Rita Kizito

• Doctor of Philosophy ( Curriculum Studies)
• Managing Director at Nelson Mandela University

This paper examines the possible characteristics and the value of designing learning activities grounded in connectivism—an emerging learning theory. It is an exploratory attempt to connect the theory to the prevailing technology adoption archetypes used in African contexts with the aim of extracting influences that could shape pedagogical technolo...

This training manual was a result of a collaborative project at the University of the Western Cape and was used to support the training of science Graduate Teaching Assisstants.

The presentation is an interrogation of student responses to an undergraduate mathematics course. It questions whether the focus in exams should be on designing activities that encourage students to provide their own explanations as to why solutions and answers are correct, and not just to providing the correct answers as is usually the case.

In spite of sustained efforts tertiary institutions implement to try and improve student academic performance, the number of students succeeding in first-year mathematics courses remains disturbingly low. For most students, the gap between their mathematical capability and the competencies they are expected and need to develop to function effective...

This case study is a report on how the Cultural-historical activity theory (CHAT) was used to analyse the contributions of two teaching assistants participating in a pilot program designed to prepare them as lecturers. The blog was used as a communicating and learning platform in a series of activities where participants examined the learning conte...

Determining the merits of programmes designed to increase the participation of under-prepared students in higher education is a complex undertaking. A dominant approach to programme evaluation focuses on the effects of single variables on students’ performance. While useful for understanding the impact of individual factors, this approach does not...

Increasingly, universities are investing in using Teaching Assistants (TAs) to support lecturers with their teaching functions. These are often postgraduate students at Masters or doctoral level who are quite adept in their disciplines but have no experience in teaching. Institutions have a responsibility to offer quality instruction to science und...

Identifying an instructional tool for merging scientific and indigenous knowledge (IK) is problematic as there is no clear guidance on how this can be achieved. Argumentation is recommended as a possible integrative instructional theoretical methodology as it imbues notions of dialogue and persuasion, while at the same time embracing the scientific...

p>One of the neglected elements when teaching at a distance is establishing what learners already know at the beginning of the course or module. Unlike the face-to-face environment, in distance learning there is no opportunity for administering diagnostic activities just before the onset of instruction. This means that both the weak and more advanc...

Presentation

Presentation at the Stellenbosch University Teaching Matters colloquium

This paper is part of a doctoral dissertation aimed at gaining insight into issues that lecturers and students grapple with during the delivery of a calculus course within a technology-enhanced distance learning environment. The purpose of this study is to contribute to the development of a local, instructional theory for teaching calculus at a dis...

This paper is part of a doctoral dissertation aimed at gaining insight into issues that lecturers and students grapple with during the delivery of a calculus course within a technology-enhanced distance learning environment. The purpose of this study is to contribute to the development of a local, instructional theory for teaching calculus at a dis...

This paper is part of a doctoral dissertation aimed at gaining insight into issues that lecturers and students grapple with during the delivery of a calculus course within a technology-enhanced distance learning environment. The purpose of this study is to contribute to the development of a local, instructional theory for teaching calculus at a dis...

This paper is part of a doctoral dissertation aimed at gaining insight into issues that lecturers and students grapple with during the delivery of a calculus course within a technology-enhanced distance learning environment. The purpose of this study is to contribute to the development of a local, instructional theory for teaching calculus at a dis...

This paper is part of a doctoral dissertation aimed at gaining insight into issues that lecturers and students grapple with during the delivery of a calculus course within a technology-enhanced distance learning environment. The purpose of this study is to contribute to the development of a local, instructional theory for teaching calculus at a dis...

The report is an evaluative account or narrative of my personal experience of a one-year project for designing and developing a chemistry CD on VSPER (Valence Shell Electron Pair Repulsion Theory) as part of the CHE 101 chemistry module. Using a personal narrative inquiry of what transpired in the process of developing the CD ,a reflective project...

This paper is a personal exploration of the experiences of learning from print and learning using electronic media. The discussion is based on the way the author and other students experienced learning from both print and electronic media during a course which was offered by the British Open University in 2002. The course, H802: Applications of Inf...

Computer conferencing is emerging as a powerful tool for supporting collaborative learning in higher education. This form of communication is opening up new possibilities for making learning interactions more democratic, cognitively stimulating and challenging for adult learners. Unfortunately, there are concerns that complicate the adoption of col...

Computer conferencing is emerging as a powerful tool for supporting collaborative learning in higher education. This form of communication is opening up new possibilities for making learning interactions more democratic, cognitively stimulating and challenging for adult learners. Unfortunately, there are concerns that complicate the adoption of col...

Distance education is undoubtedly the most affordable means for adult learners to specialise and retrain for new tasks and challenges in order to remain competitive in the global economic environment. Many institutions are increasingly considering web-based learning as a flexible distance education delivery alternative. Unfortunately, a growing num...

Although information technology is increasingly becoming the catalyst for economic and cultural change, many adult learners in South Africa are continuously being excluded from its benefits. Recent research shows that the technology for implementing new visions of open distance learning is available. But unless educators conduct research into const...

This study was an attempt to explore and describe media utilisation from a Primary Science teacher's perspective, within a qualitative theoretical and methodological framework. A brief survey revealed what media was available in the schools, and observation and interview methods were used to give meaning to the media utmsation practice in schools....

This article summarizes the process of designing a workbook for teaching Physics in a South African Teacher education context.

This article offers an overview of the difficulties presented in trying to implement recognition of prior learning (RPL) at the University of South Africa (Unisa) from 2003 to 2005. First, there is a brief introduction of RPL in general and the context of its implementation in South Africa. Second, a description of the RPL system and processes at U...

Progressio 23(1)2001 forum ABSTRACT Although information technology is increasingly becoming the catalyst for economic and cultural change, many adult learners in South Africa are continuously being excluded from its benefits. Recent research shows that the technology for implementing new visions of open distance learning is available. But unless e...