Papers by Micheal M van Wyk
From the onset, blogs served as personal social networking tools. More recently, blogs have facil... more From the onset, blogs served as personal social networking tools. More recently, blogs have facilitated the formation of online social networked communities and have thus expanded to more extensive uses in education. This paper explore the use of blogs to foster e-learning communities in empowering and supporting Post Graduate Certificate of Education (PGCE) students, who were learning to teach Economics education in open distance learning (ODL) environments. A “blog ” for Economics education subject didactics students was created during their teaching practice period. Student teachers were encourage to post their views on the “Econblog ” as a communicative platform to critically reflect on their learning processes as well sharing teaching practice experiences to enhance professional growth. Data collected was qualitative in nature, consisting of student teachers ’ posting reflections and comments on the “blog”. Findings indicated that blog ” as an e-learning tool promoted good rela...
Australian Journal of Teacher Education, 2017
Mediterranean Journal of Social Sciences, 2014
Journal of Information Technology Education: Research
Aim/Purpose: This article aimed to explore student perceptions and experiences of migrating to a ... more Aim/Purpose: This article aimed to explore student perceptions and experiences of migrating to a fully online mode during COVID-19. Background: The COVID-19 pandemic changed the mode of delivery from face-to-face or blended learning to fully distance learning. The introduction of the Disaster Management Act (2020) in South Africa forced all institutions of learning to close their doors and move to teaching and learning online. We, therefore, needed to investigate whether the students at an Open Distance Learning (ODL) institution had access to the necessary devices and to see how they responded to fully online learning. Subsequently, this prompted a need to investigate student access to and competence in online learning in a fully ODL space during COVID-19. Since COVID-19 is a recent occurrence, little is known about how students experienced a (forced) move to fully online learning. In South Africa specifically, much less is known about fully online learning. Methodology: The struct...
International Journal of Educational Sciences, 2015
AbstractEconomics education focuses on the teaching and learning of Economics as a subject. It en... more AbstractEconomics education focuses on the teaching and learning of Economics as a subject. It encompasses the content to be taught (what), the methods of teaching (how), the evaluation of those methods (why), and information of general interest to teachers of Economics from elementary through to graduate school level. This paper investigates the effectiveness of the pedagogic method of the student teams’ achievement divisions (STAD) as a cooperative learning and teaching strategy as compared to the direct-instructional method in building the economic knowledge of grade 10 learners at secondary schools in the Free State. Data was collected from 229 grade 10 Economics learners and eight teachers at secondary schools in the Free State. Teachers used both STAD and direct instruction by teaching the topic, ‘Contemporary Economics Issues’, from the Economics curriculum of the Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statement (CAPS). Learners completed a forty-response-item multiple-choice quest...
Mediterranean Journal of Social Sciences, 2014
South Africa is going through several education reforms in order to prepare more learners for cha... more South Africa is going through several education reforms in order to prepare more learners for challenges and success in the 21st century and beyond. A key to the success of the reforms is the quality of teachers and their teaching methods. A profound change in teacher practices is called for, which would entail theestablishment of sustainable enabling teachingand learning environments and conditions which promote fundamental and critical engagement ina transformative education system. In view of the latter, the primary objective of this paper is to investigate economics teachers' perceptions of the Training-of-Teachers initiative (ToT) as a professional development strategy in Free State secondary schools. To achieve this objective, the following research questions are formulated: What is economics education and why is it important to promote this phenomenon in South African schools? and What constitutes the Training-of-Teacherss project as ptofessional development strategy Free State secondary schools? An exploratory, descriptive, contextual quantitative research approach was selected. A pretestposttest design was constructed, making use of EMT data collection instrument. A sample of two hundred and sixty seven economics teachers (n=267) were selected to participate in the research study. The results of this study indicate that there were significant differences between the female group as compared to the male group as regards the pretest-posttest scores. Teachers exposed to the ToT initiative performed better in economic literacy, positive attitude toward economics and experienced an increase in understanding economics as a discipline. Finally, the ToT initiative impacted significantly on teachers' learning in economics education.
Digital Technologies and Instructional Design for Personalized Learning, 2018
The current debate at colleges of teacher education about introducing and redesigning learning pr... more The current debate at colleges of teacher education about introducing and redesigning learning programmes by including flipped classroom pedagogy emerged as a technology-integrated teaching strategy as a means to support students in an open distance learning approach. The flipped classroom pedagogy (FCP) is a student centeredness teaching strategy that the lecturer and student teachers interact through in-class or out-of-class activities. This chapter explores to what extent does a Flipped Classroom Pedagogy enhances student teachers' learning as compares to Direct Instruction method when learning to teach Economics at an open distance learning university. The study adopted quasi-experimental design, encompasses a pre-test, post-test and Flipped Classroom Pedagogy Questionnaire. A purposive sampling of Post Graduate Certificate of Education (PGCE) and Batchelor of Education (BEd: Senior and Further Education and Training phase) student teachers (n=371) was selected. Results show...
This chapter reported student teachers' experiences of using pedagogical support strategies i... more This chapter reported student teachers' experiences of using pedagogical support strategies in the Teaching Methodology of Economics course at an open distance learning university. An exploratory mixed methods design and purposive sampling of Bachelor of Education and Postgraduate Certificate in Education students were selected. An online survey and e-digital support tools were used. Results showed that students viewed academic student support as an important part for their success ranging from availability, promptness, approachability, sympathy, clear instructions for the module, and constructive feedback in the course. Several challenges ranging from lacking necessary digital literacy skills to frequent interruption of connectivity of e-digital support tools emerged. Only a small sample was selected for this study, but further research might compare other modules within the postgraduate and undergraduate qualifications respectively, which may yield different results.
Problem-based learning (PBL) is an instructional learner-centred approach that has initially been... more Problem-based learning (PBL) is an instructional learner-centred approach that has initially been implemented as an innovative teaching and learning strategy to achieve specific objectives. This theoretical article, is a desktop literature review of scholarly work on PBL and it, therefore, proposes a revised design-based research (DBR) framework for implementing PBL in an engineering course with the aim to enhance the self-directed learning (SDL) of students. A synthesised generic design-based research (DBR) model of Van Wyk and De Villiers was adapted with the aim to integrate PBL as an appropriate choice for this research to propose a DBR framework. The motivation for developing the PBL approach for SDL as a performance achievement initiative indicates several educational benefits of the study. This adapted framework is problem-driven, since it provides for deliverables as real-life artefacts and generates dual outcomes; namely, real-world solutions and theoretical understanding t...
South African Journal of African Languages, 2018
There is overwhelming evidence the world over on the pedagogical benefits of learning in one'... more There is overwhelming evidence the world over on the pedagogical benefits of learning in one's mother language. The Zimbabwean language-in-education policy enshrined in the 1987 Education Act (amended in 2006) allows mother-tongue use up to Grade 7. Contrary to the stated policy, primary school teachers continue to use English as the medium of instruction. The study, therefore, explored the experiences of fifteen rural primary school teachers, three school heads and two district school inspectors on factors that stifle effective implementation of the policy in Masvingo District of Zimbabwe. The postcolonial theory paradigm guided the study. The qualitative case study was employed where semi-structured questionnaires, focus group discussions and individual interviews were used to collect data from the purposefully selected participants. Findings indicated that one of the major barriers was state-related, as all the study participants were ignorant about the stipulations of the 20...
Journal of Education, 2019
In this article, I investigate the use of pedagogical strategies employed to support students'... more In this article, I investigate the use of pedagogical strategies employed to support students' learning in an online teaching methodology of economics course. To this end, I conducted a systematic review of the extant literature on student support in an open distance learning context. Furthermore, I employed a pragmatic approach, along with an explanatory mixed methods design to conduct the research. I collected data via an online questionnaire, and from e-Discussion forum entries and blog postings. Convenient and purposive sampling was done with postgraduate students (n = 179) in economics education, after which the respondents voluntarily completed an online survey. The findings and practical implications of the study, on which this article is based, have been formulated to advance online pedagogical strategies. The aim is to support students' learning, and to promote essential competencies as necessary outcomes to master the content of the course in the College of Educati...
Economics education focuses on the teaching and learning of Economics as a subject. It encompasse... more Economics education focuses on the teaching and learning of Economics as a subject. It encompasses the content to be taught (what), the methods of teaching (how), the evaluation of those methods (why), and information of general interest to teachers of Economics from elementary through to graduate school level. This paper investigates the effectiveness of the pedagogic method of the student teams' achievement divisions (STAD) as a cooperative learning and teaching strategy as compared to the direct-instructional method in building the economic knowledge of grade 10 learners at secondary schools in the Free State. Data was collected from 229 grade 10 Economics learners and eight teachers at secondary schools in the Free State. Teachers used both STAD and direct instruction by teaching the topic, 'Contemporary Economics Issues', from the Economics curriculum of the Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statement (CAPS). Learners completed a forty-response-item multiple-choice q...
Perspectives on Multigrade Teaching
International Journal of Web-Based Learning and Teaching Technologies
This phenomenological exploratory multiple-case study design was conducted at an open distance e-... more This phenomenological exploratory multiple-case study design was conducted at an open distance e-learning university and a traditional contact residential university and it was found that the participants viewed video conferencing under the COVID-19 lockdown period as an exhausting experience. A second major finding revealed that the participants were empowered with digital literacy skills to use video conferencing effectively. The current findings add to a growing body of literature on video conferencing with a focus on Zoom fatigue. Further research might explore the lived zoom experiences of administrators, students and a larger group of faculties over a longer period. The study findings must be considered when planning and implementing video conferencing for academics and students in open distance e-learning contexts. This study showed that video conferencing is one tool in the emergence of a digital zoom revolution that has radically changed the workspace. The evidence from thi...
Handbook of Research on Digital Learning
Web 2.0 technologies and electronic teaching aids can be used to greatly advance the transmission... more Web 2.0 technologies and electronic teaching aids can be used to greatly advance the transmission of knowledge in the school setting. However, the investigation at hand attempted to go a step further by showing the potential benefits of incorporating the Grade 12 Business Studies curriculum into a Facebook page as a digital pedagogical tool to enhance learners' subject knowledge competence and academic performance. An exploratory mixed method research design was adopted. The data was collected using a specifically created Facebook page and an online open-ended questionnaire. Findings revealed the success of the intervention as a supportive teaching strategy and it is suggested that Business Studies teachers should be empowered through receiving training on the use of social media tools in their occupation. Further research is needed across other grade levels or at the same grade level but at other schools to gain an enhanced understanding of learners' responses to Facebook a...
Technology-Supported Teaching and Research Methods for Educators
This chapter explores student teachers' performance and perceptions of a flipped classroom pe... more This chapter explores student teachers' performance and perceptions of a flipped classroom pedagogy vs. a lecture method in a teacher education course at an open distance learning university. The study used an explanatory mixed methods design, employed a pre-test and post-test online survey, and economics blog postings to collect data for the study. Only Post Graduate Certificate of Education (PGCE) and Bachelor of Education (BEd: senior and further education and training phase) student teachers (n=371) were purposively selected. It is reported that the flipped classroom pedagogy group outperformed the lecture group in the final examination scores. Furthermore, the flipped classroom pedagogy encouraged an engaging atmosphere and accelerates a collaborative interactive synergy among student teachers. Finally, the findings revealed that the role of the teacher in the flipped classroom pedagogy design is crucial, promoting optimal learning experiences for student teachers in the co...
Advances in Educational Marketing, Administration, and Leadership
The purpose of this chapter is to explore deputy principals' and heads of departments' li... more The purpose of this chapter is to explore deputy principals' and heads of departments' lived experiences as curriculum and instructional leaders in curriculum delivery in assessment practices at the school level. This study's exploratory qualitative approach had founded CAPS and NPA policies, direct DPs, and HoDs to execute their responsibilities by providing support, monitoring, moderating, and instructional leadership to SMT and subject teachers. It was found that teachers must set assessment tasks to enhance learners' higher-order thinking skills and critical thinking skills, which is a need for the 21st century.
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Papers by Micheal M van Wyk