Despite being exposed to the Learner-Centred Approach (LCA) through
traditional teacher professional development since 2000, teachers in Tanzania have
generally failed to implement LCA in secondary schools. However, previous studies
on the learning study in different parts of the world have shown encouraging results
in developing teachers’ competencies. This study investigates how the learning study
guided by the variation theory can enhance teachers’ competencies using the LCA in
Tanzania secondary schools. It addresses two questions: what are the changes of
teachers’ understanding of LCA through learning study rounds in a Tanzanian
secondary school? And, what are the changes of teachers’ capability of
implementing LCA through learning study rounds in bringing about student learning
in a Tanzanian secondary school?
A group of three teachers (John, Benja & Peter) in a school implemented
learning studies for a period of one year. All forms two (N= 255) and three (N=240)
students took part in three research lessons. The study adopted case study and
phenomenographic research approaches. It used teachers’ interview protocols, lesson video recordings, lesson preparatory meetings, teacher’s journals, and students’ tests
as research instruments. The teachers’ experiences and implemention of the LCA
were studied before and during the three rounds of learning studies. Data were
analysed using variation framework and SPSS version 16.0 for students’ tests.
The study has two main findings. First, teachers involved in the three
learning study rounds changed their understanding of LCA. They changed from
seeing LCA as methodological (before the learning study) to treating it as subject
content and even as far as seeing it as object of learning (during the learning studies)
orientations. These changes were gradual and differed slightly, depending on the
particular aspect(s) (the method, the content or the object of learning) a teacher
focused more on than other aspects at a given time.
Second, guided by the variation theory through learning studies, teachers’
capability to implement LCA improved progressively in slightly different ways,
which in turn improved student learning. The teachers changed from simply making
classroom pedagogical arrangements before the learning study to engaging the
learners in either the content or the object of learning and enabling them to discern
critical aspects of the objects of learning in terms of variation and invariance of those
aspects during the learning studies.
The study concludes that implementing learning study - guided by the
variation theory - may be effective in enhancing teachers’ ways of conceiving and
practicing LCA with a primary focus on student learning. In addition, as teachers
increase their understanding of learning study and the use of variation theory they
may advance their understandings in designing and teaching LCA lessons, thereby
increasing possibilities for student learning. Such a conclusion lends credence to
the variation theory which purports that powerful ways of acting originates from
powerful ways of seeing. It also extends this theory to teacher learning of the LCA
pedagogy. / published_or_final_version / Education / Doctoral / Doctor of Philosophy
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:HKU/oai:hub.hku.hk:10722/146125 |
| Date | January 2011 |
| Creators | Msonde, Charles Enock. |
| Contributors | Pang, MF |
| Publisher | The University of Hong Kong (Pokfulam, Hong Kong) |
| Source Sets | Hong Kong University Theses |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | PG_Thesis |
| Source | http://hub.hku.hk/bib/B47229858 |
| Rights | The author retains all proprietary rights, (such as patent rights) and the right to use in future works., Creative Commons: Attribution 3.0 Hong Kong License |
| Relation | HKU Theses Online (HKUTO) |
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