Challenges and Opportunities for Ob

ORB PQ Chapter 3 Attitudes and Job Satis particularion1. Which of the fol d aver in the m egresshing(a) answer choices is the best(p) definition of attitude? a. Attitudes indicate how iodin leave aloneing react to a apt(p) event. b. Attitudes ar the yardstick by which one amount of moneys ones actions. c. Attitudes ar the emotional part of an military grade of some person, object or event. d. Attitudes are evaluative statements concerning objects, people or events e. Attitudes are a measure of how the worth of an object, person or event is evaluated.2. The belief that violence is upon is a evaluative statement. Such an opinion constitutes the theatrical section of an attitude. . cognitive b. affective c. reflective d. sortal e. re diligent3. The _____ component of an attitude is the emotional or feeling component of that attitude. a. affective b. cognitive c. managemental d. evaluative e. reaffective4. The fol dispiriteding are possible actions that an private may take if they behave in a way that is inconsistent with an attitude that they hold I sort the behavior II change the attitude third rationalize the behavior IV ignore the inconstancy Which of these actions are the about likely to be taken? a. Either I, or II b. Either III or IV c. One of I, II or III . One of I, III or IV e. One of II, III or IV5. whatsoever incompatibility betwixt two or more attitudes or in the midst of behavior and attitudes results in _____. a. organizational discrepancy b. cognitive illegitimate enterprise c. attitudinal light d. values clarification e. affective reactance6. The scheme of cognitive dissonance was pro be by ______________. a. Maslow b. Festinger c. Hofstede d. Skinner e. Pavlov7. Dissonance heart and soul ______________. a. reactance b. constance c. resistance d. consistency e. inconsistency8. check to Festinger, people will seek a(an) ________________________. a. ari subject state with inconstant dissonance b. lasting state w ith maximal dissonance c. unstable state with maximal dissonance d. unstable state with marginal dissonance e. stable state with minimal dissonance9. Festinger proposed that the desire to reduce dissonance is determined by ternion factors including the_________________. a. values of the elements creating the dissonance b. degree of influence the individual opines he or she has over the elements c. degree of optimistic affect the person has toward the behavior d. fact that values and attitudes will vary over the short term e. wareness that dissonance lasts10. The primeval organizational implication of cognitive dissonance theory is that it helps to promise _____. a. overall trick contentment for employees b. the likelihood of a given employee good-natured in impression management c. the overall level to which the die hardforce will conduct g block uper, racial or other showcases of bias d. the willingness of the workforce to accept comp both rules and work get alongs e . the propensity to engage in attitude and behavioral change of the workforce11. Which of the following is non a moderating variable of the A-B relationship? . direct experience b. consistency c. specificity d. accessibility e. importance12. The theory that attitudes are engrossd, after the fact, to make sense bulge of action that has already occurred is best explained by ______________. a. cognitive dissonance b. escalation of commission c. self intuition theory d. uncertainty avoidance e. organizational commitment13. The E. M. Foster quote, How lay slightly I know what I bet til I see what I say? reflects the nonions captured by ______________ theory. a. cognitive dissonance b. escalation of commitment c. self acquaintance d. ncertainty avoidance e. kindly affirmation14. The degree to which a person identifies with his or her job, actively participates in it, and considers his or her performance as being weighty to self-worth is _________________. a. job pleasure b. j ob involvement c. job stability d. organizational commitment e. social embeddedness15. ________________ shadower be defined as a positive feeling about ones job resulting from an evaluation of its characteristics. a. Job atonement b. Job involvement c. Job stability d. organizational commitment e. Social investment16.In her work in the publishing industry, Vera seeks out untried authors who she considers promising. In the past two years she has found a heel of impertinently writers whose work she impression was exceptional, and immersed herself in the t learn of lot them shape their manuscripts for submission to her managers for publishing. Although she was extremely proud of the results, none of the authors she worked with were chosen for publication. Vera believes that the determination not to publish these authors was establish on personal rivalries within management, kind of than the forest of her writers work.She is extremely frustrated, dreads coming into work dist ri aloneively morning and is poorly ventureing of resigning. How stomach Veras job attitudes best be describe? a. low job satisfaction and low job involvement b. low job satisfaction and elevated job involvement c. high job satisfaction and low job involvement d. high job satisfaction and high job involvement e. low organizational commitment17. Organizational commitment is defined as ___________________________. a. the degree to which an employee identifies with the organization they work for and its goals b. n employees belief that the organization they work for will go to considerable lengths to cover that its employees are treated fairly c. the degree to which an employees sense of fulfilment and self worth is related to their job d. the amount of effort an employee will make in order to keep or advance their pip in an organization e. the degree to which an employee believes their work stirs their organization18. Of the following, the best predictor of turnover rate is __ ____________. a. job satisfaction b. job involvement c. organizational commitment d. cognitive dissonance e. ffective dissonance19. The following are methods of measuring employee attitudes I. a one-question global rating II. a summation score made up of a number of job facets III. a 360? battery Which of these methods are the best to use in order to measure job satisfaction? a. I but b. II only c. III only dI and II are equally as good e. II or III are equally as good20. The following statements are about the relationship between job satisfaction and customer satisfaction for frontline employees who have regular customer contact I. employee satisfaction is positively correlated to customer satisfaction II. employee satisfaction has no correlation coefficient to customer satisfaction III. satisfied customers tend to raise employee satisfaction Which of these statements are true? a. I only b. II only c. III only d. I and III e. II and III21. Actively and ca-caively attempting to im prove conditions, including suggesting improvements and discussing occupations with superiors would be what type of response? a. exit b. voice c. obedience d. go bad e. reification22. softly continuing to do your work when you know things wont improve, is what type of response to dissatisfaction? a. exit b. oice c. loyalty d. neglect e. social voice23. Maria is dissatisfy with the way that her manager treats her. She has quit her job and found a new position with another firm. She has expressed her dissatisfaction by means of __________. a. exit b. voice c. loyalty d. neglect e. social voice24. atomic number 1 is dissatisfied with his job but believes that his supervisory program is a good man who will do the right thing. Henry has decided that if he on the nose waits, conditions will improve. Henrys undertake to this problem is termed ________. a. exit b. voice c. loyalty d. neglect e. reificationSCENARIO-BASED QUESTIONSMrs. Jonas believes strongly that it is distinguishe d that workers rights be respected, and that one of the more to the highest degree-valuable ship mintal of doing this is to ensure that all workers be properly documented. She is supervising a assure comp all that is building a new warehouse for her comp whatever. While doing this she discovers that more of the workers employed by the contractor are unregistered aliens working for hale below minimum wage.25. Mrs. Jonas is likely experiencing _____. a. cognitive dissonance b. unresolved provoke c. ethical evasion d. uncertainty avoidance e. social pressure 6. In this situation Mrs. Jonas has a/an _____ that is in conflict with a/an _____. a. behavior behavior b. attitude attitude c. social need social interest d. social need social need e. behavior attitude27. Mrs. Jonas can be anticipate to relieve the discomfort she is experiencing by _____. a. deciding this issue is unimportant b. rationalizing that it is not her problem since she is not the contractor c. attempting to st op the contractor utilize undocumented workers d. coming to accept that victimisation undocumented workers does not harm workers rights e. any of the aboveEmployees at Acme Express are dissatisfied with working conditions, salary, and the worldwide attitude of management. Mark, Susan, and Toni are good friends who work at Acme, yet each seem to be reacting differently to the problems at work.28. Toni has decided that shell and restore a new job and get away from the problem. Toni is dealing with her dissatisfaction through and through _____. a. exit b. voice c. loyalty d. neglect e. acceptance29. Susan has composed a itemization of concerns along with her suggestions for improving conditions. Susan is dealing with her dissatisfaction through ________. a. exit b. voice c. oyalty d. neglect e. acceptance30. Mark believes that his manager is a good person and will work things out if Mark just gives him time to do so. Mark is dealing with his dissatisfaction through _____. a. exi t b. voice c. loyalty d. neglect e. acceptanceDESCRIPTIVE QUESTIONS1. Explain the model of job satisfaction and discuss how job satisfaction can impact employee productivity, absenteeism and turnover.1. Discuss Cognitive dissonance and Self Perception Theories and examine their substance in understanding relationship between Attitude and Behavior ( A B Relationship) ___________________Challenges and Opportunities for ObInternational Review of Social Sciences and Humanities Vol. 3, nary(prenominal) 2 (2012), pp. 139-147 www. irssh. com ISSN 2248-9010 (Online), ISSN 2250-0715 (Print) The Constructivist Theory in Mathematics The Case of Botswana Primary Schools Thenjiwe Emily major (Corresponding Author) Department of educational Foundations University of Botswana Private Bag- 00702, Gaborone Botswana- 00267 E-mail email&160protected ub. bw Boitumelo Mangope Department of Educational Foundations University of Botswana Private Bag- 00702, Gaborone Botswana- 00267 E-mail email&160p rotected ub. w (Received 13-10-11 / Accepted 12-4-12) Abstract This paper is based on a voluminous explore learning that compared instructor tonus and assimilator performance in Southern Africa countries of Botswana and South Africa. In this paper we explore the extent to which the primary cultivate instructors in Botswana use the urinateivist approach in the article of faith and charter of math. info was poised through schoolroom videotaping. Sixty out of the 64 maths teachers tenet at least one maths lesson, and more than one third of the teachers were videotaped twice.A total of 83 mathematics lessons were videotaped. The results of the charter indicated that a giant percentage of lessons observed required look aters to manifestly recall rules, plot of land a very small percentage of the lessons observed required learners to go over or explore relationships between mathematical ideas. Keywords Constructivism, mathematics, active schooling, Botswana, ha nds-off erudition. establishation Constructivism is a skill theory describing the process of noesis scoreion. familiarity construction is an active, or else than a passive process. Constructivists believe that experience should not be just deposited into the learners minds instead it should be constructed by the learners through active involvement in the scholarship process. Hausfather (2001) noted that, Constructivism is not a method. It is a theory of friendship and learning that should inform expend but not prescribe practice. By its very nature, constructivism emphasizes the Thenjiwe Emily Major et al. 140 mportance of the teaching context, student preliminary intimacy, and active interaction between the learner and the content to be in condition(p). (p. 18). In the constructivist perspective, companionship is constructed by the individual through his/her interactions with the environment. Unlike the conventional mode of learning whereby the teacher encounters a n active role in the teaching/learning environment, and learners passively receive the content, constructivists believe the learning should be centered on the learner.This has been ac acquaintance by Simon (1995) that we construct our knowledge of our world from our perceptions and experiences, which are themselves mediated through our previous knowledge (p. 115). When teachers believe that learners are empty vessels to be fill with the information from the authority, thence teacher supremacy will always go in the teaching learning environment. concord to Freire (1970) the domination of the teacher is referred to as the banking concept education.The banking concept sees the teacher as the only source of information. It is important that teachers should actively involve learners in their teaching to enable the students to construct knowledge. According to the Educational Broadcasting Corporation (2004) in the classroom teaching, constructivist view of learning can point towards a number of different teaching practicesit means encouraging students to use active techniques (experiments, trustworthy-world problem solving) (p. 1).Kennedy (1997) besides noted that what students learn is greatly influenced by how they are taught (p. 2). Mathematics by nature is a subject that requires learners to be fully engaged in order for learning to take place. Therefore, this paper explores the extent to which learners were given the opportunity to construct their proclaim knowledge in the mathematics lessons. Statement of the Problem Botswana students need to learn mathematics differently than the current practices employed. explore has revealed that most teachers in Botswana end to present mathematics knowledge to the learners to swallow and regurgitate when needed, and not with the abide by of helping them to develop separate skills to construct their get mathematics knowledge (The Report on the process of learning in Botswana An in-depth subject field of the qu ality of mathematics teaching in sixth grade classrooms and its effect on learner achievement, 2011). Teachers have likewise been discovered to have insufficient skills to present maths skills to learners (The Report on the process of learning in Botswana, 2011).Teachers, therefore, must(prenominal) change their instructional techniques for learners to be actively engaged in their ingest learning and not passive recipients. Learners must learn to communicate and think mathematically. For future educational growth, , Botswana needs learners who are creative, analytic, problem solvers. Such skills can be promoted at the school level through the constructivist approach. Review of books Constructivism The constructivist theory to teaching and learning has been broadly addressed in a number of researches in mathematics education (Katic, Hmelo-Silver &038 Weber, 2009 Steele, 1995).According to this theory, students do not just passively receive information but constantly create new kn owledge based on prior knowledge in connecter with new experiences. As opposed to the traditional approaches where students learn by copy word for word what teachers say, constructivism has shifted to a more radical conception of teaching and learning whereby learners fresh ideas are brought to class, acknowledged, and enhanced through a regeneration of teaching and learning techniques that actively engage them.A number of studies have shown the enduringness of the constructivist approach in teaching and learning in contrast to the traditional drilling and reciting approach (Hmelo-Silver, Duncan, &038 Chinn, 2007 Steele, 1995). A study by Steele, (1995) on A construct visit Approach to mathematics teaching and learning.. revealed that utilise constructivist International Review of Social Sciences and Humanities, Vol. 3, No. 2 (2012), 139-147 141 learning strategies has positive gains. For type, such strategies tend to create an exciting environment for students to learn mathem atics and enhance their self-esteem.According to this study, when students learn to construct their own knowledge, they tend to have fit of mathematical concepts and think mathematically. Another study by Katic, Hmelo-Silver &038 Weber, (2009) on substantive Mediation, suggest that materials can help to motivate and mediate the participants collaborative problem solving discussions. In this study, Katic, et al. , teachers used a variety of resources to solve a mathematics problem and construct ex curriculumations about the learning process they, then, posed questions about the problem to clarify their solutions.This is a method that is promote in social theories like constructivism, as it generally assists in keeping the learners on task. Although constructivist learning theory does not tell us how to teach mathematics, a teacher with a constructivist background can facilitate learners construction of knowledge by applying different constructivist teaching approaches that are in a ligned with this learning theory. This type of mathematics teaching forms the basis of this study.Nevertheless, a number of studies in Botswana on teacher centered versus learner centered approaches have revealed that teacher centered approaches are dominant in Botswana classrooms (Prophet, Rowell, 1993 Republic of Botswana, 1993 Tabulawa, 1997, 1998). For example a study By Tabulawa, (1997), on pedagogical Classroom Practice has indicated that students in the classrooms have been shown to be passive recipients of knowledge, which means that they are not given the opportunity to construct their own knowledge.The commission on Education (1977) has also highlighted this as a major concern in the education agreement of Botswana. According to this policy, teachers have a tendency to dominate in the classroom as most of the information transmitted to students is often too abstractionist and mostly requires them to memorize. This policy in a way was calling for a radical change in the c lassroom practices to allow for students growth through teaching and learning that is learner driven.Tabulawa, (1998) has also indicated a concern on the perceptions that teachers have that influence their classroom practices. In addition, Tabulawa, noted that there are certain factors that influence teachers to be dominant in the classrooms such as teachers assumptions about the nature of knowledge and the ways it ought to be transmitted and the perceptions of students. These factors are worrisome as they tend to perpetuate teacher centered approaches as opposed to learner centered practices.The study is out to find out the extent to which teachers apply the constructivist theory of teaching and learning when teaching mathematics. This is a theory that has been proven beyond reasonable doubt to enhance students independent learning. Methodology Sampling To address the objective of the study, the researcher used selective information from Human Research Science Council (HRSC) -Stanf ord- University of Botswana Regional Education Study that was conducted in 2009/10 as a comparative study on teacher quality and student performance in Botswana and South Africa.Out of 60 specimend schools in Botswana, selective information was obtained from 58 schools and 64 classrooms (two math classrooms in six of the schools taught by the same teacher in each school). The sample focused on 5 districts in Botswana, namely low-income schools in five districts within 50 kilometers of the South African border, Gaborone (18 schools, 617 students), Kgatleng (16 schools, 495 students), Lobatse (6 schools, 152 students), South East (10 schools, 305 students), and Southern (8 schools, 205 students). InstrumentationData was collected through videotaping 83 standard six mathematics teachers teaching at least one mathematics lesson. More than one-third of the teachers were videotaped twice. The filming was through with(p) at the middle and towards the end of the year by ingenious forcef ulness of the Thenjiwe Emily Major et al. 142 Botswana team from the University of Botswana. Teachers whose classes were videotaped were informed in advance about the research team visits. They were just told that the videos will only be used for the study. Data AnalysisThe videotape analysis was also done by well trained personnel from the University of Botswana and the U. S. A. From various video analyses conducted, the levels of cognitive learn were selected based on the relevance of this paper since the focus was on the thinking process in which the learner was engaged. The level(s) of cognitive pick up in which learners were engaged in during the lesson were derived from a rubric in stein et al. s (2000) classification of high and demean cognitive affect. These are Lower Level Demand 1.Memorization Memorization medical history of facts, formulae, or definitions 2. project requires the recall of previously knowledgeable material. Or the committing of facts, formulas or definitions to memory. problem cannot be solved using procedures because procedures do not exist or the time frame in which task is to be consummate is too short to use a procedure. trade union movements involve exact reverberation of previously seen material and what is reproduced is clearly and directly stated. Task has no continuative to concept or meaning that underlies the facts, rules, formula, or definition being learned or reproduced.Processes without Connections Performing algorithmic type of problems and have no connexion to the underlying concept or meaning Task is algorithmic. Use of procedures either is specifically stated or its use is evident based on prior instruction, experience, or placement of task. Task leaves little ambiguity about what needs to be done and how to do it. No connection or explanation of the concept is needed. Task focuses on producing correct answers rather than development mathematical understanding. Higher Level Demand 3.Processes with C onnections Use of procedures with the purpose of underdeveloped deeper levels of understanding concepts or ideas Task requires use of procedures to develop deeper understanding of the concept. Task suggests pathways to follow that are broad general procedures rather than algorithms that are swarthy with respect to underlying concepts. Tasks are usually represented in dual ways (e. g. visual diagrams, manipulatives, symbols, problem situations) Connections among the representations builds meaning to concept. Tasks require some thinking, although using a procedure t cannot be followed mindlessly. Students need to engage in conceptual ideas to successfully complete the task. Doing Concepts and Processes Doing mathematics complex and non-algorithmic thinking, students explore and look into the nature of the concepts and relationships Task requires access of relevant knowledge, self-reflection on actions, exploring concepts, processes and relationships in non-algorithmic activity. Ta sk demands self-monitoring or self-regulation of thinking. 4. International Review of Social Sciences and Humanities, Vol. 3, No. 2 (2012 139-147 (2012), 147 143 Task requires analysis of constraints that may limit possible solution strategies and solutions. Task is irregular due to nature of solution process required. The focus in this component (the levels of cognitive demand) is the thinking processes in cognitive which learners engage in the observed lessons. In a constructivist classroom, learners are expected to think at a very high level, as they are actively involved in their own learning. Apart from the analysis of the levels of cognitive demand, the data analysis members also s made some observations on how students interacted with the teacher.They made notes on these observations. Findings Levels of cognitive demand in classroom teaching in a sample of Botswana School 90 80 70 Percent of Lessons 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 Memorization Procedures without connections Procedures with connections Doing mathematics The findings of the study indicated that 7. 3. 5% of the lessons required learners to recall a fact which in fact is memorization, 85% of the lessons do procedures without connections, and 23% do procedures with connections and only 3% students explore and investigate the nature of the concepts and relationships.From the video note observations, the data indicates that in most lessons teachers asked the students questions and allowed the whole class to call out the answers. These findings concur with Arthurs (1998), that I observed many teacher dominated classroom procedures, in teacher-dominated particular lengthy recitations of questions by teacher and answers by individual or whole class (p. 314). When teachers are the only ones asking questions and students being the s respondents, learning is no longer centered on the learner but more on the teacher.Discussions From the findings it is evident that teachers used the procedural teaching and stu dents learned by memorizing facts. When learners do the rote learning they are not boost to think critically and to construct their own knowledge as the teacher is the one who put ups the one content for them. Memorization in Botswana classrooms is very frequent as evidenced by previous researchers such as untouched and Snyder (1991), Arthur (1998), Tabulawa (2004, 1998, Thenjiwe Emily Major et al. 144 and 1997).Arthur and Martin (2006) in their study on comparative classroom teaching and learning found that most teachers in Botswana ask low-altitude factual questions, with few opportunities for pupilslearners do not exercise their reasoning powers or imaginations (p. 195). As data has indicated that lessons were predominately recalling of facts and procedures without any application to real life sentence situations, one may assume that learners were not constructing their own knowledge but were simply spoon-fed by teachers. The National Commission on Education of Botswana (19 77) also oncurs with this study that learning is mostly memorizing and recalling of facts which, in a way, does not add any value to the learning process. One of the goals of vision 2016 is for the education system of Botswana to provide quality education that would enable Batswana to adapt to the changing needs of the acres as well as the global changes. This vision goal can be achieved if teachers adapt to theories such as constructivism that allow learners to explore and come up with their own solutions to the problems.Memorization and imitating teachers will not give Botswana learners sufficient wisdom to survive independently in this world of socio-political and economic unrest. From the data, one concludes that learners were not given tasks that challenged their thinking and the construction of their own knowledge. Henningsen and Stein (1997) noted that numeric tasks are central to students learning because tasks convey messages about what mathematics is and what doing math ematics entails(NCTM, 1 991, p. 24). The tasks in which students engage provide the contexts in which they learn to think about subject students. p. 525) matter, and different tasks may place differing cognitive demands on Indeed if learners are given tasks that encourage memorization of ideas, according to Stein et al. s (2000) levels of cognitive demands, the learners are at the lowest level. In this level students are given formulas to memorize and just follow procedures without making any connections to real life situations. For example, in one of the videos the teacher was teaching the matter area. This is how she taught the lesson first she asked the learners the meaning of the word area.Learners could not define the word, and instead of the teacher defining it, she gave the learners the formula for solving the area of a square. She then drew some shapes on the board, solved one as an example and then asked the learners to use the formula to find areas of the rest shapes. Ind eed using the formula given, most learners were able to find the areas of the shapes drawn by their teacher. exclusively can the learners apply the idea to real life? The procedure may be correct. However, did the learners make any connections to real life?From the analysis of the data it is evident that most tasks given to the learners only concentrated on the low levels of cognitive demand. The task focused on producing correct answers rather than exploitation mathematical understanding. Various reasons such as examination driven broadcast may have workd to Botswana teachers delivering facts (giving lower level tasks) to learners rather than allowing learners to think and construct their own knowledge. The centralized curriculum as well as examinations does contribute to teacher-domination as teachers are more concerned with completion of the syllabus at a given period.Arthur and Martin (2006) acknowledged that pupils examination success provides access to further education in Botswana (p. 192) forcing teachers to rush through the syllabus. This has also been confirmed by Tabulawa, (1998), that teachers perceptions of students and the goals of schooling have a direct influence in the way teachers teach because teachers see themselves as the main transmitters of knowledge, while students are passive recipients who must memorize and produce during examinations.Another reason may be the large numbers of teacher to students ratio which then encourages delivering of facts rather than allowing learners to construct their own knowledge. In a constructivist learning environment, learners learn best by discovering their own knowledge. Teachers encourage higher level thinking so that students can secure beyond the simple factual response. Moreover, in a constructivist classroom, learners are encouraged to summarize concepts by analyzing, predicting, justifying, and defending their ideas.Cobb (1999) noted that constructivist learning theory predicts that knowledge encoded from data by learners themselves will be more flexible, transferable, and useful than knowledge encoded for them by experts and transmitted to them by an instructor or other obstetrical delivery agent (p. 15). International Review of Social Sciences and Humanities, Vol. 3, No. 2 (2012), 139-147 cxlv In constructivism knowledge construction is emphasized rather than knowledge reproduction. Knowledge construction helps the learners to remember what they have learned.The second highest level of cognitive demand encourages use of procedures with the purpose of developing deeper levels of understanding concepts or ideas. For learners to master the content, constructivist believe that higher order thinking skills and deeper understanding should be emphasized in the learning environment. Learners develop into critical thinkers if they are actively involved in the learning process and are encouraged to apply the concepts to real life situation. By this, learners are making meanin gful connections.Learners can use their experiences to construct new information if given the opportunity to practice in the teaching/learning environment rather than having facts poured into them by the one in authority. The role of the teacher is to serve as a facilitator. The highest level of cognitive demand calls for doing mathematics complex and nonalgorithmic thinking, students explore and investigate the nature of the concepts and relationships. Tasks that learners are alleged(a) to be engaged in should help them explore the relationship between concepts they are learning and reality.For, example, if learners are doing area as a case of study, let them explore the idea and find out how the topic can be applied in real life situations. Teachers should provide tasks that will lead the learners to explore, discover, and apply the concepts. Richard cited by Simon (1995) noted that It is necessary for t he mathematics teacher to provide a structure and a set of plans that hold back the development of informed exploration and reflective inquiry without taking opening or control away from the student. The teacher must design tasks and projects that rock student to ask questions pose, problems, and set goals.Students will not become active learners by accident but by design through the use of the plans that we structure to guide exploration and inquiry. (118) It is, therefore, the responsibility of every(prenominal) teacher to plan activities that require high level of cognitive demand. It is important to note that high levels of cognitive demand require students to use their prior knowledge as advocated by the constructivists. Henningsen and Stein (1997) contended that connections with what students already know and understand also play an important role in engaging students in high-level thought processes (p. 27). For students to perform tasks that require critical thinking and applying of concepts, experience or prior knowledge used as a base is cruci al. The findings in this study indicate that teachers did not engage the learners on tasks that required them to use higher levels of cognitive demand. These findings concur with what Prophet and Rowell cited by Fuller and Snyder (1991) that teachers in Botswana classrooms ask for factual information through sentence completion exercise with pupils individual or in chorus simply adding the missing word.Students are seldom asked to explain the process or the interrelation between two or more event (p. 276). This is a clear indication that teachers in Botswana classroom give learners tasks that are mostly associated with the low level of cognitive demand of which the constructivist theory does not encourage. The theory of constructivism also values the uniqueness of every learner. Students learn differently. The teacher, as the facilitator, should appreciate every learners strengths and weaknesses. distributively learner should be given the opportunity to construct knowledge from his /her own experiences.Summary DeVries, Zan, Hildebrandt, Edmiaston, and Sales ( 2002) asserted that teacherswho have been accustomed to teaching by vocalizing and directing childrens work must shift from seeing themselves as central in producing learning to seeing thechild as central(p. 36). From the study one concluded that there was a lot of spoon-feeding in most classes. Students were not given tasks that encouraged them to be doers and thinkers of mathematics, but rather to be consumers of mathematics concepts. Knowledge construction was very limited in most classes making learning more teacher-centered.Thenjiwe Emily Major et al. 146 The continued teacher domination in the Botswana teaching/learning environment will result in learners who cannot think deeply and critically. Knowledge is not passively received, but actively built up by the learners. Constructivism, therefore, encourages learners to be given the opportunity to construct their own knowledge from the previous exper iences so at to be able to apply theory to practice and to make meaningful connections to what they learn to the real world. References 1 2 J.Arthur, Institutional practices and the cultural construction of primary school teachers in Botswana, comparative Education, 34(4) (1998), 313-326. J. Arthur and P. Martin, Accomplishing lessons in postcolonial classrooms Comparative perspectives from Botswana and Brunei Darussalam, Comparative Education, 42(2006), 177-202. S. K. W. Chu, K. Chow and S. K. Tse, Developing Hong Kong primary school students information literacy and IT skills through collaborative teaching and inquiry PjBL, Library and study Research, (2011), (In Press). T.Cobb, Applying constructivism A test for the learner as scientist, Educational Technology Research and Development, 47(3) (1999), 15-31. R. DeVries, B. Zan, C. Hildebrandt, R. Edmiaston and C. Sales, Developing Constructivist Early Childhood Curriculum, (2002), New York Teachers College Press. Educational Broa dcasting Corporation, Constructivism as a Paradigm for Teaching and Learning, (2004), Retrieved on April 12 from http//www. thirteen. org/edonline/ concept2class/constructivism/index. html P. Freire, Pedagogy of the Oppressed, (1970), New York Herder and Herder.B. Fuller and C. Jr. Snyder, vocal teachers, silent pupils? Life in Botswana classrooms, Comparative Education Review, 35(2) (1991), 274-294. M. Henningsen and M. R. Stein, Mathematical tasks and student cognition Classroom-based factors that support and inhibit high-level mathematical thinking and reasoning, journal for Research in Mathematics Education, 28(5) ( 1997), 24549. Hausfather, Where is the content? 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