COVID-19: a ‘teachable’ moment

18 May 2020 | Story Niémah Davids. Photo Michael Hammond. Read time 5 min.
DVC for teaching and learning assoc prof Lis Lange says UCT is committed to supporting students and academics during emergency remote online teaching and learning.
DVC for teaching and learning assoc prof Lis Lange says UCT is committed to supporting students and academics during emergency remote online teaching and learning.

As the University of Cape Town (UCT) enters the third week of emergency remote teaching and learning, the executive has committed to supporting both academics and students adapt to the new temporary learning methodology. 

Formal online learning kicked off on Tuesday, 28 April after a week-long orientation session to help students familiarise themselves with the online learning environment.

While the new form of learning comes with a list of challenges, which includes “accentuating” inequality in South Africa, UCT’s Deputy Vice-Chancellor (DVC) for Teaching and Learning, Associate Professor Lis Lange reiterated that it was the only feasible alternative to salvage the academic year.

Lange was speaking at a special staff assembly on Thursday, 14 May. The virtual event was convened to communicate the university’s overarching response to the COVID-19 pandemic and to share the executive’s plans on a phased return to work at UCT.

 

“We are fully aware of the limitations of remote teaching and learning and the risks it poses.”

“We are fully aware of the limitations of remote teaching and learning and of the risks it poses pedagogically, politically and ethically,” she said.

“We have made this decision with our eyes wide open. We have taken the view that in order to implement remote teaching, we need to manage the risks it poses to UCT educationally, socially and organisationally.”

Establishing a Task Team

Lange said a Teaching Online Task Team has been set up to lead the remote online learning process and to further understand students’ needs. 

The task team’s work kicked-off with a student survey to help them identify students’ readiness to proceed with online learning and determine their level of access to electronic devices, as well as data.

She said many decisions taken during this process, which included proving each student with a laptop computer and 40GB of data to continue their academic programmes, have been informed by this survey. For students living in remote parts of the country who are unable to access the internet, the university continues to distribute printed learning materials and USB drives to ensure they keep up with their courses.

“This survey has been very useful to understand the profile of our students and to plan better. It has provided the coherence we needed and set the foundation for our plans,” she said.

High level interventions

To ensure the ultimate success of remote teaching and learning and that staff and academics adjust, UCT has introduced several tools and interventions, Lange said.

She said the Centre for Innovation in Learning and Teaching (CILT), based in the Centre for Higher Education and Development (CHED), has guided academics on how to redesign their academic programmes by tailoring courses towards low-tech solutions compatible with no access to broad bandwidth. 

To mitigate students’ anxieties, Lange said the university acknowledges that most students will only be able to learn remotely for 30 hours per week, and has adjusted the academic calendar to accommodate students’ needs.

 

“One of the academic risks of moving our courses into emergency remote teaching is keeping the integrity of our programmes and the value of our qualifications.”

Most courses will use a continuous assessment model and faculties will allow students to “carry lighter loads”. Academic exclusions will not take place either, she added.

 “One of the academic risks of moving our courses into emergency remote teaching is keeping the integrity of our programmes and the value of our qualifications. At curricular level, we trust academics in content management,” Lange said.

Imperfect path

Lange said she recognises that “the path we chose is not perfect”, and that despite the university’s best efforts, “catching all our students in the net of support we have developed” will not be possible. But the university is committed to doing everything it can “to deal with the current circumstances in a fair and supportive manner”.  

She said the next three weeks will be critical to assess the progress of remote online teaching and the team will be able to identify the students who are managing and students who need additional support.  

“The COVID-19 pandemic has jump started change that would have taken us a year of debate to implement. It has opened important areas of enquiry in terms of curriculum, inequality, pedagogy and technology,” she said.

“During the debate for and against online teaching was the need to make COVID-19 a teachable moment. I believe this is a worthwhile discussion.” 


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UCT’s response to COVID-19

COVID-19 is a global pandemic that caused President Cyril Ramaphosa to declare a national disaster in South Africa on 15 March 2020 and to implement a national lockdown from 26 March 2020. UCT is taking the threat of infection in our university community extremely seriously, and this page will be updated with the latest COVID-19 information. Please note that the information on this page is subject to change depending on current lockdown regulations.

Minister of Health, Dr Joe Phaahla, has in June 2022 repealed some of South Africa’s remaining COVID-19 regulations: namely, sections 16A, 16B and 16C of the Regulations Relating to the Surveillance and the Control of Notifiable Medical Conditions under the National Health Act. We are now no longer required to wear masks or limit gatherings. Venue restrictions and checks for travellers coming into South Africa have now also been removed.

In July 2022, the University of Cape Town (UCT) revised its approach to managing the COVID-19 pandemic on UCT campuses in 2022.
Read the latest document available on the UCT policies web page.

 

Campus communications

 
2022

Adjusting to our new environment 16:50, 23 June 2022
VC Open Lecture and other updates 17:04, 13 April 2022
Feedback from UCT Council meeting of 12 March 2022 09:45, 18 March 2022
UCT Council
March 2022 graduation celebration 16:45, 8 March 2022
Report on the meeting of UCT Council of 21 February 2022 19:30, 21 February 2022
UCT Council
COVID-19 management 2022 11:55, 14 February 2022
Return to campus arrangements 2022 11:15, 4 February 2022

UCT Community of Hope Vaccination Centre

On Wednesday, 20 July, staff from the University of Cape Town’s (UCT) Faculty of Health Sciences came together with representatives from the Western Cape Government at the UCT Community of Hope Vaccination Centre at Forest Hill Residence to acknowledge the centre’s significance in the fight against COVID-19 and to thank its staff for their contributions. The centre opened on 1 September 2021 with the aim of providing quality vaccination services to UCT staff, students and the nearby communities, as well as to create an opportunity for medical students from the Faculty of Health Sciences to gain practical public health skills. The vaccination centre ceased operations on Friday, 29 July 2022.

With the closure of the UCT Community of Hope Vaccination Centre, if you still require access to a COVID-19 vaccination site please visit the CovidComms SA website to find an alternative.

 

“After almost a year of operation, the University of Cape Town’s (UCT) Community of Hope Vaccination Centre, located at the Forest Hill residence complex in Mowbray, will close on Friday, 29 July 2022. I am extremely grateful and proud of all staff, students and everyone involved in this important project.”
– Vice-Chancellor Prof Mamokgethi Phakeng

With the closure of the UCT Community of Hope Vaccination Centre, if you still require access to a COVID-19 vaccination site please visit the CovidComms SA website to find an alternative.


Thank You UCT Community

Frequently asked questions

 

Global Citizen Asks: Are COVID-19 Vaccines Safe & Effective?

UCT’s Institute of Infectious Disease and Molecular Medicine (IDM) collaborated with Global Citizen, speaking to trusted experts to dispel vaccine misinformation.



If you have further questions about the COVID-19 vaccine check out the FAQ produced by the Desmond Tutu Health Foundation (DTHF). The DTHF has developed a dedicated chat function where you can ask your vaccine-related questions on the bottom right hand corner of the website.

IDM YouTube channel | IDM website
 

 

“As a contact university, we look forward to readjusting our undergraduate and postgraduate programmes in 2023 as the COVID-19 regulations have been repealed.”
– Prof Harsha Kathard, Acting Deputy Vice-Chancellor: Teaching and Learning

We are continuing to monitor the situation and we will be updating the UCT community regularly – as and when there are further updates. If you are concerned or need more information, students can contact the Student Wellness Service on 021 650 5620 or 021 650 1271 (after hours), while staff can contact 021 650 5685.

 

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