Browsing by Author "Kruger, Catharina Elizabeth"
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- ItemThe application of a whole brain approach to learning activity design in a Bachelor of Commerce degree(Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2018-03) Kruger, Catharina Elizabeth; Frick, Beatrice Liezel; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Education. Dept. of Curriculum Studies.ENGLISH SUMMARY: In South Africa, student achievement is paramount in maintaining standards set by institutions for higher education qualifications within higher education. Moreover, student achievement is emphasised. Higher education institutions thus launch initiatives that may positively influence learning and achievement. Students’ potential for achievement could potentially be negatively influenced due to a lack of mental dexterity. A whole-brain teaching and learning approach is one way of developing mental dexterity. Therefore, this study set out to determine how, if at all, the whole-brain teaching and learning approach was applied to the design of learning activities within the main discipline of Business Administration and Management (General) within the Bachelor of Commerce (BCom) degree offered by a private higher education institution (PHEI) in South Africa. Within the interpretivist paradigm, this study provided an insider perspective on the approach to learning-activity design through a case-study methodology, by means of document analysis of selected modules within the Business Administration and Management (General) discipline associated with the Bachelor of Commerce degree, and the interpretation of purposively chosen participants’ interviews and class observations. The data sets included the online learning material of the selected modules, digitally voice-recorded semi-structured interviews, and observations of class lectures, transcribed and interpreted by means of a conceptual framework. The conceptual framework, based on the delineated related literature illuminated the themes that allowed for the categorisation thereof using the Herrmann Whole Brain Teaching and Learning Model and the Herrmann Brain Dominance Instrument as organising tools. The data demonstrated that teaching and learning elements within the online learning material and learning activities, and the theories of learning participants subscribe to, could be linked to the Herrmann Whole Brain Teaching and Learning Model. The results showed progress towards an application of whole-brain teaching and learning; however, these were not conclusive. The small sample size and disciplinary delimitations in this study precludes any claim that the conclusions refer to all learning activities designed for all modules offered at the PHEI. Regarding the broader significance of this case study, there is still a great deal to be done to ensure the application of a whole-brain teaching and learning approach to learning activity design in the Bachelor of Commerce degree. This study therefore only serves as a point of departure in addressing the learning activity design of modules within the Bachelor of Commerce degree providing the PHEI with information that could inform future interventions that aim to address concerns around student achievement.