Evolving Higher Education
The Impact of Visionary and Inclusive Leadership in Higher Education
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session
Ramashwar Bharuthram
The remarkable revitalisation of the University of the Western Cape (UWC) at the turn of the century was an unprecedented achievement in the history of higher education in South Africa. In November 2001 UWC was an institution in dire straits, burdening a huge financial debt, a disillusioned and demoralised staff complement still reeling from the trauma of retrenchments, coupled with an academic project facing collapse as student numbers dwindled by a third to less than 10 000. Is there a future for such an institution, described by some as a ‘basket case’ with very bleak prospects of survival? This was the landscape that confronted the newly-appointed Vice-Chancellor and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the University of UWC. Fast forward to December 2014. The CEO retires from office, bestowing upon his successor a financially sound institution with a flourishing academic project, recording unprecedented achievements, enriching the lives of more than 20 000 students, and widely acknowledged as a research-led university. This paper discusses how visionary and inclusive leadership with the steadfast belief that your past does not determine your future, galvanised an entire organisation into achieving through a process of sense-making that which was once deemed impossible. While the focus is institution specific, it nevertheless sets out some of the critical issues facing higher education transformation as it seeks new paradigms for linking teaching and learning with research and innovation.
Digital Sticky Notes and Synchronous Learning: A Hybrid Approach to Enhance EFL Students' Engagement and Writing Skills
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session
Ayat Tarazi,
José Luis Ortega-Martín
Appropriate strategies are currently highly demanded to assist EFL bachelor students in enhancing their English writing skills, especially in synchronous lectures. However, the development of various Web 2.0 tools and applications in recent years has further enriched teaching and influenced the learning mode. To that end, this study investigated the perceptions of EFL students towards the impact of digital sticky notes on enhancing their engagement levels and English writing skills. To reach this goal, the researchers used a quantitative approach to investigate 39 bachelor students' perspectives toward the role of using digital sticky notes to improve their engagement level in English synchronous lectures and writing skills. The results emphasize that using colorful digital sticky notes makes online discussion more engaging and interactive and helps students identify their errors, fix them, and avoid repeating them in subsequent activities. In addition, the study found no significant differences in student perceptions based on years of study, major specialization, prior online learning experience, or familiarity with digital tools. This suggests that digital sticky notes are effective across diverse student populations. Considering these results, the researchers recommend that educators design activities that facilitate peer feedback and self-assessment using digital sticky notes and investigate the best practices for integrating digital sticky notes into different EFL learning contexts.
