The implementation of technology-supported cooperative learning to enhance grade 8 Mathematics learners’self-directed learning

PhD (Mathematics Education), North-West University, Potchefstroom CampusIn the current knowledge- and information-driven era, it is critical that learners develop self-directed learning (SDL) abilities at the classroom level. Learners should be exposed to teaching and learning strategies that enhance SDL. This research focused on the use of technology-supported cooperative learning (TSCL) to improve the SDL of Grade 8 Mathematics learners. To fulfil the research purpose of this study, a mixed-methods methodology with a sequential explanatory design was adopted. This study used a design-based research approach (DBR), and the process was iterative, with two iterative cycles of TSCL developed. A purposive sample of n=427 Grade 8 Mathematics learners from the 10 secondary schools in the Royal Bafokeng nation (RBN) in Rustenburg were chosen to participate in the first iterative intervention cycle of the study, and n=522 were chosen to participate in the second iterative intervention cycle. The study found that the TSCL intervention improved Grade 8 learners’ SDL abilities as indicated by the self-directed learning instrument (SDLI). The results also show that after the TSCL intervention, the mean scores for most SDL domains, namely the learning motivation domain, the planning and implementing domain, and the interpersonal communication domain, increased statistically significantly, with a moderate practical significance increase in both iterative intervention cycles. The implementation of TSCL in the classroom provided an atmosphere in which learners could connect with their peers as a source of knowledge, improve communication and social skills, learn how to find relevant resources, and take ownership of their own learning process. The research findings contributed to the body of knowledge on cooperative learning (CL) as a learning approach for promoting SDL.Doctora

Self-directed learning research and its impact on educational practice

This scholarly book is the third volume in an NWU book series on self-directed learning and is devoted to self-directed learning research and its impact on educational practice. The importance of self-directed learning for learners in the 21st century to equip themselves with the necessary skills to take responsibility for their own learning for life cannot be over emphasised. The target audience does not only consist of scholars in the field of self-directed learning in Higher Education and the Schooling sector but includes all scholars in the field of teaching and learning in all education and training sectors. The book contributes to the discourse on creating dispositions towards self-directed learning among all learners and adds to the latest body of scholarship in terms of self-directed learning. Although from different perspectives, all chapters in the book are closely linked together around self-directed learning as a central theme, following on the work done in Volume 1 of this series (Self-Directed Learning for the 21st Century: Implications for Higher Education) to form a rich knowledge bank of work on self-directed learning