SUBJECT NAME SOCIAL SCIENCES(HISTORY III)

SUBJECT CODE SSN307P

COURSE BPIS20
ASSIGNMENT CHALLENGES DURING WIL
LECTURER DR G. KAPFIDZE
DATE 27 OCTOBER 2022
NAMES STUDENT NUMBERS
MOTSWAGAE OBC 215019047
NKUNA M
RAKGALAKANE KA
What is challenge?
The word challenge evolved from calumniari, a Latin word meaning ‘to
accuse falsely’. As it arrived into Anlgo-French as chalenge it included the
meanings ‘to dispute’, ‘to oppose’, or ‘to claim’. By Middle English, the word
had morphed into challenge, which also meant ‘a call to fight’.By the 1900s,
however both problem and challenge had overlapped to also mean ‘any
difficult task’.
A challenge can tackle a problem head on, target a secondary consequence
of a problem, or act as a preventative measure against something that has
the potential to develop into a problem.
Those who see the situation as a challenge rather than a problem might
indeed have a psychological advantage, but it is he or she who questions the
very nature of the problem that has the biggest advantage of all.
The reason being that we often fail to question the validity of our problems or
step back to take in the whole picture. Then, when it comes to more complex
situations, it’s easy to misdiagnose a problem or put our focus on the wrong
challenges, not realising until it’s too late.

Teaching practice
Teaching practice is the opportunity given to trainee teachers to apply the
knowledge and skills they acquired during the theoretical part of their
preparation period in the hope to become proficient practicing teachers.

However, through looking at the vision and mission of several teacher

preparation institutions all over the world, it becomes clear that the main goal
for those institutions is to prepare teachers to be able to teach using modern
teaching methods and technology. This can only be achieved by providing
student teachers with sufficient theoretical information besides helping them
to acquire the skills of teaching, classroom management, and the use of
technology.

Challenges related to schools

School doubts the ability of the student teachers to carry out the job properly
and worries about not completing the syllabus. Also, some schools does not
favor the change of teachers in the middle of the course which involves new
methods, techniques, and assessments. They think this in turn would affect
their learners.

Challenges related to Mentor teachers

Some mentor teachers does not give adequate feedback.In many cases, the
mentor teacher leaves without comments or giving too broad
comments that guide a way forward.

They do not even have time to sit down and discuss their observations
and comments with the student teachers.
They would only have a quick look at the lesson plan notebooks and not
paying any visits.

Challenges related to classroom management

In mos cases we find difficulties in preparing a well-organized lesson plan

that contains all the required elements and in alignment.

Another challenge we were facing during the teaching practice is the lack of
classroom management. There were situations where we lost control over the
learners and the class ended in chaos.

Learner Discipline and Classroom Management Discipline is a challenge in

most South African schools and it appears that there are no effective
disciplinary measures taken against delinquency and transgressions. In
schools such as this, we find it difficult to manage and control the class. In
certain instances, learners know that student teachers are only at the school
for teaching practice and as such cannot exert any authority towards us.

Resources Resources are vital to facilitate effective teaching and learning in

schools. In the absence of resources, or lack thereof, students get frustrated
and this makes their teaching practice a difficult task.

There are still schools in South Africa with no libraries and a huge shortage of
textbooks. There are learners who still share textbooks in class. This is
challenging for student teachers as it draws on issues of classroom
management and control as well as learner discipline. Some schools still
experience challenges with photocopiers and this poses problems when
students prepare lessons and additional support material for learners for
assessments and homework.

Solutions

Student teachers are expected to receive constructive feedback from their

mentor teachers to enable them to make corrections and the appropriate
adjustments of their professional abilities.

Schools need to assist student teachers to establish a system that creates

better prospects for learning, a system where learners recognise themselves
as beneficiaries of classroom discipline rather than its victims. This requires
that discipline in schools be approached thoughtfully and systematically, with
the aim of identifying and pre-empting or removing potential causes. Schools
need to have proper measures in place to curb minor disciplinary matters
before they become major.