Emerging pedagogies in Higher Education

Technology use can introduce fundamental pedagogical changes that are integral to achieving significant academic improvements in higher education. When used to support learning, technology permeates higher education with digital learning mechanisms; enlarges course offerings and instructional altern...

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Main Author: Erasmos Charamba
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Unit for Distance Education, Faculty of Education, University of Pretoria 2022-05-01
Series:Teacher Education through Flexible Learning in Africa
Subjects:
Online Access:https://upjournals.up.ac.za/index.php/tetfle/article/view/4171
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author Erasmos Charamba
author_facet Erasmos Charamba
author_sort Erasmos Charamba
collection DOAJ
description Technology use can introduce fundamental pedagogical changes that are integral to achieving significant academic improvements in higher education. When used to support learning, technology permeates higher education with digital learning mechanisms; enlarges course offerings and instructional alternatives; facilitates learning 24 hours a day; develops 21st century skills; enables greater student motivation; and facilitates deeper comprehension of concepts. The use of technology also has the potential to modify learning by instituting a new model of intertwined instruction. Present-day multilingual technology has transcended the debate about language dominating the educational space. Instead, it is now a question of how progressive multilinguals act differently as they take part in current opportunities offered by the various languages on the web. The appreciation and embracing of heteroglossic perspectives in e-learning repudiate inscribed ideologies that posit monolingualism as the default norm in education. Through a sociolinguistic lens focusing on the Funds of Knowledge theory, this article seeks to explore the role language plays in e-learning and how educators can use multilingualism as a teaching/learning resource in higher education. The study presents results from a mixed methods approach in which 42 purposively sampled distance teacher education undergraduate students were taught through English and Shona. Data was collected through focus group interviews and a written assessment activity. Quantitative data suggests an improved performance while qualitative data presents an acknowledgement by students of the efficacy of multilingual pedagogy. The article recommends the use of multilingual approaches in today’s linguistically diverse e-learning higher education classrooms. It further justifies acknowledging that multilingualism is not new, even if the dramatic secularisation of the term seems recent.
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spelling doaj.art-548cc2827b884ea3b30112fd3d9deae02022-12-22T01:45:11ZengUnit for Distance Education, Faculty of Education, University of PretoriaTeacher Education through Flexible Learning in Africa2788-62982022-05-013110.35293/tetfle.v3i1.41714172Emerging pedagogies in Higher EducationErasmos Charamba0https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8650-6931University of the WitwatersrandTechnology use can introduce fundamental pedagogical changes that are integral to achieving significant academic improvements in higher education. When used to support learning, technology permeates higher education with digital learning mechanisms; enlarges course offerings and instructional alternatives; facilitates learning 24 hours a day; develops 21st century skills; enables greater student motivation; and facilitates deeper comprehension of concepts. The use of technology also has the potential to modify learning by instituting a new model of intertwined instruction. Present-day multilingual technology has transcended the debate about language dominating the educational space. Instead, it is now a question of how progressive multilinguals act differently as they take part in current opportunities offered by the various languages on the web. The appreciation and embracing of heteroglossic perspectives in e-learning repudiate inscribed ideologies that posit monolingualism as the default norm in education. Through a sociolinguistic lens focusing on the Funds of Knowledge theory, this article seeks to explore the role language plays in e-learning and how educators can use multilingualism as a teaching/learning resource in higher education. The study presents results from a mixed methods approach in which 42 purposively sampled distance teacher education undergraduate students were taught through English and Shona. Data was collected through focus group interviews and a written assessment activity. Quantitative data suggests an improved performance while qualitative data presents an acknowledgement by students of the efficacy of multilingual pedagogy. The article recommends the use of multilingual approaches in today’s linguistically diverse e-learning higher education classrooms. It further justifies acknowledging that multilingualism is not new, even if the dramatic secularisation of the term seems recent.https://upjournals.up.ac.za/index.php/tetfle/article/view/4171e-learninghigher educationmonolingualismmultilingualismtranslanguaging
spellingShingle Erasmos Charamba
Emerging pedagogies in Higher Education
Teacher Education through Flexible Learning in Africa
e-learning
higher education
monolingualism
multilingualism
translanguaging
title Emerging pedagogies in Higher Education
title_full Emerging pedagogies in Higher Education
title_fullStr Emerging pedagogies in Higher Education
title_full_unstemmed Emerging pedagogies in Higher Education
title_short Emerging pedagogies in Higher Education
title_sort emerging pedagogies in higher education
topic e-learning
higher education
monolingualism
multilingualism
translanguaging
url https://upjournals.up.ac.za/index.php/tetfle/article/view/4171
work_keys_str_mv AT erasmoscharamba emergingpedagogiesinhighereducation