier to understand. • A context created where learners feel "comfortable with the teacher" promotes the approachability of the educator. • Disrespectful practices demonstrated by educators, lead to a negative experience of physical science. • Educators verbalising work pressure and showing stress related to the teaching of physical science increase the pressure and stress learners experience about the subject. Recommendations that could assist learners’ achievement in physical science should focus on facilitating a positive experience of the subject. It should takethe themes and categories of this study into consideration. Some important recommendations are: • Further research is required to find appropriate ways to enable educators and curriculum designers to successfully build systematic understanding of science through everyday knowledge and interests of learners. • The current physical science curriculum is national or universal but it should be locally defined. The curriculum should respond to local interests and needs. Science education will then be of immediate use to the learners and promote concept development that is more effective. It will also result in greater achievement of “critical outcomes” like problem solving, critical thinking, application of knowledge and teamwork. • Further research is needed to explain the negative correlation between learners’ attitude and perceptions towards physical science and their achievement in the subject. • The context of the physical science classroom has to be investigated to identify what the nature and style of teaching and activities are that engage learners in physical science. • More research is needed to examine instructional strategies in the classroom for improving all learners’ experience of physical science and achievement in science. The researcher experienced the research as very fulfilling and challenging. She realised that there are numerous possibilities within the physical science classroom where educators can influence their learners’ achievement.

The purpose of this study was to examine the classroom practices of the Physical Science educators and analyze how these practices influence deep conceptual learning and understanding. Four secondary schools in the Pietermaritzburg area, in the province of KwaZulu-Natal were selected as cases for in-depth qualitative study. All the schools were African schools servicing a working class community. From each school only one educator participated, and each educator was observed teaching one of his/her classes. Two educators were observed teaching Grade 12 learners and the other two taught Grade 11 learners. The study utilized participant observation, interviews and relevant documents as source of data. The main findings of the study suggest that educator practices were predominantly traditional. They were characterized by lack of effective interactions with learners, dealing with surface features of the content without probing for depth necessary for understanding. It was also found that schools lack a culture of resource development. Though resources were inadequate, the little that educators had was not effectively utilized. The educators seemed to be shifting towards employing a variety of assessment methods, but the difference was still superficial. The findings have implications for policy, practice and in-service training of educators (INSET). Evidence suggests that educators' beliefs have a major influence on how they teach, and that unsound beliefs about teaching and learning are a threat to the implementation of policy. INSET programmes need to target the beliefs of educators about science teaching and learning. / Thesis (M.Ed.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2004.

The Curriculum Assessment Policy Statement (CAPS) for all approved subjects is the result of changes brought to the curriculum that was introduced in 1997. The review of the previous curricula has resulted in the National Curriculum Statement for Grade R-12. The changes in the curriculum were inspired by the Constitution of South Africa (Act 108 of 1996) which aims to “heal the divisions of the past and establish a society based on democratic values, social justice and fundamental human rights” (DBE, 2011a, p. 1). The curriculum aims to ensure that children acquire and apply knowledge and skills in ways that are meaningful to their own lives. The National Curriculum Statement for Physical Sciences aimed to produce learners that are able to “Identify and solve problems and make decisions using critical and creative thinking; collect, analyse, organise and critically evaluate information and use science and technology effectively and critically showing responsibilities towards the environment and the health of others” (DBE, 2011a, p. 8). The aim of this study was to investigate the implementation of CAPS in the Physical Sciences in Grade 10 with particular emphasis on the use of practical work. Two secondary schools, both former Model C schools were used as research sites. Two Physical Sciences teachers and their respective learners participated. The research method used was a case study. The instrument used to collect data was an interview schedule and an observation schedule. Two teachers were interviewed using an interview schedule which consisted of open and closed ended questions. Classroom observation of the practical lessons was conducted with an observation schedule. The data obtained through these instruments was analysed using an interpretive approach. The findings of the research reveal that one school in the sample was not adequately resourced to conduct practical work. The outcome of this study would enable education officials to have an insight of challenges (e.g. lack of resources, larges class sizes, etc.), that are experienced by teachers in respect of the implementation of practical work in schools.

A research report submitted to the Faculty of Science, University of the Witwatersrand, in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Masters of Science Johannesburg, 22 February 2013 / Research suggests that effective teaching and learning of physical sciences for conceptual understanding involves link-making. Learners make connections between prior knowledge and new ideas and/or between ideas and experiences. Meanwhile the teacher mediates the process of meaning making for learners. My study examined how I mediated learner link-making between what they experienced during practical work and the concepts learnt in theory lessons. I wanted to understand how I help learners make links and explore ways of improving my mediation of link-making for my learners. The self-study research design was used for data collection and Scott, Mortimer & Ametller’s (2011) concept of pedagogical link-making to support knowledge building was used to analyse the data. My findings show that I drew on the full range of pedagogical link-making approaches to promote knowledge building. However, I did not draw equally on all the approaches. There are six approaches to pedagogical link-making to support knowledge building: making links between every-day and scientific ways of explaining ; making links between scientific concepts ; making links between scientific explanations and real world phenomena ; making links between modes of representation ; moving between different scales and levels of explanations and analogical link-making. In all the lessons I used two of the approaches, making links between every-day and scientific ways of explaining and making links between scientific concepts while the other four were used less often. I drew some insights from my practice which could be shared with other science teachers. For instance, in planning their lessons, science teachers should think about how they will make links for their learners between their practical activities and the science concepts covered in theory lessons. They need to think about the most appropriate analogies and examples that can help learners make successful links between observations and science content knowledge. Teachers should be aware of specific concepts to target for the link-making so as to promote deeper understanding of the concepts.

Not available / text

The purpose of this study was to explore Physical Science learners' conceptions of nature of science. Grade ten learners were the focus in this study. They were the second group of learners who had experienced outcomes-based education in the General Education and Training band. The main research question that framed this study was: What are grade ten Physical Science learners' conceptions of nature of science? In order to answer the key research question this study also attempted to determine if learners held contemporary views of nature of science as accepted by the scientific community and as required by the new Natural Sciences curriculum and if there were differences in conceptions between groups such as male and female or different cultural groups namely Black and Indian learners. The research was conducted using a mixed methods approach where both qualitative and quantitative data were gathered. This study is embedded in a survey design. Quantitative data was obtained by administering a survey questionnaire to 190 grade ten Physical Science learners from seven different schools. Qualitative data was obtained from an open-format questionnaire, using a number of science-based scenarios, that was administered to a single class. The purpose was to obtain a deeper understanding of learners' nature of science conceptions in action. The findings of this study indicated that learners had mixed conceptions of nature of science. They possessed contemporary conceptions for certain aspects of nature of science but others were rooted in positivism. The results of this study concurred with the abundant international literature on nature of science. The findings have also revealed that there were significant differences for certain aspects of nature of science between the groups. Indian and Black learners had different conceptions for certain aspects of nature of science and so did the males and females. The intention of this study was to provide baseline data and guidance to teachers on what conceptions or alternate conceptions learners have about nature of science. Limited research exists on nature of science in South Africa. This study opens up the possibility of more detailed research into learners' views on nature of science within the new reforms of our South African science curriculum. / Thesis (M.Ed.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2009.

The work attempts to identify the general conceptual problems of the generations of Black students who pass through flrst year physics courses at the University of Fort Hare. In particular the alternative conceptions of students in the area of direct current electricity are investigated, using various techniques including written diagnostic tests. The main method used in the investigation of the student frameworks is the personal interview. A varied number of inappropriate conceptions are identifled in the students in significantly large proportions, and these are found to be dependent on many factors; for example the socio-cultural background like language and its metaphors, and media images. It is established that some of these are exacerbated by student perceptions about the nature of physics and of the scientific enterprise in general. Certain proposals are made about how to remedy the situation; relying mainly on the recently established innovative instructional strategies like conceptual change and cognitive conflict, and on making proposals about restructuring certain forms of presentation of the subject matter, paying attention to how language is used to address the speciflc problems of the students. The importance of providing practical experiences for the students is also emphasised

This research report documented in this thesis focused mainly on the participation of grade 9 girls during practical work in the topic of ‘Electricity’ in Physical Science lessons at Mwatya (pseudonym) Junior Secondary School in Ohangwena region of Namibia. The study was triggered by the lack of participation of girls during practical work. Underpinned by an interpretive paradigm, the study took the form of a qualitative case study and my unit of analysis was girls’ participation during practical work on electricity in particular. The perceptions and experiences of girls about practical work in Physical Science were investigated using the administered questionnaires. The participation of girls during practical work was further explored using interviews (semi-structured and focus group interviews) and observations of selected girls. A thematic approach to data analysis was adopted. The qualitative data from the audio and video transcripts were analysed according to the categories developed and themes that emerged from the analysis process. The categories developed for presenting the data are: teaching methods preferred by girls; importance and roles of practical activities; things that girls enjoy during practical activities; problems experienced by girls during practical activities; preference for doing practical work in groups or as an individual task; if practical work given in groups should the sex of learners be considered or not; activities preferred by girls when they are in single sex and in mixed sex groups; factors that enable girls to participate; and factors that prevent girls from participating. The study found that girls’ perceptions about practical work affect their participation during practical work in the topic of Electricity. It also revealed different factors that contribute to either good or poor participation of girls, namely, factors such as mixed-sex group-work, limited science prior experience (knowledge), unequal treatment from teachers during lessons and home environment were identified as contributing to poor participation. Girls however suggested some factors that they think could enable them to participate freely and actively during practical work. In view of these findings, this study recommends that teacher training institutions should train teachers to plan practical work in a gender sensitive manner. Schools should be provided with enough materials as sharing materials can contribute to poor participation of girls during practical work especially when they are in mixed groups with boys. There is a need for science teachers to assess the learning taking place during practical work and, finally, textbook suppliers should be monitored in a way that enables the supply of gender sensitive printed materials.

In traditional science education, lecture-style presentation dominates. There is a call, however, to integrate a greater amount of inquiry and discovery into the science classroom, specifically utilizing new media and technology. To answer that call, an undergraduate team created a tablet application for primary students, which was designed to supplement instruction in the physical sciences. The app was then taken into the classroom to test for efficacy. The primary students’ test scores showed a significant increase after use of the tablet application. Grade level and school location did affect change in test score; whereas, gender, type of school, student IEP, and iPad use did not. The undergraduate team who designed the app also showed significant increase in concept knowledge after the project in specific topic areas. / Literature review -- Methodology and results for undergraduate study -- iPad application : the product -- Methodology and results for primary student study -- Implications and recommendations. / Department of Chemistry

The most important question addresed in this study was whether there is any difference in student learning between a motion group and a non-motion group. The interactive video courseware is currently a part of the curriculum in this district. It was used in its original form with the contrast group. For the experimental group one unit of the courseware was modified to remove the motion video and replace it with photorealistic graphics that served as the non-motion part of the study. Covariates were selected to compensate for any differences in the two groups. A pretest and posttest was administered to both groups. Analysis of the posttest scores indicated that there was no difference in learning if motion in the presentation was the only variable.