Pieter Hertzog Du Toit

Action research-driven professional development : developing transformational health care managers and creating learning organisations

The Foundation for Professional Development offers, inter alia, an advanced management development programme for health care managers in the public and private sector, sponsored by the USAID and co-certified by Yale University in the USA. The focus is on professional development and transformational leadership. Authentic learning opportunities are created that focus on deep learning in the work context. Portfolio assessment is used. A developmental portfolio is compiled by the health care managers enrolled in the programme. The developmental process is underpinned by the principles of action research. Managers are self-empowered to take responsibility for investigating the transformation of their management practice as a measure of self-driven quality assurance. In most cases the action research process becomes educational to both the manager and his/her colleagues participating in the project. In this way a culture of professional organisational learning is created and maintained. This paper reports a number of case studies of health care managers who conducted action research in an array of health-related contexts, covering health science fields such as HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and capacity building programmes to create learning organisations and community engagement projects. The lessons learnt by the managers regarding the innovative ideas they experimented with in their specific contexts can be transferred to other managers and action research scholars. All these case studies provide evidence of knowledge being created in authentic contexts. These case studies are reported as scholarly endeavour to showcase the empowering and emancipating nature of action research and the contribution it makes to the existing body of knowledge in different fields in which health care managers have to operate. Keywords: Health care managers, learning organisation, action research, professional portfolios, quality assurance.

The clinical associate curriculum - the learning theory underpinning the BCMP programme at the University of Pretoria

The Bachelor of Clinical Medical Practice (BCMP) is a new degree at the University of Pretoria (UP), designed to create a new category of mid-level medical workers, namely clinical associates. UP produced its first 44 graduates in 2011. The BCMP created the opportunity to innovate learning and teaching through designing, monitoring and evaluating the transformation of the curriculum as action research. Drawing on the theories and practices of authentic learning, self-directed learning, whole-brain learning and collaborative learning, the curriculum has been transformed. The potential of this curriculum extends beyond the formal education part of the programme ‒ into clinical associate practice, healthcare practice and, potentially, general medical and healthcare education.

A mental model for successful inter-disciplinary collaboration in curriculum innovation for information literacy

The University of Pretoria introduced a compulsory Information Literacy module to address the need for delivering motivated knowledgeable employees that embrace information and have the skills to find, select and use relevant information accurately, efficiently and effectively in an explosive information age. Low class attendance, an indication of unmotivated students, as well as the limited scholarly application of information literacy skills in consecutive academic years of study have been identified as possible barriers to the application of the desired skills. A collaborative action research project based on Whole Brain principles was introduced to motivate learners through innovative learning material in the module. A deeper understanding of the role of thinking preferences and thinking avoidances is essential in selecting a team that is responsible for the planning, design, development and delivery of learning opportunities and material. This article discusses the Whole Brain Model® as a mental model that underpins the successful collaboration of multidisciplinary teams and enhances innovative curriculum design that addresses alternative approaches to the teaching of Information Literacy.

Constructing a Comprehensive Learning Style Flexibility Model for the Innovation of an Information Literacy Module

The Department of Information Science in the Faculty of Engineering, Built Environment and Information Technology at the University of Pretoria is responsible for offering a semester module on Information Literacy to all first-year students across all faculties. The Department has embarked on a process of curriculum innovation of the module. For this purpose the learning style theory of Herrmann (1995) and related principles are implemented. At the same time we have expanded the learning style model, referred to as the Whole Brain learning model that Herrmann has developed. We constructed a comprehensive learning style flexibility model or comprehensive whole brain model based on our scholarly engaging with the application of the related principles in numerous contexts. These contexts include our own teaching practices and research and supervision of postgraduate students. The Information Literacy module serves as an exemplar of curriculum innovation based on the concept of learning style flexibility or whole brain learning as it is reflected in our comprehensive model. The model answers the question of how a comprehensive teaching and learning model can be constructed to serve as a guideline for facilitating learning in a learning style flexible/whole brain fashion, accommodating differences in terms of learning preferences and developing students’ and lecturers’ full potential? The differences in terms of learning preferences referred to in the question were scientifically determined by means of the Herrmann Brain Dominance Instrument (HBDI) (Herrmann 1995). However, the model was not constructed based on this quantitative data only. Through different qualitative methods, such as text analysis, observations, student feedback and interviews, used in different contexts, we as authors extracted from our own work and students’ work the ideas that helped shape the model. A constructivist approach was followed as it is embedded in the process of action research.

The Vanda, the Rose, and the Baobab

Nareen Gonsalves, Pieter du Toit, Theresa Chisanga (together with a team of colleagues at her university), and Daisy Pillay are all higher education teachers and researchers (teacher researchers) working in very different university settings in South Africa.

A Snapshot of Action Research in and by Higher Education in Southern Africa

In this brief overview of action research in higher education in southern Africa, the authors, all of whom are academic leaders in action research in this region, report on the successes and challenges of conducting action research in settings where its methodological validity and rigor are still questioned by many mainstream academics. This chapter provides rich evidence of the transformational potential of action research to make a difference in the lives of both researchers and participants, particularly within contexts of poverty and disadvantage. Much of the work being done is the result of various networks and partnerships with international academics and global funders, an important factor that needs to be developed to advance action research in this region, while retaining an African flavor.

Learning end-of-life care within a constructivist model : undergraduate nursing students' experiences : original research

Background Although nursing education aims to equip nursing students to provide care to dying patients and their families, nurses often feel ill-prepared to cope with the emotional labour involved in end-of-life care. Objectives The aim of the study was to explore and describe nursing students’ experiences of end-of-life care through experiential learning within a constructivist educational model. Method A qualitative, descriptive design was used. As part of introducing experiential learning, innovative educational practices were initiated during a second year level undergraduate nursing module on end-of-life care. Qualitative data on second-year nursing students’ experiences were collected through written reflections and analysed using open coding. Results The themes that emerged revealed participants’ sensory and emotional experiences during the learning opportunities. Participants reflected on what they learnt and clarified their values related to death and dying. They indicated how they would apply the new meanings constructed in clinical practice. Conclusion A constructivist educational model of experiential learning holds potential to enhance value clarification and nursing students’ sensory and emotional awareness of death and dying. Experiential learning is recommended to develop nursing students’ competency in providing end-of-life care.

Learning end-of-life care within a constructivist model: Undergraduate nursing students' experiences

Background Although nursing education aims to equip nursing students to provide care to dying patients and their families, nurses often feel ill-prepared to cope with the emotional labour involved in end-of-life care. Objectives The aim of the study was to explore and describe nursing students’ experiences of end-of-life care through experiential learning within a constructivist educational model. Method A qualitative, descriptive design was used. As part of introducing experiential learning, innovative educational practices were initiated during a second year level undergraduate nursing module on end-of-life care. Qualitative data on second-year nursing students’ experiences were collected through written reflections and analysed using open coding. Results The themes that emerged revealed participants’ sensory and emotional experiences during the learning opportunities. Participants reflected on what they learnt and clarified their values related to death and dying. They indicated how they would apply the new meanings constructed in clinical practice. Conclusion A constructivist educational model of experiential learning holds potential to enhance value clarification and nursing students’ sensory and emotional awareness of death and dying. Experiential learning is recommended to develop nursing students’ competency in providing end-of-life care.

Learning material that makes a difference

This chapter focuses on the design and development of Whole Brain® learning material and tasks, and describes how instructional design processes and products may be enhanced with the use of the Whole Brain® Model. We describe exemplars from an information literacy module and provide an analysis of these examples to illustrate how each example addresses Whole Brain® learning, facilitating of learning and assessment.

3 – Professional development

: This chapter explores ideas on what professional development entails and how to go about one’s development as lecturer. The notion of transforming one’s practice by applying the principles of innovative ideas forms its core. Professional development includes an array of related areas, such as peer mentoring, scholarly reflection and scholarship of teaching.