Abstract
The issue of infrastructure deficit has been a challenge affecting many South African public schools for more than two decades. This has been identified as a challenge impacting effective science learning. The use of science communication practices in science classrooms had been proposed as a cheaper, more accessible, and immediate solution to this problem. However, there has not been many studies conducted to demonstrate how integrating science communication strategies into school science could work to close the resource gap in under-resourced schools. This study aimed to evaluate if engagement strategies used by science communicators in informal learning environments (ILEs) could be used to develop effective inquiry learning material for use in under-resourced schools in South Africa. The study followed the design-based research (DBR) methodology which has three phases: needs analysis, development of learning material, and evaluation of learning material. A detailed needs analysis was conducted, focusing on the Grade 9 Natural Sciences (NS) classes at three secondary schools (students aged 14–16 years) located in a rural district in the KwaZulu-Natal province of South Africa.
Afterwards, the study sought to examine how strategies used by science communicators in ILEs could be used to develop effective inquiry learning material that could address the challenges identified in the three schools. This was achieved by conducting a multiple-case study involving seven science communicators from three ILEs: National Science Museum (Khlong Luang, Thailand), Sci-Bono Discovery Centre (Johannesburg, South Africa), and Tūhura Otago Museum (Dunedin, New Zealand). Findings from the cases were then used to develop a new integrated inquiry framework referred to as the Complementarity of Learning Framework (Colfram). The Colfram was designed to be a simplified tool to guide teachers operating in under-resourced settings to design their own inquiry learning material.
To demonstrate how the Colfram can be used as a design tool, one nucleotide blocks Do-It-Yourself (DIY) science kit was developed and evaluated by the Grade 9 students and teachers at the same three rural schools. Further evaluations of the science kit were conducted by consulting five science teachers based at urban schools in Durban, South Africa. Results showed that the science kit successfully enabled a rich learning experience and had measurable value as a teaching and learning aid in under-resourced classroom settings. The majority of students who participated in the study felt that using the DIY science kit in a class activity was fun and made learning science enjoyable. Furthermore, the science kit also showed a potential to help positively shape students’ interests, attitudes, and opinions about science as some students who initially had no interest in joining the science subjects at higher grades were now reconsidering their options. The science kit received positive feedback from both the rural and urban teachers, who found it applicable as a teaching aid for several topics at different grade levels. Despite the demonstrable benefits the science kit showed in improving student science learning experience, enabling meaningful non-hierarchical sense-making conversations, acquainting students with the scientific inquiry processes, and enhancing teacher teaching practice, it was found that teachers were more interested in learning materials that offered immediate opportunities to improve student performance. Moreover, most teachers cited contextual hindrances as a major factor that influence their decisions to generally avoid inquiry-based instruction. In particular, teachers showed reluctance in taking on the extra workload that comes with planning and designing their own inquiry learning material.
Overall, this study demonstrated that science engagement strategies from informal learning environments can be employed to design affordable learning material that improve the science learning experience of students in countries such as South Africa where long-term infrastructural deficits negatively impact school science learning. Considering the variety of skills that would be required to develop effective inquiry material that are attractive enough for students to achieve the broader goals of inquiry-based instruction, it is recommended that the development of inquiry material must be a collaborative effort including relevant science education stakeholders from schools, academia, industry, and government.