Reflections from implementing a faculty strategy for academic professional learning during a global pandemic
Date
2022
Authors
Krull, Greig
De Klerk, Danie
MacAlister, Fiona
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
HELTASA (Higher Education Learning and Teaching Association of Southern Africa)
Abstract
Joining a new institution is challenging; doing so eight weeks before the
advent of a pandemic was extremely challenging. Two new online
learning specialists, together with the support of their manager, in a
faculty’s Teaching and Learning Centre at a South African university,
reflect upon personal experiences that highlight the challenges and
accordance of supporting professional learning during the Covid-19
pandemic. The two online learning specialists had to establish personal
relationships with each other, their manager and the broader
institutional community, in addition to building networks with the
academics they needed to support. The faculty team had to work with
the central support unit, as well as with faculty teams in other faculties
to support academics in their transition to remote teaching and
learning. Adopting an ethic of care philosophy, the team conceptualised
and implemented various professional learning interventions for
academics, while they themselves grew accustomed to the faculty and
institution. In a short space of time, many academics in the faculty and
institution looked at the team for advice, guidance and reassurance.
Fortuitously, the period enabled the team to form/join support
networks and communities of practice, both within the faculty and the
institution. These experiences laid the foundation for a faculty support
strategy for the future, and the design of short courses to further
support the professional learning of academics and their capacity to
develop and implement pedagogically sound blended and online
offerings.
Description
Keywords
Citation
Krull, G., de Klerk, D., & MacAlister, F. (2022). Reflections from implementing a faculty strategy for academic professional learning during a global pandemic. In R. Govender & A. H. M. Jacobs (Eds.) Critical Reflections on Professional Learning During Covid-19: Context, Practice and Change. HELTASA. 78-92. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.7652597