Dolina Dowling

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Carolien van den Berg, University of the Western Cape, South Africa

Belinda Verster, Cape Peninsula University of Technology, South Africa

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ABSTRACT

Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) has been gaining traction as a promising approach for addressing social challenges and driving positive change within society. The purpose of this article is to explore how ESD can be foregrounded to reframe and enrich an existing learning framework called the Interdisciplinary Collaborative Online Learning Framework (ICoL). The ICoL framework has been developed since 2020 using a Design-based Research methodology. Literature on ESD lacks exploration of practical implementation for interdisciplinary collaborative projects within communities. This article interrogates the question of how to integrate ESD within the ICoL learning framework. This study is explorative, and data are drawn from a review of the literature and student reflections. A qualitative, themed analysis of the data revealed a fifth learning design principle and a fourth structuring element towards a new learning framework, called the Sustainable-Smart Transdisciplinary Learning Framework.

Lunga Xolisa Mantashe, University of Fort Hare, South Africa

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ABSTRACT

This study explored how the shift to online pedagogy has shaped lecturer dispositions and practices for a post-COVID-19 era, including whether their practices during the national lockdowns could be conceptualised as temporary coping mechanisms or as an adoption of new practices related to effective modes of online teaching. Bourdieu’s theory of human practices was employed to facilitate the exploration. The theory privileges the weight of past practices on agents while permitting incremental changes in such practices, depending on the flexibility and/or rigidity of a human habitus. Six lecturers were interviewed using semi-structured interviews to collect data. It was found that despite showing flexible and reflective dispositions regarding post-COVID-19 online teaching, participants were still in their exploratory phase in respect of teaching practices with online technology tools. An explicit institutional, reflective training process is suggested to help evolve in lecturers the habitus and cultural capital necessary to facilitate teaching with technology.

Shaveen Maharaj, Durban University of Technology, South Africa

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ABSTRACT

The Department of Electronic Engineering at a South African University of Technology is currently conducting a research study to investigate the challenges associated with online teaching during the COVID-19 epidemic. Specifically, the study focuses on the perspective of educators in this context. In response to the outbreak, governments worldwide implemented nationwide lockdowns to curb the spread of the virus, leading educational institutions, including universities, to cease in-person instruction. This sudden shift disrupted the educational system, necessitating a rapid transition from traditional face-to-face teaching to online methods to fulfill the curriculum requirements. As faculty members encountered various difficulties in adapting to online teaching pedagogy, the research study concentrates on them as the primary participants. The research study provides recommendations that offer valuable guidance for improving the effectiveness of online teaching practices which may be applied outside of the pandmic to most online teaching pedagogies.

Sibongile Simelane-Mnisi, Tshwane University of Technology, South Africa

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ABSTRACT

This study aimed to investigate academics’ perceptions of online continuous professional development (OCPD) and the design and development of online modules in higher education. Fourteen academics from one faculty at the University of Technology in South Africa participated. In selecting the participants for this study, purposive and convenient sampling was applied. A qualitative case study approach was used. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews and open-ended questionnaires. Saldaña’s thematic approach to analysis was used to analyse data using Atlas.ti. It was found that most of the academics who attended OCPD were able to build their module on IMFUNDO because the instructional designer provided the module structure or template. The findings revealed that the university’s eChampions contributed immensely during the process by providing additional support in the departments. It is recommended that further studies be conducted on the students’ perceptions of implementing the IMFUNDO modules developed in this study.

Ishmael Nyirenda, Rhodes University, South Africa

Clement Simuja, Rhodes University, South Africa

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ABSTRACT

The rapid development of mobile technologies and their price decrease have enabled mobile devices to become ubiquitous. Both lecturers and students are integrating mobile technologies into teaching and learning. The continuous global innovation in emerging mobile technologies and their ever-increasing overlap with the lives of students and lecturers in Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) have thrust Mlearning and self-regulated learning into prominence. Accordingly, this review analyses conference proceedings and national and international journals on the potential of M-learning for fostering self-regulated learning. To select relevant sources, a systematic literature review approach was employed. This study fills gaps in existing literature and investigates how mobile devices might enhance self-regulated learning among university students. It also signals future research directions and offers implications for researchers and practitioners in HEIs.

Lorette Jacobs, University of South Africa, South Africa

Siphamandla Mncube, University of South Africa, South Africa

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ABSTRACT

At a comprehensive open distance e-learning (CODeL) university in South Africa, assessment practices were converted and offered online during and post COVID-19. Innovative proctoring methods were applied to secure the authenticity of online summative assessments. However, the use of such proctoring tools to ensure ethical behaviour of students during summative assessments remains questionable, as these tools are not infallible. A qualitative approach was applied to explore ways in which online proctoring tools can contribute toward ensuring authentic summative assessments. Through the application of collaborative autoethnography, the researchers obtained insight into opportunities and obstacles that may influence the effective use of online proctoring tools to support summative assessment activities. Findings indicate that students would go to great lengths to consult unauthorised material and share answers during summative assessments. Therefore, to enhance perceptions of ethical conduct in higher education, it is recommended that ethical principles are expanded through extended training and guidance with revolutionised proctoring technologies.

Priya Ramgovind, The Independent Institute of Education, South Africa

Shamola Pramjeeth, The IIE’s Varsity College, South Africa

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ABSTRACT

The COVID-19 pandemic has forced higher education institutions (HEIs) to re-look at their assessment strategy as learning, development, and engagement move more fluidly into the online arena. The purpose of this research was to investigate students' academic and personal perceptions of computer adaptive testing (CAT) in higher education to understand students’ confidence in adopting CAT. Using a quantitative descriptive research design, an online questionnaire was administered to students at private and public HEIs in South Africa, with 600 respondents. The study found that the students were comfortable engaging in online learning and expressed positive perceptions of adopting CAT, with most respondents recommending it for implementation. Students believe that CAT allowed for more productive interaction with material which meets their needs and learning preferences without feeling overburdened. The findings of the study provide HEIs with valuable information on key managerial implications to ensure the successful adoption and implementation of CAT.

Ntokozo Kintosh Nogobo , Walter Sisulu University, South Africa

A. Jogymol Kalariparampil, Walter Sisulu University, South Africa

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ABSTRACT

The current study explored the level to which socio-economic status predicts mathematics self-concept. A correlational and regression research designs were used. The study was carried out in OR Tambo Inland District in the Eastern Cape Province. The sample size comprised of 351 Grade 9 mathematics students, of which 171 were girls and 180 were boys. For generalizability purposes and fair distribution and representation of the sample across the population, both rural and urban geographical locations were represented by three schools each. The level of socio-economic status and mathematics self-concept was measured by use of a standardized questionnaire. The data collection tool was tested valid and reliable. Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) was used to perform regression and correlation analysis. The research findings depict that mathematics self-concept was heavily influenced by socio-economic status of a parent. Furthermore, mathematics self-concept varied according to the socio-economic status and the variation was statistically significant. Recommendations were made to all implicated stakeholders to improvise strategies of improving mathematics self-concept despite the family’s economic hardships.

Apostolos (Paul) Giannakopoulos, University of Johannesburg, South Africa

Kakoma Luneta, University of Johannesburg, South Africa

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ABSTRACT 

Academic success in first year university mathematics in been problematic for decades and mathematics educators keep looking for the causes. What has been universally agreed, is that the theoretical and abstract nature of mathematics plays a role. A module on Linear Algebra at an Open Distance eLearning (ODeL) institution, was identified for investigation due to very high dropout and failure rates. This article concentrates on identifying the types of knowledge (e.g., procedural, conceptual, strategic, schematic and declarative) necessary for academic success in the subject. Using the literature, a conceptual framework is developed to classify students’ answers into the various types of knowledge. The research question asks what types of knowledge contributes to academic success in Linear Algebra. Script analysis is used to answer the research question. The results showed that lack of the necessary declarative knowledge which forms the basis for the other forms of knowledge as well as procedural knowledge were the main causes of the resulting misconceptions and errors. It was established that students were more engaged in surface learning rather than deep learning that results in conceptual understanding and acquisition of conceptual knowledge.