Paul A Hobden
I retired from UKZN at end of 2014. I now have an honourary appointment and work as a consultant for QPiE ( www.qpie.co.za). My university work involved lecturing to postgraduate students and teachers in a variety of science education areas such as teaching and learning, nature of science, promoting critical thinking and practical work in science.
My research interests involve classroom environments, problem solving and critical thinking in science. Currently have four PhD students in final stages working in various areas including critical thinking in the classroom, implementing inquiry, science teacher professional development.
I now work full time in evaluation of intervention projects in maths and science.
Phone: Phone: 031-7652130
Address: Hon. Prof Paul Hobden, PhD
Science Education
University of KwaZulu-Natal
Edgewood Campus
Corner of Richmond and Marianhill Rd, Pinetown
Postal: P.Bag X03, Ashwood
3605. South Africa
My research interests involve classroom environments, problem solving and critical thinking in science. Currently have four PhD students in final stages working in various areas including critical thinking in the classroom, implementing inquiry, science teacher professional development.
I now work full time in evaluation of intervention projects in maths and science.
Phone: Phone: 031-7652130
Address: Hon. Prof Paul Hobden, PhD
Science Education
University of KwaZulu-Natal
Edgewood Campus
Corner of Richmond and Marianhill Rd, Pinetown
Postal: P.Bag X03, Ashwood
3605. South Africa
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The purpose of this study was to find out teachers’ preferred teaching sequence for basic chemistry topics in Physical Science in South Africa, to obtain their reasons underpinning their preferred sequence, and to compare these sequences with the prescribed sequences in the current curriculum. The study was located within a pragmatic paradigm and employed a multi-level learning model as an interpretive framework. A mixed methods research design was used and survey data collected from a convenience sample of 227 physical science teachers and follow-up interviews with a subset of eleven experienced teachers. Analysis of the data revealed that in general 70% of teachers preferred sequences starting with microscopic level knowledge such as atoms and molecules, while only 30% preferred starting with macroscopic level knowledge topics such as solids, liquids and gases. Five main categories of reason were given by teachers. The majority of teachers’ reasons focused on general learning principles such as moving from simple to complex or linking to prior knowledge as opposed to focusing on the specific needs and demands of chemistry knowledge. In addition, it was found that the new CAPS curriculum was based on starting with macroscopic level topics which indicates a potential conflict between teachers’ preferred sequences and those required by the current curriculum.
Corresponding author: Sibandad@ukzn.ac.za
The first author taught the gifted learner and collected data through participant observation over a 3-year period when the
learner was in Grades 8 to 10. The data corpus was composed of audio-recorded lesson observations and interviews, field
notes, and written material. We operated in an interpretive paradigm, and data collection, analysis, and interpretation were
done in an inductive, cyclic manner associated with the constant comparative method. We identified three general strategies and a number of associated tactics that characterized his successful learning. These strategies are interrogating information, thinking it through, and organizing and linking.
The purpose of this study was to find out teachers’ preferred teaching sequence for basic chemistry topics in Physical Science in South Africa, to obtain their reasons underpinning their preferred sequence, and to compare these sequences with the prescribed sequences in the current curriculum. The study was located within a pragmatic paradigm and employed a multi-level learning model as an interpretive framework. A mixed methods research design was used and survey data collected from a convenience sample of 227 physical science teachers and follow-up interviews with a subset of eleven experienced teachers. Analysis of the data revealed that in general 70% of teachers preferred sequences starting with microscopic level knowledge such as atoms and molecules, while only 30% preferred starting with macroscopic level knowledge topics such as solids, liquids and gases. Five main categories of reason were given by teachers. The majority of teachers’ reasons focused on general learning principles such as moving from simple to complex or linking to prior knowledge as opposed to focusing on the specific needs and demands of chemistry knowledge. In addition, it was found that the new CAPS curriculum was based on starting with macroscopic level topics which indicates a potential conflict between teachers’ preferred sequences and those required by the current curriculum.
Corresponding author: Sibandad@ukzn.ac.za
The first author taught the gifted learner and collected data through participant observation over a 3-year period when the
learner was in Grades 8 to 10. The data corpus was composed of audio-recorded lesson observations and interviews, field
notes, and written material. We operated in an interpretive paradigm, and data collection, analysis, and interpretation were
done in an inductive, cyclic manner associated with the constant comparative method. We identified three general strategies and a number of associated tactics that characterized his successful learning. These strategies are interrogating information, thinking it through, and organizing and linking.