Nazreen Dasoo

Covid 19 forced lecturers and students to accept that inspirational and beneficial teaching and learning does not necessarily rest within the four walls of a lecture hall. When higher education institutions had to transition rapidly from face-to-face to online education, social media platforms became a powerful catalyst for effective teaching and learning. Undoubtedly social media platforms have influenced our lives in an unprecedented manner. It has also altered the teaching and learning landscape by taking on an innovative role in online education. This investigation explored students' experiences of learning module content via TikTok. TikTok was adopted as a teaching tool because it is considered an appealing social media platform for Gen Z users, with its central attraction being short video content. This investigation primarily relied on Bandura’s social learning theory as the theoretical lens applied to the data as it points to the importance of an individual’s self-regula...

The COVID-19 pandemic exposed challenges within traditional instructional approaches in various learning contexts, highlighting a greater need for curriculum transformation. With the disruption of face-to-face instruction, remote teaching, learning, and tutoring are proving to be pedagogic solutions for engaging with students to ensure the continuation of successful teaching and learning. Therefore, it is important that virtual experiences align with the curriculum and instructional approaches. This investigation aimed at exploring how tutors can introduce remote learning and tutoring in an undergraduate module in the Faculty of Education at the University of Johannesburg (UJ). We also wanted to examine tutors’ ability to motivate students to use their mobile devices for study purposes during formal tutorials. A qualitative exploratory inquiry determined how mobile devices could support remote teaching and learning and tutoring. Through an in-depth literature review, focus group int...

In the twenty-first century, computers and information technology are a critically important part of the commercial, financial and industrial environment. The Accounting curriculum and milieu in South African schools has lagged behind this technological advancement, as Accounting teachers still predominantly use the traditional 'chalk and talk' method of instruction, to the exclusion of computerassisted instruction. This study was carried out at two South African high schools, to investigate the effect of computer-assisted instruction on learner performance in Accounting. Firstly, a quantitative research methodology was used to evaluate which of the two pedagogies would be optimal for learning Accounting. Secondly, qualitative analysis was used to ascertain the effect that computer-assisted instruction might have on the Accounting milieu. The findings of this study suggest that in the first instance the use of the two pedagogies showed no statistical difference in the performance of the learners. In the second instance a significant finding showed that if computer-assisted instruction was used in conjunction with the traditional 'chalk and talk' method of instruction, it had many positive effects on the Accounting milieu. The research provided evidence that computer-assisted instruction increased the learner's problem-solving skills, motivation and interest in Accounting. Learners' understanding of the relevance of computers in the commercial, financial and industrial environment was enhanced.

In this article we present the findings of an investigation on how primary school teachers at 3 independent primary schools in Johannesburg experienced continuous professional teacher development (CPTD). There is a wealth of literature available on planning, organising and implementing effective CPTD. Such literature also highlights the importance of applying adult learning principles in CPTD contexts in order to promote teachers' learning and development and in turn contributing to a positive effect on learning in the classroom. Exploring the value and usefulness of adult learning principles in CPTD can enhance primary school teachers' learning opportunities to update their knowledge and skills. Effective CPTD is important in South Africa as there is an urgent need to improve literacy and numeracy levels across primary education levels. Using qualitative data, we explore teachers' perspectives on how they learn and develop effectively, and what hinders their own learning and CPTD. Data collection methods included interviews, open-ended questionnaires, observations and document analysis. Fifteen primary school teachers, 3 primary school principals and 4 adult/teacher trainers participated in this investigation. A major finding of this research suggests that adult learning principles such as community of practice (CoP) are often omitted from CPTD practices. Thus, a disparity exists between literature on effective CPTD practice as compared to the everyday CPTD experiences of teachers. With this article we aim to contribute to current literature about teachers' experiences of CPTD and propose suggestions for planning, organising and implementing CPTD that also incorporates adult learning principles and would be valuable and useful to teachers.

Today’s students are digital natives, and advances in mobile technology should impel institutions of learning to revaluate their tutoring systems. Our study explored tutors’ potential to introduce mobile learning through the social media application, Facebook, in tutorials conducted at the University of Johannesburg’s faculty of education. This study further considered the tutors’ potential to motivate students to use their devices for learning on social media through professional communities of practice online. Our exploratory qualitative study sought to understand the perception of tutors and tutees about the inclusion of Facebook through in-depth reviews of the literature, focus group interviews, questionnaires, and online log data responses. The data was thematically analysed and the results suggest that tutors can encourage students to use their devices for academic purposes through online Facebook discussions. Our conclusion is that the inclusion of Facebook as part of the tut...

... December 2009 Supervisor: Professor Elizabeth Henning Co-Supervisor: Professor Tina Uys Page 2. i APPROVAL ... My parents, Ibrahim and Amina, thank you for teaching me to keep my values and vision before me and to align my life to be congruent with them. ...

This article focuses on the key role of teachers in the decision-making process concerning the design and implementation of Continuous Professional Teacher Development (CPTD) at a network of independent schools in Johannesburg. The procedure of examining the role-players in the CPTD process and the level of ownership that teachers appropriate in setting and developing their own topics and goals for training, learning and development are discussed. Activity theory and the theory of communities of practice informed the qualitative study undertaken at three independent primary schools in geographically different areas of Johannesburg. The aim of the study was to indicate that teachers as adult learners can generate useful ideas and topics for CPTD and can inform and improve their practice by recommending effective CPTD activities. Semi-structured interviews, questionnaires and document analysis were employed as data gathering techniques to collect rich data from a purposefully selected...

Orientation: Computers, especially in the form of information and communication technologies (ICT), have changed the procedures through which bookkeeping and accounting are accomplished in business. Modern debates centre on the veracity and methodology of including of ICT in accounting education. This study assessed the impact of one method of integrating ICT in accounting education, as adopted by the University of Johannesburg (UJ) in one diploma offering. This method has been termed ‘subject integrated information and communication technologies’ (SIICT).Research purpose: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the impact that the integration of ICT into certain subjects (SIICT) has had on selected key role players of the diploma in Accounting. This section of the study evaluates this impact on the students by comparing the outcomes of two cohorts of students.Motivation for the study: In 2011, UJ replaced National Diploma offerings in Accounting with a new diploma in Accounting t...

Orientation: Computers, especially in the form of information and communication technologies (ICT), have changed the procedures through which bookkeeping and accounting are accomplished in business. Modern debates centre on the veracity and methodology of including of ICT in accounting education. This study assessed the impact of one method of integrating ICT in accounting education, as adopted by the University of Johannesburg (UJ) in one diploma offering. This method has been termed ‘subject integrated information and communication technologies’ (SIICT).

Research purpose: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the impact that the integration of ICT into certain subjects (SIICT) has had on selected key role players of the diploma in Accounting. This section of the study evaluates this impact on the students by comparing the outcomes of two cohorts of students.

Motivation for the study: In 2011, UJ replaced National Diploma offerings in Accounting with a new diploma in Accounting that integrated ICT into two core subjects. This impact study evaluated the integration, which used a theoretical model of integration that was untested in its application.

Research approach/design and method: This case study, designed as an impact study, tested the impact of integrating ICT into the core modules of the diploma. Data collection was based on a mixed-method data collection model and included research questionnaires to the students, recorded observations of lecturers, interviews with lecturers and a document investigation.

Main findings: The students were positively impacted through (1) completing their studies in a shorter time, (2) the time to obtain employment being shortened, (3) fewer students studying further and (4) experiencing a greater sense of work preparedness and confidence during interviews.

Practical/managerial implications: The average time that students spend studying is shorter, freeing university resources and costing the student less money. Different methods of study are applied, and the students are more engaged as the subjects become more ‘real to life’.

Contribution/value-add: Employers’ acceptance of the changes and the student comments reflect an earlier engagement with work at their place of employment.

The aim of this chapter is to describe values education in South African schools and its effect on the wellbeing and integrity of the teacher. This exposition of values education and teacher wellbeing is set within a context of rapid political, social, economic, and educational change in South Africa. Research conducted in various South African values education projects suggests that identifying important values is just the beginning. The real ongoing challenge remains of first grounding these values in the contextual society and second promoting them at schools in an effort to improve both teacher and student wellbeing and personal integrity.

This article reports on a study of teachers’ first encounter with an in-service development programme on Values Education. The authors describe how a two year professional development programme in Values and Human Rights education was designed and implemented with 144 teachers. The research conducted on these two aspects of the programme yielded findings that show how the teachers in two South Africa provinces (Mpumalanga and the Northern Cape) fashioned their practice to reflect their commitment to the programme and its curriculum. One finding was that they highlighted values for civic life more than values related to their profession. Interpreted from sociocultural theory, and specifically the notion of “internalization,” the authors argue that the teachers performed for the benefits of the programme and its assessment, more than for critically inquiring into the role of values in their pedagogy.

The COVID-19 pandemic exposed challenges within traditional instructional approaches in various learning contexts, highlighting a greater need for curriculum transformation. With the disruption of face-to-face instruction, remote teaching, learning, and tutoring are proving to be pedagogic solutions for engaging with students to ensure the continuation of successful teaching and learning. Therefore, it is important that virtual experiences align with the curriculum and instructional approaches. This investigation aimed at exploring how tutors can introduce remote learning and tutoring in an undergraduate module in the Faculty of Education at the University of Johannesburg (UJ). We also wanted to examine tutors' ability to motivate students to use their mobile devices for study purposes during formal tutorials. A qualitative exploratory inquiry determined how mobile devices could support remote teaching and learning and tutoring. Through an in-depth literature review, focus group interviews with five tutors, and questionnaires answered by approximately 400 second-year students, data was collected. Challenges that were identified the additional hours required by lecturers and tutors to deliver muchneeded support after hours and only students with the needed resources and access could benefit from the support, the digital divide was of concern. Successes identified linked to students' appreciation of the importance of implementing a tutoring system that fits the 21st century context. A tutoring system that is not only compliant with modern technological advancements but that it consistent with the global expectation to equip students with relevant skills. This investigation revealed that tutors could serve as catalysts for motivating students to use their devices for study purposes. The findings also revealed that there is a greater need for remote (virtual) tutoring that is student-centred for effective learning to occur, especially under remote learning conditions.

Covid 19 forced lecturers and students to accept that inspirational and beneficial teaching and learning does not necessarily rest within the four walls of a lecture hall. When higher education institutions had to transition rapidly from face-to-face to online education, social media platforms became a powerful catalyst for effective teaching and learning. Undoubtedly social media platforms have influenced our lives in an unprecedented manner. It has also altered the teaching and learning landscape by taking on an innovative role in online education. This investigation explored students' experiences of learning module content via TikTok. TikTok was adopted as a teaching tool because it is considered an appealing social media platform for Gen Z users, with its central attraction being short video content. This investigation primarily relied on Bandura's social learning theory as the theoretical lens applied to the data as it points to the importance of an individual's self-regulation and the external situation in terms of learning. It also offers an alternative view of social learning by seeing it as situated in communities of practice. Through a qualitative inquiry, teacher education students' reflections on being taught using TikTok were gathered. Evidence from the survey administered to 80 students strongly suggests that TikTok offered an efficient, fun, and exciting way of gaining unlimited access to learning content. It also enhances retention and creativity, making it a suitable 21 st-century teaching strategy that promotes self-directed learning. It is a perfectly suited social media platform for a generation that prefers to consume content via rich video formats that act as confidence boosters. Hence making it an innovative teaching tool that encourages a new form of social learning.

Despite numerous revisions to the curriculum, teachers worldwide lament the general lack of values and a moral degeneration among learners. Parents and teachers have also become despondent about social media's overwhelming adverse influence in imparting values to these young people. Those values are crucial in helping them contribute meaningfully to society. Therefore, we are compelled to reexamine and reimagine how education in the twenty-first century acknowledges the role values can play in addressing worldwide challenges youth face. Furthermore, the pivotal role of the teacher in altering this alarming trend through infusing values education into their classroom practice becomes paramount. This chapter aims to report how a selection of student teachers perceive the role of values education, how they infuse values in their daily lessons during their school experience, and their views on teacher training in values education.

In 2020, the world experienced an unprecedented pandemic with devastating, lasting effects. For South Africa, it revealed stark inequalities in society and in schools. One such disparity was that between the digitally advantaged and digitally disadvantaged in the workplace. South African teachers, like their global counterparts, lamented about their readiness to teach online and in blended classrooms. This prompted our investigation into how teachers as adult learners experience continuous professional teacher development (CPTD) in times of crisis. An exploratory case study, with a purposeful sample of 26 teachers at an independent primary school in Johannesburg, was undertaken. We discovered that teachers struggled with emotional stress and pressure in their efforts to acquire digital skills and competencies within a limited time frame. Hence, appropriate CPTD to support teachers, especially in a time of crisis, is crucial. We present an innovative model for CPTD, which has the potential to meet the needs of post-pandemic teaching and learning as well as provide for socially just CPTD opportunities.