Thesis (M.Sc. Sch. of Ag. & Rural Devel.) --University of Western Sydney, Hawkesbury, 1996. / "A thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements of the Degree of Master of Science (Honours)--T.p.

This thesis is a theoretical and practical investigation of the role played by informal learning and teaching in the development of identity and applied knowledge. With the advent of mass schooling, there came to be a distinction between formal and informal education, with formal schooling representing the superiority of abstract, decontextualized, and rule-based learning over the informal, or the concrete, situated, and supposedly unstructured learning from everyday life. Research and theory in anthropology, sociocultural psychology and progressive educational philosophy have challenged this distinction, explicitly demonstrating the dialectical relationship between the formal and informal modes of all activity, regardless of setting. Inseparable from this conception of cognition is the notion that all knowledge is transmitted via culturally and sociohistorically framed and interrelated valuations of norms, beliefs, social conduct and the application of knowledge across spheres. / Progressive educational theorists argue that the creative process is the best means to tap the identity and skill-shaping potential of the informal mode. This proposition is actively and concretely investigated in this thesis through the writing, by this researcher, of a one-act play, Nineveh . As postulated by the theory, through the creative process the author's sense of identity and ability to creatively apply knowledge was affected positively. From this combined theoretical and practical examination of the informal mode of learning and teaching, a need for pluralistic educational praxis is forwarded. Engagement with the creative process is suggested as a means to help students feel more confident to learn from and enrich their lived experiences in their cultural environment, and thereby actively contribute to their interconnected sense of identity and mastery over multiple forms of applied knowledge.

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This work is located in the unique context of the newly democratised South Africa of 1997 and comprises two phases reflecting its beginning as a Masters project and Its development into a doctoral study. It seeks to answer the research question: Can we improve the learning opportunities for South African Management Studies students from African cultures and restrictive economic and schooling backgrounds, by providing them with a curriculum that promoted free thought? The purpose of the first phase of this work was to evaluate an experience-based curriculum that was learner-centred. It aimed to meet the needs of the 'whole student' and to give the students opportunity to think freely and to achieve their potential. The evaluation, incorporating qualitative and quantitative data, formed the basis of a single case study: it explored the course's effectiveness in providing learning conditions that could promote students' personal, academic and intellectual growth from their first year of study. The purpose of the second phase was to problematise the case study, reflecting on it in the light of subsequent experience and research. This involved an exploration of the value of experience-based learning; the likelihood of the conclusions' replication, particularly within the faculty; the prospects for wider application of the case studied. The thesis argues that experiential learning helped this group of students perform better academically than their compatriots whose learning experience was limited to a traditional university approach, suggesting that the conditions under which teaching and learning occur affect the outcome. The concept of problem-based learning was found to provide an inadequate theoretical framework since its Western cultural underpinnings are foreign to the African culture and did not provide opportunities for 'whole student' independent thought. Since this thesis is based on a unique case study the conclusions cannot be generalisable although they are considerably strengthened in the light of students continuing to perform better over the next five years. Unless universities themselves change their approach to teaching and learning, however, it is suggested that it would be difficult to replicate these findings more broadly.

Many universities currently support the expansion of credit-based experiential learning opportunities for undergraduate students. Libraries can support this institutional objective by offering high quality, for-credit internships. Targeting undergraduates rather than library school graduate students means that internships can be offered to students in a wide array of disciplines in universities across the country. While it is still not the norm for library faculty to teach their own courses, librarians can work within their institutional structures to make this happen. This innovative approach to internship design is beneficial for librarianship (which lacks feeder undergraduate programs), for students interested in careers in librarianship, and for institutions interested in increasing opportunities for experiential learning. This poster session will provide viewers with information to stimulate ideas and a game plan to shepherd those ideas from incubation to realization by using a project at the University of Saskatchewan as an example. / This is a poster presentation for the OLA Super Conference (Toronto, ON), January 28, 2016

This dissertation is entitled, "The Awareness of Wildlife Conservation by learners and educators in the Bojanala District". Following a national initiative driven by the Department of Education, the entire School Curriculum is being changed. Since 1998 there has been a shift from the traditional system of individual, unrelated subjects to an emphasis on integrated themes. The subject of environment was to be incorporated into the new curriculum, particularly at the primary school level, through these themes. The Environmental Education, particularly wildlife conservation topics are therefore likely to receive more attention than it has in the past. However the system has not yet been designed to cater for such topics, which can educate learners on how to preserve, protect and conserve their wildlife species. It is unclear how effective education around environmental issues will be. The study sought to answer the following research questions: • Does the National Curriculum Statement cater for Environmental Education, particularly for the wildlife conservation topics in Bojanala District? • Do educators in schools and other NGO'S promote wildlife conservation in Bojanala District? • What learners' and educators' activities and natural traits endanger wildlife? • Can game animals be managed sustainably? The study drew its population and sample from the Bojanala District area which included both Bojanala West and Bojanala East. The data collected through questionnaire and interviews were subjected to both qualitative and quantitative analysis. The literature search revealed that wildlife extinction comes about when the birth rate of an established population remains less than its death rate for a sufficiently long time interval to allow random fluctuations in the yearly death rate to diminish the population size to zero. Findings on the view of people were also noted. Learners and educators, including other community members around the Bojanala District area, particularly in the rural areas, have unquestionably contributed to the high rate of extinction of many modem species either directly through hunting or indirectly through habitat destruction. Most of the learners lack information as far as wildlife conservation is concerned. Concerning the remedies, environmentalists and NGO'S around the Bojanala District areas should ensure and encourage the conservation organizations to collaborate their conservation projects together with the local schools to ensure proper understanding as far as wildlife conservation is concerned and to educate both learners and educators on how to protect wildlife species. Finally, to ensure success in trying to deal with the problem caused by lack of knowledge in wildlife conservation matters or projects, the study expressed the need for further research to be conducted on the Curriculum Development, to find out why Environmental Education programmes, particularly wildlife conservation topics are not yet included or integrated into other school learning areas. / Thesis (M.Ed) North-West University, Mafikeng Campus, 2010

Thesis advisor: Karen Arnold / American college students have an unprecedented range of international opportunities available to broaden their world view and deepen their understanding of global issues, whether through formal study abroad programs, international internships, international volunteer projects or work abroad opportunities. However, students too frequently accumulate international experiences in an ad hoc fashion, absent from any clear relationship to their curricular choices and unrelated to their career goals. Substantial research has been conducted on internships as a form of experiential learning as well as study abroad as a basis for global learning. Both internships and study abroad have a long tradition in American higher education, however there is very limited research on the combination of these two activities in international internships. This study focuses on a cohort of students who traveled to Beijing, China in the course of one semester as they live and learn together, alongside students from multiple American universities, internship supervisors, and faculty and staff from the Chinese Studies Program. To better understand the features of the international internships that contribute to students’ intercultural development, this study examined the real and perceived development of a group of students (N=8) engaged in international internships utilizing Kolb’s Model of Experiential Learning using a case study approach. Program conditions that nurtured students’ international internship experience included aspects of their international internship placements, facilitated contact with natives in and outside the work environment, academic coursework, and student self-initiated exploration. Analysis of the participant narratives indicates a web of interconnected features that provided the foundation for students to get out of their comfort zone, reflect on their experience, and gain confidence to navigate a new culture and language to enhance the international experience. The results open up new possibilities for inquiry into international internships programs and their connections to experiential learning and careers. / Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2018. / Submitted to: Boston College. Lynch School of Education. / Discipline: Educational Leadership and Higher Education.

Thesis (M.M.)--University of the Witwatersrand, 2011. / The subject of this research is “A phenomengraphic study of experiential learning within a South African MBA context”. The specific MBA context explored in this study is the Negotiation elective of the MBA programme at the University of the Witwatersrand’s Graduate School of Business Administration (Wits Business School). In her capacity as Career Advisor to postgraduate students at Wits Business School, the researcher encountered a number of MBA students who, subsequent to taking the MBA Negotiation elective, had gone through a period of considerable reflection, introspection and change. The changes observed ranged on a continuum, from basic behavioural adjustments to profound transformation. This led the researcher to question whether the Negotiation elective acted as a catalyst to this change. The MBA Negotiation elective utilises various elements of experiential learning and has been widely regarded as an exemplar of experiential learning pedagogy within the University of the Witwatersrand/Wits Business School community. An evaluation of experiential learning pedagogy would thus prove useful to business school educators and career management practitioners who are primarily concerned with preparing students to manage work problems, lead subordinates and to make appropriate career and life choices in an increasingly complex and ambiguous global environment of business. The research intent was to explore and analyse the qualitatively different experiences of students in the Negotiation elective, in order to discover the essence of what students experienced in the elective and how they experienced the phenomenon of experiential learning within the context described above. The intent provided the researcher with the rationale for the adoption of 3 phenomenology and, more specifically, phenomenography for the research and analysis process. The researcher interviewed a purposive sample of eight students from the Negotiation elective at Wits Business School and gained their views on the research question. The respondents’ narratives derived from a single open ended question namely, “Tell me about your experience in the Negotiation elective, with particular reference to your learning and development.” The narratives were subjected to a process of eidetic reduction, in accordance with the phenomenological method. From this process, the researcher was able to distil the findings into nine themes, which were then cross analysed and compared to the literature review. The researcher was able to capture interesting insights into the similarities and variances in the students’ conceptions of the phenomenon of experiential learning. A number of discoveries were made. Firstly, the research findings confirmed that a causal relationship exists between the level of significance attributed to an experience and the actual learning that resulted there from. Further, individual personality, learning style and behaviour impacted upon the receptivity to the experiential learning modality. The research study was able to tap into the transformative role of experiential learning, through the analysis of the themes of double loop learning and mental models that emerged from the analysis of the respondents’ narratives. The value of reflection as a learning mechanism was confirmed and provides evidence of how learning is acquired through experiential learning pedagogy. Further, the research study was able to provide concrete examples of learning and development that resulted from the Negotiation elective and was also able to provide a critical perspective of the importance of the time dimension in development. 4 The research provides conclusive evidence of the correlation between the facilitator in an experiential learning context and the resultant learning and development. The research findings put forward a number of facilitation criteria that are essential for the provision of optimal learning within a community of learners. The possible shortcomings of this pedagogy are also highlighted through an exposure of the potential for framing and bias in the experiential learning context. Finally, the study confirms the assertion of Patel (2003) that experiential learning is phenomenological practice. The research findings provide convincing support for the utilisation of experiential learning pedagogy as an appropriate androgogic approach for the management of ambiguity and complex change and the development of self-awareness and personal mastery. It should be adopted as modality of choice in preparing students for the leadership and management challenges of the environment of business in the 21st century.