The influence of an intervention on Life Sciences teachers' perceptions of the nature of science, indigenous knowledge and implications for their pedagogy and self-directed learning

Abstract

This study sought to investigate the influence of an intervention on the Life Sciences teachers’ perceptions of the nature of science, indigenous knowledge, and the implications for their pedagogy as well as self-directed learning. Vygotsky’s social constructivism served as the theory underpinning this study and Warford’s Zone of Proximal for Teacher Development (ZPTD) was used to carry out the intervention. The intervention comprised of two, two-day Short Learning Programmes (SLPs) which took place at the Landmark Protea Hotel in Polokwane, at the African Centre for DNA Barcoding (ACDB) and at the University of Johannesburg (UJ). This study adopted a mixed-methods approach, and a concurrent transformative research design was used where 38 Life Sciences teachers were conveniently sampled. Out of the 38 Life Sciences teachers, only 12 served as the experimental group, while 26 served as the control group for the Self-Direct Learning Instrument (SDLI). The data was collected pre and post intervention using three open-ended questionnaires, one closed-ended classroom observation and semi-structured interviews. The collected data was coded, and emerging themes were deliberated upon. The third generation Cultural Historical Activity Theory (CHAT) was used on a personal, institutional and on an interpersonal plane to interpret the findings. The recommendations from this study included the need to engage in change laboratories, a methodology emerging from Activity Theory, which advocates for the involvement of all stakeholders to address systemic pressures and the need for a bigger pool of participants during short learning programmes to benefit more participants. Furthermore, the study recommended that during teacher professional development interventions, more focus should be placed on the teachers’ self-directed learning and building Teacher Professional Development (TPD) programmes around the needs of teachers. Lastly, the study recommended the increased duration of short learning programmes and establishing conducive communities of practice to support TPD. The nine themes that emerged from both the holistic analysis and the six participating Life Sciences teachers from the three settings were: The intervention helped the participating teachers by improving their perceptions of the nature of indigenous knowledge. The intervention helped the participating teachers by improving their perceptions of the nature of science. The intervention helped the participating teachers by shifting their pedagogical orientation mainly from didactic direct to either guided inquiry or open inquiry. There is evidence of a lack of significant or tangible change in the participants' self directed learning, post-intervention. There was no submission of portfolios by the participating teachers. The intervention helped the participating teachers from all the settings by improving their perceptions of the nature of indigenous knowledge. However, there were nuances with regards to the teachers’ integrating nature of indigenous knowledge in their classrooms. The intervention helped the participating teachers from all the settings by improving their perceptions of the nature of science. However, there were nuances with regards to the teachers’ integrating the nature of science in their classrooms. There was evidence of poor preparation, the lack of time management and poor reflective abilities. There is no evidence of lesson preparation amongst the participants who were observed in their classrooms post-intervention.