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UCT RESEARCH REPORT 2012
Departments
Academic Development
Programme
Centre for Educational
Technology
Higher and Adult Education
Studies and Development Unit
Centre for Open Learning
RESEARCH CONTRACTS
28
VALUE OF RESEARCH
CONTRACTS
R7.33 million
NRF-RATED RESEARCHERS
5
DHET ACCREDITED JOURNALS
14 units
PEER-REVIEWED PUBLICATIONS
54
In 2012, CHED continued its strong contribution to
the scholarship of teaching and learning by organising
the
Conference on Teaching and Learning,
which took
place on 25 October 2012. The papers presented at this
conference reflected the diversity of research in CHED,
and UCT as a whole, in educational development and
higher education in general.
Besides conventional research, CHED also undertook
institutional research that resulted in different types of
research outputs. An example of such research is the
Large
Classes Project,
which was led by Associate Professor Jeff
Jawitz. This was an inter-institutional research project that
aimed to identify the key mechanisms needed to improve
students’ learning in the context of large-class teaching
in each of the four case studies. The project concluded
at the end of 2012 and its findings were disseminated
through institutional seminars, a national symposium,
and the publication of articles. Another example is the
international project focused on
Closing the skills gap in
South Africa,
commissioned by the World Bank. Although
this project was undertaken in 2010 by Professor Ian Scott,
in collaboration with Glen Fisher, an education consultant,
it is cited here to highlight the role of CHED research
in advancing higher education scholarship on both the
national and the international level.
To enhance their research capacity, many CHED academic
staff continued to develop and maintain productive
associations with individuals, institutions, and scholarly
bodies abroad. Some staff members were invited to
present keynote addresses at international conferences.
Associate Professor Suellen Shay, for example, was invited
to give a keynote address at the Society for Research in
Higher Education Conference in Newport, Wales, UK,
on 13 December 2012. Associate Professor Rochelle
Kapp was a keynote speaker at the Thomas R. Watson
Conference on The Economies of Writing, University of
Louisville, USA, in October 2012.
CHED staff also participated in research development
programmes, such as the Emerging Researcher Programme
and a Writers’ Workshop initiated by the Department of
Research and Innovation. The Writers’ Workshop entailed a
series of workshops with emerging researchers to develop
their skills in research writing and preparation of research
papers for publication. Approximately 22 staff members
signed up for this programme in 2012. The programme
concluded with a two-day Writing Development Workshop
hosted at Mont Fleur, Stellenbosch, where participants
were given the opportunity to finalise their research
papers. It is hoped that this intervention will not only
result in an increase in research publications, but will also
generally increase research activity in the faculty.
Another highlight of CHED research is in relation to
research contracts. In 2012, CHED research contracts
increased in number from 16 to 28 and also in value from
R2.57 million to R7.33 million. Although the number of
contracts is still low compared to 2010 (31), the significant
improvement made during the past year is likely to have a
positive impact on CHED research output in the next few
years, and we look forward to building on this base in 2013.