Faculty Teaching and Learning Unit
The Faculty Teaching and Learning Unit has been restructured to meet the University’s vision for a blended learning programme.
The Unit is responsive to the need for immediate support for staff and students engaged with online learning and teaching during the pandemic. At the same time, we are continuously developing new knowledge and skills necessary for blended learning in the long term. The Unit is composed of two overarching divisions: student support, and staff support and development.
Student Support
Since student well-being and success are central aims of the University, it is important to have effective and structured systems in place to ensure its realization. The success of students is “not a random occurrence… it is the result of an intentional, structured course of action that is systematic and coordinated in nature, involving many people across campus” (Tinto, 2014).
Wits has long recognized the need for coordinated structures to promote student success. However, the impact of Covid-19 on students cannot be underestimated, with students navigating remote learning alongside their lecturers for the first time. The Faculty Teaching and Learning Unit thus provides multiple forms of support to students: the routine support that students require in order to succeed; and the new forms of support for online and blended learning that have arisen in response to remote teaching and learning.
Our Mission
- To offer student support that is timely and relevant to students’ needs
In so doing we aim to:
- Provide students with every means of achieving their academic goals
- Help students develop a strong sense of purpose
- Help students recognise the value of their humanities degree
Method
Using an integrated approach, our professional advisors advocate for student-focused initiatives aimed at attaining personal and educational goals.
Services
The academic advisors within the Teaching and Learning Unit provide support and assistance to undergraduates from orientation to graduation.
We are available throughout the year and will help students by providing:
- Academic advice
- Curriculum planning
- Course amendments advice
- Mentoring
- Coaching
- Learning skills workshops
Staff Development and Support
The Faculty of Humanities Teaching & Learning Unit strives for excellence in teaching and learning by providing staff with the support and development opportunities necessary for teaching high-quality, pedagogically sound courses in line with the university teaching and learning plans.
The staff component of the unit has been structured to provide staff with both timely support for using technology to teach and teaching development opportunities. Staff support is geared toward assisting staff with using technology for teaching, while staff development provides staff training to achieve high quality, pedagogically sound programmes and courses in order to meet the University’s strategy for a blended learning approach. Our offerings are aimed at helping staff design and deliver courses that can weather disruption by being able to transition easily between online and in-person modes of teaching.
Support includes:
- Training for tutors, academic interns, sessional and full-time lecturers in resilient and blended teaching practices suited to the humanities and our current context
- Communities of practice to facilitate supportive teaching and learning
- Regular webinar series to explore key focus areas
- Assistance with redesigning and developing online and blended courses
- Dedicated staff support for using technology to teach
We are located on East Campus in the South West Engineering Building, Ground Floor.