Break away session with Prof Sonja Schoeman, Dr Geesje van den Berg, Dr M Maphalala, Dr Mbunyuza de Heer Menlah and Dr Vusi Nkonyane

The Department of Curriculum and Instructional Studies attended a strategic planning session in March at Leriba Lodge in Centurion. The purpose of the Strategic Planning Facilitation sessions was to provide a framework that will facilitate the development of an implementation plan that will unfold over the next 18 to 24 months. The plan will serve to guide the Department of Curriculum and Instructional Studies to provide differentiated and innovative study programs to its students.

Prof Louis van Niekerk. Prof Gerda Ferreira, Dr Elize du Plessis and Dr Matseliso Mokhele

An outside consulting company, ConsultaClientX was invited to facilitate the strategic planning. ConsultaClientX followed an integrated approach with the development of the strategic framework by combining different aspects of strategy development into a unique strategic development framework. The facilitators focused on the “Y factor” to identify the strategic drivers for the department and its reason for existence. The department formulated a new vision and mission as the old vision was long and not easy to own. The new vision was created as a team effort through the participation of all the academic staff members in the department.

The colleagues unpacked the products and services of the departments, the M&D focus areas and identified niche areas and flagship projects. Ultimately, the final agreed upon formulation for the question – “WHY does the Department of Curriculum and Instructional Studies do what it does?” – led to the mission statement that the department is working towards a tomorrow that is better than today.

Our new vision is: “Toward excellence in teacher education tuition, research and community engagement”

Prof Anna Hugo wished Prof William Fraser welcome at Unisa

Prof Anna Hugo on 11 April 2013 introduced Prof William Fraser from the Department of Science, Mathematics and Technology, Education at the University of Pretoria to the audience. He was invited by the Department of Language Education, Arts and Culture to come and present a guest lecture on how to avoid the common pitfalls in the business of doing academic research. During his presentation, he informed academics that they have to wear many hats when they do their work, which ranges from being teachers, supervisors, researchers toeing scientists. He finds that with the current emphasis on research, the teaching aspect of their work is unfortunately much reduced in standing.

In order to be a sought after supervisor, Prof Fraser says you need to have developed a research focus area of expertise during the course of your career. Academics need to consider where they wish to be in ten years from now to help them focus their energy. By means of a slide he pointed out eleven different categories in which an academic can be active. They can choose to focus on being a senior professor, or a director of their own research centre, the coordinator of their own international masters or doctoral programme, an A ‘B’ or ‘C’ NRF rated scientist, a leader in their field, a consulting editor to journals, the editor of their own journal, a sought after supervisor, a sound methodologist, an established and highly cited author, or to be a nationally and internationally renowned scientist. If an academic has a specific clear focus area in their work, it becomes much easier to streamline the various activities that they are engaged in.

Prof PM Sebate listens to Prof William Fraser who was speaking about the pitfalls to avoid as an academic

His advice for establishing a professorial identity is that academics should associate with at least one research journal and enrol with that journal. They should stay within the broad focus of their department and decide early on what their specialisation field will be. It is important to be specific and establish a record of NRF or related research funding and teach and supervise within that field of specialisation and research methodology only. It helps to set-up national and international networks and links and to utilise sabbaticals well. Take care to have professors extraordinary appointed, and research and publish with them. An academic should voice their opinion at seminars and conferences and strive to publish in quality international journals. “Join professional bodies and organisations (societies; institutions and academies) and don’t underestimate the value of your contribution to collaborative research reports” said Prof Fraser. It also is of great importance to find a local and international mentor and for an academic to take care of their allocated students. It will also be helpful to master a local and a classical language and to support the department’s scientific field(s) of specialisation. Last but not least, an academic must avoid becoming academically arrogant.When building their departmental research programme an academic should do the following:

• Align your field of specialisation with that of the department
• Nurture the Centre of Excellence (CoE) concept
• Run your postgraduate programmes from the CoE
• Teach at undergraduate level
• Attract international students and
• Publish

With regards to student foci Prof Fraser shared his strategy on how he supervises his students across the four years that they enrol with him to acquire their degree. In the first year he focuses them on research support, proposal defence and ethics clearance. In the second year he expects his students to write three chapters and to do their field work. In the third year their focus is on data analysis and synthesis of their findings. The final year consists of writing up the rest of the chapters and for submission of the final document.

Dr TV Manyike thanked Prof William Fraser for his excellent presentation

Years of experience have also taught Prof Fraser that different approaches to students are needed as different personalities require different ways of supervision. Some students are highly creative, unstructured, and will be changing the goalpost all the time. If not guided correctly these students will never finish as they never reach consensus and are forever changing their frameworks. They need to be guided and provided with structure. Others are ‘No-where goers’, they are those who are always waiting to be told what to do and then there are those who are highly structured executives always working with rules and frameworks and they need to be given their freedom. Over the years he has developed his own approach to supervision. His student’s topic and focus should vest within his own personal field of specialisation. He avoids working qualitatively and has preference towards quantitative methodologies and he informs his students accordingly. It is very helpful to set up an e-mail file to communicate general information to all the students and he provides his students with a solid reading list which is linked to a very sound theoretical framework. As the supervisor he decides on their framework and he tells them how it will impact on their assessment of the thesis/dissertation. He briefs them from the start on the technicalities they need to comply with (referencing, ‘anatomy of an argument’, etc) on the report.

Prof Fraser’s teaching philosophy leads him to expect his students to call on him when they need him and he insists that they call him at least once a week! He gives them a hard time during the first year of study and he also guards against being in a position where he ends up writing up their report. It is helpful to avoid too short turnaround times for the students as they achieve too little quality when this is so. A supervisor should use tools such as ‘track changes’, create e-mail files and archive all correspondence between him and his student. He never does any language editing, but focuses on being a researcher and not just a supervisor.

Prof Fraser says that because he has developed his own master’s or doctoral programme which is focused on his field of specialisation, he can recruit local and international students into his programme. Experience has taught him to build complexity into simplicity and he expects his students to complete three chapters within their first year of study. The choice of examiners is very important – make sure that their voices (as experts) are substantiated in the student’s work. As a supervisor you need to make sure that students do not rewrite all literature and theory on the subject. When you register a research project it is important to draw all your students onto that project. A research proposal should be limited to ten pages maximum.Major threats that need to be managed by the supervisor are the unsympathetic administrative, governance systems and examiners. Research needs to be substantiated with enough data and it is wise to guard against poor justification, substantiation and silent voices. Supervisors need to avoid short listing examiners they are not acquainted with, should keep a visual record of the progress of all their students on i.e. a big poster which keeps track of each person’s progress. It also is important to stop the process and redo the fieldwork should this become necessary and don’t be tempted to patch.

The presentation was very well attended and sparked numerous questions which Prof Fraser eloquently answered. The session was found very helpful by those who attended, also from other departments in CEDU and from within Unisa. More such in-depth presentations are planned and the staff in the Department of Language Education, Arts and Culture, look forward to the next one.

Finding the sign which points to Brazilia in a part of the Unisa gardens full of indigenous plants

The College of Education is happy to welcome Dr Patricia Leme from Brazil. She is here on a three month sojourn for the first phase the environmental education and sustainability joint research project. Patricia is a biologist, working as an environmental educator at the University of Sao Paulo and she will be looking at the sustainability at the university campus, including environmental educational courses assessment. Increasing sustainability actions in institutions is not an easy task and it demands assessment methodologies that are relevant and measurable. This project will pay attention to these aspects, applying the Ecological Footprint Calculation at UNISA and using this data for educational purposes.

Waste recycling bins on the Unisa campus

So far she finds South Africa much more aware when it comes to saving water. We plant our gardens using indigenous plants due to the dry conditions as water is a more scarce resource in our country. Besides, she considers that UNISA is well advanced in terms of environmental education courses for under graduated students, as well as in the implementation of the principle of the three Rs (reduce, reuse and recycle) in its campuses.

Mr Kevin Burge speaking to Prof Callie Loubser together with Prof Johan Dreyer and Dr Pazu Leme about their community engagement projects

Prof Callie Loubser and Prof Johan Dreyer, who are part of the research team, took Dr Leme with them when they visited their Science Outreach Community projects in Masinga, Nqutu in the Dundee area and Durban during April. Dr Leme was very impressed with how well these schools were managed and organised. Twenty ACE students in the area receive face to face contact from our Professors twice a month on a Saturday. During these visits the students are also accessed on how well they are implementing what they are being taught. Next on the itinerary was a visit to a project in Durban where they viewed the activities which are taking place at the Durban Waste Removal site which are aimed at encourage waste minimization and recycling by the local communities in that area.

Mrs Dreyer, Dr Pazu Leme, Prof Johan Dreyer, the school principal of Casino Primary School and Prof Callie Loubser

Dr Leme outside the community centre in Dundee

Childern in one of the classrooms visited in the Nqutu area

A vegetable garden on the Casino Primary School grounds at a school in the Nqutu area

Prof Zehava Rosenblatt talks about teacher accountability

Two lectures were delivered by Dr Rosenblatt at the College of Education during February 2013. The first dealt with teacher withdrawal behaviours (teacher absenteeism and lateness) from an organizational deviance and ethics perspective. The second concerned teachers’ and administrators’ accountability disposition. Prof J.Seroto welcomed Dr Rosenblatt, a faculty member at the University of Haifa, Israel, when she came to speak to the college about her research.

Dr Rosenblatt’s study of absenteeism and lateness looked at the scope and possible misbehaviour patterns of these work behaviours. She showed that while the scope of teachers’ absence in Israel was similar to that in most developing countries, its pattern attested to a teacher tendency to be absent on the first day of the week, after official holidays, and during longer working days. Teachers’ absence implications included costly substitution, increased students’ absence and decreased academic achievements, and led to a culture of absence. Most of the reasons cited for teachers’ absence were related to illness, and backed by generous collective contracts allowing extended paid absences. Dr Rosenblatt also showed that Israeli teachers’ absence and lateness behaviours were strongly related to their perception of school ethics: The more school climate was perceived by teachers as unethical and unjust, the higher their withdrawal behaviours. The recommendations which came out of these studies indicated that principals should develop a culture that fosters ethical values, and at the same time provides a clear and assertive school absence and lateness policy.

Dr Z Rosenblatt and Prof J Seroto

 In her lecture on accountability disposition, Dr Rosenblatt defined accountability as an interactive process, involving clear standards, result evaluations, and related feedback. She described an experimental study in Israel, where teachers who took part in a yearly accountability program – obliging them to report to their superintendent as well as to colleague teachers about their work achievements – performed better than teachers in a control group. Dr Rosenblatt also presented a new self-report measure of accountability disposition designed for teachers and school administrators, validated against work accountability scenarios. She showed that this measure predicted teachers’ in-role and extra-role performance, and that this relationship was moderated by principals’ leadership style.

Prof Eleanor Lemmer hands over a small token of appreciation to Dr Zehava Rosenblatt

The measure consists of items representing two accountability dimensions: one is bureaucratic (external), where teachers report to their supervisors and others, and the other is professional (internal), where teachers report to their own ethical codes and moral beliefs. Finally, Dr Rosenblatt discussed the role of stress in assessing the results of accountability, and the role of cultural values in the manifestation and expression of accountability disposition.

Prof Cheryl le Roux

Prof Cheryl le Roux gave a presentation during the Unisa Research and Innovation Week about oral history narratives collected from retired teachers who taught under the Bantu Education system. She and her colleagues have gathered this material over the past 4 years during the teaching of one of the compulsory modules in the B Ed Hons programme. One of the assignments in the History of Education section of the module” South African Education in Context” requires students to interview a retired teacher from the Bantu Education period about a particular aspect of their teaching career for example, Bantu Education as a system of education; classroom management and discipline, teaching conditions and management of Bantu Education, religion and language issues and to write up a narrative of the interview.

A student of Education doing an interview with a retired teacher

There are almost 5000 students registered for the module, so it is impossible to require students to submit an audio or video tape recording of the interview as the lecturers would be unable to find the time to listen to or view the recordings. Furthermore, the interviews do not need to be conducted in English, so the language issue would further complicate the assessment of the interview. Students are also asked to provide a reflection of what they find out in the process and how they experienced the process of conducting oral history research. They are also asked to indicate what they have learnt from the interviewee – other than what is in recorded history sources like text books – during the course of the interview. The data which has been gathered has come from all over South Africa and from many different sources. Collectively these narratives would be a wonderful source to use to capture the oral history of what happened in South African schools, during Bantu education, Christian National education and later eras in South African Education history.

A student discovers it is fun to talk to experienced older teachers and find out more of what happened in the classrooms of the past

The students enrolled for the module are asked to let the person they will be interviewing sign an informed consent form which outlines the conditions as to what they are agreeing to when they are interviewed. Interviewees are given the option to choose whether they would like to remain anonymous or to waive their anonymity. Most of the interviewees choose the latter. They are so proud of the efforts they put into teaching under difficult circumstances, and by waiving their anonymity, their contributions are linked to them personally. Interviewees are also asked whether the information provided can be captured in a data base that is regularly updated by the lecturers. As a matter of courtesy, students are asked by the lecturers to indicate whether they consent to their research being used for research purposes. The ethical clearance to the use of all material  thus has been given by the interviewee and the student. This makes the material which has been gathered a rich source of information for research into this field. There are some wonderful themes that arise out of the data and it is important to listen to the voice which is captured in the data to cover these periods in our country’s history.

By means of old photographs much is shared on a retired teacher’s experiences and so the information is captured for future generations

The selection of the research question would be important and the use of terminology as used in the past needs to be clear for it to make sense to a younger person who did not live through that particular time. Prof le Roux says that students have indicated the importance of going through the field notes immediately after the interview to ensure that they accurately capture the information provided. History of Education students learn that they, as researchers, may not sensor or the data of the past and need to put their own prejudices and opinions aside when interpreting the data. This is where the challenge often lies as society has been conditioned to accept recorded information as ‘the truth’ and the voices of the individuals who experienced these circumstances first-hand are marginalised. However the data gathered by the university during the years of teaching this module, is very valuable information and it should not be lost. It warrants the attention of young historical researchers.

Prof NT Phasha just before delivering her inaugural lecture

Driven by her passion to improve the situation of sexually abused children in our schools, Prof NT Phasha has spent ten years of her career researching the effects brought about on the lives of children who are the victims of sexual abuse. She says such victimisation is now endemic in South Africa and that apart from the physical pain and psychological trauma that the learners go through; sexual victimisation denies these children the right to equal opportunities and treatment. This persistent problem deprives children of their innocence and compromises their success in education. A teacher herself, Prof Phasha says she believes teachers can play a major role in helping children in such circumstances as they can help to prevent the problem, can help learners overcome their experiences, and they can lead them towards success in their schooling.

To analyse and investigate the different aspects that contribute to this endemic in South African schools she has collected data in Gauteng, Mpumalanga and KwaZulu Natal. Her research was thorough as she did research at schools, social welfare institutions, law enforcement agencies, psychological service units and healthcare institutions. She collected data from learners of different genders in the age range of 13 and 23 years, with various experiences of sexual victimization perpetrated by close relatives, strangers, neighbours, teachers and peers. They belonged to three different races, namely: White, Coloured and Blacks.  She included non-disabled learners and learners with various forms of disabilities (mild intellectual, visual, hearing and physical impairments). She also included teachers at regular and special schools, caregivers, social workers, psychologists, and police officers. Furthermore she says the results of research into prevention and treatment doesn’t optimize the teacher’s role but rather emphasizes the roles of police officers, psychologists, social welfare and medical professionals and places the experiences and activities of females at the centre of the analysis.

Dr M Qhobela (Vice-Principal: Institutional Development), Prof NT Phasha (Chair of Department: Department of Inclusive Education, College of Education (CEDU)) Prof VI McKay (Deputy Executive Dean: CEDU) and Prof KP Dzvimbo (Executive Dean: CEDU)

The effect of being sexually abused on the victim is a lack of concentration in class because their minds are often preoccupied with their thoughts about the experience rather than focussing on their school tasks. The side effects are anger, anxiety, shame and sexual fantasies. Learners react with anger if they are victimized by trusted adults and when their reports on the matter are not believed nor supported. They feel nobody cares about them which disturbs their concentration and manifests in absenteeism and dropping out of school. If the victimisation is accompanied by name calling and other forms of abuse, they can be suicidal and exhibit high levels of aggression towards their peers which manifests in provoking fights, bullying and other forms of harassment. Their behaviour is often learnt from the perpetrator as they learn that aggression is the only way to get what they want. The violence and aggression disrupts the learning process and this leads to lower grades.

Learners who react with anxiety are the ones who are unable to fight back to stop their victimisation which makes these learners feel hopeless and helpless and it places them in a state of insecurity. They find it hard to pay attention in school as they are distracted by their fears of further abuse and often they withdraw and shy away from contact with others.
Shame comes into the picture when the learners are old enough to understand the taboos surrounding sex. It goes hand in hand with self-blame and the perception of themselves as being dirty and impure. Prof Phasha says they often spend hours worrying about what other people will say and think about them, leading to loss of concentration in class. When they compare themselves to others, they view themselves as valueless. These learners hold a negative view of their future and loose enthusiasm for completing school work. They often befriend people who are alienated from school and use alcohol and drugs to erase negative perceptions about themselves. Interestingly these individuals often have aspirations to careers which involve nurturing.

Despite what happens to them, some learners demonstrate resilience and are able to survive, even thrive despite their situation. These learners do not blame themselves for their victimisation; they have a religious interpretation of abuse and a strong belief in ubuntu which promotes forgiveness towards the perpetrator. They have an ability to seek and embrace support from others and have a strong belief that education is the only means which can improve their situation.

Problems which arise out of school processes and practises are the results of a lack of clear rules and policies, the non-prioritization of sexual education and poor monitoring of school premises. Special schools fear a tarnished reputation which could threaten their funding so they would rather cover up instances of abuse. Teachers also often have a misconception that children with disabilities are hypersexual and therefore invite the abuse. This is an ignorant belief as disabled people go through puberty at roughly the same chronological age as their typically developing peers and they experience the same body changes. They are however less able to express themselves in more conventional ways.

“When taking all of the above into consideration, teachers can no longer be passive spectators who watch the lives of children being stolen away by the experience of sexual victimisation. Teachers should be proactive and help victimised learners to overcome the negative impact of the problem” says Prof Phasha. “Teachers can act as significant others and can provide a child with positive self esteem; they can provide safe learning environments, adapt classroom activities and use teaching approaches to enable learners to experience success. They can offer continuous support and provide a consistent relationship for the learner.” Phasha’s research has provided enough evidence to suggest that sexual victimisation interferes with school functioning and therefore schools can no longer ignore this reason as to why some learners cannot learn. Teachers must give an account she says. “The time spent at school offers teachers an opportunity, not afforded to other professionals, to easily identify behaviour that could arouse suspicion that the child might be victimised”. Teachers remain role models for children and some children share their personal information with their teachers. As they are trusted and are the closest adults outside the children’s families, it is more likely that learners will disclose their sexual victimisation experiences to their teachers. Schools may also be the only setting in which a child receives appropriate help to enable them to cope with the experience of sexual abuse or violence.

Currently Prof Phasha is extending her research into other parts of Africa such as Kenya. She is the recipient of a Forum for African Woman Educationist (FAWE) research grant and feels it is important to identify similarities and differences between nations and as it provides explanations for the wide range of factors which come into play. She believes that nations face similar challenges and should share their solutions. Finally Prof Phasha said: “No matter how bleak the outlook, any small victories motivate me to press on in my research and publication. I really do believe in what I am doing and will continue to do it to the best of my abilities. The accolades help, but I would do it anyway”.

Prof M Mosimege, the University Registrar of Unisa spoke to the project team members and is shown here with Prof L Kaino standing in the background

Unisa’s Department of Mathematics Education (DME) has partnered with leading global specialists in this field to improve mathematics teacher professional development programmes. The Project is titled: Analyses of Mathematics Teacher Professional Development Programmes in Selected Developed and Developing Countries: Insights for quality Mathematics instruction in Sub-Saharan African countries. (Math-TPDP)

The international research team tasked to do a collaborative study is made up of: Prof. Nouzha El Yacoubi (Morocco), Prof. Yeap Ban Har (Singapore), Dr. Alan Rogerson (Poland), Prof. Hee-chan Lew (South Korea), Prof. T. Tattoo (USA), Prof. C.D. Kasanda (Namibia), Prof. D. Mtetwa (Zimbabwe), Dr. S.Kitta (Tanzania), Mrs. Kim Ramatlapana (Botswana), Ms. R. Paulsen (DME), Dr. Z.M.M. Jojo (DME), Dr. J.P. Sepeng (DME), Mr. M. Poshoko (DME), Mr. S. Ijeh(DME), Mr. J.J. Dhlamini (DME), Dr. M.G. Ngoepe (DME-CoD) and Prof. L.M. Kaino (DME & Project leader). The team met in March 2013 in South Africa to develop their research materials. Unisa’s Registrar Prof M Mosimege, himself a mathematician, addressed the team and urged them to use their expertise to ensure that this project is a success.

The project team members who come from all corners of the African continent as well as the USA, Poland, Singapore and South Korea

The objectives of the collaborative study are to:
• Examine mathematics teacher professional development programmes of countries in international systemic assessments and professional development programmes
• Learn from exemplary practices of mathematics teacher development programmes in use (from countries in the sample) in efforts to improve mathematics teacher development programmes in these countries
• Propose a systemic and nationwide improvement of mathematics teacher professional development programmes for South Africa and other participating countries
• Facilitate sharing of research skills and output, networking and forming of partnerships
• Publish articles dedicated to this study in a special issue.

Alan Rogerson from Poland shared that he is very happy and lucky to be part of DME’s project which is lead by Prof L. Kaino and to work with this team. He hopes it will have the success it deserves and will make a mark on future Teacher Education in South Africa. He was so impressed with he project that he is looking for EU funding to support it. Dr Rogerson says he will move ahead with a parallel project in the EU similar to Prof Kaino’s one as a sort of brother-sister collaboration and wrote “the sincerest form of flattery is imitation!”

The Vhembe schools project team: seated Mr A Mudau, Prof MW Lumadi, Dr J Nyoni. Standing from left: Prof MM van Wyk, Dr MJ Taole, Dr VA Nkonyane, Mrs K Naidu, Mr BA Segoe, Dr MJ Sethusha and Mr M Phoshoko. Absent from the photo: Prof KP Dzvimbo, Mrs R Paulsen, Dr FD Mahlo, Prof LDM Lebeloane and Mr NF Patel

According to Umalusi reports (2009-2012), many secondary schools in the Limpopo province in general and in particular, the Vhembe district performed dismally in the gateway subjects (Maths & Science). This is a matter of grave concern to teachers and policy makers involved with the Limpopo Department of Education and the National Department of Basic Education. It is imperative to understand the factors that cause such dismal failure in order to reduce the number of school dropouts without matriculation certificates. Such learners may end up unemployed for the rest of their lives.

Prof MW Lumadi and his team from various departments in the College of Education have initiated a MIT research project focussing on developing strategies to increase learner performance in Maths and Science (M & S). The first phase of the project where needs analysis was conducted has already been completed. Emanating from the needs analysis, the team is currently writing a research report and several articles with clear recommendations for implementation in the second phase.

The objectives of this MIT project are:

• To explore factors contributing to the low pass rate of Grade 12 students in M & S in the Vhembe district,
• To investigate the challenges faced by M & S teachers in the district,
• To determine the current status of training M & S teachers in the district and how it may impact on the quality of teaching and learning and
• To formulate strategies that will increase learner performance in M & S in secondary schools.

The project is envisaged to be a longitudinal one with outcomes also benefiting schools and learners. The researchers plan to use their expert knowledge in curriculum design and development, planning, implementation and classroom management to capacitate teachers and learners throughout this project.  Workshops will be conducted on lesson presentations on problematic topics. Such a pragmatic approach has the potential to enable professional development of teachers based in these schools and to improve their instructional repertoire that can lead to improved learner achievement in the long term.

Maths experts from Limpopo Department of Education – Vhembe District

Science experts from Limpopo Department of Education – Vhembe District

Starkey boss Bill Austin talks to Prof Norma Nel

At the beginning of March 2013, Starkey and their South African partner Medifix visited Groblersdal to fit and distribute hearing aids. On a previous visit Medifix tested many people to identify hearing-impaired people who could benefit from a hearing aid. During that visit the group from Unisa involved with training facilitators for the Deaf attended the occasion to learn about screening and testing procedures in unsophisticated rural areas.

This group has been involved with Medifix and Starkey to improve the course material of our teachers-in-training. Starkey fits hearing aids on people from all over the world and Starkey appreciates having partners, such as Unisa, to see to it that a child who is given a hearing aid receives good support from his/her teachers and parents. Then the use of and support offered by the hearing aid is far more successfully integrated into this person’s life.

Baby Marisane, a teacher at Mapula Primary School accompanied Tumi Marule, Maphefo and Tebogo Mokgabudi to have their hearing aids fitted for free by the Starkey Foundation

It is a big adjustment for a person to get used to living with a hearing aid. Not only do people with hearing aids hear more with the aid of a hearing aid but it also feels and looks different when they have a hearing aid in their ears. Other people may tease them about it and they must attune themselves to new sounds as it is not only human voices that are amplified. And so they need to adapt to life with a hearing aid. Teachers also find that these children start to behave differently and have to be assisted so that they continue to behave in an acceptable manner in their class.

Tami Austin from the Starkey Foundation shows Tumi Marule his new hearing aid

Perceptual skills that should have been acquired earlier, but because of hearing problems were delayed, must be identified by the teacher and opportunities to catch up with missed opportunities should be created. Parents should also encourage learners to keep the aids clean and free of wax, and to replace the batteries when this becomes necessary.

The team has also been conducting a pilot study, under the leadership of Prof Nel, on how best to train teachers to use the whisper test for early detection of a lack of hearing in small children. The sooner a hearing impairment is detected the more effectively a child can be helped and referred for medical assistance. The screening test has proved to be very effective as a simple yet reliable tool for teachers and parents in rural areas to screen learners from a very early age. In this way intervention can start at an early stage and children with a hearing impairment can have a better chance to become the best they can be and grow into happy and fulfilled people.

Tumi’s hearing aid is placed first as he is the eldest one of the group of children	Tumi is shown how it is done so that he can give support to the younger girls who came for a fitment
Tumi’s turn to do the task so he can still receive assistance if he needs it from the expert	Tebogo and Tami chat before the fitment of her hearing aid starts
Volume control explainations	Teacher Baby Madisane and her students together with Tami Austin after their fitment is completed
Receiving a year’s worth of batteries for each of the learners	Explainations on how to look after the hearing aid correctly
The Unisa team together with the Starkey Foundation staff and one of the children who has been fitted with a hearing aid	The Groblersdal open air auditorium where the hearing aid fitments were done
An assortment of hearing aids to help the crowd of people who came for a fitment	Last check if the fitments are done correctly and that the hearing aids have been placed correctly

The writing team during one of the lunch breaks taken in the book writing and planning week

In the second week of his trip to the USA, Prof MT Gumbo proceeded to a book writing meeting in New York as he is contributing a chapter to the book. He joined the writing team from different countries, which includes Technology Education gurus like March de Vries (founder of PATT, i.e. Pupils Attitudes Towards Technology which gave birth to PATT conferences), John Williams, David Barlex and Kay Stables. Chapter drafts had been assigned critical readers within the group and feedback was given and further round table discourses also took place. A way forward was charted which should see the book published by the end of 2013.

All the writers who are contributing to the book for which Prof MT Gumbo is writing a chapter