The Rural Blended Learning Strategy for Teaching Physical Sciences: A Case Study in Rural Schools
Abstract
This paper aims to develop a blended learning strategy for teaching and learning physical sciences in rural schools. A purposeful sampling strategy was used to select participants from a rural school. It was a qualitative case study of a physical sciences teacher, learners, school principal, school governing body member and senior education specialist’s challenges and opportunities of the use of blended learning to teach and learn physical sciences. Data was collected through semi-structured interviews, focus group interviews, field, and classroom observations. An audio recorder and video and photo cameras were used to record the data in order to produce transcripts and pictures for analysis. A thematic analysis was utilised to analyse the data with the help of the detailed analysis system and literature. The findings reveal that the sampled school suffered from network issues, which are compounded by loadshedding, long distances to Wi-Fi centres, and poor institutional support for learners, among others. However, the school provides good institutional support to teachers; has exposure to social media learning; and contains a number of devices. The paper concludes by proposing the Rural Blended Learning Strategy to be used in physical sciences classrooms in rural schools, together with its practical implications.
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