Self-management is a vital element in the care of type 2diabetes patients. In turn, self-efficac... more Self-management is a vital element in the care of type 2diabetes patients. In turn, self-efficacy plays a major role in patients’ self-management. Self-efficacy is the patient’s personal judgement of his/herconfidence in performing aspects of diabetes self-management. This study investigated the level of self-efficacy of patients attending the Pretoria Academic Hospital Diabetes Clinic, in the light of high levels ofre-admission due to complications, suggesting low self-efficacy levels. Eighty type 2 diabetes patients, mean age of 59 years, completed thepublished IDEA LL baseline questionnaire, to establish a self-efficacyscore. Relationships between self-efficacy and demographic factors wereinvestigated using the chi-square test. The mean self-efficacy level of thesample population is excellent (mean = 85.44%).A lthough self-reported self-efficacy levels are excellent, in comparison to the Sarkar study (2006) in which participants only scored “fair”, it is speculated that self-e...
Abstract: It is of utmost importance for learners to master language in order to learn effectivel... more Abstract: It is of utmost importance for learners to master language in order to learn effectively at school. Many learners are initially taught in school to read and write. Learners should later be able to use acquired reading skills to learn, and acquired writing skills must be applied ...
The teaching practicum has been characterised by “wicked feedback” problems. Feedback is essentia... more The teaching practicum has been characterised by “wicked feedback” problems. Feedback is essential for enhancing student teachers’ core teaching practices. Student teachers are most vulnerable when they have to present lesson segments and may not know whether they are doing it correctly. Providing actionable, timely and constructive feedback is challenging at the best of times and this became even more so during the COVID-19 pandemic. This proactive action research study aims to provide an overview of the utilization of technology-enhanced feedback (digital screen recording) on preservice teachers’ practicum assessment tasks and to report on their perceptions of, reflections on, and uptake of the feedback. A group of fifteen preservice teachers and two teacher educators from a university in the North West Province participated in the study. The findings indicate that technology-enhanced feedback motivates student teachers to engage with the feedback because it facilitates the person...
South Africa went into lockdown on 27 March, 2020, as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic It is unl... more South Africa went into lockdown on 27 March, 2020, as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic It is unlikely that thousands of preservice teachers will be able to complete their teaching practicum during 2020 at schools In this action research study, we investigated a two-week teaching practicum experience that was completed via WhatsApp by 12 students During this time, the student teachers were supervised and monitored by university teaching practicum lecturers and mentored by school mentor teachers via WhatsApp The results indicated that all participants perceived the teaching practicum experience via WhatsApp to have contributed to the formation of a community of practice that resulted in feedback and assessment being focused on a core teaching practice, namely explaining subject-specific content Guidelines are provided for universities or teacher training providers who have work-integrated learning components to show how a teaching practicum experience via WhatsApp can be integrated i...
We are at a point in the history of higher education in South Africa when radical changes are occ... more We are at a point in the history of higher education in South Africa when radical changes are occurring in instructional delivery system models. Of increasing significance is a mixed mode of traditional and distance delivery (i.e. Telematic Leaming Systems at the PU for CHE). In this changing environment, language
Undergraduates are expected to read, comprehend and learn independently from university texts acr... more Undergraduates are expected to read, comprehend and learn independently from university texts across relatively unfamiliar academic domains, acquiring new vocabulary, key concepts, as well as principles of reasoning. Reading is not simply an additional tool that ...
ISSN 1436-4522. �� International Forum of Educational Technology & Society (IFETS). The authors a... more ISSN 1436-4522. �� International Forum of Educational Technology & Society (IFETS). The authors and the forum jointly retain the copyright of the articles. Permission to make digital or hard copies of part or all of this work for personal or classroom use is granted without fee provided that copies are not made or distributed for profit or commercial advantage and that copies bear the full citation on the first page. Copyrights for components of this work owned by others than IFETS must be honoured. Abstracting with credit is permitted. To copy otherwise, to republish, to post on ...
International Journal of Learning, Teaching and Educational Research
The Covid-19 pandemic has affected the teaching practicum component of initial teacher education ... more The Covid-19 pandemic has affected the teaching practicum component of initial teacher education programmes in significant ways. School-based placement could not take place, but teacher educators still needed to ensure that the teaching practicum component complied with policy. The aim of this study is to indicate how work-integrated learning teacher educators created professional learning communities among an entire population of 7 041 student teachers enrolled for the Baccalaureus Educationis degree, the challenges they faced and how they managed these challenges. The professional learning community model of Hord (2009) was used as a conceptual framework for this study. In this qualitative multi-site case study, document analysis was the primary data collection method. Journals and WhatsApp messages kept by the two work-integrated learning teacher educators and the minutes of virtual work-integrated learning meetings were analysed using narrative and thematic analysis. The finding...
The problem with assessment in South African public schools persists. In 2008 thousands of candid... more The problem with assessment in South African public schools persists. In 2008 thousands of candidates taking South Africa's first ever National Certificate Examination could not be resulted because of a failure to report school-based assessment (SBA) tasks. Only 62.5% of candidates prepared for the final external examination through a process of continuous SBA passed. In 2009 the pass rate dropped to a new low of 60.7%, which begs the question: why is SBA not serving its purpose of enhancing learning and preparing candidates for the high stakes external examinations? We focus on English First Additional Language (EFAL) teachers' perceptions of SBA in the Further Education and Training (FET) band and the challenges they face with the implementation of the curriculum that calls for drastic changes in assessment practice. Last lesson of the afternoon When will the bell ring, and end this weariness? How long have they tugged the leash, and strained apart My pack of unruly hounds! I cannot start Them on a quarry of knowledge they hate to hunt, D.H. Lawrence I can haul them and urge them no more.
Vol 30:277-292 School-based assessment: the leash needed to keep the poetic ‘unruly pack of hound... more Vol 30:277-292 School-based assessment: the leash needed to keep the poetic ‘unruly pack of hounds ’ effectively in the hunt for learning outcomes
A number of assessment studies in recent years have shown that the educational achievement of lea... more A number of assessment studies in recent years have shown that the educational achievement of learners in South African schools is unacceptably poor. The Department of Education’s systemic evaluations, conducted in Grade 3 (first cycle in 2001, second cycle in 2007) show very low levels of literacy among learners. Reading comprehension and writing scores averaged 39 % for the first and 36 % for the second cycle. Research indicates that less attention has been given to children’s reading comprehension skills compared to decoding skills. Teacher preparation programmes should provide candidates with a rigorous, research-based curriculum and opportunities to practise a range of predefined skills and knowledge. The demands of competent literacy instruction and assessment, and the training experiences necessary to learn it, have been seriously underestimated by universities. Teacher education programmes should ensure that teachers, amongst other crucial aspects, know how to assess the pro...
This article discusses the effect of the integration of the Digital Versatile Disc (DVD) as an IC... more This article discusses the effect of the integration of the Digital Versatile Disc (DVD) as an ICT-variant on the academic performance of full-time geography teacher students enrolled for a Bachelor of Education (B. Ed.) degree at a rural university in a developing country. Action research (which includes both quantitative and qualitative studies), done over three years, attempted to determine if the integration of DVD technology can effectively support the teaching and learning of geography teacher students in a learner-centred learning environment, despite a 55 % decrease in contact time, as well as a change of normal contact sessions (lectures) to that of a seminar format. It also explains how the DVD was compiled to suit this DVD method, the DVD method itself and how to employ it effectively in conjunction with seminars. Students ’ perceptions about this method were continuously considered and changes were made steered by their need and feedback. Results indicate that this learn...
The Department of Education, educators, parents and various stakeholders are concerned about the ... more The Department of Education, educators, parents and various stakeholders are concerned about the poor reading skills of learners in South African schools. Various national and international studies reveal shockingly low levels of reading proficiency among South African learners. ...
AUDREY KLOPPER is ’n dosent by die Fakulteit Opvoedingswetenskappe van die NoordwesUniversiteit (... more AUDREY KLOPPER is ’n dosent by die Fakulteit Opvoedingswetenskappe van die NoordwesUniversiteit (Potchefstroomkampus) waar sy verantwoordelik is vir voorgraadse BEd-studente wat in die grondslagfase spesialiseer, sowel as die begeleiding van MEd-studente wat in vroee kinderontwikkeling spesialiseer. Sy is ’n projekleier van die grondslagfase vir die projek Kwaliteit Taal en Geletterdheidsonderrig binne diverse onderrig- en leeromgewings binne die fakulteit se navorsingsfokusarea. Sy het 15 jaar onderwyservaring in die grondslagfase en was ook departementshoof van die grondslagfase-afdeling by ’n plaaslike laerskool. Sy het verskeie nasionale en internasionale referate gelewer en een artikel in ’n geakkrediteerde tydskrif gepubliseer. Haar navorsingsveld sluit vroee kinderontwikkeling en geletterdheid in die grondslagfase in. CARISMA NEL is hoogleraar by die Fakulteit Opvoedingswetenskappe van die NoordwesUniversiteit (Potchefstroomkampus) waar sy verantwoordelik is vir die onderrig ...
Self-management is a vital element in the care of type 2diabetes patients. In turn, self-efficac... more Self-management is a vital element in the care of type 2diabetes patients. In turn, self-efficacy plays a major role in patients’ self-management. Self-efficacy is the patient’s personal judgement of his/herconfidence in performing aspects of diabetes self-management. This study investigated the level of self-efficacy of patients attending the Pretoria Academic Hospital Diabetes Clinic, in the light of high levels ofre-admission due to complications, suggesting low self-efficacy levels. Eighty type 2 diabetes patients, mean age of 59 years, completed thepublished IDEA LL baseline questionnaire, to establish a self-efficacyscore. Relationships between self-efficacy and demographic factors wereinvestigated using the chi-square test. The mean self-efficacy level of thesample population is excellent (mean = 85.44%).A lthough self-reported self-efficacy levels are excellent, in comparison to the Sarkar study (2006) in which participants only scored “fair”, it is speculated that self-e...
Abstract: It is of utmost importance for learners to master language in order to learn effectivel... more Abstract: It is of utmost importance for learners to master language in order to learn effectively at school. Many learners are initially taught in school to read and write. Learners should later be able to use acquired reading skills to learn, and acquired writing skills must be applied ...
The teaching practicum has been characterised by “wicked feedback” problems. Feedback is essentia... more The teaching practicum has been characterised by “wicked feedback” problems. Feedback is essential for enhancing student teachers’ core teaching practices. Student teachers are most vulnerable when they have to present lesson segments and may not know whether they are doing it correctly. Providing actionable, timely and constructive feedback is challenging at the best of times and this became even more so during the COVID-19 pandemic. This proactive action research study aims to provide an overview of the utilization of technology-enhanced feedback (digital screen recording) on preservice teachers’ practicum assessment tasks and to report on their perceptions of, reflections on, and uptake of the feedback. A group of fifteen preservice teachers and two teacher educators from a university in the North West Province participated in the study. The findings indicate that technology-enhanced feedback motivates student teachers to engage with the feedback because it facilitates the person...
South Africa went into lockdown on 27 March, 2020, as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic It is unl... more South Africa went into lockdown on 27 March, 2020, as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic It is unlikely that thousands of preservice teachers will be able to complete their teaching practicum during 2020 at schools In this action research study, we investigated a two-week teaching practicum experience that was completed via WhatsApp by 12 students During this time, the student teachers were supervised and monitored by university teaching practicum lecturers and mentored by school mentor teachers via WhatsApp The results indicated that all participants perceived the teaching practicum experience via WhatsApp to have contributed to the formation of a community of practice that resulted in feedback and assessment being focused on a core teaching practice, namely explaining subject-specific content Guidelines are provided for universities or teacher training providers who have work-integrated learning components to show how a teaching practicum experience via WhatsApp can be integrated i...
We are at a point in the history of higher education in South Africa when radical changes are occ... more We are at a point in the history of higher education in South Africa when radical changes are occurring in instructional delivery system models. Of increasing significance is a mixed mode of traditional and distance delivery (i.e. Telematic Leaming Systems at the PU for CHE). In this changing environment, language
Undergraduates are expected to read, comprehend and learn independently from university texts acr... more Undergraduates are expected to read, comprehend and learn independently from university texts across relatively unfamiliar academic domains, acquiring new vocabulary, key concepts, as well as principles of reasoning. Reading is not simply an additional tool that ...
ISSN 1436-4522. �� International Forum of Educational Technology & Society (IFETS). The authors a... more ISSN 1436-4522. �� International Forum of Educational Technology & Society (IFETS). The authors and the forum jointly retain the copyright of the articles. Permission to make digital or hard copies of part or all of this work for personal or classroom use is granted without fee provided that copies are not made or distributed for profit or commercial advantage and that copies bear the full citation on the first page. Copyrights for components of this work owned by others than IFETS must be honoured. Abstracting with credit is permitted. To copy otherwise, to republish, to post on ...
International Journal of Learning, Teaching and Educational Research
The Covid-19 pandemic has affected the teaching practicum component of initial teacher education ... more The Covid-19 pandemic has affected the teaching practicum component of initial teacher education programmes in significant ways. School-based placement could not take place, but teacher educators still needed to ensure that the teaching practicum component complied with policy. The aim of this study is to indicate how work-integrated learning teacher educators created professional learning communities among an entire population of 7 041 student teachers enrolled for the Baccalaureus Educationis degree, the challenges they faced and how they managed these challenges. The professional learning community model of Hord (2009) was used as a conceptual framework for this study. In this qualitative multi-site case study, document analysis was the primary data collection method. Journals and WhatsApp messages kept by the two work-integrated learning teacher educators and the minutes of virtual work-integrated learning meetings were analysed using narrative and thematic analysis. The finding...
The problem with assessment in South African public schools persists. In 2008 thousands of candid... more The problem with assessment in South African public schools persists. In 2008 thousands of candidates taking South Africa's first ever National Certificate Examination could not be resulted because of a failure to report school-based assessment (SBA) tasks. Only 62.5% of candidates prepared for the final external examination through a process of continuous SBA passed. In 2009 the pass rate dropped to a new low of 60.7%, which begs the question: why is SBA not serving its purpose of enhancing learning and preparing candidates for the high stakes external examinations? We focus on English First Additional Language (EFAL) teachers' perceptions of SBA in the Further Education and Training (FET) band and the challenges they face with the implementation of the curriculum that calls for drastic changes in assessment practice. Last lesson of the afternoon When will the bell ring, and end this weariness? How long have they tugged the leash, and strained apart My pack of unruly hounds! I cannot start Them on a quarry of knowledge they hate to hunt, D.H. Lawrence I can haul them and urge them no more.
Vol 30:277-292 School-based assessment: the leash needed to keep the poetic ‘unruly pack of hound... more Vol 30:277-292 School-based assessment: the leash needed to keep the poetic ‘unruly pack of hounds ’ effectively in the hunt for learning outcomes
A number of assessment studies in recent years have shown that the educational achievement of lea... more A number of assessment studies in recent years have shown that the educational achievement of learners in South African schools is unacceptably poor. The Department of Education’s systemic evaluations, conducted in Grade 3 (first cycle in 2001, second cycle in 2007) show very low levels of literacy among learners. Reading comprehension and writing scores averaged 39 % for the first and 36 % for the second cycle. Research indicates that less attention has been given to children’s reading comprehension skills compared to decoding skills. Teacher preparation programmes should provide candidates with a rigorous, research-based curriculum and opportunities to practise a range of predefined skills and knowledge. The demands of competent literacy instruction and assessment, and the training experiences necessary to learn it, have been seriously underestimated by universities. Teacher education programmes should ensure that teachers, amongst other crucial aspects, know how to assess the pro...
This article discusses the effect of the integration of the Digital Versatile Disc (DVD) as an IC... more This article discusses the effect of the integration of the Digital Versatile Disc (DVD) as an ICT-variant on the academic performance of full-time geography teacher students enrolled for a Bachelor of Education (B. Ed.) degree at a rural university in a developing country. Action research (which includes both quantitative and qualitative studies), done over three years, attempted to determine if the integration of DVD technology can effectively support the teaching and learning of geography teacher students in a learner-centred learning environment, despite a 55 % decrease in contact time, as well as a change of normal contact sessions (lectures) to that of a seminar format. It also explains how the DVD was compiled to suit this DVD method, the DVD method itself and how to employ it effectively in conjunction with seminars. Students ’ perceptions about this method were continuously considered and changes were made steered by their need and feedback. Results indicate that this learn...
The Department of Education, educators, parents and various stakeholders are concerned about the ... more The Department of Education, educators, parents and various stakeholders are concerned about the poor reading skills of learners in South African schools. Various national and international studies reveal shockingly low levels of reading proficiency among South African learners. ...
AUDREY KLOPPER is ’n dosent by die Fakulteit Opvoedingswetenskappe van die NoordwesUniversiteit (... more AUDREY KLOPPER is ’n dosent by die Fakulteit Opvoedingswetenskappe van die NoordwesUniversiteit (Potchefstroomkampus) waar sy verantwoordelik is vir voorgraadse BEd-studente wat in die grondslagfase spesialiseer, sowel as die begeleiding van MEd-studente wat in vroee kinderontwikkeling spesialiseer. Sy is ’n projekleier van die grondslagfase vir die projek Kwaliteit Taal en Geletterdheidsonderrig binne diverse onderrig- en leeromgewings binne die fakulteit se navorsingsfokusarea. Sy het 15 jaar onderwyservaring in die grondslagfase en was ook departementshoof van die grondslagfase-afdeling by ’n plaaslike laerskool. Sy het verskeie nasionale en internasionale referate gelewer en een artikel in ’n geakkrediteerde tydskrif gepubliseer. Haar navorsingsveld sluit vroee kinderontwikkeling en geletterdheid in die grondslagfase in. CARISMA NEL is hoogleraar by die Fakulteit Opvoedingswetenskappe van die NoordwesUniversiteit (Potchefstroomkampus) waar sy verantwoordelik is vir die onderrig ...
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