Topic: A Gay Agenda: Troubling Compulsory Heterosexuality in a South African University Classroom

The SU Teaching & Learning Policy notes the social dimension of learning and points out that social context is more complex and nuanced, and potentially has a more profound effect on teaching and learning, than any individual characteristics of students or academics.  Prof Dennis's application of sociological theory and analysis illustrates how power, knowledge, and emotion feature in teaching and learning.

Topic: Educational Interpreting as part of ‘pedagogically sound’ teaching and learning practices in a multilingual university lecture

What does the new SU Language Policy mean for your teaching? 

It provides for educational interpreting to support you in implementing its three core priorities: multilingualism, access and pedagogically sound teaching and learning.  The policy expressly recognizes that language practices are linked to how disciplines create knowledge, and that is different for each academic discipline. Within these varying contexts, lecturers must engage a multilingual mindset and work out 'what works' to optimally relate to students' language identities, and to get them to engage in the learning.

Carmen will share research on 'what works' to help lecturers and interpreters plan together to deliberately interpret the various discursive practices in their classrooms. 

Topic: Portfolios as a pedagogical choice for assessment as learning: insights from a teacher education programme

Much has been written about the theoretical bases of portfolios as an assessment tool. However, not much is known about the knowledge, attitudes and learnings resulting from the use of portfolios and reflection among pre-service teachers. This assessment strategyby which students learn,is also referred to as assessment as learning. We contribute to this knowledge gap by illustrating how a module in a teacher education programme used portfolios as a tool for assessment as learning and knowledge integration. In this presentation we draw on pre-service foundation phase teachers’ reflections about the value of portfolios as an assessment tool for learning to answer the following question:do portfolios promote learning through students’ engagement in reflection? 

In doing so, we aim to illustrate how we used portfolios that incorporated reflection as a tool to enhance the student’s process of thinking about learning. This deliberate choice for teaching and learning afforded us an opportunity to encourage students to think about their learning as opposed to just working for marks. We worked towards a mere disruption from the traditional view of a portfolio as a collection of artefacts to a learning portfolio where the process of learning was drawn on. Portfolios with an explicit focus on learning could bring about changes for students as they become more aware of their own learning. The construction of the learning portfolio is therefore an effective form of professional development. 

In the presentation, we will unpack the theoretical foundations related to portfolios and assessment and illustrate how this may be a link to sustainable assessment. We conclude that portfolios are indeed a useful pedagogical choice for assessment as learning. ​

Topic: Developing theories for narratives in teaching and learning, based on an example of Black women's academic  experiences

Saying “welcome” is not enough. Being and belonging in academia is essential and exhausting for anyone in academia, even more so for those who are and feel marginalised. Higher Education Institutions should do so much more than only welcoming qualified staff, especially Black women, to academia. The “sluggish pace of change and transformation” and experiences of microaggressions in institutions is rooted in patriarchy and colonialism. The global phenomenon is that the marginalised in academia experience exhaustion not only due to workload but all the other battles they are fighting in academia. No institution would want to be guilty. There should thus be concerted efforts by institutional management to address these issues to ensure that the culture of the institution is transformed so that no-one feels marginalised or as outsiders. The change could be addressed by recognition of privilege.

Topic: Creating information smart students – librarians and their hidden role in the teaching agenda at Stellenbosch University

Being able to navigate the world of information is a necessity at university level for students and staff alike – understanding how to do research, the resources that are available and being able to evaluate the resources in your own context is a skill that many need to master to be able to make it through their university degree. It is sometimes assumed that this skill is learnt as a by-product of assignments and results, but it should be highlighted that the university has a (hidden) treasure trove of expertise to teach these crucial skills: librarians. Librarians are involved at the request of lecturers to help improve students’ ability to find, understand and evaluate information, amongst other information literacy skills. These skills can equip students to excel in their studies from first year, if the faculty involve librarians. We would like to showcase how librarians have been involved in teaching within the university, and share some of the successes and skills that perhaps are not widely known to inspire more faculty to collaborate successfully with their librarians. We would also like to share these so that faculty realise they do not need to be experts in this field, and that they have support in teaching skills such as referencing, reading academic information, evaluating information and more. Through such partnerships, not only do the faculty and the library benefit from it, but the students feel more equipped to be able to navigate. To quote from the majority of students after their first session with a librarian: “Why wasn’t I taught this in first year?”

isiXhosa:
Ukukwazi ukuzula-zula kwihlabathi lolwazi kuyimfuneko kwinqanaba leyunivesithi kubafundi nabasebenzi ngokufanayo– ukuqonda indlela yokwenza uphando, izibonelelo ezifumanekayo nokukwazi ukuvavanya izibonelelo kumxholo wakho sisakhono ekufuneka abaninzi basazi ukuze bakwazi  ukuphumelela kwisidanga saseyunivesithi.  Maxa wambi kucingelwa ukuba obu buchule bufundwa njengemveliso evela kumsebenzi omiselweyo kunye neziphumo, kodwa kufuneka igxininiswe into yokuba iyunivesithi inobuncwane (obufihliweyo) bobuchule bokufundisa ezi zakhono zibalulekileyo: oonocwadi. Funda kaba​nzi apha...​

Click here to join the meeting at 12.45 on MSTeams.

Topic: Ways to teach and learn: Experiential education, competencies & graduate attributes 

Click here to join the meeting ​at 12.45 on MSTeams.

Topic and speaker: To be confirmed

Topic: Scholarship, scholarly teaching and SoTL: implications for the ‘professoriate’.

Topic: Balancing SoTL & disciplinary research.​​

Topic: Towards humanising online postgraduate supervision: Reflecting on student experiences in lockdown​

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Topic: Developing a knowledge skills module for first years.​​

Topic: Students' Developing Conceptions of Knowledge: Insights from a longitudinal study in Chemistry

Topic: The whole is greater than the sum of its parts – exploration of the 4C-ID model for curriculum design

Topic: Curriculum Renewal​

Topic: Higher education in community – collaborative higher education, an ethic and pedagogy of care and Ubuntu.

Topic: Emergency migration to online teaching in the Covid-19 pandemic: Impact on the mental health and wellness of lecturers and other university staff.​​

Topic: Teaching and learning in the Theory-Practice Nexus​

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Topic: Implementing multilingualism in South African universities: dilemmas and innovations​

Topic: Designing your teaching online