The Fundani Centre for Higher Education Development (CHED), led by Director, Dr Xena Cupido, successfully hosted the 12th Annual Research Innovation in Teaching and Learning (RITAL) Conference at the Cape Town Hotel School.

This event emerged as a vital platform for educators and researchers to share insights and propel the advancement of teaching practices. Dr Najwa Norodien-Fataar, the Research Coordinator at Fundani CHED and chair of the RITAL committee, announced that the conference was supported by the University Capacity Development Grant (UCDG).

“The RITAL Conference was a resounding success, featuring an impressive 36 presentations. This year, academics from the University of the Western Cape (UWC) and the University of Cape Town (UCT) actively contributed papers, significantly increasing conference registrations. The rise in postgraduate student participation provided an invaluable opportunity for CPUT's postgraduate students to showcase their research,” Norodien-Fataar stated.

The conference was structured around the theme: Innovative Pedagogies: Embracing Diversity and Technology for Student Success. Sessions tackled crucial topics such as Digital Literacy, Technological Integration, Language and Learning, Equity, Decolonization and Social Justice, Teacher Training and Professional Development, and Student Success and Retention. Keynote speaker Prof Joanne Hardman, a psychologist at the UCT School of Education and Deputy Director, delivered an impactful message on the necessity of cultivating meaningful pedagogy that encourages students to engage in metacognitive thinking about their acquired knowledge. “We must seriously reconsider our teaching model to ensure it acknowledges the socially embedded nature of teaching. Children do not leave their lives at the door; they bring their experiences with them,” Hardman asserted.

Hardman presented a compelling dialectical model of pedagogy that confronts the challenge of developing effective teaching approaches to foster metacognitive thinking and successful learning outcomes. Drawing on Marxian psychology, she highlighted how social beings shape consciousness, emphasizing that learning progresses from external (inter-psychological) interactions to internalized (intra-psychological) understanding. “This model integrates the Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD), where language mediates learning and is guided by a culturally competent individual, transitioning from abstract to concrete knowledge. Inspired by Hedegaard’s Radical-Local Pedagogy, we must connect general concepts with meaningful, situational problems to effectively engage students,” Hardman observed.

She emphasised that the model effectively fosters interactive learning and enhances critical reasoning through exploratory talk, highlighting the significance of this pedagogical approach for meaningful and collaborative experiences.

Norodien-Fataar further announced that Paradigms is moving forward with its application for accreditation with the Department of Higher Education and Training. This accreditation is contingent upon the journal's consistent publication for three consecutive years without interruption. “Achieving this significant milestone depends on the unwavering support and participation of our academic community,” she emphasised.

To ensure success, Norodien-Fataar called on the researchers, comprising over 70 academics from CPUT and UWC, to actively support this initiative by submitting their research articles to Paradigms. She reinforced that this journal is a peer-reviewed platform, guaranteeing that all contributions are meticulously evaluated for quality and academic integrity. “Additionally, Paradigms benefits from the insights of a professional editor, ensuring that your work is presented in the best possible manner,” she concluded.

Written by Aphiwe Boyce

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“I just told my students that we are going to have our lecture via Twitter and that they needn’t attend class on the specified date”. Marian Pike, Public Relations Management lecturer had a rapt audience at the first-ever annual Research and Innovation in Teaching and Learning (RITAL) Conference in December. Pike’s Twitter lecture was a world-first, and her RITAL conference paper, titled ‘Learning tweet by tweet: Reshaping lectures for Twitter’, highlighted the benefits of using the popular social network and micro-blogging service in education.

Pike added that she is planning on “tweeting” a lecture again in the near future, after experiencing how effective this medium of communication can be.

Prof Chrissie Boughey, Dean of Teaching and Learning at Rhodes University delivered the keynote address to a packed auditorium on the Granger Bay campus. The Fundani Centre for Higher Education Development hosted the ground-breaking conference, where Boughey spoke about her research on Universities of Technology. She also paid tribute to the work of her colleague Prof Terence Volbrecht, former Fundani CHED Director, who is about to leave CPUT and South Africa. Showing research statistics she had done independently, Boughey said she found that “only 5% of students graduated in regulation time at UoT’s, while 56% of students leave the system without ever graduating”.

Volbrecht, who will be emigrating to Australia soon, believes more can be done to improve higher education institutions while bettering the percentage of graduates. “We have to be far more systematic in our approach to better the current state of affairs. Research shows that students drop out because of non-academic issues. If the government can join forces with higher education institutions, it would be a step in the right direction”, Volbrecht insisted.

Presentations followed and were categorised according to the themes of the conference. These included Innovative Teaching Practice Educational Research; Developing Responsive Curricula; Improving Student Learning; and Innovative Teaching Practice.

In addition to the use of Twitter, Facebook and blogging was also investigated as a means of innovating in teaching at CPUT. In a paper presented by Dr Ivala and Mrs Gachago, a significant finding was that appropriate use of Facebook and blogs enhances student engagement in learning activities. The social network site was found to be a great “blurrer of boundaries” between students’ academic and social lives, and thus a positive force in improving their engagement.By: Mariëtte Adams

Written by CPUT News
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The Fundani Centre for Higher Education Development (CHED) recently hosted the annual Research Innovation in Teaching and Learning Conference (RITAL) to discuss and debate teaching, learning, curriculum and assessment issues related to higher education.

The one-day conference funded by the University Capacity Development Grant (UCDG), was themed: Beyond the Pandemic: Rethinking and Revitalising our Pedagogical Practices in Higher Education Institutions was held on the Granger Bay Campus.

The RITAL conference brought together academics across the disciplines who are interested in discussing teaching, learning, curriculum and pedagogical practices beyond the COVID-19 pandemic at CPUT.

The Research Coordinator at Fundani, Dr Najwa Norodien-Fataar, who chaired the conference, said their aim was to enable academics to rethink and revitalise their roles as lecturers beyond the pandemic. Academics who were recipients of the Research Innovation Fund in Teaching and Learning (RIFTAL) also presented their research findings to the CPUT academic community. Approximately 60 academics attended the conference and participated in debates on various teaching, learning, curriculum and assessment matters. The conference attracted academics from the Faculty of Applied Sciences, the Faculty of Engineering and the Built Environment and the Faculty of Education.

“A key concern for all academics is to use technology meaningfully by placing pedagogy at the centre of student learning. Several presentations focused on pedagogy as central to productive learning at universities. A crucial aspect of pedagogy is to ensure that students engage with knowledge in a dialogical manner between lecturers and students and between students and students,” Norodien-Fataar observed.

The Director of the Centre for Excellence in Learning and Teaching at the Durban University of Technology, Prof Mncedisi Maphalala, delivered a keynote address which was titled: Re-imagining Higher Education online learning environments Post Covid-19 and beyond: A self-directed learning Perspective.

Teaching Excellence Award winner Dr Sweta Patnaik, from the Faculty of Engineering and the Built Environment, also provided a presentation and focused on how she consistently sought feedback from students regarding their understanding of the subjects she teaches. Patnaik emphasised that she always looked for innovative ways to ensure students learn effectively.

“A crucial message of the conference was to emphasise pedagogy as central to student learning. Several presentations focused on the relationship between pedagogy and technology-enhanced learning and how to ensure access to knowledge through our mixed, blended, and contact delivery modes,” Norodien-Fataar observed.

One of the presenters, Prof Jessy van Wyk, Head of the Department: Food Science and Technology, said the conference was “an enormous success, in my opinion”. “What really impressed me was the amount as well as the scope of the work done by so many staff at CPUT around delivering quality and student-centred Learning, Teaching and Assessment (LTA) to our students. The scope covers a healthy mix of one, research based on tried-and-tested methods (e.g., the Socratic method) as well as new theories and methods (with a particular focus on the digital space) and two, implementing those methodologies in the classroom and laboratories and evaluating the impact towards continuous improvement.”

In her presentation, Van Wyk stated that her department was able to develop new curricula aimed at producing graduates that are job-ready, practitioners capable of complex practice such as enhanced graduate employability. “Successfully developing and delivering these curricula are facilitated by the depth of experience in the department, as well as input from our wide network of partnerships, with industry, local and international universities.”

Click the RITAL blog link for more information: https://blogs.cput.ac.za/rital/

Written by Aphiwe Boyce
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CPUT lecturers and students discussed the latest trends in teaching at the 6th Annual Research and Innovation into Teaching and Learning (RITAL) Conference recently held by Fundani’s Academic Staff Development on the Bellville Campus.

Prof Anthony Staak, Deputy Vice-Chancellor: Academic, said the RITAL conferences provide a wonderful opportunity for staff to showcase their innovations in teaching and learning, share best practices and subject their research to review by their peers. “The conferences also have a capacity development component and will hopefully serve as a stepping stone for staff to submit their papers to national and even international conferences in the future,” added Staak.

He said the RITAL Conference has made a huge contribution to promoting a Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL) at CPUT.

“Not too long ago there was a sense that teaching and research were ‘pulling in opposite directions’. Research was viewed as taking place in a disciplinary research culture, carrying out the job of generating knowledge in the discipline. There was the sense that teaching and research were working in competition with each other for resources, space, time and recognition.”

Prof Lorraine Hassan, Head of Academic Staff Development, added that complexities experienced in the teaching profession include using ICT, decolonisation and trying to enhance the learning experience. “SoTL can help reduce inequalities and solve societal problems,” she said. She asserted that SoTL will improve the university’s research or knowledge outputs.

Trustee of the Cape Town-based Centre for Advanced Studies of African Society, Prof Kwesi Kwaa Prah, delivered the keynote address Language and societal relevance in Teaching and Learning. Prah said all societies which develop in a sustained fashion use their own mother tongue for teaching purposes.

He argued that despite the benefits of mother-tongue education, previously colonised people are “neocolonialist beings or creatures” who want to look and speak like their colonial masters. “They are not serious enough to protest against assimilation into Western culture.”

Written by Kwanele Butana
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It’s all systems go for the ninth Research in Teaching and Learning (RITAL) Conference (RITAL) Conference to be held today, 25 November 2021.

Along with its funding arm, RIFTAL, the conference showcases the research and excellence of emerging and established scholars. This year’s conference focus is on the integration of pedagogy and technology-enhanced teaching and learning practices in a post-pandemic South Africa.

Dr Najwa Norodien-Fataar, Chair of the RITAL organising committee and Head of Department at Fundani CHED’s Curriculum Development Unit, says the RITAL and RIFTAL have played significant roles in the fostering of academics at CPUT.

Reflecting on her scholarly journey, Norodien-Fataar says her progress shows just how integral these research bodies have been in the development of her career. Her journey started in 2010 when the very first RITAL Conference was held. Not only was she one of the conference’s first presenters, Norodien-Fataar was also awarded best paper.  

Within two years of presenting her first-ever academic paper at the RITAL conference, Norodien-Fataar submitted it to the South African Journal of Higher Education where it was published soon after. The focus of her research was: Student engagement at CPUT as it relates to their on-campus stay and use of digital tools. Norodien-Fataar explains that 10 years ago “the need for e-mentoring already existed, made especially necessary by Fundani’s position outside the CPUT structures of faculties and student residences.

“I discovered that students who felt more socially connected did better academically,” Norodien-Fataar continues.

“My ability to secure RIFTAL funding for my research and my success at presenting lit an academic flame that burns brightly to this day.”  While her research focus has shifted slightly to focus more on the experiences of CPUT lecturers as opposed to students, the common thread between her academic interest then and now is her agency and capacity to develop programmes and serve. Norodien-Fataar’s initial insights served students; more recently they serve the academics who engage with those students.

“We have to keep up. We are on this threshold that requires us to change the way we learn, the way we view students. And I’m sure lecturers have done something extraordinary.”

Norodien-Fataar adds that this confidence in lecturers’ capacity to innovate, especially in the past two years, is what excites her for the upcoming 2021 RITAL Conference. “In fact, I believe that the focus on digitally influenced pedagogy and lecturers’ experiences will continue into 2022. That will of course mark the 10th year celebration of RITAL as well as its first hybrid iteration. Having presenters and participants join in person as well as from their homes anywhere in the country or the world is an exciting prospect. And a daunting one.” However, Norodien-Fataar is convinced that last year’s success with RITAL’s very first virtual iteration bodes well for the organising committee’s future endeavours.

For more information on the 2021 RITAL conference click here. Also check out  these Tips for presenting by Norodien-Fataar  and find links to her numerous publications here.

Written by Ashley Jones