An Investigation into How Grade 5 Teachers Teach Natural Science Concepts in Three Western Cape Primary Schools

Abstract

Purpose: The rationale behind this study was to investigate how three Grade 5 Natural Sciences teachers in threeWestern Cape primary schools teach science concepts so as to enable the researcher to gain a deeper understanding andmore insightful perception of the ways in which the pedagogical practices of South African primary school teachersinfluence conceptual learning in the science classroom.Methodology: The sample comprised three teachers in a specific metropole district in the Western Cape. A qualitativeapproach was employed to ensure the collection of rich data.Results: The findings indicated that teachers tend to ignore learners’ misconceptions in class, that they rely heavily oneveryday empirical examples, that they fail to link these empirical examples to scientific concepts and that they devotelittle talk time to explaining scientific concepts.Recommendations: Based on its findings the study proposed a model of classroom practice that focuses onpromoting effective science learning with the aim of developing and transforming the everyday, familiar knowledgeof learners into new understandings of school-based scientific concepts and processes.Conclusion: The data from the study suggested that there may almost certainly be serious shortcomings in theinstructional practices of teachers and that such shortcomings are not confined to the three schools in the sample but areto be found in township primary schools in general. In addition, these shortcomings may require immediateintervention on the part of senior curriculum specialists as well as teacher training higher education institutions (HEIs).