UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH AFRICA (UNISA)
College of Education
⋄
ASSESSMENT 5: PORTFOLIO
Reflection on Teaching Practice, 2026
⋄
Student Name: Thandeka Nomvula Mokoena
Student Number: 61234567
Module Code: TMS3713
Assessment: Assessment 5: Portfolio
Total Marks: 100
Year: 2026
Submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for TMS3713
at the University of South Africa.
,UNISA | TMS3713 Portfolio 2026
Task 1: The Teaching Practice Context and Experience
Question 1.A
Please provide a description of the school where you conducted your teaching practice. Include its
location and specify the grade levels you taught.
The teaching practice took place at Ikhwezi High School, a public secondary school in Davey-
ton, Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Municipality, Gauteng. Situated in a township setting, it draws
most of its learners from households where parents work as taxi drivers, retail workers and fac-
tory employees, and many of those households depend on social grants. It enrols about 1 150
learners from Grade 8 to Grade 12. English is the language of learning and teaching, although
many learners speak isiZulu, Sesotho and Xitsonga at home. Under the Curriculum and Assess-
ment Policy Statement (CAPS), Geography is offered as a subject from Grade 10 in the Further
Education and Training (FET) band (DBE, 2011).
I taught Geography to Grade 10 and Grade 11 classes of between 38 and 45 learners, for four
periods per week. The school has a dedicated Geography classroom with a data projector, text-
books shared between two learners, and only a small stock of topographic maps. These condi-
tions shaped how I planned, because I had to decide early which resources I could depend on
and which I had to improvise.
Question 1.B
To what extent did the learner population demonstrate diversity concerning backgrounds and learn-
ing abilities?
The learner population was diverse to a considerable extent, both in background and in ability.
In terms of background, the classes included learners from different language groups, different
religious and cultural traditions, and very different household circumstances. Some learners
arrived with wide general knowledge from newspapers, television and family travel, while oth-
ers had never seen a topographic map before Grade 10 and had little access to books at home.
Learners who spoke isiZulu at home sometimes understood a concept in discussion but strug-
gled to write it in English, which meant that a weak written answer did not always signal weak
Page 1 of 18
, UNISA | TMS3713 Portfolio 2026
understanding.
Abilities varied just as widely. A small group of learners read maps and interpreted graphs with
ease, a large middle group needed guided practice, and a few learners had barriers to learn-
ing such as reading difficulties, poor concentration, or low vision. The inclusive education ap-
proach set out in Education White Paper 6 expects schools to identify and respond to these
barriers rather than treat them as a learner’s own failure (DoE, 2001), and the Policy on Screen-
ing, Identification, Assessment and Support gives teachers a process for flagging learners who
need extra help (DBE, 2014).
I responded in three practical ways. I grouped learners in mixed-ability clusters so that stronger
learners explained ideas in their own words. I broke mapwork tasks into small stages, in line
with Vygotsky’s (1978) idea that learners progress best when support is matched to what they
can almost do alone. I also gave learners more than one way to show understanding, for exam-
ple a labelled sketch or an oral explanation alongside a written paragraph.
Question 1.C
Could you please elucidate your relationship with your Geography mentor and the learners? Kindly
include examples.
My relationship with my Geography mentor, Mrs Nokuthula Dlamini, was professional and
supportive. In the first week the mentor introduced me to the Geography programme of as-
sessment, the department’s filing system and the school’s expectations for lesson plans. I ob-
served three lessons before I taught my first one, and afterwards the mentor sat with me and
explained why certain choices had been made, for example why a lesson began with a map
rather than a definition. When I taught, the mentor observed and wrote comments on my les-
son plans, usually naming one strength and one thing to change. One example is when the
mentor pointed out that I spoke too quickly during mapwork instructions and suggested that
I demonstrate the first calculation on the board before releasing learners to work. The next
lesson, the learners completed the task with far fewer questions. Schön (1983) describes this
kind of conversation about practice as the way a beginner learns to think like a practitioner,
and my mentor’s feedback worked in exactly that way.
My relationship with the learners developed more slowly. In the first two weeks many of them
tested my authority, and I learnt their names by using seating plans and by greeting each learner
Page 2 of 18
College of Education
⋄
ASSESSMENT 5: PORTFOLIO
Reflection on Teaching Practice, 2026
⋄
Student Name: Thandeka Nomvula Mokoena
Student Number: 61234567
Module Code: TMS3713
Assessment: Assessment 5: Portfolio
Total Marks: 100
Year: 2026
Submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for TMS3713
at the University of South Africa.
,UNISA | TMS3713 Portfolio 2026
Task 1: The Teaching Practice Context and Experience
Question 1.A
Please provide a description of the school where you conducted your teaching practice. Include its
location and specify the grade levels you taught.
The teaching practice took place at Ikhwezi High School, a public secondary school in Davey-
ton, Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Municipality, Gauteng. Situated in a township setting, it draws
most of its learners from households where parents work as taxi drivers, retail workers and fac-
tory employees, and many of those households depend on social grants. It enrols about 1 150
learners from Grade 8 to Grade 12. English is the language of learning and teaching, although
many learners speak isiZulu, Sesotho and Xitsonga at home. Under the Curriculum and Assess-
ment Policy Statement (CAPS), Geography is offered as a subject from Grade 10 in the Further
Education and Training (FET) band (DBE, 2011).
I taught Geography to Grade 10 and Grade 11 classes of between 38 and 45 learners, for four
periods per week. The school has a dedicated Geography classroom with a data projector, text-
books shared between two learners, and only a small stock of topographic maps. These condi-
tions shaped how I planned, because I had to decide early which resources I could depend on
and which I had to improvise.
Question 1.B
To what extent did the learner population demonstrate diversity concerning backgrounds and learn-
ing abilities?
The learner population was diverse to a considerable extent, both in background and in ability.
In terms of background, the classes included learners from different language groups, different
religious and cultural traditions, and very different household circumstances. Some learners
arrived with wide general knowledge from newspapers, television and family travel, while oth-
ers had never seen a topographic map before Grade 10 and had little access to books at home.
Learners who spoke isiZulu at home sometimes understood a concept in discussion but strug-
gled to write it in English, which meant that a weak written answer did not always signal weak
Page 1 of 18
, UNISA | TMS3713 Portfolio 2026
understanding.
Abilities varied just as widely. A small group of learners read maps and interpreted graphs with
ease, a large middle group needed guided practice, and a few learners had barriers to learn-
ing such as reading difficulties, poor concentration, or low vision. The inclusive education ap-
proach set out in Education White Paper 6 expects schools to identify and respond to these
barriers rather than treat them as a learner’s own failure (DoE, 2001), and the Policy on Screen-
ing, Identification, Assessment and Support gives teachers a process for flagging learners who
need extra help (DBE, 2014).
I responded in three practical ways. I grouped learners in mixed-ability clusters so that stronger
learners explained ideas in their own words. I broke mapwork tasks into small stages, in line
with Vygotsky’s (1978) idea that learners progress best when support is matched to what they
can almost do alone. I also gave learners more than one way to show understanding, for exam-
ple a labelled sketch or an oral explanation alongside a written paragraph.
Question 1.C
Could you please elucidate your relationship with your Geography mentor and the learners? Kindly
include examples.
My relationship with my Geography mentor, Mrs Nokuthula Dlamini, was professional and
supportive. In the first week the mentor introduced me to the Geography programme of as-
sessment, the department’s filing system and the school’s expectations for lesson plans. I ob-
served three lessons before I taught my first one, and afterwards the mentor sat with me and
explained why certain choices had been made, for example why a lesson began with a map
rather than a definition. When I taught, the mentor observed and wrote comments on my les-
son plans, usually naming one strength and one thing to change. One example is when the
mentor pointed out that I spoke too quickly during mapwork instructions and suggested that
I demonstrate the first calculation on the board before releasing learners to work. The next
lesson, the learners completed the task with far fewer questions. Schön (1983) describes this
kind of conversation about practice as the way a beginner learns to think like a practitioner,
and my mentor’s feedback worked in exactly that way.
My relationship with the learners developed more slowly. In the first two weeks many of them
tested my authority, and I learnt their names by using seating plans and by greeting each learner
Page 2 of 18
