The purpose of the programme is to enable a collaborative learning design approach, which positions the learning design model for Nelson Mandela University’s Course Design as one of the scaffolding mechanisms for curriculum renewal. The long-term aim is to contribute towards the development of an active community of practice within Nelson Mandela University, with opportunities to critique and work towards models(s) of transformative learning.
There are various discourses that inform the approaches to curriculum design and development within an institution, faculty or department, as it plays a central role in the academic project and is inseparable from teaching, learning and assessment. Our approach to curriculum development is influenced by the social realist tradition of education, in which curriculum is understood as a social, epistemic and ontological practice, with knowledge being the key to curriculum theory.
The social practice looks at how curriculum knowledge is constructed within various contexts. The epistemic practice refers to how knowledge is formed and includes knowledge structures and the pedagogic device. The ontological practice refers to the knowers, or the identity of students, and how they view the world (Luckett: 2010). It our assertion that these contexts should not and cannot be approached in isolation.
Within the South African context, curriculum reform is imperative and curriculum development is a crucial aspect of the academic project. Through including the student experience and the interactive process of teaching and learning curriculum is highlighted as a social practice that considers the role of both the university teacher and the student.
The programme includes various opportunities for academics to engage with the teaching development team, either on a one-on-one consultation basis or as part of a tailored workshop, such, as the Carpe Diem.
Reference
Luckett, Kathy. 2010. “Knowledge Claims and Codes of Legitimation: Implications for Curriculum Recontextualisation in South African Higher Education.” Africanus 40 (1): 6–20.