Action research on implementing Whole Brain® hybrid learning in private higher education

Abstract

With this action research study, I aimed to monitor the development of my professional identity as early-career academic. The study focused on implementing Whole Brain® hybrid modes of learning in the Life Skills module I offered during the COVID-19 pandemic. Constructivism provided the theoretical framing for the Whole Brain® hybrid learning opportunities. A four-cycle action research process was followed.

At the commencement of the study, I completed the Herrmann Brain Dominance Instrument® (HBDI®). This instrument identifies one's preference for modes of thinking. My preferred modes of thinking enriched my teaching practice and informed the way I reflected on myself and my practice. I came to realise that I needed to accommodate the thinking preferences of my students, irrespective of my own, when facilitating and assessing learning. Using Whole Brain® hybrid learning principles is a novel idea that was studied for the first time in my specific context.

Qualitative data was collected by means of student feedback questionnaires, observation of practice, keeping a reflective journal and collecting photo evidence. Data was collected during and after four hybrid learning opportunities.

The meaning I constructed during the implementation of Whole Brain® hybrid learning is an outcome of the study. The rationale for using an action research design to monitor the development of my professional lecturer identity is double-layered: it offered me the opportunity to reflect on self and practice in a scholarly fashion. It served as an exemplar of Whole Brain® reflexive practice that can be shared with the wider scholarly community.