An investigation into the perceptions of academic staff on quality assurance in teaching and learning at selected South African universities

2001 ◽  
Vol 15 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
D Hay ◽  
ME Herselman
Keyword(s):  
Quality Assurance ◽  
South African ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Academic Staff ◽  
South African Universities

scholarly journals Advancing the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning using Learning Theories and Reflectivity

2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 191-208 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lester Brian Shawa
Keyword(s):  
South African ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Learning Theories ◽  
Constructivist Learning Theory ◽  
Scholarship Of Teaching ◽  
Policy Perspective ◽  
Academic Level ◽  
South African Universities ◽  
Social Constructivist Learning ◽  
Postgraduate Diploma

The Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL) remains a mostly elusive notion. For universities to genuinely contribute to SoTL, they must delineate clear parameters of engagement. For example, while some engage SoTL at the academic level, others examine it from an institutional policy perspective. Others view it from national and international frameworks that impact teaching and learning in universities. Engaging SoTL at the academic level, this article uses a postgraduate diploma module, Higher Education Context and Policy (mostly attended by university academics from South African universities) to show how a facilitator could draw from learning theories and reflectivity to teach and advance SoTL. More specifically, it demonstrates how a facilitator could mediate the module utilising a social constructivist learning theory perspective.

Quality Teaching and Learning in Australian and South African Universities: Comparing policies and practices

2000 ◽  
Vol 30 (2) ◽  
pp. 193-209 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lesley Vidovich ◽  
Magda Fourie ◽  
Heinrich Alt ◽  
Louis Van Der Westhuizen ◽  
Somarie Holtzhausen
Keyword(s):  
South African ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Quality Teaching ◽  
South African Universities ◽  
Policies And Practices

scholarly journals South African universities in a time of increasing disruption

2021 ◽  
Vol 24 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Johan Coetzee ◽  
Brownhilder Neneh ◽  
Karlien Stemmet ◽  
Jana Lamprecht ◽  
Constance Motsitsi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
South African ◽  
Curriculum Design ◽  
Online Teaching ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Industrial Revolution ◽  
African Students ◽  
Study Approach ◽  
South African Universities ◽  
The Impact

Background: The Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) and the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) have disrupted the higher education environment in unprecedented ways.Aim: This article identifies the impact of increasing disruption driven by the 4IR and COVID-19 on the content and curriculum design of degree programmes in economic and management sciences offered by South African universities.Setting: Six South African and five top-tier US and UK universities.Methods: The study used a non-positivist qualitative research design and specifically the case-study approach. A document analysis of the information in university yearbooks and prospectuses was conducted, using a purposive sampling design.Results: An online presence will become more important due to increased disruption, and will not only ensure an additional revenue stream, but also promote continuity in operations and mitigate threats from competitors. COVID-19 has accelerated the extent of this disruption and expedited the migration to online teaching and learning platforms.Conclusion: Since science, technology, engineering and mathematics are integral to the majority of 4IR-related modules, South African universities must not shy away from degree programmes that ignore inter- and multi-disciplinary curriculum designs. Coupled with the challenges facing the majority of South African students to access electronic devices, data and the internet, COVID-19 has thrust this challenge to the forefront in the South African higher education landscape. By comparing the developments in South African universities with those in trendsetting, top-tier, global universities, management can assess the extent to which they are internationally competitive and adapting to the demands of the 4IR.

scholarly journals Pedagogical and decolonial affordances of group portfolio assessments for learning in South African universities

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (SI) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ilse Fouche ◽  
◽  
Laura Dison ◽  
Grant Andrews ◽  
Maria Prozesky
Keyword(s):  
Academic Success ◽  
South African ◽  
Group Work ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Assessment For Learning ◽  
Literacy Skill ◽  
Research Approach ◽  
Language And Literacy ◽  
South African Universities ◽  
Learning Principles

Our paper discusses our recent experiences with designing effective assessments for challenging local contexts by using group work portfolio projects. South African universities are experiencing ever-increasing student numbers, diverse student bodies which have different language and literacy skill levels, and limited resources. Simultaneously, the need to decolonise university curricula and teaching and learning practices is being actively investigated across South Africa. In this paper, we discuss preliminary steps we have taken towards achieving this broader transformative agenda in the context of the massification of education, namely designing effective and decolonial assessments that support epistemological access and academic success, while at the same time challenging what counts as ‘powerful knowledge’ (Young and Muller, 2013) in the classroom. We argue that effective decolonial knowledge practices and deep critical engagement can be achieved by using group work portfolio tasks that align with assessment for learning principles (Carless, 2015). Using a design- based research approach, we describe three courses across two universities which have implemented portfolio-type group assessments. The preliminary findings suggest that group projects can yield rich and productive assessment for learning outcomes in large classes. In addition, portfolio projects that purposely interrogate diverse perspectives, knowledges and experiences can harness the diversity of groups to work towards decolonising the classroom.

scholarly journals Unveiling the professional attributes of university teachers

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (SI) ◽  
Author(s):  
Rubby Dunpath ◽  
◽  
Hesta Friedrich-Nel ◽  
Hanlie Dippenaar ◽  
Lynn Biggs ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Critical Thinking ◽  
South African ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Scholarship Of Teaching ◽  
Leverage Points ◽  
University Teachers ◽  
Professional Attributes ◽  
South African Universities ◽  
National Framework

This article derives from a collaborative higher education project, conceptualised, and implemented by academics from seven South African universities. These academics are members of the South African Teaching Advancement at University (TAU) Fellowship. The project has its roots in the Department of Higher Education’s National Framework for Enhancing Academics as University Teachers, which identifies six leverage points or ‘imperatives for action’, one of which is the imperative to develop expectations (attributes) of academics in their role as university teachers. TAU Fellows engaged in the collaborative enquiry over a period of three years, appropriating a conceptual framework posited by Henry Giroux, of teachers as transformative intellectuals. In this article, each author reflects on his/her own scholarship of teaching and learning (SoTL) endeavours, which provided the conceptual tools to illuminate what for them and the group, are valuable professional attributes. The metaphor of the Baobab tree is appropriated to signify ‘rhizomatic thinking’, which portrays teaching as subconscious, subversive, non-linear, multi-directional, serendipitous, esoteric, dynamic, unbounded, unpredictable, adaptive, and non-hierarchical. This SoTL enquiry enabled the TAU group to unveil and declare their professional attributes as they made public their praxis. The attributes include academics as imbued with the capacity for critical thinking and actively promoting critical thinking amongst their students; as active learning mediators; as responsive, innovative, and relevant curriculum designers; and as engaged professionals. Appreciation of the article is enhanced when the reader first views this video https://youtu.be/yoA9guMut-8.

scholarly journals Higher education institutions and the use of online instruction and online tools and resources during the COVID-19 outbreak - An online review of selected U.S. and SA's universities

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chaka Chaka
Keyword(s):  
South African ◽  
Social Networking Sites ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Video Conferencing ◽  
Course Delivery ◽  
Online Delivery ◽  
Media Technologies ◽  
Online Databases ◽  
Online Tools ◽  
South African Universities

Abstract This online quasi-scoping review set out to review how 64 U.S. and 21 South African universities pivoted to online course delivery and used online tools and resources as one of their collective responses to continue their teaching and learning activities during the COVID-19 pandemic. The review was conducted on five online search engines, six online databases and two online social networking sites. Generally, all of the U.S and South African universities investigated transitioned to online classes and temporarily relinquished their in-person, campus-based classes. Additionally, all of these universities transiently opted for a strong form of social distancing and embraced emergency remote online pedagogy. Moreover, four online delivery typologies, with their attendant multiple permutations, emerged from these two sets of universities. Furthermore, when both U.S. and South African universities temporarily pivoted their classes to online delivery during the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak, they embraced and adopted certain online tools and resources more than the others. For instance, pertaining to 64 U.S. universities, Zoom was the most preferred tool, with video conferencing and LMS platforms emerging as the two dominant platforms. As regards the 21 South African universities, Blackboard (Collaborate) emerged as the most preferred tool, with both LMS and video conferencing platforms emerging as the two dominant platforms. Overall, Zoom, Blackboard (Collaborate) and institutional LMSes were the three common tools to which both sets of universities pivoted during the pandemic. Finally, the two sets of universities only embraced low-tech versions of the 4IR technologies such as video-conferencing, social media technologies, and cloud computing.

Exploring the E-Learning Experiences of Academic Staff at a South African University

2018 ◽  
Vol 40 (1 & 2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mncedisi Maphalala ◽  
Nhlanhla Mpofu
Keyword(s):  
Staff Development ◽  
South African ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Research Output ◽  
Single Case ◽  
Academic Staff ◽  
Learning Technologies ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Resident Students ◽  
E Learning

While there is evidence of a burgeoning research output on academic staff’s e-learning acceptance and usage in universities, there is a paucity of studies that seek to understand the South African experience. Thus, the purpose of this study was to explore the experiences of academic staff with the uptake and use of e-learning innovations in teaching and learning in the context of a university in South Africa. Theoretically, the study was underpinned by activity theory. The study was qualitative in nature and an exploratory single case study design was employed. The participants comprised six purposively selected academic staff at a South African university. In the study, we used semi-structured interviews to gather the data required to answer the research questions. We analysed data using an inductive thematic framework following Braun and Clarke’s (2006) approach. The following themes emerged from the analysis: challenges with technology infrastructure and internet accessibility on campus, technical support for students and staff, staff development and training, difficulty in creating e-learning content, and challenges with non-resident students. Based on the findings we recommend an increased interactive and context-dependent e-learning support system for academic staff. In addition, to accelerate the acceptance and effective use of e-learning technologies there is a need for collaborative and peer-oriented activities that develop the knowledge of academic staff.

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