AOSIS Virtual book Launch of Self-Directed Learning in the era of the COVID-19 pandemic
AOSIS Scholarly Books invites you to the virtual book launch where the upcoming release Self-Directed Learning in the era of the COVID-19 pandemic: Research on the affordances of online virtual excursions will be discussed by editors: Josef de Beer, Neal Petersen, Elsa Mentz & Robert J. Balfour.
Virtual book launch of Self-Directed Learning in the era of the COVID-19 pandemic details:
- 4 Nov 2022
- 08:30 – 08:40 AM SAST
Learn more about the book:
This book disseminates original research on the affordances of virtual online excursions for first-year university students to enhance self-directed learning, as well as their academic integration into the higher education institution. The Covid-19 pandemic necessitated rethinking teaching and learning, and adapting approaches for an online environment. This design-based, mixed methods research focuses on how virtual online excursions could enhance self-directed learning in first-year students, in the faculties of Education, Law and Health Sciences, at the North-West University. The online virtual excursions utilized problem-based, cooperative learning principles, and students engaged with ill-structured problems in contexts relevant to their selected professions.
Quantitative data includes an analysis of student responses to the Self-Directed Learning Instrument of Cheng et al. (2010), and online opinion polls. Qualitative data were collected through open-ended questionnaires, focus group interviews, and an analysis of artefacts (e.g., students’ e-posters). In some of the chapters, Cultural-Historical Activity Theory is used as a research lens, to provide a “thick description” of the findings. Findings show a statistically significant difference in terms of self-directed learning after student engagement in the virtual online excursions. This book provides the reader insights into the affordances of virtual online excursions at HEI’s.
Edited by:
- Josef de Beer, North-West University, South Africa
- Neal Petersen, North-West University, South Africa
- Elsa Mentz, North-West University, South Africa
- Robert J. Balfour, North-West University, South Africa
Read the full synopsis.
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