Professional development (PD) of teachers is part of the Department of Basic Education‘s (DBE) initiative to encourage school communities to use of information and communication technology (ICT) to improve the quality of Mathematics teaching and learning. The South African Council of Educators stipulates that PD programmes should align with system-wide needs, strengthen learning area content and outcomes, and promote system transformation. Imbedded in this system-wide criterion is The White Paper on e-Education to employ a fully ICT integrated system at all levels of education: management, teaching and learning, and administration by 2013. Mathematics teachers require PD that develops their technological pedagogical and content knowledge (TPACK) and their social professional identity (SPI). The PD of Mathematics teachers for ICT integration can assist the DBE to achieve the aims of The White Paper on e-Education and bridge the technology gap between South Africa and international education systems. Open distance learning (ODL) could be a viable method to deliver PD to Mathematics teachers to address their zone of proximal development, develop their TPACK, and establish and maintain their SPI. This study made use of a fully mixed sequential equal status multi-mode research design and methodologies to develop guidelines for the PD of Mathematics teachers in the pedagogical use of ICT in ODL. The qualitative phase (Phase I) was rooted in the interpretivist paradigm. Through an adjustable exploration of a systematic literature review, the researcher identified 23 core documents, analysed them with Atlas.ti™, and conceptualised four themes according to Engeström‘s third generation activity theory (AT). Phase II (radical exploration phase) of the research design was rooted in the radical structuralist paradigm. In the context of transformation, it developed, validated, and standardised a research instrument for the measurement of Mathematics teachers‘ PD requirements. The instrument was distributed to 300 senior phase (grades 7-9) Mathematics teachers in eight education management district centres of the WCED. The analyses of the quantitative data conceptualised a fifth activity system. The five activity systems from the adjustable and radical exploration phases were symbiotic, and co-dependent. Expansive learning was used for boundary crossing and network building during six phases of this study. The findings from the six phases of the expansive learning cycle indicated that PD of Mathematics teachers in ODL for Phase III implementation of the e-Education policy should be a joint initiative. Fundamentally ICT integration and implementation should start with Department of Basic Education (DBE) initiatives. The DBE and Provincial Departments of Education (PDEs) should conduct a needs analysis of ICT implementation, evaluate previous ICT PD programmes, plan ICT PD strategies aligned with the ICT development plan, as well as with the requirements of the Mathematics teachers. The DBE and PDE should invest in the provision of ICT equipment, afford human capital, reinstate the laptop initiative for teachers, and supply schools with networked-computer facilities to explore online platforms for PD. Mathematics teachers should assess their professional knowledge to construct new philosophies, create a subject network group, and interact as participants and members within their social environments. The standardised instrument could be used to determine and compare the PD of Mathematics teachers in other provinces and contexts. / PhD (Training and development), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2014

As theories on the process of reading have advanced so definitional changes have resulted. This in turn has impacted on the teaching of reading. Comprehension is not the result of successful word recognition, rather, meaning is constructed by the reader using various sources as a frame of reference. Reading requires an interaction between the reader, the text read and the context in vvhich it is read. Reader factors involve language competencies, prior knowledge, vocabulary, the use of strategies and attitudes and motivation. The text may be narrative or expository and encompasses instructional materials. The tvvo broad categories in the context are the classroom setting and the instructional context. An 'interactive' or 'organisational' paradigm underlying inclusion recognises individual differences as being a probable cause of failure but postulates that the school and all that it encompasses, can be a barrier to learning and development. As such it is not deficit driven, attributing failure to learners alone. In the case of reading, this means not attributing reading failure to the reader alone but acknowledging the role of the text and the context. This point of departure is confirmed by an interactive model of disability, which, while still explaining reading deficits, advances that alternative areas also be investigated. Focusing on abilities is conducive to proactivity in the prevention of barriers to learning and development. To be inclusive therefore, mainstream schools generally and classrooms specifically, will need to be reformed and restructured to be more responsive to learners experiencing barriers to learning and development. This will require enhanced teaching methods and flexible support systems. Accommodating diversity presupposes the acknowledgement of each learner's uniqueness in order to meet individual needs. This will be facilitated when in the compilation of a reading programme to meet individual needs, the reader, the text and context are matched through assessment and instruction . A reading programme to enhance the teaching of reading and thereby meet individual needs has been compiled and implemented in a mainstream, intermediate phase class. From this practical experience and the literature studied, guidelines for the teaching of reading have been formulated for teachers in the intermediate phase to use within the context of inclusion. / Educational Studies / D. Ed. (Orthopedagogics)

Text in English / In a quest to identify best practices in teaching courses in English for Specific Purposes (ESP), this study investigated effective teaching of an online English module in an Open Distance Learning (ODL) environment. Although ODL is attractive to both students and lecturers, there are significant problems regarding how learning, teaching, interaction and assessment should be conducted in this context. The problems are exacerbated by the limited knowledge of using the online systems and constraints linked to time spent on tasks. The study adopted the qualitative research approach, using a case study design and data collected from three research instruments, namely online questionnaires, an online observation schedule and a content analysis schedule. The research population in the current study comprised students, lecturers, and e-tutors based at one ODL university. In order to engender best practices of effective teaching in an ODL environment, the Community of Inquiry (Col) framework and Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD) theory were applied to the research findings of the current study. The findings indicate that effective teaching of an online English module in an ODL context could take place when content is effectively structured; assessment reflects course content; there is teamwork and collaboration amongst lecturers; students effectively interact with the material, lecturers/e-tutors, and with each other. The findings of this study add to the volume of research on best practices for effective online ESP teaching in ODL higher learning institutions. / English Studies / D. Litt. et Phil. (English)

As theories on the process of reading have advanced so definitional changes have resulted. This in turn has impacted on the teaching of reading. Comprehension is not the result of successful word recognition, rather, meaning is constructed by the reader using various sources as a frame of reference. Reading requires an interaction between the reader, the text read and the context in vvhich it is read. Reader factors involve language competencies, prior knowledge, vocabulary, the use of strategies and attitudes and motivation. The text may be narrative or expository and encompasses instructional materials. The tvvo broad categories in the context are the classroom setting and the instructional context. An 'interactive' or 'organisational' paradigm underlying inclusion recognises individual differences as being a probable cause of failure but postulates that the school and all that it encompasses, can be a barrier to learning and development. As such it is not deficit driven, attributing failure to learners alone. In the case of reading, this means not attributing reading failure to the reader alone but acknowledging the role of the text and the context. This point of departure is confirmed by an interactive model of disability, which, while still explaining reading deficits, advances that alternative areas also be investigated. Focusing on abilities is conducive to proactivity in the prevention of barriers to learning and development. To be inclusive therefore, mainstream schools generally and classrooms specifically, will need to be reformed and restructured to be more responsive to learners experiencing barriers to learning and development. This will require enhanced teaching methods and flexible support systems. Accommodating diversity presupposes the acknowledgement of each learner's uniqueness in order to meet individual needs. This will be facilitated when in the compilation of a reading programme to meet individual needs, the reader, the text and context are matched through assessment and instruction . A reading programme to enhance the teaching of reading and thereby meet individual needs has been compiled and implemented in a mainstream, intermediate phase class. From this practical experience and the literature studied, guidelines for the teaching of reading have been formulated for teachers in the intermediate phase to use within the context of inclusion. / Educational Studies / D. Ed. (Orthopedagogics)