CPUT hosted an Inter-institutional Extended Curriculum Programmes (ECPs) Symposium at the Granger Bay Hotel School.
The regional conference of Innovative Pedagogical Practices in ECPs saw delegates from all four universities in the Western Cape sharing best practices in teaching ECP students and addressing their academic challenges.
Access to ways of doing and thinking in disciplines has been an ongoing focus in the Department of Extended Curriculum at CPUT, but this year it wished to also highlight the more emotive and social barriers, which first year students may experience as well.
Delivering the symposium’s keynote address, Professor Jenni Case from the Centre for Research in Engineering Education at the University of Cape Town (UCT), addressed academic development in the mainstream by presenting a case study in UCT’s Department of Chemical Engineering.
The study found a demonstration of possible structural shifts in a mainstream undergraduate programme. She asked whether the co-option of industry ideas into the curriculum will be initially enabling however, ultimately, limiting in the broader sense of transformation.
CPUT lecturers Julian Hopley and Alex Noble discussed how a course in visual literacy was developed for foundation Architecture and Interior Design students.
They said that the development of the course took into cognizance the background information about foundation students, namely, no previous art training nor 3D perception skills and poor mathematical skills.
Papers and discussions presented during the conference fell under a variety of themes, including the following:
Innovative uses of IT
Student personal development
Attitudes and emotions in learning
Innovative teaching methods
Curriculum design
Foundation structures and systems
Written by CPUT News
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