School of Education

Permanent URI for this community

http://hdl.handle.net/11070/3316

Browse

Browsing School of Education by Subject "Academic development"

Now showing 1 - 1 of 1
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Reconceptualising teaching for quality learning at University of Namibia
    (African Perspectives of Research in Teaching & Learning, 2017) Kadhila, Ngepathimo; Nyathi S.F.; Shanyanana R.N.; Iipumbu N.
    Teaching approaches in contemporary universities around the world need to be underpinned by new theories of how students learn, and the role of academic developers in shaping and influencing institutional culture in this regard cannot be overemphasised. This study investigated the methods used by lecturers at University of Namibia (UNAM) in their teaching and what informs the choice of these methods. The study also gauged lecturers’ views on their involvement in academic development activities. This study employed a phenomenological research design; and a mixed-method approach was used whereby qualitative and quantitative approaches were combined. Structured interviews were conducted with at least 49 lecturers at various levels across 12 UNAM campuses. Participants were purposefully approached to be interviewed because we knew they have experience of the phenomenon explored. The study revealed that lecturers were more comfortable with using traditional lecturer-centred approaches in their teaching. They expressed the need to be equipped with skills that would enhance their ability to facilitate, manage and assess student learning using approaches that have been proven to be effective. Furthermore, they acknowledged the academic development interventions provided by the Centre for Professional Development Teaching and Learning Improvement (CPDTL) in the form of short courses and the recently implemented Postgraduate Diploma in Higher Education for Academics. Only a handful of participants did not support the idea of offering a full academic programme through short courses. The study recommended that CPDTL should capitalise on the willingness of most of academics to engage in academic development activities to intensify its operations and make such activities compulsory in order to promote their effectiveness and fast track their impact