Latest news

Molefi Motsoenyane from the Central University of Technology, wrote a review of Teaching in Extended Progammes for the latest issue of the journal SOLT in the South.

The review draws attention to how the chapters are able offer a realistic and holistic account of the ECP classroom across different institutional contexts. Importantly students are encouraged to become active learners through their interaction with their lecturers. Lecturers and students are seen as ‘contextualised beings’ and their backgrounds become a vital part of the classroom interaction. The reviewer’s final position is that the book offers a apt point of reference for the diverse undergraduate classrooms at South African universities. The full version of the review can be viewed here:

https://sotl-south-journal.net/?journal=sotls&page=article&op=view&path%5B%5D=144

Our book is proudly featured on home page of the SANRC website. Special thanks to our colleagues at the South African National Resource Centre (First year experience and students in transition) for promoting our book and ensuring a wider readership.

In December 2018 our book was published with an initial print-run of 300.

We are happy to report that all 300 print copies have been distributed across South Africa and some have even found their way to the UK and Sweden. To those who missed out on receiving a free print copy, no need to despair as the the book is now available via a downloadable PDF.  Simply go to the page DOWNLOAD A COPY and get your own copy of the book.

 

 

On Wednesday 6 March authors, Megan Alexander, Taryn Bernard, Rodrique George and Sean Samson, hosted a panel presentation and discussion at the regional Inter-Institutional Academic Literacies Forum. The presentation entitled: Students academic writing at support in the ECP environment – attempted to highlight the diversity of academic literacies and writing support offered within extended programmes. In addition to offering insight into the different ways in which academic writing support was structured at some of the ECP programmes at the four universities in the region, the authors also drew attention to the reflective accounts of their specific pedagogic practices around academic writing, as discussed in their individual chapters. The seminar was attended by more than 20 academics and practitioners, mostly working in the ECP space. The panelists facilitated a lively discussion which highlighted a range of issues about, amongst others,  how we talk about students, how  academic literacies and writing are conceptualised and how concerns about the practical teaching realities impact on what is possible in the classroom. 

 

A buoyant and celebratory atmosphere characterised the official launch event of the book, despite the rather muggy Cape Town weather. Over 40 guests, who represented all of the regional universities in Cape Town, joined the authors to celebrate the publication of the book on Tuesday 19 February at CPUT’s District Six campus. Rather encouraging was that the event attracted the attention of various Deans and Deputy Deans: Prof Linda Ronnie, Dean, Commerce (UCT); Prof Johannes Cronje, Dean and Prof Bennett Alexander, Deputy Dean, FID (CPUT); Ivan vd Heerver, Deputy Dean, Business, (CPUT) and key institutional ECP roleplayers – like Prof Francios Cilliers, UCT Medical School; Prof Delia Marshall, UWC and Prof James Garraway, CPUT. Additionally colleagues from Unisa (Dr Keith Jacobs) and Cornerstone (Noel Daniels) were also in attendance.

Prof Ian Scott led an interesting and stimulating panel discussion with some of the authors. Authors were asked to comment on how their writing contribution to the book had impacted on their identities and practices as ECP teachers and also the significance of the book to the wider university community. The audience was left with an awareness of how the book has been able to turn the spotlight onto what is often a ‘dark’ and private space in the university – the classroom. What was also highlighted in the discussion was that through their authentic and honest reflective insights captured in the book, the authors have taken some courageous steps to make public their scholarly thinking and practices.

Student academic writing development and support has always been a cornerstone of extended curriculum provisions across the South African university sector. The significance of this area of student learning is emphasized in this collection as five chapters address this topic and provide insight into how it is approached at all four of the institutions in the Western Cape.

The authors of these chapters have been asked to participate in the next Inter-Institutional Academic Literacies Forum on 6 March 2016. Here they will be able to share their practices with a new community of practitioners also interested in student writing development and academic literacies in the university.

The following piece was recently published in ‘The Conversation Africa’

http://theconversation.com/lecturers-reflect-on-their-efforts-to-ensure-no-student-gets-left-behind-108611

 

 

 

 

Our book has been published! It arrived from the printer on 19 December. Congratulations to all contributing authors.

Everyone who requested a copy should be receiving their books at the start of 2019.  Plans for an official launch in January 2019, are currently underway.

We had a chance meeting with Buhle on Friday, 9 November at CPUT.  Buhle was rather overwhelmed at the news of his artwork being seen by more than 500 people because of our marketing campaign for the book at HECU 9, in Cape Town and HELTASA, in Port Elizabeth.