How learners prefer to be taught and assessed in biology : a study in eight Western Cape schools

• Main Author: Asary, Melanie Bernadette
• Other Authors: Rochford, Kevin
• Format: Dissertation
• Language: English
• Published: University of Cape Town 2014
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/11427/7805

Bibliography: leaves 146-159. === This study aimed to investigate how high school learners in eight schools in Cape Town,South Africa, perceive how they prefer to be taught and assessed in biology. The investigation sought to answer the following focus questions: 1. To what extent are teacher-centred methods of teaching and assessment perceived to be appropriate for biology as a school subject? 2. In what ways do diverse samples of learners perceive how biology should be taught and assessed? 3. Can the learners' perceptions be reconciled to current curricular pronouncements and expectations in biology as a school subject? The study engaged two research paradigms, qualitative and quantitative. The quantitative approach used a survey methodology to gauge if there were differences between learners' preferences. Data were collected by means of two surveys. The total data collected were the responses of911 biology learners for the questionnaire "How would you prefer to be taught biology?" and 1259 biology learners for the questionnaire "How would you prefer to be assessed in biology?”. The data were analysed in three steps. Firstly, the learners' most preferred and least favoured responses were summarised for each questionnaire. Secondly, the qualitative responses suggesting why the learners prefer particular methods of teaching and assessment, the most and least, were re-arranged and sorted into emerging indicators, descriptive categories, trends and themes presented at several levels of analysis. In the final part, school-by-school comparisons were made. Chi-square tests were used to compare the frequencies of "yes" or "no" responses to each of the sixteen items on the questionnaire "How would you prefer to be taught biology?" and to the eighteen items on the questionnaire "How would you prefer to be assessed in biology?" Explanations for the similarities and differences between schools were then offered, derived from the qualitative data collected.