Answer to Question #218973 in English for Bridget van Zyl

Question

Ms Dlamini believes that all her Grade 3 learners are at more or less the same level in terms of their mathematics abilities and knowledge. She has a maths programme which includes the topic and activities that she has used for 15 years and believes that the programme works for all learners. She assumes that all learners enter her class at the same level and leave knowing everything she has taught. 1. To what extent do you agree or disagree with Ms Dlamini's method? Support your answer with reference to the current situation in most Foundation Phase classrooms. 2. What do you think could contribute to her belief that the same mathematics programme can be effective for all learners each year?

Answer 1

I don't agree with Ms. Dlamini's approach. Although kids of the same age may be in the same classroom, their learning ability will most likely differ widely. Some pupils, for example, are visual learners, while others are auditory learners. Some pupils may have great reading abilities, while others may be unable to read at all. Differentiating learning skills in a classroom takes time and generally necessitates additional preparation. Teachers, on the other hand, can build curricula and settings tailored to their pupils after they have a basic understanding of the learning levels in their classrooms.

Her idea that the same mathematics program could be effective for all students each year was bolstered by the employment of tried-and-true tactics. The youngsters, she believed, learned through collaborative learning, metacognition, and self-regulation. Explicit and systematic education were among the interventions. When teaching content that learners couldn't discover on their own or when discovery was erroneous, inadequate, incomplete, or inefficient, explicit instruction was required.