The role of museums in learning to teach with a critical lens

The role of museums in learning to teach with a critical lens Sarita Ramsaroop (Received 19 August 2016; accepted 8 May 2017) Abstract This study set out to explore the potential of student teachers learning to teach apartheid era history to learners in the primary school when learning in apartheid museums is blended with coursework. Using qualitative methods of inquiry, the findings show that student teachers learning in museums that dovetail with coursework at the university strengthens their ability to ‘know, think, feel and act like a teacher’. The multiple narratives contributed towards addressing misconceptions, strengthened citizenship and pedagogic content knowledge, fundamentals that can equip student teachers to teach apartheid era history with an informed lens. The study highlights the importance of developing in student teachers investigative skills before and after museum visits so as to ensure that they are not merely consumers but are able to interrogate multiple narratives, resulting in them being active producers of knowledge

Murals Talk Back: An Understanding of Community Murals in Jane Finch

This thesis is based on a study of three community murals in Jane Finch, a densely populated, racially diverse, inner-city neighborhood in the northwest quadrant of Toronto, Ontario. Within Jane Finch, there are several mural projects scattered throughout various public spaces including commercial buildings, community centers, and spaces used by youth organizations. Through a series of qualitative, semi-structured interviews with residents and artists who were involved in their creation, this study extends the focus from the images on the walls to the relationship between community members and the murals. The findings show that the murals represent a form of community empowerment, both through their messages of solidarity and resistance and the collaborative creation process. I argue that community murals function as a form of free space that foster educational and critical discourses and provide residents with a sense of belonging and pride

Bringing Map Learning to ‘Life’ by Using the Environment as a Learning Resource

The last two decades have brought to light local and international research on problems encountered by learners when learning Geography at school, especially map work. One of the reasons provided for poor learner performance relates to teacher expertise in teaching this subject. This research explored how first-year student teachers from a university in Johannesburg, South Africa, merged their coursework with their fieldwork when learning map work; and how they were able to re-imagine their teaching of map skills to learners in the Intermediate Phase of the primary school. In addressing the research aim, a qualitative case study method of inquiry, using open-ended questionnaires, was undertaken. Drawing on the findings from the data, I assert that using Kolb’s experiential learning theory, to integrate student teacher learning in coursework and fieldwork, not only strengthened pedagogic content knowledge, but also enabled student teachers to exhibit agency. The data confirmed that student teachers configured their understandings of map work by engaging their past experiences with the present (learning in coursework and fieldwork) to re-orientate their learning towards the future (how they will teach learners). For example, student teachers were empowered to take agentic action by reflecting on their learning in coursework and fieldwork to make informed pedagogical choices on how they would teach this content area to learners in the primary school. Thus, the foundations for learning to teach geographical enquiry skills were being developed

Effect of Putative MitokATP Channel Blocker on Lipopolysaccharide-induced Effects in Human Umbilical Vein Endothelial Cells

Heart failure and high mortality rates are associated with severe sepsis. Recently, focus has been on mitochondrial ultrastructural changes and function due to sepsis and sepsis-related pathologies. Chopra et al. (2011) has provided data showing the involvement of the mitochondrial-mediated intrinsic apoptosis cascade in regulating adult rat ventricular myocyte (ARVM) dysfunction in sepsis. Experimental endotoxemia has shown mitochondrial membrane potential collapse, membrane permeability changes and release of cytochrome C to be indicators of mitochondrial dysfunction. Outer mitochondrial membrane (OMM) permeability is controlled by Bax translocation, resulting Voltage Dependent Anion Channels (VDACs) pores in the OMM and activation of mitoKATP channels in the inner mitochondrial membrane. Endotoxins can induce mitochondrial damage and there is a correlation between the severity of sepsis and mitochondrial damage and dysfunction. Since the progression of sepsis occurs from vascular dysfunction to organ dysfunction, in the current study we examined mitochondrial dysfunction in endotoxic HUVEC cells. This study has provided evidence for 5HD, a putative mitoKATP blocker, in the preservation of ΔΨm in endotoxic HUVEC. Additionally, 5HD appears to prevent Apaf-1 expression and reduce H2O2 generation in endotoxic HUVEC

Bridging theory and practice in teacher education: teaching schools – a bridge too far?

The study reported on in this article stems from the Integrated Strategic Planning Framework for Teacher Education and Development in South Africa (2011). This framework proposes the establishment of teaching schools to strengthen teacher education. This article reports on a qualitative inquiry into the views of school-based personnel and the teacher education sector on the implementation of teaching schools as sites for teacher education and whether they think teaching schools could enhance the education of student-teachers. The inquiry showed that the participants were positive that teaching schools will enhance teacher education through serving as a bridge between the academic, university-based preparation of student-teachers and the practice demands of the teaching profession. However, they had no clear notion of how such schools could add value to teacher preparation differentiated to schools in which student-teachers are placed for work-integrated learning. We contend that, prior to establishing teaching schools, much deliberation between all stakeholders is required about the purpose and means of integrating teaching schools in teacher education. If not, teaching schools that serve to bridge the gap between the education of student-teachers at universities and the demands that novice teachers face once they enter the teaching profession might remain an elusive ideal

The reawakening of teaching through aesthetics in education: Students’ perspectives

AbstractA multidisciplinary approach to teacher education involves drawing from multiple pedagogies within disciplines, in particular the use of aesthetic methods of teaching, to redefine teaching through continuous reflection. This article reports on the process of pre-service students’ interpretation of the sensory contemplation of aesthetic perceptiveness within their academic programmes at a higher education institution and explores how students internalised and applied these aesthetic qualities in their practice. Using a qualitative approach, the findings indicate the positive influence of aesthetically enjoyable and engaging teaching strategies, such as group or whole class discussions that infused technology, on pre-service students’ understanding of content knowledge taught in lectures. Reports regarding pre-service students’ application of these very strategies at schools during their school experience were positive in terms of their ability to reflect critically before, during and after the lesson, made possible by personal first-hand experiences with the selected strategy. It was found that pre-service teachers believe that for effective teaching to take place, as practitioners, they need to take ‘full account of the multi-dimensional cultural world of the learner’ and therefore it is recommended that they adopt a multi-dimensional approach that is inclusive of aesthetics in their practice.Keywords: Aesthetics; teacher education; prior learning; constructivism, pedagogy, higher education; student teacher learninghttps://doi.org/10.19108/KOERS.80.2.222

Building professional competencies though a service learning ‘gallery walk’ in primary school teacher education

Abstract:This article reports on a service learning (SL) project in a South African primary school teacher education programme, as experiential and practice-based pedagogy in a social studies methods course. We aimed to broaden understanding of service learning as a form of nonplacement work-integrated learning for the development of teacher professional competencies. Student teachers drew on topics in the middle school social studies curriculum and incorporated indigenous geographical elements with local community history in the design of a SL ‘gallery walk’ for grade five learners. Using a generic qualitative design, data were generated from students’ and teachers’ reflective journals, lesson plans, photographs and video recordings. It was analysed for common content themes and prominent discourse markers of students’ developing professional knowledge and competencies. The findings provide evidence of deepened student learning, particularly on the influence of context and curriculum differentiation and how their struggles with group work enabled the development of collaboration and co-operation required by professionals. In addition, the service learning prompted changing notions of citizenship and reciprocity of learning

Moving sciences beyond museums and theatres

Recent literature suggests that art and aesthetics are evident in ancient times, as well as in Islamic, Indian, Chinese, African and Western medieval traditions. However, literature on the incorporation of art and aesthetics into economic and management sciences and social sciences is not so readily available. Using a narrative exploratory study, this article reported on two lecturers’ interpretation of the sensory contemplation or appreciation of aesthetic judgement within their academic programmes at a higher education institution. Stimulating creativity, passion and imagination is just part of an array of characteristics that prospective educators will need to develop in their teaching. Research has indicated that to become a reflective practitioner, educators should be able to assess and explore the success of their practices. It is this freedom to imagine, assess, explore and reflect continuously on new ways of doing things that leads ultimately to practical application. Teaching aesthetically also requires a strong grounding in pedagogical content knowledge, thereby allowing students to become transformers of society. The main thrust of this article was to determine how we develop and embody these qualities in ourselves and in the modules we teach. The results of the study indicated that whilst early socialisation processes did impact on how aesthetics was incorporated for one participant, culture did not play a very significant role for the other. The findings also indicated that students have a real appreciation of the incorporation of the aesthetic domain within the disciplines

Building Professional Competencies Through a Service Learning ‘Gallery Walk’ in Primary School Teacher Education

This article reports on a service learning project in a South African primary school teacher education programme, as experiential and practice-based pedagogy in a social studies methods course. We aimed to broaden understanding of service learning as a form of non-placement work-integrated learning for the development of teacher professional competencies. Student teachers drew on topics in the middle school social studies curriculum and incorporated Indigenous geographical elements with local community history in the design of a service learning ‘gallery walk’ for Grade 5 learners. Using a generic qualitative design, data were generated from students’ and teachers’ reflective journals, lesson plans, photographs and video recordings. It was analysed for common content themes and prominent discourse markers of students’ developing professional knowledge and competencies. The findings provide evidence of deepened student learning, particularly on the influence of context and curriculum differentiation and how their struggles with group work enabled the development of collaboration and co-operation required by professionals. In addition, the service learning prompted changing notions of citizenship and reciprocity of learning

Portraits of primary school pre-service teachers at a South African university: Implications for nuanced student support Sarita

In a study of low-income students of colour in a primary school teacher education program in South Africa, the authors aimed to portray the diverse students along the lines of the demographic information about them and their views of their experiences of education. The researchers were concerned about student achievement and progression and argued that the genre of portraiture research could yield sociological research outcomes, which may provide useful information for program coordinators. They constructed six ‘personas,’ representing some of the demographic characteristics of a cohort of first year students as well as the challenges they face when they enter into higher education. They found that many are first generation students, who are expected contribute to the extended family, enabling them to respond to what is sometimes referred to as ‘Black Tax’ in South Africa. The authors suggest a radical rethink of financial- and academic support for such students