DECLARATION Student number: 658-082-3 I declare that A CONSTRUCTIVIST APPROACH IN INSTRUCTIONAL DESIGN AND ASSESSMENT PRACTICE hereby submitted for the degree Doctor of Education at the University of South Africa is my own work and that all the sources that I have used or quoted have been indicated and acknowledged by means of complete references. ___________________ __________________ Signature Date (Mrs C Booyse) i As early as the 1980s, Carl Rogers reflected on effective learning which had an impact on my thinking. Rogers: ―I want to talk about learning. But not the lifeless, sterile, futile, quickly forgotten stuff that is crammed into the mind of the poor helpless individual tied into his seat by ironclad bonds of conformity! I am talking about LEARNING - the insatiable curiosity that drives the adolescent boy to absorb everything he can see or hear or read about gasoline engines in order to improve the efficiency and speed of his ―cruiser‖. I am talking about the student who says, ―I am discovering, drawing in from the outside, and making that which is drawn in a real part of me.‖ I am talking about any learning in which the experience of the learner progresses along this line: ―No, no, that's not what I want‖; ―Wait! This is closer to what I am interested in, what I need‖; ―Ah, here it is! Now I'm grasping and comprehending what I need and what I want to know!‖ (Carl Rogers 1983: 18-19) I dedicate the work to all Acknowledgement: The illustration is of a sculpture by educators with a passion for Desiree Hope teaching and the will to make a difference in every learner’s life. ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Above all, I glorify the Name of God Almighty. His grace strengthened and sustained me through the research done and every word written. Hallowed be Thy Name. I would like to acknowledge and thank the following people whose assistance made this study possible: My supervisor, Prof CA Jansen, for being my research mentor. I appreciate your endless and sensitive encouragement, the belief in my abilities, the positive attitude, perseverance and guidance during the study. My husband, Gerhard Booyse: I appreciate you as a God-given to me, your intense patience, care and commitment are beyond words. Thank you for your love, support and fine humour to help me conquer the mountain. My parents Hennie, Ann Janse van Rensburg and Alla Booyse: Thank you for prayers, thoughts, words of courage and motivational efforts – all are much appreciated. My family and friends: Thank you for so many times standing back and understanding my non-availability. Prof Mary Metcalfe for the interest shown in the study and the granting of permission to access and use information and data collected at Wits School of Education (WSoE). The 2008 Advanced Certificate in Education (ACE) students at the University of the Witwatersrand who participated in the study, for their time, contributions and positive attitude at all stages of the investigation. The ACE tutors, colleagues and friends who dedicated time and effort to be involved in the investigation. Colleagues, your passion and dedication encouraged many teachers in practice. Umalusi (Council for Quality Assurance in General and Further Education and Training): Appreciation to the Executive and Senior Management for the sponsorship to the International Association for Educational Assessment (IAEA) 2010-conference on assessment and the research leave to pursue with the data interpretation and capturing. The University of South Africa for the financial assistance in the form of a study grant in the first year of study. Dr Charl Schutte for the linguistic guidance and precise editing of the thesis. iii KEY CONCEPTS Learning Learning theory Approach to learning Mediated learning Constructivism Instructional design Teaching strategy Learner-centredness Assessment Purposes of assessment Taxonomy Motivation Metacognitive learning and teaching iv SUMMARY In a globally interdependent world, teachers are charged with preparing learners for a complex, interactive world. This educational challenge requires teachers to develop learners with critical, creative and conceptual minds, while still teaching the required content. Therefore developing the individual learner‘s ability to construct personalised meaning for new concepts is a prerequisite for the classroom. So is the development of the learner‘s ability to solve increasingly complex problems in the learning area as well as in daily life. This revivifies the question of how to plan, structure and assess in order to accommodate these requirements while enhancing learner abilities and achievement. Through this study the researcher aimed to find ways to structure and to transfer knowledge in order to develop what Anderson and Krathwohl (2001: 42) call ―deeper understanding‖ and what Erickson (2007: 38) explains as shaping a ―conceptual mind‖. Therefore the main aim of this study was to explore and find ways how the application of a constructivist approach in instructional design and assessment practice can result in more effective teaching, learning and assessment. The research showed that knowledge of theoretical frameworks to base instructional design and assessment practice on will enhance planning, choices of teaching strategies and the setting of assessment tasks. As a result of the research findings, the researcher proposes a model (Appendix H) illustrating a teaching-learning situation where the learner can learn to learn how to learn and has the capability of modifying the underlying structure of his or her cognition. In such a conducive teaching, learning and assessment process, language and prior knowledge prove to be pivotal to enable a learner to broaden his or her understanding within diverse contexts. This implies that both learner and teacher need to be metacognitively involved when teaching and assessment are planned. Learners need to become as aware of the ―how‖ of their learning as they are of the ―what‖ to gradually develop a greater understanding of how best to learn. Furthermore, it means that the teacher‘s involvement does not end at teaching, but stretches further into a mediated assessment process. v TABLE OF CONTENTS DECLARATION ................................................................................................................................... I ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS .............................................................................................................. III KEY CONCEPTS .............................................................................................................................. IV SUMMARY .......................................................................................................................................... V LIST OF TABLES ........................................................................................................................... XII LIST OF DIAGRAMS ..................................................................................................................... XII LIST OF FIGURES ........................................................................................................................ XIII LIST OF APPENDICES ................................................................................................................. XIV 1. CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTORY ORIENTATION AND STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM ....................................................................................................................................... 1 1.1 BACKGROUND TO THE RESEARCH ............................................................................. 1 1.2 RATIONALE FOR STUDY ................................................................................................. 4 1.3 STATEMENT OF THE RESEARCH PROBLEM ............................................................ 6 1.4 AIMS OF THE RESEARCH ................................................................................................ 7 1.5 EXPLANATION OF RELEVANT CONCEPTS ................................................................ 8 1.5.1 Learning ......................................................................................................................... 9 1.5.2 An approach to learning ............................................................................................. 10 1.5.3 A constructivist approach to learning ....................................................................... 10 1.5.4 Learner-centredness ................................................................................................... 12 1.5.5 Teaching ....................................................................................................................... 12 1.5.6 Teaching strategy ........................................................................................................ 13 1.5.7 Instructional design .................................................................................................... 14 1.5.8 Assessment practice .................................................................................................... 15 1.5.9 Purpose of assessment ................................................................................................. 15 1.5.10 Taxonomy .................................................................................................................... 16 1.5.11 Attitude and motivation ............................................................................................. 16 1.6 RESEARCH DESIGN ........................................................................................................