2. Class 23 Feb
Teaching:
Kelly Cathcart-James
Casey Greathead
Bianca Erasmus
Jess Taggart
Observing (teaching next week, 2 March):
MB Falatsi
T Khoza
N Kubeka
LI Mashiloane
3. Class 2 March 2013
TEACHING:
MB Falatsi
T Khoza
N Kubeka
LI Mashiloane
OBSERVING: (teaching 9 March 2013)
M.P. Masipa
L. Mazibuku
M. Mgiba
L. Motsitsi
9. Tomorrow’s class:
Jess, Bianca, Casey & Kelly
Cell membrane: Jess
Cell nucleus and the Endoplasmic Reticulum: Bianca
Endocytosis and exocytosis; special structures of cell
membranes: Casey and Kelly
2. PRACS: osmosis
10. Class: 2 March 2013
MB Falatsi
T Khoza
N Kubeka
LI Mashiloane
Ribosomes; vacuole; mitochondrion; golgi body/
dictyosomes; plastids; centrioles; cell differentiation
11. Teacher as curriculum interpreter
and designer
Assume that the curriculum prescribes content that
you DO NOT AGREE with- can you, as professional
teacher, adapt the curriculum as you see fit, or even
ignore the curriculum?
12. Case today: Just follow the road of
least resistance!
Charles Darwin: The organisms inhabiting Earth today
descended from ancestral species.
Theory of evolution- part and parcel of the Life
Sciences school curriculum.
13. Case: Just follow the road of less
resistance!
Teaching controversial content
Case dealing with the teaching of evolution (and why
humans do not have tails- or can they?)
14. Summary of case
John Wilson was slightly worried about how to teach
the evolution section of the Life Sciences curriculum,
since he knew that may people reject the theory based
on religious beliefs.
John arranged an informal meeting with Sarah, whom
he knows from his university days, and who is teaching
at their neighboring school.
He asked her how she approach evolution in her class.
15. • “John, to be honest, I follow the road of less resistance. In my first year
of teaching evolution, I taught it very factually, and focused a lot on the
evidence for evolution. Parents protested bitterly, and I had a very
unpleasant meeting with the principal. Since then I have decided to
give the children what the parents want. I obviously teach the content
specified in the curriculum, but I start out by telling the learners that
evolution is a highly speculative theory, that the evidence that scientists
produce are doubtful, and that we all agree that evolution is nonsense,
and that we all honour God as creator…”
• “I just can’t do that, Sarah!”, John responds, confused and concerned.
16. • Despite Sarah’s suggestions, John decided to teach the evolution section
with the necessary academic rigour, and he showed the learners beautiful
PowerPoint slides on the evidence for evolution. He also invited the
learners to consider evolution as a theme for their projects for the science
expo.
• John was called to the principal’s office. Bongani’s parents (Mr. and Mrs
Gumede) came to complain about the fact that John taught evolution.
• Mr. Gumede said, and John could hear the anger in his voice, “It is all
lies. Don’t you realize that most of the learners and parents in this
school are Christians? l use the Holy Bible as a compass in life. And
according to the holy book, God created the earth, and all living
creatures on the planet. And on the sixth day, God created humans to
his image. And now you teach these young people that we developed
from ape-like ancestors, Mr. Wilson! WHAT ARE YOU DOING TO MY
SON? You teach kids that God is not the creator, but that life
developed because of processes such as... um...”
17. • “Yes, that’s right, natural selection. Tell me, are you a Christian, Mr. Wilson?”,
Mr. Gumede asked.
• John was shocked by the outburst, that he struggled to speak.
• “Mr. Gumede, with all due respect, I do not think you have any right to ask me
about my religious views. That is a personal issue, which does not have any
relevance to my job as a teacher.”
• “No, John, you are wrong,” the principal responded. “This school prescribes to
Christian principles. Mr. Gumede is therefore entitled to know what your beliefs
are”.
• John was severely reprimanded by the principal.
• “John”, the principal ordered, “you are not allowed to open the doors to the
school hall this afternoon. The EXPO is cancelled. Learners should be
instructed to collect their projects. But, before that, I will personally inspect all
the exhibitions tomorrow morning. All projects that relate to evolution will be
destroyed. I will not allow that the Christian nature of my school is tarnished.
You are excused.”
19. Seven roles of teachers
Learning mediator
Interpreter & designer of learning programmes
Leader
Scholar, researcher and lifelong learner
Has a community, citizenship & pastoral role
Assessor
Learning area and subject specialist
20. Today’s lecture focus on:
The teacher as an
interpreter and
designer of learning
programmes and
materials.
21. What is a curriculum?
Eisner (1985): A series of planned events that are
intended to have educational consequences for
students.
Fraser (1993) describes curriculum as the inter-related
totality of aims, learning content, evaluation
procedures and teaching-learning activities,
opportunities and experiences, that guide and
implement the didactic activities in a planned and
justified manner.
22. Aspects of the curriculum
The official, explicit curriculum: officially prescribed
curriculum.
The curriculum in practice: How the curriculum is
experienced on the ground. Can be referred to as the
unofficial curriculum as implemented by a teacher,
where it is actually taught and learned. There are many
factors that can interfere with the teacher’s ability to
implement a curriculum exactly as prescribed.
List factors that can interfere with the
implementation.
23. Aspects of the curriculum
The covert curriculum: There are implicit (not spelt
out but suggested) aims of the curriculum, to develop
certain values and attitudes in learners.
The “hidden” curriculum
24. The Saber-Tooth Curriculum
A famous satire on curriculum development
Tells the story of a prehistoric tribe which decided to
introduce systematic education for its children.
25. What is a satire?
A novel/play in which topical issues or evil are held up
by means of ridicule
26. The first great educational theorist and
practitioner:
New Fist Hammer Maker , a.k.a. New Fist
28. Educational goal:
What things must tribesmen know in order to live
with:
full bellies,
warm backs, and
minds free from fear?
29. Saber-tooth curriculum
Our tale begins with an examination of a vignette
featuring a school system with a curriculum
referred to as Saber-Tooth:
1. Fish-grabbing with the bare-hands
30. Saber-tooth curriculum
Our tale begins with an examination of a vignette
featuring a school system with a curriculum
referred to as Saber-Tooth:
1. Fish-grabbing with the bare-hands
2. Woolly-horse clubbing; and
31. Saber-tooth curriculum
Our tale begins with an examination of a vignette
featuring a school system with a curriculum
referred to as Saber-Tooth:
1. Fish-grabbing with the bare-hands
2. Woolly-horse clubbing; and
3. Saber-tooth tiger scaring with fire
32. Disaster strikes!
A new ice age
approached.
A glacier came down the
mountain range, and the
water became muddy.
No more catching fish
with bare hands!
33. Saber-tooth curriculum
• The country grew wetter and unsuited
to wild wooly horses.
• The new dampness in the air gave the
saber-tooth tigers pneumonia to which
they succumbed. The best tiger scaring
techniques thus became only academic
exercises, good in themselves,
perhaps, but not necessary for tribal
security.
34. Saber-tooth curriculum
• New subject:
Instead of “fish-
grabbing with
bare hands”,
rather “Using
Nets to catch fish”
35. Wooly horses
The stupid wooly horses all migrated to the open
plains.
A new subject was introduced: catching antelope with
snares.
36. Saber-tooth tigers all died of pneumonia.
BUT: a new danger:
Ferocious glacial bears arrived, and they were not
afraid of fire!
37. Solution: bear pits
An inventor dug a deep pit in a bear trail, covered it
with branches, so that bears would fall into the pit,
and die.
38. Universal principle:
The curriculum should (a) be relevant, and
(b) change to meet the needs of:
(1) learners and,
(2) society.
Reflect on this in a post-apartheid South Africa.
What do we learn from this satire (the saber-tooth
curriculum)?
Discuss in your small groups.
40. Hendrik Verwoerd said:
"There is no place for [the Bantu] in the
European community above the level of
certain forms of labour ... What is the use of
teaching the Bantu child mathematics when it
cannot use it in practice? That is quite
absurd.”
Hendrik Verwoerd (8 September 1901 – 6
September 1966) was Prime Minister of South
Africa from 1958 until his assassination in 1966.
41. The new curriculum (NCS and later CAPS) is
based on Constitution
Every child can learn and achieve
We need to prepare EVERY learner for the workplace
Address the wrongs of apartheid.
43. Curriculum Models
• Are based on a body of
theory about teaching
& learning.
• Are targeted to needs
& characteristics of a
particular group of
learners.
• Outline approaches,
methods & procedures
for implementation.
44. The Tyler Model of
Curriculum Design
• The nature &
structure of
knowledge
• The needs of
the society
• The needs of
the learner
knowledge
societyLearner
needs
45. The Steps of Curriculum Development
FOUR STEPS TO CURRICULUM: "The Tyler Rationale"
1. What educational purposes
should the school seek to attain?
2. What educational experiences
can be provided that are likely to attain
these purposes?
3. How can they be organized?
4. How can we determine whether
these purposes are being attained?
47. Lawrence Stenhouse
• Stenhouse responded to Tyler’s ideas by
arguing that it was not so simple, and
that outcomes for complex knowledge
could not be specified in advance.
• Teachers are professionals whose
decision to change a plan in response to
learners should be respected.
48. Stenhouse (cont.)
• A curriculum should provide areas of
knowledge and guidelines for teaching, but be
written like a suggestion and not like a
prescription.
• The curriculum should be descriptive rather
than prescriptive, and subject to ongoing
change.
• Curriculum is a process that cannot be
predetermined, and it changes with the context
and people involved.
49. Paolo Freire
• Freire added a political perspective by
arguing that we need to look at the
hidden aspect of the curriculum and
recognise that a curriculum is never
value-neutral, but has the power to
oppress or liberate learners.
• “Pedagogy of the oppressed” or a
“pedagogy of hope” an important aspect
of Freire’s work.
51. Case: Just follow the road of least
resistance!
Discuss the case again in your groups. Consider the
following:
1. The official curriculum VS the curriculum in practice
2. Tyler’s views that the curriculum should address the
needs of the learner and society. Should societal values
(e.g. religious views) not be the main concern?
3. The views of Stenhouse- does a teacher have the right to
adapt the curriculum as he/ she sees fit?
4. Suppose that you were in John’s shoes. How would you
have handled the situation?
