The higher education landscape is a crucial part of society. A space to learn, to form new thinking, to innovate and discover. The methods of teaching and challenging new thinking have in many ways remained around the traditional ‘talk and chalk’. Some have challenged this and more recently we have seen the emergence globally the online platforms. We saw South African institutions during #FeesMustFall start the engagement around a more blended learning platform.

What we have seen though is that with the global pandemic, it has forced everyone’s focus within educational institutions to seek the best, fastest, and most agile way of converting traditional teaching methods into an online modality. Whilst the need to not lose academic time and ultimately affect their current academic year due to the #COVID-19 pandemic, the higher education sector is swiftly having to consider and implement a transition to online platforms of learning. It could be argued that those that showed a hesitation, that many exhibited in adapting to a changed method of teaching, now are being pushed to new ways.

In this piece written by Dr. Nita Temmerman titled

The agile university will equip students for the future

Nita Temmerman  25 April 2020

she summarises the article with these keywords:

“The goal is not about preparing graduates for the world of work they will enter today. It is about equipping them with the professional attributes and learning tools that will set them up for life to be flexible, creative, adaptable contributors to society. The institution’s organisational structure should ensure teaching and research are both able to flourish and, just as importantly, that it is agile and encourages innovation.”

The article though challenges us not only on taking education online, but it actually challenges us on the outcomes of what we teaching within the higher education space. Are universities providing platforms for individuals to be contributors to society? Active citizens creating positive impact and change.

What are we teaching? What is the content? What engagements outside of formal teaching am I having with students? What impact am I making? These should be just some of the questions those of us within the education space should be asking. And like myself, who is not in the formal academic lecturing space, but am involved in providing support through other ways to students, we too should be considering our roles.

So it is not so much about the method (#HOW) of teaching, but rather what is being taught, the #WHY of universities.

#BeChallenged and Enjoy the read.