14 and 15 August 2018
Central University of Technology
The PD SIG Committee hereby invite proposals to participate in a two-day symposium focused on the Postgraduate Diploma in Higher Education (PGDip (HE)) / formal courses / structured programmes1. The purpose of the symposium is to build the knowledge and capacity of academic developers to conceptualise, design and facilitate formal programmes on teaching by interrogating and sharing practices related to the conceptualisation, design and facilitation of the PGDip (HE) in your context.
As such the PDSIG Symposium will be of interest to colleagues who are thinking about offering a PGDip (HE), those who are in the process of conceptualising a PGDip(HE) and those who are already offering the qualification as well as those who are offering other formal / structured programmes to enhance academics’ capacities as teachers in HE.
A number of universities have been offering the PGDip (HE) to develop / enhance the capacity of academics as teachers in higher education, while others are in the process of designing their own programmes.
The symposium will offer opportunities to learn from the experiences, successes and challenges of those currently offering or developing the qualification. It is hoped that the event will result in shared understandings of the purposes of PGDips(HE) as well as about what knowledge and practices are necessary for developing the capacity of academics as teachers in contemporary South African higher education.
Individuals or groups are invited to contribute to one or more sessions on one or more of the following topics:
- Conceptions of professional learning on which course content and practices are based
- Theoretical ideas about teaching and learning that underpin your PGDip (HE)
- Pedagogical processes used in the PGDip (HE) – rationale for and reflections on these
- Assessment practices in the PGDip (HE)
- Challenges in relation to offering the PGDip (HE)
- Integrating and / or modeling the use of technologies in PGDip (HE) courses
- Influence on teachers of doing / having done a PGDip (HE)
- Influence of doing / having done a PGDip (HE) on engagement in SoTL / research on teaching and learning in HE
In addition, discussion groups / workshops (or any other form of relevant engagement) are invited on the following topics / questions:
- Possibilities for regional cooperation in offering PGDips
- Do different types of institutions need different kinds of PGDips?
- Suggest a topic / question of interest
There will also be an opportunity to discuss the implications of the (draft) Framework for Enhancing Academics as Teachers for universities and for academic staff development practitioners.
Cross-institutional collaborations on sessions are encouraged. Proposals are due on Monday 9 July 2018. Notification of acceptance will be sent by Friday 13 July 2018.
It is envisaged that the outcomes of our deliberations will be peer-reviewed scholarly publications as well as a number of open access resources on PGDips (HE) / formal courses / structured programmes on teaching for university lecturers. Time will be set aside after the sessions to discuss possible publications and OER resources. These will be worked on at a writing retreat.
Should you be interested in contributing to the symposium, please complete the “Proposal to present” form by 9 July 2018. Notification of acceptance of proposals will be sent out by 13 July 2018. The programme will be posted by 20 July 2018.
Registration form: Please complete the registration form below if you wish to attend the Symposium or if payment is to be made by your institution, please send the details required by your institution on the invoice to Nozi Fihlani at n.fihlani@ru.ac.za. The cost of the symposium will be R750 per person.
1 Even though the rest of the document refers mainly to the PGDip (HE), please also read in each case: formal courses / structured programmes.
