Browsing by Author "Qhobela, M."

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    Examining Secondary School Physics Teachers' Beliefs About Teaching and Classroom Practices in Lesotho as a Foundation for Professional Development
    (International Journal of Science and Mathematics Education (2014), 2013) Qhobela, M.; Moru, E. K.
    The classroom practices of science teachers are indicative of their beliefs and pedagogical content knowledge (PCK). PCK is an amalgam of knowledge about subject matter, pedagogy, and contextual issues. This article identifies areas where physics teachers in Lesotho may need professional development support by addressing the research question: How do secondary school physics teachers in Lesotho describe the teaching of science and their actual practice? A mixed-methods approach involving a survey and follow-up interviews of secondary school physics teachers was used to collect information about this research question. The results show that there is a disjuncture between the teachers� pedagogic knowledge and the teachers� contextual knowledge, indicating that their PCK was not well formed and could serve as a central focus for their professional development.
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    Examining secondary school Physics teachers� belief about teaching and classroom practices in Lesotho as foundation for professional development
    (International Journal of Science and Mathematics Education, 2014) Qhobela, M.; Moru, E. K.
    The classroom practices of science teachers are indicative of their beliefs and pedagogical content knowledge (PCK). PCK is an amalgam of knowledge about subject matter, pedagogy, and contextual issues. This article identifies areas where physics teachers in Lesotho may need professional development support by addressing the research question: How do secondary school physics teachers in Lesotho describe the teaching of science and their actual practice? A mixed-methods approach involving a survey and follow-up interviews of secondary school physics teachers was used to collect information about this research question. The results show that there is a disjuncture between the teachers� pedagogic knowledge and the teachers� contextual knowledge, indicating that their PCK was not well formed and could serve as a central focus for their professional development.
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    The impact of instruction in enhancing teachers� knowledge of teaching mathematics in some Lesotho primary schools
    (Journal of Teacher Education, 2014) Qhobela, M.; Maqutu, T. Z.
    The quality of mathematics teaching in Lesotho primary education remains one of the vexing problems in the education system. The study investigated how teachers viewed the impact of instruction on enhancing their knowledge of teaching. Data for the study were elicited from the second-year students enrolled for a Bachelor of Education in the 2009/10 academic year at the National University of Lesotho. Questionnaires and interviews were used for data collection. The findings show that before instruction, the teachers operated with limited knowledge of teaching. At the end of the course the teachers� knowledge of teaching was enhanced. Significant change was apportioned to engaging in reflection and teaching for relational understanding. Implications of the findings for the course, teacher education and professional development are also discussed.
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    Secondary school teachers' pedagogical content knowledge of some common students' errors and misconceptions in sets
    (African Journal of Research in Mathematics, Science and Technology Education, 2013) Moru, E. K.; Qhobela, M.
    The study investigated teachers' pedagogical content knowledge of common students' errors and misconceptions in sets. Five mathematics teachers from one Lesotho secondary school were the sample of the study. Questionnaires and interviews were used for data collection. The results show that teachers were able to identify the following students' errors: (i) writing an empty set as {0} instead of { }; (ii) treating the repeating elements of the union of two sets as distinct and (iii) treating an infinite set as a finite set. Teachers were not able to identify the errors where students (i) treated infinity as a number; (ii) said that the members of countable infinite sets cannot be compared and (iii) that curly brackets are used only when listing the members of a set. The identified errors were associated with some misconceptions. Depending on the nature of the students' tasks teachers' strategies and explanations of dealing with the errors and misconceptions were inclined towards calling on procedural knowledge. Only a few cases of conceptual knowledge were noted. Implications for teaching are proposed.
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    Secondary School Teachers� Pedagogical Content Knowledge of Some Common Student Errors and Misconceptions in Sets
    (Southern African Association for Research in Mathematics,Science and Technology Education (SAARMSTE), 2013) Moru, E. K.; Qhobela, M.
    The study investigated teachers� pedagogical content knowledge of common students� errors and misconceptions in sets. Five mathematics teachers from one Lesotho secondary school were the sample of the study. Questionnaires and interviews were used for data collection. The results show that teachers were able to identify the following students� errors: (i) writing an empty set as {0} instead of { }; (ii) treating the repeating elements of the union of two sets as distinct and (iii) treating an infinite set as a finite set. Teachers were not able to identify the errors where students (i) treated infinity as a number; (ii) said that the members of countable infinite sets cannot be compared and (iii) that curly brackets are used only when listing the members of a set. The identified errors were associated with some misconceptions. Depending on the nature of the students� tasks teachers� strategies and explanations of dealing with the errors and misconceptions were inclined towards calling on procedural knowledge. Only a few cases of conceptual knowledge were noted. Implications for teaching are proposed.
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    Understanding challenges physics teachers come across as they implement learner-centred approaches in Lesotho
    (African Journal of Research in Mathematics, Science and Technology Education, 2014) Qhobela, M.; Moru, E. K.
    Teacher-centred strategies have dominated most physics lessons in Lesotho. This study attempted to understand the contributing factors for the choice of teacher-centred teaching instead of learner-centred teaching with the goal of informing a professional development programme designed to address this problem. The paper responds to the research question: what challenges do physics teachers come across when they attempt to implement learner-centred strategies in their lessons? Four teachers, with varying teaching experience, participated in the study. Data were collected using written responses and audio and video recordings. Analysis of the data reflected two elements. First, the operational definitions of learner-centred strategies that teachers use lack components that are likely to influence their teaching. Second, teachers claim that time and student characteristics are some of the challenges that affect their choice of the teacher-centred approaches. Implications of these findings for both professional development providers and classroom practitioners are discussed.