Towards informed decision making: the importance of baseline academic literacy assessment in promoting responsible university access and support

Low levels of academic literacy in the language(s) of teaching and learning are regarded as one of the main reasons for a lack of academic success amongst undergraduate students. Indeed, at Unisa, current concerns about the predictive validity of the National Senior Certificate has motivated a need for a reliable and valid instrument, used under standardised conditions, to measure the academic literacy levels of first year students. The aims of this project were to gather diagnostic data and empirical evidence about the current levels of academic literacy of prospective students of Unisa, and to identify specific reasons for their poor performance during the NQF5 in-service training. A quantitative research approach in the form of an interrupted time-series design was followed. A simple random sample of students, who underwent in-service training in 2009, was drawn, and the Test of Academic Literacy Levels (TALL) was employed as measuring instrument. T-tests were performed on the data to compare the actual differences between the pre- and post-test scores and regression analyses were used to determine the correlation between the two tests. The article concludes with recommendations on how language tests, like TALL, can assist higher education to make more informed, and thus responsible, decisions about issues of access.Lae vlakke van akademiese geletterdheid in die onderrig- en leertaal, of -tale, word beskou as een van die hoofredes vir gebrek aan akademiese sukses by voorgraadse studente. By Unisa het die heersende kommer oor die voorspellingsgeldigheid van die Nasionale Senior Sertifikaat inderdaad gelei tot ’n behoefte aan ’n betroubare en geldige instrument wat in vasgestelde omstandighede gebruik kan word om akademiese geletterdheidsvlakke onder eerstejaarstudente te meet. Die oogmerke met hierdie projek was om diagnostiese data en empiriese getuienis oor die bestaande akademiese geletterdheidsvlakke onder voornemende studente aan Unisa te versamel, en om spesifieke redes vir hulle swak prestasie tydens NKR 5-indiensopleiding uit te wys. ’n Kwantitatiewe navorsingsbenadering in die vorm van ’n onderbroketydreeks-ontwerp is gebruik. ’n Eenvoudige ewekansige steekproef is geneem van studente wat in 2009 indiensopleiding ondergaan het, en die Toets van Akademiese Geletterdheidsvlakke (TAG) is as meetinstrument gebruik. T-toetse is op die data uitgevoer om die werklike verskille tussen die voortoets- en natoetstellings te vergelyk, terwyl regressieontledings uitgevoer is om die korrelasie tussen die twee toetse te bepaal. Die artikel sluit af met aanbevelings oor hoe taaltoetse soos TAG hoër onderwys van hulp kan wees om meer ingeligte – en gevolglik meer verantwoordelike – besluite oor toelatingskwessies te neem.Keywords: academic readiness, academic literacy, first-year, Test of Academic Literacy Levels (TALL), throughput rates assessment, under-preparedness, university accessThe article is in English

Print based learning might still be the answer to the digital divide

There seems to be a belief world wide, that by going online and including learning technologies in learning packages learner success and economies of scale will be ensured in open and distance learning (ODL). Recent literature suggests that ODL and online delivery are regarded as synonymous. While the introduction of technology in the delivery of ODL materials can be extremely useful, in most developing countries access to these technologies is either very expensive or non-existent. For this reason it seems as if the vision of distance education as a means to provide education to those who have been denied it is being undermined by the overriding enthusiasm with technology. The perception seems to be that if a student is computer literate he or she will be able access the world of information that the Internet and other electronic media can deliver and thus become educated. From an institutional point of view, there seems to be a perception that the high cost of distance education delivery will be drastically minimised once courses are delivered online. Unfortunately the costs of online delivery and the use of various media is often underestimated. Examples of this are the many failed e-learning initiatives that can be found on the InternetEssential to any ODL course, is for the designers and writers to find more innovative but authentic ways of implementing ODL instructional design good practice, no matter what method of is delivery chosen. The focus must be on providing students with the best learning experiences that the chosen medium and the relevant learning environments can offer. South African Journal of Higher Education Vol. 21 (6) 2008: pp. 694-70

Teaching research methodology in an online ODL envrionment:strategies followed and lessons learnt

This article provides an overview of an open distance learning (ODL) honours online research methodology module. The module was developed to address the requirements of the Department of Higher Education and Training (DoHET) for the new Programme Quality Mix (PQM) Honours degrees. This semester module involves 15 active weeks of learning, culminating in the submission of a Portfolio of Evidence summative assessment task. Specific features of the module are described to illustrate how teaching the content was approached in an ODL context. The aim of the approach followed was to enhance student motivation, while maintaining consistent progress in achieving the required learning outcomes throughout the semester. Initial results and student feedback are presented

Teaching research methodology in an online ODL environment: strategies followed and lessons learnt

This article provides an overview of an open distance learning (ODL) honours online research methodology module. The module was developed to address the requirements of the Department of Higher Education and Training (DoHET) for the new Programme Quality Mix (PQM) Honours degrees. This semester module involves 15 active weeks of learning, culminating in the submission of a Portfolio of Evidence summative assessment task. Specific features of the module are described to illustrate how teaching the content was approached in an ODL context. The aim of the approach followed was to enhance student motivation, while maintaining consistent progress in achieving the required learning outcomes throughout the semester. Initial results and student feedback are presented