Browsing by Author "Watters, Kathy"
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Item Discussion document: understanding the dynamics of part-time studies at UWC(University of the Western Cape, 2003) Watters, Kathy; Koetsier, Jos; Walters, ShirleyThis study into understanding the dynamics of part-time studies at UWC is part of on-going institutional research that is required to improve the conditions of and services to part-time students at UWC. Approximately 23% of UWC’s students are part-time in any one year. One of DLL’s mandates is to grow and develop the part-time programme. Through the DLL Board there has been an enquiry into financing part-time students through the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS). This has lead the Board to pose questions about the dynamics of the part-time programme and what it means to be part-time at UWC2. This paper is a preliminary report in progress and covers three of the following research aims. A subsequent paper will cover recommendations for improving the quality of part-time programme. The research aims of this documents are: (1) To help the institution think about the future of the part-time programme amidst the many shifts in national policy that affect the part-time programme, (2) to create clarity about the part-time terminology, (3) to get a better understanding of the actual dynamics of the part-time programme at UWC and the student profiles in terms of study patterns, class attendance (during the day or during after hours), payments records and need for financial aid, (4) To generate practical recommendations for quality enhancement of the part-time programme in terms of protocols for quality improvement and contractual obligations, staff development processes and student support.Item The potential of authentic learning and emerging technologies for developing graduate attributes(Unisa Press, 2014) Bozalek, Vivienne; Watters, KathyGraduate attributes, such as critical thinking and problem-solving in real-world contexts, are increasingly being recognised as crucial for students to develop in higher education for employability and critical citizenship. The question of how best to create conducive spaces in the curriculum for students to acquire these abilities is, however, less well documented. The authors propose that one way to enable students to achieve these attributes would be for higher educators to engage in authentic learning, using Herrington, Reeves and Oliver’s (2010) model as a guide. In this article, one case study is selected from a sample of ten interviews conducted with University of the Western Cape (UWC) lecturers as it rated highly on all nine elements of authentic learning. The curriculum design and teaching and learning practices are analysed using each of Herrington et al’s elements for authentic learning and the potential of these elements for developing graduate attributes is considered.Item Power, democracy and technology: the potential dangers of care for teachers in higher education(University of KwaZulu-Natal, 2015) Bozalek, Vivienne; Watters, Kathy; Gachago, DanielaInternationally, there is a growing interest in the potential of care ethics as a useful normative framework to evaluate teaching and learning in higher education. However, to date there has been little engagement with the inherent dangers of care such as those of paternalism and parochialism. This is particularly pertinent in the South African context where there are on-going struggles to find ways of dealing with continuing inequality experienced by students, who may be at the receiving end of paternalism and parochialism. This article focuses on interviews conducted with teaching and learning practitioners collected during a larger national project on the potential of emerging technologies to achieve qualitative learning outcomes in differently placed South African higher education institutions. An analysis of the interviews indicated that while these lecturers were portrayed as innovative educators, using emerging technologies to enhance their pedagogy, issues of paternalism and parochialism inevitably affected teaching as a practice of care. The findings showed that without self-reflexivity and critical engagement with issues of power and control, including choice of technology, there exists danger that teaching could be paternalistic, leading to disempowerment of students and a narrow parochial focusing on the studentteacher dyad. What also emerged from the findings was that interdisciplinary teaching and student-led cross-disciplinary learnng has the potential to mitigate parochialism in the curriculum.Item Reflecting on the global report on adult learning and education in the “post-truth society”(Sage, 2017) Walters, Shirley; Watters, KathyThis article contextualizes and reviews the third global report on adult learning and education (ALE) released by UNESCO in 2016. The authors suggest that it is a visionary document, which is articulated through the bringing together of data from a range of areas that are usually kept apart. They recognize the report as a bold attempt to project what role ALE plays, or could play, within a holistic philosophy and approach to lifelong learning. They argue that given the ambitious nature of the task, and the inevitable tensions and contradictions that exist within a report of this nature, the report both fails to present a robust picture of ALE and succeeds as an advocacy document toward achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals. They recognize that the political and pedagogical work undertaken by the third Global Report on Adult Learning and Education is at an early stage. Alongside this work, they argue for the importance of the broader nonformal and informal ALE, including popular education, as a means of challenging the “post-truth society.”Item Reflecting on the global report on adult learning and education in the “post-truth society”(SAGE, 2017) Walters, Shirley; Watters, KathyThis article contextualizes and reviews the third global report on adult learning and education (ALE) released by UNESCO in 2016. The authors suggest that it is a visionary document, which is articulated through the bringing together of data from a range of areas that are usually kept apart. They recognize the report as a bold attempt to project what role ALE plays, or could play, within a holistic philosophy and approach to lifelong learning. They argue that given the ambitious nature of the task, and the inevitable tensions and contradictions that exist within a report of this nature, the report both fails to present a robust picture of ALE and succeeds as an advocacy document toward achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals. They recognize that the political and pedagogical work undertaken by the third Global Report on Adult Learning and Education is at an early stage. Alongside this work, they argue for the importance of the broader nonformal and informal ALE, including popular education, as a means of challenging the “post-truth society.”Item The use of emerging technologies for authentic learning: A South African study in higher education(Wiley-Blackwell, 2013) Bozalek, Vivienne; Gachago, Daniela; Alexander, Lucy; Watters, Kathy; Wood, Denise; Ivala, Eunice; Herrington, JanIt is now widely accepted that the transmission of disciplinary knowledge is insufficient to prepare students leaving higher education for the workplace. Authentic learning has been suggested as a way to bring the necessary complexity into learning to deal with challenges in professional practice after graduation. This study investigates how South African higher educators have used emerging technologies to achieve the characteristics of authentic learning. A survey was administered to a population of 265 higher educators in South Africa who self-identified as engaging with emerging technologies. From this survey, a sample of 21 respondentswere selected to further investigate their practice through in-depth interviewing using Herrington, Reeves and Oliver’s nine characteristics of authentic learning as a framework. Interrater analysis undertaken by five members of the research team revealed both consistencies and differences among the twenty one cases across the nine elements of authentic learning. The highest levels of authenticity were found for the elements authentic context and task, and the lowest for articulation. Furthermore, there was a moderate correlation identified between levels of authenticity and the role played by emerging technologies in achieving the authenticity, showing a potentially symbiotic relationship between them.