AlternationSpecial Edition 21 (2018) 159–184159Print ISSN 1023-1757; Electronic ISSN: 2519-5476; DOI https://doi.org/10.29086/2519-5476/2018/sp21a8The Impact of Using Geography Open Education Resources (OER) to Capacitate Natural Science Teachers Teaching the Earth and BeyondStrand in South African Schools

Abstract

In 1994 South African curriculum developers decided to include aspects of Physical Geography in the Natural Science Intermediate and Senior Phase curriculum as a strand named Earth and Beyond. One of the complicating factors was that most in-service teachers that had to teach this strand had no training in post-school Geography or even worse, might not have taken Geography in the last three years of schooling. Research was undertaken to determine how the gaps in Geography knowledge, skills, resources and teaching skills amongst Natural Science teachers, with special reference to the Earth and Beyond strand in Natural Science teaching, could be overcome. A baseline survey was conducted and initial school visits were undertaken to determine what the situation was regarding the teaching of the Earth and Beyond strand in schools in a mostly poor rural school district in Kwa-Zulu Natal, South Africa. Findings indicated that none of the Natural Science teachers visited, had any post-school training in Geography. Classroom observations indicate that more than 90% of the teachers use only direct instruction when teaching the Earth and Beyond strand; they use only