RESEARCH QUESTION

How is the organic chemistry content mediated in the approved textbooks? 7.3.1 COMPARISON OF THE BIG IDEAS AND PCK

In Table 7.1 the Big Ideas from all three text books are shown. It is very interesting to note that these ideas are very similar in all three books. Since all the authors would all have been working from the same intended curriculum document they all had very similar ideas as to what was important. This highlights the fact that all the authors commonly viewed the same or similar concepts as important for the learners to learn in order to understand the topic.

In the third textbook Physical Sciences Explained, the authors clearly separated the content into five sections which I used as their Big Ideas. They separated the need for classification from naming and representation according to IUPAC rules. However, in spite of this their Big Ideas were also very similar to the other authors’ ideas.

Table 7.1 Comparison of Big Ideas

STUDY AND MASTER PHYSICAL SCIENCES

FOCUS ON PHYSICAL SCIENCES

PHYSICAL SCIENCES EXPLAINED

Organic compounds are made from carbon chains with other elements to make different compounds with special arrangements called functional groups

Carbon is unique and has the ability to form rings and chains

Carbon has special properties which make it unique

Organic compounds are classified according to their bonds or structures. Organic compounds are named

according to very specific rules set out by IUPAC.

There are multiple ways of representing organic substances which are named using a standard system [IUPAC] of naming

Organic compounds are named and represented according to IUPAC rules. The properties and uses of organic

compounds are linked to their functional groups

Organic compounds show distinctive physical and chemical properties.

Organic compounds have characteristic chemical and physical properties. The reactions that organic compounds

undergo are linked to their structures and their functional groups

Organic reactions depend on the distinctive physical and chemical properties of organic molecules to determine the types of reactions they undergo.

Reactions that organic substances undergo are determined by the characteristic chemical and physical properties.

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The authors of all three books chose what was to be taught and learned and how it was going to happen by selecting the various tasks and activities throughout the section on organic chemistry. They decided on the sequencing of the teaching and learning. The exercises and assessments are ways of evaluating the learners’ progress.

In all three books the authors showed a flexible and comprehensive understanding of the subject matter that they were presenting. They all used fairly similar ways of presenting the content to the learners by using tables, pictures, diagrams, structural formulae etc. This is a very important aspect of subject matter knowledge. Shulman (1986) described subject matter knowledge as more than the knowledge of information or concepts. This knowledge requires the authors to understand the facts and how they need to be organised as it is essential to teaching and learning. The authors’ role is to help the learner learn through using activities to build their knowledge and understanding and this requires more than just the delivery of information. It is important for the text to represent the ideas and concepts accurately and comprehensively.

The authors also demonstrated knowledge of the curriculum by including learning outcomes and assessment standards in the teaching guidelines and by indicating key concepts at the start of the sections etc. The curriculum is the body of knowledge that the authors want to share with the learners and it also attempts to achieve certain goals. One of these goals is obviously the examination that the learners would have to write at the end of the process. The curriculum is more than just the body of knowledge or content as it includes the way in which the material is transformed. All three of the books, in my opinion, did not present the curriculum in an adequate way for the learners to study from for their examinations as a substantial amount of material was missing from the books.

Knowledge of the context of the organic chemistry was evident in all three books. However, in Study and Master Physical Sciences the lack of activities including Learning Outcome three was evident. The other two books both included activities and it was evident that the authors tried to engage the learners in their choice of activities. In Physical Sciences Explained the authors showed that they were aware that the material was meant for the South African context by including pictures of

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black learners and a female learner. This was the only example of women and minorities being supported in the three books.

Knowledge of values, ends and purposes cannot be separated from evaluation and assessment procedures. In all three books the authors demonstrated that they were aware of this by including assessment tasks and rubrics etc in the Teacher’s Guides. Subject matter knowledge has to include opportunities for the learners to re-examine the content for themselves. The authors of Focus on Physical Sciences and Physical Sciences Explained use bold text to highlight important words and terms to the learners and also included these in a glossary at the end of the book.

All of the books showed evidence of the authors’ knowledge of learners and learning in the way the material was presented to the learners for example in their use of text boxes, tables etc. The authors also included useful information in the Teacher’s Guides relating to the subject, learning outcomes etc. Focus on Physical Sciences included an examination Practice Booklet which gave the learners useful tips for examination preparation and the writing of examinations. It also included notes on how to approach questions as well as including model answers. The other two books did not include any actual examination questions or model answers for the learners. Knowledge of learners and learning needs to incorporate an understanding of misconceptions and prior learning and what teaching strategies are going to be used to address these issues. The authors of Physical Science Explained demonstrated this in the way in which they dealt with the revision of inter-molecular forces.

The manner in which the material was laid out in all three of the books showed evidence of the authors’ general pedagogical knowledge. This refers to the order and way in which the information, activities, notes have been included. Focus on Physical Sciences and Physical Sciences Explained presented the material in a way that was more likely to engage the learners’ attention as the text was less dense.

7.3.2 COMPARISON OF GENERAL FEATURES OF THE TEXTBOOKS

As can be seen from Table 7.2 in the comparison of some of the general features of the textbooks the books are very similar in certain aspects such as the reading level. However, the lower value obtained for Physical Sciences Explained may indicate

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that this text is more suitable for second language learners. It is also set out in a manner which is user friendly and therefore suitable for the learners. The text in Study and Master Physical Sciences appears dense and does not appear to be as user friendly. The effort a learner must put into understanding the text while studying on their own is critical to the success of the textbook. Learners need to make connections between what they already know and the information they are reading. In my opinion the authors of Focus on Physical Sciences and Physical Sciences Explained tried by including signposts to prior knowledge and revision content, to help the learners make these connections.

Both Focus on Physical Sciences and Physical Sciences Explained use bold typeface to indicate important terms, which are then defined in the glossary at the end of the book. Study and Master Physical Sciences does not contain a glossary. Focus on Physical Sciences also contains an index which helps learners find content on various topics easily. Focus on Physical Sciences and Physical Sciences Explained both have a variety of different types of activities which appear to cater for the different needs of the learners. All of the textbooks could have developed the topics covered more thoroughly.

The format and illustrations in the textbooks need to be attractive to the reader so that they are not put off before they have interacted with the text. The authors of Physical Sciences explained have made an effort to keep pictures simple and easy to understand and have also used a cartoon to engage the learners attention which includes female and black learners which shows their knowledge of the South African context.

To answer research question 1 I believe that all three textbooks have developed texts with useful elements and the authors of all three books have shown PCK in all six of the knowledge categories. Teachers who use these texts will be able to find useful information and activities in all three. However in my opinion Focus on Physical Sciences has information that is possibly the most valuable to the learners as it includes the other resources for the learner to use i.e. the practicals book and the exam practice book.

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Table 7.2 Comparison of general features in the textbooks

COMPARISON OF SOME OF THE GENERAL FEATURES OF TEXTBOOKS