Browsing by Author "Van Heerden, Monica"

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    The effectiveness of senior students as tutor assistants in the English special project for academic development at UWC
    (University of the Western Cape, 1992) Wentzel, Zurina; Van Heerden, Monica
    Since the inception of the University in 1960 under the Apartheid regime and up until a few years ago Afrikaans had dominated both as educational and as communication medium. However, political change - at the University and in South Africa - has brought about a change in language patterns. According to the HSRC Work Committee on Languages and Language Instruction (1981), a high percentage (40%) of Afrikaans-speaking people classified as coloured and living in the Cape Peninsula choose English as the medium of instruction and also regard it as the most important language to be learnt at schools (also 40%). As a result of this, and the enrolment of a large percentage of Xhosa speaking students, who generally prefer English to Afrikaans as an educational medium, English has become the language most commonly used both inside and outside the classroom. The homogeneity of preference has, however, not been matched by mastery of the language. For approximately 70% of all first-year students English is a second or even a third language. Though University entry is based on at least ten years of the study of English, standards of proficiency differ quite considerably as a result of inequalities in education. Because students need to improve their level of English proficiency I investigated the effectiveness of using senior students as tutor assistants in an academic development programme, the English Special Project, at UWC. This study aims at revealing that the tutor assistantships in the English Special Project can alleviate problems that occur with annual increases in student numbers under certain conditions. These are that: 1 prospective tutor assistants undergo proper tutor assistant training; 2 tutor assistants are committed to the course of academic development; 3 tutor assistants have the time available that is necessary for the task. In Chapter 1 give an insight into what this study is about, the reasons for conducting it and what my personal involvement with the ESP has been. In Chapter 2 I review some of the overseas and local literature on TA systems. In Chapter 3 I describe a case-study to evaluate the success of the TA system in the ESP with reference to academic development. I emphasize the intensive, individual care of and attention to first-year students. In an attempt to address the problem, the effectiveness of senior students as tutor assistants to assist in tutorial sessions is described. In Chapter 4 I discuss the value of TA intervention in the ESP at personal and social levels. Chapter 5 contains the general conclusions and my recommendations to improve the ESP.
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    Writing for learning in Home Economics
    (University of the Western Cape, 1992) Abrahams, Patricia Annette; Van Heerden, Monica
    This mini-thesis comprises two sections, the what and the how of writing-across-the curriculum (WAC). Section one investigates the integration of writing into content area subjects through the writing process as a project of possibility for critical pedagogy. The view is held that the writing in content area subjects makes learning more meaningful, enjoyable and also empowers students to become critical self-determined thinkers. Students no longer only fill in blanks, choose the correct answer or rely on rote learning when writing in content area subjects, but write creatively and expressively in a variety of discourse forms. In chapter two the literature on WAC is reviewed in depth. The chapter commences with some thoughts on what writing is. Then it investigates the writing process and proceeds to what writing across the curriculum is, with all its merits highlighted. The implementation of writing across the curriculum which involves the whole school as well as a proposed writing across the curriculum policy comprises the main section of the chapter. One of the objectives of this research is to show that implementing the writing process in a content area subject not only improves the standard of writing but also enhances the internalisation of subject matter. A further objective is to illustrate that writing across the curriculum can facilitate change in the classroom. Section two, starting with chapter three, is devoted to the "how" of WAC, and its practical application. Observations in classrooms where writing in content area subjects were done in Missouri schools are described and examples of work done at the schools are cited. In chapter four attention is given to the design and presentation of a writing project in Home Economics based on the standard eight Home Economics syllabus. This classroom research is based on experiential learning. A detailed description of the results is included. The last chapter starts with a dream, an outline of a Home Economics project of possibility for a standard eight Home Economics class. The project is developed around community work to convince students that they can make a difference in the world by showing care and concern for the elderly. The second part of chapter five, deals with constraints with regard to the implementation of a writing programme in Home Economics at the school where I teach. The chapter concludes with recommendations for the implementation of a writing programme in Home Economics.