Speaker
Dr
Mark Herbert
(University of the Western Cape)
Description
South Africa schools have been in a state of education reform since the mid-nineties. At the core of the reform was the establishment of the comprehensive curriculum project named Curriculum 2005. Shortcomings in the Curriculum 2005 resulted in the establishment of the National Curriculum Statement in 2008. Curriculum reform as required by the National Curriculum Statement for Natural and Physical Sciences teachers implied that teachers have to have a deep understanding of the highly structured content knowledge as well as the pedagogical content knowledge to transform the content for effective teaching, in particular the physics component of the curricula. However research findings have indicated that teachers find the curriculum challenging and that they were concerned that they did not have the necessary skills to deal with the content. The South Africa Institute of Physics (SAIP) in its draft document “Strategic Plan on the enhancement of Physics Training in South Africa” recommended that Physics Departments at South Africa Universities plays a more active role in teacher development and training. This paper reports on the University of the Western Cape, Department of Physics and Astronomy’s teacher development and training program to help address the curriculum challenges teachers face in terms of the physics content and physics pedagogical content knowledge. An overview of the program as well as teachers experiences of the program will be presented and discussed.
Level for award<br> (Hons, MSc, <br> PhD, N/A)?
N/A
Apply to be<br> considered for a student <br> award (Yes / No)?
No
Primary author
Dr
Mark Herbert
(University of the Western Cape)
Co-authors
Mr
Bako Nyikun Audu
(University of the Western Cape)
Mr
Ronald Engelbrecht
(Western Cape Education Department)
