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Eddhodj Educator As Learning Programme Developer: May/June 2015 Memo
Eddhodj Educator As Learning Programme Developer: May/June 2015 Memo
EDDHODJ
Educator as Learning Programme
Developer
May/June 2015 Memo
All answers are referenced in terms of Curriculum Studies: Development , Interpretation, Plan and Practice.
Second Edition.
QUESTION 1
(a) SACE 8. Professional council for teachers
(b) Grades 4, 5, 6 13. Intermediate Phase
(c) Manifesto on Values 12. Ten fundamental values of the Constitution
(d) Formative Assessment 4. Test, coursework, portfolios
(e) Discussion 9. Obtain knowledge and develop cooperative skills
(f) Measuring instruments 20. CAPS, knowledge and skills, values and attitudes,
assessment
(g) Phase planning 18. Three grades to plan simultaneously
(h) “Covert” curriculum 2. Teaching that is implicit, but deliberate presented on the part
of the teacher of the class
(i) Inclusive education 14. Audio aids for visually disabled
(j) Lesson planning 16. Individual educator plan for a period
(k) Cognitive Guided 17. Implementing language and listening into teaching
Instruction (CGI)
(l) An approach 6. The perspectives towards something or a way of thinking
(m) NQF 1. A single national framework that would bring together all
education and training under 1 authority
(n) Shared learning 15. Providing opportunities for learner participation in the
learning process
(o) Bloom’s Taxonomy 11. Provides structure in which to categorise instructional
(teaching) outcomes and assessments.
(15)
QUESTION 2
The impact of context on curriculum by referring to the contextual evaluation of the whole
curriculum
2. Educators should collaborate with learners in order to create meaning in ways that learners
can make their own
3. Like the environment, the instructional design of material to be learned should be structured
to promote and encourage student interaction and collaboration.
4. Educators must share the same focus in order to access the zone of proximal development.
5. “Partners” in this educational environment be on different developmental levels and that the
higherlevel partner be aware of the lower one’s level
(page 26)
(5)
The influences of changes in the South African context on curriculum by referring briefly to the
most important economic, social and political forces
1. The context in which we live has undergone significant economic, political and social
changes in recent years.
2. One of the forces that drives our new education system is globalisation.
3. Political changes in South Africa have been focused on removing the legacies of the past
apartheid regime, in particular segregation and inequality.
4. Numsa, Cosatu, National Education Policy Initiative, Private Sector Education Council, the
National Training Board, the ANC and others debated and explored the unification of education
and training in South Africa.
5. Democracy has found its way into school structures, and governance is now
in the hands of the school community: the parents, teachers and learners.
(page 27)
(5)
Your own response to and experience of curriculum change
In a South African context, the process approach and a pragmatic (purpose) approach, which is
a holistic perspective, is essential to encourage the emergence of compassion, optimal learning
environments, just relationships and ecological sustainability, which are echoed in the
postmodern philosophy of curriculum development. This is especially true for a multicultural
society like South Africa with a variety of languages, beliefs and values which the education
system seeks to integrate learners and teachers from all walks of life into a harmonious and
effective learning environment. Learning is relevant to the reallife situations and experiences of
the learner; therefore crosscurricular integration of knowledge and skills prepares for reality and
the world of work, as well as living and functioning in a developing country and integrated
society.
(page 23)
(5)
QUESTION 3
Reasons for using exemplary lesson materials
1. Offering an indication of what can be expected during lessons
2. Presenting specific guidelines for use in practice
3. Stimulating local adaptation and ownership of a new approach
4. Providing a basis for the exchange of experiences, feedback, discussion and reflection
5. Stimulating teachers to (re)design their own materials and/or to make a more selective,
creative and conscious use of existing textbooks and materials.
(page 75)
(5)
The teacher as interpreter and designer of learning programmes and materials
1. Teachers are expected to understand and interpret existing learning programmes, design
their own learning programmes and select and prepare suitable textual and visual resources for
learning.
2. They also need to sequence and pace learning in a way that shows sensitivity to the needs of
the learning area or subject and those of the learners.
3. Each school should design its own learning programmes, based on the needs and concerns
of the community.
4. It has become clear that most teachers and schools do not yet have the skills, resources or
inclination to develop a customised curriculum, hence the reluctance to involve schools in the
setting of curriculum standards.
5. In the CAPS, learning programmes and in some instances work schedules are included in the
documents.
(page 71)
(5)
The difference between “curriculum” and “syllabus”
1. A curriculum can briefly be defined as a “plan for learning”
2. Curriculum refers to all the learning that is planned and guided as a body of knowledge in
order to achieve certain ends (outcomes) in a teachinglearning process
3. “Syllabus” in Greek means the list of contents of a subject
4. A syllabus has a series of headings with some additional notes which set out the areas to be
examined
5. A syllabus will not generally indicate importance of a topics or the order in which they are to
be studied
(page 2)
(5)
The assessment process
1. The systematic collection of information about the learner’s learning
2. In order to inform decisions about how to improve learning
3. Assessment must be an organic part of teaching and learning
4. The assessment tool selected should be appropriate to the assessment criteria for the activity
5. Assessment can be group assessment, selfassessment or peer assessment
(page 77)
(5)
QUESTION 4
Reciprocal teaching
1. Allows for the creation of a dialogue between learners and teachers
2. Twoway communication in the classroom
3. Encourages learners to go beyond answering questions
4. Learners engage in a discussion/debate
5. Teacher and learners take turns leading smallgroup discussions on a reading task. After
modelling four reading strategies, learners assume the teaching role.
(page 36)
(5)
Scaffolding
1. Provides a temporary, supportive and adjustable framework for a learner
2. This enables learners to participate in or complete a task/activity that is beyond his or her
reach
3. Scaffolding is learnercentred because of the interaction and collaboration between the
teacher (the more knowledgeable person) and the learner
4. Simplify the task /activity by providing different steps to follow (making the task/activity easier
to complete)
5. Highlight crucial features of the task (i.e. important aspects of the task /activity)
(page 37)
(5)
Simulation
1. Reallife circumstances are imitated in the classroom
2. The greatest advantage of simulation is that it is true to life
3. Learners experience the reality of the situation, with all the rights, privileges, obligations
and responsibilities attached to it
4. Learners use existing knowledge to work with problems in a simulated environment
5. In a scientific experiment, simulation involves analysing the results of the experiments,
making judgements about how the real situation (represented by the model) would manifest
itself under experimental conditions, and formulating a plan of action.
(page 39)
(5)
Problem solving
1. “Developing new knowledge through solving problems”
2. Used as a teaching strategy for expanding learners’ knowledge and understanding of content
3. Develops learners’ thinking skills
4. Encourages learners’ to think about their own learning processes
5. Can easily confused with teaching learners how to solve problems, eg. “word sums” in Maths
(page 40)
(5)
QUESTION 5
Which principles for selecting contents and making decisions about sequencing the contents are
important?
Tyler (Product): D o research to find the best content to include in curriculum / evaluate content.
Stenhouse (Process): Tests, adapts and evaluates the process to see if it is enlightening.
Believes that learners should “change” in the learning process.
Freire (Pragmatic): Learners should be able to reflect on the value of learning.
(page 21, Table 1.6)
(5)
How should the teacher be guided in his or her teaching of the curriculum?
Tyler: T eachers should be guided by educational purposes, experiences etc. are important.
Stenhouse: Teachers carry out research while teaching, evaluate while researching, change
the process of reaching goals.
Freire: The way in which we teach may change learners – it is always political (empowers or
domesticates the learners). Negotiates understanding with learners.
(page 21, Table 1.6)
(5)
What should be the focal point of assessment?
Tyler: O bjectives, content, methods and sequence questions
Stenhouse: Guidelines and professional development are important. Learners should know
what to do with content. Understanding and criteria are central to the process.
Freire: Intellectual, social and political liberation – how learners feel about knowledge and
whether experiences can be used in everyday life.
(page 21, Table 1.6)
(5)
What is the most valuable aspect of this approach?
Tyler: C urriculum is seen as a product (objectives / instrumental approach). Has a linear focus
on the end product; cannot. branch off in the middle
Stenhouse: Curriculum is as a process with objectives not set at the start, but changing in the
teaching process. Focuses on descriptiveness. Knowledge must be speculative.
Freire: Thinks about the purpose of a curriculum – it must serve to liberate learners to make
links and understand language, experiences and their daily struggle.
(page 21, Table 1.6)
(5)
If we translate the approaches described above into teaching and learning principles,
methodology, the use of learning materials and assessment, then teaching implies providing the
learner with learning experiences and guiding, supporting and mediating the learning content by
facilitating understanding. In a South African context, the process approach and a pragmatic
(purpose) approach, which is a holistic perspective, is essential to encourage the emergence of
compassion, optimal learning environments, just relationships and ecological sustainability,
which are echoed in the postmodern philosophy of curriculum development. This is especially
true for a multicultural society like South Africa with a variety of languages, beliefs and values
which the education system seeks to integrate learners and teachers from all walks of life into a
harmonious and effective learning environment. Learning is relevant to the reallife situations
and experiences of the learner; therefore crosscurricular integration of knowledge and skills
might prepare learners for reality and the world of work, as well as living and functioning in a
developing country and integrated society. Learning implies the development of not only the
learner’s knowledge, but also his or her understanding of concepts, skills, activities and values.
All these should then be based on interaction between teacher, learner, context and content.
The product approach does not allow for learners to take responsibility for their learning by
being actively involved in the teachinglearning process. This also means that the teacher would
not be able to use a variety of approaches and learning material in the learning process to
accommodate different learning styles.
(page 2324)
(10)