<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?> <rss xmlns:dc="http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/" version="2.0"> <channel> <title>Education Innovation</title> <link>http://hdl.handle.net/2263/1933</link> <description>aaaaa</description> <pubDate>Wed, 26 Feb 2025 00:22:02 GMT</pubDate> <dc:date>2025-02-26T00:22:02Z</dc:date> <item> <title>Perspectives and discourses on teaching evaluations in a South African university</title> <link>http://hdl.handle.net/2263/100126</link> <description>Perspectives and discourses on teaching evaluations in a South African university Nsibande, Rejoice N.; Modiba, Maropeng M. The paper reports on a study that explored selected lecturers’&#13; perspectives and discourses on a university’s Student Evaluation of&#13; Teaching (SET) policy in South Africa; particularly what the policy&#13; prioritised in terms of purpose and evaluation processes. It also&#13; reports on the lecturers’ reflections on the additional questions&#13; they included in the self-designed evaluation tools. A questionnaire,&#13; informal group conversations, and extended observations were&#13; used to collect data, and Latour (2005). Reassembling the Social: An&#13; Introduction to Actor-Network Theory. Oxford University Press and&#13; Latour (2013). An Inquiry Into Modes of Existence. Translated by&#13; C. Porter. London: Harvard University Press works helped make&#13; sense of the lecturers’ perspectives and discourses. Findings&#13; indicate a partial grasp of what the SET policy promotes. Lecturers’&#13; understanding seemed to emphasise teaching evaluations’&#13; professional development and accountability functions. Little&#13; attention was paid to the context in which teaching and learning&#13; occurred. The conclusion suggests ways in which the guidance&#13; given to lecturers could be improved to help them understand&#13; and work more effectively with their university’s SET policy. </description> <pubDate>Mon, 01 Jan 2024 00:00:00 GMT</pubDate> <guid isPermaLink="false">http://hdl.handle.net/2263/100126</guid> <dc:date>2024-01-01T00:00:00Z</dc:date> </item> <item> <title>Neurophobia : the inconvenient truth</title> <link>http://hdl.handle.net/2263/94034</link> <description>Neurophobia : the inconvenient truth Venter, Gerda; Bosman, Marius C.; Lubbe, Johanna Medical schools have implemented strategies in response to neurophobia to counteract the negative perception and improve neuroscience experiences for undergraduate medical students. In this study, we explored the attitudes, perceptions and preferred learning approaches of undergraduate and postgraduate medical students toward the teaching, facilitation, learning and assessment of neuroanatomy, as well as their perceptions on its relevance in the South African medical curriculum. A total of 299 undergraduate and five postgraduate students from the University of Pretoria participated in this study. We used a multi-method approach in which the undergraduate students completed an anonymous quantitative questionnaire, while the postgraduate students participated in a qualitative focus- group discussion. Undergraduate medical students preferred lecture notes to study from above any other type of literature and mainly used laptop computers as preferred electronic devices in preparation for their assessments. The favourite topic was cranial nerves, and the least popular was histology of the nervous system. Postgraduate students shared their undergraduate neuroanatomy experiences and provided constructive feedback and suggestions to undergraduate students and lecturing staff. Ineffective teaching methods and limited contact time remain factors that contribute to neurophobia in South Africa. Students perceive neuroanatomy as an interesting and important subject in their medical degree. However, changes are needed to modernize neuroanatomy and make it more accessible and student-friendly. The challenge then remains: how do we, as lecturers, modernize neuroanatomy in the medical curriculum to make it contemporary and clinically applicable? </description> <pubDate>Fri, 01 Sep 2023 00:00:00 GMT</pubDate> <guid isPermaLink="false">http://hdl.handle.net/2263/94034</guid> <dc:date>2023-09-01T00:00:00Z</dc:date> </item> <item> <title>Using a social justice lens to explore the possibilities and limitations of flexible learning provision in a South African TVET college</title> <link>http://hdl.handle.net/2263/93852</link> <description>Using a social justice lens to explore the possibilities and limitations of flexible learning provision in a South African TVET college Van Wyk, Gertrude; Huang, Cheng-Wen; Hodgkinson-Williams, Cheryl Ann In its preamble, the Department of Higher Education and Training’s (DHET) strategic plan for 2015 to 2020 identified ways to expand access to education and training. However, in South Africa, Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) colleges’ enrolment growth is inhibited by inadequate physical infrastructure and a shortage of additional and relevant human resources (DHET, 2018). The draft Open Learning Policy Framework for the Post-School Education and Training (2017) recommends that the principle of flexibility be applied to increase student access and support their success. This exploratory case study focuses on possibilities and limitations of flexible learning provision at a selected TVET college in the Free State province. It adopts Nancy Fraser’s (1995, 2005) theory of social justice, which emphasizes parity of participation with respect to economic, cultural and political dimensions, to discuss ways in which flexible learning is socially just. COVID-19 lockdowns severely curtailed this study to virtual interviews with two institutional managers only, as students were not readily available. The transcripts were subsequently coded along Fraser’s three dimensions of social justice. The study demonstrates that flexible learning provision responded to the economic dimensions of transport poverty by providing access to curriculum content via online platforms, radio broadcasts and hardcopy materials deposited for collection at selected physical destinations. In relation to cultural parity, it reveals that the college provides a pedagogically responsive intervention programme as a second opportunity for students to succeed. Politically, the study indicates that assessment practices at the college are exclusionary due to national assessment policies that constrain flexibility. This chapter contributes towards understanding the practices and policies that influence flexible learning provision as an aspirational form of open learning as well as the complex ways in which social injustices are entangled in the South African PSET sector. DATA AVAILABILITY : The datasets generated during and/or analysed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request. </description> <pubDate>Tue, 01 Mar 2022 00:00:00 GMT</pubDate> <guid isPermaLink="false">http://hdl.handle.net/2263/93852</guid> <dc:date>2022-03-01T00:00:00Z</dc:date> </item> <item> <title>Introducing open learning as a means towards social justice in post-school education and training</title> <link>http://hdl.handle.net/2263/93851</link> <description>Introducing open learning as a means towards social justice in post-school education and training Mayisela, Tabisa; Govender, Shanali C.; Hodgkinson-Williams, Cheryl Ann This volume investigates the uptake of ‘open learning’ in South African Technical Vocational Education and Training (TVET) colleges and higher education institutions. Comprised of 16 studies focused on activities at a range of colleges and universities across the country, these chapters aim to promote a better understanding of open learning practices across the Post-School Education and Training (PSET) sector, including issues such as: recognition of prior learning, access for students with disabilities, work integrated learning, professional development, novel student funding mechanisms, leadership for open educational practices, institutional culture, student support, blended and online learning, flexible learning, online assessment, open educational resource development models and funding, and micro-credentials.&#13; &#13; This collection of peer-reviewed chapters contributes to understanding the ways in which South African PSET institutions and educators are interpreting ‘open learning’ as a means of advancing social justice. It includes a historical and contemporary understanding of the economic, cultural and political obstacles facing PSET, drawing on Nancy Fraser’s theory of social justice as ‘participatory parity’ to better understand the ways in which ‘open learning’ may address systemic social injustices in order to allow South African students and educators to thrive.&#13; &#13; This volume emerges from research conducted by the Cases on Open Learning (COOL) project, an initiative by the Department of Higher Education and Training in partnership with the Centre for Innovation in Learning and Teaching (CILT) at the University of Cape Town (UCT) in South Africa. DATA AVAILABILITY : The datasets generated during and/or analysed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request. </description> <pubDate>Tue, 01 Mar 2022 00:00:00 GMT</pubDate> <guid isPermaLink="false">http://hdl.handle.net/2263/93851</guid> <dc:date>2022-03-01T00:00:00Z</dc:date> </item> </channel> </rss>