New trends in physics teaching, v.4; The ... - unesdoc - Unesco

New Trends in Physics Teaching IV
Students also find that money is needed in the search for data and, as they are not paid allowances,
they find the project work a burden rather than an exciting activity.
These problems could be overcome by stream-lining the format of the Project Work and fixing
its length. Before embarking on their projects, students should be briefed on how to select their
topics and how to start. To alleviate the problem of lack of reference books, the Ghana Library
Board could run a Book Service Scheme whereby boxes of books are lent to a college for a period
of time. Foreign embassies or organizations such as the British Council could be contacted to
help with the borrowing of books or even purchasing them from outside the country. To show
that importance is attached to the project work, a small grant could be given to the students to
enable them to conduct their investigations properly.
Advice is assumed to be given by the tutor but, because most of the tutors involved in the
course have been inadequately briefed on its philosophy, the enthusiasm with which supervision
was undertaken in the initial stages of the course seems now to have waned. The employment of
part-time tutors and national service men who are not initiated into the philosophy of the course
makes it almost impossible to achieve the objectives which the project work was meant to achieve.
Science Teaching Methods
Who teaches the methods?
Science teaching methods are taught by the science tutors and not by the Education Tutor (who
used to be called the ‘Methods Tutor’). No specific methods have been laid down for this work;
indeed, all that is mentioned in the syllabus is that activity methods should be used. It has been
suggested that tutors should teach the syllabus content to the students in the way they expect
the latter to teach their pupils in the Junior Secondary School. In other words, there should be
no separate consideration of science teaching methods. The tutor becomes the model. Tutors
are divided on this issue. While some are in favour of this approach, others think that it is difficult
to use methods meant for pupils to teach adults. Also, using the tutor as a model kills creativity
in the student teachers who are expected to be innovative. Some think it preferable to use the
primary school syllabus as a basis for helping students to make lesson plans and to illustrate
certain methods of teaching such as guided-discovery methods. This problem is yet to be resolved.
The idea of the science tutor teaching both the content and the methods of teaching is beginning
to be unrealistic, especially when part-time tutors who are only interested in the content are
employed.
Classroom Experiences
Since there are no curriculum materials specially designed for the course, we use the primary
school science syllabus and APSP units.
Peer group teaching is used. One student prepares a lesson and teaches a small group of his
colleagues. Then they discuss his method of approach. The tutor visits each group, listening and
making a few comments. A general discussion on the teaching carried out is then held.
In addition to their own practice school, most colleges have adopted elementary schools in
their vicinity for classroom experience. Both students and tutors go to these schools to practise
the teaching of specific topics discussed in class while others go individually to try apparatus
that has been constructed or to observe the methods used by practising teachers. In the group
practice, one student prepares a lesson and teaches it to a class while some of his/her colleagues
observe. Discussions after these practices have been useful in the sense that the students become
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