Browsing by Author "Pym, June"

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    An activity -based approach towards developing critical thinking in the Geography classroom
    (University of the Western Cape, 1990) Pym, June; van den Berg, Owen; Desai, Zubeida
    This thesis deals with an attempt to employ the research methodology of action research to focus on classroom strategies involving a range of resources, including indigenously generated ones, as a way of enhancing critical understanding and thinking. This necessarily also involves an examination of what critical thinking might be. Each of these areas of concern arose from an initial concern about the need for the creation and effective use of indigenous resources to maximise Senior Secondary students ability to relate to Geography curriculum content and to interrogate it for its own assumptions. By using a systematic action research methodology of planning, action, observation and reflection, I realised that I needed to be more focused and thorough regarding my understanding of critical thinking, and that I needed to extend my understanding of resources that can enhance accessibility and the problematizing of material. My readings and reflection in critical thinking made me realise not only the complex and contested nature of critical thinking, but also that in order to move toward critical thinking my emphasis would need to be on adopting a critical pedagogy. The type of process, rather than a particular paradigm, needed to be the emphasis. The focus needed to be on how knowledge is produced, internalised, and disorganised. I thus attempted to highlight aspects that need to be included in an activity-based approach that may facilitate a critical pedagogy. with this shift of emphasis my second project acknowledged that indigenous materials are only one way of enhancing accessibility to the students worLd and the South African socio-political context. I then explored more fully styles and strategies of problematizing the course work to contribute toward an eventual changing of student consciousness. Out of the many elements that had emerged in the second project, I chose to examine the strategy of conflict as a resource, to engage students in the underlying issues rather than to accept the syllabus content at face value. A deeper and far more nuanced understanding of the different dimensions of conflict arose and therefore the potential use of conflict in a transformative educational context. Finally, the thesis highlights and reflects upon the value of action research approach towards deepening ones understanding classroom processes and the issues that arise.
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    Initiating a school based teacher appraisal process: A study in educational innovation in South Africa
    (University of the Western Cape, 1999) Pym, June; Lazarus, S; Van, O; Faculty of Education
    The culture of teaching in most South African schools is one of isolation and independence. Once individuals have qualified as teachers, there is a strong sense of getting on with the job of teaching, rather than beginning a journey of critical reflection and change. This study aims to address and contribute towards shifting this ethos and establishing a joint reflective school culture.