Abstract
<p style="text-align: justify;">In the field of education, globally, teachers are recognised as important contributors in shaping learners’ interaction in a cooperative learning environment through effective lesson planning. There is a plethora of research conducted internally on lesson planning, as a critical instructional competency for good teaching and as a purposeful activity that precedes the delivery of instruction. This study aimed to explore Life Orientation teachers’ lesson planning incorporating a cooperative teaching and learning approach in secondary schools in De Aar, South Africa. The researchers adopted a mixed-methods phenomenological research design. Seven Grade 10 Life Orientation teachers were purposely selected to collect semi-structured interviews data, non-participatory observation, and document analysis. Data were analysed using inductive thematic analysis and supported with the literature review and the theory underpinning this study. This paper suggests an enactment between teachers’ subject and pedagogical content knowledge and instructional material. Lastly, it is also evident that many teachers lack knowledge, insufficient instructional resources, and an understanding of effective lesson planning to implement a cooperative teaching approach.</p>
Highlights
Over the past century, there has been an increasing interest in the effective teaching of Life Orientation in South African schools
This study aimed to explore Life Orientation teachers’ lesson planning incorporating a cooperative teaching and learning approach in secondary schools in De Aar, South Africa
Life Orientation teachers agreed that there was an urgent need for on-site service training regarding the effective implementation of the Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statements (CAPS), which impacts the quality of the lesson planning of teachers
Summary
There has been an increasing interest in the effective teaching of Life Orientation in South African schools. Since 2008 Life Orientation has been an assessed subject, even at Matric (Grade 12) level, and as a result, teachers have had to bridge the gap between the content that has to be taught and the ability of the learners to absorb this content and apply it in assessment tasks. To achieve the aforementioned objectives, the Life Orientation teacher needs to be a knowledgeable and skillful person who can effectively plan for the teaching-learning process. Teachers need to be equipped to design effective and in-depth lesson plans to make the teaching and learning process a success by creating a learner-centered teaching and learning environment. The widespread use of technology makes lesson plans a potentially appropriate means to assist both pre-service and inservice teachers in integrating technology in the classroom and creating cooperative teaching and learning opportunities
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