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‡ The Paper discusses the theoretical underpinnings of a

framework for supporting science teachers¶ classroom practice.
‡ The development of the framework is part of a larger project
being undertaken by the School of Science and Mathematics
Education at the University of the Western Cape, as part of a
national effort to address poor performance in Science and
Mathematics in South African Schools.
‡ The University of the Western Cape is located in Cape Town.
Historically, the University catered mainly for disadvantaged
students who were marginalized by the apartheid system.
‡ Theoretical framework will inform the planned intervention
project, which is known as the Science and Indigenous
Knowledge Systems Integration Project (SIKS)
 [


National Strategy for Science, Mathematics and

Technology
(2008) Focuses on:
‡ Raising participation and performance by historically
disadvantaged learners in Seniour Certificate Mathematics
and Science
‡ Providing high quality maths, scienced and technology
education for all learners
‡ Increasing and enhancing the human resource capacity to
deliver quality MST education
  


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‡ Consistent poor perfomance of South African students

especially on international fora such as TIMMS (Howie, 1997;
Reddy, 2006)
‡ Consistent poor performance in Matric Examinations between
2000 and 2008. e.g. National endorsement rates decreased
from 18.2% to 15.1% between 2004 and 2007.

   
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South African Researchers have identified the following

factors as contributing to the poor performance of in Maths
and Science, of High School learners.
‡ Constantly changing curricula between 1996 ± 2010
brought new demands and competencies, which teachers did
not possess
‡ Poor teacher training programmes focusing on outdated
principles that are no longer relevant for the new syllabi, e.g.
Although the New Curriculum ( both the NCS and CAPS)
focus on student activities, in schools, most activities are still
largely teacher focused.
   
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Advocates for classroom conceptual change:

‡ Changing the micro-elements improves the overall
performance of the system.
‡ Improve science teacher training
‡ shorten the school syllabus
‡ re-wording the objectives to make them more
meaningful.
Problem:
The changes instituted amount to cosmetic facades.
Ignores the prevailing realities in the classrooms and
schools.

The real underlying problems are not addressed.

‡ National Curriculum Statement has been revised three
times already. The challenges remain.
   
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Alternative Approach: Holistic Change

‡ Identify the systemic elements associated with classroom
practice,
‡ Identify relational and environmental factors that impact on
the learning context
‡ Establish the relationship between the systemic elements
and their context
 !
 
 ( |
 


ouided by the realization that the whole is greater than the sum of
its parts.
‡ Embraces the application of complexity theory on educational
change
‡ Recognizes that educational change in SA today mirrors change
in society ± therefore any innovations should address societal
inequalities if it is to be effective.
‡ Complexity theory provides a tool for the analysis of systemic
change
‡ Focus on trying to understand the inter-relationships between all
system elements rather than focusing only on the concepts.
 )
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‡ The classroom environment is a dynamic non-linear environment

‡ No interval in a science lesson will be exactly the same.
‡ Success or failure of a science lesson depends largely on the
unfolding events during the lesson¶s progress. i.e. The science
lesson is in a state of becoming rather than that of being.
‡ Thus the success of a science lesson depends on the quality of
the interactions between the teacher and the students
‡ The teacher and learners constantly modify their behaviour in
response to perceived stimuli in their interactions and this leads to
re-organisation as the lesson proceeds.
‡ The behaviour of the teacher and learners is modelled around
what is permissible within the greater environments of the school
and society, therefore the teacher-learner interactions are nested
behaviour . Classroom interactions are fractals of wider societal
interactions

 

 *


+,

Adoption of a systemic model for classroom interactions focusing

on:
‡ System-wide constraints affecting teacher performance
‡ Teacher decision making and how this is achieved
‡ The classroom as a fractal of the school system

[old Questions for scaffolding teacher professional

development at UWC
i. What Science is being taught in the classroom?
ii. How is the science taught?
iii. Why is it being taught in this way?
 

  
 +,


 

Nesting
(
 (Fractal 
Behaviour)

u
 
 
Systemic Components Interrelationships
Behaviour elements Attractors

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‡ Science content in South Africa, is prescribed by the Curriculum

and Assessment Policy Statement (CAPS)
‡ An Analysis of the CAPS document reveals that the prescribed
Science content is very similar to the content prescribed by other
science syllabi the world over. The similar components include:
i. Processes and skills of science
ii. Unifying concepts of science
iii. The nature of science
iv. The impact of science on society / applications of science
‡ Analysis of various science curricula show that the CAPS
curriculum is closely aligned, therefore meets the accepted
benchmarks for science education internationally.

Question remains:
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This question focuses on the quality of classroom activities. A

literature review of current practices and our own experiences
during classroom observations and teaching practice supervision
reveal the following:
i. Teachers pay lip-service to constructivism and continue to teach
using the traditional chalk and talk.
M Most practical activities in science classes consist of
routines that teachers go through mechanically (Muwanga-
Zake, 2006) e.g. Teachers planned for group work, but
required students to be quiet during the activities
M Class experiments are turned into textbook ±based recipe
routines where the only surprise is that sometimes different
results are obtained, which the teacher conveniently blames
on the learners inability to follow instructions (Mutivhi and
Broom, 2008)
M Teachers have also been observed shying away from
experiments in favour of chalk and talk ³ because it takes
too much time´.
,     '



 
-

In an earlier study, Mushayikwa and Lubben (2009) identified

classroom and professional efficacy as the two main drivers for
teachers¶ decision making. Teachers¶ decision making was mainly
influenced by:
‡ Self-confidence
‡ Subject content mastery
‡ Skills in manipulating resources
‡ Classroom management

These insights were also confirmed in a subsequent baseline study

where teachers were asked to reflect on their own science
teaching and on the reasons they chose particular paths rather
than others (see Mushayikwa and Ogunniyi, 2011).
,     '



 
-

In an earlier study, Mushayikwa and Lubben (2009) identified

classroom and professional efficacy as the two main drivers for
teachers¶ decision making. Teachers¶ decision making was mainly
influenced by:
‡ Self-confidence
‡ Subject content mastery
‡ Skills in manipulating resources
‡ Classroom management

These insights were also confirmed in a subsequent baseline study

where teachers were asked to reflect on their own science
teaching and on the reasons they chose particular paths rather
than others (see Mushayikwa and Ogunniyi, 2011).
  
The University of the Western Cape has developed a systemic
science intervention project designed to re-align the implemented
curriculum with the ideal curriculum, as a way of addressing the
poor performance in Science.

The essential features of the alignment include:

‡ Integrating the teaching of science with Indigenous Knowledge
Systems and thus providing a modelled platform for practising
constructivist principles
‡ Using argumentation theory as a vehicle for integration between
science and IKS
‡ Developing Science-IKS materials that address teachers
concerns about content, assessment and curriculum pacing.
‡Developing materials that follow a thematic approach and thus
provide examples of intra-discipline and inte-discipline alignment
as specified by the CAPS documents.

This paper is the first of a series, cataloguing the development of

quality teaching in the UWC project