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Asia-Pacific Forum on Science Learning and Teaching, Volume 21, Issue 1, Article 1 (Dec., 2021) |
A teacher's conceptions and practices of active learning in science teaching amid large scale curriculum reforms
Thomas Dipogiso SEDUMEDI1,* and Yiadom B. ATUAHENE2
1Tshwane University of Technology, SOUTH AFRICA
*Corresponding Author's E-mail: sedumeditdt@tut.ac.za
2University of South Africa, SOUTH AFRICA
E-mail: atuahene2004@yahoo.co.uk
Received 17 Nov., 2020
Revised 30 Sep., 2021
Active learning is considered among teaching approaches best suited for promoting critical thinking in science classrooms. Hence, the reformed South African school curriculum identified active learning as appropriate to achieve most of its objectives. This paper reports on an explorative study of a science teacher’s active learning conceptions and teaching practices. The purpose of the study was to establish and relate a science teacher’s active learning conceptions and teaching practices. Socio-cultural and related theories underpinned the study. Thus, a qualitative case study design was adopted for the study. Further, the participant for the study were purposively selected from a population of teachers with diverse science teaching backgrounds. Document analysis (AoD), observation of the participant teacher's teaching (OPT), and semi-structured interviewing (SIP) were used to collect data. A thematic analysis of data from these three sources was conducted to arrive at the study’s findings. The findings indicate variations and/or inconsistencies in the teacher’s conceptions of active learning. That is, the components constituting the teacher’s active learning as a phenomenon varied with the changing contexts. Therefore, the teacher’s conceptual understanding of active learning may be categorised as relatively inadequate for practical use in some instances. In the teacher’s teaching practices, an iteration between the traditional teacher-centered and the elements of learner-centered teaching approaches was apparent. In other words, the teachers’ teaching practices were not consistently active learning approaches. As a result, the practices were incoherent. While associative links are demonstrated between the teacher’s active learning conceptions and teaching practices, they cannot be deemed causal. In conclusion, the study has highlighted an important approach to understanding conceptions. That is, the researchers managed to demonstrate a deep analysis of conceptions one may possess, i.e., an understanding of conceptions through their constitutive components. Lastly, this approach may assist in identifying areas of intervention in teacher knowledge and/or conceptions and related practices in their teaching for development, especially amid large scale curriculum reforms.
Keywords: active learning conceptions; teaching practices; curriculum reform; learning activity; active learning
