Part 1 of a 2-part presentation and workshop on Curriculum transformation: taking time to design presented at the first North West University Teaching and Learning Festival, May 2018

1. 1

2. Education is the
most powerful
weapon which you
can use to change
the world.
Nelson Mandela (1918 – 2013)
Nobel Laureate, 1993

3. Overview
1. What is transformation?
2. Transforming what we teach
3. Transforming how we teach
4. Transforming how we assess

4. Theoretical framework
Constructivism
Situated
learning in a
community
or practice
Education
design theory
Baskerville & Pries-Heje (2010),
Spagnoletti, Resca & Lee (2015)
Anderson (2017)
Lave & Wenger (1991)

5. 1.0 What is transformation?
Transformation and distance education today

6. Fitness of purpose
Fitness for purpose
Value for money
Transformation:
Individual
Institutional
systemic

7. 2.0 Transforming what we teach
Transformation and distance education today

8. “Epistemicide” Lebakeng, Phalane &
Dalindjebo, 2006.

9. Redefining role
I teach
accounting
I teach
people
I help people learn
about accounting
See also: https://www.saica.co.za/LearnersStudents/Thuthuka.aspx

10. But… …
Altbach et al. (2009) note:
• the growing dominance of English as
the language of scientific
communication;
• increasing moves towards the
development of regional qualifications
frameworks to facilitate portability;
• the growing dominance of a few mostly
wealthy, English-medium universities in
the developed world in setting higher
education agendas
• a continued marginalisation of non-
English medium universities generally,
and of those in developing countries in
particular.
• A view of Cambridge ...

11. Assumptions
People don’t lean to do new things by being told about them
Rather, they must be actively experienced through authentic tasks;
and
Continuously reflected upon
Therefore a series of resource- and activity-based workshops based
on socio-constructivist principles
Practising what we preach
Spot the teacher!
Focus on co-creation of knowledge
rather than dissemination and
regurgitation

12. Therese Tchombe, 2017
We need to accompany our
teachers on their continuing
professional learning journeys …
to develop the knowledge, skills
and values to question, change,
adapt and transform … in
collaborative and connected
professional learning
communities, networks and
systems …

13. 3.0 Transforming how we teach
Transformation and distance education today

14. A
D
C
B
Fully Offline
Internet Supported
Internet Dependent
Fully Online
Campus-based Hybrid / Blended Remote
E
Digitally Supported
3.1 Mode of Delivery in a changing context (Saide, 2013)Off-line--><-----------Online----------->
B

15. 3.2 … it’s about pedagogy
Amory, Bialobrzeska
& Welch, 2018

16. 3.3 Engagement: Authentic tasks
Biodiversity data collection activity
• Use detailed field notes on a sample of birds, dragonflies and
woodlice. Students observe their area, noting what species they find
• Complete field notes and upload to the U316 Biodiversity database
• This creates a geographically referenced map of all the students’
data, enabling students to see where there are species ‘hot spots’
and to work out what might be good strategies for nature reserves
• Submit an assignment based on this activity, for credit
• The OU data is submitted to the national biodiversity database and
so adds to ‘real’ knowledge. (Thorpe, 2006)
The Open University's Institute for Educational Technology

17. 3.4 Equivalence of provision
Contact Distance
16 credits =160h/module
64 hours reading, thinking and making
notes
32 hours completing and uploading
assignments (2/module)
16 hours preparing for summative
assessment
10,5 hours contact tutorials (7 x 1,5)
37,5 campus-based, structured peer
cooperation and collaboration
16 credits =160h/module
64 hours reading, thinking and making
notes
32 hours completing and uploading
assignments (2/module)
16 hours preparing for summative
assessment
48 hours online self-assessment, peer
cooperation and collaboration (16w x <3h)
e.g. <0,5 hours intro activity
<1 hour quiz on new content
<1,5 hour consolidation discussion/feedback

18. 4.0 Transforming how we assess
Transformation and distance education today

19. 4.1 Scaffolding towards achievement
Introductory
activities
Developmental
activities
Consolidating,
applying and
creating activities

20. Scaffolded and meaningful and
transformative curricula
• Banks’ Four Levels of Integration of Multicultural Education (Banks,
1999, p. 246)
Level 4: The social action approach
Students make decisions on important social issues and take actions to help solve
them.
Level 3: The transformation approach
The structure of the curriculum is changed to enable students to view concepts,
issues, events, and themes from the perspectives of diverse ethnic and cultural
groups.
Level 2: The additive approach
Content, concepts, themes, and perspectives are added to the curriculum without
changing its structure.
Level 1: The contributions approach
Focuses on heroes, holidays, and discrete cultural elements.

21. Bringing it all together: AgShare
“… the South African higher
education curriculum should
offer students subject
positions that transcend and
subsume the old Western or
African identities.” Luckett
(2010, p.4)
“… Modern western
universities have badly
neglected their social
mission.” Horton (2010, p.
1876) This includes
questioning, investigating
and accommodating issues
and voices that might
otherwise be ignored.
Ubuntugogy (Bangura, 2005)
Seven pillars of wisdom:
1. Tolerance
2. Economic well-being
3. Social justice
4. Gender equality
5. Environmental
sustainability
6. Inter-faith dialogue and
cooperation
7. Relentless quest for
greater wisdom
van Wyk & Higgs (2011)
Interdependence (Khoza, 2017)
African ethic/worldview
(Letseka, 2016)

22. From theory into
practice:
Technology profile of
“typical” UP DE students
• Challenge: MRTEQs (DHET 2015) and UP’s hybrid
learning agenda require ICT access and skills
• How ready are students? 1275 respondents (Aluko,
2015).
• Tony’s takeaways:
• All students had a cell phone; about 2/3 a smart phone
but not necessarily optimally used: so can use SMS but
probably not mobile learning
• About 40% no access to a device and/or no ICT skills:
students who will likely be excluded by moving online
• About 30% regular access to device and basic ICT skills
but limited connectivity: students who will need
additional scaffolded support
• About 30% regular access to device and basic ICT skills
and regular connectivity: students who should be able to
cope

23. Blending old and new
Continuous enrolment, Eduloan
[Fundi] for fees and ICT
Structured fortnightly support
online: student-content,
student-student, student-tutor
engagement; plus online access
to elibrary resources
Printed LGs/ readers / textbooks
for offline work
Contact sessions: 3 short f2f :
clickUP and elibrary training
before being enrolled for block,
orientation at start of block,
consolidation and support for
summative assessment towards
end of block
Call centre support at peak
times incl ICT issues related to
clickUP
SMS/email/phone
communications

24. More of:
Student engagement
with content:
Individual and group
activities
Student
engagement
with peers:
group activities
Less of:
Student
engagement
with staff
Summative assessment or roll over
Block X LMS
access
ICT/elibrary
training and
access to
sandpit/OER
Block X print
package
Optional f2f
orientation
Semi-structured to open
engagement
Units 1-2
Introductory
Developmental
Consolidating
Assignment 1
Units 3-6/7
Introductory
Developmental
Consolidating
Assignment 2
Optional f2f
consolidation
Continuous
enrolment
Learning
analytics
Week 2
email
etutor
Week 4
sms
Week 6
Call centre
Programme outcomes
Module outcomes
Hattie 2009:
Formative
evaluation
feedback key
for student
success
Bernard et al. 2009; SAQA 2012
Adapted from Mays
(2016)

25. Questions? Comments?

26. “Education is a human right
with immense power to
transform. On its foundation
rest the cornerstones of
freedom, democracy and
sustainable human
development.”
Kofi Anan
Nobel Laureate, 2001

27. Bibliography and references
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• Aluko, R. (2015). Initial Report on Technology Profile Survey. Pretoria: Unit for Distance Education, University of Pretoria.
• Anderson, T. (2017). Critical Review of Research and Research Methods. Paper presented at the ICDE Doctoral Seminar, March 2017, Athabasca University.
• Anderson, T., & Dron, J. (2011). Three generations of distance education pedagogy. IRRODL, 12(3),80-97.
• Anderson, T., & Elloumi, F. (Eds.). (2004). Theory and practice of online learning. Athabasca: Athabasca University.
• Bangura, A. K. (2005). Ubuntugogy: An Africa educational paradigm that transcends pedagogy, andragogy, ergonagy and heautagogy. Journal of Third World Studies, xx11 (2), 13-54.
• Banks, J. A. (1999). An Introduction to Multicultural Education (2nd edition). Boston: Allyn and Bacon.
• Beetham, H., & Sharpe, R. (Eds.). (2013). Rethinking pedagogy for a digital age: Designing for 21st century learning (2nd ed.). New York: Routledge.
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http://www.campbellcollaboration.org/artman2/uploads/1/Education_Bernard.pdf
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• Lave, J., & Wenger, E. (1991). Situated Learning: Legitimate Peripheral Participation. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
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28. © University of Pretoria
This work is licensed under a creative commons licence 4.0
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
tony.mays@up.ac.za
Citation: Mays, TJ. (2018). Transformation and distance education today, NWU Teaching and
Learning Festival, 2018: Pretoria: University of Pretoria.
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