EL GOBIERNO DE RODRIGO BORJA ANTE EL LEVANTAMIENTO INDIGENA DE

Table 5.21 indicates students’ learning approaches in terms of surface, deep and strategic strategies in PAS 111.

Table 5.21: Learning approach of student participants

Cumulative Cumulative Frequency Percentage frequency percentage

Deep approach 24 53.33 35 77.78

Surface approach 11 24.44 11 24.44

Strategic approach 10 22.22 45 100

Total 45 100

*Frequency missing = 7

Students’ ability to utilise appropriate learning approaches is a crucial aspect of successful student learning (Hasnor et al., 2013; Malie & Akir, 2012). Table 5.21 indicates that students use different learning approaches. The majority of the students in this study (53.33%) used a deep learning approach to study PAS 111, 24.44% used a surface approach and 22.22% used a strategic approach.

Deep learning approaches integrate facts into a holistic learning of concepts. Students with the ability to use deep approaches may use surface approaches when the task demands it, such as

152

learning large amount of material quickly for an examination, but do not find such tasks satisfying (Ramsden, 2003). Students who learn by a surface approach are often unable to construct a holistic understanding of what they are learning. These approaches may allow them to pass examinations, but are mainly about “quantity without quality” (Ramsden, 2003:117). The intention is to cope with the course requirements. Then, the students who adopt a strategic learning approach relate ideas to previous knowledge, look for patterns and underlying principles, and use evidence and relate it to conclusions. They examine logic and arguments cautiously and are critically aware of the understanding developed while becoming actively interested in the studied content (Almeida et al., 2011).

Synthesis

The previous section contains the findings of the student questionnaires. From the demographic information, it became known that the majority of the participant group was male, which is a sign that the agricultural training sector may still be male dominated. The section ‘Year of study’ was mainly meant to demonstrate that all the students who participated in the study were lectured by the same lecturer. In terms of the findings in respect to language, 80% of the students indicated that their first language was Afrikaans. The lectures in the PAS 111 module were, however, mainly in English. The language barrier became evident in the curriculum analysis as well. Besides this language barrier, chemistry has a language or jargon of its own which also seems difficult for students to adapt to.

From the educational background information it became known that the majority of the students who participated in the study did not have Chemistry or An Introduction to Chemistry in high school. This could be one of the major reasons why students have struggled in the PAS 111 module. The quality of EATI seems to be the most popular reason why students study at EATI and almost equally so is farming as a career. What was concerning however, was the fact that students could not see how Chemistry fits into the learning of agriculture.

The next section focuses on what students’ perspectives were in terms of the factors that influence their success or failure in the PAS 111 module. From the section on academic performance (closed-ended questions) it became clear that students could see the importance of Chemistry as an admission requirement to the BAgric programme because the majority of the group who participated did not have Chemistry at school. Language as a barrier was once again highlighted in this section because it was found that limited provision was made for

153

Afrikaans tuition. It also stood out that almost 50% of students were not interested in the module; this general state of affairs is noted frequently in the literature overview in Chapter 3. Another matter of concern indicated by the students was the agreement on the fact that the course was presented ‘at a high level’. However, students also indicated that they had little student support and that tutorials and summer schools could possibly help them succeed in the PAS 111 module.

The questionnaire data on academic performance (open-ended questions) revealed that students had the support of family and friends, but not necessarily of EATI. Students were found to be more interested in the BAgric programme than the PAS 111 module that forms part of the programme. This outcome could be ascribed to many factors; one being that the way in which the subject was presented did not show its relevance to the greater programme. Students’ perspectives on the PAS 111 module were diverse but they seemed to agree that the module was difficult, that it was poorly presented and that it was extremely challenging. The students indicated that they experienced the following challenges with regard to the module: doing calculations, ‘difficult’ subject content, difficulty in following the lecturer and having no background knowledge of the module. When they were asked about what helped them succeed in the module, they indicated factors such as learning the subject content, the use of private tutors, the fact they had Chemistry in high school and the use of study groups and tutorials. Students were also asked what EATI could do to overcome challenges students experience in PAS 111. Most frequently indicated were the appointment of more competent lecturers, the scheduling of more tutorials and offering summer schools.

When asked about what could be done to overcome challenges experienced in the module, students indicated the need to attend extra classes, to utilise learning support, to make use of tutorials and self-studying. In terms of what the Department of Basic Science can do to overcome challenges experienced in the module, once again students highlighted the appointment of a more competent lecturer, agreement on the implementation of more tutorials and the incorporation of more examples. Advice participant students gave to their peers in PAS 111 included the following: to learn, to attend class, to do self-study, to practise calculations and to have contact with the lecturer. Students use different approaches to learning but most prominently were the use of a deep learning approach which is a more holistic way of learning difficult concepts.

154 5.2.3 Interviews with lecturing staff

As explained in Chapter 4, semi-structured interviews were also conducted with lecturers as part of the accumulation of data for this research. As indicated in Chapter 1, the lecturers teaching in PAS 111 as well as those teaching in other subjects made their own assumptions on the reasons for the relatively high failure rate in PAS 111. Since these assumptions were mainly based on personal observations, experience and conversations, there was a need to conduct interviews to check whether such views and assumptions could be confirmed. Two groups of staff members were interviewed. The first set of interviews was with five lecturers who presented first-year modules in the BAgric programme. They were asked 18 open-ended questions which focused on the behaviour of first-year students and their perspectives on the PAS 111 module. The other two lecturers who taught in PAS 111 in 2013 and 2014 were asked 14 closed- and 13 open-ended questions focusing on factors that potentially influence students’ academic performance in PAS 111.