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Item Grade 7 technology teachers' topic-specific pedagogical content knowledge in teaching graphic communication.(2022) Mcambi, Zanele Sphokuhle.; Singh-Pillay, Asheena.; Mabaso, B.Graphic Communication (GC) is a universal language in the technology and engineering sector. In the field of engineering and the manufacturing industry, graphic communication is useful for the design, development, manufacture of products and construction of structures and systems throughout the world (Lockhart et al., 2018). Graphic communication forms the backbone of all design operations that work within a framework, ranging from conceptual design, detailing of drawing specifications, analysis, interpretation of graphic text and iterative re-design, to making working drawings prior to manufacture of artefacts, assembling of mechanical components and construction of building structures (Dobelis et al., 2019). Through graphic communication skills, learners ought to be taught, by teachers, how to read, interpret, design, and draw using freehand or instrument drawing techniques guided by the South African National Standards (SANS) code of practice. GC is one of the content topics that teachers of technology do not find easy to teach. The National Senior Certificate (NSC) examiners and moderators’ reports for engineering graphics design, civil technology from 2016 to 2021 reflect learners’ remarkable ineptitude regarding graphic communication skills. The diagnostic reports repeatedly highlight learners’ poor performance on examination questions that test for graphic communication skills. While learners’ learning and performance is related to many factors these diagnostic reports allude to the interconnection between learners’ poor performance in GC to the teaching to which they are exposed. In technology education learners are introduced to GC in grade 7. This means that the GC learnt in grade 7 forms the platform for all other GC learning in the subsequent grades. Thus, it is quintessential to explore grade 7 technology teachers’ topic specific pedagogical content knowledge pertaining to GC. Within the South African context, technology is a relatively new subject in the curriculum, as it was introduced in 1998. Many teachers teaching technology teach out- of -field. This means they were not trained to teach technology and lack the subject matter knowledge and pedagogical knowledge needed to teach graphic communication. In response to the afore mentioned issues, this study sought to explore grade 7 technology teachers’ topic specific pedagogical content knowledge in teaching graphic communication guided by the following research questions: 1. What is grade 7 technology teachers’ subject matter knowledge on graphic communications? 2. What topic specific knowledge do grade 7 technology teachers use when teaching graphic communication? 3. Why do grade 7 teachers use their topic specific pedagogical content knowledge for teaching graphic communication in the way that they do? This qualitative study adopted a case study design, and data was collected using questionnaires and interviews. Mavhunga (2015)’s Teachers’ Topic Specific Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TSPCK) frames this study theoretically. Findings of this study revealed that teachers have three understandings of GC: GC conveys an idea or thought via drawings or sketches. GC is a technological process that learners use to do a practical assessment task when designing to communicate ideas into paper or an article. Moreover, GC is a language spoken by architects and contractors. Regarding the way they teach GC, two themes emerged, they use a hands- on approach and the talk and chalk approach. The way teachers teach is influenced by the fact that they are teaching out- of- field and the lack of professional development. Hence the findings of this study concluded with a proposal for a continuous professional teacher development program to be put in place which will assist teachers to stay on par with all the needed information and resources regarding technology and GC.Item Teaching the design process in the grade 9 technology class.(2014) Ohemeng-Appiah, Frank.; Singh-Pillay, Asheena.; Moodley, Merventharan Perumal.The design process undergirds technology education and therefore it is quintessential to the teaching, learning and assessment of technology education. Since the introduction of technology education into the South African curriculum, there has been a series of changes that teachers have had to contend with: C2005, RNCS and now the NCS-CAPS. In the CAPS technology policy there has been a (re)-presentation of the design process from a linear to nonlinear. This (re)presentation of the design process has led to uncertainties amongst teachers of technology in terms of how the teaching of the design process should unfold. This study therefore explores grade 9 technology teachers’ views of the design process and how these views influence their teaching of the design process. Shulman’s Pedagogical Content Knowledge (PCK) model (1986), the Argyris and Schön (1974) notion of “espoused theory” and “theory in use”, and Singh-Pillay’s (2010) notion of interface have been used to frame the research. A qualitative case study approach was used. Purposive and convenience sampling were used to obtain the respondents for this study. An open ended questionnaire, semi-structured interviews, observation of lessons and post-observation interviews were used to collect data. The study occurs in the Chatsworth West ward in Durban, KwaZulu Natal. The findings indicate that grade 9 technology teachers hold two core views of the design process, namely: design process as problem-solving and design process as a step-by-step process that provides “comfort” to learners during problem-solving. The findings indicate that teachers’ views of the design process are an amalgam of their diverse qualification in technology education, their pedagogical content knowledge, their previous teaching experience, their training and (re)training and existing support in the school ecosystem. Thus, it is concluded that the PCK of the technology teacher influences how they teach the design process to their learners. It is recommended that if the non-linear approach of problem-solving in the design process is to be adhered to then there is the need for the retraining and reskilling of technology teachers and that teacher education should also focus more on the development of the PCK of future teachers.