The Teacher

Educational research supervision at the farmhouse: Informal discussions about dissertation and thesis planning and writing

In the winter of 2018, a group of postgraduate students met at a house on the Magaliesberg mountainside. They had been invited for a research retreat week, where they could discuss aspects of their work with each other and with one of their professors, Elbie, who had joined them. Using some objects around the garden, …

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Service learning as methodology to teach about food security

Service-learning actively involves students in a range of experiences, which benefit the community, while also advancing the goals of a given curriculum. UJ’s first year intermediate phase education students did just that with a community engagement project that stretched over several weeks. This video shows how students taught Grade 4 learners of a local primary …

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The Development of Academic Language

It is crucial for teachers of language and literacy to understand the development of academic language.  Academic language refers to the language that is used for schooling. It is the language a learner needs to use effectively in order to progress successfully through school. Academic language is different to the everyday language which learners use …

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The difference between phonemic awareness, phonological awareness and phonics

Author: Hayley van der Haar It is crucial for teachers of language and literacy to understand the difference between phonological awareness and phonemic awareness. Phonemic awareness is a subset of phonological awareness in which listeners are able to hear, identify and manipulate phonemes which are the smallest units of sound that can differentiate meaning. Phonemic awareness is the ability …

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Learning support pedagogy for children who struggle to develop the concepts underlying the operations of addition and subtraction of numbers: the ‘Calculia’ programme

Authors: Annemarie Fritz-Stratmann, Antje Ehlert and Gabriele Klüsener  The authors of this article argue that it is important for pre-service teachers to know about the psychology of learning mathematics (i.e. how children develop concepts) in order for them to be able to help children who encounter problems. Therefore, this article explores how a remedial programme, …

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Learner Discipline in Crisis: Can South African schools overcome the problem?

Author: Pierre du Plessis Discipline problems do exist in South African schools, and in other countries, and the situation is getting worse. The author argues that everyone who cares about children should cares about poor discipline and school violence. He adds that it is time to break the silence that too often characterises even the …

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