Affiliation:
1. University of South Africa, South Africa
Abstract
A systematic review of the literature of e-pedagogical support strategies for an open distance learning context was done to explore the knowledge “gap” on existing scholarly works. This paper investigates the use of pedagogical support strategies employed to support student learning in an online Teaching Methodology of Economics course. The research followed a pragmatic approach—an explanatory mixed-methods design—to conduct the research. An online questionnaire and eDiscussion forum entries were employed to collect data. Convenient and purposive sampling of postgraduate students (n=179) in Teaching Methodology of Economics were selected. Students voluntarily completed the online survey. Findings and practical implications were formulated to advance online pedagogical strategies to support student learning and thus promote essential competencies for the course in the college of education at an open distance learning university. The current study has only examined a small sampling of student views regarding pedagogical strategies employed in a teacher education online course. More research is needed to establish whether a larger sample, comparing similar courses in the teacher education programme, will yield different results.