TPN2601/103/0/2024
Tutorial Letter 103/0/2024
Teaching Practice for Intermediate Phase (Grades 4–6)
Assignment 50
Year module
Department of Curriculum and Instructional Studies
PLEASE NOTE IMPORTANT INFORMATION:
PORTFOLIO: Teaching Practice for INTERMEDIATE PHASE (Grades 4–6)
Unique number:
Final submission date:
Please remember to write your student number on assignments.
STUDENT NAME AND SURNAME……………………………………
STUDENT NUMBER: …………………………………………………………………………
Bar code
1
, TABLE OF CONTENTS
1 INTRODUCTION TO TEACHING PRACTICE ............................................................................. 3
1.1 OVERVIEW OF THE TEACHING PRACTICE MODULE.............................................................. 4
1.1.1 PURPOSE OF TEACHING PRACTICE MODULE 1(TPN2601) ..................................................................... 4
1.1.2 THE MODULE STRUCTURE .......................................................................................................................... 5
1.1.3 MENTOR LETTER .......................................................................................................................................... 5
2 PORTFOLIO FOR TEACHING PRACTICE FOR INTERMEDIATE PHASE (GRADE 4-6) .......... 7
2.1 portfolio information ..................................................................................................................... 7
2.1.1 Purpose of the teaching practice portfolio ....................................................................................................... 7
2.1.2 Portfolio structure and focus ............................................................................................................................ 8
2.1.3 Quality of the portfolio assignment .................................................................................................................. 9
2.1.4 Administration: submission and contact procedures ..................................................................................... 10
3 TUTORIAL LETTER 103 TEMPLATE FOR THE INTERMEDIATE PHASE TEACHING PRACTICE
ACTIVITIES ................................................................................................................................11
3.1 INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................................................11
3.2 AN AFRICAN PHILOSOPHY OF EDUCATION...........................................................................12
3.2.1 MY TEACHING PHILOSOPHY (BELIEFS) .................................................................................16
3.3 CLASSROOM MANAGEMENT OBSERVATION ACTIVITIES ....................................................18
3.3.1 Introduction .................................................................................................................................................... 19
3.3.2 Perspectives on teaching and learning .......................................................................................................... 19
4. DECLARATION FORMS ............................................................................................................38
5 MENTOR REPORT ....................................................................................................................39
6. STUDENT REPORT ...................................................................................................................41
7 BIBLIOGRAPHY/REFERENCES ...............................................................................................43
2
, TPN2601/103/0/2024
1 INTRODUCTION TO TEACHING PRACTICE
Dear Student
This tutorial letter contains the portfolio template to be used to complete Assignment 50 for TPN2601
(Teaching Practice for Intermediate Phase Grades 4-6.
Please read the instructions and guidelines carefully and thoroughly before attempting to complete the
portfolio. This portfolio counts 80% of your final mark for TPN2601.
Your future and your career depend on the timely submission of the portfolio. You must submit the
portfolio as soon as you have finished your practical teaching period of 25 school days.
No portfolios received after the due date will be marked! It will be returned to you, and you will have
to reregister and repeat your teaching practice during the following year. Make sure that you submit
it in on time and that Unisa has received it.
PLEASE NOTE: The school visit is a very important part of your training as you get advice and support that
may be valuable for your preparation as a teacher. However, the mark you receive for the school visit does
not count towards your mark for this course, as at this stage we cannot yet guarantee that every student
will be visited. If it happens that you are not visited, your marks will not be affected in any way.
If you have any queries regarding the portfolio, you can contact me as follows:
Prof TI Mogashoa
Mobile (International): +2776 372 5084
Mobile (Local): 076 372 5084
Email:
Please do not contact me regarding placements or school visits. See Tutorial Letters 101 and 102 for
contact details in this regard.
For any other enquiries and contact details, see Tutorial Letter 101 section 3.
Kind regards
Prof TI Mogashoa
3
,
, TPN2601/103
3 TUTORIAL LETTER 103
TEMPLATE FOR THE INTERMEDIATE PHASE TEACHING PRACTICE ACTIVITIES
3.1 INTRODUCTION
Dear Student
We are pleased to welcome you to the observation component of Teaching Practice of your
professional development. Teaching Practice is the core of our teacher education programmes. The
purpose of this exercise is to improve your understanding of teaching and learning in the
Intermediate Phase. We will do our best to make your teaching practice experience interesting,
rewarding and successful. You will be well on your way to success if you start arrangements early
in the year and aim to complete the assignments properly.
As a student teacher, you are an important person in the Unisa community. The lecturers and
students of this community are constantly learning and teaching to contribute to and develop
education in South Africa.
This module focuses on developing the practical skills and competencies teachers need to fulfil
their role as teachers in the South African context. Teaching practice is based on an age-old
approach to apprenticeship – a way of learning from knowledgeable and competent leaders in a
community and to practise skills under their watchful guidance until you have mastered a skill or
competence.
With this African approach to education, you observe what elders or senior members of a community
do. You participate in activities but are not yet an experienced member of the community. During
your “apprenticeship”, you will learn about traditions, values and the correct or best way to do
activities. At the end of your apprenticeship, you will be accepted as a knowledgeable person into
the community. The elders and senior members will still guide you until you are competent enough
to do things on your own. If you want to master a specific skill or enter a specific career, you need
11
,to observe an experienced person who will guide and lead you to practise the skill until you can do
it well enough to work on your own.
In the same way as aspiring teachers, you have the opportunity to go to schools and form part of
the school community. During this first practical teaching opportunity, you will observe teaching
and learning within a unique context in a specific school. In your “apprenticeship” as a teacher, you
will learn a lot from teachers and mentors in the school.
Activities in the assignments and portfolio are designed to support you in your observation of
teaching and learning through a specific lens that is unique to the South African context.
The following definitions are important when doing observation to contribute to your theoretical
knowledge of learning and teaching in South Africa. These definitions are constructed around
interpretation of specific aspects related to Africanisation. Use these definitions together with the
theoretical knowledge of current research you gain in each module. When observing, reporting and
reflecting on the portfolio activities, these concepts and principles will enable you to reflect critically
on learning and teaching in the unique context in which you are teaching.
3.2 AN AFRICAN PHILOSOPHY OF EDUCATION
To improve education in South Africa, teachers need to be aware of the contextual factors that affect
life and education. The lived realities as experienced by our society or communities provide a
background to understand challenges from their unique contexts. We need an African philosophy of
education that is based on and articulates these lived realities. This philosophy could become a
useful tool that provides a perspective to define and address problems. This approach can improve
education and life on different levels. (Higgs, 2003)
The reality experienced by a diverse African community suggests a spirit of communality as
expressed in an indigenous African knowledge system. General unifying themes describe concepts
in African philosophy that are related to education. To complete this portfolio, it is important that you
understand these concepts.
Read the information in the following table. The concept is explained first and the principles
underlying or supporting the concept follow. To ensure that you understand the information, explain
it in your own words in one sentence in the space provided.
12
, TPN2601/103
To complete this portfolio, it is important that you understand the concepts described below.
General themes or concepts that are important for educators in South Africa
1. Decolonisation (Education)
An active process to change the Western-dominated philosophy and approach to education to a
balanced approach where indigenous knowledge and pedagogies are acknowledged and
genuinely incorporated into the formal educational system. Multiple perspectives are included to
make education relevant and practical to address needs and challenges within specific contexts.
(Owuor:2007)
Principles: Mkabela – An African approach to education
Own understanding of the concept and examples of implementation and teaching practice.
Decolonisation in education refers to the active process of transforming educational
systems that have historically been influenced by western ideologies and practices.
Examples of implication and teaching practice
• Cognitive Change- A fundamental aspect of decolonisation involves changing the
way educators and learners think about knowledge and its sources. This includes
recognizing and valuing African epistemologies and cultural narratives that have
been historically marginalized.
• Curriculum Transformation - There is a strong call for revising the curriculum to
include African histories, cultures, and languages. This involves moving away from
a Eurocentric curriculum that often alienates students from their own identities and
experiences.
• Community Involvement - The process of decolonisation is not limited to the
classroom; it extends to community engagement. Educators are encouraged to
involve local communities in the educational process, ensuring that the curriculum
reflects the realities and needs of the students' environments.
13
,2. African communalism:
Community and belonging to a community are an important aspect of African life. An individual
is conceptualised in terms of their connectedness in a community. Letseka (2000).
Principles: Individuals are interdependent. Human relationships are important. Content and
knowledge must be useful for practice.
Own understanding of concept and examples of implementation and teaching practice.
African communalism emphasizes the importance of community and interconnectedness
in the educational context.
Examples of implementation and teaching practice
• Interdependence - The concept of interdependence is central to African
communalism. Educators are encouraged to create learning environments that
promote collaboration, mutual support, and shared responsibility among
students.
• Ethical Values - African communalism advocates for the integration of ethical
values such as cooperation, respect, and empathy into the curriculum. This
approach aims to nurture responsible citizens who contribute positively to their
communities.
• Practical Relevance - Content taught in schools should be relevant to the
students' lives and communities. This means that educators must connect
academic knowledge with real-world applications, ensuring that students can see
the value of their education in their daily lives.
• Community-Based Learning - Implementing community-based projects can help
students understand the significance of their roles within their communities.
Such projects foster a sense of belonging and encourage students to apply their
learning in practical, community-oriented ways
14
, TPN2601/103
3. Ubuntu (humanness)
A philosophy that promotes the common good of society. It focuses on ethical standards that
a person acquires throughout their life and therefore education also plays a very important
role in transferring the African philosophy of life. The values of caring, sharing and dignity are
important. (Mosana)
Principles: Understanding the uniqueness of all persons. Recognising the humanity of others to
affirm your own humanity. Welfare of others is important. Fairness and humanness are crucial to
personal well-being.
In a fulfilled and flourishing life people are reasonably well fed, well clothed and housed, in good
health, loved, secure, and able to make a conscious effort to treat others with fairness and
humanness. Fairness and communality; individuals are interdependent. Human relationships are
important.
Therefore, respect, interpersonal skills and cooperative skills are important. Own understanding
of the concept and examples of implementation. What does this mean in your practice as a
teacher?
A Southern African philosophy emphasizes the interconnectedness of humanity and the
importance of community. It promotes ethical standards and values such as caring,
sharing, dignity, and respect for others, which are crucial in educational settings. This
philosophy asserts that an individual's humanity is affirmed through their relationships
with others, encapsulated in the saying "I am because we are."
15
Tutorial Letter 103/0/2024
Teaching Practice for Intermediate Phase (Grades 4–6)
Assignment 50
Year module
Department of Curriculum and Instructional Studies
PLEASE NOTE IMPORTANT INFORMATION:
PORTFOLIO: Teaching Practice for INTERMEDIATE PHASE (Grades 4–6)
Unique number:
Final submission date:
Please remember to write your student number on assignments.
STUDENT NAME AND SURNAME……………………………………
STUDENT NUMBER: …………………………………………………………………………
Bar code
1
, TABLE OF CONTENTS
1 INTRODUCTION TO TEACHING PRACTICE ............................................................................. 3
1.1 OVERVIEW OF THE TEACHING PRACTICE MODULE.............................................................. 4
1.1.1 PURPOSE OF TEACHING PRACTICE MODULE 1(TPN2601) ..................................................................... 4
1.1.2 THE MODULE STRUCTURE .......................................................................................................................... 5
1.1.3 MENTOR LETTER .......................................................................................................................................... 5
2 PORTFOLIO FOR TEACHING PRACTICE FOR INTERMEDIATE PHASE (GRADE 4-6) .......... 7
2.1 portfolio information ..................................................................................................................... 7
2.1.1 Purpose of the teaching practice portfolio ....................................................................................................... 7
2.1.2 Portfolio structure and focus ............................................................................................................................ 8
2.1.3 Quality of the portfolio assignment .................................................................................................................. 9
2.1.4 Administration: submission and contact procedures ..................................................................................... 10
3 TUTORIAL LETTER 103 TEMPLATE FOR THE INTERMEDIATE PHASE TEACHING PRACTICE
ACTIVITIES ................................................................................................................................11
3.1 INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................................................11
3.2 AN AFRICAN PHILOSOPHY OF EDUCATION...........................................................................12
3.2.1 MY TEACHING PHILOSOPHY (BELIEFS) .................................................................................16
3.3 CLASSROOM MANAGEMENT OBSERVATION ACTIVITIES ....................................................18
3.3.1 Introduction .................................................................................................................................................... 19
3.3.2 Perspectives on teaching and learning .......................................................................................................... 19
4. DECLARATION FORMS ............................................................................................................38
5 MENTOR REPORT ....................................................................................................................39
6. STUDENT REPORT ...................................................................................................................41
7 BIBLIOGRAPHY/REFERENCES ...............................................................................................43
2
, TPN2601/103/0/2024
1 INTRODUCTION TO TEACHING PRACTICE
Dear Student
This tutorial letter contains the portfolio template to be used to complete Assignment 50 for TPN2601
(Teaching Practice for Intermediate Phase Grades 4-6.
Please read the instructions and guidelines carefully and thoroughly before attempting to complete the
portfolio. This portfolio counts 80% of your final mark for TPN2601.
Your future and your career depend on the timely submission of the portfolio. You must submit the
portfolio as soon as you have finished your practical teaching period of 25 school days.
No portfolios received after the due date will be marked! It will be returned to you, and you will have
to reregister and repeat your teaching practice during the following year. Make sure that you submit
it in on time and that Unisa has received it.
PLEASE NOTE: The school visit is a very important part of your training as you get advice and support that
may be valuable for your preparation as a teacher. However, the mark you receive for the school visit does
not count towards your mark for this course, as at this stage we cannot yet guarantee that every student
will be visited. If it happens that you are not visited, your marks will not be affected in any way.
If you have any queries regarding the portfolio, you can contact me as follows:
Prof TI Mogashoa
Mobile (International): +2776 372 5084
Mobile (Local): 076 372 5084
Email:
Please do not contact me regarding placements or school visits. See Tutorial Letters 101 and 102 for
contact details in this regard.
For any other enquiries and contact details, see Tutorial Letter 101 section 3.
Kind regards
Prof TI Mogashoa
3
,
, TPN2601/103
3 TUTORIAL LETTER 103
TEMPLATE FOR THE INTERMEDIATE PHASE TEACHING PRACTICE ACTIVITIES
3.1 INTRODUCTION
Dear Student
We are pleased to welcome you to the observation component of Teaching Practice of your
professional development. Teaching Practice is the core of our teacher education programmes. The
purpose of this exercise is to improve your understanding of teaching and learning in the
Intermediate Phase. We will do our best to make your teaching practice experience interesting,
rewarding and successful. You will be well on your way to success if you start arrangements early
in the year and aim to complete the assignments properly.
As a student teacher, you are an important person in the Unisa community. The lecturers and
students of this community are constantly learning and teaching to contribute to and develop
education in South Africa.
This module focuses on developing the practical skills and competencies teachers need to fulfil
their role as teachers in the South African context. Teaching practice is based on an age-old
approach to apprenticeship – a way of learning from knowledgeable and competent leaders in a
community and to practise skills under their watchful guidance until you have mastered a skill or
competence.
With this African approach to education, you observe what elders or senior members of a community
do. You participate in activities but are not yet an experienced member of the community. During
your “apprenticeship”, you will learn about traditions, values and the correct or best way to do
activities. At the end of your apprenticeship, you will be accepted as a knowledgeable person into
the community. The elders and senior members will still guide you until you are competent enough
to do things on your own. If you want to master a specific skill or enter a specific career, you need
11
,to observe an experienced person who will guide and lead you to practise the skill until you can do
it well enough to work on your own.
In the same way as aspiring teachers, you have the opportunity to go to schools and form part of
the school community. During this first practical teaching opportunity, you will observe teaching
and learning within a unique context in a specific school. In your “apprenticeship” as a teacher, you
will learn a lot from teachers and mentors in the school.
Activities in the assignments and portfolio are designed to support you in your observation of
teaching and learning through a specific lens that is unique to the South African context.
The following definitions are important when doing observation to contribute to your theoretical
knowledge of learning and teaching in South Africa. These definitions are constructed around
interpretation of specific aspects related to Africanisation. Use these definitions together with the
theoretical knowledge of current research you gain in each module. When observing, reporting and
reflecting on the portfolio activities, these concepts and principles will enable you to reflect critically
on learning and teaching in the unique context in which you are teaching.
3.2 AN AFRICAN PHILOSOPHY OF EDUCATION
To improve education in South Africa, teachers need to be aware of the contextual factors that affect
life and education. The lived realities as experienced by our society or communities provide a
background to understand challenges from their unique contexts. We need an African philosophy of
education that is based on and articulates these lived realities. This philosophy could become a
useful tool that provides a perspective to define and address problems. This approach can improve
education and life on different levels. (Higgs, 2003)
The reality experienced by a diverse African community suggests a spirit of communality as
expressed in an indigenous African knowledge system. General unifying themes describe concepts
in African philosophy that are related to education. To complete this portfolio, it is important that you
understand these concepts.
Read the information in the following table. The concept is explained first and the principles
underlying or supporting the concept follow. To ensure that you understand the information, explain
it in your own words in one sentence in the space provided.
12
, TPN2601/103
To complete this portfolio, it is important that you understand the concepts described below.
General themes or concepts that are important for educators in South Africa
1. Decolonisation (Education)
An active process to change the Western-dominated philosophy and approach to education to a
balanced approach where indigenous knowledge and pedagogies are acknowledged and
genuinely incorporated into the formal educational system. Multiple perspectives are included to
make education relevant and practical to address needs and challenges within specific contexts.
(Owuor:2007)
Principles: Mkabela – An African approach to education
Own understanding of the concept and examples of implementation and teaching practice.
Decolonisation in education refers to the active process of transforming educational
systems that have historically been influenced by western ideologies and practices.
Examples of implication and teaching practice
• Cognitive Change- A fundamental aspect of decolonisation involves changing the
way educators and learners think about knowledge and its sources. This includes
recognizing and valuing African epistemologies and cultural narratives that have
been historically marginalized.
• Curriculum Transformation - There is a strong call for revising the curriculum to
include African histories, cultures, and languages. This involves moving away from
a Eurocentric curriculum that often alienates students from their own identities and
experiences.
• Community Involvement - The process of decolonisation is not limited to the
classroom; it extends to community engagement. Educators are encouraged to
involve local communities in the educational process, ensuring that the curriculum
reflects the realities and needs of the students' environments.
13
,2. African communalism:
Community and belonging to a community are an important aspect of African life. An individual
is conceptualised in terms of their connectedness in a community. Letseka (2000).
Principles: Individuals are interdependent. Human relationships are important. Content and
knowledge must be useful for practice.
Own understanding of concept and examples of implementation and teaching practice.
African communalism emphasizes the importance of community and interconnectedness
in the educational context.
Examples of implementation and teaching practice
• Interdependence - The concept of interdependence is central to African
communalism. Educators are encouraged to create learning environments that
promote collaboration, mutual support, and shared responsibility among
students.
• Ethical Values - African communalism advocates for the integration of ethical
values such as cooperation, respect, and empathy into the curriculum. This
approach aims to nurture responsible citizens who contribute positively to their
communities.
• Practical Relevance - Content taught in schools should be relevant to the
students' lives and communities. This means that educators must connect
academic knowledge with real-world applications, ensuring that students can see
the value of their education in their daily lives.
• Community-Based Learning - Implementing community-based projects can help
students understand the significance of their roles within their communities.
Such projects foster a sense of belonging and encourage students to apply their
learning in practical, community-oriented ways
14
, TPN2601/103
3. Ubuntu (humanness)
A philosophy that promotes the common good of society. It focuses on ethical standards that
a person acquires throughout their life and therefore education also plays a very important
role in transferring the African philosophy of life. The values of caring, sharing and dignity are
important. (Mosana)
Principles: Understanding the uniqueness of all persons. Recognising the humanity of others to
affirm your own humanity. Welfare of others is important. Fairness and humanness are crucial to
personal well-being.
In a fulfilled and flourishing life people are reasonably well fed, well clothed and housed, in good
health, loved, secure, and able to make a conscious effort to treat others with fairness and
humanness. Fairness and communality; individuals are interdependent. Human relationships are
important.
Therefore, respect, interpersonal skills and cooperative skills are important. Own understanding
of the concept and examples of implementation. What does this mean in your practice as a
teacher?
A Southern African philosophy emphasizes the interconnectedness of humanity and the
importance of community. It promotes ethical standards and values such as caring,
sharing, dignity, and respect for others, which are crucial in educational settings. This
philosophy asserts that an individual's humanity is affirmed through their relationships
with others, encapsulated in the saying "I am because we are."
15
