Page 130 - Teaching Innovation for the 21st Century

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Teaching Innovation for the 21st Century | Showcasing UJ Teaching and Learning 2021
Summary of my constructivist pedagogies and practices
My chosen participatory and active learning pedagogies are best described as a cognitive apprenticeship (Tam 2000; Wilson 2017) when socially engaging in learning communities. Correspondingly, project-based learning culminates in digital portfolio artefacts such as multimedia brand strategies for self-elected brands that resonate with students. A summary of these is indicated in Table 1:
Table 1: Overview of my constructivist pedagogies with examples
Pedagogy
Praxis
Participatory and active learning pedagogies
Problem-based learning (Xing, Marwala & Marwala 2018): Project-based learning campaigns executed with NGOs in communities to solve complex and messy problems.
Collaborative learning (Tam 2000): Group projects collaborating in the cloud. Discussion boards, role-play, group presentations and peer evaluations.
Role playing (Liew 2013): simulating media conferences. Case studies: used in tests, exams, tutorials and in class.
Flipped classes and blended learning (Wilson 2017): posting pre-recorded lectures online ahead of class and then using face-to-face/virtual time for student-lead reflective conversations, critical thinking, posing questions, trouble-shooting, analysis and concept mapping.
Creative outputs using emerging 4IR technologies (Xing & Marwala 2017) dialectical
and exciting opportunity which can potentially transform society for the better. The
fourth industrial revolution is powered by artificial intelligence and it will transform the workplace from task-based characteristics to human-centred characteristics. Because of the convergence of man and machine, it will reduce the subject distance between humanities and social science as well as science and technology. This will necessarily require much more interdisciplinary teaching, research and innovation. This paper explores the impact
of HE 4.0 on the mission of a university which is teaching, research (including innovation: Multi-media assessments such as blogs, videos, media releases, newsletters, recording interviews with brand managers to produce video news releases), and digital portfolios.
Reflection and critical thinking (Greeno 1989): Reflective sections required in assignments, analysis of real-life case-study videos in class, think-pair-share in class. Open book assessments.
Self-reflexivity (Langdon 2013): Recognising and examining of my white privilege while disrupting the narratives of my Western, apartheid and colonial heritage.
Decolonising the curriculum (Bawa 2019): Incorporating sources from the Global South for prescribed readings and local case studies to contextualise the learning environment.
Experiential learning (Yusuf, Walters & Sailin 2020): Practical projects addressing relatable real-life and meaningful problems facing our communities as chosen by students.
Formal and informal learning communities (Tam 2000): Learning happens inside the class and outside in communities where students engage. Community experts are involved in the evaluation of assessments according to their grassroots needs.
Situated cognition (Greeno 1989): Projects are situated in authentic cultural practices which integrates our African heritage, indigenous knowledge, traditions and using the vernacular.
Decolonisation pedagogies