From chalkboards to change in classrooms

Teachers should be encouraged to move beyond traditional methods and adopt approaches that foster collaboration and genuine learning.

- By Lizélle Pretorius

As a full-time teacher completing a PhD part-time, I made a decision early on: do research that speaks to the daily realities of teachers and teaching.

And so, the idea came from a lived experience — the day I asked one of my Grade 11 learners (an A student) about the interpretation of a poem. His response?

“Ma’am, please just write the answer on the board so we can study it for the exam.”

I am sure that many teachers can relate to that request, which is typical of education framed by a “chalk and talk” approach.

“Chalk and talk” refers to a classroom environment where the teacher does most of the talking. There's an overreliance on textbooks and a focus on recall and rote learning. This is your typical “one size fits all” approach to teaching. Learners are mostly motivated to learn to pass their final year exams.

In South Africa, where I work, that’s contrary to what the national curriculum states. The critical outcomes of the Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statement say learning has to be active, focus on critical thinking and reasoning, and go beyond memorising.

But that’s the exception rather than the rule in South African classrooms. There is a mismatch between policy and practice.

A US study weighed the pros and cons of active learning versus direct instruction. Ultimately, active learning is essential to promote curiosity, take ownership of one’s learning journey and develop important social skills.

The goal of my research was simple: to help teachers to include active learning activities in their regular classroom routines. I called my intervention the “altered flipped classroom”.