Browsing by Author "Pashaliev, Elinza"

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    Investigating the online teaching experiences of educators during the Covid-19 lockdown
    (Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2021-11) Pashaliev, Elinza; Constandius, Elmarie; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. Dept. of Visual Arts.
    ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The COVID-19 pandemic served as a catalyst for educational transformation as schools and universities had no choice but to implement online learning during government mandated lockdowns worldwide. The shift to a digital pedagogy required educators to rapidly adapt and create an online curriculum while presenting classes in a virtual format. South African students were sent home to study remotely and faced a series of challenges from their home environments, such as unreliable access to the internet and lack of self-direction and motivation to work independently. Some of these challenges originate from a history of segregation and inequality where the infrastructure of poorer communities has not been developed sufficiently to sustain online activities or provide optimal learning conditions. Contemporary theories of learning advocate the need for the social dimension of peer discussion and collaboration to facilitate a holistic learning process and foster student engagement, ultimately resulting in attention and retention. Working in isolation, some students fell behind in their studies while others remained unstimulated during teacher-led virtual lessons. With little time to explore online learning theory and curriculum design, and understand the digital medium, many of the experiences recorded in the study were negative. Despite this, there were positive experiences relayed such as enhanced creativity and innovation, with students finding problems to solutions and improving their digital skills and capabilities. Although online learning was implemented as an emergency measure at the time, there are many advantages of adopting online learning for the future. These include wider access for more students, affordability, convenience and diverse engagement activities. These advantages, among others, warrant consideration of the potential long-term implementation of online learning in the South African education system. To better understand how to design and facilitate a digital curriculum, this research study set out to investigate the experiences of seven educators working at different tertiary institutions that offer courses in art, design and entrepreneurship. The study was interpretive in nature and sampled participants purposively in a case study design focused on collecting responses about the transition to online learning during the COVID-19 pandemic. The sample size was kept small in line with the limitations and boundaries of a mini-thesis. The data presented was collected through qualitative semi-structured interviews and reveals details about the personal experiences of these educators and the students they taught. From their responses, two main themes were identified: the challenges of online education as well as effective curriculum design and student engagement. A third theme on the future of online education is explored in the final chapter of this research paper. Future studies on this topic could provide more responses from a larger case study group of educators and students to gain a comprehensive picture of the transition to online learning during COVID-19. As the impact of COVID-19 on education is a relatively new phenomenon, this study may contribute to the developing field of knowledge around the impact of the pandemic and the lockdowns in the field of education.