This thesis is a case study, conducted within a paradigm of action research, of the English 100 course at the University of the North West (now the Mafikeng campus of North West University), as taught by the author in the years 2000 - 2001. Its aim is to investigate the effect of the integration of language and literature on the first year of the undergraduate programme. The case study is placed in context through a consideration of educational change in South Africa. This includes changes taking place in the study of English as a second language at tertiary level, as well as the broader innovations to South African education brought about by government legislation. Two aspects of the latter are singled out for special attention: outcomes-based education and quality assurance. The case study is also contextualized at an international level through a survey of the theory and practice of an integrated approach to the teaching of language and literature to ESOL students. A survey of the literature, mainly in the last twenty years, reveals a growing interest in this approach. An attempt is then made to encapsulate this research in the form of fourteen statements about the supposed benefits of integrating language and literature. Through a detailed analysis of the performance of the first-year students, the case study subsequently attempts to test the validity of these claims. The study is presented as a process involving syllabus design, materials development, implementation of the course and an evaluation of its efficacy by the teacher-researcher. In line with the methodology of action research, a variety of methods is used to gather data. These include introspection and reflection (through the use of a teacher's journal and lesson reports), the analysis of written work produced by students, classroom observation by a `critical friend', triangulation (through the use of questionnaires, students' journals and self-reflective tasks) and documentation from the Department of English and university administration. The analysis of these data is both quantitative and qualitative. In keeping with the philosophy of action research and current educational practice, an attempt was made to incorporate and act upon the insights of students and colleagues. Reports on work-in-progress were also published in a number of fora: references are given in the thesis. The assumptions of action research are also apparent in the way in which the study is situated within cycles of action, reflection and improvement of pedagogical practice. The conclusion of the thesis is partly stated in terms of quality assurance: an attempt is made to assess the suitability of the integrated approach with regard to its fitness of and for purpose. It is concluded that a number of contextual factors, such as the conditions under which the English 100 course was taught and the under-preparedness of many of the students, militated against its success. The case-study is also assessed in terms of its contribution to international research in the field, and the personal development of the researcher. As is commonly found both in action research and in case study research, the findings of the study are context specific: consequently, no claim is made that they are generalizable to all other contexts. / English Studies / D.Litt. et Phil.

Thesis (MTech (Graphic Design))--Cape Peninsula University of Technology, 2012. / University graduates entering the graphic design, advertising and publishing industries do so with the hand and digital illustration knowledge and skills that they acquired during their time of study. As a result of the ever-changing developments in technology, the parameters of hand-generated illustration within the visual communications industry have increasingly progressed toward digitally generated artwork. This thesis investigates the alignment or nonalignment between illustration teaching and learning practices in higher education and professional practice in the visual communications industry, with a view to identifying the gaps, and their causes, in the knowledge and skills of graduates entering the workplace. The study uses the lens of Activity Theory (Enqestrorn, 1987) to investigate practices in higher education and industry sites. Both the higher education and workplace investigation was guided by the research questions: 1) What comprises an activity system in the training of illustrators in higher education? 2) What comprises an activity system in professional illustrators' practice? and 3) How can the higher education and professional activity systems be aligned for their mutual benefit? The comparative study uses both quantitative questionnaire data and qualitative data derived from interviews conducted in both higher education and workplace sites, including the analysis of samples of illustration at both sites. The research reveals areas where there is both alignment and non-alignment and recommendations are made with a view to ensuring that illustration programmes in higher education are aligned as closely as possible to the needs of the workplace. The contribution made by this research is both theoretical and practical. The theoretical knowledge framework that has been developed outlines academics' and practitioners' of illustration theorising of current trends in both hand and digital illustration curricula in higher education and current trends and needs of digital and hand illustration in the visual communication industry. In broad terms, there is alignment with regard to technical skills and the tools used across both sites, while there is non-alignment with regard to knowledge of and preparation for the workplace and self employment, for example, time management, interpersonal skills and the acceptance of critique. The practical contribution is in the form of recommendations to curricula, which when applied should better prepare graduates with the practical and skills required of illustrators in the unpredictable, demanding world of work, which they encounter on leaving their academic institutions.

This dissertation consists of three related papers. The first paper, Rethinking mathematics bridge courses--An inquiry model for community colleges, introduces the activities of conventionalizing and axiomatizing from a practitioner perspective. In the paper, I offer a curricular model that includes both inquiry and traditional instruction for two-year college students interested in mathematics. In particular, I provide both examples and rationales of tasks from the research-based Teaching Abstract Algebra for Understanding (TAAFU) curriculum, which anchors the inquiry-oriented version of the mathematics bridge course. The second paper, the role of past experience in creating a shared representation system for a mathematical operation: A case of conventionalizing, adds to the existing literature on mathematizing (Freudenthal, 1973) by "zooming in" on the early stages of the classroom enactment of an inquiry-oriented curriculum for reinventing the concept of group (Larsen, 2013). In three case study episodes, I shed light onto "How might conventionalizing unfold in a mathematics classroom?" and offer an initial framework that relates students' establishment of conventions in light of their past mathematical experiences. The third paper, Collective axiomatizing as a classroom activity, is a detailed case study (Yin, 2009) that examines how students collectively engage in axiomatizing. In the paper, I offer a revision to De Villiers's (1986) model of descriptive axiomatizing. The results of this study emphasize the additions of pre-axiomatic activity and axiomatic creation to the model and elaborate the processes of axiomatic formulation and analysis within the classroom community.

M.Cur. / The South African Nursing Council requires that a student nurse, when following a course which leads to registration as a nurse (general, psychiatric and community) and midwife, must receive instruction in environmental health. A conceptual framework was compiled after a literature study to create possible subject content and practical learning opportunities which belong in the curriculum of the student nurse. During an investigation in part into environmental health aspects in the Southern Transvaal Region the following was accomplished: - The theoretical subject content with regard to environmental health was identified. - The practical learning opportunities to which a student nurse must be subjected were determined. - A guide was compiled which can serve as a manual to persons who are involved in the 1nstruction of student nurses in environmental health. It is clear that health inspectors desire greater participation in the instruction of student nurses in environmental health than is the case at present. In order to create a more significant environmental health component in the curriculum of the student nurse some recommendations were made. Remediation will therefore become a reality in the implementation of the recommendations. Primary recommendations include the following: - Greater participation by health inspectors in the instruction of student nurses in environmental health. - The subject content of environmental health. - Learning opportunities which can be planned for the practical instruction of student nurses in environmental health.

Podcasts covering essential first-semester general chemistry laboratory techniques and central concepts that aid in experimental design or data processing were prepared and made available for students to access on an as-needed basis on iPhones- or iPod touches-. Research focused in three areas: the extent of podcast usage, the numbers and types of interactions between instructors and research teams, and student performance on graded assignments. Data analysis indicates that the podcast treatment research teams accessed a podcast 2.86 times on average during each week that podcasts were available. Comparison of interaction data for the lecture treatment research teams and podcast treatment research teams reveals that interactions with instructors were statistically significantly fewer for teams that had podcast access rather than a pre‐laboratory lecture. The implication of the results is that student research teams were able to gather laboratory information more effectively when it was presented in an on-demand podcast format. Finally, statistical analysis of data on student performance on graded assignments indicates no significant differences between outcome measures for the treatment groups when compared as cohorts. The only statistically significant difference is between students judged to be highly motivated; for this sub‐group the students in the podcast treatment group earned a course average that was statistically significantly higher than those in the lecture treatment group. This research study provides some of the first data collected on the effectiveness of podcasts delivered as needed in a first-semester general chemistry laboratory setting.

First-year composition (FYC) courses are a backbone of undergraduate instruction, with nearly every institution of higher education requiring a version of the course. The majority of FYC courses assign reading, especially the reading of contemporary essays, for students to respond to in their own writing. However, a common concern among compositionists who focus on reading is that composition studies as a whole does not, and has not, focused enough on reading theories and pedagogies in FYC. Using a method of close reading and analyses, and borrowing from post-qualitative research the idea of reflexivity, this study examines texts in composition studies and adjacent fields, published primarily from the mid-20th century to the present, to explore how reading is, and has been, understood in relationship to writing and composition. Further, this study explores pedagogical and theoretical consequences of the “place” of reading in FYC. It ultimately contends that the marginalization of reading in composition studies as well as FYC limits both the pedagogical and reading possibilities of this universally required course.

This thesis examines existing curricula at colleges and universities about sustainability and uses results to develop an introductory post secondary course curriculum. The proposed course is organized around three major elements - - science, philosophy, and economics - - all integral to understanding sustainability. Materials needed to teach the proposed 3-semester hour course including syllabus, teaching modules, transparencies, handouts, and exams were developed. Suggestions on how to teach a one-semester hour course on sustainability and a workshop on sustainability are also presented. The following research and curriculum development was a project established and funded by the Texas Energy Office, Renewable Resources and Sustainability Program.

The research questions of this study were to determine the specific hotel, restaurant and institutional management courses offered as required and elective courses, to determine which hospitality management courses were taught by faculty members in the hospitality management program versus being taught by faculty in other programs, to determine the teaching methods used to present hospitality curriculum, and to determine the distance learning methods currently used.

This exploratory, qualitative research explored the extent that course syllabi in the Departments of English in 13 public and 9 private universities in Taiwan reflect the inclusion of syllabus components to promote learning as recommended in the literature in the United States. Research questions included: what components can be inferred from the literature in the U.S. for the recommended components of a course syllabus, for the components for a learning-centered syllabus, and for a model to analyze Bloom's cognitive level of learning? And when these are applied to analyze course syllabi in English courses, are syllabi in these universities congruent with the models? The research identified and analyzed 235 course syllabi from the core courses listed online at these universities. The findings indicated that these syllabi are highly congruent with the syllabus components template; 68% of the syllabi included seven or more of the ten components. Additionally, these syllabi reflect medium congruency with the learning-centered syllabus template. Verbs used in objectives and learning outcomes in different English courses indicate different levels of cognitive learning goals as identified by Bloom's cognitive domain. Additional findings indicate that there was no difference in inclusion of components based on where faculty earned their doctoral degree. This research assumed similarities between higher education in Taiwan and the U.S., conclusions indicate that the course syllabi in Departments of English in Taiwan are congruent with the models recommended in the literature in the U.S.

This preliminary research study aimed to investigate, with the aid of the Science Laboratory Environment Inventory (SLEI), the actual and the preferred laboratory environments as perceived by 264 first, second and third year college Science and Biology students in Cape Town, South Africa. This investigation sought to answer the following main questions: * Are the English and the Afrikaans versions of the SLEI valid and reliable for use as perceptive instruments in a South African context? * What are the relationships between variables such as class membership, the year level of study, the type or level of the science subject studied, the particular lecturer concerned, home language and gender and the students' perceptions of their science laboratory classroom environments? * Do appreciable differences occur between the actual and the preferred environments as perceived by the students? * Are the findings of the present investigation consistent with the results of parallel investigations undertaken overseas? The data was collected by means of standard answer sheets, and analysed by comparison of the mean scores, standard deviations, discriminant validities and the alpha reliabilities of the various scales of SLEI. Bibliography: p. 130-141.