Page 7 - Teaching Innovation for the 21st Century

FOREWORD
Teaching pedagogy in higher education has been swept by changes over the past two years. The disruptions to teaching and learning prompted by the vagaries of the pandemic and the restrictions
of lockdowns have drawn out innovative flair amongst our academics and support staff. As we head towards a semblance of normalcy, we need to critically interrogate, reflect and distil good practices that can be modelled as we move forward. The University of Johannesburg (UJ), with ‘teaching excellence’ as a strategic objective, underpinned by values rooted strongly in a social justice agenda, adopted innovative approaches to teaching and learning by using a multiplicity of various digital platforms.
In the process, UJ academics produced several ground-breaking teaching innovation projects which were funded through the University’s Teaching Innovation Fund in 2021. We acknowledge the contribution of the University Research Committee in enabling the resourcing of innovations in teaching and learning through a funding allocation. This publication, the second in the series, showcases innovative teaching and contributes in some measure to the scholarship of teaching and learning.
Tamim and others (2011) argued that when carried out appropriately and with excellence, programmes that blend pedagogically sound learning technologies
can be highly effective in stimulating and amplifying participative learning.1
The teaching innovation projects developed by UJ academics cutting across the faculties demonstrate the adoption of innovative subject-specific approaches acknowledging that the best teaching and learning practices often depend on disciplinary perspective. The work done by academics through these projects have, to a large extent, demonstrated that innovative teaching technologies will continue to fundamentally redefine the nature of higher education going into the future. While we are constantly striving to craft a pedagogy for the future, we remain conscious of digital inequalities in our country.
The high standard of scholarship featured in this publication is a testament to UJ’s commitment to teaching excellence. Knowledge created through innovative teaching must be shared as we collectively ruminate on translating ideas into practice. In a sense, our academics have demonstrated both leadership and innovation placing students at the heart of teaching and learning. This publication reflects the bravery and courage required to innovate and is invaluable as a vehicle to share practices.
Prof. Letlhokwa Mpedi
Deputy Vice-Chancellor: Academic
University of Johannesburg
1 Tamim,R.M.,Bernard,R.M.,Borokhovski,E.,Abrami,P.C.&Schmid,R.F.2011.‘Whatfortyyearsofresearchsaysabout the impact of technology on learning: A second-order meta-analysis and validation study’. Review of Educational Research, 81(1): 4–28.