At the Fourth Teaching and Learning Conference are from left Prof Robert Balfour, deputy vice-chancellor for teaching and learning, Dr Esmarie Strydom, director of the Special Projects and Research directorate of the Centre for Teaching and Learning (CTL), and Prof Willie van Vollenhoven, chief director of CTL.
Owing to the impact of Covid-19, the Centre for Teaching and Learning (CTL) used a blended approach for the first time when hosting this year’s conference.
The purpose of the conference was to provide a hybrid platform for NWU academics to take part in active discussions and presentations on the conference theme, “Transformative pedagogies towards transformation in higher education”.
Delegates were encouraged to participate in three sub-themes: pedagogic transitions for higher education transformation, academics as university teachers, and curriculum transformation.
This flagship annual event was organised by campus teams headed by Dr Jessica Pool and Dr Manuela Fernandes-Martins, under the leadership of Dr Esmarie Strydom, director of CTL’s Special Projects and Research directorate.
Scholarship and best practice in the spotlight
The conference programme included presentations on best practice and empirical research.
In the opening address, Prof Emmanuel Mgqwashu, director of CTL’s Faculty Teaching and Learning Support directorate, focused on the “student voice” in transformative pedagogies.
He used data to represent the student voice, and then critically analysed what emerged from this data and how we might use it, to suggest ways in which we can ensure transformative pedagogies for student access and success.
Delivering his keynote address on the first day, Prof Paul Prinsloo from the University of South Africa addressed the delegates on “Who owns the future? Re-considering the narratives informing ‘transforming pedagogy’ in higher education”.
On the third day, the University of Johannesburg’s Gloria Castrillón and Dr Kirti Menon delivered their keynote address. They presented on quality assurance during a pandemic, as well as why and how to conduct quality assurance during emergency remote teaching and learning.
Dr Manuela Fernandes-Martins was the programme coordinator of the Fourth Teaching and Learning Conference.
The full conference programme can be accessed here.
How comfortable is the ‘old normal’ really?
In his address, Prof Robert Balfour, deputy vice-chancellor for teaching and learning, used the analogy of orbital and progressive waves to consider the impact of Covid-19 on thinking about education and education transformation possibilities in the period of the pandemic, and beyond.
“Simply put, Covid-19 has galvanised progressive, as well as orbital practices and perspectives,” he said, referring to forward movement on the one hand, and circular movement on the other.
“The need for a dedicated scholarship of teaching and learning on how to take advantage of the progressive momentum, through the pedagogic examples we have seen develop over these last two years, is urgent – unless we are comfortable with disappearing beneath, rather than cresting, the wave of change as NWU.”
Robert also referred to the reluctance of the students to engage with online learning materials and academics’ reluctance to return to contact teaching. In particular, he gave a critique of large-group teaching, touching on the costs of infrastructure and the challenges of paying attention to and monitoring and evaluating the learning experience of students.
Click here to read Robert’s address.
Live streaming or face-to-face attendance? Both, shows Teaching and Learning Conference
Three days, three campuses; live streaming and face-to-face attendance at a campus of your choice. This was the recipe for the success of the NWU’s Fourth Teaching and Learning Conference, held from 19 to 21 October 2021.
A vision of the future … At the Fourth Teaching and Learning Conference, Prof Linda du Plessis, deputy vice-chancellor for planning and Vanderbijlpark Campus operations, framed a vision of the future for the NWU. This is to move from crisis to a well-planned intervention, while retaining the value proposition of being a contact university with a vibrant student life.
Prof Emmanuel Mgqwashu, director of CTL’s Faculty Teaching and Learning Support directorate, argued that the pandemic has certainly exposed inequality and, in the process, compelled higher education institutions to revisit what the 2015 #FeesMust Fall Student Movement had already told us.
Click here to read his conference note.
Benefits of using a hybrid approach
From the feedback received after the conference, it was clear that presenting it in a blended format accommodated more delegates as they had the choice to attend either face to face or connect to the live streaming.
The number of in-person delegates was limited to 50 at a time due to regulations and protocols in the venues. Across the three days, the conference attracted 340 virtual attendees and 125 in-person attendees.
