The Department of Radiography strives to implement a student-centred approach where the role of a lecturer is that of a facilitator of learning. A student-centred approach utilises appropriate teaching theories and methods to shift the focus from the teacher to the student, as relevant to the context of a specific learning programme, and aims to equip students to be able to:

•             develop thinking skills

•             evaluate evidence

•             analyse an argument

•             generate hypotheses

•             apply problem solving

 

A student-centred approach calls for

•             Student engagement

•             Immersion and personal responsibility, and

•             Work-integrated learning.

Teaching and learning in the Department of radiography is focused on graduating radiographers who will portray the following capabilities. (Please consult the Department’s Curriculum Mapping documents for specific learning programmes which show in which modules the capabilities listed below are taught and assessed.)

Descriptors         Enablers

Effective communicators in all spheres:

•             Patients and members of the public

•             Colleagues

•             Communicate scientifically         

 

Radiographers who are effective communicators are developed through:

•             AIM 101/121

•             ELH 121/122

•             MTL 180Professional modules and work-integrated learning

 

Critical thinkers are the active participants in the learning process.

•             Critical integration of theory in authentic clinical practice

•             Critically analyse unprofessional and unethical practices

•             Hybrid learning enables the inclusion of various T&L methods like:

•             Inquiry-based learning approach

•             Blended learning

•             Problem based learning

•             Student-centred approach

 

Reflective practitioners:

Competent practical and reflective reasoning involves:

•             Knowing in action

•             Reflection in action

•             Reflection about action T & L that develops practitioners who have intellectual capabilities to defend the ethical decisions they make.

•             Work integrated learning

•             Evidence based learning

Ethical behaviour is essential and should be demonstrated through:

•             Application of radiation protection measures.

•             Observing the infection control practices.

•             Respecting the autonomy of others

•             Professional behaviour Ethical behaviour is taught and demonstrated through the following:

•             Research principles

•             Integration of Ethics, Human Rights and Health Law in the curriculum

•             UP policy on Plagiarism and Copyright

•             Work-integrated learning

 

Team workers –

Critical thinking radiographers will be able to identify the beneficial and non-beneficial lessons gained through social interactions.       Professional integrity and respect for others is enhanced through:

•             Inter-professional education

•             Participation in shared modules – RHC 480 and IHL 120, 210 & 310 (in new program)

•             Cooperative learning principles

               

The Philosophy is informed by the following:

Socio – constructivism theory. Humans are social beings; we grow up through the social interactions in various communities. Recently, many educators have come to see the value of social constructivism as a foundation for the design of more effective learning environments. Social constructivists regard individual subjects and the social society as interconnected. Social constructivists assert that learners arrive at what they know mainly through participating in the social practices of a learning environment including collaborative projects and group assignments as well as in the social practices of the local communities including family life and church events (Younghee Woo , Thomas C. Reeves, 2006).

Transformative learning theory Transformative learning transcends skills acquisition to affect changes in frames of reference, because individuals and groups step out of their ‘‘habits of mind.’’ Subsequent changes in perspectives then easily lead to more creative and innovative practices at work. Such changes are also critical for successful work-integrated learning (WIL) with aims for an immediate application and transfer of learning. Fostering transformational learning in the workplace then becomes a means to achieve such ends. Like other supportive learning environments, the workplace also needs certain adjustments for transformative learning.

(Sarojni Choy, 2009)

 

Authentic learning -  Authentic activities or tasks reflect the kind of activities that people do in the real world, that are completed over a sustained period of time, rather than a series of shorter disconnected examples. They are generally ill-defined—that is, students find as well as solve the problems. Many classroom activities are so structured that they fail to account for the nature of real world problem-solving. An authentic approach would have learners exploring a resource with all the complexity and uncertainty of the real world. The learners would have a role in determining the task and how it might be broken up into smaller tasks, selecting which information is relevant, and finding a solution that suits their needs. Many project-based assignments in school readily provide such opportunities, especially when they allow the use of powerful technologies. (Jan Herrington and Lisa Kervin, 2007)

 

Cooperative learning - Cooperative learning is instruction that involves students working in teams to accomplish a common goal, under conditions that include the following elements:

1. Positive interdependence. Team members are obliged to rely on one another to achieve the goal. If any team members fail to do their part, everyone suffers consequences.

2. Individual accountability. All students in a group are held accountable for doing their share of the work and for mastery of all of the material to be learned.

3. Face-to-face promotive interaction. Although some of the group work may be parcelled out and done individually, some must be done interactively, with group members providing one another with feedback, challenging reasoning and conclusions, and perhaps most importantly, teaching and encouraging one another.

4. Appropriate use of collaborative skills. Students are encouraged and helped to develop and practice trust-building, leadership, decision-making, communication, and conflict management skills.

5. Group processing. Team members set group goals, periodically assess what they are doing well as a team, and identify changes they will make to function more effectively in the future.( Richard M. Felder and Rebecca Brent, 2007)

 

Critical cross field outcomes - The radiographer:

•             identifies and solves problems in the field of Radiography in which responses display that responsible decisions using critical and creative thinking have been made.

•             works effectively with others as a member of a health care team, and group.

•             organizes and manages herself and her activities responsibly and effectively.

•             collects, analyses, organizes and critically evaluates information.

•             communicates effectively with patients, the patient's family, various members of the health care team using visual or language skills in the modes of oral and/or written persuasion.

•             uses science and technology effectively and critically, showing responsibility towards the environment and health of others.

•             demonstrates an understanding of the world as a set of related systems by recognizing that problem-solving contexts do not exist in isolation.

The development of CCFOs contributes to the full personal development of each learner and the social and economic development of the society at large.

 

UP Graduate attributes The University of Pretoria aspires to produce graduates with attributes that will enable them to develop further as individuals, members of different communities of practice and citizens of their own countries and the world. These attributes emerge from the achievement of the exit level outcomes of each qualification, which outcomes also embed the Critical Cross Field Outcomes of the South African Qualifications Authority.  Graduates:

•             possess intellectual curiosity and an inquiry‐led approach to knowledge.

•             conceptualise issues and synthesise knowledge creatively to provide solutions for current and future‐orientated challenges.

•             function autonomously and confidently as individuals, within the work

•             environment locally and globally, and as citizens.

•             have the relevant intra‐ and interpersonal skills to work collaboratively and cooperatively in multidisciplinary team contexts.

•             behave ethically and with integrity within the profession and its culture.

•             have a sense of social responsibility, respect human rights and dignity and exhibit informed civic, cultural and environmental awareness.

•             communicate well with a range of people and communities in diverse social, cultural, geographical and workplace contexts using appropriate language (oral and written) as well as numerical, graphical and presentation skills.

The UP Graduate Attributes have been contextualised by the Department in all their learning programmes (refer to the Department’s Vision and Mission document, Strategic Planning session 2011).

 

Enquiry based learning  Enquiry-based Learning (EBL) is used here as a broad umbrella term to describe approaches to learning that are driven by a process of enquiry. The tutor establishes the task and supports or facilitates the process, but the students pursue their own lines of enquiry, draw on their existing knowledge and identify the consequent learning needs. They seek evidence to support their ideas and take responsibility for analysing and presenting this appropriately, either as part of a group or as an individual supported by others. They are thus engaged as partners in the learning process:

 

“…it promotes personal research...the student becomes more familiar with the

multifarious resources at their disposal, such as e-journals and databases. There is

the opportunity to support one another in research and explore different avenues of

information. The whole experience becomes one of interchange where students

share opinions, research and experience in order to achieve an end result”.

(Peter Kahn and Karen O’Rourke, 2005)

 

References

Choy S. 2009. Transformational learning in the workplace. Journal of transformative Education, 7(1):65-84.

Felder R & Brent R. 2007. Cooperative learning. Department of Chemical Engineering, NC State University.

Herrington J & Kervin L. 2007. Authentic learning supported by technology: Ten suggestions and cases of integration in classrooms. Educational Media International, 44(3):219-236.

Kahn P & O’Rourke K. 2005. Enquiry based learning. Chapter 1 In Handbook of Enquiry & Problem Based Learning. Barrett T, Mac Labhrainn I, Fallon H (Eds) Galway: CELT http://www.nuigalway.ie/celt/pblbook

Woo Y & Reeves TC. 2006. Meaningful interaction in we-based learning: A social constructivist interpretation. Internet and Higher Education 10:15-25.