At Technikon Witwatersrand, Business Communication is offered as a service subject, which is compulsory for a variety of diplomas and the majority of students are obligated to do the course. Its broad intention is to assist students in developing their proficiency in English, enabling them to cope with studying at Technikon and preparing them for the workplace. Despite the fact that the course is designed to assist them, many students question why they have to do the course and whether it is simply a repetition of high school work. The study attempts to examine the implicit and explicit goals of Business Communication, to explore the process through which the goals have been developed and changed over the years (i.e. how the goals have been constructed), and to elicit and compare the perspectives of the different stakeholder groups as to the goals. Both a qualitative and a quantitative approach are used in the research design. Interviews with four fulltime lecturers were conducted and a self-designed questionnaire was administered to students. These were the main means of data collection. The data reveals that the goals of Business Communication are implied rather than explicit. Despite this, students and lecturers see the course as important. Recommendations are made to help the Department of Business Communication to reflect on their practice with particular emphasis given to material development and the application of OBE principles.

The goal of this study was to analyze the impact of instructional format and pedagogical approach on students' learning and motivation within the introductory communication course. Three hundred eighty-five students participated in this study within one of four contexts: face-to-face instruction with service-learning, face-to-face instruction without service-learning, blended instruction with service-learning, and blended instruction without service-learning. A series of MANOVAs was utilized for the study. Results of the study, possible explanations for the results, limitations, and guidelines for future research are presented.

No description available.

This thesis examines how intercultural awareness education can be taught to kindergarten through fourth grade children. The concept of what it means to be interculturally aware and what is needed for teachers to instinct awareness in young students is examined. Literature research and data gathered from teachers through interviews and surveys is used to create a framework for teaching intercultural awareness education. In addition a set of recommendations for instruction and a bibliography for professional development around intercultural education are presented.

Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) / The aims of this research were to evaluate the merit of a communication-based medical approach to cancer prevention in Taiwan and to give deeper understanding of whether physicians view this type of method as a possible solution to public health problems. It is also hoped that this research will be able to find out whether doctors support the use of COMBI for managing public health issues in Taiwan. The results show that Taiwanese physicians perceive communication-based approach and communication methods as a way for managing public health problems, and they also agree that COMBI can be used for cancer or other public health issues prevention. The World Health Organization has used COMBI to deal with public health issues and has made a huge impact in many countries, combating diseases such as dengue fever, leprosy, lymphatic filariasis, tuberculosis, malaria, and HIV/AIDS with successful results. There is also a large body of research indicating that there is a strong relationship between eating fruits and vegetables and cancer prevention. In Taiwan, cancer has been both the top cause of death for 18 years and one of the top ten causes of death for 30 years. However, more than 80% of people in Taiwan still do not consume enough fruits and vegetables daily. Thus, this COMBI plan is hoped to help change these people’s eating habits for cancer prevention. The plan is also evaluated by doctors from Taiwan in terms of its pros and cons in this document, and suggestions for changes are made. These doctors view communication-based strategies like COMBI as a key component for managing public health problems, and they also believe that this COMBI plan will accomplish its goal of increasing people's fruit and vegetable intake for cancer prevention in Taiwan. Up till now, only minimal research has been conducted on the use of COMBI in Taiwan. Therefore, this investigation is hoped to initiate this research and provide a guideline for future COMBI-based actions taken in Taiwan.

The purposes of this study were to examine the oral communication skills considered important to specific companies, identify the objectives emphasized in the business and professional communication courses in Texas colleges and universities, ascertain how much course time is spent in various areas, and determine the communication needs of business and industry and the degree to which the communication departments of Texas colleges and universities are meeting those needs.

published_or_final_version / Education / Master / Master of Education

The research design for this study was largely quasi-mixed methods as it focused on survey and phenomenology. The major reason for this study was to explore whether the number of students in any given class has any bearing on their performance and resultant achievement in the mediation of Applied Communicative Skills lectures. The research was largely qualitative, with only the section on student questionnaires being quantitative. The use of research-based practices was also explored. The descriptive findings which are a triangulation of the data gathered from the various instruments of data collection used in the current study pointed towards a conclusion that class size and school factors such as teacher effectiveness can influence student achievement. The present study reflects the need to consider professional development in the area of research-based instructional practices. / Educational Studies / M. Ed. (Didactics)

Dissertation submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the Degree in Master of Technology: Education, Durban University of Technology, 2009. / This study investigated key factors impacting on blended learning delivery with particular focus on socio-cultural and human-computer-interface issues, in the hope that the outcome of this enquiry might contribute positively towards the empowerment of learners and facilitators alike. The study involved a group of first year students enrolled in a Communications Skills Course offered by the (then) Department of English and Communication at the Durban University of Technology. The PRINTS Project, a webquest around which the course activities were based, provided an example of a blended delivery course in practice. While the teaching paradigm used in the course was constructivist, the research orientation employed in this project was critical realist. Critical realism focuses on transformation through praxis and also lends itself to modelling, which provides a way to understand the factors at play within a social system. In the preliminary stages of the research, an exploratory empirical (i.e. applied) model of blended learning delivery was formulated from a theoretical model of course delivery in order to assess which factors in blended learning were systemic and which were variables. The investigation then sought to uncover key factors impacting on the blended delivery system, utilising both quantitative and qualitative methodologies. The findings were analysed in terms of the empirical model to gain an understanding of any factors that might be seen to either enhance or inhibit learning in blended delivery mode. The result was that certain core issues in blended learning and teaching could be clarified, including the use, advantages and disadvantages of information and communication technologies (ICTs) in a learning environment. The notion of the digital divide could also be reconceptualised, and the relationship between literacy (be it academic, professional or social), power and culture could be further elucidated, drawing specific attention to the South African educational environment. The notion of iv culture and its relevance in a blended delivery environment was also further clarified, since the findings of this research project suggested how and why certain key socio-cultural factors might impact, as both enhancers and inhibitors, on the blended learning delivery system.

The aim of this study was to determine the effects of continuous assessment within the written curriculum in a grade 5 class with Afrikaans as first language.