Enhancing Student Learning and SuccessJogymol Alex, Ian Couper, Mic Halse, Makondelele Makatu &

Joyce SibekoWalter Sisulu, Stellenbosch and Rhodes Universities, Universities of Venda and

Johannesburg

Advisor: Clever Ndebele

Contact emails: jalex@wsu.ac.za; icouper@sun.ac.za;

m.halse@ru.ac.za; makondelele.makatu@univen.ac.za;

jsibeko@uj.ac.za

2. Methods and Process The study used mixed methods, both qualitative and quantitative, with acommon focus on factors to improve student learning. The data gathering wasconducted by using various instruments namely structured interviews, focusgroups, observations, formal assessment instruments (psychometric andperformance testing), reflective journals, secondary data collected via students’records, and literature analysis. As a group we shared and analysed results onthe basis of the theoretical framework. Common findings were discussed andagreed upon.

Parallel Activities in Computer Science indicated a significant difference in thescores for students participating in the program indicating correlation betweenparticipation in the workshops and change in learning style. Although correlationdoes not equal causation it seems likely they that the programme contributedtowards developing analytical, mathematical-logical, problem-solving andmetacognitive skills as hoped.Short Courses to address Content Gaps in Mathematics Education showed thatprospective teachers had only limited Subject Content Knowledge (SCK) on thetopics that they were meant to teach in the schools (average SCK test percentagewas only 27%). The majority were dissatisfied with the course modules andsupport they got during School Based Experience.

4. Conclusion A range of interventions across different degree programmes were found to have a positive impact on student learning and success.

Figure 2. Methodological process followed

1. IntroductionThe aim of this study was to investigate innovative educational interventions toenhance student learning and success using the lens of transformative learning.The interventions are described in Figure 1 below. Success relates to theoutcomes when the learning goal/s is/are achieved, is specific and measurable.

Mezirow’s Transformative learning theory was chosen as the theoreticalframework for the group project. “Transformative learning attempts to explainhow our expectations, framed within cultural assumptions and presuppositions,directly influence the meaning we derive from our experiences” (Taylor, 1998,p.6). “Learning is understood as the process of using a prior interpretation toconstrue a new or revised interpretation of the meaning of one’s experience inorder to guide future action” (Mezirow, 1996, p. 162).

3. Outcomes – Academic Performance Self Directed Learning in HPE has been used to promote lifelong learning, developcritical thinking, and empower and motivate learners. It can improve academicperformance and professional competence, as well as self-motivation and efficacy;it has the potential to be transformative. The link to lifelong learning wasassumed, without evidence being presented for this connection.In Problem Based Learning, peer evaluation showed the potential to provideconstructive feedback, promote self-confidence, teamwork and collaborativelearning, support positive attitudes towards learning, interpersonal skills andemotional development. It helps students identify their strengths andweaknesses, improves performance and promotes in-depth self-study.Weaknesses include some students doing it only for compliance sake, that if peerevaluation feedback is not positively received it can damage the self-esteem of therecipient, and division into like-minded groups of students.In Community Service Learning research, results indicated high academicperformance and personal growth. Student success rates increased by 40% sinceits implementation. Student retention in the programme increased by 20%. Morethan 50% of the students graduated within 3 years of enrollment compared to lessthan 20% in 2008-2013 when service learning had not yet been implemented.

TEACHING ADVANCEMENT AT UNIVERSITY (TAU) 2015/2016

References • Avdal EÜ. (2013). The effect of self-directed learning abilities of student nurses on success in Turkey. Nurse

Education Today. 33(8):838-41.

• Freire, P. (1970). Pedagogy of the oppressed. New York: Herter and Herter.

• Habermas, J. (1971). Knowledge of human interests. Boston: Beacon.

• Knowles MS. (1975). Self-Directed Learning: A Guide for Learners and Teacher. New York: Cambridge

Book.

• Mezirow, J. (1991). Transformative dimensions of adult learning. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

• Mezirow, J. (2003). Transformative learning as discourse. Journal of Transformative Education, 1, 58–63.

• Mezirow, J. (1996). Contemporary paradigms of learning. Adult Education Quarterly, 46(3), 158-172.

• Scott, SM. (1998). Transformative learning: individual growth and development through critical reflection.

In Scott, S., Spencer, B., & Thomas, A., (Eds.). Learning for life. Canadian readings in adult education (pp.

178-187). Toronto, Canada: Thompson Educational Publishing.

• Tharp, DS. (2012). A proposed workshop curriculum for students to responsibly engage cultural conflict in

community-based service learning. Journal of Transformative Education, 10, 3, 177-194.

• Taylor, EW. (1998). The Theory and Practice of Transformative Learning: A Critical Review. Information

Series No. 374. Columbus, OH: ERIC Clearinghouse on Adult, Career, and Vocational Education. Available

at https://archive.org/stream/ERIC_ED423422/ERIC_ED423422_djvu.txt

Self-directed learning (SDL) isintended to assist students togo beyond acquiringknowledge to make meaningfor themselves, which meansmaking sense of their ownexperiences through a processof identifying their ownlearning needs arising fromthese experiences,formulating goals andevaluating their own learningoutcomes (Knowles, 1975). Ina context of healthprofessions education (HPE), itis the ability to search for newinformation, to evaluate thiscritically and to use it in theclinical decision-makingprocess (Avdal, 2013). SDLaims to transform studentsinto lifelong learners.

It is understood that whenstudents are introduced intoProblem Based Learning (PBL),a form of SDL, they areequipped with principles ofthe learning approach andthey in turn have particularexpectations throughout theirlearning process. Theseexpectations are framedwithin PBL’s culturalassumptions; one suchexpectation is that peerevaluation should form part oftheir learning, performanceand development. Studentexpectations influence themeaning that they derive fromtheir learning experiences, inparticular with peerevaluation.

Community Service Learning(CSL) in entrepreneurship isbased on the understandingthat CSL should create“disorientating dilemmas” forstudents, which is the firststage in transformativelearning. CSL also assists theprocess of “conscientization,which is a constant movementbetween the action and thereflection on the action”(Scott, 1998, p.185).

Parallel activities in computerscience focus on cognitive andmetacognitive skills ratherthan on content, in order toassess whether this couldsupport students’ academicsuccess. This involves offeringnew “frames of reference”(Mezirow, 1991, p. 167)through which students canlearn, by focusing onprocesses that transform waysof thinking or “habits of mind”(Mezirow, 2003, p. 58).Transformative learningprocesses such as “examining,questioning, and revisingone’s own perspective”(Tharp, 2012, p. 180) arepracticed through parallellearning processes utilisinglogic and computationalthinking games.

Short courses to addresscontent gaps in MathematicsEducation raises the questionof how to transform thinkingwhen the basic content is notin place. While the focus is oninstrumental learning, asdescribed by Habermas(1971), the question iswhether maths educators canbe “emancipated” (Freire,1970) and thus undergotransformation of theirmeaning schemes, which isthe “specific knowledge,beliefs, value judgments, andfeelings that constituteinterpretations of experience”(Mezirow 1991, p. 6). Or canthe theory of transformativelearning change how coursesare presented?

5. What was learntA variety of strategies can be successful in the achievement of transformativelearning, depending on what is appropriate for the context and problem. Forexample: careful selection of course modules, effective teaching measures andchanges in the teacher training curriculum of the university can enhance thepreparation of prospective teachers; Computational Thinking and Puzzle Basedlearning activities can be used to engage students’ cognitive and metacognitiveabilities independent of context, to build mathematical-logical, and analyticalskills; Service Learning interventions can successfully address the problems of at-risk students and poor throughput; peer evaluation promotes in-depth self-directed learning for students’ learning development and success; SDL in specificclinical contexts where health professions education occurs, includingdecentralised training sites, may improve clinical competence.

Common theoretical framework

Data gathering by various methods

Shared analysis

Common findings

EFFECTIVE INTERVENTIONS

FOR TRANSFORMATIVE

LEARNING

Self-Directed Learning

Peer evaluation

Short courses to address

content gaps

Computational thinking and puzzle-based

activities

Community Service

Learning

Figure 1. Theoretical basis for Learning Enhancement Interventions

Figure 3. Interventions used