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Enhancing Information Literacy through the Application of Whole Brain Strategies

Abstract This article reports a research project in which the thinking preferences of a group of students enrolled for a module on information literacy at the University of Pretoria were determined. Annually about 7,000 first-year students enrol for this module. The main aim of the research project was to determine to what extent the traditional approach to offering the module could be changed with a view to accommodating students with differing thinking preferences and enhancing the quality of learning. To get a holistic perspective on learning, the theory on whole brain learning and the application of Herrmann's whole brain learning inventory were applied and investigated. The research forms part of an overarching interdisciplinary research project that focuses on facilitating whole brain information literacy. Since the focus is on investigating a specific practice, action research is used as scholarly process for professional development. The action research approach includes mixed methods. This mix allows for merging quantitative and qualitative studies. The first phase of the project consisted of a baseline study. It entailed a quantitative approach to determining the students' learning style profiles by means of the Herrmann Brain Dominance Instrument (HBDI) – used as a diagnostic assessment tool. The outcome of this diagnostic assessment forms part of the baseline data for the envisaged longitudinal study.