Science Teacher Learning of MBL-Supported Student-Centered Science Education in the Context of Secondary Education in Tanzania

Science teachers from secondary schools in Tanzania were offered an in-service arrangement to prepare them for the integration of technology in a student-centered approach to science teaching. The in-service arrangement consisted of workshops in which educative curriculum materials were used to prepare teachers for student-centered education and for the use and application of Microcomputer Based Laboratories (MBL)—a specific technology application for facilitating experiments in science education. Quantitative and qualitative data were collected to study whether the in-service arrangement impacted teacher learning. Teacher learning was determined by three indicators: (1) the ability to conduct MBL-supported student centered science lessons, (2) teachers’ reflection on those lessons and (3) students’ perceptions of the classroom environment. The results of the research indicate that the teachers’ were able to integrate MBL in their science lessons at an acceptable level and that they were able to create a classroom environment which was appreciated by their students as more investigative and open-ended

Pre-service science teachers’ epistemological beliefs and teaching reforms in Tanzania

In an effort to understand why recent initiatives to promote learner-centred pedagogy in science teaching made a little change in the actual teaching practices of science teachers, this study explored pre-service science teachers’ beliefs about science knowledge and their teaching practices. Six pre-service science teachers were interviewed to explore their beliefs. Moreover, lessons taught by pre-service teachers were observed to see how their beliefs manifest in their teaching practices. This was followed by post-observation interviews focusing on critical incidences observed. Findings showed that pre-service science teachers hold dualist views about science. They viewed science knowledge to be simple, rigid and derivative of specific bodies of knowledge handed down by authorities such as textbooks and experts. Consistent with their beliefs, pre-service teachers asked factual questions and sought pre-determined textbook-based answers from students. They adopted transmissive teaching strategies to propagate textbook-based science knowledge. It was concluded that the way science teachers uptake the aspired learner-centred teaching may be partly due to incompatible beliefs they hold

Teachers’ questioning techniques in advanced level Chemistry lessons: a Tanzanian perspective

Australian Journal of Teacher Education, 2013; 38 (12): 66-78This study investigated the extent to which teachers’ questioning techniques and the way teachers handled students’ responses facilitated students’ learning and promoted their thinking skills. The study focused on three secondary schools in Dar es Salaam. The data collection process involved classroom observations during chemistry lessons and interviews of 10 chemistry teachers. The findings showed that 80% of the observed teachers had a moderate ability in using questioning techniques to measure students’ understanding. The interesting observation in all schools was that teachers interacted frequently with active students and bothered less to involve the least active ones. Moreover, above 80% of all teachers had problems of promoting students’ thinking by maintaining a balance between the openended and close-ended questions or between convergent and divergent questions. Also, the teachers indicated severe weaknesses in guiding classroom discussions through effective questioning as their abilities in probing were low. Thus, in-service program for these teachers may improve their classroom questioning behaviour

Relationships between rainfall variability in Northern Tanzania and climate anomalis in the Indian Ocean-African sector

The rainfall anomalies in Northern Tanzania and the simultaneous large-scale climate anomalies in over the Indian Ocean and the African continent have been statistically analyzed. Northern Tanzania rainfall experiences two annual maxima (March-May and October-December). The intraseasonal persistence of rainfall anomalies has been found to be very different in each season. The March-May season rainfall is linked to intraseasonally varying patterns of near temperature, changing from zonally oriented in March to meridionally directed in May. The corresponding anomalies of near-surface wind, sea-level-pressure and 200 mb height winds are in general consistent with thermally directed anomalous circulation cells. In May a strong relationship is found with the following Indian Monsoon. (orig.)Available from TIB Hannover: RA 3251(2001/12) / FIZ - Fachinformationszzentrum Karlsruhe / TIB - Technische InformationsbibliothekSIGLEDEGerman