Ronelle Carolissen reflects on winning the prize for best paper at the SU Scholarship of Teaching and Learning Conference

Ronelle Carolissen
Department of Psychology
Stellenbosch University
rlc2@sun.ac.za

I was asked to reflect on what it means to me to be the prize winner of the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning Conference.

I was overwhelmed by the announcement, which set me on a path of reflection. In this short piece I will share some of these reflections by focusing on the purpose of teaching, the distinction between pedagogy and didactics, the value of research for teaching, the benefits of a research team and, finally, some ideas on the prize itself.

I have a strong vision for my teaching, in that it should encourage students to be able to think critically so that they can evaluate their learning process both within and outside the confines of the university. In this context I am not motivated to work by prizes but by the sheer feeling of accomplishment when I find a student who does not merely rehash what I say but who engages critically with experience and learning material. While I have heard many good teachers say exactly this, it did feel good to have my work and its scholarly potential recognized.

The recognition of my work has stretched beyond the event of the prize giving. So many colleagues and students, both on and off campus, have congratulated me and have affirmed my work. These encounters have been interesting: Some people have asked me what the criteria for awarding the prize were, as they felt that there were some presentations that provided excellent teaching techniques. It seems that this response raised exactly the distinction between didactics and pedagogy that I highlighted in my presentation. Often we have interesting and attractive techniques that allow students to enjoy our classes. These techniques are important but frequently they do not allow us to use theory in our reflections on our work. I think this is what the conference on the scholarship of teaching aimed to address. It is important, therefore, that we find the balance between teaching as a technique and teaching as a pedagogically based activity. And so I thank the innovative ways in which the Centre for Teaching and Learning (in conjunction with the Fund for Innovation and Research in Teaching and Learning) have endeavored to raise the profile of teaching also as a legitimate scholarly activity at Stellenbosch University.

The scholarship of teaching is an important concept. If we expect our students to critically evaluate their learning, we should follow suit by evaluating our own teaching. It is important but not enough to take feedback from students into account. We should closely examine educational theory and evaluate our teaching activities theoretically. This helps me to create theoretical foundations for my reflections so that reflection is not based only on opinion and subjective response. At another level, we know that multiple accomplishments in teaching alone will never outweigh the emphasis that is placed on academic publications. If an academic is an outstanding teacher, career advancement on this basis only will be rare. However, if an academic is only a good researcher, career advancement is perfectly possible. Therefore, as academics, good teachers also need to be good researchers to advance their careers in the organization of the university. By reflecting on praxis from a theoretical point of view, academics are encouraged to research teaching and learning as an activity. This, in turn, has the advantage of converting the teaching currency into publishable research currency that is crucial in the life of an academic and the university as an organization.

I cannot reflect on my response to this prize without acknowledging how teaching and research have been a surprisingly enjoyable and collective experience because of the research group to which I belong. My colleagues, Vivienne Bozalek, Leslie Swartz, Poul Rohleder, Lindsay Nicholls and Brenda Leibowitz, have challenged many of my stereotypes, particularly my (past!) idea that the research process is anti-social and individualistic. I belong to a fantastically competent and incredibly hard-working team in which we draw on each others’ strengths and learn from each other to reach even greater heights. And we have great fun doing all this! Even though I prepared the winning presentation and the paper on which the presentation is based, in this group context, I felt disappointed that the prize could be claimed by me as an individual only. I did feel somewhat better when Vivienne and Brenda received the prize for best paper at the South African Association of Health Educationalists conference the following week!

Of course, many people have asked me which international conference on teaching and learning I will attend. To be quite honest, I don’t have a clue yet. There is a possibility of attending the American Educational Research Association conference in New York in March next year or the Teaching and Learning in Psychology component of the American Psychological Association conference in Boston in August 2008. On reflection, I have to acknowledge that I would probably not have attended a teaching and learning conference if I did not win it as a prize. It therefore now feels as if my vistas have been expanded and that I can seriously look at what the practicalities of integrating teaching and learning, and research (and community) hold for the future.

Ronelle Carolissen
Department of Psychology

Powerpoint presentation of winning paper