Doctoral Degrees (Educational Psychology)

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Browsing Doctoral Degrees (Educational Psychology) by Author "Davidse, Zenobia Alethea Angelica"

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    Learning by design : enhancing the digital literacy of adult learners in a blended learning environment
    (Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2021-03) Davidse, Zenobia Alethea Angelica; Fourie-Malherbe, Magda; Van der Merwe, Antoinette; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Education. Educational Psychology.
    ENGLISH SUMMARY : The higher education landscape is changing, influenced by phenomena like globalization, democratization, massification and emerging technologies. The reality higher education institutions (HEIs) are facing is an increase of access for a broader segment of the population from diverse socio-economic, cultural and educational backgrounds demanding flexible programme offerings to cater for their diverse needs. Among the larger student population, adult learners are becoming increasingly prominent. Adult learners enter or re-enter HE for a variety of reasons: they must be upskilled in terms of qualifications required for the workplace, in terms of skills to actively contribute and participate in the knowledge economy, or in terms of personal development. The development and use of emerging technologies enable flexible delivery modes. Many universities are introducing hybrid learning strategies that combine the use of technology and face-to-face interaction. The readiness of adult learners to adapt to and flourish in a hybrid learning environment was the challenge investigated in this study to improve the digital literacy of adult learners with limited prior exposure to ICT. In this study the collaborative nature of educational design research (EDR) assisted in developing deeper understanding, over a period of two years, of the challenges adult learners face with the use of technology in teaching and learning. EDR is conducted in the messiness of a real-world setting and involves several complex variables. In order to create a controlled setting for the study, a programme was purposively selected that had adopted a combination of block contact and online learning, and catered for a student population that consisted mostly of adult learners and was diversified in terms of their experience in the use of technology in learning and teaching. The nature of EDR situated this study within a pragmatic paradigm, using qualitative and quantitative methods for the data generation. EDR was used as an approach to investigate, design, implement and integrate a technology-based intervention to improve the digital literacy of adult learners with the Integrative Learning Design Framework (ILDF) as the guiding framework. The integrative, systematic process of ILDF put emphasis on the context and activity of design. The significance of ILDF is the learning that occurs because of the data generated during each phase, as the context of the environment is better understood, applied and refined during these cycles. The repetition of the cycles of operation in the various phases not only assists in the improvement of the design of the intervention, but also contributes to a deeper understanding of all the variables that influence the educational practices. ILDF draws from instructional design traditions, product design, usage-centered design and diffusion of innovation as an integrated systematic process. Instructional design and usage-centered design was of particular interest for the situated context of the study because of the emerging technology trends in HE and the needs of adult learners. This study has demonstrated that challenges in technology-enhanced programme planning and teaching and learning can be viewed through different lenses. The lens of the programme coordinator drew attention to the shortcomings of adult learners with regard to the use of technology in a blended learning environment. However, from the perspective of the adult learners, it became clear that their expectations of expanded access to learning opportunities within HE were not accommodated in the mode of delivery, and technology in the learning environment did not provide for the needs of a diverse student population. This was addressed by the designed intervention.