Teaching and Learning Curriculum Transformation Framework in ODeL environment
Abstract: The objective of this study was to determine the ways for effective transformation of the teaching and learning curriculum in open and distance environment. Different students’ outcomes in the open and distance learning environment were measured to determine the effectiveness of the suggested pedagogical strategies. The research employed a descriptive study design whereby the data was collected and analyzed both qualitatively and quantitatively. The initial stage regarded collecting data from students who were enrolled in open-distance learning at the University of South Africa and its five colleges. A grounded strategy was utilized in evaluating one million words of online discussions which lead to creation of the pedagogical behaviors. The Curriculum Transformation frameworks from UNISA’s five colleges were also analyzed. These behaviors were then coded using the statistical package for social sciences (SPSS) instrument. In the second phase, the deductive hypothesis analysis verified the correlation between students’ grades and their presence in more than four million words in online discussion communities. The findings confirmed a positive relationship with the students’ learning outcomes. This study recommends blending of the pedagogical content knowledge with the technological pedagogies to enhance the students’ learning outcomes in ODel.