Teachers' reflections of teaching Geographical Information System (GIS) at Grade 11 within CAPS in a township school in the uMhlathuze Circuit.

Abstract

This dissertation presents an action research study of four grade eleven geography teachers. This study utilised a critical paradigm with an aim of exploring teachers’ reflections of teaching Geographical Information System (GIS) at grade 11 within CAPS in a township school in the uMhlathuze Circuit. The methods of data generation utilised were reflective activity, semi-structured interviews and group discussion. Purposive sampling and convenience sampling were utilised to select the most accessible participants. This study was framed by the concepts of the curricular spider web, with an aim of answering the following three questions: 1. What are the Grade 11 teachers’ reflections on their teaching of Geography Information System Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statement (CAPS) at a township school in the UMhlathuze Circuit? 2. Why do the Grade 11 teachers reflect in particular ways on the Geography Information System Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statement (CAPS) at a township school in the UMhlathuze Circuit? 3. What lesson can be learnt from the Grade 11 teachers’ reflections on their teaching of Geography Information System Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statement (CAPS) at a township school in the UMhlathuze Circuit? The findings from the literature review identified three levels of reflections that are important for teachers to understand curriculum. These levels are technical, practical and critical reflection; these levels were used to frame the responses of the teachers. Furthermore, the study utilised the ten concepts of curricular spider web; these concepts were used to frame reflective activity questions, semi-structured interviews and group discussion. Since this study was based on transforming teachers, data was generated into two phases. In phase one, teachers were reflecting based on technical and practical reflection, most were not aware of the ten concepts of the curricular spider web. In phase two, teachers displayed improvement, and were able to embrace critical reflection with understanding of concepts of curricular spider web. The study also provided several recommendations regarding teachers’ reflection of teaching GIS; these included teachers being equipped with an understanding of three levels of reflections in relation to teaching of CAPS, most importantly critical reflection, as aligned with CAPS. Furthermore, the study recommends that teachers should be aware of the concept of a curricular spider web so that they will understand the rationale for teaching GIS.