The Covid-19 pandemic has presented numerous learning opportunities for everyone in the academy — students, academics as well as support staff.
Academics and lecturers have had to learn how to conduct teaching activities differently. They worked tirelessly, devising plans to have students successfully complete the first term of their 2020 studies in a different, yet safe, learning environment. Furthermore, plans had to be in place for the resumption of academic activities. Because of the fluidity of the situation and plans, they adjusted the sails as the boat was moving.
Although blended approaches have been part of Nelson Mandela University’s learning and teaching efforts over the years, as a contact university, there has always been more emphasis on face-to-face teaching and learning.
In grappling with the imposed changes, the university’s teaching development unit had to work with academics to be better prepared, and informed, in its efforts to assist the process of enhancing teaching and learning in this difficult time.
At the centre of these consultations was the need to articulate or reflect on not just practices or ways of doing things, but also on expressing anxieties, obstacles and achievements and to develop ways to turn challenges into opportunities.
A platform, therefore, had to be created for academics to reflect on what and how their teaching had changed, share ideas and new methods with their peers and learn from others on how to cope with the new normal.
The unit decided to refer to these sessions as “iingxoxo”. For people who are not isiXhosa first-language speakers, iingxoxo is a robust discussion or a form of engagement where thoughts and experiences about a particular matter are exchanged. Iingxoxo are most of the time conducted in an orderly fashion, where the points of discussion are introduced, discussed and conclusions drawn from the deliberations.
We called them iingxoxo because the intention was not to run work-shops on online learning and teaching or conduct casual conversations. The aim was to have interactive discussions on strategies and online platforms used by staff and deter-mine the level of student participation. We also wanted to ascertain the experiences of both staff and students.
Depending on the purpose of the discussions, decisions and recommendations could be made on the desired plan of action. Academics had to draw from the conclusions which approaches could be incorporated into their pedagogic or educational repertoires.
These discussions gave academics opportunities to reflect critically about how their teaching approaches have changed, how the students are responding to the changes, what they are learning about their teaching, and interactions with students, as well as insights about their students’ experiences.
Moreover, these reflections contributed to academics learning about themselves and how they could improve their practice.
This entailed experimentation and willingness to take risks that are informed by acknowledging that relying solely on traditional approaches is not going to yield the desired results.
Continuous exploration of better ways of connecting with students and improved teaching for learning led to greater insights into the learning processes and innovations.
A number of lessons emerged from these discussions and helped us tailor our learning and teaching eff orts to suit. These include:
The resumption of academic activities magnified the concept of teaching as an intellectual activity. Detailed and thorough planning is key for any intellectual activity;
Academics have come to appreciate the level of commitment and resilience of students. Although the university provides data for all students, connectivity alone does not translate to a smooth transition from face-to-face to online learning. In some homes, there is only one device that is shared among family members. Students in these circumstances resort to working in the middle of the night or early hours of the morning as some are expected to assist with home chores during the day;
The camaraderie among students and academics has grown from shared vulnerabilities. Academics’ sense of humanity and care has come to the fore. Their contributions indicate an increased sense of appreciation for the environments from which our students come and the kinds of issues they are facing. This is reciprocated by students who have said they are more motivated because of their teachers’ interventions;
Platforms such as WhatsApp have been turned into educational sites; The value of peer-facilitated sup-port and learning in the form of supplemental instruction leaders and tutors — notably bilingual tutors — has heightened;
There is a realisation that there is no one right way to respond to students’ calls for help or questions about the curriculum. What was found to be important was that the responses needed to be timely;
Some academics reported that students also needed a break every now and then and that they were happy to allow this; and
Another key factor is acknowledging the efforts of students through positive feedback and praise. The positive reinforcement gives hope in the face of challenging times.
These discussions have truly helped to foster greater collaboration and support among academics, who have been able to learn from colleagues across disciplines and levels of expertise. Many colleagues are now working in teams to draw on each other’s strengths.
There is also evidence of adapt-ability and flexibility in the context of curriculum structure and responding to the needs of students.
Students and staff continue to dis-play resilience and determination in this rather precarious period. They are choosing to focus on the destination, even though the road is thorny and full of obstacles.
Compassion and humanising elements have become key on the journey to the destination.
We are now embarking on the second phase of iingxoxo, where students will be informing academics about their experiences too.
This article appeared in the weekly Mail & Guardian of August 21 to 27 2020 written by Dr Noluthando Toni, Director of Teaching Development at Nelson Mandela University - https://mg.co.za/