Scholarship of Teaching and Learning

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Academic games in validation events: A study of academic roles and practices
(University of the Western Cape, 2018) Khanna, Rebecca; Savin-Baden, Maggi
This paper presents the results of a three-year study that examined academics' espoused and actual practices in validation or approval events of UK degree courses. The study used narrative inquiry to explore academics' accounts. The paper provides a literature review and then presents the findings which indicate that often procedural processes interrupt the process of curriculum making. The paper uses scenarios to illustrate the ways in which procedural processes can result in subverting and subversive practices during the validation process. It is, therefore, argued that academics take up particular stances, defined here as positional identities, which may help or hinder the validation process. The paper argues that by ignoring staff experiences, the risk is that dominant discourses of regulation become accepted without question and the spaces available for dialogue about professional futures, alongside creation of flexible curricula to address these needs, are crowded out by the performative requirements of the process.
The academic transitional experiences of masters’ students at the University of the Western Cape
(AOSIS OpenJournals, 2012) Hoffman, Jeffrey C.; Julie, Hester
Transition has been a major focus of educational institutions. However, most of the research into student transition focuses on the challenges related the transition from high school to university. Not much emphasis has been placed on the transition from undergraduate to postgraduate studies, despite the steadily increasing postgraduate enrollment rates in higher education institutions. The discrepancy between the enrollment and completion rates is an indication that postgraduate students are facing transitional challenges when engaging with postgraduate studies. The aim of this research study was to describe the academic transitional experiences of masters’ students in the Faculty of Community Health Sciences at the University of the Western Cape. The objectives were to determine the academic preparedness of postgraduate students, to explore their primary motivations for pursuing postgraduate studies, and to assess their utilisation of the available support services at UWC. A quantitative, exploratory, descriptive research design was employed. A cross-sectional survey was conducted with masters’ students during 2009, using convenience sampling. Data was statistically analysed using the SPSS to provide descriptive statistics. The majority of the sample indicated a lack of academic preparedness, even though most of them had a bachelor’s degree. The primary reasons listed as motivation for master’s study were to improve knowledge and reaching self-actualisation. The majority is still eager to complete their studies. Most support systems were utilised and students rated these services as a positive experience that facilitates smooth academic transition. However, concerns are that not many students utilised the academic writing centre and those who did, rated the overall service as average. One of the main recommendations was that a research culture needs to be established at undergraduate level, as this would give students greater exposure to research activities.
Acknowledging privilege through encounters with difference: Participatory Learning and Action techniques for decolonizing methodologies in Southern contexts
(Taylor and Francis, 2011) Bozalek, Vivienne
Participatory Learning and Action (PLA) research techniques can contribute to decolonising methodologies by alerting participants to privilege and marginalisation through encounters across difference. Consciousness of privileges is often obscured and naturalised as part of normative expectations of everyday living. This paper contends that no one is exempt from interrogating their positionality and their beliefs, and that PLA research techniques can provide the means by which people can be confronted with privileges and marginality through encountering the ‘other’. A case study conducted across Higher Education Institutions in South Africa is presented to show how PLA techniques can make a substantial contribution to processes of research. The case study shows how PLA research techniques make it possible to bring people together to confront differential privileges, thus giving people the opportunity to become both insiders and committed outsiders in their interactions across differences.
Addressing dualisms in student perceptions of a historically white and black university in South Africa
(Taylor & Francis, 2017) Carolissen, Ronelle; Bozalek, Vivienne
Normative discourses about higher education institutions may perpetuate stereotypes about institutions. Few studies explore student perceptions of universities and how transformative pedagogical interventions in university classrooms may address institutional stereotypes. Using Plumwood’s notion of dualism, this qualitative study analyses unchallenged stereotypes about students’ own and another university during an inter-institutional collaborative research and teaching and learning project. The project was conducted over 3 years and 282 psychology, social work and occupational therapy students from a historically black and white institution in South Africa, participated in the study. Both black and white students from differently placed higher education institutions display prejudices and stereotypes of their own and other institutions, pointing to the internalisation and pervasiveness of constructions and hegemonic discourses such as whiteness and classism. It is important to engage with subjugated student knowledges, in the context of transformative pedagogical practices, to disrupt dominant views and cultivate processes of inclusion in higher education.
African history in context: Toward a praxis of radical education
(Taylor & Francis Group, 2018) Benson, Koni; Gamedze, Asher; Koranteng, Akosua
This chapter reflects on the context, process, and challenges of the Know Your Continent (KYC) popular education course which we ran in Cape Town in the second half of 2015. KYC brought together people from local high schools, community activist networks, universities � both students and academics, and others into conversations emerging from themes and debates in African history and their relevance and relationship to our own contemporary contexts of struggle. First, the chapter examines the KYC�s historical context. Second, it looks at how KYC was deliberately rooted in the contemporary questions posed by the urgent political project of decolonisation � questions concerning how to decentre the university, how to liberate knowledge from the hierarchies that bind it, and how to imagine and practice collaborative radical education. The third part speaks to some of the contradictory potentialities of doing radical work in, or in affiliation to, a university. Through a reflection on the successes and limitations of KYC, we hope to contribute to conversations about the potential for different kinds of engagement, and different kinds of solidarity between the often-segregated spaces of schools, universities, and activist organisations.
Aligning clinical assessment with course elements in prosthodontic dentistry: a South African case
(American Dental Education Association, 2013) Maart, Ronel Deidre; Bitzer, Elias M.
Clinical tests were introduced and implemented as an additional clinical assessment tool in the Prosthodontic curriculum of the fourth year undergraduate dentistry program at one South African university. This study compared the relationship between the students’ performance in the clinical tests and daily clinical grades on the one hand with their theoretical performance on the other. It also explored the perceptions of the academic staff on the validity of clinical tests as a clinical assessment tool. An analysis of the test results of fourth-year dental students showed insignificant relationships between students’ clinical daily grade assessment marks and their marks for assessing theory. However, clinical assessment via tests is well accepted by the course staff and they perceived them to be more reliable than daily clinical grade assessment methods. The findings of the study support other reported studies which concluded that the daily grade of Dentistry students poorly correlate with their competency exams module. The findings also relate well with the lecturers’ views that clinical tests were more reliable as a clinical assessment tool than students’ daily clinical mark.
Analysing the professional development of teaching and learning from a political ethics of care perspective
(Routledge, 2014) Bozalek, Vivienne; McMillan, Wendy; Marshall, Delia; November, Melvyn; Daniels, Andre; Sylvester, Toni
This paper uses Tronto’s political ethics of care as a normative framework to evaluate a model of teaching and learning professional development. This framework identifies five integrated moral elements of care – attentiveness, responsibility, competence, responsiveness and trust. This paper explicates on each of these elements to evaluate the piloting and implementation of a teaching and learning professional development model at a South African higher education institution. The political ethics of care was found to be a useful normative framework for a group of higher educators to reflect on the process of engaging in teaching and learning professional development in that it revealed the importance of differential power relations, the importance of working collaboratively and being attentive to the needs of both caregivers and care receivers.
Application of Lazarus's cognitive transactional model of stress-appraisal-coping in an undergraduate mental health nursing programme in the Western Cape, South Africa
(AFAHPER-SD, 2014) Martin, Penelope D.; Daniels, Felicity M.
This article describes how the cognitive transactional model of stress-appraisal-coping can be applied in the sense making process for students working in the challenging mental health care environment. Primary and secondary literature was searched by means of computer-assisted data bases using key words. An overview of emotions, emotion functioning and regulation is alluded to, to give credence to the application of the transactional model of stress and coping as purported by Lazarus & Folkman. The model is cognitive because it is based on the assumption that students' thinking processes, memory and the meaning that those events have for the student experiencing them - will act to mediate in determining stress and coping resources. The definition of stress emphasises the subjective responses in the relationship between the student and the mental health care environment. Coping, on the other hand, refers to the cognitive and behavioural attempts made by students to manage the demands of the mental health care environment but are appraised as exceeding the resources they possess. The central assumption of this theory is that the interaction between an individual and the environment creates stress experienced by the individual. In order to contextualise the discussion theoretical perspectives on emotions are alluded to. A simplistic example is given to show how undergraduate mental health nursing students may appraise an encounter with a mentally ill person and the outcome of that appraisal within the students' sense making process.
At-risk student teachers’ attitudes and aspirations as learners and teachers of mathematics
(AOSIS, 2015) Moodley, Trevor; Adendorff, Stanley A.; Pather, Subethra
This study explored foundation phase first year student teachers’ perceptions about mathematics. The focus on their attitudes towards mathematics in two roles – (1) as learners of mathematics, based on their prior experiences at school and (2) as aspirant teachers of mathematics for children in the early grades. Data sources were students’ drawings/collages as well as written interpretations and elaborations of the drawings/collages. The findings indicated that participants had generally negative attitudes towards the learning of mathematics. Factors such as the transition from primary to high school, teacher qualities and mathematics-related anxiety contributed to the shaping of their attitudes. It was encouraging to note that over half the participants expressed positive attitudes in their roles as future teachers, with all expressing the desire to provide better mathematics experiences to their future learners.
Attending to the affective: exploring first year students� emotional experiences at university
(South African Journal of Higher Education, 2018) Bharuthram, Sharita
This study engaged students at the affective level in order to acquire a better understanding of their emotional experiences at university with the ultimate aim of improving teaching and learning. A qualitative research study was undertaken whereby students wrote about their feelings at that particular moment, on two different occasions in a semester. The data reveals that students used mostly negative descriptors to express their emotions some of which included feelings of self-doubt, alienation, loss of identity and not belonging to the university and their disciplinary community. The feelings expressed by students show that their emotions constitute the very core of their being and are therefore intertwined with the way they perceive their studies and themselves as students and as individuals. Hence, it is argued that emotional factors cannot be disentangled from teaching and learning and that spaces need to therefore be created in the curriculum for the inclusion of the affective domain.
Attitudes of undergraduate nursing students towards E-learning at the University of the Western Cape
(African Association for Physical, Health Education, Recreation and Dance, 2015) Akimanimpaye, Furaha; Fakude, Lorraine
The development of the Internet has provided an opportunity for offering e-learning as a new addition to modern education. Substantial evidence indicates that many universities across the world are offering study programmes through a variety of e-learning methods. Although e-learning environments are becoming popular, there is limited research on learners’ attitudes toward online learning environments. Past research has identified a variety of factors affecting user attitude in relation to e-learning. It is against this background that this article seeks to determine the attitudes of undergraduate nursing students toward e-learning at the University of the Western Cape. A survey was conducted among 213 undergraduate nursing students to assess their attitudes toward e-learning. The study employed a survey methodology based on the questionnaire that was distributed randomly to students to assess their attitudes towards e-learning, and to establish whether any existing demographical factors impacted on the students’ use of e-learning. From a valid response rate of 86%, the statistical analysis revealed that learner satisfaction was influenced by perceived ease of use, gender, and study-year level of respondents. The findings demonstrate a favourable attitude towards e-learning among nursing students at the University of the Western Cape.
Authentic learning for teaching reading: Foundation phase pre-service student teachers’ learning experiences of creating and using digital stories in real classrooms
(AOSIS, 2016) Moodley, Trevor; Aronstam, Shelley
Teaching and learning, an evolving endeavour, is associated with many factors, with advancements in technology, playing an ever-growing role in the classroom. It is therefore important to include the use of interactive communication technologies (ICTs) in university curricula of teacher education programmes. Universities ought to be creative in advancing autonomous learning among their students by providing opportunities for integrated and rich learning experiences. Accordingly, the purpose of this study was to intentionally integrate ICTs in the planning and delivery of foundation phase reading lessons. This was achieved by providing authentic learning opportunities to final year foundation phase student teachers through the provision of training in the creation of digital stories (DS), collaborating within communities of practice (COP) (peers and other relevant parties), and then using their creations in ‘real-world’ classroom contexts. The aims of this study were to explore student teachers’ perceptions and experiences of developing DS in groups with minimal formal initial input and their use of DS during foundation phase (FP) reading lessons in real-class settings during teaching practice. Data were collected via focus group interviews and participants’ reflection essays. The study’s findings indicate that the creation of their own DS provided rich, rewarding multidimensional learning experiences to student teachers. Participants reported that they found the ‘assignment’ to be of real value, since it was directly linked to classroom practice, and despite the cognitive demands of the assignment; the nature of the task nurtured, an agentic disposition towards their own learning. Participants further reported that the DS provided enthusiasm among young learners during the delivery of lessons and were of pedagogical value, despite experiencing some challenges in using DS during reading lessons. Participants were of the view that the use of DS in advancing reading and literacy holds much pedagogical promise, because it resonates with the this generation of digital natives, the present generation of learners who have been born into a world where they interact with digital technology from an early age.
Authentic professional development: Key to quality sevice delivery
(Actuarial Society of South Africa (ASSA), 2014) Lowther, Michael; McMillan, Wendy
The Actuarial Society of South Africa ('Actuarial Society') requires its members to honour their professional promise to deliver specialist and up-to-date actuarial expertise that is ethical and subject to professional oversight. The purpose of this study is to investigate how the Actuarial Society can encourage its members to develop and maintain the capability to deliver this professional promise through continuing professional development ('CPD'). Current concepts of and approaches to professional development were identified from the literature and various professions' CPD requirements. Thereafter, the opinions of South African actuaries on the insights from the literature were sought by means of an online survey. Analysis of the literature indicates that CPD is most effective when it takes place through a development cycle of planning, action, results and reflection. Further, professional development is associated with competently completing tasks that are required in the workplace. Data from the survey supported these insights. It is concluded that the Actuarial Society's CPD requirements should be designed to encourage members to develop and maintain their capabilities, and it is therefore suggested that members be required to engage in work-based development cycles.
Being and becoming a university teacher
(Taylor & Francis, 2016) McMillan, Wendy; Gordon, Natalie
This study examined how one academic framed the enablements and constraints to her project of being and becoming an academic. Complexity facilitated reflection in that it provided a visual representation of data, which was used to generate a concept map, which represented as equal all the component parts of her landscape. Five spaces with emancipatory potential to assist the academic in her professional development emerged, namely: communities of practice, academic freedom, position statements, development opportunities and a supportive environment. Rather than suggesting any generalisability in the findings, the authors argue that the significance of this study is theoretical and methodological. Complexity theory has the potential to help academic development practitioners understand the landscapes in which their academics operate, and guide appropriate development opportunities.
Beyond knowledge and skills: the use of a Delphi study to develop a technology-mediated teaching strategy
(BioMed Central, 2013) Rowe, Michael; Frantz, Jose M.; Bozalek, Vivienne
Background: While there is evidence to suggest that teaching practices in clinical education should include activities that more accurately reflect the real world, many educators base their teaching on transmission models that encourage the rote learning of knowledge and technical skills. Technology-mediated instruction may facilitate the development of professional attributes that go beyond “having” knowledge and skills, but there is limited evidence for how to integrate technology into these innovative teaching approaches. Methods: This study used a modified Delphi method to help identify the professional attributes of capable practitioners, the approaches to teaching that may facilitate the development of these attributes, and finally, how technology could be integrated with those teaching strategies in order to develop capable practitioners. Open-ended questions were used to gather data from three different expert panels, and results were thematically analysed. Results: Clinical educators should not view knowledge, skills and attitudes as a set of products of learning, but rather as a set of attributes that are developed during a learning process. Participants highlighted the importance of continuing personal and professional development that emphasised the role of values and emotional response to the clinical context. To develop these attributes, clinical educators should use teaching activities that are learner-centred, interactive, integrated, reflective and that promote engagement. When technology-mediated teaching activities are considered, they should promote the discussion of clinical encounters, facilitate the sharing of resources and experiences, encourage reflection on the learning process and be used to access content outside the classroom. In addition, educational outcomes must drive the integration of technology into teaching practice, rather than the features of the technology. Conclusions: There is a need for a cultural change in clinical education, in which those involved with the professional training of healthcare professionals perceive teaching as more than the transmission of knowledge and technical skills. Process-oriented teaching practices that integrate technology as part of a carefully designed curriculum may have the potential to facilitate the development of capable healthcare graduates who are able to navigate the complexity of health systems and patient management in ways that go beyond the application of knowledge and skills.
Beyond the lecture: Teaching for professional development
(Health and Medical Publishing Group, 2016) Rowe, Michael
BACKGROUND. Clinical educators are being challenged to graduate students who can adapt to complex situations. Evidence suggests that one must go beyond teaching students what to know and what to do, and help them learn how to be. OBJECTIVE. To identify teaching strategies that could be used to help develop students beyond technical proficiency. METHODS. This study used a nominal group technique to gather input from clinical educators, requesting them to identify teaching strategies for developing lifelong learning, emphasising the development of students’ knowledge and skills, and taking into account students’ emotional responses to the clinical context. Participant responses were transcribed and analysed thematically. RESULTS. Participants reported that clinical educators should be role-models to students in a process of lifelong learning, including demonstrating the vulnerability of ‘not knowing’. They also suggested integrating a variety of different teaching methods that aim at achieving the same goal. Finally, participants emphasised the importance of intentionally incorporating personal values into reflective learning activities. By creating space for the shared learning experiences of teachers and students, participants highlighted the possibility of helping students to develop the mindset necessary to adapt to complex health systems. CONCLUSION. Clinical educators emphasised the developmental nature of the teaching and learning process, highlighting the importance of an authentic interaction between students and teachers.
Blogging to enhance reflective and collaborative learning
(AFAHPER-SD, 2014) Fakude, Lorraine
This study explored the educational benefit and value of blogging by postgraduate nursing students registered for Masters in Nursing Education in order to become professional nurse educators. The researcher assumed that blogging could improve collaborative learning among postgraduate students and enhance reflective practice skills. Critical reflection on experiences is envisaged to allow lecturers and students to develop a deeper understanding of themselves. Salmon’s five-stage model of online learning was used as it can provide valuable insight into how blogs can be utilised in online learning. The whole class was trained to set up group blogs by colleagues from the Centre for Innovative Educational and Communication Technologies at the university. Within their blogs they engaged with issues relating to curriculum development, also giving own reflections on these issues. Students were assessed on how well they reflected and commented on specific topics, concepts and principles. The students were initially challenged by this activity and seemed frustrated by low levels of engagement with colleagues within their blogs. The facilitator noticed adequate engagement in two of the three group blogs, where the students exchanged thoughts and ideas and shared experiences. On reflection, they expressed very positive attitudes toward use of blogs as a platform to reflect on their learning and teaching. The blog of the third group of students was dormant, with very limited activity. It is important that facilitators carefully select appropriate technological tools or strategies for teaching and learning, and do not assume that students will be comfortable with the technology even after training and preparation.
A bridge over the computer science graduate skill gap
(2013) Blignaut, Renette; Venter, Isabella M.; Renaud, Karen
Universities are increasingly required to respond to the ever evolving needs of an ever more sophisticated and globalised workplace, which requires well-rounded workers with more than mere technical knowledge. Employers expect their prospective employees to already have acquired a range of professional and personal skills. Universities face a challenge in helping students to develop these skills and it is debatable whether this can be achieved within the university environment. What is needed is a way for students to interact with the outside world as part of their undergraduate programme in a situated learning environment. This paper reports on a computer science assignment specifically designed to develop professional and personal as well as discipline-specific skills. The results suggest that situated learning assignments are indeed able to enhance the development of precisely those soft skills which are so valued by employers.
Bringing together knowledge and capabilities: a case study of engineering graduates
(Springer Verlag, 2016) Case, Jennifer M.; Marshall, Delia
In contemporary times there is a renewed focus on the purposes of university education in science or engineering, especially inemerging economycontexts like South Africa where the massification of higher education is in its early stages. The contributions by Muller (High Educ 70(3):409–416, 2015) and Walker (High Educ 70(3):417–425,2015) both recognise the crucial importance of expanding epistemological access for students from disadvantaged backgrounds, but their visions offer different emphases on howto proceed.Muller (2015) argues for the centring of disciplinary knowledge, while forWalker (2015) it is the concerns of society that should be central. In this article we argue that both of these are partial answers.We draw on a longitudinal study with ten South African engineering graduates, who were interviewed both in their third year and then approximately a decade later. Our analysis shows how the engagement with disciplinary knowledge is at the heart of the shaping of ‘graduateness’. Thus we argue for a coming together of the two perspectives in this issue towards a nuanced perspective on graduateness that recognises the significance of disciplinary knowledge but that also holds a space for the development of student agency in higher education.
Building an evolving method and materials for teaching legal writing in large classes
(Springer, 2014) Clarence, Sherran; Mwambene, Lea; Albertus, Latiefa
In South Africa and in other parts of the world, many professions are bemoaning the poor ability of many graduates to communicate their skills and knowledge effectively once they enter the workplace. Increasingly, pressure is placed on higher education to do more in terms of equipping future professionals with the necessary critical reading, research, thinking and writing skills the workplace demands. However, in South Africa especially, the demand for access to higher education is resulting in increased admissions, and in many lecturers standing in front of larger classes filled with students from a wide range of home and educational backgrounds with ‘variable’ commands of English as a medium of instruction and communication (Greenbaum and Mbali 2002). This makes the task of equipping these students with disciplinary knowledge and skills challenge. In responding to this challenge, the Law Faculty at the University of the Western Cape (UWC), in collaboration with a writing specialist, initiated a project aimed at transforming the way in which legal writing was taught at first year level. The overall aim was to start training students, from first year, to adapt their thinking and writing to the kinds of knowledge and practice required by academic study as well as the legal profession. The project was successful in achieving its modest aims, but certain challenges remain. This paper reflects critically on the development and evolution of the model for teaching legal writing in large classes. It argues that teaching legal writing in large classes requires creative and sustainable approaches so that students can become active and critical writers, readers and thinkers over time in this, or any, field.

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