We can’t teach and do things in the same way as we did before.  As the well-known scientist, Albert Einstein said, “insanity is “doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.”

Dr Melanie Jacobs, Faculty Quality Manager in the Faculty of Science at the University of Johannesburg was the guest speaker at the third annual Teaching and Learning Day for staff members teaching in extended programmes at the University of Pretoria (UP).

Her talk titled, A focus on the academics who teach to Extended Science and Engineering students focused on the reason for extending academic programmes as well as on the calibre of students in these programmes. Dr Jacobs emphasised the fact that lecturers in these programmes cannot rely on student’s prior knowledge of the subjects anymore – ‘we are now obliged to become ‘real teachers’ to support and help the students effectively.”

The purpose of this Teaching and Learning Day was to give the staff members in these extended programmes the opportunity to discuss and exchange thoughts about their experiences and teaching practices. Currently UP presents five extended programmes that are funded by the Department of Higher Education and Training’s (DHET) Foundation provision grant; namely; the Extended Programmes for BSc, BSc (IT), BIS Multimedia and BCom; and the ENGAGE programme offered by the Faculty of Engineering, Built Environment and Information Technology (EBIT).

This event provided dedicated time for staff within these programmes to share their experiences and practices on teaching and learning and, also to provide the opportunity to share their research activities (and the different theories they use in the process) with other staff members.