Department of Science, Technology and Engineering

Permanent URI for this collectionhttp://erepository.kibu.ac.ke/handle/123456789/113

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Browsing Department of Science, Technology and Engineering by Author "Beru, Festus K."

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    Contextualized science teaching and student performance: the case of a Kenyan girls science class
    (Instituto de Relaciones Internacionales" Daza de Valdes", 2017-06) Ooko, Selline; Beru, Festus K.; Nashon, Samson M.; Anderson, David; Namazzi, Elizabeth
    This paper is about a case study that investigated the impact of contextualized science teaching and learning onperformance of a Form three (Grade 11) class in one of Kenya’s girls high schools. The class experienced nine weeks ofcontextualized science learning. This involved a full day visit toJua Kaliwhere they interacted with artisans. ‘‘Jua Kali’’ is asmall-scale manufacturing and technology-based service sector where artisans manufacture equipment and otherhousehold items that are ubiquitous in everyday Kenyan culture. The visit was followed by organized classroom-basedgroup discussions about what they had learnt and considered most relevant and meaningful. Following this highlyengaging student learning discourse, their creativity and innovative abilities in science improved tremendously as reflectedin the quality of class presentations and participation in the National Science Congress. Moreover, the school’sperformance in the Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE): a final national exam at the end of Form 4(Grade 12) improved from a mean of 9.3 in the previous year to 10.4 in the intervention year (p = 0.022). This was furtherattributable to significant improvement in all science subjects: biology, chemistry, physics and mathematics. Besides thecritical insights about theJua Kali’srichness in scientific phenomena, there is also great potential for contextualized scienceexperience to enhance students’ deeper understanding of science.
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    Transformations in Kenyan science teachers’ locus of control: the influence of contextualized science and emancipated student learning
    (Routledge, 2017-02-21) Anderson, D.; Nashon, N.; Namazzi, E.; Okemwa, P.; Ombogo, P.; Ooko, S.; Beru, Festus K.
    This study investigated Kenyan science teachers’ pedagogical transformations, which manifested as they enacted and experienced a reformed contextualized science curriculum in which students’ learning experiences were critical catalysts of teacher change. Twelve high school teachers voluntarily participated in the study and were interviewed about their pedagogical transformations following their enactment of a reformed contextualized science curriculum. The outcomes demonstrated that students’ emancipated behaviours, learning and performance, qualitatively influenced teacher change and pedagogical reform. Specifically, changes in students, as a result of the ways the science curriculum was implemented, resulted in epiphanies and dilemmas for teachers who subsequently resolved to surrender their tightly held pedagogical control (locus of control) for the betterment of the learning environment and their sense of professional satisfaction.