Although, the origin of Learner Centred Education (LCE) can be traced back from 551 B.C. to 479 B.C by some well-known philosophers like Confucius, Pestalozzi,
72
Jean-Jacques Rousseau and Colonel Francis Parker (Henson, 2003: 3) the concept of Learners-Centred Education has only been practised recently in Namibia, (Kapenda, 2007: 191). Although several studies from 1997 to 2002, e.g.: Learner- centred education in Namibia: A case study (Chaka, 1997: 33); Beginning teachers‘ perceptions of learners-centred approach to teaching in Namibia (Sibuku, 1997: 22); Learner-cantered education: Development of teachers‘ concepts and practice of teaching in the context of Namibia school reform (Shinyemba, 1999: 48); Learner- centred education: equal group work? Findings from Namibian classroom (van Graan, 1999: 125); Learner-centeredness and group work in Second Language teaching: A shattered dream (Shaalukeni, 2002: 19) and In-Service education and classroom practice: Geography teaching in Namibia (Mutwa, 2002: 35), their focus was on primary education and basic education in general, with no specific focus to science education. The bold policy document phrases learner-cantered education in such a way that all should understand it and follow it in achieving the Namibian education goal:
“As we made the transition from educating the elite to education for all we are also making another shift, from teacher-centred to learner centred education … What teachers do must be guided both by their knowledge of the concepts and skills to be mastered and by the experiences, interest and learning strategies of their learners. Our challenge is to harness the curiosity of learners and the excitement of learning rather than stifling them …” (Ministry of Education and Culture, Namibia, 1993: 10).
Learner-Centred Education is defined by McCombs and Whisler (1997: 9) as: ―The perspective that couples a focus on individual learners (their heredity, experiences, perspectives, backgrounds, talents, interests, capacities, and needs) with a focus on learning (the best available knowledge about learning and how it occurs and about teaching practices that are most effective in promoting the highest levels of motivation, learning, and achievement for all learners.)‖. In general the term LCE embraces terms like: active learning, exploration, self-responsibility, learners‘ prior knowledge and skills as well as the fundamental construction of knowledge rather than passive participation of learners in the teaching and learning process (Woelfel, 2004: 1). It, therefore, places the responsibility for learning on the learner, while the instructor assumes responsibility for facilitating the learner‘s education. This approach strives to be individualistic, flexible, competency-based, varied in methodology and not always constrained by time or place, (Gunderman, Williamson,
73
Frank, Heitkamp and Kipfer, 2003: 16; Henson, 2003: 5; Mahendra, Bayles, Tomoeda and Kim, 2005: 8).
In Namibia LCE was introduced as a foundation policy of the new education system in 1991, (Swarts, 2002: 2). Although during its infant stage, LCE was met by many inconsistencies like: lack of clarity about what the underlying principle and theories of LCE are; overcrowded classrooms; non-conducive physical environments and insufficient teaching and learning materials especially in science practical lessons (Swarts, 2002: 2), much of these short comings are overcome through in-service training and workshops. Thekwane (2001: 1) regards LCE as a means of achieving the goals of the Ministry of Education in Namibia. Due to the ever increasing scientific and technological world, the changing demands from Namibian society and the continual development in the field of technology and education around the world, the need for innovative science curriculum in Namibia after independence is overdue.
3.4.1 The need for Chemistry teachers to use learner-centred approaches in their teaching
Strong, evidence from research exists to support the implementation of learner- centred approaches instead of teacher-centred approaches (Kapenda, 2007: 192). Knowledge of learner-centred education helps teachers to defend their teaching methods to their learners. Chemistry is known to be a practical subject, and using a learner-centred approach to teach and explain phenomena will be an added advantage. This can be done through demonstrations, projects, group work and explorations, as phenomena that support learners-centred education. A few years back, a task force of the American Psychological Association integrated the learner- centred education into six Learner-Centred Psychological Principles which can be summarized through the following five domains (Alexander & Murphy, 2000: 25 and Lambert & McCombs, 2000: 4):
I. The knowledge base. The conclusive result of decades of research on
knowledge base is that what a person already knows largely determines what new information he attends to, how he organises and represents new information, and how he filters new experiences, and even what he
74
determines to be important or relevant (Alexander & Murphy, 2000: 32). This is true for Chemistry practical activities;
II. Strategic processing and executive control. The ability to reflect on and regulate one‘s thoughts and behaviours is an essential aspect of learning. Successful learners are actively involved in their own learning during practical activities, monitor their thinking, think about their learning, and assume responsibility for their own learning (Lambert & McCombs, 2000: 5);
III. Motivation and effect. The benefits of learner-cantered education include
increased motivation for learning and greater satisfaction with the school; both these outcomes lead to greater achievement. Research shows that personal involvement, intrinsic motivation, personal commitment, confidence in one‘s abilities to succeed in doing experiment, and a perception of control over learning lead to more learning and higher achievement in school science (Alexander & Murphy, 2000: 47);
IV. Development and individual differences. Individuals‘ progress through various
common stages of development is influenced by both inherited and environmental factors. Depending on the context or task, changes on how people think, believe, or behave are dependent on a combination of factors such as one‘s inherited abilities, stages of development, individual differences, capabilities, experiences, and environmental conditions (Alexander & Murphy, 2000: 49);
V. Situation or context. Theories of learning that highlight the roles of active
engagement and social interaction during practical investigation in the learners‘ own construction of knowledge (Kafai & Resnick, 1996: 67) strongly support this learner-cantered paradigm; and
VI. Learning is a social process. Many environmental factors including how the
teaching is done, and how actively engaged the learners are in the learning process, positively or negatively influence how much and what learners learn (Lambert & McCombs, 2000: 9).
The new Grades 11 and 12 syllabi also insist that students should be actively involved in learner-centred practical work that emphasizes the process skills of using and organizing techniques, apparatus and materials, observing, measuring and recording, handling experimental observations and data and planning investigations
75
(NIED, 2005: 51). These skills transcend every topic in the syllabus and are to be assessed throughout the course teaching and examined in the final practical examinations. It is, therefore, assumed that students will need these skills wherever they go, whether in science fields, technology, industry or as common citizens. The following four notions were central to learner-centred education theories:
education should meet the needs of those being educated;
these needs would be best met if identified with the interests of children; the curriculum should be based on experience and discovery; and
rather than being subject or content based educational programmes should focus on activities.
While these notions are not to be discarded and indeed do have great value within and for learning, they have also let to distortions, misconceptions and myths that have 'infiltrated' the learner centred-classroom. Among the most pervasive of these are the beliefs that:
teachers do less work than the learners; factual recall of any sort is of no worth;
as long as learners are busy they are learning; all transmission teaching is poor teaching;
children only develop at their own pace and that they have definite and fixed stages of development;
only certain types of learning experiences are suitable for certain age groups; learners know what is best for them.
Learner-centred education not only caters for the abovementioned notions but according to (Barends, 2004: 3) disciplines are strengthened in class. When learners are actively involved in decision making and sharing responsibilities, they tend to co- operate, become more enthusiastic about their work and at times also enforce discipline among themselves. These aspects imply that the learner-centred approach in teaching Physical Science which entails Chemistry will help learners apply knowledge and skills by listening critically, organise and summarise information, investigate, interpreted and communicate information in a form of answering examination questions and doing practical investigations.
76
Furthermore, learner-cantered education allows learners in laboratories to become more responsible in shaping and administering positive learning environments due to the role of being seen as co-workers or co-experimenters with their teachers (Stears & Malcolm, 2005: 23). This is due to the understanding that the failure or success of experiments does not entirely rest on the shoulder of the teacher but to all who participate. Learning Chemistry through practical work is therefore important but it is not necessarily the best way because if the results of the experiments are wrong, it usually confuses learners, and learners tend to see the teacher as a failure or not knowing the subject. In situations like these, some teacher usually explain ―the supposed to be‖ correct results and processes with some justifications on why the results might be wrong. The understanding of learners in this regard become one of being accepted as human error, respected, trusted, and most importantly partners with the teacher doing the experiment.