Exploring the integration of modern technologies in the teaching of physical science in Lesotho

Abstract

The aim of the paper is to explore the knowledge base of high school physical science teachers, from selected high schools in Lesotho, regarding the integration of information and communication technologies (ICTs) into the curriculum. The new physical science curriculum in Lesotho requires the use of ICTs for teaching. The teachers' use of ICTs was explored through a questionnaire based on the technological pedagogical content knowledge model (TPACK). Data were analysed using the statistical analysis software (SAS) and the results showed that 77% of the teachers used ICTs for teaching, while 80% used them for non-teaching activities. The mean score for teachers' TPACK was 2.88. This score is below the average of three for the Likert points of the items on teachers' TPACK, which was set as the acceptable level for this paper. Therefore, the study concludes that Lesotho teachers do use ICTs for teaching physical science even though their TPACK may be below average. Their low TPACK may be an indication that they used ICTs to get more information about the content, rather than for delivering the lessons. There is thus an urgent need to increase the support for teachers to maximise the use of ICTs for teaching.

Information and Communication Technology Practices in Biology Teaching in Lesotho High Schools

“…It appears that the respondents printed the information obtained from the internet, hard disks, and CD ROMs to hand out to the learners and to back their teaching in the classroom. This is consistent with what [44] also found about Lesotho high school physical sciences teachers, that they irregularly used flash drives and printers to store information and make hard copies of the information for their learners. Therefore, results of this study confirmed that teachers use internet tools and computers mainly as sources of information used to update their subject knowledge and to better prepare for lessons, as established by [26], [32], [34], and [3].…”

“…Therefore, a larger sample, such as the one used in this study, was necessary to corroborate or extend the findings made by [43]. In another study, [44] found that Lesotho physical sciences teachers used flash drives and printers, though not so often, to store information and make hard copies of the material. Also, [45] established rare use of ICTs by teachers in physical sciences.…”

“…Hence, performance in the subject has been found to be poor [50]. Probably, they also use ICTs for conventional practices, as was concluded by [45] in a similar study involving physical sciences teachers in Lesotho. Therefore, this study was necessary to test the said hypothesis.…”

“…In another study, [44] found that Lesotho physical sciences teachers used flash drives and printers, though not so often, to store information and make hard copies of the material. Also, [45] established rare use of ICTs by teachers in physical sciences. Physical sciences teachers used ICTs slightly more for non-teaching activities than for teaching.…”

Curricular integration of digital technologies in teaching processes

“…One of the models used as a frame of reference is the Technological Pedagogical and Content Knowledge (TPACK) and we see the research of several authors reflected (Lai and Lin, 2018;Lisene and Jita, 2018;Yildirim and Sensoy, 2018;De Freitas and Spangenberg, 2019;Gómez, 2019;Li et al, 2019;Walan, 2020;Williams, 2020;Pamuk, 2022).…”