TEACHER INTERVIEW (SCHOOL M)

Key: “T” represents the Teacher interviewee; and “I” stands for the Interviewer I: Hallo....Good morning, sir!

T: Good morning…..how are you I: Fine and you

T: I am fine

I: Okay, sir … Remember, last time I did an interview with your learners after I gave them a questionnaire which they had answered…..about the use of everyday words in Physical Science…..Okay?....after they answered those questionnaires..eh,...I picked a few words that were of interest to me. It is precisely on those words...that I want to talk to you about in today’s interview....Please feel free in this interview...don’t feel pressed oh...Heeh! Heh! (Laughing)Feel biased in any way. I will not mention your name in any of my research work....You are going to be an anonymous person throughout...okay

T: That’s fine...

I: Eh, in your school I identified something like....eh....1..2..3, 4....eh..5 words that interested me..Eh... The first one is the word sensitive....Eh...to you...what does the word sensitive mean?

T: Eh..the word sensitive....ehhh...applicable to the teaching and learning of science..?

I: ....Yes..and you can also explain it to me generally....whatever, the way you understand it... T: …..The way I understand it...eh,...I usually..possibly..in measurements in a scale that is very accurate...minute...

I: Okay, many of your learners actually said, the meaning of the word sensitive is...“getting spoilt very easily”. Ehh....Do you agree with your learners in terms of the definition of this word?

T: ...(Silence)....No!..

I: Why don’t you agree with them?

T: ...Because it’s not what I taught them...it’s not the way how we used the word sensitive in my class...

I: ...okay...so are you talking in terms of your subject or in general T: In terms of my subject...

I: Tell me, in which sections or topics of your subject do you use such a word?

E: We were dealing with ...ehhh....vectors and forces, where we had to do a practical (experiment) ...we had to take very accurate measurements and where we were....eh...remember that trolley...the trolley practical?...

I: Oh yes...I also teach Physical Science...

T: ...Yes…..At the moment when you let the trolley run off, you need to be very accurate there and when you stop your timer...you need to be very accurate there.... and that constitutes the sensitivity of the results...of measurements that you read off.

I: Do you normally explain or provide any meaning to the words to your learners...like the one you have just explained...?

T: In some instances I do...but not all the time....I cannot say I explain. There are terms that are particular or new to...or specific to the topic...that aren’t generally derived from the situation...

I: So it generally depends on you...when you feel that you need to explain,...then you do it? T: Yes.

I: But now some of these word look like simple everyday words that they meet outside the classroom....it is highly likely that they have met them before ...so how, now, do you judge when to explain and when not to...

T: It is very difficult and I can’t say…..or perhaps a moment whereby I sat down and picked out a few general words because ...but by virtue of the fact that they are general, one automatically assumes that they would know them...not to spent 3 or 4 minutes of the lesson explaining the words...

I: Now, do you explain this word in terms of the science context or general...

T: What I do with words that I see that they might just be out of the norm, I first take it from the everyday context.... at times I ask them to check the dictionary, I say...What does this word mean?...Find that....Tell me that...and then from there, I derive....I bring it to the science context....I think that one is very important because it actually builds the whole foundation of the word...

I: Okay, let’s progress because we still have three or so words to discuss...The next word is

valid...what does this word mean for you...

T:...”Valid”....Suppose it was a hypothesis...eh, maybe in a practical or investigation. If we agree with the hypothesis, then our supposition or hypothesis is valid or it holds true.

I: Alright, many of your learners said that the meaning of the word “valid” is “brief”. Do you agree with them?

T: That is way off...

I: Way off....totally opposite...? Haa! Haaaa! (Laughing)

T: Noooo! Ahhh? There are some word that we do take for granted but we cannot see how one can relate “valid” with “brief”...I cannot explain their thinking...Heeh! Heh! (Laughing)...

I: So where do you think they pick up such a meaning?

T: Such a number of them....valid for brief? No I...I cannot talk for them.. I: In which topic did you use this word?

T: Whenever we do a practical and sometimes when we approve, like in Newton’s Laws, remember when we derive the gravitational acceleration in relation to Newton’s Law of Universal Gravitation...so we can say this equation is valid because the equation holds true....

I: The third word is convention... (Spelling it)....What is the meaning of this word to you? T: As per agreement...

I: Okay...but then your learners say it means “a formula for physics” and then some say it means “something developed a long time ago”. Once more...do you agree with them?

T: ... (Laughing aloud)...come again... I:... (Interviewer repeats as per request)...

T: ...Ahhhh, well if I was a learner, I would probably go for the second one....

I: So as a teacher why go with that?...not necessarily...with a convention...maybe we can think of the mother body of what we think we are running and then we choose certain word or rule ...like in organic chemistry...the rules are changing here and there. So when I teach in class, I need to update them with the new rules... as agreed upon

I: Which sections...Which subjects...do you normally encounter the word?

T: I use it in Organic chemistry as I have said for grade 12 but not for grade 11 and in electricity about the movement of charge ...by convention...that one I have to tell them.

I: Alright...And then now the forth word...The word disintegrates....What is the meaning of the word “disintegrate” to you?

T: it is to break down....

I: And some of your learners say it means “to disappear” and some said it means to “change colour”...do you agree with them?

T: By the way, which class was this....11B or 11C? I: ...No I don’t, know....

T: If it was 11B class, I would agree but if it was 11C, not really...because now...

I: Remember I did one of your classes....I do not know which is which there...Let’s deal with this one...

T: With this one, 11B, they could argue their way out and i would kind of agree with them...If you look at it chemically, breaking down can mean change of colour or disappearance of colour...But just as a physical quantity...No!

I: So where do you think they picked up this definition?

T: Well, disintegrate as change of colour, generally I think it was the best answer for them to pick but I can’t explain

I :( Laughing) ....You can’t explain that...Ehhh, the next word which was of interest to me was question 25...Yah! What does the word adjacent mean to you?

T: Next to...

I: Okay....And then your learners chose something otherwise....with some saying it means “identical in every way”...Okay, where do you think they picked up this one from?

T: ... (Silence)...

I: Maybe let’s ask first that ...Do you agree with them?

T: Nooo!, I don’t! In my subject and Mathematics they always confuse the word parallel I: So you strongly suspect they picked up the confusion from Mathematics....?

I: Now, let’s go for a few things about the background of your school, eh, what type of school is this one...former model C or something else?

T: It is a former model C school I: Fee paying...?

T: Yes...

I: The sizes of the classes in general, are you happy about them...are they too big or okay? And the numbers

T: I think I am okay... 30 to 32... I: So they are manageable? T: Yes

I: The Laboratories, are they well equipped?

T: No, Laboratories need to be looked into….I am not happy with them

I: And now, finally, do you think your learners are proficient in English....when they express themselves, are they proficient to your satisfaction?

T: No, they are not...maybe they are in what you call modern lingua but that is not English to me....

I: So they cannot express themselves well

T: They can’t express themselves well, and when they write it not up to standard...

I: Now if I were to give you one or two of the questions that they answered so that I see what answers you will get yourself, is it okay. Like question number 5...., what answer would you choose?

T: ... (Reading aloud) ...I would choose A I: Question 6....

T: (Reading aloud)... I would go for D I: Last one; sorry for pushing you...Question 20 T :....( Reads aloud)....A is the answer

APPENDIX E