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Teaching and Learning Review 2020
I would previously have prescribed to contact students the format of their assessments. Now I am rather able to specify what I would like to see as an outcome and leave the choice of how they present the information up to them. This has allowed creativity to flow and students to experiment with software/programs they would not have known about. I find the experience of being a facilitator, rather than a lecturer, particularly liberating and see myself as an equal and active learner, together with my students. I allow for more co-creation of knowledge and appreciate the continuous participation of students. I do, however, feel removed from my students and cannot put a face to a name. The lack of physical contact remains challenging and, while the students are doing well and the learning promotes self-direction and students pacing themselves (all good principles of adult learning), I do sometimes feel as though the personal relationship that can be cultivated in a traditional contact session set-up is sacrificed.
‘When the flower blooms, the bees come uninvited’ (Ramakrishna) The Postgraduate Diploma in Public Health was one of two fully online programmes offered at the University of Pretoria. The programme represented a collaboration between the School of Health Systems and Public Health, Comprehensive Online Education Services and Higher Ed Partners South Africa (HEPSA). This partnership planted an educational ‘demonstration arboretum’ that, without all the elements working in harmony, would not have resulted in the nurturing of the approximately 700 students currently in the programme. The ‘constant gardeners’ for the programme were Professor Liz Wolvaardt (Public Health) and Dr Mari van Wyk of Comprehensive Online Education Services. The demonstration arboretum had several key features.
• First, there was a dedicated team at UPOnline who—among other activities—managed the enquiries, supported the applicants, prepared the selection documents, communicated with students and managed all administrative queries. Without this backbreaking work, the ground (work) would never have been prepared. • Second, the partnership with HEPSA provided, among other things, the constant hydroponic solution that contained the marketing and recruitment nutrients that were needed for germination. • Third was a supportive climate for this budding endeavour. The product of all this effort is the ‘Publica sanitas tuksonia’—a rare breed of perennial sunflower. Please read some of the in vivo quotes about student growth in the petals of Publica sanitas tuksonia and click on or scan the QR code in the middle to take a peek.
What I have learned in facilitating an online module: 1. Be available, but be specific and consistent in your availability. 2. Provide continuous feedback on activities and progress. 3. Reply to student concerns, specifically in the first few weeks of contact when the platform is not known to all. 4. Be flexible and accommodating without appearing inconsistent. 5. Keep students focused through weekly communication that they can rely on—give them guidance, but do not prescribe. 6. Have Collaborate sessions, although not necessarily every week, but a check-in is always appreciated and goes a long way to making sure students stay on track and motivated.’ Professor van Dijk and her colleagues were supported by Dr Kimera Moodley in Comprehensive Online Education Services.
Student feedback: Petals of the Publica sanitas tuksonia
