| dc.description.abstract | With the introduction of outcomes-based education (OBE) in South Africa the role of
teachers and learners in the teaching and learning process had to change. Teachers
had to adopt a facilitation role and learners had to focus on active learning and the
mastering of outcomes. With the focus of OBE on outcomes, teachers in the teachinglearning
process are continuously pressurised not only to focus on the teaching of
theoretical subject matter, but also the development of higher-order cognitive skills
(HOCS). Since 2006 the development of learners' HOCS in South African Schools
have been emphasized in the Further Education and Training Phase (grades 10-12)
through the National Curriculum Statements. Teachers in Business Studies (the new
subject that replaced Business Economics as secondary school subject in 2006) have
doubts in their ability to develop learners' HOCS because they doubt their own ability to
demonstrate HOCS. This study indicates that the teacher training of Business Studies
students should focus on the development of their HOCS, because they won't be able
to develop their learners' HOCS if they can't demonstrate it themselves.
The purpose of this study was to develop a teaching model for the development of
education students in Business Studies' HOCS. Lecturers can use the teaching model
during teacher training, to develop education students' knowledge of HOeS in Business
studies, their ability to demonstrate HOCS and their critical and creative thinking skills.
This study was approached from a pragmatic research paradigm. A literature study was
conducted to motivate the rationale for the development of education students' HOCS,
to investigate the meaning of HOCS and to determine the way in which HOCS can be
learned, taught and assessed. The proposed teaching model that was developed, is
based on the literature study. From the literature study a workable definition of HOCS was developed for the aim of
this study. The literature study also showed that HOCS can best be learned and taught
in a social constructivist learning environment, where lecturers enable students to
construct their own knowledge and skills, with a combination of inductive teaching,
cooperative learning and problem/activity based learning.
During the empirical component of this study the teaching model for development of
HOCS was applied to education students in Business Studies. Data was gathered over
a period of four months by means of a mixed methods research design. This research
design acted as a purposeful research framework wherein quantitative and qualitative
methods were used to solve the research problem.
Findings from the results of the empirical study indicated the extent to which the
teaching model led to the development of the education students' HOCS, the
experience of the education students and the way in which the model was executed.
The contribution of this research is viewed as a clarification of the concept HOCS, the
rationale for the development of HOCS and the proposed teaching model. | en_US |
