Auxin Resources 2025

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13 May 2025

Gamification and social media as a catalyst for student learning and engagement
Benita Bobo

How do you keep 10 000 first-year students, who are 'forced' to do a compulsory module engaged? How can you leverage on digital tools to promote the attainment of module learning outcomes, graduate attributes, and critical cross field outcomes? One possible answer is using gamification and social media to keep students engaged while learning.

Gamification is the incorporation of game-like elements in learning activities, with the aim of increasing student engagement and learning. It draws on self-determination theory, which highlights the importance of autonomy, competence and relatedness. By providing clear goals, immediate feedback, and opportunities for social interaction, gamification can enhance students' sense of agency and engagement within large, impersonal classes.

In this presentation I also highlight how I draw on social constructivism as a learning theory and transformative learning as a pedagogical approach to frame the creation of authentic learning experiences. Social constructivism posits that learning is most effective when students actively construct knowledge through interaction and collaboration within authentic contexts. Transformative learning theory further supports this approach, emphasising the importance of critical reflection, which can be stimulated through interactive activities.

I ask the following question to promote reflection and discussion amongst attendees: how can academics leverage on gamification and social media platforms to enhance their teaching, learning and assessment? It is hoped that this presentation will spark interest and discussion and generate ideas on how academics may consider doing this in their own disciplinary contexts.

Benita is a Senior Advisor at the Centre for Teaching and Learning. Prior to this she has worked as a lecturer and coordinator for institutional General Education modules, as well as a Psychology lecturer and coordinator for institutional Service-Learning modules. Her teaching is grounded in the constructivism and social contextual learning theories. As such, she believes in drawing on the lived realities of her students in her teaching.

22 April 2025

Learning to Let Go: Pedagogical Courage and Uncertainty with Escape Room Pedagogies
Delecia Davids

This presentation offers a reflective examination of a (virtual) escape room intervention in a teacher education module. The escape room aimed to foster student engagement and creativity by inviting them to navigate open-ended digital tasks and co-construct meaning within playful yet professionally grounded scenarios. However, it quickly evolved into a powerful pedagogical provocation highlighting the productive tensions of uncertainty, courage, and collaboration in higher education teaching, learning and assessment. This design destabilised traditional pedagogical authority and assessment expectations, echoing Barnett’s (2007) call for higher education to prepare students for the unknown. The intervention required students to navigate ambiguity, make collective decisions, and creatively respond to unfamiliar challenges. It also fostered assessment as learning, prioritising reflection and transformation over correct answers, allowing students to take on a more agentic role in their learning. For educators, it offers a provocation to view pedagogical experimentation as a form of inquiry and courage, seeing uncertainty as fertile ground for growth.

25 March 2025

AI in Higher Education TLA: A Follow-Up Panel Discussion
Dr Hanelie Adendorff

By popular demand, the March Auxin session followed up Dr Hanelie Adendorff’s February Auxin. In this session, Dr Adendorff invited panellists to share how they are integrating Generative AI (GenAI) into their teaching, learning, and assessment practices. In this session Sharon Malan (EMS), Lennox Olivier (Arts and Social Sciences), Melody Neaves (Engineering), Hamman Schoonwinkel (EMS) and Jodie Lemphane (FMHS) took a deep dive into their experience with integrating GenAI, unpacking evaluative judgment, critical thinking, self-directed learning, computational thinking, and more. The conversation navigated discipline-specific challenges, ethical considerations, and other critical considerations regarding this evolving topic. As part of the session, Dr Adendorff also shared SU’s brand new “Cool Things” AI Case Study Guide, showcasing innovative approaches from Stellenbosch University academics. It can be found on the CTL’s website, or via bit.ly/coolthingsacademicsdo

For more on assessment, tune into Talking Transformative Assessment via bit.ly/talkingtransformativeassessment

25 February 2025

AI, Literacy, and the University: Where Are We Now?
Dr Hanelie Adendorff

Two years into the AI revolution, how has generative AI (GenAI), like ChatGPT, shaped teaching, learning, and assessment? Where do our university’s AI guidelines stand, and where are they headed? More importantly, what role should universities play in fostering AI literacy—not just for students, but also for educators?

In this session, Hanelie Adendorff (Centre for Teaching and Learning) will explore the evolving landscape higher education in the context of GenAI, the importance of AI literacy, and how universities can prepare students to engage critically and ethically with AI.