The effect of the RADMASTE science dictionaries on students' understanding of science concepts

[摘要] This study reports the findings of a research project in a DET(Department of Education and Training)* school in Mamelodi, SouthAfrica, in 1995. An investigrtion was carried out to ascertainwhether students benefit from having access to sciencedefinitions in their vernacular, and to determine theirpreference in terms of the medium of instruction in the scienceclassroom.A Science Concept Guide, written at RADMASTE** Centre, was usedas the main component of the intervention in a pretest -post-test study. This was followed by student questionnaires andinterviews. The Concept Guide consisted of definitions andexplanations of Physics and Chemistry concepts arranged accordingto themes. These explanations were translated into North Sotho.Two groups of Std 10 students participated in the evaluation ofthe Concept Guide. One group used an English version of theConcept Guide and the other an English and North Sotho version.The differences between the pre-test and post-test scores of eachgroup were compared. The results indicated that a significantimprovement in scores had occurred in the English and North SothoGroup. Interview results showed that a number of students werein favour of having learning material of this sort available intheir vernacular and claimed that they had found it helpful. Ingeneral, both groups expressed favourable comments about theGuide. Opinions about medium of instruction varied. Overall,findings indicate that further efforts in the development ofvernacular material for the learning of science would provebeneficial.Although the area of policy decision is outside the scope of thisstudy, it hopes to contribute in some way to the knowledge aboutthe preferred medium of learning in South Africa.

[发布机构] University of the Witwatersrand