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Summary, Conclusion and Recommendations

This chapter summarizes the study, provides conclusions, and makes recommendations. It found that using the Whole Brain Teaching model helped the facilitator accommodate diverse learning styles and improved learners' retention, participation, and attitudes. The model challenges facilitators to adapt their style to learners' diversity. It concludes facilitators must be innovative to maximize all learners' potential. It recommends dentistry facilitators integrate the Whole Brain model's principles to enhance awareness of diverse thinking styles and stimulate full development of learners' abilities.

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Mohamed Abdulqadir
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26 views

Summary, Conclusion and Recommendations

This chapter summarizes the study, provides conclusions, and makes recommendations. It found that using the Whole Brain Teaching model helped the facilitator accommodate diverse learning styles and improved learners' retention, participation, and attitudes. The model challenges facilitators to adapt their style to learners' diversity. It concludes facilitators must be innovative to maximize all learners' potential. It recommends dentistry facilitators integrate the Whole Brain model's principles to enhance awareness of diverse thinking styles and stimulate full development of learners' abilities.

Uploaded by

Mohamed Abdulqadir
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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CHAPTER 5

5. SUMMARY, CONCLUSION AND


RECOMMENDATIONS
5.1 Summary
In the paradigm of aBE the role of the lecturer has changed from a deliverer of
content (lecturer-centred) to a facilitator of learning that helps the learners
(learner-centred) to master the critical and specific outcomes in this study unit for
Toothmorphology. This new role of the lecturer in dentistry includes a variety of
functions (Chapter 2, p. 19) during the teaching and learning process to help the
learners to be successful during learning of new knowledge, skills and attitudes.

This study has implemented the principles of the Whole Brain Teaching and
Learning Model to propagate meaningful learning by accommodating and
developing thinking style diversity. Profiling this group of learners stimulated
awareness of diverse thinking styles to the learning facilitator. The mean profile
score of the group indicates that there is a statistically significant strong to a very
strong preference for all four brain dominant modes of the Whole Brain Model,
and consequently preferences for learning activities that include all four thinking
modes.

These findings have challenged the facilitator to adapt his own thinking style
preference during learning in order to accommodate and develop a group of
learners with diverse thinking styles. Creative and innovative learning materials
and activities, planned and implemented via the Whole Brain Model, were used
to facilitate learners to master the critical and specific outcomes of learning in the
study unit for Toothmorphology. Different learning materials, methods and
techniques were not only used for the purpose of diversity but were planned and
delivered with a specific strategy to minimize learning avoidances and to develop
whole brain thinking.
During the study the facilitator of learning made use of action research to
evaluate and adapt implemented learning activities continuously and to minimize

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learning avoidances with a view to fostering meaningful learning by a diverse
group of learners.

The results of this study indicate a significant improvement of learners' retention,


participation and attitudes toward the content and learning as well as to group
interaction and problem solving.

5.2 Conclusion
In the new paradigm of education and training in South Africa learning facilitators
help learners to maximize their potential through well planned, specifically
intended and flexible learning activities where the focus is on learning rather than
delivery of knowledge. To learn learners need to think, and thinking is facilitated
,by the learning activities that are used to engage learners with the content. The
Whole Brain Mo~el helps facilitators of learning to understand the concept of
thinking diversity and how to accommodate and develop whole brain thinking
during learning. Studies by Bunderson (adapted from De Boer et aI., 2001) of the
model have proved it to be reliable and valid when analyzing thinking style
preferences, thus delivering accurate quantitative information for use when
planning learning activities. Herrmann (1996) states that:

The whole brain concept, once understood, becomes irresistible.

In the new paradigm it cannot be assumed that all learners' potential will be
maximized when learning facilitators use single educational technologies, such
as problem solving or cooperative learning as a basis for all learning activities. It
is the responsibility of the educator and trainer to be innovative and creative in
his or her educational practice in order to accommodate and develop diverse
thinking and thereby enhancing the quality of learning. The Whole Brain
Teaching and Learning Model helps to plan and deliver diverse learning activities
with the specific intention of facilitating meaningful learning with all learners in a
group. Having a strong preference for a specific style of thinking is no indication

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of competence for that style and the facilitator should use learning opportunities
to train, motivate and let learners practise whole brain thinking to develop all
thinking styles fully.

This dissertation underscores awareness of thinking style diversity of learners in


the learning environment and introduces the positive results of using the Whole
Brain Model to accommodate and develop learners' learning for enhancing the
quality of learning.

5.3 Recommendations of this study


5.3.1 Recommendations for teaching and learning in Dentistry
• Facilitators of learning in dentistry can use the principles of the Whole Brain
Concept to enhance the awareness of thinking style diversity in the learning
environment.
• Lecturers facilitating learn,ing in different modules of the dentistry curriculum
can integrate and use the principles of the Whole Brain Teaching and
Learning Model into their teaching practice.
• The Whole Brain Teaching and Learning Model can be used to accommodate
and develop whole brain thinking and learning in order to stimulate the full
development of the individual learners' potential.
• This study recommends the use of the Whole Brain Teaching and Learning
Model by facilitators of learning in dentistry to help them deliver learning
interventions with a more strategiC educational purpose.

5.3.2 Recommendations for further research


• It is recommended that this group of learners are re-tested after a period of
time to determine the retention of learning in this study unit.
• Further research is recommended to determine if this group of learners'
thinking styles will have changed over time during their studies.

III
• Further research is proposed to correlate the learners' thinking style
preferences with their performances in different modules of dentistry as well
as their final examination results results appears twice.
• This study proposes measurement of thinking style preferences of all
academic staff in the dental school to raise the awareness of diversity and to
investigate a group profile of dental academics.
• A study is proposed to investigate the thinking style diversity of dentists in
private practice as well as dentists working in the public sector (oral health
clinics). Group profiles and correlation of the two groups could be
investigated.

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