Browsing Scholarship of Teaching & Learning by Title
Previous Page
Now showing items 4-16 of 16
-
McMillan, Wendy (American Association of Dental Schools, 2009)[more][less]
Abstract: There is increasing awareness in the health sciences of the potential of qualitative research to address questions that quantitative research cannot satisfactorily answer. While a growing number of studies in health sciences and health sciences education discuss the value of such research or describe the methodology and data collection processes, few detail how analysis was carried out. Reliability and validity of findings from qualitative research depend on the quality of data management, retrieval, and interpretation or identification of meaning. The robustness of data analysis is therefore an important factor in the rigor of qualitative research. This article uses a study of dental students’ conceptual learning to illustrate strategies that ensure rigor in qualitative analysis. Factors that informed the decisions regarding analysis are discussed in detail. The use of both grounded theory and literature is discussed. The role that deductive and inductive reasoning played in the analysis is outlined. A brief section illustrates the kinds of conclusions that can be made about conceptual learning when qualitative data are rigorously analyzed. Finally, potential shortcomings in the study and alternatives or additional mechanisms for ensuring validity and reliability of analysis are discussed. URI: http://hdl.handle.net/10566/86 Files in this item: 1
McMillan_Qualitative2009.pdf (131.5Kb) -
McMillan, Wendy; Laloo, R.; Gugushe, T.S.; Ligthelm, A.J.; Evans, W.G.; Moola, Mohamad H. (South African Dental Association, 2005)[more][less]
Abstract: This paper, written at the close of a decade of democracy in South Africa, sets out to analyse the demographic profile of dental graduates from 1985-2004 at the five Faculties/Schools of Dentistry in South Africa. A comparison of the profiles for the pre-democracy (1985-1994) and post-apartheid (1995-2004) periods has been made. The demographic profile of first year dental students from 2000-2005 is also presented. From 1985-1994, most dental graduates were male (79%), but this changed substantially from 1995-2004, with females comprising 46% of those graduating. In the pre-democracy period, more than three-quarters of all graduates were White (78%), decreasing to 46% in the post-apartheid period under review. Black graduates increased from 6% to 24% across the two study periods. Amongst the first year dental student intake from 2000- 2005, females comprised 57%. There was an almost equal distribution across the White, Black and Asian groups. Dental faculties/schools have made important strides in transforming the demographic profile of their students. The percentage of Black graduates, however, needs to be significantly increased if it is to reflect the national population. Faculties/schools must further ensure that able students from working class background are identified and considered for acceptance into the undergraduate dental programme, and should then be offered the necessary academic and mentoring support to enable success. URI: http://hdl.handle.net/10566/56 Files in this item: 1
McMillan_distribution(2005).pdf (143.8Kb) -
McMillan, Wendy (Routledge, 2004)[more][less]
Abstract: This paper is conceptually informed by a reading of Peter McLaren's work (1993). Drawing on the relationship that he signals between identity, narrative, and social action, it sets out to examine the ways in which identity shapes narratives of academic performance and consequent action. Speci®cally, I present the narratives of academic performance of a social grouping within a cohort of preprimary teacher education students. These students are all women, historically classi®ed `coloured' and of working class origin. Argument is presented that students interpret and reconstruct their personal histories and particular social locations through the material and discursive contexts to which they have access. The students are presented as active agentsÐ producing themselves within existing, and often potentially contradictory, material and discursive contexts. Evidence is marshalled to frame an argument that students' narratives shape their social action as agents of history, and are implicated in the distribution of privilege within society. URI: http://hdl.handle.net/10566/83 Files in this item: 1
McMillan_Factory2004.pdf (277.8Kb) -
McMillan, Wendy (School of Education, University of KwaZulu-Natal, 2003)[more][less]
Abstract: Drawing on a qualitative study of a cohort of final year preprimary teacher college students, this paper motivates for narrative analysis as a suitable tool for accessing ‘insider accounts’ of social reality. Through an analysis of the voices of these young people, I make the argument that narrative analysis allows us to develop an explanation of how people interpret their social locations and personal histories through the discourses and material contexts to which they have access. I commence by presenting the narrative of academic performance of one of the social groupings within the cohort. The material and discursive parameters that framed their narrative account are outlined. Similarities and differences between individual accounts are highlighted, and explanations for these similarities and differences posited. The ways in which multiple social locations nuance identity as nested are explicated. The paper concludes with a discussion of the potential contribution of narrative analysis as a conceptual tool for understanding social identity. URI: http://hdl.handle.net/10566/55 Files in this item: 1
McMillan_narrative(2003).pdf (215.0Kb) -
Clarence, Sherran (Taylor & Francis, 2012)[more][less]
Abstract: This paper discusses the role of a writing centre in creating spaces for talk about and change in disciplinary writing pedagogy. It asks how collaborative partnerships between disciplinary academics and Writing Centre practitioners might be established and nurtured sustainably. Drawing on insights from two collaborations with academics in political studies and law, the article asserts that writing centre practitioners play a valuable role in talking about and changing the way academic writing and literacy is taught in the disciplines. This is shown by working consistently with the understanding that critical reading, thinking and writing are literacy acts rather than generic skills and must therefore be learned and practiced in the disciplines. By supporting disciplinary academics in re-examining course outcomes, materials and assessments, and moving away from a ‘skills approach’ to writing, it is shown that building discipline-specific spaces for writing and literacy development is possible through these collaborative partnerships. URI: http://hdl.handle.net/10566/578 Files in this item: 2
Clarence_making spaces.pdf (187.0Kb)ClarenceAcademicWriting2012.pdf (180.6Kb) -
Bozalek, Vivienne; Boughey, Chrissie (Blackwell Publishing, 2012)[more][less]
Abstract: The question of how to make higher education more inclusive has been a central concern in South Africa and elsewhere over the past two decades. However, in South Africa there remains a disjuncture between policy aimed at promoting inclusivity and the experiences of students and staff in the higher education sector. In this article, the relationship between equity of access and equity of outcomes and the expectations that follow from these policy imperatives are examined from the perspective of Nancy Fraser’s normative framework of social justice. In particular, her notion of misframing is used to analyze the current situation in the higher education sector in South Africa. The article concludes that a focus on individual higher education institutions is not sufficient to gain a perspective on the social arrangements required for participatory parity in higher education, and in fact, such a focus is an instance of misframing and thus a form of injustice. URI: http://hdl.handle.net/10566/497 Files in this item: 1
BozalekHigherEducation2012.pdf (226.1Kb) -
Lowther, Michael; McMillan, Wendy (Actuarial Society of South Africa, 2006)[more][less]
Abstract: This paper presents a model for what is termed Lifelong Professionalisation Learning for actuaries. The model is grounded on the proposition that professions are dynamic, offering the public varying quantities and qualities of professional aspects over time. The overall curriculum for the model is derived by ordering these aspects into cognitive, normative and organisational strands. Different aspects of the curriculum need to be addressed at the different stages of an actuary’s career. Delivery of the curriculum may take many forms, and should be planned by national actuarial associations under the guidance of an education expert. URI: http://hdl.handle.net/10566/58 Files in this item: 1
McMillan_professionalisation(2006).pdf (116.9Kb) -
McMillan, Wendy; Parker, M.E. (Routledge, 2005)[more][less]
Abstract: This paper discusses quality evaluation of health sciences mentoring programmes. The discussion highlights the way in which perceptions of what constitutes quality shape evaluative purposes. Potential tensions between the evaluative purposes of various stakeholders are brought to the fore. To this end, the discussion explores the ways in which accountability shapes the evaluative purposes of funders and how the desire for programme knowledge and development frames the evaluative purposes of academics. Various approaches to programme evaluation are examined. The potential of reflective practice as a tool for examining quality for knowledge and development of programmes is considered. The paper concludes by presenting a framework for evaluating various aspects of quality in mentoring programmes. URI: http://hdl.handle.net/10566/85 Files in this item: 1
McMillan_Quality2005.pdf (300.2Kb) -
McMillan, Wendy (Routledge, 2007)[more][less]
Abstract: Background: Current literature calls for the explicit teaching to health-science educators of the skills, knowledge and dispositions that are required for successful teaching in higher education. Aims: This paper draws on evidence from an Oral Hygiene department at a South African university in order to illustrate these teaching-competency needs. Insights from the evidence are synthesised with current literature regarding best teaching practice, in support of an appropriate framework for the development of teaching competencies to health-science educators. Description: A qualitative approach, using a case study, was adopted. The cohort comprised fifteen students in the first-year Oral Hygiene cohort class and the ten educators who taught their programme. Data was collected through semistructured interviews and open-ended questionnaires. The topics that emerged from the combined analysis of the interviews and the questionnaires were organised into a grid so that common themes could be identified. Current literature regarding teaching and learning was used as a framework for interpreting the empirical evidence, from which three categories emerged. The first category included suggestions from students regarding what to do to teach better. A review of the literature indicates that these competencies can be effectively learnt from self-help guides. The second category included requests for skills development. Literature review suggests that these might effectively be learnt from single-event workshops facilitated by more able peers. Responses in the final category highlighted the need for an underpinning theory of teaching and learning, and signalled the need for a more theoretically grounded and detailed approach to teacher development. Conclusion: The framework developed from the empirical study and current literature makes it possible for individual clinical teachers, and staff developers, to construct teaching-competency development plans that are pertinent to individual teachers’ needs, relevant and practical, educationally sound, and cost-effective in terms of time and effort. URI: http://hdl.handle.net/10566/84 Files in this item: 1
McMillan_Guidelines2007-1.pdf (399.7Kb) -
McMillan, Wendy (Maastricht University, 2007)[more][less]
Abstract: INTRODUCTION: Literature suggests that a diverse body of healthcare graduates could extend health service delivery. However, the literature also indicates that the throughput of minority, working class, and historically disadvantaged students is problematic. Poor throughput is attributed to the way that university environments alienate some students. This brief communication highlights lessons learned from exploratory interviews with four first-year oral hygiene students at a university in South Africa. It provides insight into the issues that contribute to academic success and failure. METHODS: Semi-structured, individual interviews, to gain information regarding students’ university academic experiences were conducted. Enablers and barriers to learning identified in the literature were used to capture themes. FINDINGS: The following three themes emerged: educational identity, language and finances. The analysis showed how a white middle class student recognized practices that are rewarded at university and how three, working-class, black students experienced tension between their expectations and experiences and the university culture. However, far from being victims, these students provided suggestions on how their transition might be facilitated. CONCLUSION: Evidence suggests that these students wanted both to be apprenticed into the new way of doing things while having their differences acknowledged. A model for education that initiates learners and also challenges the culture of power is suggested. URI: http://hdl.handle.net/10566/60 Files in this item: 1
McMillan_diversity(2007).pdf (141.5Kb) -
McMillan, Wendy (American Association of Dental Schools, 2005)[more][less]
Abstract: This article is located in the field of academic development in oral health science education. Specifically, it examines the academic difficulties experienced by oral hygiene students in their transition from high school to university. A qualitative approach was employed to elicit student and lecturer perceptions. Drawing on empirical evidence from a case study of a cohort of first-year oral hygiene students at a dental faculty in South Africa, the article contributes to an understanding of how first-year university students might be better prepared for the challenges of reading and writing in higher education. The voices of lecturers and students are used to highlight the nature of the difficulties that students experience in the transition from high school to university. The suggestions that students made regarding how the transition might be eased are also examined. The final section draws on these suggestions and presents a working model for an academic development module for first-year oral health students. URI: http://hdl.handle.net/10566/57 Files in this item: 1
McMillan_studying(2005).pdf (154.2Kb) -
Robinson, Maureen; McMillan, Wendy (Elsevier, 2006)[more][less]
Abstract: In this article we argue that understanding the identities that teacher educators construct for themselves is central to effecting innovation within a changing policy environment. The article begins with a theoretical perspective on the nexus of change and identity. It then discusses the central features of identity amongst a group of teacher college educators who have been incorporated into a higher education institution in South Africa. The discussion focuses in particular on their new roles as researchers. We argue that the promotion of research needs to be based on what teacher educators already perceive to be their particular strengths and roles. The paper ends with some examples of strategies for research promotion in this particular setting. URI: http://hdl.handle.net/10566/59 Files in this item: 1
McMillan_teachers2006.pdf (258.0Kb) -
Clarence, Sherran (SUN Media, 2011)[more][less]
Abstract: Writing and reading critically are core academic practices that many South African tertiary students struggle with throughout undergraduate study. This is partly due to a lack of competency in English as a first language, and partly due to a lack of preparation at primary and secondary school level. Critical reading and writing practices need to be developed simultaneously, and contextually. The Writing Centre at the University of the Western Cape (UWC) is currently exploring ways to make itself a more relevant and focused part of the University’s teaching and learning interventions and strategies, and to make it more responsive to the multiple reading, writing and language needs of students. Influenced theoretically and practically by New Literacy Studies and Writing Across the Curriculum (WAC) approaches, the Writing Centre is working to position itself as part of a teaching and learning environment that develops and supports both student writers and disciplinary lecturers. We aim to do this by foregrounding, theorising, researching and building a culture of writing intensive teaching that imagines and uses writing as a tool for learning, thinking and evaluation, as well as for assessment. In order to become a significant part of teaching and learning in higher education more generally, Writing Centres will need to work increasingly with lecturers to address the writing and reading needs of students in a supportive, critical and collaborative space that better serves the needs of both parties. URI: http://hdl.handle.net/10566/599 Files in this item: 1
ClarenceWritingAcademy2011.pdf (721.0Kb)
Previous Page
Now showing items 4-16 of 16