Incorporating a Cooperative Teaching and Learning Approach in Life Orientation Lesson Planning
In the field of education, globally, teachers are recognised as important contributors in shaping learners’ interaction in a cooperative learnin.
- Pub. date: August 15, 2021
- Pages: 373-386
- 1196 Downloads
- 2132 Views
- 2 Citations
In the field of education, globally, teachers are recognised as important contributors in shaping learners’ interaction in a cooperative learning environment through effective lesson planning. There is a plethora of research conducted internally on lesson planning, as a critical instructional competency for good teaching and as a purposeful activity that precedes the delivery of instruction. This study aimed to explore Life Orientation teachers’ lesson planning incorporating a cooperative teaching and learning approach in secondary schools in De Aar, South Africa. The researchers adopted a mixed-methods phenomenological research design. Seven Grade 10 Life Orientation teachers were purposely selected to collect semi-structured interviews data, non-participatory observation, and document analysis. Data were analysed using inductive thematic analysis and supported with the literature review and the theory underpinning this study. This paper suggests an enactment between teachers’ subject and pedagogical content knowledge and instructional material. Lastly, it is also evident that many teachers lack knowledge, insufficient instructional resources, and an understanding of effective lesson planning to implement a cooperative teaching approach.
life orientation teachers lesson planning cooperative learning teaching approach secondary schools
Keywords: Life orientation teachers, lesson planning, cooperative learning, teaching approach, secondary schools.
References
Adewumi, T. M., & Titilawo, Y. (2015). An exploration of the monitoring and support mechanisms for teaching the Life Orientation curriculum in high schools in the Fort Beaufort District, Eastern Cape province of South Africa. International Journal of Educational Sciences, 8(3), 587-596. https://doi.org/10.1080/09751122.2015.11890280
Aldridge, J. M., Fraser, B. J., & Sebela, M. P. (2004). Using teacher action research to promote constructivist learning environments in South Africa. South African Journal of Education, 24(4), 245-253. https://doi.org/10.4314/SAJE.V2414.24996
Bakersfield, H. (1995). The structuring of structure: Development and functioning of mathematics as a social practice. In L. P. Steffe & J. Gale (Eds), Constructivism in Education (pp. 137-144). Lawrence Erbaum Associates Publishers.
Bassett, S., Bowler, M., & Newton, A. (2013). Schemes of work, units of work and lesson planning. In S. Capel, M. Leask & T. Turner (Eds.), Learning to teach in a secondary school: A companion to school experience (6th ed., pp. 65-77), Routledge.
Black, A., Lawson, H., & Norwich, B. (2019). Lesson planning for diversity. Journal of Research in Special Educational Needs, 19(2), 115-125. https://doi.org/10.1111/1471-3802.12433
Blumberg, P. (2008). Developing Learner-Centered Teachers: A Practical Guide for Faculty. Jossey-Bass.
Britto, P. R., & Limlingan, M. C. (2012). School readiness and transitions. UNICEF. https://cutt.ly/6mbamfu.
Calderhead, J. (1996). Teachers: beliefs and knowledge. In D. Berliner & R. Calfee (Eds.), Handbook of Educational Psychology (pp. 709-25). Prentice-Hall.
Chizhik, E. W., & Chizhik, A. W. (2018). Using activity theory to examine how teachers’ lesson plans meet students’ learning needs. The Teacher Educator, 53(1), 67-85. https://doi.org/10.1080/08878730.2017.1296913
Clark, C. M., & Yinger, R. J. (1987). Teaching planning: In D.C. Berliner & B.V. Rosenshine (Eds.), Talks to Teachers (pp. 342-365). Random House.
Denzin, N. K., & Lincoln, Y. S. (2010). The discipline and practice of qualitative research. In N. K. Denzin & Y. S. Lincoln (Eds.), The Sage Handbook of Qualitative Research. Sage.
Department of Basic Education. (2011). National curriculum statement: curriculum and assessment policy statement: Life Orientation. Further education and training band Grades 10-12. https://cutt.ly/6mR8bPi
Department of Basic Education. (2013). National Education Evaluation and Development Unit (NEEDU), National report 2012: Summary report. http://www.shineliteracy.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/NEEDU-Report.pdf
Department of Basic Education. (2015). 2015 National Strategy for Learner Attainment (NSLA) Framework. https://www.purpletod.co.za/docs/NSLA%202015.pdf
Department of Education. (2008). The design of continuing professional teacher development (CPTD) system. https://cutt.ly/mmR8Ubx
De Vos, A. S., Strydom, H., Fouche, C. B., & Delport, C. S. L. (2011). Research at grassroots (4th ed.). Van Schaik.
Diale, B. M. (2016). Life Orientation teachers’ career development needs in Gauteng: Are we missing the boat? South African Journal of Higher Education, 30(3), 85-110. https://doi.org/10.20853/30-3-670
Drost, B. R., & Levine, A. C. (2015). An analysis of strategies for teaching standard-based lesson plan alignment to pre-service teachers. Journal of Education, 195(2), 37-47. https://doi.org/10.1177/002205741519500206
Eggen, P., & Kauchak, D. (2013). Educational psychology: Windows on classrooms (9th ed.). Pearson.
Eli, J. A., & Wood, M. B. (2016). Learning to facilitate groupwork through complex instruction. In M. B. Wood, E. Turner, M. Civil & J. A. Eli (Eds.), Proceedings of the 38th annual North American Chapter of the International Group for the Psychology of Mathematics Education (p. 933). The University of Arizona.
Enow, L., & Goodwyn, A. (2018). The invisible plan: How English teachers develop their expertise and the special place of adapting the skills of lesson planning. English in Education, 52(2), 120-134. https://doi.org/10.1080/04250494.2018.1438119
Fink, D. L. (2005). Integrated course design. The IDEA Center. https://cutt.ly/hmR8F0Y
Glaser, B. G., & Strauss, A. L. (1967). The discovery of grounded theory: strategies for qualitative research. Aldine.
Hartell, C., Mosia, D., & Steyn, M. (2013). Secondary school teachers’ understanding, response to, and implementation of Life Orientation. Journal for Educational Studies, 12(2), 156-172.
Hedge, T. (2000). Teaching and learning in the language classroom. Oxford University Press.
Heidemann, S., Chang, C. J., & Menninga, B. (2005). When teachers are learning children are too: Teaching teachers about assessment. Journal of the National Association for the Education of Young Children, 60(3), 86-92.
Janks, H. (2014). Globalisation, diversity and education: A South African perspective. The Educational Forum, 78(1), 8-25.
Janssen, N., & Lazonder, A. W. (2015). Implementing innovative technologies through lesson plans: What kind of support do teachers prefer? Journal of Science Education Technology, 24, 910-920. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10956-015-9573-5
John, P. (2006). Lesson planning and the student-teacher: Re-thinking the Dominant Model. Journal of Curriculum Studies, 38(4), 483-498. https://doi.org/10.1080/00220270500363620
Jones, K. A., Vermette, P. J., & Jones, J. L. (2009). An integration of “backwards planning” unit design with the “two step” lesson planning framework. Education, 130(2), 357–360.
Killen, R. (2007). Teaching strategies for outcomes-based education. Juta.
Koni, I., & Krull, E. (2018). Modelling instructional planning skills and developing a questionnaire for their investigation. Estonian Journal of Education, 1, 46-71. https://doi.org/10.12697/eha.2013.1.04
König, J. A., Bremerich-Vos, C., Buchholtz, S., Lemmerding, S., Straus, S., Fladung, I., & Schleiffer, C. (2017). Modelling and validating the learning opportunities of pre-service language teachers: on the key components of the curriculum for teacher education. European Journal of Teacher Education, 40(3), 394-412. https://doi/org/10.1080/02619768.2017.1315398
Lai, E., & Lam, C. C. (2011). Learning to teach in a context of education reform: Liberal studies student teachers’ decision-making in lesson planning. Journal of Education for teaching, 37(2), 219-236 https://doi.org/10.1080/02607476.2011.558287
Lincoln, Y. S., & Guba, E. G. (2000). Establishing trustworthiness. In A. Bryman & R.G. Burgess (Eds.), Qualitative Research, 3, 397-434. Sage.
Magano, M. D. (2009). The relationship between a disadvantaged home environment and the self-concept of children: A guidance and counselling perspective [Master’s thesis, University of South Africa]. UNISA DSpace Archive. https://hdl.handle.net/10500/1078
Magano, M. D. (2011). The New kind of a teacher, to handle the new subject – Life Orientation, in a Township High School in South Africa. Journal of Social Science, 28(2), 119-127. https://doi.org/10.1080/09718923.2011.11892936
Maphalala, M. C., & Mpofu, N. (2018). Embedding values in the South African curriculum: By design or default? South African Journal of Education, 38(3), 1-11. https://doi.org/10.15700/saje.v38n3a1437
Mapotse, T. A., & Gumbo, T. (2012, October 22-25). Exploring the challenges of senior phase technology teachers in Limpopo province. In Proceedings of ISTE - International Conference on Mathematics, Science and Technology Education (pp. 542-556). University of South Africa.
Maree, K. (2016). First Steps in Research (2nd ed.). Van Schaik Publishers.
Marshall, C., & Rossman, G. B. (2006). Designing qualitative research (4th ed.). Sage.
Matshoba, H., & Rooth, E. (2014). Living up to expectations? A comparative investigation of Life Orientation in the National Senior Certificate and National Certificate (Vocational). Umalusi. https://cutt.ly/VmR8Xnk
Miles, M., Huberman, A. M., & Saldaňa, J. (2014). Qualitative data analysis: A methods sourcebook (3rd ed.). Sage
Milkova, S. (2012). Strategies for effective lesson planning. https://www.crlt.umich.edu/gsis/p2_5
Mishra, P., & Koehler, M. J. (2006). Technological pedagogical content knowledge: a framework for teacher knowledge. Teachers College Record, 108(6), 1017-1054. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9620.2006.00684.x
Msibi, T., & Mchunu, S. (2013). The knot of curriculum and teacher professionalism in post-apartheid South Africa. Education as Change, 17(1), 19-35. https://doi.org/10.80/16823206.2013.773924
Onojerena, E. J., & Eromosele, E. K. (2018). Equipping teachers with learner-centered pedagogical skills. Journal of Emerging Trends in Educational Research and Policy Studies, 9(4), 138-147.
Prinsloo, E. (2007). Implementation of life orientation programmes in the new curriculum in South African schools: Perceptions of principals and life orientation teachers. South African Journal of Education, 27(1), 144-170. https://doi.org/10.4314/SAJE.V27I1.25104
Rooth, E. (2005). An investigation of the status and practices of life orientation in South Africa schools [Unpublished doctoral dissertation]. University of the Western Cape.
Santagata, R., Zannoni, C., & Stigler, J. (2007). The role of lesson analysis in pre-service teacher education: An empirical investigation of teacher learning from virtual video-based field experience. Journal of Mathematics Teacher Education, 10(2), 123-140. https://doi.org/10.1007.s10857-007-9029-9
Sedibe, M. (2014). Teaching citizen education as a learning outcome of life orientation in a diverse Ex-Model C high school. Journal of Educational and Social Research, 4(3), 59-62. https://doi.org/10.5901/jesr.2014.v4n3p59
Seherrie, A. C. (2020). Group Investigation: A teaching approach for life orientation in selected Northern Cape secondary schools [Unpublished doctoral dissertation]. University of South Africa.
Shalem, Y., De Clercq, F., & Steinberg, C. (2018). Teacher autonomy in times of standardised lesson plans: The case of a Primary school language and mathematics intervention in South Africa. Education as Change, 19(2), 205-222. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10833-018-9318-3
Sharan, Y. (2010). Cooperative Learning for Academic and Social Gains: Valued pedagogy, problematic practice. European Journal of Education, 45(2), 300-313. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1465-3435.2010.01430.x
Shulman, L. S. (1987). Knowledge and teaching: Foundations of the new reform. Harvard Educational Review, 57(1), 1-22. https://doi.org/10.17763/haer.57.1.j463w79r56455411
Simwa, K. L., & Modiba, M. (2015). Interrogating the lesson plan in a pre-service methods course: Evidence from a University in Kenia. Australian Journal of Teacher Education, 40(4), 12-34. https://doi.org/10.14221/ajte.2015v40n4.2
Spaull, L. (2013). South Africa’s education crisis: The quality of education in South Africa 1994-2011. Centre for Development and Enterprise. https://cutt.ly/ombf9F9
Stigler, J. W., & Miller, K. F. (2018). Expertise and expert performance in teaching. In A. Ericsson, R. R. Hoffman, A. Kozbelt & A. M. Williams (Eds.), Its Development, organization, and content, The Cambridge handbook of expertise and expert performance (2nd ed., pp. 431-452). Cambridge University Press.
Stroebel, L. C. E., Hay, J., & Bloemhoff, H. J. (2017). Needs and challenges of foundation phase life skills teachers in delivering physical education: Jack of all trades and master of none? South African Journal for Research in Sport, Physical Education and Recreation, 39(3), 163-177.
Swarts, P., Rens, J. A., & De Sousa, L. O. (2019). A proposed framework for facilitating social and environmental responsibility in life orientation through environmental education in the South African context. Africa Education Review, 16(4), 127-141 https://doi.org/10.1080/18146627.2017.1372690
Tyler, R. W. (1950). Basic principles of curriculum and instruction. University of Chicago Press.
Van Wyk, M. M. (2007). The use of cooperative learning in economics in the further education and training phase in Free State Province [Unpublished doctoral dissertation]. University of Free State.
Van Wyk, M. M. (2010). The selection of didactic principles by teachers in the field of Economics: An Exploratory Factor Analysis. Journal of Social Sciences, 24(2), 111-119. https://doi.org/10.1080/09718923.2010.11892842
Van Wyk, M. M. (2016). Approaches to teaching EMS: The learner-centred approach. In M. M. van Wyk & K. D. Reis (Eds.), Teaching economic management sciences in the senior phase (pp. 75–101). Oxford University Press.
Van Wyk, M. M. (2019). Teachers’ voices matter. Is cooperative learning an appropriate pedagogy for multi-grade classes? The International Journal of Pedagogy and Curriculum, 26(2), 19-34. https://doi.org/10.18848/2327-7963/CGP/v26i02/19-34
Voogt, J., Fisser, P., Pareja, R. N., Tondeur, J., & van Braak, J. (2013). Technological pedagogical content knowledge – a review of the literature. Journal of Computer Assisted Learning, 29(2), 109-121. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2729.2012. 00487.x
Wiggins, G. P., & McTighe, J. (1998). Understanding by design. Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.
Woolfolk, A. (2016). Educational Psychology. Pearson.
Zulu, K. G. (2016). Perspectives on mediating role for effective teaching and learning of Life Orientation in the Further Education and Training (FET) Band in schools under the Pinetown District of KwaZulu-Natal Province [Unpublished doctoral dissertation]. University of Zululand.