An investigation of teaching and learning methods in information technology : a case study at a selected high school in Kwa-Zulu-Natal

Abstract

The Information Technology (IT) as subject taught in South African secondary schools is considered to be a very perplexing subject. The IT as a subject has four learning outcomes which are E-Communication (weight 10%), Social and Ethical Issues (weight 10%), Hardware and Systems Software (weight 20%) and Programming and Software Development (weight 60%). The Programming and Software Development enjoys the highest weight as outcome of IT and it is believed to be the main cause of the difficulty of IT. The number of Grade 9 learners willing to offer IT as a subject in Grade 10 is decreasing and the number of learners pursuing IT until Grade 12 is declining in every school in South Africa annually. The aim of this research is to investigate methods that enhance teaching and learning Information Technology at a selected high school focusing on Grade12 learners. Although this work investigated many teaching and learning methods, it has come to be known that the hybrid system or method is the best to adopt and apply in teaching and learning of IT in high schools especially in the relevant target high school. Thirty (30) participants were sampled. Three (3) data collection instruments, which were questionnaires, interviews and observations were used. Results that were obtained from the use of these data collection instruments were recorded and analysed. Results from these instruments were compared and conclusions drawn. A major finding was that the hybrid system that combines both teacher-centered and learner-centered teaching approaches was able to enhance the teaching and learning of IT.