Análisis de las respuestas de los estudiantes y resultados

Theme 3 of research sub-question 2: Teachers used authentic problems and activities which promoted the development of critical and analytical thinking skills in learners.

Social constructivism considers the nature of scientific knowledge as being socially constructed and changeable (Loyens, 2007), which therefore calls for science teachers to foster a critical perspective on scientific culture among learners. It emphasises the limitation and application of scientific knowledge in people’s lives. Therefore teaching should be designed to foster critical and analytical thinking skills which involve conceptualising, applying, analysing, synthesising and evaluating information, which are critical skills for dealing with social, scientific and practical problems.

Therefore the focus of teaching should be on the application of content that stimulates thinking during the learning process. Teachers achieved this through the use of authentic problem-solving activities when incorporating learners’ socio-cultural beliefs, practices and experiences in their teaching. Such a strategy facilitated the application of content that stimulated critical and analytical thinking skills in learners. The theme is addressed when teachers taught concepts on human reproduction and health diet which are: infertility in females, surrogacy and the concept of twins and healthy diets of different cultures.

4.3.4.1 Lesson on infertility in females and the importance of scientific research In a lesson that followed after exploring the causes of infertility, Nhlamulo asked learners to discuss the following:

In some countries some women are paid to donate eggs that scientists can use in their studies; is it a good thing?

The learners’ responses touched on issues of ethics, beliefs and the scientific culture. Some learners argued from an African traditional perspective when they pointed out that such women may end up barren as the practice may offend ancestors. One boy said, ‘amaeggs azopela’, meaning eggs will be depleted, to which the teacher responded by referring him to the question they had answered before, which showed calculations of the number of eggs a 30-year-old woman could produce every month for 10 years. This was meant to show learners that quantity was not an issue here. This kind of teaching made learners aware of the need to gather enough information that they can use to make well-grounded decisions, which is an aspect of teaching critical and analytical skills. The teacher’s question, ‘how can scientists research on reproductive diseases if there are no egg donors?’ triggered class discussions to support critical thinking. The teacher’s provision of an authentic problem stimulated learners to be actively engaged in the learning process and challenged them intellectually as they realised that sometimes following their socio-cultural beliefs may not solve real-life problems.

Discussing issues based on ethics, traditional beliefs and scientific point of view helped in challenging some of the views learners held at the beginning of the lesson. To show how the teaching had promoted critical and analytical thinking in learners, one learner said:

‘Those women who donate eggs should not be paid at all since they are helping out.’ Most learners agreed that it should be an act of charity to show how much they were convinced about the importance of research in human reproduction. Learners even questioned how the ancestors would institute that kind of punishment in response to an earlier remark at the beginning of the lesson that women who donate eggs may become barren as it angers the ancestors. This shows how learners could now deepen their thinking and try to justify their answers and decisions. The learners also discussed the aspect of sperm donation and how it helps in the same way as the egg donation. The learners did not raise any concerns on this, which I thought meant that they now understood the role scientific research plays in finding possible solutions to problems or determining the causes of different ailments and conditions.

The use of an authentic problem promoted critical thinking in learners, unlike in a lecture and rote memorisation situation. The focus of instruction was therefore on the process of learning, rather than mainly on content acquisition. In addition to using authentic problems, the teacher placed learners in small collaborative groups which gave room for peer coaching, thereby guiding learners’ critical thinking processes. The questions on how scientists could research reproductive diseases if women do not donate the eggs, triggered learners to conceptualise the problem, apply the information they already had and analyse its logic and relevance in the new situation.

4.3.4.2 Lesson on surrogacy and socio-cultural implications

At the beginning of this lesson, Thuli reminded learners about the previous lesson where they discussed a problem of a woman who could not conceive. This is presented in section 4.3.2.1. As a continuation, Thuli asked learners for feedback on the research they made in answering the questions: ‘What is surrogacy? What is involved? What are its implications in science and society?’

Some of the responses given by learners were:

Learner 1: That’s when someone asks the other to carry her own child.

Learner 3: That’s when a woman asks a sister or niece to marry her husband so that she can bear children for her.

Other learners made reference to the local television soap opera “Generations” where a wife paid someone to seduce her husband so that the woman could fall pregnant on behalf of the wife. One learner emotionally said: ‘Surrogacy is a bad thing ma’am your friend sleeping with your husband!’

There was a heated debate on the proper meaning of surrogacy, which then led to the exploration of how the process occurs based on tradition and science.Instead of employing traditional expository methods where she could give the learners information,

Thuli engaged learners in the learning process by asking them to critique each other’s answers.

The teacher, together with the learners, then explored two major forms of surrogacy. Thuli provided learners with authentic problems where a woman failed to have children because she was unable to receive and nourish a fertilised ovum. The woman’s fertilised egg was then placed in the surrogate mother’s womb. The second problem was of a woman whose eggs were not viable, probably because her ova were deformed; hence a surrogate mother was artificially inseminated by the sperm from the woman’s husband. The following are some of the responses given by learners after the teacher had asked whether surrogacy was a good practice: ‘It is good to help each other out’; ‘Umm no, every woman should experience carrying their own baby’; ‘What if the surrogate mother refuses to part with the baby?’ ‘Yes umtwana wakhe’ (meaning it is her baby). ‘She suffered for nine months’; ‘It is not her baby’; “Is it fair, umzimba wakhe umoshiwe?” meaning her body structure was ruined due to pregnancy.

The use of the above authentic problems stimulated learner discussions where some showed emotional feelings in their responses. The above responses showed eagerness by learners to know more about the concept of surrogacy as they mentioned the possibility of the surrogate mother refusing to part with the child and others referring to surrogacy as an unfair practice. In this way the learners mentioned social, scientific and practical problems, which stimulated learners to think critically and at the same time evaluate the logic and

relevance of the practice of surrogacy against their prior knowledge and experiences. This is evidenced by learners questioning how society would view the baby and ‘its mothers’, particularly that traditionally every child belongs to a particular tribe, ethnic group or family. In addition, the learners also brought in their traditional belief systems, which rather complicated the matter. For instance, the learners were concerned about the fact that it was difficult to determine which ancestral spirits would guide and protect the child as it belonged to two families. It was evident that the learners valued the notion of identity, which is an important aspect of life for those who are so much ingrained in their African traditional beliefs.

The learners debated these issues. The teacher asked the learners whether the child would look like the surrogate or the biological mother in the case where the fertilised ovum is placed in the surrogate mother’s womb. There were divided responses by learners to the teacher’s question as some mentioned the biological mother, while others were convinced the child should resemble the surrogate mother since the child was born of her womb. The teacher further inquired: ‘Why are we referring to the other woman as the biological mother?’ Such probing questions challenged learners to critically seek for information to justify their thinking. As a result, learners debated in their respective groups the source of the egg with reference to each case of surrogacy. Thuli later described the surrogate mother as a mere bag carrying someone else’s child. The learners debated on how unfair the process was to the surrogate mother as she would bear the pains of carrying ‘someone else’s child’ for nine months.

The learners continued to explore the medical, legal and ethical issues regarding surrogacy as they also raised fears that the surrogate mother could infect the baby, or the donating mother could also infect the surrogate mother in the event that either of them was HIV positive. As a result, important concepts, which included ovulation, sperm production, in vitro fertilisation, diseases that should be screened before surrogacy such as HIV/AIDS and hepatitis B, hormonal effects and pregnancy were discussed in the process.

It was therefore imperative that the teacher had to stress the source of the egg and the sperm, which helped to allay the fears and concerns of the learners about the baby and its

‘mothers’. Such discussions stimulated learners to think critically and view issues from different perspectives. At the end learners managed to challenge each other’s initial ideas about surrogacy and critically evaluate the depth and breadth of their thinking. This was facilitated by the teacher’s questions such as: ‘Why do you think that? What is your knowledge based upon?’ These questions were intended to promote critical and analytical thinking skills. However, the issues of learners’ belief systems, particularly the issue of ancestral spirits, were not adequately tackled as the teacher exhibited little knowledge about those cultural aspects.

4.3.4.3 Lesson on giving birth to twins and traditional beliefs

The concept of twins was examined as some learners pointed out that traditionally, it was taboo to give birth to twins. Both babies were killed, as it was considered an abomination to the community. The class analysis of the practice brought in issues of lack of knowledge of how twins are formed, and failure to accept any anomaly by those people who were engrossed in that tradition. Teachers accommodated traditional beliefs brought in by learners to the science class which facilitated coverage of relevant scientific concepts. It was interesting to note that the learners displayed their ability to think critically when they questioned such beliefs, instead of taking matters at face value. For instance, learners asked how newly born babies could have had an effect on the social status or cohesion of the community and why the rest of the community accepted such practices without question.

4.3.4.4 Lesson on healthy diets of different cultures

During Thuli’s lesson on healthy diets, learners raised issues surrounding food that are often discussed at home. An example was that traditionally, girls were not supposed to eat cheese, milk and eggs often and particularly during the menstruation period as it was believed that it would increase their fertility. Such ideas originated from learners’ grandmothers as it emerged from data from interviews done before lessons that some of the learners were orphans who were in the custody of grandmothers. The teacher was therefore caught off guard. She threw the question back to the class which I thought would give her ample time to reorganise her lesson. Thuli asked the learners to discuss reasons why the adults forbade the girls to eat such nutritious food. She did not rush to address her

thought processes. The teacher jokingly inquired: ‘Don’t you think your grandmothers are stingy and they do not want to share?’ Some of the questions included: ‘What are the functions of proteins in your body?’ ‘Which food items are rich in proteins?’ ‘What happens if you don’t eat enough proteins?’ The teacher initiated class discussions through these thought-provoking questions, which made learners keen on identifying important and sufficient information before making well-grounded decisions, which is an aspect of teaching critical and analytical skills.

The teacher assisted the class to analyse the nutritional content of the forbidden food, which made learners realise that the food was rich in protein and fat and would increase the rate of growth. The teacher then managed to teach the food groups and their functions through critical analysis of authentic problems from cultural beliefs and experiences which learners brought to the science class. However, the point of how the foodstuffs, menstruation and fertility are connected remained unanswered. Both the teacher and learners evaluated the earlier belief by learners about forbidden food stuffs and concluded that this was the adult’s way of restraining children from fast growth as they could attract boys and become sexually active before the right time. In both the interviews done before the lessons and interviews done after the lessons the teachers mentioned that in the African tradition, it is difficult for parents to engage their children in a discussion on sexuality. As a result, they resort to other ways of communicating the message to the children. In the post-lesson interview Thuli expressed amazement, as she stated that when she grew up she was not aware of such beliefs.

To consolidate concepts of the different food groups and sources Thuli tasked learners to make posters in groups that were meant to educate their communities about healthy eating. According to the CAPS document (DBE, 2011) learners should be able to classify food into growth food, energy food and protective food and as such, learners were supposed to come up with various food types which fell into the three main groups. The information in the poster was supposed to be suitable for the community that the learners belonged to. In other words, learners were supposed to include food types which are readily available or within the reach of their community members. Important aspects such as what must be eaten, how much must be eaten and in what way this helps the body were supposed to be

addressed in the poster. Figure 4.4 below shows two posters from two different groups of learners.

Figure 4.4: Posters made by learners on food and healthy diets

In a related lesson, Peter tasked learners to identify one family member or neighbour and identify what they ate and the quantities they required. Peter tasked learners to analyse the diet in terms of whether it was healthy or not. In particular learners needed to identify the socio-cultural practices, experiences and beliefs of the person, as people from different cultures or ethnic groups have their specific food preferences. They were also tasked to compare the diet with that of the learner from the suburbs (more socio-economically

advantaged community). The learners would then determine the missing food types or remove the unwanted ones in order to make it a healthy diet.

The diets brought up by the learners were composed of very few vegetables, no water or fruit. Instead it included mostly ‘pap’ (mealie-meal porridge), fat cakes, salted and sweet foodstuffs which Peter indicated were associated with the local township communities. Only two groups of learners were exceptions. One had a typical Venda food collection and the other had a Xhosa one, which the teacher and the rest of the class then used in the lesson to classify the food items into food groups as shown in Table 4.1 below. The teacher confirmed with the learners that they had phoned their mothers who lived in Limpopo and in the Eastern Cape respectively, who assisted them to come up with the food collections. The learners familiar with the Zulu culture then contributed to compile a Zulu collection during the lesson. The following are some of the types of diet that the class compiled.

Table 4.1: Examples of different types of diet compiled by learners

Carbohydrates Proteins Fats Vitamins Minerals Fibres

Traditional Xhosa meal Umngqusho (Samp) Tripe Beans Boiled and salted chicken Tripe Usenza (Boiled pumpkin) Amarhewu (Fermented sorghum) Roughage from the samp Traditional Zulu meal Uphuthu (Fluffy mealie porridge) Ubhatata (Sweet potatoes) Ujege (Dumpling, mixture of flour and mealie-meal) Izindlubu (beans) Amasi (sour milk) Amasi (sour milk) Imbuya (wild veggies) Imbuya (wild veggies) Amasi (sour milk) Amahewu (fermented sorghum) Izinkobe (Boiled maize seeds) Traditional Venda meal Vhuswa (Thick mealie meal porridge) Masonzha (Mopani worms) Masonzha (Mopani worms) Delele (wild vegetable) Delele (wild vegetable) Maphuphu (Boiled maize seeds)

The table shows that different ethnic groups have different traditional diets which can be classified into different food groups. The teacher helped learners to apply the knowledge they had learnt about healthy diet to classify their own traditional food.

In a practical activity, Nhlamulo involved learners in carrying out food tests using some of the traditional food brought by learners. In this practical activity learners were excited as they were sceptical about some of the traditional food brought by others. In this way the learners realised that even traditional food has nutrients which are important for the body.

The following section presents data on how the teachers used familiar resources, examples, experiences and language to enforce conceptual understanding in learners.