Track: Engineering Education

Abstract

The higher education fraternity in South Africa has been undergoing a metamorphosis in response to competing demands to modernise in line with the local and international standards. The efficacy of blended teaching and diverse assessment approaches in the field of town planning has not been well documented. This work investigates the impact of blended learning and innovative assessments on town planning students’ performance and success rates. The study adopted the phenomelogical case study research design and a mixed method approach where both quantitative and qualitative data were gathered, analysed and presented. Statistical, content, and document analyses were used to interpret data from students and teachers participating in blended learning and innovative assessments at the University of Johannesburg. Preliminary results reveal that blended learning and the application of diverse assessments methods to town planning students significantly increase and improve the success rates. The work concludes by acknowledging the positive impact of properly tailored and packaged blended learning approaches where both contact and online classes, and innovative assessments enhance understanding of town planning concepts. Town planning schools need to adopt teaching and learning approaches that incorporate both contact and online learning, and assorted assessments to enhance student understanding and success rate.