04

Leaping into an unknown future of course and learning activity design for 21st-century learning

Presenter

Dr Kizito has spent over 35 years in different education sectors including high school, teacher training, Open Distance Learning (ODL) and higher education. I have published in several journals on Higher Education. My research work is guided by the assumption that meaning-making is a result of interaction with others but can be even better mediated through technologies. Inspired by researchers and theorists interested in using practical approaches to learning activity design, I subscribe to a non-dualist approach to interaction which is an activity shaped by discourse as a marker for human learning and development. I firmly believe that in higher education, the ability to trace our marked discourses by building on the achievements of previous generations to forge future learning can shape our contributions to learning development. I am interested in learning activity design research, with a particular focus on how technologies can be used to facilitate meaning-making in undergraduate science teaching in African contexts. I aim to contribute to our understanding of how to facilitate meaningful university teaching, on one hand, and to improve teaching and learning practices on the other.

Abstract

Universities are in the process of transforming their student and teacher experiences by replacing teaching, course design and assessment legacy systems  with newer 'best-of-breed' integrated solutions which should function optimally in the 21st century. This means that educators will have to adopt new ways of thinking around teaching, learning and assessment, especially in African contexts. 

In this workshop, we try to answer the questions: Are we ready to implement new solutions? If do, who should be  involved? and what have we learnt so far? What is the role of the educator? 

We introduce this by using a practical simulation of an educator trying to re-configure his/her design blueprint and schedule for a course already in existence in a South African context.