Vad har jag då lärt mig, som kan vara till nytta för mig i min framtida yrkesroll? Dels har jag fått en ökad förståelse för vad jag anser att individuellt lärande är, men också att det är en process för skolväsendet och lärarna att nå det individuella lärandet. Det har gett mig ökad förståelse att det tar tid att gå från en undervisningsmetod till en annan, inte minst beroende på att kanske inte alla lärare ser det som en god utveckling. Samtidigt har jag fått en bredare förståelse för den värld vi lever i. Att ha sett de svårigheter som finns i en kåkstad i Sydafrika leder självklart till att mitt synsätt förändrats, som så klart kommer att påverka mig i min framtida yrkesroll. Jag har insett att det finns en rad olika utmaningar som detta land, och många andra länder, kommer att möta. De måste vara innovativa och se möjligheter och hur problem går att lösa. Detta kanske känns avlägset från det uppsatsen handlar om - individuellt lärande - men för mig är det just vad det handlar om. Om en nation söker elever som ska vara problemlösande och hitta nya vägar krävs det att nationen stimulerar eleverna på ett sådant sätt att detta sker. Jag tror att eleverna måste få lära på sitt sätt för att kunna uppnå sin fulla potential, och då också kunna lösa det stora utmaningar som nationen Sydafrika har att möta under 2000-talet.
Källförteckning
Armstrong, Thomas (1998). Barns olika intelligenser. Jönköping: Brain Books Boström, Lena (1998). Från undervisning till lärande. Jönköping: Brain Books
Dahlin, Bo, Dahlin, Christina & Ingelman, Rutger (2002). Besjälat lärande skisser till en fördjupat pedagogik. Lund: Studentlitteratur
Dunn, Rita (2001). Att hitta och använda sin inlärningsstil. Jönköping: Brain Books Gardner, Howard (2001). Intelligenserna i nya perspektiv. Jönköping: Brain Books.
Johansson, Bo & Svedner, Per Olov, (2006). Examensarbetet i lärarutbildningen
Undersökningsmetoder och språklig utformning. 4 uppl. Uppsala: Kunskapsföretaget i Uppsala AB Läromedel och Utbildning.
Palm, Sven-Olof (2004) Vänsamarbete – ett internationellt utbyte, Sverige – Sydafrika Karlstad:
Karlstad universitet
Strandberg, Leif (2006). Vygotskij i praktiken Bland plugghästar och fusklappar. 2 uppl.
Stockholm: Norstedts.
The Department of Education of South Africa, Revised National Curriculum Statement Grade R-9 South africa: Department of Education
The Department of Education of South Africa Teacher's resource book. Eastern cape: Department of education.
Observation OBE-lektion (2009, 23 oktober) Personlig kommunikation Observation matematiklektion (2009, 26 oktober) Personlig kommunikation Observation estetiklektion (2009, 2 november) Personlig kommunikation Intervju med lärare (2009, 22 oktober). Personlig kommunikation
Intervju med lärare (2009, 23 oktober). Personlig kommunikation Intervju med lärare (2009, 5 november). Personlig kommunikation
Creighton, Jessica. Howard Gardner. Hämtat från
http://www.gse.harvard.edu/faculty_research/profiles/profile.shtml?vperson_id=316 Hämtat den 12 September 2009 klockan 10.22
Kortland, Koch, (2007) Conversation with Dr. Rita Dunn Hämtad från http://www.auburn.edu/~witteje/ilsrj/Journal
%20Volumes/Volume1Fall2007%20PDFs/Conversation%20with%20Dr.%20Rita%20Dunn.pdf Publicerad den 20 augusti 2007.
Hämtad den 12 september 2009 klockan 12.04
Unaids (2008) HIV and AIDS estimates and data, 2007 and 200. Hämtad från
data.unaids.org/pub/GlobalReport/2008/jc1510_2008_global_report_pp211_234_en.pdf Hämtad den 12 September 2009 klockan 13.20
Utrikespolitiska instutionen. Sydafrika. Hämtad från http://www.ui.se/default.aspx?country_id=161 Hämtad den 12 eptember 2009 klockan 13.19
'
Bilaga 1
Lektionsplanering
Bilaga 2
Intervjufrågor
1, How do you think the students learn the best way?
2, How do you conduct you assessment?
3, Tell me about the new curriculum.
4, Tell me something about OBE.
5, What do individual learning means to you?
6, Tell me something about learner portfolios.
'
Bilaga 3
Intervjuer med lärare 22 oktober 2009
Intervjuare:I, Respondent: R
I: What learning areas do you teach in?
R:Natural science.
I:When did you become a teacher R: 1993
I: And have you worked all the time in this school?
R: No...First I was in a farm school. It's about 30 km from Cradock. And there I was teaching everything! All learning areas. All the nine learning areas in one class. And I had a great 4,5 and 6.
But the kids were not a lot. Maybe in grade 4 they were about five, grade 5 about 2, grade 6... They were not a lot like here. It was a small class. So when I teach there NS, I just look at the levels, see in grade 5 they must be thought up to this level. And that was how was going about teaching.
I: And you teach teach...?
R: All the learning areas. All the 9 learning areas. That's a lot altough they are few.
I: And when did you stop teaching at that school?
R: Until 2004.
I: And then you started here?
R: Then I began here.
I: Why did you want to become a teacher?
R: Oh, I just love kids. Love kids. Enjoy being mixing with kids. I wanted to uplift the standard of our teaching and learning.
I: I think the most important thing for a teacher is the teacher is for enjoying kids.
R: Yes.
I: Do you have some kind of diploma?
R: Yes I do, i did it in... Eh... RAU, r? Afrikaanse university. And Agowa? Kolitche? That's where I teach my diploma. Then I further my studies at Rau. And at the present moment I'm at Nelson Mandela metropolitan University. There I'm doing A:s program. I'm doing maths, science and technology. I'm upgrading my qualification. And also understarnding of the learning area that I'm teaching, so I can have more information about this learning area. That's good.
I: How do you think students learn the best way? It's a hard question.
R: That's a hard question...but, to me I think if they go and get information themselves, then they will understand it better. They will go do investigations themselves, then they will remember better
in that way. That's how I think is the best way for them to learn.
I: Is it hard when you have such big classes?
R: Hard. And our learners are lazy! I don't know whether they don't want the skill of investigating..
they are lazy. You see, the old teaching: we had to spoonfeed them. Now all of a sudden, there's now changes, they must go themselves and go and investigate. So they are still used to
spoonfeeding. You have to tell them... That's the difficult part, altough you give them something.
OOH. Then you come back and teach.
I: I understand. In Sweden we have also this question they have to investigate themselves, and it's hard, it takes some time before children understand that I don't want you just to have the
information, it's a different kind of learning. It's harder.
R: And sometimes you.. altough you tell them to go and investigate you are not really sure wether they do the investigation themselves or is it the parent who did the investigation for them?
I: How do you conduct your assessments?
R: Each and every school has a policy for assessments, assessments policy which this assessments policy derive from the provincional assessments guideline. So they have to follow those guidelines at the school. And you also assess according to their level. You can assess them like in grade 6, give them work that's done in grade 7 and then you assess them, you must assess them according to their levels. And we also give them, like in each term, what, in those guidelines, what must you assess.
Like in my learning area: in term one, I must help investigation. In the second term, then I have assignments and a controll test. In the third term then it's a project they must do, and a case study in the fourth term, and an exam. But there is always a continuous assessment. These are only that [which] the provincional guidelines tell us what to do. But you assess continuously. And when you are in a lesson, you ask questions, it's also assessment, you ask questions to find out their pre-knowledge so thay you can help them and guide them... you see? And see where are their strengths and where are their weaknesses. So that you can guide them. And if you find out, what their
weaknesses are, then you'll be able to help them. Or start up fresh, from what they don't know.. you see? You assess continuously.
I: I get curious, these projects you talk about. What can they learn? What's a project?
R: A project... it's something that they make, you see? What they make with their hands, it's like most of the things like in arts and culture, they make something. Like in electrical xxx?, they must show or make it so you can see, this is the energy, these are the wires, the battery, then the wires and show where the switch is, like something like a project where the switch is. And then you switch it on, the light lights. If it is an open switch it's not going to light, but if it's a closed switch it's going to light.
I: So it's something they do?
R: Yees.
I: Good, for I had read about these projects and wondered: what's a project? Because it can mean so much.
R: Yes.
I: You have a new curriculum... Can you tell me something about the new curriculum?
R: Revise... RNCS. Revised national curriculum statement... Now this it's learner centred. It guides the teacher on what they have to teach. The main aim of this RNCS is to provide learners whose knowledge, skills vary in attitude. The old system, it only provided knowledge, so there was no skills, so that while most of us blacks lack the skills to do. We don't have the the skills. We only have the knowledge they provided us, they fed us knowledge, knowledge, knowledge.
I: So you didn't know how to us the knowledge you had?
R: We didn't know how to us the knowledge we had. We didn't know how to us the skill. And then the RNCS, they guide you, they give you learning outcomes, what are the learning outcomes, what are the assessment standards. The learning outcomes: what you want to achieve at the end of the lesson, or the end of the schooling, when you finish school. The assessment standards then
they..what you want to teach in the classroom. That's how they guide you. Learning outcomes; what you want to reach at the end of your schooling in grade twelve. And the assessment standards are going to guide you according to the level, in grade 6..in grade... But this new curriculum they did give us guidelines. You work according to those guidelines. You don't go, you must stick to the guidelines.
I: So how do you teach skills? Because that's not easy
R: No it's not easy. That's why they must make projects. That's one type of skill: the making. When you make something, you see?
I: And then you have this OBE, I was reading about..
R: OBE is also a teaching approach. It's a teaching approach, it also focuses on how to teach, it's the same as RNCS. It's also learner centered. The learners here, they learn in groups. And after they learn in groups they act out, those are one of the teaching strategies of OBE, learning in groups, then they act out, whether it is in language or in arts and study. And also you must have a clear understanding of what you want to achieve if you give learners assignments, they must have a clear understanding of what you meant. Even the teacher must also have a clear understand, so the guidelines, they give you clear understanding of what you must acchieve. And then you must also..
you've given the learner an assignment, the learner does not do good in this assignment. You must give him another chance, you mustn't just take that mark. Because maybe that learner, the
instructions weren't clear to him. Even a test, maybe he didn't understand it, he just wrote. Because there are those that are shy, that won't say: I don't understand. And then you must give them an more opportunity so that they can do better. In the same level as the other kids. That they must be equal.
I: How do you make the children understand what they are going to achieve?
R: You know your learning outcomes, they are the ones that guide you, you must go according to your learning outcomes. This I want to achieve, I want to achieve this. And how are you going to mark this project. And then you tell them: this is what I'm going to look for, and this is what I'm going to look for. And I'm going to give you five marks for this, or 10 marks for this, but this is what I want. So that they don't go astray and do what is not needed.
I: I wonder what individual learning means to you? I don't know if you heard about it, but in Sweden we talk of individual learning.
R: Individual learning... Ah... To me it has it's advantages and it's disadvantages this individual learning. Because if the learner does every work alone, then you can see this is the learners weak point and this is the learners strength. You check the weak point and then you also get the strength.
The disadvantages now: altough you identify his weaknesses and strengths, other learners they learn better from other kids. Maybe he is scared of you as a teacher. But if a child maybe in a group or pairs, if that person can describe or explain to her what you means, he understands better. So that is why we don't always focus on individual learning. In pairs, groups.
I: Is it hard, I was thinking of OBE again, Is it hard with so big classes, if they are going to show with like a teather or project or something, is it hard with so big classes?
R: It's hard. We've got a lot of numbers. But we try it our utmost best for them to achieve, we can't do otherwise. In a slumbering town, they don't have thatbig numbers. Yes. If there's 28 it's a lot.
We've got 60 something in one class. But we just try our utmost best to achieve that.
I: I know you have something called learner portfolue. Can you please tell me something about them?
R: A portfolue of work, is the evidence of the learners work. Where the performance of the learner is kept here. And a portfolue it must have an index, what is inside there, like I said, kept samples of their work, this work, these are all students, the work you put in the portfolue is what we are given a guideline by the department, the provincial department, like those projects, those investigetions, that work, the exams and tests, that's what we put in the project. Out of continuous work, that they do continuously they just keep in their box. And you write in their box, but whatever you put in the portfolue is what is being assessed and is what is being put in your....
I: In this one?
R: Yes. The portfolue they are kept in guard, and then the learner takes this portfolues home for the
parent to look how the evidence, how my child is doing in that grade: is he growing or is he...? or whatever. But it all depends on the school. If the school want the kid to go home to show their parents or they even call the parents to school, then that week they check, each and every parent come and check the portfolue of their kids.
I: So you do that: the parents come to school and...?
R: Yes, the parents come to school and check their kids work. Maybe the parent is not satisfied, then you and the teacher talk and you tell eachother what you are going to do to improve the learning of the child. Also these portfolues, they take them to the next grade, to like next year, so like in grade 6 they take it to grade 7. So that that teacher who is teaching natural science can see where you in 6 grade, did you achieve the learning outcomes that you were supposed to have done in grade 6. So that she isn't..?...She must do great …?...in to it. So the kids take their portfolues to the next grade, so the teacher there in that grade can see that you have done your work.
I: You also can see the where you started and where you are going forward?
R: So she can see that you have done all the learning outcame, you must do all the learning outcame for that grade. According to their level, you've done in this level, in that grade, then the following one can just continue.
I: What happens if a child can't achieve a goal or assessment?
R: That's why we say you must help, you must ? Opportunities, so if he didn't achieve, then you give him a second chance, then you sit down with him, maybe he didn't understand, you didn't explain it correctly. You see it won't be a lot of kids, maybe three or four, then you sit in the afternoon, you sit with them, then you explain, then they redo for better understanding.
I: Thank you very much.
23 oktober 2009
Intervjuare: I, Respondent: R
I: Ok, you teach in math... Do you teach in any other subjects?
R: No.
I: Ok. What have you done... Have you worked here all the time or... other teaching background?
R: My teaching background... I started teaching in 1973. I was 19 years. I started teaching at a [ohörbart, troligen syftande till ortsnamn]. Istarted teaching there. Then I come back home. My home is here in Cradock. Was born here. I started teaching on a farm school..1975, I started. I come back, 1975 the farm school Cradock. Then 1981 I started teaching in this school, started teaching here in Xnoba.
I: And since then you have been here?
R: Since then I have been here.
I: Have you always teached in mathematics?
R: No! When I started teaching I taught all subjects. We had class teaching. I taught all subjects, because I was trained to teach all subjects.
I: Yes... It's the same in Sweden. We have class teachers still... Ok, and why did you want to become a teacher?
R: Then...I want to explain before that... In 1988 i went back to school. To 1998.
I: So you began to study again at 1998?
R: 1998... 1988 and 1989. For two years. I want back to school and studied. Then I come back, I specialize in Math, science and language. Those are my specialist subjects. I used to teach maths and science here at school until the school has developed. You teach math and science until the school has developed. Now it's got big numbers, I can't teach two subjects. That's why I'm teaching only math. I'm a math, science and language teacher.
I: So you were allowed to, in 1988, to teach in your home language?
R: Yes from those years from -73 and upwards until -89, we was teaching in the home language.
Then we come to teach in english after that.
I: So... do you feel you said it all about your teaching background?
R: You ask me why did I want to....Yes... I think I said... and: from last year, 2008, to 2009 I'm studying maths, technology and science...
R:Why did I become a teacher? I think [ohörbart]..In our country a family has many children, and we are twelve, I am the eleventh child. There were no near sibblings, only one sibbling, the last
R:Why did I become a teacher? I think [ohörbart]..In our country a family has many children, and we are twelve, I am the eleventh child. There were no near sibblings, only one sibbling, the last