The findings indicated that the teachers gave some activities to the learners to do, both written tasks in books or on the chalkboard and oral activities as stated by the policy documents. However, even though the activities attempted to make sense of the topic distillation, they were not insufficient for conceptual understanding of a practical topic like distillation. the cause of practical activities was the unavailability of fractionating column, thermometer, condenser and other apparatus. For effective teaching and learning the learners also need to see, touch, observe and feel the science inside or outside the classroom, therefore all learners should be exposed to practical activities as a minimum requirement (Namibian Physical Science Subject Policy, 2009). The teacher should do adequate hands-on practical activities in order to make the topic distillation more understandable to learners. Learners should feel that they have freedom to direct and adapt the activities according to the questions which emerge from their own experiences. This encourages them at various stages of the inquiry to “predict, explain, explore, observe and explain (PEEOE)” their action as it is proposed by Maselwa and Ngcoza (2003).
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This study also looked at the use of community practices to make practical sense of the topic of distillation. According to the learners’ responses in interviews about practical work, it was revealed that practical work which is hands-on activities helped the learners to understand and remember the contents of the topic (see Section 5.4, IQ.4.L1-L4). This was supported by the literature where it is stated that; scientists believe that learners should learn by doing what scientists do that is when we can educate future leaders (Klainin, 1995). For that reason, the findings of this research show that practical activities can help learners to make sense of scientific concepts including distillation.
6.5 Analytic Statement 3: Using teaching and learning support materials (LTSMs) to make sense of scientific concepts related to distillation
Learning and teaching support materials (LTSMs) are materials which are used during the teaching and learning process, which include: charts, audios, textbooks, chalkboard, projectors, posters and etcetera. This is strengthened by Czerniewicz, et al., 2000 who explained that LTSMs are prepared materials which structure and support learning and teaching. Observation of the lessons showed me that teachers used charts and chalkboard during their teaching of the topic distillation. The views expressed here concur with the Namibian Physical Science Subject Policy (2009) where it states that Physical Science teachers should be creative and innovative to produce their own teaching and learning materials linked to practice.
The use of charts by Mr. Gaps as learning and teaching support material helped the learners to make sense of the topic distillation. Mr. Gaps supported this where he stated that the learners grasp the ideas by studying and identifying the figures of the two distillation processes. This is supported by the literature where Haury and Rillero (1994) accredited that learners using LTSMs during science lessons remember the material better, feel a sense of completion when the task is concluded, and are able to transmit that experience more easily to other learning situations.
The chalkboard was one of the LTSM used during the lessons. Both teachers used the chalkboard correctly by drawing figures and writing on it. This assisted the learners to get the right information and helped to make sense of simple and fractional distillation. The use of the chalkboard by the learners was a good strategy as the learners came to the front of the class and were actively involved in the lesson.
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The other LTSMs used during the study were textbooks. The findings show that textbooks formed the base line of the study in terms of learning and teaching support materials. It was clear that the distillation contents covered in the analysed textbooks were in line with the required basic competencies in the Namibian Physical Science syllabus 2010. The addition of figures showing the apparatus needed for carrying out distillation processes was useful. So much so that we used the textbook and syllabus to come up with the unit of work (see Appendix G (i)). Most of the content delivered by the two Physical Science teachers was from these textbooks. After marking the test it was revealed that most of the learners passed the test. This is an indication that the textbooks as LTSMs were used correctly and why the learners understood the topic distillation and achieved good marks in the tests.
Moreover, Mdlungu (2006) indicates that the capability to construct knowledge informs the teacher of possible approaches and how LTSMs can be used in teaching and learning. The brainstorming session and community members’ demonstration of making a traditional brew also made use of materials which were integrated with the apparatus used in distillation (see Section 5.2, IQ.1-IQ.9 and 5.3, IQ.1-IQ.9). The finding revealed that learners realised that materials used in science can be substituted with materials found in the local environment or community (see Section 5.2. IQ.3. L1-L11). These sessions helped them to learn the names of scientific apparatus in both the official language English and the vernacular Rumanyo (see Section 5.2, IQ.1 and IQ.2). These findings indicate that using community knowledge and experience in teaching science concepts helped learners to understand the topic distillation.
6.6 Analytic Statement 4: Eliciting learners’ prior everyday knowledge (PEK) during