Blended learning environments to foster self-directed learning

This book on blended learning environments to foster self-directed learning highlights the focus on research conducted in several teaching and learning contexts where blended learning had been implemented and focused on the fostering of self-directed learning. Several authors have contributed to the book, and each chapter provides a unique perspective on blended learning and self-directed learning research. From each chapter, it becomes evident that coherence on the topics mentioned is established. One of the main aspects drawn in this book, and addressed by several authors in the book, is the use of the Community of Inquiry (CoI) framework when implementing teaching and learning strategies in blended learning environments to foster self-directed learning. This notion of focusing on the CoI framework is particularly evident in both theoretical and empirical dissemination presented in this book. What makes this book unique is the fact that researchers and peers in varied fields would benefit from the findings presented by each chapter, albeit theoretical, methodological or empirical in nature – this, in turn, provides opportunities for future research endeavours to further the narrative of how blended learning environments can be used to foster self-directed learning

Blended learning environments to foster self-directed learning

This book on blended learning environments to foster self-directed learning highlights the focus on research conducted in several teaching and learning contexts where blended learning had been implemented and focused on the fostering of self-directed learning. Several authors have contributed to the book, and each chapter provides a unique perspective on blended learning and self-directed learning research. From each chapter, it becomes evident that coherence on the topics mentioned is established. One of the main aspects drawn in this book, and addressed by several authors in the book, is the use of the Community of Inquiry (CoI) framework when implementing teaching and learning strategies in blended learning environments to foster self-directed learning. This notion of focusing on the CoI framework is particularly evident in both theoretical and empirical dissemination presented in this book. What makes this book unique is the fact that researchers and peers in varied fields would benefit from the findings presented by each chapter, albeit theoretical, methodological or empirical in nature – this, in turn, provides opportunities for future research endeavours to further the narrative of how blended learning environments can be used to foster self-directed learning

Collaborative Learning to Foster Critical Reflection by Pre-service Student Teachers within a Canadian–South African Partnership

Teachers often enter practice with a narrow perspective of teaching. Through critical reflection, the minds of pre-service teachers can be opened to the bigger realities of teaching and social justice practice. Paired pre-service student teachers from two diverse university settings, Canada and South Africa, were immersed in a collaborative learning experience that involved exchanges through email, text messages, and artwork collages. As lecturers, we implemented action research to determine how to foster critical reflection by pre-service teachers from diverse education contexts. We anticipated the diverse contexts to serve as a disrupting incident in support of critical reflection and possibly also transformative learning. Findings confirm that the collaborative reflective learning across contexts supported the development of critical reflective skills and provided an opportunity for students to confront their own assumptions of ethical and moral teaching practice. Revised strategies are suggested to support deeper critical reflections in collaborative learning across teaching contexts to support transformative learning

Meeting teacher expectations in a DL professional development programme - a case study for sustained applied competence as programme outcome

Meeting teacher expectations for a professional development programme (PDP) is expected to strengthen sustainable applied competence as programme outcome since teachers will be more motivated to apply the programme content in practice. A revised distance learning (DL) programme was augmented by a practical component comprising a work-integrated portfolio and audio-visual material, aimed to support the applied competence of practising teachers in the South African context. An evaluation of the way the programme measured up to teacher expectations was deemed critical for future DL programme design. A qualitative study based on an interpretivist philosophical approach collected data of teacher expectations for and of the practical component through multiple methods. Their contributions were linked with four main themes related to applied competence as identified in the literature. Participant expectations and experiences with regards to each theme were compared by means of electronic coding through ATLASti™. The findings show a strong correlation between expectations for and experiences of the way the practical component supports the elements of applied competence. Since DL is viewed as a viable and cost effective way to improve teacher competence in developing countries, these findings serve as impetus for further investigation and refining ways to support applied competence in a distance learning professional development programme (DL PDP)

Self-Directed Learning for the 21st Century

This book is devoted to scholarship in the field of self-directed learning in the 21st century, with specific reference to higher education. The target audience of the book includes scholars in the field of self-directed learning and higher education. The book contributes to the discourse on the quality of education in the 21st century and adds to the body of scholarship in terms of self-directed learning, and specifically its role in higher education. Although all the chapters in the book directly address self-directed learning, the different foci and viewpoints raised make the book a rich knowledge bank of work on self-directed learning

Education Studies in South Africa

The thesis of this volume is that the fields of scholarly enquiry of Education — internationally as well as in South Africa in particular — despite being fields of virile scholarly activity and output, are in need of a major overhaul. In this collected work this want in research is encapsulated in three words: relevance, rigour and restructuring. Research in the scholarly field(s) of Education is predominantly of small scale, non-accumulative, widely condemned as not of a comparable standard to research done in other social sciences, much less upon a par with research in the natural sciences, and lacking structure in the sense of being anchored in a firm theory. To make matters worse, scholars in Education internationally and in South Africa have till very recently eschewed discussion as to the packaging or structuring of knowledge produced by Education research. The book consists of chapters containing original research unpacking these desiderata from a variety of angles. The authors had them served by a variety of methods, from deductively argued position papers, to empirical research, the latter both quantitative (survey research) and qualitative

Self-Directed Learning for the 21st Century

This book is devoted to scholarship in the field of self-directed learning in the 21st century, with specific reference to higher education. The target audience of the book includes scholars in the field of self-directed learning and higher education. The book contributes to the discourse on the quality of education in the 21st century and adds to the body of scholarship in terms of self-directed learning, and specifically its role in higher education. Although all the chapters in the book directly address self-directed learning, the different foci and viewpoints raised make the book a rich knowledge bank of work on self-directed learning

Education Studies in South Africa

The thesis of this volume is that the fields of scholarly enquiry of Education — internationally as well as in South Africa in particular — despite being fields of virile scholarly activity and output, are in need of a major overhaul. In this collected work this want in research is encapsulated in three words: relevance, rigour and restructuring. Research in the scholarly field(s) of Education is predominantly of small scale, non-accumulative, widely condemned as not of a comparable standard to research done in other social sciences, much less upon a par with research in the natural sciences, and lacking structure in the sense of being anchored in a firm theory. To make matters worse, scholars in Education internationally and in South Africa have till very recently eschewed discussion as to the packaging or structuring of knowledge produced by Education research. The book consists of chapters containing original research unpacking these desiderata from a variety of angles. The authors had them served by a variety of methods, from deductively argued position papers, to empirical research, the latter both quantitative (survey research) and qualitative