Page 34 - Transformation Indaba Report

Are we perhaps missing the point – by expecting a ‘ready’ We may be thinking that it’s just the curriculum with the
student coming in? Maybe we should start there with our ex- set outcomes but there’s certain elements. How do we
pectation of a particular ready student. What does readiness impart a particular disposition that would speak to our
mean? We have pre-defined curriculums, and we want to graduate attributes that would speak to the person who
fit a student into this. We expect a ‘ready’ student that fits a will be a contributor to our society and then what do we
particular frame, to arrive and fit that curriculum and then do, knowing what type of student our society/Basic
therefore a teaching mode that would allow for this. Education is producing? How to break the assumption
that there should be a “ready” student? CARR has lots
Referring to Muki’s comment about FY success in one pocket of helpful data such as who progresses in record time;
and curriculum in another. We must fuse the support with and who qualifies in extended time, and how we engage
the curriculum = could we reconceptualise what a lecturer with those students. (Phumeza)
is about and who they are and what they should be doing?

What is actually meant by a “student who is curriculum- explain if necessary. One-size-fits-all doesn’t work in the
ready”? Does it require an academic to break content down classroom and doesn’t have a place in an inclusive model.
for students who don’t understand content? We lecture to Students differ in the way they understand content. Maybe
all students but we then invite students to the office to re- the lecturer isn’t “ready” to teach the student? (Rosemary)

Need to dialogue more around who our students are that are coming in. (C Foxcroft)

How do we then train lecturers, and get them to be open to the whole learning process and understanding and it
students’ social backgrounds and settings so that they can sometimes causes irritation to the lecturer. How to make the
better understand content taught in the classroom? Most lecturer understand the social settings better? How to make
of the time, students come from different backgrounds, it that student comfortable to learn in the classroom? (Oyama)
becomes overwhelming for other students and could disturb

This discussion has been ongoing in SA for 20-30 years. All us that individual learning is the trick here but in the
inputs made in the breakaway room have a long-established institution environment it’s not practically possible. There-
history in this discussion. It’s difficult to come up with a fore, how to proceed in an inclusive, totally respectful way
straight-forward “do this/do that”. We have to be totally in a situation where there are so many in-estimable
aware of pre-judging frameworks at our disposal in a learning differences. (C Soudien)
process. It’s more than about just race. COVID has shown

How to accommodate and balance individualism, individual development and inclusivity? (C Foxcroft)

NelsoN MaNdela UNiversity • traNsforMatioN iNdaba • 2022 28