The aim of this investigation was to design an instructional model, which would enable students who entered for a course in Foods on the higher educational level, to master computer and research skills which underlie appropriate career related and marketable abilities to benefit a changing socio-technological culture within the framework of a changing and democratising South Africa, as explicated in the White Paper for Education (Department of Education, 1995). The research aim was initiated from an idea that the issues for training as described in the White Paper for Education and by the National Qualifications Framework (HSRC, 1995), should use the requirements of the social environment and the contextual training outcomes of students. By means of action research procedures, these ideas were refined during a preliminary study into a prospective instructional model in which it was suggested that computer and contextual skills should be developed in an integrated way in order to empower the individual with career related marketable abilities.
Aiming at immediate development and improvement of the instructional practice, the prospective instructional model was implemented by means of action research. An appropriate student research project was identified and by means of orientation, exploration, planning, implementation and analysis and evaluation the instructional outcomes concerning the execution of the research project were evaluated. The students acquired MS Windows 3.1-based computer skills whilst mastering the contextual skills of the Foods 310 course by means of co-operative learning in a constructivistic-resource based learning environment.
In the analysis of the data, it became apparent that although the students found the constructivistic resource-based approach difficult, they regarded the co-operative demonstration of the learning outcomes as meaningful. All aspects of the instructional procedures were explicated and inventorised. This inventory was used to compile a classification concerning the construction of the instructional model. Whilst constructing the model, the pragmatic issues (needs of the individuals for whom the model was developed) were taken into account. As a final step of the simplified approach to the integration of computer and research skills on the higher educational level, an instructional model was constructed that took various concerning training aspects into account.
