The study explored teacher educators’ utilization of constructivist education practices to develop ESL in a teacher training institution and student teachers’ engagement in the instructional practices. In light of Chomsky’s proposition in his Universal Grammar (UG) (Cook & Newson 2007) all humanity, under normal conditions, is wired with a language acquisition device (LAD), which is activated in any real-life context when individuals experience exposure to any language. In the formal learning context; teacher education in particular, student teachers experience academic language which presents challenges, resulting in poor academic performance. Cummins (2009) proposes context embedded communication to afford acquisition of academic language. This learning environment is supported for pedagogy in constructivist learning settings, thus constructivist theories of learning provided the study’s theoretical framework. This was a qualitative case study utilising lesson observations of a class of 150 first year student teachers and 4 of their teacher educators. The 4 educators and 5 of the student teachers also attended to open-ended survey questionnaires, semi-structured interviews, including reflective journals for the latter. Data were analysed through a discourse analysis approach to determine educators’ education practices and student teachers’ meta-learning actions. Findings indicated that student teachers could identify their ESL incompetence but rated it incorrectly. An overarching ESL challenge was with the writing mode. Teacher educators utilised student teachers’ real-life experiences but partially immersed them in independent exploration of tasks to foster meta-learning actions and acquire disciplinary discourses, thus the students relied heavily on their educators’ assistance than independent learning. / Thesis (PhD)--University of Pretoria, 2017. / Humanities Education / PhD / Unrestricted

As a lecturer in the module Orthodontics in the study programme Bachelor of Oral Hygiene, the construct innovative facilitating of learning is the one I adopted as I embarked on a self-transformative journey. This dissertation focuses on the professional development of my practice and the self (me). The self-transformative journey taken was not taken independently but with my students who became my co-travellers and co-constructors engaging in a learning process. Engaging in a learning process meant journeying in the steps of the Action Research cycle(s) and being especially observant of Herrmann’s Whole-Brain® thinking theory and other learning theories such as constructivist learning, cooperative learning, self-regulated learning and the like. / Dissertation (MEd)--University of Pretoria 2020. / pt2021 / Humanities Education / MEd / Unrestricted

A common phenomenon in the private higher education environment is that lecturers are highly qualified subject specialists and conduct research mainly in areas in their fields of expertise. Therefore they are not always well informed about the dynamics of the global educational environment and they do not have an indepth knowledge of how learning takes place. As a result of this the traditional lecturing style is mainly used during contact sessions and mostly theoretical knowledge is assessed in written examinations. During class visits that were conducted as part of my duties as quality assurer of the teaching, learning and assessment that take place in the Production Management Institute of Southern Africa (Pty) Ltd (trading as PMI), a private higher education institution, it was noticed that the facilitators of learning present mostly lectures that are based on one-way communication with very little student participation. Learning style flexibility and allowing active student participation during the contact sessions are, in most instances, not considered. This lecturer-centred practice prevents the students from developing responsibility for their own learning process and creating an interest in becoming lifelong learners. An action research-driven professional development programme was presented to the academic staff of PMI to allow them the opportunity to develop innovative facilitation of learning practices. The programme aimed to create a scholarly approach to establishing a culture of lifelong learning in the private higher education environment – in literature commonly referred to as a scholarship of learning and teaching. The academic staff members conducted action research on their own practices as facilitators and assessors of lifelong learning. I conducted living theory action research on my style of being a mentor for the participants of the project. The programme commenced in 2009. The content of and the level on which the programme was presented are in line with a Postgraduate Certificate in Higher Education (PGCHE) that is offered at a public institution. The participants were introduced to, inter alia, the principles of the Ned Herrmann Whole Brain® theory, Gardner’s multiple intelligence theory and Bloom’s taxonomy of cognitive levels. As the first step in the programme all the participants completed the on-line Herrmann Brain Dominance Instrument® (HBDI®). An accredited Hermann Brain Dominance practitioner was contracted to provide feedback to the participants and to explain the principles of this instrument. The HBDI® practitioner is affiliated on a full-time basis with the education faculty of a public higher education institution. He was contracted to facilitate the professional development programme as well. The success of the programme became evident through student feedback and requests, and feedback received from the participating facilitators of learning. Top level management of PMI also became aware of the successes and it resulted in the inclusion of the development of the academic staff members as one of the main focus areas in the strategic management plan for 2010. It was decided that the programme should be repeated every year in order to ensure the continuous professional development of existing and new academic staff members. PMI was invited to offer the programme in the Agriculture and Science Faculty of a public university. Parts of the project were showcased at the 2010 and 2012 conferences of the Higher Education Learning and Teaching Association of South Africa (HELTASA) and the Knowledge 2011 international conference. / Thesis (PhD)--University of Pretoria, 2014. / lk2014 / Humanities Education / PhD / Unrestricted

This dissertation discusses a study that I carried out using action research methodology to answer to the research question; to what extent can the Mind Dynamix Profile® inform the practice of reflecting on change in facilitating learning in higher education? The Mind Dynamix Profile® instrument is used as a new and innovative profile instrument that has been developed in South Africa. Although the instrument can be used in a variety of circumstances, this research focuses on its use an instrument to facilitate reflection in the context of lecturers in a Private Higher Education Institution. A total of nine research subjects participated in this research project. As is often the case with action research the process of research was flexible and had to be adapted to the circumstances in which I, as the researcher, found myself. Through the process of doing this research I learned that the Mind Dynamix Profile® is a valuable tool for identifying areas of strength and areas of development among lecturers. Though the lecturers’ profiles varied, there were some common variables in their genetic profiles. However, the most important part of knowledge of the profile lies not in knowing the genetic profile, but rather in lecturers using that baseline knowledge to adapt their style of facilitating learning to the extent where they are able to accommodate the learning styles of all the students in the classroom. With the Mind Dynamix Profile® this flexibility is known as whole brain and whole body learning. The results of this study provide evidence that the Mind Dynamix Profile® is indeed a valuable instrument that assists in developing learning style flexibility and when used correctly, allows for definite change of facilitation strategies in the context of higher education. However, for lecturers to adapt these areas of development effectively a mentoring and coaching process needs to be implemented in conjunction with reflective tools. Although all the lecturers showed some sign of reflection on their style of facilitating learning, only two research subjects embraced the action research process to the point of deep, constructive reflection. Action research does not look only on the processes of the lecturers involved in this study, but more importantly on my own change of practice as a result of this research. My intention was to improve my own professional practice in addition to involving various lecturers in order to enhance their learning experience. Through the process of implementing this research I learned to reflect on my own values, attitudes and relationships with lecturers as they impacted on my practice. I believe that I have achieved reflective competence by demonstrating an ability to integrate and connect my own performance and decision making with understanding, and that I am successfully able to adapt, explain and change my style of facilitating learning and conducting research, when challenged by unforeseen circumstances. Copyright / Dissertation (MEd)--University of Pretoria, 2009. / Curriculum Studies / unrestricted

In an increasingly digitised world, the pedagogy of education is at risk of being dictated by technological advancement. As fragments of teaching practice left over from previous curricula are adapted and amalgamated into new curricula, the educational landscape becomes a sea of learning terminologies used interchangeably. In many cases these terminologies are then disconnected from an underlying understanding of what learning is and how the best possible form and quality of learning can be brought about. Two recent technological advancements in the field of education is Computer Supported Collaborative Learning (CSCL) and the MakerSpace movement. However, these fields need to be engaged with as avenues of investigation in the pursuit of the highest possible learning quality outcome required by a world that is super-complex. Through comprehensive literature research, the researcher first presented an in-depth argument detailing what learning is, what the highest quality of learning is and how this learning quality can be measured. The literature revealed a particular professional practice of “facilitating lifelong authentic learning” of which the sole purpose is achieving exactly that. In this mixed method research project, an attempt was made to re-connect the technological advancement of online learning with the theoretical framework of the learning process as laid down by Vygotsky, particularly through the Zone of Proximal Development. Within the context of a MakerSpace subject, the researcher attempted to determine how the identified practice of facilitating lifelong authentic learning would ensure the increase in the quality of learning in online groups where MakerSpace learners were required to resolve a real-life challenge. An experiment then followed where a professional facilitator of learning was present in the experimental groups, while the control groups attempted to resolve the challenge un-facilitated. A comparison of the analysis of chat transcriptions indicated that on average the quality of learning was higher in facilitated groups. Interview data collected after the experiment shed light on this finding and suggested that the quality of learning in an online group increases when a facilitator of learning increases the level of difficulty of the real-life challenge as perceived by the group’s dominant participant (the person who contributes the most to the group dialogue). This not only indicated the value of Facilitating Learning in an online learning evnvironment, but also highlighted its necessity in terms of improving the quality of the learning. / Thesis (PhD)--University of Pretoria, 2021. / Humanities Education / PhD / Unrestricted

This study examines the significance of understanding learners’ learning styles in relation to an educator’s learning style. The study explores the extent to which an educator and learners make provision for learning style flexibility by knowing and understanding their learning styles. There were reasons for being actively involved in the study. I wanted to know my learning style and to know and understand the learning styles of my learners. Action research was used to focus on the significance of learning style flexibility in my teaching practice, with the aim to developing myself as a professional and improving my teaching practice. Action research develops through a selfreflective spiral, consisting of cycle, each with its own steps of planning, acting, observing, reflecting and planning again for further implementation. Action research was critical in helping me to enhance my competencies and the competencies of learners who participated in my study and enabled me to improve in an ongoing, cyclical fashion. The use of qualitative and quantitative research methods helped me to learn and understand my learning style and learners’ learning styles. Herrmann’s Whole Brain Dominance Instrument (HBDI) was used to identify my learning style. To identify learners’ learning styles I used a simplified questionnaire that helped me to understand learners’ thinking preferences according to the four quadrants of Herrmann’s model. Learners’ profiles were identified and indicated that they have didderent profiles. Feedback questionnaires for learners and lecturers were used to dtermine feedback on how I facilitate learning and accommodate learners according to their learning styles, and improve myself professionally. Learning style flexibility is an approach that enhances teaching and learning, including the achievement of complex learning outcomes that includes attitudes and personality traits. Educators should move away from a content-driven learning approach to learner-driven approaches that allow learners to discover and construct knowledge on their own. Learning style flexibility and educational change complement each other. Learning style flexibility is significant in teaching and learning and the professional development of educators. Copyright / Dissertation (MEd)--University of Pretoria, 2012. / Humanities Education / unrestricted

In my eleven years of teaching graphic design at Tshwane University of Technology, I have come to realise that education is more than just teaching a student the fundamentals, techniques and new technologies, it is also about their personal development. I conducted this study to ensure that my educational practices challenge my graphic design students to acquire the essential characteristics – or more profoundly, the essential human qualities -­‐ required for a contemporary graphic design career through which the quality of life for all will be enhanced. The study is a participatory action research study involving the second and third year graphic design students at Tshwane University of Technology. It involved five action intervention cycles. In the first cycle I explored the current graphic design education practices in order to determine whether these practices ensure the acquisition of such essential human qualities that a graphic designer should posses. The acquisition of such human qualities has become paramount because of the ethical imperative that graphic designers can change the world (Berman, 2009). I found that my current graphic design education practices as they relate to the commonly most dominant practices are not sufficient to accomplish this purpose. During the research I was exposed to a paradigmatically innovative education practice that focuses on maximizing human potential and it was adopted to improve my existing education practice. Through four additional action intervention cycles I provided evidence that indicated that my improved education practice contributed to my students’ acquisition of an identified four sets of essential human qualities: the artistic quality of creativity; the professional quality of continuous, independent, increasing expertise in creativity within an interdependent, co-­‐operative value based community of graphic design practitioners; the personal quality of maximizing human potential; and the leadership quality of an enlightened change agent. The primary focus on the acquisition of these essential human qualities through the proposed method of graphic design education, also allows for the gaining of the necessary graphic design knowledge and skills (Barnett, 2007:101). / Thesis (PhD)--University of Pretoria, 2013. / gm2013 / Humanities Education / Unrestricted