ADDENDUM B: DECLARATION OF ORIGINALITY / COVER PAGE

Students must sign the Declaration of Originality with the submission of any assessment as long
as

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FULL NAME: Refilwe Shingange DATE: 09 November 2023

STUDENT NUMBER: u19247673 CONTACT NO: 068 473 4746
TOPIC OF WORK: Exam Equivalent Essay

DECLARATION

1. I understand what plagiarism is and am aware of the University’s policy in this regard.
2. I declare that this ……Exam…… (e.g., assignment, essay, report, project,
dissertation, thesis, etc.) is my own, original work. Where other people’s work has
been used (either from a printed source, Internet, or any other source) this has been
properly acknowledged and referenced in accordance with departmental
requirements.
3. I have not used work previously produced by another student or any other person
to hand in as my own.
4. I have not allowed and will not allow anyone to copy my work with the intention of
passing it off as his or her own work.
SIGNATURE: R. Shingange

No written work will be accepted unless the declaration has been

completed and submitted.

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 THE THEORY AND PRACTICE OF TEACHING SCHOOL HISTORY

RP Shingange

19247673

JMH 454

Exam Equivalent essay

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Table of content

1. Introduction………………………………………………………………………..4
2. Literature review…………………………………………………………………..4-5
3. Experience in Teaching History…………………………………………………5-6
4. Discussion…………………………………………………………………………6-7
5. Conclusion…………………………………………………………………………7
Reference list……………………………………………………………………...8

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1. Introduction

Teachers and students may influence the future while navigating the past with the
help of school history. This essay will describe my experiences instructing students
in history in the classroom and the method I employed to do it. Whether or not the
approach was successful will be determined by comparing the literature review on
Vygotsky's sociocultural theory of teaching and learning with my personal
experience. This essay will start with a literature review of Vygotsky's sociocultural
theory of teaching and learning. It will then go into detail about how the approach
was used to teach history, discuss new findings and previously published works, and
conclude with a discussion of whether the approach was successful in my own
experience.

2. Literature review

According to Lev Vygotsky's sociocultural theory, children pick up cultural norms,

advice from mentors, and other influences, then modify them to fit their
circumstances. Children are also said to have a "zone of proximal development"
(ZPD), extending from what they already know to what they can learn with
assistance. Bates (2019) contends that social contact with family, friends, teachers,
and peers’ shapes knowledge and interactions through the perspective of
sociocultural theory.

Vygotsky believed that to comprehend the connection between learning and

development, it was necessary to distinguish between two developmental levels:
potential and actual Kozulin (2003). The potential level in this instance is what
students can accomplish with the assistance of others, while the actual level relates
to the learner about to work independently.

It is believed that interaction and teamwork lead to learning (Scott & Palinscar,
2013). The purpose of education is to assist students in participating in tasks and
making use of resources in a way that aligns with the norms of the community to
which they are being introduced—in this case, historians.

According to Kozulin (2003), a series of brief exercises, clarifications, questions, and

conversations are used by the teacher to assist the students in finding, retrieving,
processing, and elaborating on new material. The learners' experience is further

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determined by the learning activities listed. Educators and parents must mentor
learners through their interactions with one another.

Group discussions and activities are crucial in the classroom because, according to
Drew (2019), knowledge is co-constructed, and groups affect one another.
Scaffolding is an essential aspect of putting sociocultural theory into practice; it
involves presenting tasks to learners and providing visual aids. Teachers should
closely monitor what learners do throughout the guided practice phase. Their primary
responsibility is to act as a guide to the learners' side (Ofori-Attah, 2021).

3. Experience in Teaching History

I did not encounter any difficulties when teaching history because I was mindful that
different students learn in different ways. Therefore, I felt it was crucial for teachers
to give students detailed instructions, pose questions based on the material they had
learned, and provide hints when necessary to help them understand what they had
not learned. This approach worked particularly well with the grade 4 students, as
some of them still exhibited traits from the younger grades.

The focus will be on the weeks leading up to the examinations. My teaching theme
was "Transport through Time," every two days I would introduce a new mode of
transport. The idea was to help the students recall the many modes of travel as well
as their similarities and distinctions. Before I introduced any new material, I would
begin the course by having them review what they already knew. In this instance, I
would utilise instances from real life—things that individuals encounter daily. This
made it simpler for the students to absorb new information. This was accomplished
through class discussion, to which the students gave excellent feedback.

When teaching history, I started by determining what the students already

understood. By doing so, I was able to build on that knowledge when presenting new
topics more easily. I did this by using examples from real-world situations. I went on
to expand the students' understanding of transportation over time by using
scaffolding, which helped them get from what they already understood to what they
ought to understand by the end of the lesson. The lessons included integrated
guided practise as well. Through exercises completed at home and in class, I
assisted the students in making the connections between what they had learned so
far and what they still knew.

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For the students, my style of teaching became second nature. I gave the students
visual aids to help them grasp the material better because some textbooks lack
drawings and graphics. Every lesson concluded with a structured activity, and
scaffolding was incorporated into our teaching and learning process. Each Friday,
the students in each row would form groups for our quiz period. I was able to see
which student was still having difficulty because the learners had to collaborate, and
the quiz will be based on their work from the week. It was the group's policy to allow
assistance if a member was having difficulty responding to a question. Ultimately, it
includes a prize for the winning team. I would highlight and summarise the key ideas
from this week's topic to conclude the quiz on Friday.

The learners found it easy to respond to the questions because our lesson's pattern
had become the usual. This was a result of their becoming accustomed to
responding to queries. We used to conduct a mock test every Thursday, during
which I would grade their ability to take an exam. To improve learning, I would use a
variety of cultural tools in most of the lessons. Here, I would utilise maps and
multimedia materials to assist students in comprehending historical events, like the
voyage of the Titanic, the world's first steamship, and the ensuing tragedy.

Students learn best in groups, and I know this is true based on my experience, which
is why the revision worksheet was completed in groups. To educate the students, I
essentially applied my own learning style, and the outcomes were wonderful. This
was evident in the exam papers I marked, and I also noticed the benefits of providing
feedback on quiz Fridays, mock tests on Thursdays, and other days.

4. Discussion

According to sociocultural theory, Bates (2019) contends that social contacts with
family, friends, and, in this instance, teachers and classmates, shape knowledge and
interactions. I gave it a try, and the students engaged in active learning the entire
time I was teaching. It was a very pleasant experience.

Teachers must take the initiative to model for students the proper approach to
acquire a skill through practise (Ofori-Attah, 2021). In this situation, this means
teaching students about various historical events and developments in transportation
and using speaking, writing, and reading as examples to illustrate the material. I
became an expert at using models to teach history. All the historical ideas are taught

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to the students using a methodical approach that is also present in the unguided
practise phase.

Even though group work is a great way for students to acquire material more
effectively, it can also be problematic because it can get out of control in the
classroom, especially when there isn't a teacher present. From my experience, I
have come to the realisation that students, particularly those in grade 4, lack the
maturity to understand the advantages of working under a leader who seems to be
similar in age. For group projects or conversations to be successful, a teacher acting
as the group leader must collaborate with the students.

One of the difficulties a teacher may encounter is the behaviour of the students
(Ofori-Attah, 2021). Teachers should use this information to help students learn how
to share and cooperate to get things done in the classroom, even if it is obvious that
by nature, children in 4th grade do not cooperate very well.

I went into my teaching practice with the knowledge that students differ and learn in
different ways, but that everyone learns from one another, including adults, so why
not utilise that fact for the students as well? This made everything easier for me. By
following ZPD's logical steps, I was able to accomplish that successfully. Eventually,
I saw that learners' prior knowledge plays a significant role in the way they learn
history, in addition to social interaction and providing straightforward feedback after
every activity.

5. Conclusion

Applying and implementing theories can be very challenging, particularly if you are
unsure of the learners' potential for positive responses. However, in my experience,
applying Vygotskian sociocultural theory's Zone of Proximal Development to the
classroom does encourage social interaction and effective learning. Learners require
an adult or significant other's direction (in this example, teachers and peers) as part
of the teaching and learning process. Finally, for Vygotsky's theory to be
implemented in practice, teachers need to pay close attention to both the activities
they assign for students to complete on their own and the way they instruct them.

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Reference list

Bates, B. (2019). Learning Theories Simplified: ...and how to apply them to teaching.
[online] Google Books. SAGE.
Available at: https://books.google.com.au/books?
id=f0BuDwAAQBAJ&printsec=frontcover&dq=learning+theories&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0
ahUKEwjixMvp043iAhXW8HMBHeuaDpsQ6wEIMTAB#v=onepage&q=vygotsky&f=f
alse.

‌ rew, C. (2019). Sociocultural Theory in the Classroom | Definition & Examples

D
(2019). [online] The Helpful Professor.

Available at: https://helpfulprofessor.com/sociocultural-theory-education/.

‌ ozulin, A. (2003). Vygotsky’s Educational Theory

K in Cultural Context.
[online] Google Books. Cambridge University Press.

Available at: https://books.google.co.za/books?id=mfCHutwHT-

cC&lpg=PA246&ots=uiwXncoVpC&dq=the%20practice%20of%20teaching
%20historical%20concepts&lr&pg=PA246#v=onepage&q=the%20practice%20of
%20teaching%20historical%20concepts&f=false [Accessed 9 Nov. 2023].

‌ fori-Attah, K. (2021). Early Childhood Education and Instructional Ecology: A

O
Vygotskian Approach in Teaching Early Childhood Social Studies. ATHENS
JOURNAL OF EDUCATION, 8(2), pp.139–160. doi: https://doi.org/10.30958/aje.8-2-
2

‌Scott,
S. and Palincsar, A. (2013). Articles | Education.com. [online]
www.education.com.

Available at: http://www.education.com/reference/article/sociocultural-theory/.