Text in Afrikaans / Relevante Geskiedenisonderrig in ajgelee gebiede: enkele onderrigstrategiee vir die intermediere ~kooljase is 'n didakties-pedagogiese ondersoek na die grondliggende redes waarom leerders geskiedenis nie as 'n relevante skoolvak beleefnie. Vanuit hierdie kemprobleem is drie onderliggende subprobleme ge'identifiseer, naamlik: •:• Geskiedenis is nie 'n relevante skoolvak nie; •:• Intermediere leerders in afgelee gebiede ervaar geskiedenis nie as 'n relevante skoolvak me, en •:• Die gebruik van die konvensionele onderrigmetodes in geskiedenisonderrig is onvoldoende om die relevansie van geskiedenis as 'n skoolvak vir leerders te verhoog. Die ontwikkeling van vernuwende onderrigstrategiee in geskiedenisonderrig vir intermediere leerders in ajgelee gebiede kan hulle dus help om die vakinhoud te verstaan, en tot lewenslange en gemotiveerde leerders en burgers te ontwikkel. Die hipotese kan dus aanvaar word dat die ontwikkeling van innoverende onderrigstrategiee die relevansie van geskiedenis vir die intermediere leerders in afgelee gebiede kan verhoog. / Relevant history instruction in isolated areas: Some teaching strategies for the intermediate school phase is a didactic pedagogical investigation into the basic reasons why learners at school do not experience history as a relevant school subject. From this core problem, three underlying sub-problems were identified, namely: •!• History is not a relevant school subject; •!• Intermediate learners in isolated areas do not experience history as a relevant school subject, and •!• The use of conventional teaching methods in history teaching is inadequate for increasing the relevance of history as a school subject for learners. The development of innovative teaching strategies in history instruction for intermediate learners in isolated areas can therefore enable them to understand history as a relevant school subject and to develop into permanent and motivated learners and citizens. We can therefore accept the hypothesis that the development of teaching strategies can increase the relevance of history teaching for intermediate learners at school in isolated areas. / Curriculum and Instructional Studies / M. Ed. (Didaktiek)

M.A. (Anthropology) / This study explores the role of four teachers’ communicative styles in a multilingual and multicultural classroom focusing on the role of gesture when teaching. To compare their gestural behaviour under similar conditions, I filmed four grade one teachers (two Setswana mother tongue and two Afrikaans mother tongue) teaching the mathematical concept of halving. I classified the gestures and their sematic relation to speech on ELAN using an adapted version of Colletta et al.’s (2009) coding scheme. I found gestures formed by the teachers functioned according to Tellier’s (2006) three roles of ‘teaching gestures.’ They functioned to explain, evaluate and manage. The teachers used mainly representational, performative and deictic gestures when teaching these lessons. They used similar types of gestures, but the manner in which they used their gesture as semiotic resources varied. It appeared that conceptually accurate gestures used at key stages in the learning process aided learning. When used in a conceptually accurate way gesture functioned to mediate the transition from objects to mathematical signs when testing the children’s halving skills using semiotic resources. Overall gestures functioned to integrate, supplement and complement teachers’ speech. The teachers varied cultural and linguistic backgrounds did not appear to influence their gesturing styles, but differences can be noted due to the subject matter, context and content, idiosyncratic styles (pedagogic styles) and the manner in which they structured their lesson in relation to the teaching aids used.

This study reports on the findings of my research, which was based on an intervention focused on recovery of early arithmetic strategies with one Grade 4 class of learners in a township school in Port Elizabeth in the Eastern Cape. Learners came from poor socio-economic backgrounds and initial evaluations showed that the majority of learners still relied on concrete methods, like tally counting, to perform addition and subtraction calculations even with numbers less than 10. This is not uncommon in the South African context especially with learners in low Socio-economic Status (SES) schools. The results of numerous assessments including the Department of Education’s Annual National Assessments point to a crisis in primary mathematics education where intermediate phase learners are generally operating several grade levels below the grade they are in. A large drop in mathematics performance is seen in the ANA results in grade 4 learners (the first grade of the transition from foundation phase to intermediate phase). Within this context, and my background in learning support for students, my research aimed to understand the possibilities and constraints of the implementation of a recovery program adapted from the widely implemented work of Wright et al. (2006, 2012). The primary adaptation made to the MR program involved administering the assessments and intervention with groups of (rather than individual) learners. Within the context of the many low SES under-resourced schools in SA, individualised interview based assessments and recovery is not seen as a possible remediation strategy. Drawing on a socio- constructivist perspective, my study used action research with one class of 23 learners and found that adaptation of the MR program for a group, based on eight recovery sessions, was useful for enabling some progress for all learners in terms of their early arithmetic strategies and conceptual place value. Although the need for a longer recovery period is acknowledged, the adapted program enabled some progress in levels and stages of conceptual knowledge (as conceptualized by Wright et al.’s (2006) Learning Framework in Number) for these two domains. The study concludes with some reflections and recommendations for the future.

The purpose of this study was to determine: (1) the importance first-grade teachers of San Joaquin County place on manipulative devices for the teaching of arithmetic; (2) the manipulative devices first-grade teachers of San Joaquin County have and use; and (3) the uses first-grade teachers of San Joaquin County make of manipulative devices in the teaching of arithmetic.

The outline course of study in this thesis is offered as a suggested solution of a problem which arises from an effort to adopt for the use of the seventh and eighth grades of elementary schools, books which have been written for use in the junior high school. The problem arises primarily because the two schools are organized on different plans. The older school is organized upon what is know in educational circles as the 8-4 plan. That is, eight years of study in the elementary and four years in the secondary school. The junior high school was created to bridge the gap between the eight year elementary and the four year high school, and is organized on what is known as the 6-3-3 plan.That is, six years in the elementary, three years is the junior high, and three years in the senior high school The social studies course arranged for the junior high school cover three years and the major emphasis in civics is placed in the third year. In adapting the books written for the junior high school for use in the seventh and eighth grades of the elementary school, only the books for the first and second years are used. Consequently a vert fundamental training in citizenship is omitted unless the pupil's training is continued in the high school. Even then the courses of the high school may not be coordinated with the first two years of the junior high school, in which case the pupil would again be deprived of this very essential training in citizenship. The problem is rendered still more acute from the fact that many of the pupils finishing the eighth grade of the elementary school leave school entirely. To remedy the difficulties noted in the preceding paragraphs, the following outline course of study is offered. It rearranges the material of the first and second years of the junior high school course and supplements the with the necessary training in civil government. California state adopted textbooks are used wherever possible.

This investigation emanates from the realization that Grade 3 children at schools in disadvantaged areas perform poorly in basic mathematics computations such as addition, subtraction, multiplication and division. The aim of the research was to establish the approaches teachers use when teaching mathematics computation. The qualitative approach, together with the research techniques commonly used with it, namely observation, interviews and document analysis was deemed appropriate for the investigation. The outcomes of the investigation revealed that the multilingual Grade 3 classes made it difficult to assist all children who experienced mathematics problems because teachers could not speak all the other languages that were not the language of learning (LoLT) of the school. Another obstacle that prohibited teachers from spending adequate time with children with mathematics problems was the time teachers were expected to spend on intervention programmes from the Department of Basic Education (DBE) aimed at improving schooling in general. Teachers could not make additional time that could afford children the opportunity of individual attention. With regard to the approach used for teaching mathematics, this study established that the teachers used the whole class teaching approach which is not a recommended approach because each child learns differently. It is recommended that teachers use a variety of teaching methods in order to accommodate all children and also encourage children to use concrete objects. It is also recommended that teachers involved in the SBSTs should consist only of members qualified in the subject and once these children are identified, remediation should take place promptly by their being enrolled (children) in the proposed programme. Finally, this study could benefit foundation Phase teachers in teaching mathematics based on the proposed strategy outlined after teachers’ challenges were identified. The outcome of the study could also be of value to the DBE, especially with curriculum designers. / Early Childhood Education and Development / D. Ed. (Early Childhood Education)

This study investigates how listening, as part of the literacy learning programme is planned for and taught in the grade one class. The data was produced through semi-structured interviews of five participants, who were grade one educators in the urban area of Durban, Kwa Zulu Natal. Findings suggested the many factors that accounted for why some children in the grade one class do not listen and that educators need to plan for the teaching of listening. The researcher examines the use of multiple strategies, such as teaching responsively, including stimulating tasks, reading aloud, creating a purpose for listening, setting the stage for listening and modeling as strategies to teach listening. The study ends with recommendations for the Department of Education to present workshops to educators on the teaching of listening and for module courses at colleges and universities to offer specialized courses on the teaching of listening. The aim of this research which was conducted in the urban area of Durban, Kwa Zulu Natal, was to investigate how grade one educators were planning for and teaching listening. During this study, data was produced through semi-structured interviews of five participants, who were grade one educators. Findings of this study suggest that there were many factors that accounted for why some children in the grade one class do not listen. Findings also indicated that educators need to plan for the teaching of listening. / Ed. (Didactics))

Thesis (MEd)--Stellenbosch University, 2001. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The study of three-dimensional boxes is widely regarded as a suitable topic for entry-level geometry. In order to inform teaching and curriculum design this study takes children's intuitive knowledge of boxes as point of departure to research the following aspects: • the meaning children assign to boxes • children's ability to create and manipulate mental images • children's strategies to solve a three dimensional construction problem • possible age and gender differences • the role of measurement • possible links with Van Hiele's thought levels Revised clinical interviews were conducted with groups of six to ten children. Each child could select an object from a set provided by the researcher and had to build a box from cardboard into which the object could fit. The problem-solving processes were captured on video. The children's boxes, verbal utterences and overt manipulation of the materials as well as the empirical referent objects were analised. The researcher made use of grounded theory procedure to analise and categorise the data. The research indicates that young children are not necessarily aware of the shape and structural properties of three-dimensional boxes. It is also evident that children's ability to represent properties of shape of boxes through language, drawing and hand movements does not necessarily indicate adequate understanding of the structural properties of boxes to enable them to build a box from two-dimensional materials. The research further indicates that aspects of representation that are judged to be based on lack of knowledge of conventions in a medium such as drawing, may have deeper intuitive and conceptual roots. An alternative view of childrens spatial/geometric thought on VanHiele level 0 is described based on their assignment of meaning to geometric tasks. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Drie-dimensionele houers word allerweë as geskikte konteks vir aanvangsmeetkunde-onderrig beskou. In hierdie studie word kinders se intuïtiewe begrip van alledaagse houers of bokse as vertrekpunt gebruik om die volgende aspekte te ondersoek met die oog daarop om inligting te bekom vir kurrikulering: • die betekenis wat kinders aan bokse (as meetkundige objekte) toeken • kinders se vermoë om 'n denkbeeld te skep en te manipuleer • kinders se strategieë om 'n drie-dimensionele konstruksieprobleem op te los • moontlike ouderdoms- en geslagsverskille • die rol wat meting speel wanneer 'n drie-dimensionele konstruksieprobleem opgelos word • moontlike ooreenkomste met Van Hiele-denkvlakke 'n Taakgerigte ondersoek (revised clinical interview) is met groepies van ses tot tien kinders op 'n slag gedoen. Elke kind kon 'n voorwerp kies uit 'n versameling en moes 'n houer of boks uit karton bou waarin die voorwerp kon pas. Die probleemoplossingsproses is met 'n videokamera afgeneem. Die kinders se voltooide houers, taaluitinge en overte hantering van die empiriese verwysingsvoorwerpe en die materiaal waarmee hulle gewerk het, is as data ontleed. Die navorser het gebruik gemaak van die analitiese prosesse wat beskryf word as begronde teorie-ontwikkeling om die data te ontleed en te kategoriseer. Die navorsmg hat aangetoon dat jong kinders nie noodwending bewus is van die vorm- en strukturele eienskappe van drie-dimensionele houers nie. Verder is dit duidelik dat kinders se voorstellings van veral vormeienskappe van houers deur middel van taal, handbewegings en tekeninge, nie impliseer dat hulle die nodige begrip van die struktuur het om so 'n houer uit tweedimensionele materiaal te kan vervaardig nie. Die navorsing het verder aan die lig gebring dat aspekte van kinders se ruimtelike kennis wat voorheen as aanduiding van gebrekkige kennis van konvensies beskou is, moontlik dieper konseptuele wortels het. 'n Alternatiewe beskouing van kinders se ruimtelik-meetkundige denke op Van Hiele Vlak 0 word ook voorgestel.

published_or_final_version / Language Studies / Master / Master of Arts

The purpose of this study was to: (1) ascertain how an activity/child centered approach, in conjunction with student use of manipulatives, affected the mathematics achievement of first and second graders in a rural school setting; and (2) to investigate teacher perception of the success of the specific methodology implemented in the study. The population for this study included the teachers and students in a rural Arizona K-3 elementary school. The study was longitudinal in nature and covered a two year period. The groups used during the first year of the study were first and second graders. The groups for the second year of the study were second and third graders. The K-6 teachers in the district were given an attitude questionnaire constructed to indicate teacher attitude toward worth of the program and various aspects of its implementation. Teacher mathematics lesson descriptions and perceived advantages and disadvantages of the program were also included in the attitude questionnaire. The teacher attitude questionnaires were analyzed in five parts and the findings were represented on charts. Some of the results were determined by a simple tally method and others were converted into percentages. Lesson observations were conducted in each of the six classrooms studied and the results were reported on charts. Achievement for treatment and nontreatment groups was measured by; pre- and post-testing with the Wide Range Achievement Test. T-tests were used to compare student results on the pre- and post-tests each year. In addition, a t-test comparison was made between the first year and second year with Iowa Test of Basic Skills test results. Finally, a one-way analysis of variance was done on the group receiving treatment for only one year, two years, and the non-treatment group. The combined results of the teacher attitude questions, lesson observations and achievement tests were used to make recommendations for program improvements.