LEARNER GUIDE

Use language and communication in occupational learning

programmes

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Table of Contents
SECTION 1: ACCESS AND USE AVAILABLE LEARNING RESOURCES ...................... 3
1. ACCESSING AND USING AVAILABLE LEARNING RESOURCES .............................. 4
1.1 INTRODUCTION.......................................................................................................... 4
1.2 USING LEARNING RESOURCES EFFECTIVELY ...................................................... 8
SECTION 2: USE LEARNING STRATEGIES .................................................................. 11
2. USING LEARNING STRATEGIES ............................................................................... 12
2.1 SUMMARISING INFORMATION ............................................................................... 12
2.2 SELECTING AND APPLYING TECHNIQUES APPROPRIATELY ............................ 14
2.3 ASKING RELEVANT QUESTIONS ............................................................................ 23
2.4 READING, INTERPRETING AND ANALYSING TEXTS ............................................ 26
2.5 LEARNING THROUGH COMMUNICATING WITH OTHERS .................................... 30
SECTION 3: MANAGE OCCUPATIONAL LEARNING MATERIALS ............................. 31
3. MANAGING OCCUPATIONAL LEARNING MATERIALS ............................................ 32
3.1 ORGANISING OCCUPATIONAL LEARNING MATERIALS FOR EFFICIENT USE .. 32
3.2 LAYOUT AND PRESENTATION OF LEARNING MATERIALS ................................. 35
3.3 ENGAGING TECHNICAL LANGUAGE ...................................................................... 36
SECTION 4: CONDUCT BASIC RESEARCH AND ANALYSE AND PRESENT FINDINGS
38
4. CONDUCTING BASIC RESEARCH, ANALYSIS AND PRESENTATION OF FINDINGS39
4.1 IDENTIFYING AND DEFINING APPROPRIATE OR RELEVANT TOPIC ................. 39
4.2 PLANNING AND APPROPRIATELY SEQUENCING RESEARCH STEPS ............... 40
4.3 APPLICATION OF RESEACH TECHNIQUES ........................................................... 44
4.4 EVALUATING INFORMATION FOR RELEVANCE ................................................... 47
4.5 CLASSIFYING, CATEGORIZING AND SORTING INFORMATION .......................... 49
4.6 ANALYSING AND PRESENTING RESEARCH FINDINGS ....................................... 52
SECTION 5: FUNCTION IN A TEAM ............................................................................... 58
5. FUNCTIONING IN A TEAM ...................................................................................... 59
5.1 ACTIVE PARTICIPATION .......................................................................................... 59
5.2 TEAM RESPONSIBILITIES ....................................................................................... 62
5.3 CONFLICT MANAGEMENT....................................................................................... 65
5.4 TEAM WORK RESULTS ........................................................................................... 67
SECTION 6: REFLECT ON HOW CHARACTERISTICS OF THE WORKPLACE AND
OCCUPATIONAL CONTEXT AFFECT LEARNING ........................................................ 69
6. REFLECTION ON CHARACTERISTICS OF THE WORKPLACE ............................ 70
6.1 SECTOR AND ORGANISATION TYPE ..................................................................... 70
6.2 FEATURES OF THE OCCUPATIONAL ENVIRONMENT ......................................... 72
6.3 WAYS IN WHICH THESE FEATURES AFFECT THE LEARNING PROCESS ......... 73

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SECTION 1: ACCESS AND USE AVAILABLE LEARNING
RESOURCES

Specific Outcome
On completion of this section you will be able to access and use
available learning resources.

Assessment Criteria

❖ Relevant learning resources are identified. (SO 1, AC 1)

❖ Learning resources are used effectively through appropriate selection

of information and acknowledgement of sources. (SO 1, AC 2)

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1. ACCESSING AND USING AVAILABLE LEARNING RESOURCES

1.1 INTRODUCTION
In any organisation, continuous learning means growth through learning events and experiences. It
can be applied to individuals, team, and organisations- a process that will help them to achieve their
overall objectives. Undergoing a continuous learning process entails change; one cannot learn and
still be the same person, team, or organisation. There is a constant evolution in the way we think
and act, brought about by new understanding, new knowledge, and new skills. In order to achieve
this, learners must access and use different learning resources which are relevant to their work. The
selection of learning materials is an integral part of curriculum planning and delivery in
organisations. Learners come into contact with a vast array of print, visual and multimedia materials
in their daily lives. Their exposure to such materials is mediated by organisation, by legislation and
by social conventions. Organisations also have a duty of care to ensure that the teaching and
learning materials with which learners are presented, or towards which they are directed, are
appropriate to their developmental growth and relevant to the achievement of appropriate learning
outcomes.

1.1.1 Definition of key terms

I. Language: is any means of conveying or communicating ideas; specifically, human speech;

the expression of ideas by the voice; sounds, expressive of thought, articulated by the organs
of the throat and mouth. In simple terms, language is a human system of communication that
uses arbitrary signals, such as voice sounds, gestures, or written symbols.

II. Communication: is two-way process of reaching mutual understanding, in which

participants not only exchange (encode-decode) information but also create and share
meaning. In simple terms, communication is the activity of conveying information.
Communication requires a sender, a message, and an intended recipient, although the
receiver need not be present or aware of the sender's intent to communicate at the time of
communication; thus communication can occur across vast distances in time and space.
Communication requires that the communicating parties share an area of communicative
commonality. The communication process is complete once the receiver has understood the
message of the sender. Feedback is critical to effective communication between parties.

III. Learning: is acquiring new, or modifying existing, knowledge, behaviors, skills, values,
or preferences and may involve synthesizing different types of information. The ability to learn
is possessed by humans, animals and some machines. Progress over time tends to
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 follow learning curves. Learning is not compulsory, it is contextual. It does not happen all at
once, but builds upon and is shaped by what we already know. To that end, learning may be
viewed as a process, rather than a collection of factual and procedural knowledge. Human
learning may occur as part of education, personal development, schooling, or training. It may
be goal-oriented and may be aided by motivation.

IV. Occupational learning: those learners who attend vocational school in pursuit of
professional preparation for a career or careers that such a school can support are
participating in occupational education. Vocational instruction for employed persons, first
used commonly in the developed world during World War II. Work-related training is
necessary as new techniques, new methods, new tools, new synthetic materials, new
sources of power, and increased uses of automation continue to bring extensive changes.
The UN and its agencies contribute to training programs in developing countries.

V. Access: means providing opportunities for all learners, regardless of race, sexuality, gender
and cultural diversity, to seek out and use information and learning materials.

1.1.2 IDENTIFYING RELEVANT LEARNING RESOURCES

From preschool, graduate school to occupational learning there is a nearly unlimited supply
of learning resources for learners. These resources come in a variety of formats, all serving a single
purpose – to enhance learning outcomes for learners. Resources for a wide variety of subjects can
be found online through publishers, independent websites, educational initiatives, and universities.
Some resources are supplemental, acting as a general complement to a specific area of study, while
others are designed to be developmental, addressing the needs of struggling learners. Educators
and organisations are the leading experts on learning resources. Educators spend a good deal of
time searching for learning resources for learners and are in a position to be approached by
educational publishers and software developers. Educators may use open source material from
well-known universities like University of Johannesburg, University of Witwatersrand and UNISA or
offer learning resources from independent publishers to their learners. Educators can actually be
considered a type of learning resource in their own right.

Learning resources includes; resource centres, general texts, printed and visual media, internet,
other people.

Resource centres
A learning resource centre is a facility within a school, staffed by a specialist, containing several
information sources. Learning resources centre’s general aim is to ensure learning educational

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suitable environment that allows learner benefit from any kind of learning resources, gives him self-
learning opportunities, reinforces searching and exploration skills and allows educator to follow up
effective methods when designing lesson material, develop it, implement and evaluate. Center offers
a group of services to meet learner and educational staff needs, and these services can be
developed according to their needs. These services: guiding readers, references services, borrow
out, copying and scanning and bibliographical services. Information and communication
development opportunities and information flow are the big challenges arising from a dedicated
review of most educational questions, whether from theoretical frames or material facilitations.
School libraries are considered one of the most important resources within educational facilities. As
the need to develop school libraries becomes very urgent a need to convey the wide diversity in
information resources from one side and the new, educator and learner roles from the other side
becomes important. Within this view, came the project of learning centres to raise school libraries
into international and technical level.

Reasons for establishing resources centers

• The strong connection between learning resources and method, and passing away supporting
and cultural general role of school libraries into essential, accurately planned, role to achieve
the method and its purposes.
• The book and printed material become not the only information resource.
• Development of educational theories, international tends to self learning, taking in account
differences of individuals; make the learner the axis of educational process, and the educator
role change into a leader and facilitator of learning process.
• Learning resources centers concentrate on amalgamation of resources, information and
communication technologies with educational practices inside centers.

The Learning Resources Centre can also provide a range of Specialized Services to enhance
access to learning resources for visually impaired learners. The LRC loans schools alternate format
learning resources and learner equipment for use by these learners. Audio resources for learners
with perceptual disabilities may also be ordered from the LRC.

Textbooks
A textbook is a standard learning material. A textbook acts as a reference, explaining a subject in a
certain order that goes with the educator's curriculum (although many educators skip around in the
textbook as they teach).

Printed and visual media

When we talk about “the media”, we are usually referring to radio, television, magazines and
newspapers. Media is the plural of medium. In this context, a medium is a means or a method of

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communication. Radio is a medium of communication. Television is a medium of communication.
Printed material is a medium of communication. So when we talk here about media we are talking
about the various forms of communication available to us. The examples mentioned above are all
known as mass media. In other words, they are all ways of communicating information and
messages to large groups of people at once. When a person reads a book or newspaper, he or she
has to look carefully at the words on the paper and think before he or she can understand what the
words say. There might be pictures or diagrams which will help the reader to know what the words
are about, but the reader still has to put some effort into finding out what the message is. Print, the
oldest kind of mass media, is still the most used for education and training. There are many reasons
for this. Digital media are linked to computers and may replicate some of the characteristics of
visual, audio and print media (seen for example in a computer-based training course that has text,
sound clips and short video clips and which is distributed via the Internet or on a DVD.

Print Materials
Print materials are the most common form of training materials, for example: books, easy readers for
adults, newspapers, magazines, newsletters, posters, text books and manuals. In training the most
common print materials are training workshop “handouts". Sometimes these are carefully prepared,
often simply pages photocopied from books.

Audio-visual aids
Audio-visual aids are training materials which use a combination of vision and sound to aid learning,
e.g. a video or DVD. Visual aids can be still pictures (drawings, paintings, photographs, maps,
graphs, posters) or moving pictures (films, television, videos, computer animations) all of which can
also be used together with audio aids such as sound recordings (audio-tapes, CDs, DVDs) to make
audio-visual aids. Nowadays, people often use the term audio-visual aids for any form of training
and communications media including, for example, printed handouts and audio cassettes or CDs
and DVDs.

The Internet
Many websites offer compelling, interactive learning environments that act as effective supplements
to a traditional curriculum. Learners benefit from a variety of internet resources and learning
experiences. You can cam information about any topic on the internet using search engines like
Google.

Other people
In organisations, supervisors or co-workers are also useful learning resources. For example, if a
new or intern wants to learn web development or apply what he/she has learned in college, more

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experienced co-workers or supervisors are the best learning resources because they know “all the
tricks” in the book. Interns must not be shy to ask for assistance from their co-workers; that’s the
way people learn after all!

1.2 USING LEARNING RESOURCES EFFECTIVELY

The purpose of learning and teaching resources is to provide a source of learning experiences for
learners. They should be able to facilitate interaction among learners and educators during the
learning/ teaching process, as well as to help learners to learn, broaden learners’ learning
experiences and meet different learning needs. If used effectively, learning resources can help
learners to construct knowledge for themselves and develop effective learning strategies, generic
skills, values and attitudes, thus laying a solid foundation for life-long learning.

Learning materials should:

• Arouse and maintain interest.
• Simplify instruction.
• Aid retention.
• Stimulate active thinking.
• Accelerate learning as more senses are involved.

As highlighted above, learning and teaching resources are not confined to textbooks and are
available in many other forms such as reference books, workbooks, worksheets, audio-visual
teaching aids, web-based learning materials, computer software packages, structured courseware
delivered by electronic learning management systems, Internet and media, as well as libraries,
learning communities and resources in the natural environment, etc.. A wide variety of learning and
teaching resources is readily available.

Multimedia resources
Multimedia resources, which embrace audio-visual teaching aids, web-based materials, computer
software packages, online learning platforms, etc., have the following advantages in helping
learners’ learning:
• Flexibility, adaptability
• Multi-sensory experience
• Possibility of interactivity
• Connectedness

Besides complementing textbooks, multimedia resources may provide opportunities for both
learners and educators to gain access to up-to-date information. For example, educators may
select materials that present different sides of controversial issues to help learners to develop their

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critical thinking and to make informed judgements in their daily lives. However, educators should
evaluate whether the online information is authentic, reliable and appropriate for learner learning.

1.1.3 LEARNING MATERIALS AND ADULT LEARNING

Adult learning is different from that of children. In order to evaluate and use learning materials
properly, we need to understand a little about the theory of learning. Education and learning are
different; education emphasizes the educator whilst learning emphasizes the person in whom the
change is expected to occur. Learning can be defined as the process of gaining knowledge and/or
expertise. It is this change of behaviour and gaining of skills and knowledge that we particularly
need to achieve in leprosy training and health education for example. Six core principles have been
identified in the practice of adult learning; these are:
• Learner’s need to know.
• Self concept of the learner.
• Prior experience of the learner.
• Readiness to learn.
• Orientation to learning.
• Motivation to learn.

These are perspectives that come directly from the learner, and we need to take them into
consideration in our teaching and use of learning materials if we want to have effective adult
learning.

Health workers, particularly general health workers, do not need to know everything about leprosy,
they are too busy to be interested in theory for theory’s sake but they generally learn better if they
are taught the why, what and how. You need to consider whom the person is that you are teaching;
this is particularly true for health promotion. Ask these questions: How will they best learn? Do they
like to find out for themselves? Will they learn better as partners in the process? Adults are not blank
sheets. They have resources of experience and come complete with mental models and belief
systems that need to be taken into account and built upon. They are ready to learn when the
learning is life related, or helps them to develop new skills. They like to learn in context and in a
problem centered way rather than with just theory. Their motivation for learning may be based on
the intrinsic value of the learning but they will also want to consider the personal payoff for the
learning.

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This means that learning materials must have the following characteristics; they must be:
• Practical.
• Relevant to the learner’s situation.
• Building upon existing knowledge.
• Problem centered.
• Logical.
• Clear.
• Rewarding.

They should be interactive and participatory, so that learners can easily apply the learning to their
context and situations.

Learners must choose learning materials that are important to the subject matter under discussion.
Appropriate choice of information is important. For example, when a learner is looking for
information about Human Resource management, he or she may consider searching the internet or
other resource centres for the information. On the other hand, Journalism or Accounting books or
resources will not be appropriate for the learner at this point in time. Testing of any learning material
is necessary to see whether it is valid and effective. Both written and visual materials need to be
tested and evaluated. Clear, logical well-set-out materials encourage learning and will enhance the
teaching programme.

Activity 1

1. Define the following terms with examples,

• Learning resources

• Language and communication

2. Identify relevant learning resources that are used in your organisation.

3. Explain ways you can effectively use learning resources.

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SECTION 2: USE LEARNING STRATEGIES

Specific Outcome
On completion of this section you will be able to use learning
strategies.

Assessment Criteria
❖ Information is summarized and used for learning purposes.
(SO 2, AC 1)

❖ Specific techniques are selected and applied appropriately.

(SO 2, AC 2)

❖ Relevant questions are asked. SO 2, AC 3)

❖ Texts are read/ viewed for detail, interpreted and analysed for a given
context. (SO2, AC 4)

❖ Spoken/signed input is listened to/viewed for detail, interpreted and

analysed for a given context. (SO 2, AC 5)

❖ Learning takes place through communicating with others in groups or

as individuals. (SO 2, AC 6)

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2. USING LEARNING STRATEGIES

Learning strategies are an individual’s approach to a task. They are how a learner organizes and
uses a set of skills to learn content or to accomplish a particular task more effectively and efficiently
either in or out of school (Schumaker & Deshler, 1984). According to NICHCY (1997, p. 3), learning
strategies “include what we think about (e.g., planning before writing, realizing when we are not
understanding something we are reading, remembering what we have learned previously on the
topic under study) and what we physically do (e.g., taking notes, rereading to clear up confusion,
making a chart, table, or story map to capture the most important information).” Learners who use
learning strategies become more effective and independent learners.

2.1 SUMMARISING INFORMATION

A summary is an overview of a text. The main idea is given, but details, examples and formalities
are left out. Used with longer texts, the main aim of summarising is to reduce or condense a text to
its most important ideas. Summarising is a useful skill for making notes from readings and in
lectures, writing an abstract/synopsis and incorporating material in assignments.

How to Summarise
The amount of detail you include in a summary will vary according to the length of the original text,
how much information you need and how selective you are:
• Start by reading a short text and highlighting the main points as you read.
• Reread the text and make notes of the main points, leaving out examples, evidence etc.
• Without the text, rewrite your notes in your own words; restate the main idea at the beginning
plus all major points.

When to Summarise
Summarise long sections of work, like a long paragraph, page or chapter.
• To outline the main points of someone else's work in your own words, without the details or
examples.
• To include an author's ideas using fewer words than the original text.
• To briefly give examples of several differing points of view on a topic.
• To support claims in, or provide evidence for your writing.

Example of Correctly Summarised Information

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ORIGINAL TEXT (103 words) ACCEPTABLE SUMMARISED TEXT
(31 words)
“For most people, writing is an extremely difficult task if Inexperienced and even skilled writers
they are trying to grapple in their language with new ideas can feel a great deal of anguish when
and new ways of looking at them. faced with writing tasks; however, this
Sitting down to write can be an agonising experience, response can be managed by
which doesn't necessarily get easier with the passage of recognizing and coping with personal
time and the accumulation of experience. For this reason avoidance strategies (Taylor, 1989, p.
you need to reflect upon and analyse your own reactions to 3).
the task of writing. That is to say, the task will become more
manageable if you learn how to cope with your own
particular ways avoiding putting off the moment when you
must put pen to paper” (Taylor 1989, p. 3).

Assess Your Summary

• The MEANING is the same.
• The summary keeps the degree of certainty of the writer.
• This is a much shorter version of the original writing.
• The source/s of information is/are clearly referenced

The goal of writing a summary of an article, a single chapter or a whole book is to offer as accurately
as possible the full sense of the original, but in a more condensed form. A summary restates the
author's main point, purpose, intent and supporting details in your own words. The process of
summarizing enables you to grasp the original text better, and the result shows the reader that you
understand it as well. In addition to this, the knowledge you gained by summarizing makes it
possible for you to analyze and critique the original text. Summarised information is easier to read or
remember when learning. It makes the learning process easier and effective.

Learning Activities

Practical Activity

Read and summarise the following article in less than 100 words.

Many people like to eat pizza, but not everyone knows how to make it. Making the perfect pizza
can be complicated, but there are lots of ways for you to make a more basic version at home.
When you make pizza, you must begin with the crust. The crust can be hard to make. If you want

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 to make the crust yourself, you will have to make dough using flour, water, and yeast. You will
have to knead the dough with your hands. If you do not have enough time to do this, you can use
a prepared crust that you buy from the store.

After you have chosen your

crust, you must then add the
sauce. Making your own
sauce from scratch can take a
long time. You have to buy
tomatoes, peel them, and then
cook them with spices. If this
sounds like too much work,
you can also purchase jarred
sauce from the store. Many
jarred sauces taste almost as
good as the kind you make at home.

Now that you have your crust and your sauce, you need to add the cheese. Cheese comes from
milk, which comes from cows. Do you have a cow in your backyard? Do you know how to milk the
cow? Do you know how to turn that milk into cheese? If not, you might want to buy cheese from
the grocery store instead of making it yourself.

When you have the crust, sauce, and cheese ready, you can add other toppings. Some people
like to put meat on their pizza, while other people like to add vegetables. Some people even like
to add pineapple! The best part of making a pizza at home is that you can customize it by adding
your own favorite ingredients.

2.2 SELECTING AND APPLYING TECHNIQUES APPROPRIATELY

Below are learning techniques that one can use in occupational learning programmes.

Brainstorming
Brainstorming is a popular tool that helps you generate creative solutions to a problem. It is
particularly useful when you want to break out of stale, established patterns of thinking, so that you
can develop new ways of looking at things. It also helps you overcome many of the issues that can

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make group problem-solving a sterile and unsatisfactory process. Used with your team, it helps you
bring the diverse experience of all team members into play during problem solving. This increases
the richness of ideas explored, meaning that you can find better solutions to the problems you face.
It can also help you get buy in from team members for the solution chosen – after all, they were
involved in developing it. What’s more, because brainstorming is fun, it helps team members bond
with one-another as they solve problems in a positive, rewarding environment.

To run a group brainstorming session effectively, do the following:

• Find a comfortable meeting environment, and set it up ready for the session.
• Appoint one person to record the ideas that come from the session. These should be noted in a
format than everyone can see and refer to. Depending on the approach you want to use, you
may want to record ideas on flip charts, whiteboards, or computers with data projectors.
• If people aren’t already used to working together, consider using an appropriate warm-up
exercise or ice-breaker.
• Define the problem you want solved clearly, and lay out any criteria to be met. Make it clear that
that the objective of the meeting is to generate as many ideas as possible.
• Give people plenty of time on their own at the start of the session to generate as many ideas as
possible.
• Ask people to give their ideas, making sure that you give everyone a fair opportunity to
contribute.
• Encourage people to develop other people's ideas, or to use other ideas to create new ones.
• Encourage an enthusiastic, uncritical attitude among members of the group. Try to get everyone
to contribute and develop ideas, including the quietest members of the group.
• Ensure that no one criticizes or evaluates ideas during the session. Criticism introduces an
element of risk for group members when putting forward an idea. This stifles creativity and
cripples the free running nature of a good brainstorming session.
• Let people have fun brainstorming. Encourage them to come up with as many ideas as possible,
from solidly practical ones to wildly impractical ones. Welcome creativity!
• Ensure that no train of thought is followed for too long. Make sure that you generate a sufficient
number of different ideas, as well as exploring individual ideas in detail.
• In a long session, take plenty of breaks so that people can continue to concentrate.

After the session, edit the brainstorming notes, arrange the ideas in related groups and send a copy
to each participant as soon as possible. Ask each participant to select the five ideas he thinks are
best. Request that he also explain why these ideas are most promising and how he would
implement them. Be sure to include a deadline for when you would like the ideas returned.

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Group analysis
Group analysis focuses on the relationship between the individual and the group, emphasizing the
essentially social nature of human experience. It is an interactive approach and has many
applications in the field of human relations, teaching, training and organisational consultancy. The
method and theory of group analysis is concerned with a dynamic understanding of the inner
working of the human mind as a social, multi-personal phenomenon” (Foulkes 1975) and as such
can be applied to groups, individuals, couples, families and applied groups. Organisations must
have procedures in place to ensure that qualified Group Analysts are considered suitable for the
teaching and supervision of such work undertaken by trainees on the qualifying courses.

Peer Assessment
One of the ways in which learners internalize the characteristics of quality work is by evaluating the
work of their peers. However, if they are to offer helpful feedback, learners must have a clear
understanding of what they are to look for in their peers' work. The instructor must explain
expectations clearly to them before they begin. One way to make sure learners understand this type
of evaluation is to give learners a practice session with it. The instructor provides a sample writing or
speaking assignment. As a group, learners determine what should be assessed and how criteria for
successful completion of the communication task should be defined. Then the instructor gives
learners a sample completed assignment. Learners assess this using the criteria they have
developed, and determine how to convey feedback clearly to the fictitious learner.

Learners can also benefit from using rubrics or checklists to guide their assessments. At first these
can be provided by the instructor; once the learners have more experience, they can develop them
themselves. For peer evaluation to work effectively, the learning environment in the classroom must
be supportive. Learners must feel comfortable and trust one another in order to provide honest and
constructive feedback. Instructors who use group work and peer assessment frequently can help
learners develop trust by forming them into small groups early in the semester and having them
work in the same groups throughout the term. This allows them to become more comfortable with
each other and leads to better peer feedback.

Self Assessment
Learners can become better language learners when they engage in deliberate thought about what
they are learning and how they are learning it. In this kind of reflection, learners step back from the
learning process to think about their language learning strategies and their progress as language
learners. Such self assessment encourages learners to become independent learners and can
increase their motivation.

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Peer and self-assessment mind maps
Have you ever studied a subject or brainstormed an idea, only to find yourself with pages of
information, but no clear view of how it fitted together? This is where Mind Mapping can help you.
Mind Mapping is a useful technique that helps you learn more effectively, improves the way that you
record information, and supports and enhances creative problem solving. By using Mind Maps, you
can quickly identify and understand the structure of a subject. You can see the way that pieces of
information fit together, as well as recording the raw facts contained in normal notes. More than this,
Mind Maps help you remember information, as they hold it in a format that your mind finds easy to
recall and quick to review.

Uses
Mind Maps are useful for:
• Brainstorming - individually, and as a group.
• Summarizing information, and note taking.
• Consolidating information from different research sources.
• Thinking through complex problems.
• Presenting information in a format that shows the overall structure of your subject.
• Studying and memorizing information.

Drawing Basic Mind Maps

To draw a Mind Map, follow these steps:

1. Write the title of the subject you are exploring in the center of the page, and draw a circle around
it. This is shown by the circle marked in diagram 1, below.

DIAGRAM 1

2. As you come across major subdivisions or subheadings of the topic (or important facts that
relate to the subject) draw lines out from this circle. Label these lines with these subdivisions or
subheadings. (See diagram 2, below.)

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DIAGRAM 2

3. As you "burrow" into the subject and uncover another level of information (further subheadings,
or individual facts) belonging to the subheadings above, draw these as lines linked to the
subheading lines. These are shown in diagram 3.

DIAGRAM 3

4. Then, for individual facts or ideas, draw lines out from the appropriate heading line and label
them. These are shown in Diagram 4.

DIAGRAM 4

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5. As you come across new information, link it in to the Mind Map appropriately.

A complete Mind Map may have main topic lines radiating in all directions from the center. Sub-
topics and facts will branch off these, like branches and twigs from the trunk of a tree. You don't
need to worry about the structure you produce, as this will evolve of its own accord.

Using Mind Maps Effectively

Once you understand how to take notes in Mind Map format, you can develop your own conventions
for taking them further. The following suggestions can help you draw impactful Mind Maps:

Use Single Words or Simple Phrases

Many words in normal writing are padding, as they ensure that facts are conveyed in the correct
context, and in a format that is pleasant to read. In Mind Maps, single strong words and short,

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meaningful phrases can convey the same meaning more potently. Excess words just clutter the
Mind Map.

Print Words
Joined up or indistinct writing is more difficult to read.

Use Color to Separate Different Ideas

This will help you to separate ideas where necessary. It also helps you to visualize the Mind Map for
recall. Color can help to show the organisation of the subject.

Use Symbols and Images

Pictures can help you to remember information more effectively than words, so, where a symbol or
picture means something to you, use it.

Using Cross-Linkages
Information in one part of a Mind Map may relate to another part. Here you can draw lines to show
the cross-linkages. This helps you to see how one part of the subject affects another.

Note taking
Note taking involves recording ideas and facts that you learn in class to help you remember and use
them later. The five R’s of note taking are as follows: Record, Reduce, Recite, Reflect, and Review.

Why is note taking important?

• You become an active part of the listening and learning process.
• You create a history of your course content.
• You have a written record to view or study later.
• You reinforce what is communicated verbally.

You must listen attentively in order to take notes that will be useful to you in your learning process.

Memorising
The power of the human memory is one of our most fascinating and wonderful attributes. There are
many situations where we need to memorise facts and information. These include learning a foreign
language, revising for an examination, giving a speech, as well as remembering simpler things like
people's names and bank card PIN numbers. Fortunately there are many so-called mnemonic
techniques available which can help us with these. You will probably be familiar with some of these
techniques from your school days. For example, most of us are able to remember the colours of the

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rainbow by using a mnemonic such as “Richard of York gave battle in vain”. Here the initial letters of
the seven words give us the colours: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo and violet. This
example demonstrates two elements of memorization: imagination and association. Thus you create
a sentence (imagination) using words starting with the initial letters of the colours (association).

Key words
Keywords are the words that academics use to reveal the internal structure of an author's reasoning.
While they are used primarily for rhetoric, they are also used in a strictly grammatical sense for
structural composition, reasoning, and comprehension. Indeed, they are an essential part of any
language. There are many different types of keyword categories including: Conclusion,
Continuation, Contrast, Emphasis, Evidence, Illustration and Sequence. Each category serves its
own function, as do the keywords inside of a given category. The following is an example of
techniques you can use to memorize important information. For information involving key words;
Acronym - an invented combination of letters with each letter acting as a cue to an idea you need to
remember. BRASS is an acronym for how to shoot a rifle-- Breath, Relax, Aim, Sight, and Squeeze.

Underlining
Read with a pen in your hand: Be prepared to underline, make notes and draw diagrams. Take
notes or underline with a pen, a high-lighter or both. Do what works best for you. Some learners
prefer highlighters; others prefer pens. Some individuals may underline a word or phrase in one
color and use a different color to underline other important facts. Be sure to highlight or underline
words or sentences that seem to be definitions. This is especially helpful if your reading assignment
is to be followed by a test of some sort. Underline the topic sentence of most paragraphs. Generally,
the topic sentence will be the first or second sentence in a paragraph. It basically tells you what the
paragraph is about. It usually represents the main idea or concept from which the balance of the
paragraph flows. Underline any examples that may be used to explain a topic or concept. Very
often, we are able to retain examples or mental pictures more easily than a stream of words. Thus,
focusing on the examples can improve comprehension.

Skimming
Skimming is used to quickly identify the main ideas of a text. When you read the newspaper, you are
probably not reading it word-by-word; instead you are scanning the text. Skimming is done at a
speed three to four times faster than normal reading. People often skim when they have lots of
material to read in a limited amount of time. Use skimming when you want to see if an article may be
of interest in your research. There are many strategies that can be used when skimming. Some
people read the first and last paragraphs using headings, summarizes and other organizers as they

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move down the page or screen. You might read the title, subtitles, subheading, and illustrations.
Consider reading the first sentence of each paragraph. This technique is useful when you are
seeking specific information rather than reading for comprehension. Skimming works well to find
dates, names, and places. It might be used to review graphs, tables, and charts.

Scanning
Scanning is a technique you often use when looking up a word in the telephone book or dictionary.
You search for key words or ideas. In most cases, you know what you are looking for, so you are
concentrating on finding a particular answer. Scanning involves moving your eyes quickly down the
page seeking specific words and phrases. Scanning is also used when you first find a resource to
determine whether it will answer your questions. Once you have scanned the document, you might
go back and skim it. When scanning, look for the author's use of organizers such as numbers,
letters, steps, or the words, first, second, or next. Look for words that are bold faced, italics, or in a
different font size, style, or color. Sometimes the author will put key ideas in the margin.

Activity 3

Describe the following learning techniques and clearly show their uses during the learning process;
• Group activities such as brainstorming
• Group analysis
• Peer and self-assessment mind maps
• Note taking
• Memorising
• Key words
• Underlining
• Skimming and scanning

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2.3 ASKING RELEVANT QUESTIONS

Children learn by asking questions. Learners learn by asking questions. New recruits learn by
asking questions. It is the simplest and most effective way of learning. Question asking is an
imperative part of the learning process. We don't just answer questions but need to devise questions
to ask that are relevant and meaningful to the discussion and the course as a whole. Moreover, the
way you ask, listen to and respond to learner questions provides a model, in turn, for learners to
emulate. Learners need to learn how to ask questions to learn how to learn, to learn how to be
critical and engage analytically with the material they are studying. Good modelling results not only
in better class discussion, but also in better learners.

Checking understanding
Checking for understanding is foundational to guided instruction, as the learner's response provides
the educator with a decision-making point: do I need to further scaffold this learner's understanding?
At various places throughout a lesson, we need to check for understanding so we can plan for future
instruction. These periodic checks allow us to determine the following:
• What the learner knows
• What the learner doesn't know
• The extent to which a learner is linking background knowledge with newer concepts
• Whether there are fundamental misconceptions that are getting in the way of understanding

A variety of means are available for checking for understanding, including analysis of learner
products in written work, spoken language, projects, performances, and assessments (Fisher &
Frey, 2007). In guided instruction, questioning is the predominant tool for determining what learners
know. It is important to recognize that what is done with the question is essential.

Elaboration Questions
Some robust questions come as a follow-up probe to an initial question. An elaboration question is
used to find out more about a learner's reasoning. In particular, these questions invite learners to
extend their response by adding ideas. For example, 12th grade chemistry educator Al Mokoena
pauses at the desk of Mpho and reads the learner's lab sheet over his shoulder. Mr. Mokoena points
to the third question, which asks Mpho to make a prediction about what will occur when a piece of
zinc metal is added to a salt solution and an acidic one. Noting that Mpho has written, "I don't think
anything will happen to the metal," Mr. Mokoena says, "Tell me more about this prediction. Why do
you think nothing will happen to the zinc?" By asking Mpho to elaborate on his response, Mr.
Mokoena is probing the reasoning his learner is using to support this prediction.

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Clarification Questions
As with elaboration questions, which often come after an initial response, clarification questions
invite learners to extend their thinking by requiring them to provide a clear explanation. A clarification
may be genuine, as when the educator truly doesn't understand a learner's response. In other
cases, the clarification question is used to further expose learner understanding about a concept.
Clarifying Questions are simple questions of fact. They clarify the dilemma and provide the nuts and
bolts so that the participants can ask good probing questions and provide useful feedback later in
the protocol. Clarifying questions are for the participants, and should not go beyond the boundaries
of the presenter’s dilemma. They have brief, factual answers, and don’t provide any new “food for
thought” for the presenter. The litmus test for a clarifying question is: Does the presenter have to
think before s/he answers? If so, it’s almost certainly a probing question.

Some examples of clarifying questions:

• How much time does the project take?
• How were the learners grouped?
• What resources did the learners have available for this project?

In her 7th grade social studies classroom, Cindy Hugo routinely asks clarification questions during
guided instruction. "I always remind [learners] that they need to 'think like a historian,' so they have
to provide evidence.’Because' is a big word around here." During guided instruction on the
narratives of formerly enslaved people in their Southern state, Ms. Hugo asks her learners to draw a
powerful image of the passage their collaborative learning group read and discussed. When Brandi
displays her group's drawing of a whip, Ms. Hugo poses a clarification question, asking them to
provide a direct quote from the reading.

Probing Questions Ask More Information or Clarification

Probing questions are, in essence, follow up questions that ask for additional information, request
the person expand on what she has said, or ask the person to go deeper. Using probing questions
can be helpful in increasing understanding, since most people need to be encouraged to go beyond
what they have said to help someone understand their deeper feelings, and opinions. They indicate
interest and a desire to understand. Probing questions can be non-directive (e.g. "Go on", or "Could
you clarify that?", or they can be more directive and specific as below:

Person A: I live in Johannesburg

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Person B: Ah. Do you live in Hillbrow, or Parktown?

Remember that probing questions are guided by and chosen based on what the OTHER person has
said. They show that you are paying attention. Probing questions are very valuable tools for
educators, facilitators and instructors, and in fact, they have been studied extensively as tools to
improve classroom learning, and encourage learners to think more deeply about what is being
learned.

Completeness and accuracy

You can check that they are giving you a full and accurate account by probing for more detail and
checking against other information you have. Sometimes people make genuine errors (and
sometimes deliberate), which you may want to check.
• Is that all? Is there anything you have missed out?
• How do you know that is true?
• How does that compare with what you said before?

Note!

Good questions need to be difficult enough to be challenging, but not overwhelming and this is
where real teaching skills are apparent. Good questions ask learners to apply what they know in
new and different ways. When a learner answers a question ask for clarification and examples if
appropriate. Draw out the most productive answer the learner is capable of giving. Be sure to
acknowledge the contribution positively. Be willing to challenge a response to a question by asking a
learner to support their reasoning or beliefs. Help your learners understand that in discussions they
are further developing their skills as a scholar. And, finally, wait. Give learners time to consider the
question, formulate and answer and find the courage to speak out among their peers.

Learning Activities

Practical Activity

In groups, perform role plays to clearly illustrate the use of questions during the learning process.
Ask relevant questions to check understanding, clarify meaning, get information and confirm
accuracy of information. Some learners must assume the role of educator and others learners.
Switch these roles.

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2.4 READING, INTERPRETING AND ANALYSING TEXTS

When you close read, you observe facts and details about the text. You may focus on a particular
passage, or on the text as a whole. Your aim may be to notice all striking features of the text,
including rhetorical features, structural elements, cultural references; or, your aim may be to notice
only selected features of the text- for instance, oppositions and correspondences, or particular
historical references. Either way, making these observations constitutes the first step in the process
of close reading. The second step is interpreting your observations. This means inductive reasoning:
moving from the observation of particular facts and details to a conclusion, or interpretation, based
on those observations. And, as with inductive reasoning, close reading requires careful gathering of
data (your observations) and careful thinking about what these data add up to.

Here are four tips for active reading.

Underlining and highlighting

Pick out what you think are the most important parts of what you are reading. Do this with your own
copy of texts or on photocopies, not with borrowed books. If you are a visual learner, you will find it
helpful to use different colours to highlight different aspects of what you're reading.

Note key words

Record the main headings as you read. Use one or two keywords for each point. When you don't
want to mark the text, keep a folder of notes you make while reading.

Questions
Before you start reading something like an article, a chapter or a whole book, prepare for your
reading by noting down questions you want the material to answer. While you are reading, note
down questions which the author raises.

Summaries
Pause after you have read a section of text. Then:
1. Put what you have read into your own words;
2. Skim through the text and check how accurate your summary is and
3. Fill in any gaps.

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Interpreting texts
Naturally, the primary purpose of an essay on a literary text is to provide an interpretation of that
text. In so doing, an essay needs to move beyond a description of characters and events to an
analysis of the different elements of the text. This analysis should bear in mind that the world that is
presented in the text may well be fundamentally different from the world in which you live. Therefore,
in analysing the characters and events of a text, you will need to take an "imaginative leap" into the
moral and social framework of that text, imagining how such characters and events would be judged
from within that framework.

The World of the Writer

When someone writes something, he or she does so in a context. This context includes the writer's
feelings, beliefs, past experiences, goals, needs, and physical environment. For example, when J.
R. R. Tolkien wrote The Lord of the Rings, his personal context (world) included his childhood
experiences in South Africa, his becoming an orphan, his love of languages, his love for his wife, his
extensive reading in literature and mythology, and many other things.

The World of the Text

The text develops its own context: call it a world. The Lord of the Rings develops its own world. As
any reader of the novel knows, this world is complex, with an extensive prehistory, a cosmology, and
several unusual species. The world of The Lord of the Rings affected Tolkien and, as the world
developed, it guided his work in completing the novel. Tolkien's letters show this reciprocal influence
between him and his unfolding imaginary world. This work of fantasy clearly shows how the writer
creates a world that in turn affects him or her.

The World of the Reader

When one reads, one reads in the context of his or her own world. What the reader encounters is
not the world of the author; the reader encounters the world of the text. The meaning which the text
has for the reader emerges from the interaction of the reader's world with the world of the text. The
meaning does not reside in the text or in the author's intentions. The meaning happens as the text is
read and reflected upon. Of course, knowledge of the author's world and intentions, and of the
responses of other readers, can help one read a text better- with more insight and satisfaction.
Interpretation, then, is something a reader does in response to a text. But it is important to recognise
that a text can be meaningful to reader who cannot express that meaning in words. "Meaning
precedes explanation." When you write out your interpretation of a novel, you create a text which
has its own world. The reader of your interpretation responds to it in terms of his or her world, just as
you read the novel in terms of your world.

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Analysing texts
Once the learner has gathered information resources, it is now time to make sense of the text in
relation to what one already knows, use analytical skills to make inferences, interpret data, organize
ideas, and make connections. Critical analysis of information gathered requires application of critical
reading skills. Sorting and classifying; sifting information; presenting a coherent argument; drawing
conclusions; and summarizing. Learners may find that they have not gathered sufficient information
through this analysis and assured that this reflection is part of the process. Adapting information
seeking strategies is to be encouraged as learners begin to find new meaning from their reading.

In order to analyse texts;

• Apply critical reading and thinking strategies.
• Determine importance of information and its relevance to essential question.
• Separate information and ideas into component parts.
• Make inferences, identify trends, and interpret data.
• Separate information and ideas into component parts.
• Exercise flexibility in information seeking and collaboration with peers.

2.4.1 LISTENING, INTERPRETING AND ANALYSING SPOKEN INPUT

Input means “English sentences that you read or listen to”. When you read and listen to correct
English sentences, they stay in your memory. You can then build similar sentences yourself. The
more input you get the more sentences you can imitate and the better you get at producing your
own sentences. In other words, input is the material provided for the candidate to use in order to
produce an appropriate response. In a test of listening it is likely to take the form of a recorded oral
text plus written items.

Demonstrating understanding of text as a whole

This may be done, for example, by writing a short summary of the main events or points discussed
in the text.

Identifying topic of the text

A fragment of conversation could be given, during which the topic is not directly referred to. The
candidate then has to answer the question, ‘What are they talking about?’

Identifying function of the text

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An example would be part of a message left on an answer-phone. The candidate then has to
decide whether the speaker was telephoning to apologise, complain, ask for information or change
an arrangement.

Retrieving factual information

An example is text taken from a recorded announcement of the forthcoming programme at a theatre.
Items relate to times of performances, ticket prices, etc.

Following instructions and directions

An example is a text which gives a description of where a house is situated on a map. The
candidate has to draw the house in the correct place on a map.

Identifying roles of speakers

An example would be checking understanding of the degree of formality between speakers, as
signalled by their way of addressing each other.

Recognising numbers, letters etc.

This is most likely to occur in a test of listening at a low level. A name is spelled out or a telephone
number given and the candidate has to write it correctly.

Making use of clues given by use of emphasis, tone of voice, stress and intonation.
An example would be a fragment of conversation in which someone agrees to do something, using
a reluctant or doubtful tone of voice. The candidate would need to use understanding of the tone to
answer a question on the speaker’s attitude towards what he has been asked to do.

Learning Activities

Practical Activity

In groups:
• Select information from a textbook. Read this information for detail, then interpret and
analyse the texts. Compare your answers.

• Listen to spoken input in your organisation (for example, a film or video), interpret and
analyse the information.

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2.5 LEARNING THROUGH COMMUNICATING WITH OTHERS

Learning takes time and patience. It is a process - a journey. A self-directed learning process is
arguably the most powerful model for facilitating and inspiring individual, group and organisational
learning and development. When operating successfully, a learning group will produce higher quality
results than an individual. Other learners will help you in your learning process. They can help you
when you are facing challenges during the learning process or you can have study buddies to work
together.

Small groups and learning teams offer an environment for significantly different communication
practices as compared to one-on-one relationship-based interaction. Size, purpose and collective
identity all contribute to the unique environment offered through collaborating with others, but two
specific characteristics define group communication: norms and interdependence. The concept of
interdependence is important to successful group communication. Rather than acting completely
autonomously, or relying only on the work of others, successful group members act in a manner that
each group member acts as a source of "mutual influence" to those around them. Interdependence
is important in order to ensure that all members act in accordance with each other, while having the
capability of completing tasks individually when necessary.

Significance of Group Communication

The elements of group communication illustrate that learning teams and groups are unique forums
for human communication. By effectively considering these elements, and understanding the role of
them in the group process, individuals can significantly contribute to the group process. Through
successful implementation of the elements of group communication, a learning team can
successfully prove to equal more than the sum of its parts, producing work superior to that of an
individual.

Facilitators
The educator, who is a variable in the classroom context, is charged with the function of acting as an
intermediary between the variables outside the classroom and the learners to assist the learners in
their learning (Tylee 1992). Fulfilling the functions of an educator means that the educator is also
actively engaged in learning. Facilitators help learners to understand during their learning process.

Activity 4
Learning takes place through communicating with others in groups or as individuals. Discuss.

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SECTION 3: MANAGE OCCUPATIONAL LEARNING
MATERIALS

Specific Outcome
On completion of this section you will be able to manage
occupational learning materials

Assessment Criteria
❖ Occupational learning materials are organized for efficient use.
(SO 3, AC 1)

❖ Layout and presentation of learning materials are understood and used

effectively. (SO 3, AC 2)

❖ Technical language/ terminology are engaged with, and clarification

sought if needed. (SO 3, AC 3)

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3. MANAGING OCCUPATIONAL LEARNING MATERIALS
A resource cannot add value if it is not utilized. The effective utilization of resources is therefore
important to enable the adding of value to the learning environment and learning experience. It is
also important to consider where and how each type of resource will add value in the learning
process. On the other hand, resources must be properly managed when being utilized in the
organisation. Continuous use without proper management will result in wear and tear of learning
resources. Therefore, organisations and employees (including learners) must have procedures in
place to properly manage learning resources because without these, the learning process will be
impossible.

3.1 ORGANISING OCCUPATIONAL LEARNING MATERIALS FOR EFFICIENT USE

Librarians select materials, organize those materials and help people use them effectively. Many
work with the public, while others work behind the scenes in technical support and acquisitions or in
administration. Although librarians traditionally worked with printed resources, they have kept up
with ever-evolving technology and now work with electronic resources that include the Internet,
computerized databases and e-books. Librarians are also referred to as information professionals.
Organisations must be like librarians; organise occupational learning materials for efficient use.

Videos
Video use is growing rapidly within companies of all types and sizes. Whether for promotion or
advertising, internal and external training, product demonstration, or for ad-hoc or formal
communication, companies use video to communicate. Audiences are just as broad and include
prospects, customers, partners, employees and shareholders each consuming the video on
whatever platform(s) fits at the moment. Most companies do not have a formal approach to create
and manage this video. The lack of a formal approach, a video management strategy, results in
inefficiency, confusion, increased costs, lost opportunities, and decreased agility over time.
Managing video effectively in an organisation can be simple and straightforward. A key piece of a
successful video management strategy is to employ Digital Asset Management (DAM). DAM
improves creative workflows and productivity by providing a common, anywhere accessible platform
to manage, locate, repurpose, and distribute video along with related content and other rich media.
Once employed, DAM simplifies creation, production and delivery processes, enables new
workflows and new business opportunities, while eliminating costs throughout the lifecycle.

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Organisations must keep videos properly by putting them in a secure and dry place. Videos can be
kept in paper of plastic sleeves/envelopes; which must be labelled correctly. After use, videos must
be kept in secure and dry place for example, lockable drawers. People must sign whenever they
collect and when they return the videos. This will prevent loss of learning materials and theft.
Organisations may also have different files for their videos which must be labelled correctly.

Internet
Despite the great benefits the Internet gives businesses, managers also need to control what their
employees access and how they use it. Many times, Internet access is an open invitation to waste
time. Many employees increasingly participate in Internet chat, personal e-mailing, and online
shopping and bill-paying. Extreme cases involve online pornography and gambling on company
time. To reduce these types of activities while providing some privacy for individual Internet use and
maximizing work-hours, consider the following strategies for controlling Internet use in the
workplace, set policies for internet use, monitor internet activity with information assurance and use
firewalls.

Handouts
Handouts are an integral part of the teaching and learning system. That is to say, they make a
difference to other elements in the system: they are not neutral add-ons, because their very
existence (or non-existence) has an effect on the process of the learning. Handouts shift some of
the burden of conveying information from the taught session to themselves. They free you to be
non-linear in your presentation and to pursue interesting angles raised by learners. So using
handouts or not, and their form, is an act of learning management, not simply of information-giving.
Make sure you organise your handouts effectively.

Textbooks
It's hard to get anything done if you can't find your stuff and contrary to popular belief, you don't
have to be a librarian to keep your books organized. Here's a way to make your books easier to find
and avoid having them fall off the shelf.
• Pull the books, papers, etc., off the shelf. Divide the items into two piles: those you want to
keep and those you want to give away.

• Take out any extra papers such as bookmarks that may be in the book. Recycle the
unneeded papers.

• Make a pile of books that need to be fixed. Later you can decide if it's worth the effort to fix
the book or if you would rather just replace it with a better copy.

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 • Decide how you are going to organize your collection. There are many ways you can
choose to arrange your books: by size, by colour, by number of pages, by subject, by your
favourite titles, by publisher, by publication date, by date you received the book, by your
favourite genre and then by author, by author (fiction).

• Make labels for your book using a hand-held label maker to add letters or Dewey Decimal
numbers to the spines of books.

• Put the books back into the bookshelf in whatever order you decided earlier, and enjoy your
clean, organized bookshelf!

Diagrams, charts, plans and diagrams must also be well organised for efficient use.

Charts
Charts provide easy-to-interpret visual representations of data. While charts do not provide the detail
typically found in tables, they allow audiences to understand the "big picture" easily. Consider using
a chart to depict group data over time. Charts convey the correlation between trends and time.

Activity 5

1. Organize occupational learning materials in your organisation for efficient use.

2. Explain the use of

• Index

• Contents Page

• Glossaries, and

• Electronic Texts

When managing occupational learning materials.

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3.2 LAYOUT AND PRESENTATION OF LEARNING MATERIALS
Textbooks and other learning materials can provide descriptions or steps describing and providing
the relevant guidance on how things must be done – this is usually information associated with the
application of knowledge for practical competencies incorporated in a learning programme. In this
event it may provide the criteria or steps or process to be followed to reach a practical outcome. It is
important to understand the way that learning material is compiled. The layout and presentation of
material when used effectively can add value to the learning strategy and the effectiveness in which
information is accessed and used.

Content page
The content page of a textbook or learning material provides information on the different parts,
modules or units of information contained in the book. This is usually divided into headings, sub-
headings and in some cases even sub sub-headings with relevant page referencing. It is always
useful to scan the context page of a textbook or learning material to form an overview of the context.
In this event, you will be able to find the correct information easily without paging around in an
undisciplined fashion.

Index
The index in a textbook is usually found at the end of the publication as it provides in alphabetical
order, a list of the topical areas of important concepts in the publication with all the relevant pages
where reference is made to the specific topic. When specific information is required in for example
conducting research, specific topics or topic contexts can be found here to enable quick referral to
the information so that it is not necessary to read the whole book in order to find a specific
paragraph.

Glossaries
The Glossary is a mini-dictionary in the back of your text. In scientific texts, Glossaries are
obviously longer than in art texts. Nonetheless, the glossary is an alphabetical listing of definitions
at the end of the text. Usually, the words that are listed in the Glossary are highlighted or bolded
within the body of the text so that readers know if it is a Glossary word. In simple terms, a glossary
is a list of words contained in the textbook or learning material with an explanation or definition of
the meaning of such a word.

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In groups discuss the importance of organising occupational learning materials. What does
organising learning materials means?

3.3 ENGAGING TECHNICAL LANGUAGE

Jargon is the language of specialized terms used by a group or profession. It is common shorthand
among experts and if used sensibly can be a quick and efficient way of communicating. Most jargon
consists of unfamiliar terms, abstract words, nonexistent words, acronyms, and abbreviations, with
an occasional euphemism thrown in for good measure. Every profession, trade, and organisation
has its own specialized terms. At first glance, jargon seems like a good thing: a quicker way to send
an effective communication, the way text message abbreviations can send common messages in a
shorter, yet understandable way. But that’s not always how things happen. Jargon can be an
obstacle to effective communication, causing listeners to tune out or fostering ill-feeling between
partners in a conversation. When jargon rules the day, the Message/written text can get obscured.
Take note

A key question to ask before using jargon is, “Who is the Receiver of my Message?” If you are a
specialist speaking to another specialist in your area, jargon may be the best way to send a
message while forging a professional bond—similar to the way best friends can communicate in
code. For example, an information technology (IT) systems analyst communicating with another IT
employee may use jargon as a way of sharing information in a way that reinforces the pair’s shared
knowledge. But that same conversation should be held in Standard English, free of jargon, when
communicating with staff members outside the IT group.

Most areas of learning and most working environments of disciplines have words and terminology
very specific to that discipline or environment. It is necessary to know technical language and
terminology to communicate effectively so that everyone understands exactly what is meant. If in
doubt, find out what words mean in order to use them correctly and in the correct context.

Activity 6
1. Puleng is really an introvert. When I took her to Kagiso’s party, she sat in a corner without
speaking to anyone. All she did was eat most of the snacks. The only reason she hangs out with

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 me is because I never try to force her to be sociable. She would never forgive me if I introduced
her to anyone. An introvert is usually__________

2. Thula is a great inventor. However, I don’t think that his latest invention, edible socks, is likely to
be too successful. Not many people want to eat socks. There are some things in life that should
remain inedible.
a) Which word in the above passage means “fit to be eaten”? ______________
b) Which word in the above passage means “not fit to be eaten”? ___________

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SECTION 4: CONDUCT BASIC RESEARCH AND
ANALYSE AND PRESENT FINDINGS

Specific Outcome
On completion of this section you will be able to conduct basic
research and analyse and present findings.

Assessment Criteria
❖ Appropriate or relevant topic and scope is identified and defined.
(SO 4, AC 1)

❖ Research steps are planned and sequenced appropriately.

(SO 4, AC 2)

❖ Research techniques are applied. (SO 4, AC 3)

❖ Information is evaluated for relevance. (SO 4, AC 4)

❖ Information is classified, categorized and sorted. (SO 4, AC 5)

❖ Research findings are analysed and presented in the appropriate

format. (SO 4, AC 6)

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4. CONDUCTING BASIC RESEARCH, ANALYSIS AND PRESENTATION OF FINDINGS

Organisations use research, especially in market research activities. Market research is used to
identify potential markets, the needs and wants of each, how those needs and wants can be met,
how products and services could be packaged to be most accessible to customers and clients, the
best pricing for those products and services, who the competitors are and how best to complete
against each, potential collaborators and how to collaborate with each -- and many other
applications of research. Organisations can conduct this research without having to have advanced
skills.

4.1 IDENTIFYING AND DEFINING APPROPRIATE OR RELEVANT TOPIC

Choosing a research topic is the first step in the research process, but the continuing evolution and
modification of the topic will continue throughout.

Choosing an area of interest

Most of the time, you will have a general theme you are interested in exploring. When choosing an
area to investigate:
• Choose something that is of genuine interest to you
• Choose something that is relevant to the assignment
• Choose something that is significant enough to warrant research being performed on it

As an example, you might decide that you want to take a closer look at the general area
of censorship.

Getting background information

Once you have a general area of interest in mind, it is important to refine your area of interest until
you have a manageable topic. An idea like "I want to write a paper about the problem of censorship"
lacks focus and will leave you frustrated. Refining your topic can be difficult if you are not deeply
familiar with your general area of interest. In order to help you focus your attention and topic, it is
important that you gather background information.

The purpose of gathering background information is:

• To give you an overview of the topic as a whole
• To alert you to the key issues and controversies
• To provide you with a sense of how the topic area relates to other topics
• To introduce you to the specialized vocabulary relating to the topic

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4.2 PLANNING AND APPROPRIATELY SEQUENCING RESEARCH STEPS

When you are involved in conducting a research project, you generally go through the steps
described below, either formally or informally. Some of these are directly involved in designing the
experiment to test the hypotheses required by the project. The following steps are generally used in
conducting a research project.

Step 1: Identify the Problem

The first step in the process is to identify a problem or develop a research question. The research
problem may be something the organisation identifies as a problem, some knowledge or information
that is needed by the organisation, or the desire to identify a recreation trend nationally. For
example, the problem that the organisation may identify is childhood obesity (see diagram below),
which is a local problem and concern within the community. This serves as the focus of the study.

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Step 2: Review the Literature
Now that the problem has been identified, the researcher must learn more about the topic under
investigation. To do this, the researcher must review the literature related to the research problem.
This step provides foundational knowledge about the problem area. The review of literature also
educates the researcher about what studies have been conducted in the past, how these studies
were conducted, and the conclusions in the problem area. In the obesity study, the review of
literature enables the programmer to discover horrifying statistics related to the long-term effects of
childhood obesity in terms of health issues, death rates, and projected medical costs. In addition, the
programmer finds several articles and information from the occupational learning resources that
describe the benefits of walking 10,000 steps a day. The information discovered during this step
helps the programmer fully understand the magnitude of the problem, recognize the future
consequences of obesity, and identify a strategy to combat obesity (i.e., walking).

Step 3: Clarify the Problem

Many times the initial problem identified in the first step of the process is too large or broad in scope.
In step 3 of the process, the researcher clarifies the problem and narrows the scope of the study.
This can only be done after the literature has been reviewed. The knowledge gained through the
review of literature guides the researcher in clarifying and narrowing the research project. In the
example, the programmer has identified childhood obesity as the problem and the purpose of the
study. This topic is very broad and could be studied based on genetics, family environment, diet,
exercise, self-confidence, leisure activities, or health issues. All of these areas cannot be
investigated in a single study; therefore, the problem and purpose of the study must be more clearly
defined. The programmer may decide that the purpose of the study is to determine if walking 10,000
steps a day for three days a week will improve the individual’s health. This purpose is more narrowly
focused and researchable than the original problem.

Step 4: Clearly Define Terms and Concepts

Terms and concepts are words or phrases used in the purpose statement of the study or the
description of the study. These items need to be specifically defined as they apply to the study.
Terms or concepts often have different definitions depending on who is reading the study. To
minimize confusion about what the terms and phrases mean, the researcher must specifically define
them for the study. In the obesity study, the concept of “individual’s health” can be defined in
hundreds of ways, such as physical, mental, emotional, or spiritual health. For this study, the
individual’s health is defined as physical health. The concept of physical health may also be defined
and measured in many ways. In this case, the programmer may decide to more narrowly define
“individual health” to refer to the areas of weight, percentage of body fat, and cholesterol. By

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defining the terms or concepts more narrowly, the scope of the study is more manageable for the
programmer, making it easier to collect the necessary data for the study. This also makes the
concepts more understandable to the reader.

Step 5: Define the Population

Research projects can focus on a specific group of people, facilities, park development, employee
evaluations, programs, financial status, marketing efforts, or the integration of technology into the
operations. For example, if a researcher wants to examine a specific group of people in the
community, the study could examine a specific age group, males or females, people living in a
specific geographic area, or a specific ethnic group. Literally thousands of options are available to
the researcher to specifically identify the group to study. The research problem and the purpose of
the study assist the researcher in identifying the group to involve in the study. In research terms, the
group to involve in the study is always called the population. Defining the population assists the
researcher in several ways.

• First, it narrows the scope of the study from a very large population to one that is
manageable.

• Second, the population identifies the group that the researcher’s efforts will be focused on
within the study. This helps ensure that the researcher stays on the right path during the
study.

• Finally, by defining the population, the researcher identifies the group that the results will
apply to at the conclusion of the study. In the example in table above, the programmer has
identified the population of the study as children ages 10 to 12 years. This narrower
population makes the study more manageable in terms of time and resources.

Step 6: Develop the Instrumentation Plan

The plan for the study is referred to as the instrumentation plan. The instrumentation plan serves as
the road map for the entire study, specifying who will participate in the study; how, when, and where
data will be collected; and the content of the program. This plan is composed of numerous decisions
and considerations. In the obesity study, the researcher has decided to have the children participate
in a walking program for six months. The group of participants is called the sample, which is a
smaller group selected from the population specified for the study. The study cannot possibly
include every 10- to 12-year-old child in the community, so a smaller group is used to represent the
population. The researcher develops the plan for the walking program, indicating what data will be
collected, when and how the data will be collected, who will collect the data, and how the data will

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be analyzed. The instrumentation plan specifies all the steps that must be completed for the study.
This ensures that the programmer has carefully thought through all these decisions and that she
provides a step-by-step plan to be followed in the study.

Step 7: Collect Data

Once the instrumentation plan is completed, the actual study begins with the collection of data. The
collection of data is a critical step in providing the information needed to answer the research
question. Every study includes the collection of some type of data—whether it is from the literature
or from subjects- to answer the research question. Data can be collected in the form of words on a
survey, with a questionnaire, through observations, or from the literature. In the obesity study, the
programmers will be collecting data on the defined variables: weight, percentage of body fat,
cholesterol levels, and the number of days the person walked a total of 10,000 steps during the
class. The researcher collects these data at the first session and at the last session of the program.
These two sets of data are necessary to determine the effect of the walking program on weight,
body fat, and cholesterol level. Once the data are collected on the variables, the researcher is ready
to move to the final step of the process, which is the data analysis.

Step 8: Analyze the Data

All the time, effort, and resources dedicated to steps 1 through 7 of the research process culminate
in this final step. The researcher finally has data to analyze so that the research question can be
answered. In the instrumentation plan, the researcher specified how the data will be analyzed. The
researcher now analyzes the data according to the plan. The results of this analysis are then
reviewed and summarized in a manner directly related to the research questions. In the obesity
study, the researcher compares the measurements of weight, percentage of body fat, and
cholesterol that were taken at the first meeting of the subjects to the measurements of the same
variables at the final program session. These two sets of data will be analyzed to determine if there
was a difference between the first measurement and the second measurement for each individual in
the program. Then, the data will be analyzed to determine if the differences are statistically
significant. If the differences are statistically significant, the study validates the theory that was the
focus of the study. The results of the study also provide valuable information about one strategy to
combat childhood obesity in the community.

As you have probably concluded, conducting studies using the eight steps of the scientific research
process requires you to dedicate time and effort to the planning process. You cannot conduct a
study using the scientific research process when time is limited or the study is done at the last
minute. Researchers who do this conduct studies that result in either false conclusions or
conclusions that are not of any value to the organisation.

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 Learning Activities

Practical Activity
You are required to conduct a research on a topic of your choice. Use the following guidelines;

1. Identify and define appropriate or relevant topic and scope for your basic research.
2. Plan and sequence appropriately research steps.
4.3 APPLICATION OF RESEACH TECHNIQUES

Gathering information gives the basis for providing an informed, reliable and valid answer to a given
question. This information should
• be from a range of sources
• be relevant to the research issue
• Come from reliable sources.

Do some preliminary research to explore the topic you are considering.

• Learn more about your topic by reading about it in encyclopedias and other general reference
sources. If the topic seems appropriate, take notes and see if you can narrow your focus to a
specific question.

• Do some quick reading in your sources to learn more about your topic. It might be wise to ask a
professor or some other authority on your subject for suggestions about the topic and for further
research sources.

• Decide what additional sources can provide valuable information for your project.

Face-to-face interviews
In addition to print sources, interviews with experts can provide valuable material for your research.
The most common form of qualitative research is face-to-face interviews. Face-to-face interviews
are just that: Meeting someone in person and discussing various issues. The informant – or person
you are interviewing – may be an expert in a particular field (e.g. the editor of a newspaper) or they
may be someone who is affected by the issues you are researching (e.g. someone who is HIV
positive or who reads the media). Although it is very important to develop a list of questions you
want to ask someone, face-to-face interviews usually involve more than “yes” or “no” answers. The
point is to try to understand the complexity of the issues you are researching. The nature of face-to-
face interviews is that they are usually quite discursive.

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Research tip: Face-to-face interviews

• Always prepare a set of questions to ask the informant;

• It is a good idea to record your interviews, so that you can check your facts later. Take notes
during the interview, if you feel comfortable doing this;

• Remember: Interviews take time, and the informant is giving you his or her time for free.
Interviews shouldn’t really take more than an hour, unless the informant wants to spend more
time talking to you. Usually 10 questions are enough for this amount of time;

• Sometimes people transcribe the interview recordings. This usually makes analysing the results
easier, but it also takes time and can be quite an effort. Consider including a budget in your
research proposal for transcription, and then pay someone else to do it;

• Sometimes you may need to ask the informant if they are prepared to be identified in your
research, or if they would like to be quoted anonymously. This is usually the case if their identity
needs to be protected, and sometimes if you are researching a controversial topic;

• You may want to consider letting your informant review any direct quotes you use before
publishing the research report. However, this takes time and sometimes can delay the research
process;

• Ask the informant if you can include their contact details in your research report;

• Ask the informant if he or she would like to be alerted when the research is published, and let
them know where they can read the report if it is publicly available.

Advantages of face-to-face interviews

• Can allow for in-depth knowledge sharing;
• Helps to develop the bigger picture;
• Helps with analysis of results;
• Good for networking (e.g. you may be referred to other people to interview).

Disadvantages of face-to-face interviews

• Can be time consuming;
• May be difficult to arrange an interview time;
• Can be difficult to compare and analyse information.
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Site visits and observation
Site visits (e.g. when you visit an organisation, a manufacturing plant, a clinic or a housing project)
are very useful and sometimes even necessary ways of gaining additional insight and making your
theoretical information concrete in your mind. Site visits will help you understand your information
better and will make the research process a much more rewarding experience. They allow you to
observe what is going on, and to ask questions you may not have thought about. Be curious! Even
if site visits are not part of your research methodology, it is recommended that you include at least
one in your research process, so you can form a mental picture of what’s happening on the ground.

Observation is simply a way of gathering information. This may involve a site visit but it can also
involve visiting a community, or a place, and watching what people do (e.g. stand in a street). Like a
site visit, it is a good way to concretize your research, and to help you understand your research
results better.

Advantages of site visits and observation

• Help you understand your research better;
• Help you ask questions you may not have thought of;
• Concretize your research;
• They are fun!

Disadvantages of site visits and observation

• Take time;
• Can be expensive (depending how far you need to travel);
• With observation in particular, you need to be careful how you interpret what you see. With
site visits, you may want to make sure you have a guide so that you can ask questions.

Learning Activities

Practical Activity

In groups, identify and apply research techniques to the research (topic and scope) you have
identified above.

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4.4 EVALUATING INFORMATION FOR RELEVANCE

There are many places to find information for a basic research. This includes;
• Internet (general searching/specific websites);
• Pamphlets/promotional material;
• Conferences;
• Experts (you may want to develop a database of experts in various fields);
• Magazines;
• E-newsletters;
• Keeping track of published research (usually by signing up to mailing lists or
e-newsletters, but keep an eye on the media as well; a lot of research – especially social
research – will be written about in newspapers and magazines).

Finding information is only half of the process when you are doing research. You must also
evaluate the quality of the information you find and it’s suitability for your needs. The need to
evaluate information will increase as you advance through your education and enter the workforce.
Regardless of the field you choose, evaluating information will be an important part of your work.
For example, when:
• Managers develop business strategies
• Health care professionals make treatment decisions
• Educators write lesson plans
• Lawyers decide how to approach cases

In all these cases, evaluating the quality of information plays an important role in professional work
situations.

Relevance
Information is judged relevant when it fits your needs in a given situation. Relevance is an important
aspect of information quality. It is not a property of the information itself, but rather of its relationship
to the need you have identified. It may be a piece of high quality information but not relevant to the
question you are asking or the scope of your search. There are a number of ways in which the
information may or may not be relevant to your needs.
• Geographical (it may relate to countries or areas which you are not interested in).
• Level (it may be too detailed/specialised or too general/simple for the level at which you are
working).

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 • Emphasis (it may not contain the kind of information you are seeking – this is often a
question of emphasis, which may not be identifiable from the abstract).

Relevance + Credibility = Good Information. A tip for determining relevance is to

• Be clear about your requirements – this will help you to be ruthless in discarding things on
the basis of relevance.

• Try to avoid having to read things in full – look at the title, abstract or summary, keywords
and descriptors. If you are evaluating a large body of material, learn to skim read and/or scan
information to get a quick indication of what it is about.

• Consider research in context. Do the research results provide a unique insight into an aspect
of your subject? Do they confirm or refute the findings of other researchers?

To evaluate relevance:
Ask the Questions Find Answers
Does the work address your research question or meet the Review your research question
requirements of your project or assignment? and/or assignment
Is the content appropriate for your research topic or • Check the table of contents or
assignment? scan the subheadings
• Scholarly vs. popular • Read the preface, abstract,
• Fact vs. opinion introduction, and/or conclusion
• Format/medium (e.g., book, journal, government report, • Look for footnotes or endnotes
web site, etc.) and/or a bibliography
• Subject coverage • Look for reviews
• Language o Magazines for Libraries
• Time period o International Periodicals
• Geographical area Directory
• Audience o Book reviews
• Primary (e.g., raw data, diaries, literature, photographs, o Internet Scout Report
first-hand accounts of an event, research reports, etc.)
vs. secondary (information that has been analyzed and
interpreted, e.g., literary criticism, most books, review of
an art show or play, etc.) vs. tertiary (sources that
compile, analyze and digest secondary sources,
e.g., encyclopedias, CQ Researcher)

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4.5 CLASSIFYING, CATEGORIZING AND SORTING INFORMATION

After gathering the data, the information must be converted into language which is understandable
for a wider audience. At this stage, the first step is editing and coding. The Product Manager checks
the data for any minor mistakes and then “codes” the data. Coding means recording, categorizing,
and interpreting the data. The second step in this process is to analyze the data. Research data,
unlike other types of information, is collected, observed, or created, for purposes of analysis to
produce original research results.

Research data formats

Research data comes in many varied formats:
• Text - flat text files, Word, Portable Document Format (PDF), Rich Text Format (RTF),
Extensible Markup Language (XML).
• Numerical - Statistical Package for the Social Sciences, Stats, Excel.
• Multimedia - jpeg, tiff, dicom, mpeg, QuickTime.
• Models - 3D, statistical.
• Software - Java, C.
• Discipline specific - Flexible Image Transport System (FITS) in astronomy, Crystallographic
Information File (CIF) in chemistry.
• Instrument specific - Olympus Confocal Microscope Data Format, Carl Zeiss Digital
Microscopic Image Format (ZVI).

Research data (traditional and electronic research) may include all of the following:
• Documents (text, Word), spreadsheets
• Laboratory notebooks, field notebooks, diaries
• Questionnaires, transcripts, codebooks
• Audiotapes, videotapes
• Photographs, films
• Test responses
• Slides, artefacts, specimens, samples
• Collection of digital objects acquired and generated during the process of research
• Data files
• Database contents (video, audio, text, images)
• Models, algorithms, scripts
• Contents of an application (input, output, log files for analysis software, simulation software,
schemas)

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 • Methodologies and workflows
• Standard operating procedures and protocols

The following research records may also be important to manage during and beyond the life of a
project:
• Correspondence (electronic mail and paper-based correspondence)
• Project files
• Grant applications
• Ethics applications
• Technical reports
• Research reports
• Master lists
• Signed consent forms

Data Classification
The process of arranging data into homogenous group or classes according to some common
characteristics present in the data is called classification. For example: the process of sorting letters
in a post office, the letters are classified according to the cities and further arranged according to
streets. In simple terms, data classification is the categorization of data for its most effective and
efficient use.

Bases of Classification:
There are four important bases of classification:
• Qualitative Base
• Quantitative Base
• Geographical Base
• Chronological or Temporal Base

a) Qualitative Base: When the data are classified according to some quality or attributes such as
sex, religion, literacy, intelligence etc…

b) Quantitative Base: When the data are classified by quantitative characteristics like heights,
weights, ages, income etc…

c) Geographical Base: When the data are classified by geographical regions or location, like
states, provinces, cities, countries etc…

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 d) Chronological or Temporal Base: When the data are classified or arranged by their time of
occurrence, such as years, months, weeks, days etc… for example: time series data.

Types of Classification:

a) One -way Classification: If we classify observed data keeping in view single characteristic,
this type of classification is known as one-way classification. For Example: The population of
world may be classified by religion as Muslim, Christians etc

b) Two -way Classification: If we consider two characteristics at a time in order to classify the
observed data then we are doing two way classifications. For Example: The population of
world may be classified by Religion and Sex.

c) Multi -way Classification: We may consider more than two characteristics at a time
to classify given data or observed data. In this way we deal in multi-way classification. For
Example: The population of world may be classified by Religion, Sex and Literacy.

Categorization
Qualitative analysis involves categorizing data into patterns as the primary basis for organizing and
reporting results. Categorization is the process in which ideas and objects
are recognized, differentiated and understood. Categorization implies that objects are grouped into
categories, usually for some specific purpose. Ideally, a category illuminates a relationship between
the subjects and objects of knowledge. Categorization is fundamental
in language, prediction, inference, decision making and in all kinds of environmental interaction. Set
up charts, columns, outlines, and ways of counting occurrences. The educator researcher can make
up different categories that fit the teaching situation(s) or use categories developed by another
researcher. Watch for ways that the data develops into categories different from other researchers
and explore those differences. Coding your findings will help categorize the data.

Sorting
Sorting data is a common procedure in research. Researchers usually do sorting in MS Excel
because it seems so simple, but with much caution, since it involves great risk if some data are not
included in the sort. Whereas, sorting in MS Access by using SQL is also simple but it generates
reliable results. Data can be sorted in ascending or descending order in order to help researcher
make informed decisions.

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4.6 ANALYSING AND PRESENTING RESEARCH FINDINGS

Data Analysis is the process of systematically applying statistical and/or logical techniques to
describe and illustrate, condense and recap, and evaluate data. When analyzing data (whether from
questionnaires, interviews, focus groups, or whatever), always start from review of your research
goals, i.e., the reason you undertook the research in the first place. This will help you organize your
data and focus your analysis. If you are conducting a performance improvement study, you can
categorize data according to each measure associated with each overall performance result, e.g.,
employee learning, productivity and results.

Basic analysis of "quantitative" information

(For information other than commentary, e.g., ratings, rankings, yes's, no's, etc.):
1. Make copies of your data and store the master copy away. Use the copy for making edits,
cutting and pasting, etc.
2. Tabulate the information, i.e., add up the number of ratings, rankings, yes's, and no’s for each
question.
3. For ratings and rankings, consider computing a mean, or average, for each question. For
example, "For question #1, the average ranking was 2.4". This is more meaningful than
indicating, e.g., how many respondents ranked 1, 2, or 3.
4. Consider conveying the range of answers, e.g., 20 people ranked "1", 30 ranked "2", and 20
people ranked "3".

Basic analysis of "qualitative" information

(Respondents' verbal answers in interviews focus groups or written commentary on questionnaires):
1. Read through all the data.
2. Organize comments into similar categories, e.g., concerns, suggestions, strengths,
weaknesses, similar experiences, program inputs, recommendations, outputs, outcome
indicators, etc.
3. Label the categories or themes, e.g., concerns, suggestions, etc.
4. Attempt to identify patterns, or associations and causal relationships in the themes, e.g., all
people who attended programs in the evening had similar concerns, most people came from
the same geographic area, most people were in the same salary range, what processes or
events respondents experience during the program, etc.
5. Keep all commentary for several years after completion in case needed for future reference.

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Interpreting information

1. Attempt to put the information in perspective, e.g., compare results to what you expected,
promised results; management or program staff; any common standards for your products or
services; original goals (especially if you are conducting a program evaluation); indications or
measures of accomplishing outcomes or results (especially if you are conducting an outcomes
or performance evaluation); description of the program's experiences, strengths, weaknesses,
etc. (especially if you are conducting a process evaluation).

2. Consider recommendations to help employees improve the program, managing learning

materials, product or service; conclusions about program operations or meeting goals, etc.

3. Record conclusions and recommendations in a report, and associate interpretations to justify

your conclusions or recommendations.

3.1.1 REPORTING RESULTS

1. The level and scope of content depends on to whom the report is intended, e.g., to funders /
bankers, employees, clients, customers, the public, etc.

2. Be sure employees have a chance to carefully review and discuss the report. Translate
recommendations to action plans, including who is going to do what about the research results
and by when.

3. Funders / bankers will likely require a report that includes an executive summary (this is a
summary of conclusions and recommendations, not a listing of what sections of information are
in the report -- that's a table of contents); description of the organisation and the program,
product, service, etc., under evaluation; explanation of the research goals, methods, and
analysis procedures; listing of conclusions and recommendations; and any relevant attachments,
e.g., inclusion of research questionnaires, interview guides, etc. The funder may want the report
to be delivered as a presentation, accompanied by an overview of the report. Or, the funder may
want to review the report alone.

4. Be sure to record the research plans and activities in a research plan which can be referenced
when a similar research effort is needed in the future.

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Presenting Research Findings Using Appropriate Formats
Several studies affirm the critical role that tables, figures, and graphs (or display items) play in
enhancing the quality of manuscripts. At the manuscript screening stage, these display items offer
reviewers and editors a quick overview of the study findings, and once the paper is published, they
do the same for readers (some of whom look only at these display items and not at the rest of the
manuscript). These visual elements help authors present detailed results and complex relationships,
patterns, and trends clearly and concisely, reduce the length of the manuscript; and enhance
readers’ understanding of the study results. But while well-presented tables and figures can
efficiently capture and present information, poorly crafted tables and figures can confuse readers
and impair the effectiveness of a paper. To help authors get the balance right, this sections presents
some essential guidelines to the effective use of tables and figures.

When to Use Tables and Figures

Producing effective tables and figures requires careful planning. Here’s how to go about it:
• First, check out what your scope has to say on the issue. Some project scopes limit the number
of tables and figures and also have specific guidelines on the design aspects of these display
items.
• Next, decide whether to use tables and figures or text to put across key information. (Refer to
Table below for help on making this decision.)

• After you have decided to use a display item, choose the display item that best fits your
purpose based on what you wish readers to focus on and what you want to present.(Refer to
Table below for more information.)
• Finally, ensure that your tables and figures are well-designed.

How to Choose between Tables, Figures, and Text to Present Data

Use a Table Use a Figure Use text
To show many and precise To show trends, patterns, and When you don’t have extensive
numerical values and other relationships across and or complicated data to present
specific data in a small space between data sets when the
general pattern is more
important than the exact data
values (what to use: graphs and
data plots)
To compare and contrast data To summarize research results When putting your data into a
values or characteristics among (what to use: graphs, data table would mean creating a
related items or items with plots, maps, and pie charts) table with 2 or fewer columns.

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several shared characteristics
or variables
To show the presence or To present a visual explanation When the data that you are
absence of specific of a sequence of events, planning to present is
characteristics procedures, geographic peripheral to the study or
features, or physical irrelevant to the main study
characteristics (what to use: findings
schematic diagrams, images,
photographs, and maps)

Research findings can be presented in the following formats;

• Reports
• PowerPoint presentations
• Dossiers
• Magazines
• Articles
• Documentaries
• Posters

Contents of a Research Report: an Example

Ensure your research plan is documented so that you can regularly and efficiently carry out your
research activities. In your plan, record enough information so that someone outside of the
organisation can understand what you're researching and how. For example, consider the following
format:

1. Title Page (name of the organisation that is being, or has a product/service/program that is being
researched; date)

2. Table of Contents

3. Executive Summary (one-page, concise overview of findings and recommendations)

4. Purpose of the Report (what type of research was conducted, what decisions are being aided by
the findings of the research, who is making the decision, etc.)

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5. Background About Organisation and Product/Service/Program that is being researched

a) Organisation Description/History
b) Product/Service/Program Description (that is being researched)
i. Problem Statement (in the case of nonprofits, description of the community need that is
being met by the product/service/program)
ii. Overall Goal(s) of Product/Service/Program
iii. Outcomes (or client/customer impacts) and Performance Measures (that can be
measured as indicators toward the outcomes)
iv. Activities/Technologies of the Product/Service/Program (general description of how the
product/service/program is developed and delivered)
v. Staffing (description of the number of personnel and roles in the organisation that are
relevant to developing and delivering the product/service/program)

6. Overall Evaluation Goals (e.g, what questions are being answered by the research)

7. Methodology

a) Types of data/information that were collected

b) How data/information was collected (what instruments were used, etc.)
c) How data/information were analyzed
d) Limitations of the evaluation (e.g, cautions about findings/conclusions and how to use the
findings/conclusions, etc.)

8. Interpretations and Conclusions (from analysis of the data/information)

9. Recommendations (regarding the decisions that must be made about the

product/service/program)

10. Appendices: content of the appendices depends on the goals of the research report, e.g.:

a) Instruments used to collect data/information

b) Data, e.g, in tabular format, etc.
c) Testimonials, comments made by users of the product/service/program
d) Case studies of users of the product/service/program
e) Any related literature

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 Learning Activities

Practical Activity

In groups;
• Evaluate the information you have gathered for relevance
• Classify, categorize and sort the information.
• Analyse and present research findings in the appropriate format.

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SECTION 5: FUNCTION IN A TEAM

Specific Outcome
On completion of this section you will be able to function in a team.

Assessment Criteria
❖ Active participation takes place in group learning situations.
(SO 5, AC 1)

❖ Responsibilities in the team are taken up and group work conventions

are applied in learning situations. (SO 5, AC 2)

❖ Conflict management and negotiating techniques are practised in a

defined context. (SO 5, AC 3)

❖ Team work results in meaningful product or outcomes. (SO 5, AC 4)

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5. FUNCTIONING IN A TEAM
Teamwork is an action performed by a team towards a common goal. A team consists of more than
one person, each of whom typically has different responsibilities. A team also includes seven
common elements: 1. common purpose; 2. interdependence; 3. clear roles and contributions; 4.
satisfaction from mutual working; 5. mutual and individual accountability; 6. realization of synergies;
and 7. Empowerment. A challenge for leaders of groups of people, such as in a work department, is
to get everyone to pull together and function as a team instead of going in separate directions. One
way to foster teamwork is to engage the members in activities that require them to work together.
Activities can be physical in nature or require the use of team brain power to solve a problem. Fun
activities such as sports or games can allow the team members to relax and enjoy working with one
another. In order for teams to function effectively they must manage how they work together and
how they interact with the rest of the organisation.

5.1 ACTIVE PARTICIPATION

Learners learn best when they are actively involved in the process. Researchers report that,
regardless of the subject matter, learners working in small groups tend to learn more of what is
taught and retain it longer than when the same content is presented in other instructional formats.
Learners who work in collaborative groups also appear more satisfied with their classes. Various
names have been given to this form of teaching, and there are some distinctions among these:
cooperative learning, collaborative learning, collective learning, learning communities, peer teaching,
peer learning, reciprocal learning, team learning, study circles, study groups, and work groups. But
all in all, there are three general types of group work: informal learning groups, formal learning
groups, and study teams (adapted from Johnson, Johnson, and Smith, 1991).

• Informal learning groups are ad hoc temporary clusterings of learners within a single training
session. Informal learning groups can be initiated, for example, by asking learners to turn to a
neighbor and spend two minutes discussing a question you have posed. You can also form
groups of three to five to solve a problem or pose a question. You can organize informal groups
at any time in a class of any size to check on learners' understanding of the material, to give
learners an opportunity to apply what they are learning, or to provide a change of pace.

• Formal learning groups are teams established to complete a specific task, such as perform a
lab experiment, write a report, carry out a project, or prepare a position paper. These groups
may complete their work in a single class session or over several weeks. Typically, learners
work together until the task is finished, and their project is graded.

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 • Study teams are long-term groups (usually existing over the course of a semester) with stable
membership whose primary responsibility is to provide members with support, encouragement,
and assistance in completing course requirements and assignments. Study teams also inform
their members about lectures and assignments when someone has missed a session. The
larger the class and the more complex the subject matter, the more valuable study teams can
be.

Meetings
Meetings are often dreaded by group members because they lack focus and appear to be
unproductive. However, group meetings can be a great asset if they are planned properly and
administered effectively. A well-organized meeting also has a tremendous influence on the success
of a team. In addition to the information sharing purpose, a team meeting also strengthens
interpersonal bonds, improves communication and teamwork, increases team morale and
satisfaction, and boosts productivity. All of these meeting by-products enhance team
effectiveness and success.

Site/field visits
Shadowing and visits to other sites are used for inducting new employees, for workers taking on
new responsibilities and for improving cooperation between different sites. They could be very
helpful for developing a wider understanding of projects, other work groups, suppliers and
customers; but this need is often underestimated.

Workshops
Workshops are generally organized by an institution or association in order to develop certain skills,
instructional materials, book, resources material, supportive material, work book etc. Workshops can
be organized to develop certain skills of employees. Employees could be trained in certain new
laboratory skills, develop a question bank, analyse question in set different examinations and
suggest reforms. A workshop could mean hard and concentrated work on the part of experienced
employees to create certain educational materials. A workshop comprises a small, selected group of
employees or experts drawn from actual working situations or related experts who theories on the
activities.

Discussions
Group discussion on study is essential for effective learning. In group discussion learning is shared
and learner participating in discussion are benefitted. When you study a topic, discuss it with your
colleagues. Tell your colleagues that you will discuss about a particular topic tomorrow so that they
can prepare the topic for tomorrow’s discussion. In discussion every learner has his turn to talk. Try

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to be polite and friendly in discussion. Participating in group discussion has the many benefits: It
enhances your learning -You learn more; Discussion generates good questions; It shows you your
weakness – it improves you and it rectifies your mistakes.

Active Learning Activities

Following are various active learning activities that you might use in conjunction with the traditional
lecture format. These activities are viable for any training room of any size. Active learning activities
include, questions, pro and con grid, brainstorming, formative, think-pair-sharing, one-minute paper
or short writes, problem solving: demonstrations, proofs and stories, modeling analytical skills,
debates and role playing.

Excursions
Excursions or field trips enhance learners' learning by providing the opportunities for learners to
participate in curriculum-related activities outside the normal workplace routine. They are well-
planned curriculum-related activities that aim to maximize learners' learning experiences. Educators
must make what occurs before and after the trip meaningful in order to maintain what learners
learned on the trip.

Working alongside others

Working alongside others allows people to observe and listen to others at work and to participate in
activities; and hence to learn some new practices and new perspectives, to become aware of
different kinds of knowledge and expertise and to gain some sense of other people’s tacit
knowledge. This mode of learning, which includes a lot of observation as well as discussion, is
extremely important for learning tacit knowledge or the knowledge that underpins routines and
intuitive decisions and is difficult to explain. When people see what is being said and done,
explanations can be much shorter and the fine detail of incidents is still in people’s minds; and multi-
sensory engagement over some time enables the gradual development of tacit as well as explicit
situational understanding.

Activity 7

1. Cleary explain the importance of working in team during the learning process.

2. What are some of the ways that you can use to ensure that active participation takes place in
group situations?

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5.2 TEAM RESPONSIBILITIES

To make group work effective as well as successful, groups need to have well-defined goals and a
plan for meeting those goals. Another important element of success is for each team member to
have an assigned role. Groups tend to function better if member roles are defined and assigned
during the first meeting. These roles help all members to actively participate in the group process.
However, each member doesn't need to be stuck in one role. Consider rotating roles, depending on
the goals and activities of the meeting, so each member can experience all five functions of the
group.

Five Roles of Group Members (Individual Roles that Help Groups Stay on Task)
Taskmaster: makes sure the group stays on task.
Sample Taskmaster statements:
• "Have we gone over Section 3 yet?"
• "That's interesting, but our job is to . . ."
• "We need to move on now; we're running out of time."

Checker: verifies that everyone agrees with an answer or approach and that all understand. Your
role is to check all the work done by the group. Make sure that all group members understand the
material by asking questions. Check each team member's answers to tasks for accuracy and
completeness. The learning will be assessed. Sample Checker statements:
• "Everyone initial if you agree."
• "Mary, do you understand?"
• "John, could you describe that on your own?"

Gatekeeper - makes sure each person has a turn and that all participate about equally--no loafers
and no bullies.
Sample Gatekeeper statements:
• "That's interesting, Joe. Do you agree, Susan?"
• "Let's hear from Pete."

Praiser - encourages others to share ideas, give opinions, and work hard. Makes sure members
know they have done a good job and are appreciated; praises ideas and helping behaviors.
Sample Praiser statements:
• "I know we can do this. Let's keep trying!"
• "We only have two sections left to go."
• "Great idea!"

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Recorder - documents responses once all agree; completes group evaluation forms. Your role is to
write down the team's ideas, decisions and answers while the discussion proceeds. The recorder
should also check that the whole group agrees with the answers. You will be asked to explain your
group’s thinking in the whole class discussion this afternoon
Sample Recorder statements:
• "Were the letters D, B, E, A, C?" Say them again so I write it down correctly."

You can have these roles as conductor, chair, recorder and reporter. You can even have a group of
more than five- there are lots of additional roles additional members can play that will be helpful-
roles like Gofer (go get stuff), Clarifier/Paraphraser, Noise Monitor, Researcher, Elaborator, Prober,
and Integrator--just to name a few.

5.2.1 GROUP AND INDIVIDUAL RESPONSIBILITIES

In a cooperative learning situation, every team member has both individual responsibilities and
group responsibilities. If a team member doesn't take care of his share of the responsibilities, it will
cause problems for the entire group. Think about the following:

Each Individual Is Responsible for:

• Trying
• Asking
• Helping
• Courtesy

As a Team, Learners Are Responsible for:

• Solving
• Consulting other groups, if necessary, to clear up confusion
• Helping group members and members of other groups (if asked)
• Working together to achieve tasks and goals

Expected Behaviors:
• Contributing and helping
• Listening to others with care
• Encouraging everyone in the group to participate
• Praising helpful actions or good ideas
• Asking for help if it is needed
• Checking to make sure everyone understands
• Staying on task with the group

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5.2.2 APPLYING GROUP WORK CONVENTIONS

Participation in group processes covers team-working towards a common outcome and groups set
up for a special purpose such as discussing a client, problem solving, reviewing some practices,
planning ahead, or responding to external changes. Consultations within or outside the working
group, or even outside the organisation, are used to coordinate activities or to get advice. The act of
initiating a consultation, however, depends on the relationships between the parties, the extent of a
worker’s network and the culture of the workplace. For newcomers the distinction between a
consultation and being mentored or supervised is not always clear, as part of a mentor’s or
supervisor’s role is making oneself available for consultation.

Conferences are probably more important for updating and networking then for direct learning, and
short courses were the main kind of formal Continuing Professional Development. Attending short
training courses was important for some people at particular stages in their career. But even then,
work-based learning was important in developing the ability to use what has been learned off-the-
job. This was especially true for short courses, which have very little impact unless they are
appropriately timed and properly followed up at work. There is evidence from Basic Skills training,
however, that learning schemes in or near the workplace are able to pick up on the use of various
basic skills at work and hence be much more relevant and convenient, as well as helping to develop
relationships among those attending them.

Learning teams are most successful when the physical space of the room is configured to support
small team conversations. Pairs should be seated next to each other, and teams of four should be
seated so that their tables or desks form a continuous surface for teamwork. All team members
should be able to see each other’s faces and math work to facilitate conversation. If the team
members are too far apart or cannot easily see each other, learners may find it too difficult to work
with teammates, give up, and try to work alone (if they work at all). Learners must therefore interact
with one another during the learning process.

For teams to be successful, members have to work together and take different responsibilites.
Discuss with examples.

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5.3 CONFLICT MANAGEMENT

As organisations continue to restructure work teams, the need for training in conflict resolution will
grow. Conflict arises from differences, and when individuals come together in teams, their
differences in terms of power, values, and attitudes contribute to the creation of conflict. To avoid the
negative consequences that can result from disagreements, most methods of resolving conflict
stress the importance of dealing with disputes quickly and openly. Conflict is not necessarily
destructive, however. When managed properly, conflict can result in benefits for a team. Signs of
team conflict include:
• Name calling
• Gossiping
• Increased absenteeism
• Complaining
• Anger
• Not sharing information
• Lack of results
• Missed deadlines

5.3.1 HANDLING NEGATIVE CONFLICT

When negative conflict does occur there are five accepted methods for handling it: Direct Approach,
Bargaining, Enforcement, Retreat, and De-emphasis (Nelson, 1995). Each can be used effectively in
different circumstances.

1. Direct Approach: This may be the best approach of all. It concentrates on the leader
confronting the issue head-on. Though conflict is uncomfortable to deal with, it is best to look at
issues objectively and to face them as they are. If criticism is used, it must be constructive to the
recipients. This approach counts on the techniques of problem-solving and normally leaves
everyone with a sense of resolution, because issues are brought to the surface and dealt with.

2. Bargaining: This is an excellent technique when both parties have ideas on a solution yet
cannot find common ground. Often a third party, such as a team leader, is needed to help find
the compromise. Compromise involves give and take on both sides, however, and usually ends
up with both walking away equally dissatisfied.

3. Enforcement of Team Rules: Avoid using this method if possible; it can bring about hard
feelings toward the leader and the team. This technique is only used when it is obvious that a
member does not want to be a team player and refuses to work with the rest. If enforcement has
to be used on an individual, it may be best for that person to find another team.

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4. Retreat: Only use this method when the problem isn't real to begin with. By simply avoiding it or
working around it, a leader can often delay long enough for the individual to cool off. When used
in the right environment by an experienced leader this technique can help to prevent minor
incidents that are the result of someone having a bad day from becoming real problems that
should never have occurred.

5. De-emphasis: This is a form of bargaining where the emphasis is on the areas of agreement.
When parties realize that there are areas where they are in agreement, they can often begin to
move in a new direction.

5.3.2 NEGOTIATION
Although there are common patterns, there is no one best way to deal with conflict. Disputes arise
for different reasons and every team is unique. Varney (1989) proposes that negotiation is the most
effective response to conflict when parties stand to gain something, each has some power, and
there is interdependency. Negotiation offers flexibility and viability other responses, such as
Avoidance, Confrontation, and Diffusion lack. The process of negotiation involves listening to both
sides, seeking out common areas of interest and agreement, and building on them so that
individuals can understand each other's points of view. Team leaders can do the following in order
to resolve conflict;

Diagnosis: Recognizing areas of understanding and areas of differences.

Initiation: Bringing the disagreements to the surface.
Listening: Hearing not only what the other person is saying, but the Emotional aspects as well.
Problem Solving: A process with numerous steps including data gathering, Considering its impact,
examining alternatives, identifying solutions, and developing a plan of action. In order to resolve
their differences, it is recommended to bring the parties together and, with the assistance of a third
party, ask the following questions:
• What is the problem, as you perceive it?
• What does the other person do that contributes to the problem?
• What do you want or need from the other person?
• What do you do that contributes to the problem?
• What first step can you take to resolve the problem?

Activity 8
1. What is conflict? What are some the methods that can be used to manage conflict in
organisations?
2. In groups practise conflict management techniques and negotiating techniques using real work

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 scenarios.

5.4 TEAM WORK RESULTS

To be an effective team, you must reach agreements on goals, make good decisions about how to
achieve those goals, and help each other accomplish activities, despite differences.

Reaching consensus
Consensus is a process for group decision-making. It is a method by which an entire group of
people can come to an agreement. The input and ideas of all participants are gathered and
synthesized to arrive at a final decision acceptable to all. Through consensus, we are not only
working to achieve better solutions, but also to promote the growth of community and trust.

Competing tasks
While working effectively with others can be a very productive and satisfying experience, it can also
be a very challenging task. For groups to be effective, members need to work together to complete a
task. The way group members relate to one another and perform a variety of roles is known as the
dynamics of the team. It is not just the individual members who determine the group dynamics; the
means of communication they use also has an impact. Members of a group may have to relate and
communicate in a number of ways: face-to-face as a whole group, through phone links, via email or
other electronic communication, or a combination of these.

Clarify task requirements

It is important for a group to establish an agreed set of protocols or ground rules for the way they
behave and interact with each other. This might include respecting what people say, not talking
behind their backs and encouraging open discussion. Working on problems that are too general, not
well defined or too large can be difficult. Clarify the purpose of the project and what skills you are
expected to demonstrate; have an agreed purpose and set achievable goals. Get to know your task.
Break it down into sub-tasks. Identify what parts can be done independently and what parts are
interdependent. You should have an agreed approach in terms of steps to be taken and a time line
to show what tasks should be done.

Divide tasks into steps and assign each member a specific task to attack long term projects. Often
this will go easier if people volunteer for tasks they like to do. When team members work together,
they can complete they will be able to meet deadlines and achieve more for the group and
organisation at large. Working in teams will result in meaningful work results or outcomes. Invest in
work teams!

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Activity 9
Why should team members reach consensus? What strategies do you have in place in your
organisation to ensure that teams meet deadlines and produce positive results?

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SECTION 6: REFLECT ON HOW CHARACTERISTICS OF
THE WORKPLACE AND OCCUPATIONAL CONTEXT
AFFECT LEARNING

Specific Outcome
On completion of this section you will be able to reflect on how
characteristics of the workplace and occupational context affect
learning.

Assessment Criteria
❖ Sector and organisation type is identified. (SO 6, AC 1)

❖ Features of the occupational environment are described and

discussed. (SO 6, AC 2)

❖ Ways in which these features affect learning processes and/or

application of learning are described and discussed. (SO 6, AC 3)

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6. REFLECTION ON CHARACTERISTICS OF THE WORKPLACE
In order to retain a technological competitive edge, organisations need employees with up-to-the-
minute technical skills to work with their up-to-date plant and equipment and to streamline their
operating procedures. Continuous technical training is a must to maintain quality and productivity. In
addition, in order to function successfully on the job, employees also need training in a broad set of
workplace skills. Employees need training in the following areas;
• Learning how to learn
• Reading, writing and mathematics
• Communicating and listening
• Problem solving and creative thinking
• Goal setting and developing their career potential
• Relating to others and working in teams
• Sharing leadership roles

6.1 SECTOR AND ORGANISATION TYPE

An industrial sector refers to a broad way of grouping similar industries. An industry means all firms
in the same type of business e.g. the Banking industry refers to all businesses involved in providing
financial services. Generally, there are three industrial sectors, although other textbooks sometimes
refer to a fourth one. An organisation is a social group which distributes tasks for a collective goal.
There are a variety of legal types of organisations, including: corporations, governments, non-
governmental organisations, international organisations, armed forces, charities, not-for-profit
corporations, partnerships, cooperatives, and universities. A hybrid organisation is a body that
operates in both the public sector and the private sector, simultaneously fulfilling public duties and
developing commercial market activities. As a result the hybrid organisation becomes a mixture of
a government and a corporate organisation.

Public sector
Is the part of the economy concerned with providing basic government services. The composition of
the public sector varies by country, but in most countries the public sector includes such services as
the police, military, public roads, public transit, primary education and healthcare for the poor. The
public sector might provide services that non-payer cannot be excluded from (such as street
lighting), services which benefit all of society rather than just the individual who uses
the service (such as public education), and services that encourage equal opportunity.

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Parastatals
A government-owned corporation, state-owned company, state-owned entity, state enterprise,
publicly owned corporation, government business enterprise, or parastatal is a legal entity created
by a government to undertake commercial activities on behalf of an owner government. Their legal
status varies from being a part of government into stock companies with a state as a regular
stockholder. There is no standard definition of a government-owned corporation (GOC) or state-
owned enterprise (SOE), although the two terms can be used interchangeably. The defining
characteristics are that they have a distinct legal form and they are established to operate in
commercial affairs. While they may also have public policy objectives, GOCs should be
differentiated from other forms of government agencies or state entities established to pursue purely
non-financial objectives.

Heavy Industry
Heavy industry relates to a type of business that typically carries a high capital cost (capital-
intensive), high barriers to entry and low transportability. The term "heavy" refers to the fact that the
items produced by "heavy industry" used to be products such as iron, coal, oil, ships, etc. Today the
reference also refers industries that cause disruption to the environment in the form of pollution,
deforestation, etc.
Industries that are typically considered heavy include:
• Chemicals and plastics
• Steel and oil refining, production, Mining
• Industrial machinery, Mass transit (railways, airlines, shipbuilders)

Another trait of heavy industry is that it most often sells its goods to other industrial customers,
rather than to the end consumer. Heavy industries tend to be a part of the supply chain of other
products. As a result, their stocks will often rally at the beginning of an economic upturn and are
often the first to benefit from an increase in demand.

Light Industry
Light Industry is a section of an economy's secondary industry characterized by less capital-
intensive and more labour-intensive operations. Products made by an economy's light industry tend
to be targeted toward end consumers rather than other businesses. Consumer electronics and
clothing manufacturing are examples of light industry.

Small businesses are those companies with fewer than 50 employees.

Medium-sized businesses are those companies with between 50 and 499 employees.

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Larger businesses are companies with 500 or more employees.

6.2 FEATURES OF THE OCCUPATIONAL ENVIRONMENT

The occupational environment is the context in which a particular occupational role is carried out.
There are many ways to think about this context. Occupational adaptation proposes to think about it
as work, leisure/play, or self-care occupational environments. These are very familiar ideas in
occupational therapy and ones that come naturally to occupational therapists. While occupational
environments in general can be categorized this way, the specific features of a particular
occupational environment are different from another one within the same category. For example,
your work circumstance may be very different from that of a professional friend even though you are
both occupational accountants. What creates the differences is that each has influences that make
each work environment what it is.

Occupational adaptation labels these influences as physical, social, and cultural subsystems. In
other words, the physical, social, and cultural subsystems represent the nonhuman and human
factors within a work setting. The same thing can be said of leisure occupational environments as
well as self-care occupational environments. The subsystems in a particular occupational
environment supply the external occupational role expectations.

For example, suppose one of your favorite leisure occupations is attending professional baseball or
tennis games. The way in which you carry out your role as a spectator will be influenced by the
physical features of the parking lot, the stadium, the seats, locations of restrooms and concession
stands, etc. (the physical subsystem). Friends or family who attend the game with you, people
seated around you, and those who stand in line with you form the social subsystem. If you are a
parent accompanying your children, the social expectation will be different than on occasions when
you are attending the game with adults only. The cultural subsystem consists of all the customs,
rules and regulations, missions or purpose. For example, the seventh-inning stretch is a part of a
cultural subsystem as is cheering for the home team and playing the National Anthem to begin the
event.

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These physical, social and cultural subsystems tell us what the external role expectations are in a
particular situation. The specifics differ from one occupational environment to another although the
same principle applies. Generally, features of the occupational environment includes; environmental
features, technological resources, communication resources, communication strategies, and
multilingual needs in relation to client or colleague interaction.

6.3 WAYS IN WHICH THESE FEATURES AFFECT THE LEARNING PROCESS

A standardized approach of learning strategies has a strong emphasis on formal training on-the-job
and off-the-job and an active role of the training department through analysis of learning needs,
formulation of training programmes, developing and providing training, in which workers fulfill a very
passive role as learners. Training is primarily aimed at the adaptation of qualification of employees
to renewed demands of the production process and jobs. It is clear that employees working in these
new forms of work organisations who learn just by performing their job, by dealing with demands,
expectations and problems that occur in the work situation, need broader and/or different
professional qualifications.

Note!

Research shows high-performing organisations share certain features in relation to learning and
development as follows:
• They align and integrate their learning and development initiatives with corporate and
business planning by reviewing existing activities and initiating new learning programs to
support corporate plans.
• The corporate culture supports these initiatives and addresses cultural barriers to learning.
• Their managers invest in, and are accountable for, learning and development.
• They focus on the business application of training rather than the type of training, and they
consider appropriate learning options- de-emphasizing classroom training and allowing staff
time to process what they have learned on the job consistent with adult learning principles.
• They evaluate learning and development formally, systematically and rigorously.

Organisations can therefore support features of the occupational environment by;

• Encouraging a supportive environment to enable newly acquired skills to be nurtured and to
enable the transfer of learning to the workplace. This could include mentoring and coaching
(formal and informal) arrangements as part of managers’ and supervisors’ normal
responsibilities. (Supportive workplace environment).
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 • Encouraging staff by providing opportunities for them to test and develop new skills
(Opportunities to apply new skills): Reinforce or clarify any learning that is critical to the
organisation’s performance, ensure suitable job/task allocation, Make required technology
available

• Providing support to staff to disseminate newly acquired information on key subject matters
(Opportunities to disseminate new knowledge). Such support could include seminars,
presentations workshops etc. There may also be opportunities within work areas, within the
organisation or across the community to foster “communities of practice” for areas of
specialty or for areas of common interest such as policy development, program delivery,
regulation, legal, IT, accounting and evaluation and so on. For example, the organisation can
give trainees opportunities to interact with other employees during presentations or interact
with customers and provide assistance.

• Giving regular timely informal feedback to staff, as well as formal when required through the
organisation’s performance management system. (On-the-job performance evaluation).

Organisations can enhance communication learning opportunities through;

• Publicity Campaigns to promote learning conducive workplaces
• Workplace advisors / Networks of experts
• Quality label for good practices on learning opportunities at workplace
• Distribution of instruments to enhance workplace learning.

Another important lever to enhance new forms of work organisation is to monitor these initiatives
using a survey. This will certainly help to maintain the issue on the policy agenda. Finally, it is
recommended that a regulatory framework for the improvement of learning opportunities in
organisations be worked out. It is useful to work in close collaboration with social partners in this
field, e.g. via sectoral covenants and collective agreements.

Learning Activities

Practical Activity

In groups;
• Give examples of types of organisations in South Africa.
• Describe and discuss features of the occupational environment.
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 • Describe and discuss ways in which these features affect learning processes and/or
application of learning.

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