| | https://www.sun.ac.za/si | SUNCEP Supplementary Education Programme in Mathematics and Physical Science for FET learners in Matzikama area. | The SUNCEP supplementary e-learning program focuses on Mathematics and Physical Science learners of the Further Education and Training phase. The program aims to support learners to develop a better understanding of the Mathematics and Physical Sciences content presented through mainstream teaching. The program's key objective is to prepare learners for university access through a supplementary e-learning program. However, the focus is not to substitute the teachers but to offer supplementary support to the conventional, national school curriculum. The support provided by the program is based on diagnostic assessment, remediation, and academic extension. The duration of the program is two years, and the participants are gr 11 and 12 learners and the corresponding teachers from West Coast District, Matzikama Area, in the Western Cape. The program activities to ensure the program's success are to provide the program participants with a loan tablet, a SIM card, and a monthly data bundle (40 GB in total) to access the Smart Class LMS. Learners and teachers will be trained to use the Learner Management System (LMS) and the related material in workshops, and teachers will be trained to support learners with the use of the content on the LMS. The learners' participation will be monitored on the LMS platform to ensure that they obtain the maximum benefit of the program. The knowledge transfer through the project activities will provide knowledgeable, skillful school learners as potential future students at Stellenbosch University from new spheres of society. Furthermore, the projected impact of the project is to improve learners' progress in Mathematics and Physical Sciences, which can help them pass these subjects and get accepted at tertiary institutions. | 1464 | | |
| | https://www.sun.ac.za/si | I can read - Read to serve, Serve to read (Enhancing learners phonics and word-building skills for reading and literacy development) | This initiative is aimed at improving Foundation Phase learner's literacy skills for reading. Through the envisaged programme, pre-service teachers (student teachers) will provide Home Language support activities focusing on phonics and word-building (two of the core components for reading skill development) to learners in certain aftercare facilities in the Greater Stellenbosch community. The foundational skills in literacy are a concern of most people in South Africa. The country is shocked and upset because results of the most recent Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS) show that 78% of Grade 4s cannot read for meaning (Howie et al., 2017). This implies that 8 out of 10 learners cannot read at appropriate level which is a rather disturbing picture for primary school Literacy levels. Although it's been easy to point to government's failings, what should be kept in mind is that learning to read and write is a complex, multifaceted process that requires a wide variety of instructional approaches. This learning happens in two phases namely the emergent literacy phase and conventional literacy. Emergent literacy is the phase of literacy development during which young children come to understand the many features and functions of the spoken and printed words. During this phase, children do not read and write in conventional ways but through their attempts at reading and writing and their language they reveal their emerging understandings of literacy (Neaum, 2012). But this can only develop if the process of becoming literate begins very early in life (long before formal instruction). Children must use their oral language, reading and writing in their play and to communicate with family members, teachers and their peers. Conventional literacy is characterised by children's playful, self-motivated approach to literacy, thus their engagement with literacy is more intentional regarding print and language (Justice & Kaderavek 2004). However, children enter school with a wide variation in their literacy development and this affects their skills for reading and writing. This is something that the schooling system is grappling with as it can be relayed back to why children cannot read with understanding. Considering that reading is complex, it is also influenced by interrelated skills. Within the South African context, multifaceted socio-economic circumstances, including poverty, the legacy of apartheid, a high rate of unemployment and a troubled education system have all contributed to the low levels of literacy among the learner population. An integral element of teaching is the ability to meet the diverse learning needs of learners and this is more complex for the literacy classroom. Still in South Africa, children's early literacy development is limited possibly due to the language disparity which exists. Furthermore, in some cases children are schooled in a language other than their home language even though literacy should always be contextualised. In an attempt to address the Literacy crisis, I have attempted to develop a service learning project. Through this project, I aim to create opportunities for learners to better their skills for reading (phonics and word building) so that they can develop a love and motivation for reading from a young age. This will be done by:creating a text-rich environment for the learners;exposure to and interaction with phonics and word building activities that interests the child;enabling multi-sensory literacy experiences (reading aloud, retelling stories, phonics and word building activities); and learning through play. Furthermore, as a teacher educator specialising in Literacy, I understand that play and children's literature is an excellent vehicle for language and literacy development. This project will thus draw on the use of children's literature to develop and support learners Literacy skills for their Home Language. | 1496 | | |
| | https://www.sun.ac.za/si | Science Buddies Science club | More or less 150 less fortunate school learners are brought to the university on certain Saturdays during the year where they are supported and guided to do research by following either the scientific method or the design engineering method. The intended outcome is the gain of various skills such as computer and internet browsing skills, planning a research project in a meaningful way, getting ethical clearance, following various methods to get data, capturing data electronically, drawing graphs and communicating their research. Through guidance learners can therefore answers questions they had about certain issues or phenomena, or to come up with a practical solution for an identified problem. Learners are encouraged to participate in the regional Eskom Expo for Young Scientists competition. Mentors play a crucial part in guiding the learners to plan meaningful research projects and to stay focussed. | 1468 | | |
