Jan/Feb 2021
QUESTION 1
Only write the word TRUE or FALSE next to the number.
Are the following statements TRUE or FALSE?
1.1 The “broader” definition of curriculum is a more inclusive concept. It includes all opportunities for
learning in a historical perspective and socio-political context.
True
1.2 Curriculum developers have to decide what the pacing of the content or course is.
True
1.3 Sequencing ensures progression, coherence and a consistent curriculum.
False – sequencing ensures increasing complexity levels and differentiation in cognitive demand
1.4 Selection of key content and concepts for a subject involves the choice of knowledge and skills.
True
1.5 The word curriculum refers to a plan for learning.
True
1.6 Curriculum design refers to the cyclic process of design, implementation and evaluation to achieve
concrete results.
True
1.7 Tyler’s model focuses on assessment with an emphasis on an objective evaluation instrument.
True
1.8 Stenhouse’s model focuses on the reflections of participants as an important aspect in assessment.
False – Focus on knowledge, understanding and judgement. The teacher ought to be critic, not a marker;
assessment should be about improving learner’s capacity to work; teaching of self-assessment is viewed
as important.
1.9 Freire’s model focuses on the teacher as a critic and not a marker therefore; self-assessment is
important.
False – Focus on the reflection of the participants; whether empowerment or change in consumption took
place.
1.10
True
Covert curriculum refers to “teaching not spelt out – to develop attitudes and skills”.
[10x2=20]
QUESTION 2
Teaching strategies are important for successful teaching and learning.
Only write the missing word next to the number.
2.1 Problem-solving can be very successfully combined with Teaching critical thinking… . In order to
benefit from this combination, learners should be encouraged to explain to each other how they see the
problem, how they feel about it, and how they will solve it.
2.2 The following extracts are characteristics of …Discussion as a teaching strategy
“ Encourage group members to answer their classmate’s questions or comment on them.” “This also
ensures that you are not regarded as the only source of information and some sort of authoritarian figure:
Members exchange knowledge and understanding.”
2.3 Stimulation… is characterised by the following:
It must have genuineness of function.
Participants must not pretend or invent.
Participants must step inside the role they have accepted and act accordingly.
2.4 During Discussion … sessions, educators should maintain a fine balance; this is because they have to
keep the learners on the right path while at the same time allowing them to decipher the matter on their
own. Existing knowledge is applied to a new or unknown situation in order to acquire new knowledge.
2.5 M-learning… is a theory of instructional design that suggests that people learn more effectively if
information is delivered in small units that are easy to understand and apply.
2.6 .Scaffolding.. refers to the ability of learners to question their own understanding, and compare their
version of the truth with that of the teacher and fellow learners, in order to arrive at a new level of
understanding.
2.7 A formal education programme in which a student learns at least in part through the delivery of contend
and instruction via digital and online media, is called ..Blended learning . .
2.8 Environmental and social structurers have a great influence on the interpretation of content and
construction of meaning – especially where learners have limited experience and existing knowledge. This
strategy is called ..Scaffolding. .
2.9 .Cognitively guided instructions .. is a means to knowledge building and encompasses foundational
learning, subskills and socio-cognitive dynamics.
2.10 ..Cooperative learning through mediation . involves making a collective inquiry into a specific topic,
and coming to a deeper understanding through interactive questioning, dialogue and the continuous
improvement of ideas.
[10]
QUESTION 3
A particular feature of the talk between teacher and learners is questions asked by the teacher. Changing
the formulation of the questions to include another level of demand may provoke much deeper thinking and
discussion in the classroom. Indicate the cognitive category according to Blooms; taxonomy after each
statement. For example, write down Remembering (Knowledge), Understanding (Comprehension),
Applying (Application), Analysing (Analysis), Evaluating (Evaluation) or Synthesising (Synthesis/Creation)
after the statement.
3.1 Formulate new equations.
Synthesis/Creation
3.2 Develop a learning programme.
Synthesis/Creation
3.3 Identify principles that apply to a novel context.
Understanding
3.4 Define basic facts.
Remembering
3.5 Draw a graph for data provided.
Applying
3.6 Solve problems with two or more steps.
Analyzing
3.7 Critique solutions to problems and statements made by others.
Evaluation
3.8 Write a complex review.
Synthesizing
3.9 Explain what synonyms are.
Remembering knowledge
3.10 Draw inferences from a text.
Understanding knowledge
QUESTION 4
The curriculum implementation needs to be a phase-long process of planning, managing and organising
classroom practice. This means that what is planned must guide and inform what is done in the classroom,
all the teaching, learning and assessment. As teachers, what do we have to take into consideration when
we plan for teaching and learning to take place, and who should be involved in curriculum planning?
The focus should be on only one school phase. In your case study, a minimum of the following should be
included:
4.1 Stages of planning for curriculum interpretation and implementation (the process). (5)
e Strategic school planning
e Phase planning
e Grade planning
e Lesson plan
e Strategic planning in a school
Before planning for the school year, the School Management Team (SMT) and the professional
staff should identify the curricular strength, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (SWOT) in the
school. From SWOT analysis and should be possible to see at a glance what the teacher should
focus on with learners in a particular phase. After the SWOT analysis, the academic staff will then
select what they consider important content for learners in the next academic year. Teachers in a
phase will negotiate with teachers in other phases and, on the basis of this negotiation, will select
what they want to focus on.
The process of selection and negotiation in the community/local/school context or environment,
this should also be informed by stake holders.
e Phase planning
A learning programme or curriculum is developed for three grades. The implementation of the
curriculum must be a phase-long process of planning, managing, and organizing of the classroom
practice. The planning must serve as a guide for the teaching, learning and assessment that take
place in the classroom. For example, the in the FET phase (Grades 10 -12) there are four
compulsory subjects and three elective subjects.
There is an important aspect when planning for a specific phase which is:
1. Contexts/themes within which the teaching, learning, and assessment will take place.
2. Principles of the Curriculum Assessment Policy Statement (CAPS) that may incorporated in all
teaching, learning and assessment.
3. Aims and assessment criteria across the phase.
4. The sequencing of the aims and assessment criteria.
5. The core knowledge and concepts that will be used to attain the learning outcomes/aims and
assessment criteria for the phase.
6. How progression will occur within subjects and from grade to grade, bearing in mind integration
across different subjects and real-life application.
7. The time allocation and weighting given to learning in the subject per phase.
e Planning per year and grade
The year’s work for each grade in a phase must also be planned. The work schedule for each
subject is based on the CAPS and develops in terms of the sequencing, context and core
knowledge and concepts at each level. Work schedules are already included in the CAPS
documents, teachers responsible for implementing the curriculum in a particular grade will have to
work with the realities of school and learner context when planning for each term and year.
e Lesson plans
Individual teachers have to plan lessons for each grade based on topics in the curriculum and
must ensure that they plan for the particular learners in their classes; there must be learning
outcomes/aims for each lesson.
4.2 Who should be involved? (5)
5 The School Management Team (SMT)
This includes the school principal, the deputy principal and the head of departments or senior
teachers. They play a very important role in the management of curriculum implementation at the
school level. The principal leads the SMT to ensure that the set goals of the school are attained.
6 Teachers
The teacher is responsible for creating a conductive environment in class for effective teaching
and learning to take place. Teachers are required to engage in class teaching that foster a
purposeful progression in learning.
7 Learners
Education should have a learner-centred focus. Learners needs to be engaged, fully inspired, and
be interested in the topic and knowledge selection under discussion for an effective learning
process to take place.
8 Parents
Parental involvement contributes significantly to learner performance and the effective
implementation of any curriculum. There is a close link between the degree of parental
involvement and the achievement of learners; therefore, the role of parents and the bigger
community in school effectiveness cannot be underestimated.
1.1 Which OFFICIAL documents do you need? (5)
2. Curriculum Assessment Policy Statement (CAPS)
3. National policy pertaining to the programme and promotion requirements of the National
Curriculum Statement Grade R-12
4. The National Qualifications Framework (NQF)
5. The Norms and Standards for Educators
6. The Minimum Requirements for Teacher Education Framework
7. The National Protocol on Assessment
4.4 Example of a lesson plan for ONE SUBJECT IN ONE GRADE IN THE PHASE
(product). Include an activity. (10)
4.5 Your own SWOT analysis of any school (not taken from the textbook). (5)
Suggested length: Four pages.
p STRENGTHS
b
b
b
b
Learners shows a good work ethic in learning.
Learners interacts in lessons and participates with understanding.
Teachers collaborates and dominates teamwork as a key to success.
Teachers are properly trained and attend workshops to get extensive curriculum
training
b The school involves Stakeholders (SGB, SMT, learners and parents or guardians),
as to make sure things runs smoothly to best satisfactory of the Stakeholders.
b The school applies the Zone of proximal development strategy, as per the
Educationalist Lev Vygotsky.
p WEAKNESSES
b The school does not have enough ‘Learning and Teaching Support Materials.
b Lack of facilities like Libraries, and laboratories in the school.
b The sittings of learner’s desks are still in an old format of rows.
p OPPORTUNITIES
b Stakeholders of the school are willing to do fund raisings to build other facilities like
Libraries, computer science lab etc.
b It is a school that practices the Ubuntu principles with African pride and joy.
b The school believes in a hard work to succeed and also to meet the set goals,
mission, and vision of the school.
b It is a multicultural school.
p THREATS
b There is a bit of a chaos since the country went to a pandemic lockdown for covid19, the delay in academic year curricular is problematic and challenging.
b The non-commitment of other parents not attending school meetings.
b Some learners are bullying others.
b The highest rate of late comers to the school, some do not have school transport
they walk a far distance to get to school.
[30]
QUESTION 5
Effective questioning and feedback are key features in any teaching situation. It is based on dialogue
between the teacher and learner.
Describe the features of effective questioning and feedback. Substantiate the latter with examples
from your own experience. Don’t copy those from the textbook! Provide your OWN examples.
Suggested length: One to two pages.
[30]
Contextualised action :
From the teachers instructions the learners should be able to understand what is needed of them.
For e.g., when an educator sets a task, it should be written out and discussed verbally on how the
task is going be assessed. The most effective way is to use a criteria with instruction and
indicators for the task.
Clear and accessible language :Majority of the learners in South Africa are assessed in
languages that is not their mother tongue. It is important that the educator must phrase
assessment tasks clearly and make use of simple language so that it is easier to understand.
Here are some tips for writing simpler and more accessible English :
Keep terminology simple and understandable to suit the learners level as well as keeping
sentences short.
Make use of active voice rather than passive voice. For example, “add milk to the cup of coffee”
is better than “milk is added to the cup of coffee”.
Avoid using words with many syllables. For example, “use the plan” is better than “implement
the plan”.
Be careful when using pronouns that it is clear what they refer to. For example, who are “they”
and “them” in the following sentence ? “When teachers explain things, they often forget that they
should ask them diagnostic questions first.”
The educator should encourage learners to answer questions in ways they feel most
comfortable. Allow different methods of answering so it can help the students express themselves
better.
Comprehensive instructions :
It is imperative that instructions are given clearly on what is expected in a task. The learners might
not be able to effectively complete their work due to a lack of understanding.
Keep the following in mind when writing instructions :
Use clear and simple language.
Make use of action words to describe certain activities within a task.
Instructions should be stated along side the assessment criteria so they may understand the set
outcomes.
Revise tasks after appointing them to ensure that the educator did not leave anything out.