Submitted in fulfillment of the requirements for the Master of Applied Arts in Graphic Design, Durban University of Technology, Durban, South Africa, 2017. / The context of this research is blended learning, a pedagogical approach that is effectively used in higher education. This pedagogical approach integrates face-to-face and online learning activities. The research inquiry focused on the researcher’s teaching of second-year students studying a three-year degree in graphic design at a private college in Durban, South Africa. Two interconnected teaching and learning challenges were addressed: the effects of the time-constrained, face-to-face studio style approach to design education; and students’ limited capacity for critical reflection. The research opportunity was therefore to evaluate the effectiveness of a graphic design blended learning intervention for supplementing contact time and fostering critical reflection. In the tradition of action research, the study took a developmental approach. Drawing on research on critical reflection in design and approaches to blended learning, parameters for a blended learning intervention were established. The resulting blended learning framework was applied in three interconnected cycles of action research, as follows. First, cycle one served as a baseline analysis of students’ critical reflection before the intervention. The researcher recorded and analysed a group review, and a series of individual reviews with her students. These were analysed with two questions in mind: ‘what’: “What types of reflection do students engage in?”; ‘why’: “Why are the students reflecting in a particular way?”.Second, cycle two developed, implemented and analysed a blended learning strategy for critical reflection (BLSCR). This was guided by the blended learning framework parameters, and the findings from cycle one. Third, cycle three evaluated students’ perception of the BLSCR through a focus group discussion with the participants. The focus group findings were compared with those of cycle two. The main finding is that the study’s blended learning strategy for critical reflection (BLSCR) works to foster critical reflection, but refinement is needed to address the matter of supplementing contact time. The two main points of refinement are: Students need to be ready to learn (feel psychologically responsible for their own learning);Students need to know that they have learned, and what they have learned.The findings and conclusion then motivate for implementing these refinements in further interventions beyond the study. / M

Magister Educationis (Adult Learning and Global Change) - MEd(AL) / Scholars argue within a human capital perspective that generic employability skills such as critical thinking, computer literacy, independent thinking, problem solving, communication skills must be included in human capital development. Employers are demanding that education and training institutions enable students to develop generic employability skills so that they can be 'work ready' for employment in the 'new knowledge economy'. As a consequence, the implementation of generic employability skills programmes can be found in Technical Vocational Education and Training (TVET) colleges worldwide. Framed within a human capital perspective, this research paper focuses on an investigation into the extent to which the National Certificate (Vocational) Life Skills course, offered at a TVET college in the Western Cape, enables students to develop the required generic employability skills of communication, problem solving, teamwork, leadership and critical thinking. Findings reveal that the NCV Life Skills course was both successful and unsuccessful in enabling participants to develop generic skills which make them 'ready for work'.

Philosophiae Doctor - PhD / The study aims to investigate academic writing at the University of Namibia and intends to explore whether a critical, meaningful and experiential pedagogy in EAP that enhances voice and agency in English for Academic Purposes (EAP) can be engendered in the Namibian EAP classroom. Moreover, it aims to investigate the experiences and perceptions of first year EAP students regarding the current EAP pedagogy at the University of Namibia. The study aspires to generate an understanding of the components students find difficult when they engage in academic essay writing. It provides a holistic and profound understanding of what critical, meaningful and experiential pedagogy is and wish to propose the process-genre writing approach as tool to a critical, meaningful and experiential pedagogy to teaching academic writing. The study draws it theoretical underpinning from critical pedagogy as postulated by Freire (1973) and Canagarajah (1999). This research supports the premise that the English language classroom is a cultural space where various agendas are negotiated and contested and explores the complexity of language pedagogy in the English classroom (Canagarajah, 1999). Moreover, this study is based on the premise that pedagogies are not received in their own terms but are rather appropriated on different levels in terms of the needs, interests and values of the local communities (Canagarajah, 1999, p.121-2). As research design, the study adopts an exploratory design using both qualitative and quantitative data. Besides, the study uses SPSS analysis and written error analysis methodologies. While the former provides an understanding of EAP students' perceptions and experiences regarding the current EAP pedagogy at the University of Namibia, the latter examines the components that EAP students find difficult when they engage in academic essay writing. As instruments, the study uses a semi-structured questionnaire and academic essay administered to 200 EAP first year student- participants. The findings indicate that the current EAP pedagogy at the University of Namibia does not promote experiential, meaningful and critical learning nor does it enhance voice and agency in the EAP classroom, thus a critical, meaningful and experiential EAP pedagogy that enhances voice and agency can be engendered in the Namibian EAP classroom. The findings also indicate that EAP students find the use of APA referencing skills and the use of discourse markers the most difficult when they engage in academic essay writing. Furthermore, the literature that I reviewed for this study critically exposed how practices in EAP and institutional policies stifle voice and agency in the EAP classroom. The entire process of this study has generated some insights that can advance our understanding of a critical, meaningful and experiential pedagogy in EAP and academic writing. These insights are: (1) A need to enhance EAP educator’s critical awareness, (2) We must minimize students' text-appropriation, (3)A need to re-conceptualize and decriminalize the concept of plagiarism in EAP, (4) A new approach to teaching APA referencing in EAP academic writing, (5) A need to renegotiate voice and agency in academic writing, (6) Writing is a process not an event, (7) We need to move towards an appropriate critical, meaningful and experiential pedagogy in EAP. The study proposes the process-genre academic writing approach as pedagogy towards a critical, meaningful and experiential EAP pedagogy in teaching academic writing. All in all, the study upholds the premise that a critical, meaningful and experiential EAP pedagogy that enhances voice and agency can be engendered in the Namibian EAP classroom.

While the challenge of improving young North Americans’ civic engagement seems to lie in the hands of schools, studying alternative ways of teaching citizenship education could benefit the current educational system. In this context, free schools (i.e., schools run democratically by students and teachers), guided by a philosophy that aims at engaging students civically through the democratic activities that they support, offer a relatively unexplored ground for research. The present inquiry is a case study using tools of ethnography and drawing upon some principles of complexity thinking. It aims at understanding students’ citizenship education experiences during democratic activities in a Canadian free school. It describes many experiences that can arise from these activities. They occurred within a school that operated democratically based on a consensus-model. More precisely, they took place during two kinds of democratic activities: class meetings, which regulated the social life of the school, and judicial committees, whose function was to solve conflicts at the school. During these activities, students mostly experienced a combination of feelings of appreciation, concernment and empowerment. While experiencing these feelings, they predominantly engaged in decision-making and conflict resolution processes. During these processes, students modified their conflict resolutions skills, various conceptions, and their participation in democratic activities and in the school. Based on these findings, the study concludes that students can develop certain skills and attitude associated to citizenship education during these activities and become active from a citizenship perspective. Hence, these democratic activities represent alternative strategies that can assist educators in teaching about citizenship.

The impact of Internet technology on critical thinking is of growing interest among researchers. However, there still remains much to explore in terms of how critical thinking can be fostered through online environments for higher education. Ten years ago, Garrison, Anderson, and Archer (2000) published an article describing the Community of Inquiry (CoI) framework which provided an outline of three core elements that were able to describe and measure a collaborative and positive educational experience in an online learning environment, namely teaching presence (design, facilitation, and direct instruction), social presence (the ability of learners to project themselves socially and emotionally), and cognitive presence (the extent to which learners are able to construct and confirm meaning through sustained reflection and discourse). This dissertation extends the body of research surrounding the CoI framework and also the literature on developing critical thinking in online environments by examining and exploring the extent to which teaching and social presence contribute to cognitive presence. The researcher was able to do this by offering 189 learners enrolled in 10 research methods courses and educational research courses an opportunity to use an innovative online resource (Research Design Learning Resource – RDLR) to assist them in learning about educational research and developing research proposals. By exploring how participants used this resource the researcher was able to gain insight into what factors contributed to a successful online learning experience and fostered cognitive presence. Quantitative and qualitative research approaches (mixed methods) were used in this study. The quantitative results indicated that both social and teaching presence had a strong positive relationship with cognitive presence and that learners generally perceived to have a positive learning experience using the RDLR. The qualitative findings helped elaborate the significant quantitative results and were organised into the following themes: making connections, multiple perspectives, resource design, being a self-directed learner, learning strategies, learning preferences, and barriers to cognitive presence. Future directions for critical thinking in online environments are discussed.

This study investigated whether critical thinking can be fostered in home economics through teaching a problem solving approach in Family Management. Secondarily, it investigated teacher behaviours which may foster critical thinking abilities, the moral and ethical issues which the teaching of critical thinking addresses, and whether the students were able to use problem solving in real life situations. The research involved the students and teacher in a Family Management eleven class in rural British Columbia. All students in the class chose to participate in the study. The study was conducted during twenty-six classroom hours. The study used action research as the research methodology. The research included action/research cycles with time between for analysis and reflection. The phase of data analysis and reflection was called the reconnaissance. Data was collected through audio tapes of the classes, entries in the teacher's journal, a checklist, and collected student work. The data collected in the first reconnaissance phase established a description which served as a point of reference for comparing and analyzing later observations. Two cycles of action/research followed. Observations were made and data collected as the critical thinking concepts were introduced. The introduction of the macro-thinking skill of problem solving was combined with the micro- thinking skills of avoiding fallacies, observing, reporting and summarizing. The research found that there was an increase in critical thinking activities at the end of the study. Factors that were found to have effected this change were: the teaching of a problem solving process, the teaching of micro-thinking skills, certain teacher behaviours, and the classroom atmosphere. Home economics was found to play a unique role in providing practice in real life problem solving. Further research is needed to determine if the skills the students learned while problem solving in Family Management will carry over to everyday life. / Education, Faculty of / Curriculum and Pedagogy (EDCP), Department of / Graduate

M.Ed. / This study forms part of a greater, ongoing research project concerning teacher competence and its assessment. The project focuses on researching teacher opinion on teacher competences by the initial research. This research project is a group project initiated to investigate teacher competence, its measurement and the implication thereof for school effectiveness and improvement. The following factors were identified namely the learning environment, professional commitment, order and discipline, educational foundation, reflection, cooperative ability, effectiveness and management styles. What does the basic rights of education mean against the background of the past? Superordinate goals aim at improving matriculation results. The aim is to change the public school into a community school which means increased parental involvement. This could be done by legitimising civic groups. The problem facing the present educational system is to strategise and develop interest, remedy the lack of motivation, increase trust, and develop relevant management skills. The constitution guarantees equal access to basic education. Inequalities in education must be redressed. The principles include the development of independent and critical thinking. The overall aim is lifelong education and training of good quality. This would increase teacher competence. Teachers should Professor Bengu (1995:1) in the Hunter's Report commented that this present education system was the most fractured and inequitable on the face of the earth. Nevertheless the Hunter Report seems safe to assume that the commitment in the White Paper to ten years of free and compulsory education would satisfy the constitutional requirements of the right to basic education at this stage of our country's development. However teachers are seen as "aliens" by the school and community as they do not participate in village or farm life. The professional life of a teacher presents few challenges because they do not have access to ownership of land. Teachers have little legitimacy in their communities. The Hunter Report recommended that public schools entertain a partnership funding approach balancing the demand of the four key principles namely attaining equity, redressing past imbalances, advancing equality and improving efficiency. The Hunter Report suggested that training relevant to personnel should be established by an Educational Management Information System and an Educational Management Training Institute. Factors which could possibly have contributed to the poor matriculation results at the schools were evident in a summary of the Examiner's Reports(Education Bulletin, ex House of Representatives, 1995 : 345). These include many candidates who lack basic examination techniques that should have been taught and consolidated in Standard Nine. All the work in the syllabus was not covered. All this points to some form of teacher

This project has developed a resource guide that will help kindergarten, first, and second grade teachers implement an integrated history-social science curriculum that encourages children to become critical thinkers.

No description available.

No description available.