Stellenbosch University
Welcome to Stellenbosch University
PREDAC 2018 (Professional Educational Development of Academics)
Author: Claudia Swart
Published: 03/08/2018

The Professional Educational Development of Academics (PREDAC) programme is presented annually for newly appointed academics at Stellenbosch University (SU). It was re-conceptualised for 2018 as a programme presented in four phases combining both centralised and faculty-based activities.

PHASE 1: Informal sessions on teaching in the various faculties and the formal launch

The informal sessions comprised advisors from the Centre for Teaching and Learning (CTL) introducing the PREDAC programme to the newly appointed academics in their specific faculties early in the year.

The formal launch of PREDAC 2018 took place at the Stellenbosch Institute for Advanced Study on 21 May and was attended by 87 academics and 59 PREDAC participants. The theme of the day was What is good teaching at Stellenbosch University?

The event was opened with a welcome, followed by the first topic of discussion – Stellenbosch University context for teaching and learning – which saw the participants engaging with several institutional policy documents through a jigsaw activity.

After teatime, the participants discussed the importance of being a reflective practitioner using feedback as a tool to reflect on one's teaching practice.

Lunch was followed by the various faculties engaging with their PREDAC participants in breakaway sessions.

PHASE 2: A four-day-three-night immersion breakaway

The 60 participants from the nine faculties involved in PREDAC attended a four-day retreat at the Goudini Conference Centre from 17 to 20 July 2018. The programme started on the Tuesday evening and included the official welcome by the Senior Director: Division for Learning and Teaching Enhancement, Dr Antoinette van der Merwe. Prof Arnold Schoonwinkel, Vice-Rector: Learning and Teaching then addressed the participants, sharing some ideas around how the University values its academics, with the focus on their teaching role and professional learning.

Wednesday focused on a session entitled Access to knowledge: Teaching in your discipline and Planning of a module, with specific attention given to the formulation of outcomes. Discussions, activities and feedback within the group as a whole ensured interactivity within smaller groups as the participants unpacked these topics and their relevance to their specific contexts.

During Thursday and Friday, the participants worked in three cluster groups, analysing their specific modules. One group represented the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, the Faculty of Military Science and the Faculty of Theology, another group represented the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, Faculty of Law and the Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences and another group represented the Faculty of AgriSciences, the Faculty of Science and the Faculty of Engineering.

Towards the end of Friday, Phase 3 of PREDAC was introduced to the participants. During Phase 3, the participants will be expected to design and implement a learning opportunity for the students in their modules and to elicit feedback. In small faculty groups, the participants will then share their experiences and decide on one learning opportunity that they will use to design a poster to present at the annual Scholarship of Teaching and Learning Conference on 31 October (Phase 4).

The participants will also be encouraged to undertake peer observations as part of being a reflective practitioner, attending the classes of experienced lecturers and having conversations with teaching and learning champions in their faculties.

All was not only work, however, and the participants had ample opportunity to interact with one another and to forge relationships with colleagues from their own and from the other faculties in a collegial atmosphere.

The participants left Goudini on Friday with a conceptual framework that will enable them to reflect on their teaching, learning and assessment in order to plan and expand their own teaching practices. The conceptual framework is based on the Carpe Diem process of Prof Gilly Salmon, adapted for SU as the DeLTA process:  Design for Learning Teaching and Assessment.

Two of the participants gave the following feedback:

“The PREDAC phase 2 made one realize the essence of teaching. This was from a whole new perspective and it helped me question my teaching style, content and preparation."

“That despite my 6 years' teaching experience I could still learn so much for development and how much difference this will reflect in my students."

Looking forward to PREDAC 2019

The CTL is already re-conceptualising the PREDAC programme for 2019 based on participant feedback and its own research and observations.

For any additional information or comments, please contact Claudia Swart at claudias2@sun.ac.za.