Assessment One: Introduction to the study (Chapter One) (50)

The literature suggests that teachers' and learners' understandings, intentions, and plans for
action are key determinants of teaching and learning behaviours (for example, see Munna &
Kalam, 2021; Wilson & Peterson, 2006; Bereiter & Scardamalia, 1989; Hirst, 1971; Kerr,
1981). The literature also reports many misunderstandings between teachers and learners (see
Forbes, 2019; de Jager, 2012; Cusworth, 1995; Hogan, 1999; Tasker & Freyberg, 1985;
Winne & Marx, 1982). Understandings and misunderstandings seem worthy of further
research.

To be fully informed about the factors that influence the success of educational programmes,
you must have information about the understanding teachers bring to educational settings.
Hence, you are tasked to explore teachers' understandings of teaching. Your broad
research question is: What are teachers' understandings of teaching?

Data generation method

You must conduct non-participant observation of your mentor teacher teaching their lessons
over two weeks. It would help if you made a note of the way your mentor teacher teaches. As
you observe, you must make field notes (to be used later when you do the third assessment of
results and findings). All personal and site names used must be pseudonyms (fictitious
names). The aim is to comprehensively capture teachers' understandings of their teaching in
action. You must conduct non-participant observation and note-taking of the teaching-
learning setting to capture teachers' understandings of their teaching in action. Before you
begin the non-participant observation, ensure you know exactly what non-participant
observation involves.

Non-participant observation involves observing participants without actively participating.

This method is used to understand a phenomenon (teachers teaching) by entering the
classroom while staying separate from the activities being observed. Non-participant
observation is when the observer observes outside the group and observes their behaviour. It
is important to record (in documentation form) observations regularly. These recordings
(notes) should be detailed, noting what was seen and heard. As you observe, you should
cover the three W's: What, When, and Where? You should also note non-verbal cues such as
body language, reactions, and facial expressions. It would help if you made notes of the
teachers' behaviour at specific times in the lesson.
Approach your teacher and request permission to observe him/her for four lessons (Fill out
the letter attached to this document and hand it to your mentor teacher). Inform the teacher
that you will sit quietly at the back of the class to observe him/her and make notes as you
observe. Also, tell the teacher that when you write your report, you will NOT use the school's
or the teacher's ACTUAL name and will always maintain confidentiality.

YOUR TASK (DUE ON 8 MAY 2023)

Write a detailed introduction and background to your study on teachers' understanding
of teaching. This part of the assessment should not exceed 1 000 words (about three
pages) [excluding the cover page and reference list]. Through the literature review, your
writing should demonstrate your understanding of parts of a research title
(phenomenon, focus, participants/data sources, context), rationale, purpose,
significance, and problem statement.

You must SUB-HEADINGS in your ESSAY.

Here is a suggested format for this assessment:

INTRODUCTION (10)
The research topic is introduced, and the value of conducting the study is discussed

Provide an overview of what is contained in the chapter

This is an introductory chapter on a study that reports on teachers' understanding of
teaching. In this chapter, I will discuss ...
Include information on:
 paradigm (interpretivism)
 design style (case study)
 data generation method (non-participant observation)

Briefly describe how the study will be done

This study on teachers' understanding of teaching is a qualitative study that involves non-
participant observation. I will observe my teacher mentor at my school while he/she is
teaching fractions in a grade 5 mathematics class. In this study, I will use the interpretive
paradigm. I will make notes as I observe. After observing the teacher, I will read through my
observation notes several times to better understand the data. I will then code the data and
extract themes from the data.
You must then elaborate on qualitative research and its suitability for your study. You must
explain what non-participant observation is and provide step-by-step details of you will
observe the teacher in the classroom. You must explain the interpretive paradigm and its
suitability in this study.

Present the guiding research question for the study

Here you must explain what the research question is. Remember the research question must
be directly related to the statement of purpose.

Explain how this study can contribute to the existing knowledge

This is called a rationale. A rationale concisely describes how you developed an interest in
the topic and why you believe the research is worth doing.

Example of a rationale(Vithal & Jansen, 2010)

Since starting as an English teacher two years ago, I have noticed that second language
learners display a distinct difference in their ability to speak English (which they do well)
and write in English (which they do poorly). I decided to explore the possible reasons for this
disjunction between spoken and written English among second-language speakers. The
findings from this research could be useful to:
 teachers of second language learners with an interest in improving the writing skills of
students
 curriculum development specialists and textbook writers who prepare English material
for second-language classrooms, and
 national and regional policymakers who design language policies for second-language
schools and classrooms.

PURPOSE OF THE STUDY (10)

Present a declarative statement: "The purpose of this study is….". The purpose statement
must identify the research methodology and design, population, phenomena to be studied,
and geographic location. Identifies the research methodology as qualitative and identifies the
specific research design. Describes the target population and geographic location for the
study.

Example of purpose statements (Vithal & Jansen, 2010)

 This study aims to explain the poor performance of students in high school mathematics.
 The purpose of this study is to investigate the attitudes of student teachers towards the use
of corporal punishment in schools.
 The purpose of this study is to assess the impact of the new history curriculum on
underqualified teachers in primary schools.

DEFINITION OF TERMS (10)

Define any words that may be unknown to a lay person (words with unusual or ambiguous
meanings or technical terms) from the research or literature
Definitions must be supported with citations from scholarly sources
You may include terms such as teaching, learning, teachers' understanding

SUMMARY AND ORGANISATION OF THE REST OF THE REPORT (10)

Summarise the key points presented in this chapter
Describe the remaining chapters and provide a transition discussion to the next chapter.

REFERENCE LIST (10)

Include a reference list in alphabetical order of the author's surname in APA 7th style.
IMPORTANT POINTS TO NOTE:
 The chapter must be formatted using the Word Style Tool and APA 7th standards. Writing
must be free of mechanical errors.
 All research presented in the chapter must be scholarly, topic-related, and obtained from
highly respected academic sources.
 In-text citations must be accurate, correctly cited, and included in the reference page
according to APA 7th standards.
 The chapter must be written in a well-structured way, has a logical flow, uses correct
paragraph structure, uses correct sentence structure, uses correct punctuation, and uses
correct APA 7th format.
 MARKING RUBRIC
Criteria Excellent Good Meets requirements Needs attention
Introduction 10-8 7-6 5-4 3-0
[10] Topics of discussion Topics well started; Topic stated; main but No clear introduction;
are clearly outlined, main points clear, but points not clear, topic and main points
engage, and create no interest was generic introduction. not clear.
interest. created.
Purpose of the 10-8 7-6 5-4 3-0
Study [10] Presents a declarative Presents a declarative Presents a purpose Weak or no purpose
statement highlighting statement but misses statement with two or statement. Does not
the research one of the research more missing: research include research
methodology and methodology or methodology or methodology or design,
design, population, design, population, design, population or population, phenomena
phenomena to be phenomena to be phenomena to be to be studied, or
studied, and studied, or geographic studied, or geographic geographic location in n
geographic location. location. location. the purpose statement.
Definition of 10-8 7-6 5-4 3-0
terms [10] Clearly sets out the Includes the relevant Includes less than four Provided limited to no
relevant definition of definition of terms but relevant definitions of definition of relevant
terms with support with t limited terms with little terms with no reference
from the relevant reference to scholarly support from scholarly to scholarly literature.
scholarly literature. literature. literature.
Summary & 10-8 7-6 5-4 3-0
organisation
Effectively draws Draws most points Restates some main No drawing together of
of report [10] together main points together and limited points. Weak points, no conclusion.
reflecting on each discussion of the discussion of No discussion of
section of the organisation of the organisation of the rest organisation of the rest
discussion. Also rest of the report. of the report. of the report.
provides a detailed
organisation of the
rest of the report.
References 10-8 7-6 5-4 3-0
[10] Appropriate and Some in-text Little in-text Referencing is
accurate in-text referencing with few referencing with some incorrectly done or
referencing. errors. errors. often ignored.
Accurate reference Few errors in the Inaccurate reference Academic integrity is
list. reference list. list. jeopardised by making
use of poor internet
resources.