Eddie Daniels

Today I met a man of incredible integrity and humility - Mr. Eddie Daniels. He gave us a private tour of Robben Island where he was imprisoned for fifteen years alongside of Nelson Mandela who became his close friend. His stories were profound, sad, funny, romantic, intense, terrifying, and so very courageous!!! To meet a leader of the anti-apartheid movement who is so humble helps me think about how incredible it is when people put all of humanity in front of their own needs. We need leaders willing to risk everything. You can learn more about him at http://www.sahistory.org.za/people/eddie-daniels

Dawn, Michelle, Eddie Daniels, and Karla riding from Robben Island to Cape Town.

NMMU in context

This post will be factual, rather than observational, just to give our readers some background on Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University (NMMU). These come from two NMMU publications from 2012.

Facts about NMMU:

- located on a 720-hectare nature reserve at the water's edge (main campus)

- there are six campuses that merged from different institutions into one seven years ago. Most are within an hour of each other, the George campus is in the mountains and a five hour drive away

- 27,000 students

- 307 programs

- 130 career paths

- largest percentage of students study business and economics 

- the staff/faculty is 58.2% White; 23.9% Black, 14.2% Coloured, and 3.8% Indian

- the staff/faculty is 46.9% male and 53.1% female

-the students are 59.8% Black, 24.2% White, 14% Coloured, and 2% Indian

- the students are 46.1% male and 53.9% female

- they have an award winning YouTube flash mob video at www.youtube.com/NMMUonTube

-5,232 students graduated in 2011

-instead of having any fully online courses, NMMU offers several blended courses (courses are called modules here)

- 8% of students are from outside South Africa (most from other African countries)

- the six core values are diversity, excellence, Ubuntu, integrity, environment, and responsibility 

- the term "faculty" would be the equivalent to one college within a university, such as faculty of science (college of science). Professors are formally called Academic Staff

- all staff, regardless of university role, can belong to the same labor union

- 7.3% of students are considered distance students 

- 13.2% of students are postgraduate students (grad students or doing one year honors)

- there are approx 3,245 temporary and permanent staff

- the mascot is a dolphin

- the slogan is "for tomorrow"

Missionvale campus

New state of the art "green library" at Missionvale campus

Administrative building on South campus

South campus

North campus

North campus

South campus

South campus stadium with the NMMU values posted on the fencing

Thinking and reflecting... The learning process on this professional collaborative experience

In just the last couple days I have been thinking about themes and observations as we have been working with the university. We did not officially start our workshops until Friday and the one day left me with many observations that I could not put into words immediately - the vast similarities and differences of culture, race and ethnic relations, university norms, African "time," how poverty and wealth are displayed, crime, beauty, friendliness, languages, multiple campuses... Etc. It is overwhelming and wonderful at the same time. 

With the weekend, I had time to reflect. I hope to be able to provide a better context in order to understand how diversity and equity are different in post Aparteid S Africa from its framework in the U.S. I may write my reflective paper on that, but I'm also very interested in how the Mandela legacy is being carried down through the next generation of all races and ethnicities.

Lots of thinking. We are off to visit a campus in one of the townships today. The townships are mostly Black African and very poor- many live in shacks barely standing. It will be only my second time going to the townships and it is a very overwhelming experience. I know I will learn a lot and it may take me a while to fully reflect. Sometimes photography allows me to share my thoughts when I do not yet have the words.

Making Connections in Context

We started our day off bright and early today, as we have every day since we have been in South Africa. We typically have breakfast about 7:30am and are on the road to NMMU by 8:00am. Most evenings return about 7pm and we are so exhausted that it is hard to even process, much less blog!  Our days have been long and full, but the work is rewarding, for us and we hope for our colleagues at NMMU as well.

The Teaching & Learning team started our day by meeting with several department heads in the School of Behavioral Sciences, which includes Psychology, Social Work, and Environmental Health. We learned that they are concerned with how to engage students in large lecture classes, as their numbers have grown substantially and many lectures now range from 150 - 900 students.  In addition, they are currently engaged in a process of what they term "recurriculating" - meaning examining and  redesigning their curriculum - in light of some new government and accrediting body requirements and  changes within the university. Together, we brainstormed practical strategies they might consider implementing in the department to meet some of these challenges.  It was truly exciting to collaboratively develop ideas that really seemed feasible and that may actually be implemented or at least built upon after we leave. This particular experience helped to frame many of the teaching and learning issues facing students and academic staff (faculty) at NMMU and, on a personal level, helped me to see many connections between what I am learning about in my HALE classes and how these ideas play out in an authentic context. The external and internal influences on the curriculum and the teaching and learning processes become clearer the longer we are here and the more we engage with our South African colleagues. At dinner tonight, we had a chance to do some reflecting as a group and I could tell by the depth of the conversations that we are all gaining so much from this experience.

Today I also had the chance to talk with some colleagues who are working on issues around internationalization and multi-lingual language policies at NMMU. Since it's so late right now and I want to be at least somewhat functional for our last working day at NMMU tomorrow, I won't go into those issues right now, but I promise to post again and return to them as they are very interesting issues to explore. Good night!

Long day/ great experiences: Student Affairs Day 4

I am still processing all my experiences from yesterday. One of my favorite experiences was our lunch with the Dean of Students. Just hearing his life history was amazing. It really got me thinking about how I use my education to better my community.

I also got to meet my student buddy who I had been emailing with. We talked about our personal and academic lives. It felt like I was talking to one of my own highly involved and highly academic student leaders back at MSU. Im excited continue our conversations even after this trip is over.

The highlight of my day was teaching "Beyond the Classroom" which is similar to EAD 315 at MSU. The students were great and it has definitely been best teaching experience thus far both in the US and South Africa. The students were very engaged and reflective and it was hard to go to sleep last night because I was still on a high from teaching the class.

Dreams Flowing from the Tides

I can always tell when I am truly engaged in something as whatever it is I am engaged in infiltrates my dreams. I have always been a vivid dreamer which my mother says is a result of being creative. I, however, believe my dreams reveal what is occupying my mind and passion. This has been evidenced here in South Africa. After a wonderful visit to the market and a nice morning walk, my colleagues and I dove in to the creation of more workshops and activities for today's events at NMMU. Between meeting, creating, discussing and practice, we had the wonderful Braai (as seen is yesterday's blog), then went right back to our work. About 2:00 am, each pair working diligently in our rooms, finally switched off the lights to call it a night. Exhausted my eyes closed and the dreams began. Dreams of active learning, Scholarship of Teaching and Learning, formative assessment, instructional design, all floating and dancing in my mind in a Prezi type fashion. When the alarm rang at 6:30 am, I eagerly got up to get the day started, not really knowing what part of the last 24 hours were real versus dream.

Arriving to NMMU this morning, the Teaching & Learning group was greeted by Jennifer Winstead to discuss the co-curricular record. Oh my gosh!, I (and I think I can speak for my colleagues) was completely blown away by what NMMU is undergoing in this creation! The hour flew by as she initiated us to the project, the project plan, its implementation, goals, successes, challenges, student perspectives, academic perspectives, etc. Not only do I think Jennifer is a gem who is absolutely the perfect individual to lead this initiative, she completely hooked all six of us graduate students with her knowledge and passion (a few even thinking future research or possible dissertation ideas)! After this spectacular meeting, we headed in to catch the end of the Student Affairs Team presentation! Although we don't get to observe each other much since we are all in workshops and busy with our different schedules during the day, it is a joy and pleasure to get to catch glimpses of each other in such amazing professional capacities. Needless to say, I was quite impressed!

The T&L team proceeded to engage in and facilitate workshops. Heather and Dawn started off our group by focusing on instructional design. Fielding some tough, thought provoking questions from our NMMU colleagues, these two set a positive foundation for the remainder of the day. Next, we were fortunate to be able to have lunch with our NMMU colleagues on campus affording more dialogue, discussion, and relationship building. Personally, I had an intriguing conversation with a professor who was prevented from attending many colleges near his original home near Cape Town during the Apartheid. He discussed his trials and tribulations and the path he took to get to his current position. He shared the rigors of his current position and some of the challenges and possibilities after the merger of NMMU in 2005. He also discussed some of the challenges facing South Africa and NMMU regarding HIV/AIDS and the implementation of resources/informational programing and support programs to help those infected and affected by the disease. FASCINATING!  I guarantee I will dream of this man, his sparkling dark eyes, wise grin, and enthusiasm in his speaking about his life and experience. Meanwhile Michelle had an informative lunch with Dean Cheryl Foxcroft to share information and ideas about MSU's Bailey Scholars program and how many of its visions and principles align with NMMU's vision. Dr. Foxcroft expressed interest in the program and is eager to visit the Bailey space at MSU! While the Bailey Scholars program may not exactly fit the context of NMMU or South Africa, it presents an opportunity to enter into dialogue and sharing about each institution's attributes and offerings for best practices and optimal engagement / learning of students.

Ok, ok, I digressed (what can I say, it was a more than eventful lunch!). So after lunch Inese and Linda facilitated a workshop on Active and Engaged Learning in Large Classes. It was fun to observe our NMMU colleagues asking questions, learning, and also sharing their knowledge with us. I think we are all collaborating well in this process and mutually learning. Next came me (Karla) and Inese to share on the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning. It was our first time formally facilitating this topic. With an informal assessment (beginning and end), it appeared that we were successful in achieving our outcomes in stimulating thought and action surrounding SoTL. Lastly, Michelle and I shared our 15 Technology Tools to Enhance Engaged Learning in Blended Classrooms. We always get animated (and maybe just a little hyper) during this discussion as it has potential for immediate application and we can see the "ah ha" moments of our colleagues!  Oh, I know I already said lastly, but after this amazing day of sharing and learning we had a TREAT...

Dr. Austin led us over to meet the Student Affairs group (two different campuses in two groups) to participate in the Beyond the Classroom (BTC) workshop with undergraduate students. This session was a clear reminder of what (and why) we are all doing in higher education. These phenomenal, lively students blew my socks off (for lack of better words at this midnight hour)! They were so excited to share, laugh, listen, and engage and had some incredible insight into conflict management! Bernell and Trace facilitated with such grace. The workshop was literally flawless! BTC definitely re-invigorated my passion for students and learning.

Today was such a powerful day, full of learning, inquiry and dialogue. I hate to see it end but I look forward to soon closing my eyes to see what my dreams will create tonight! Another intense, action packed day at NMMU awaits us tomorrow!

(To add some flair, here are some pictures from today's events...thanks to Michelle Malkin)

 Trace, Michael, Garrett, and Cheryl Foxcroft with some of our NMMU colleagues!

 Our tea time buddy... I couldn't resist including this one! He truly did reach all the way down in the trash bin and come back up with this banana... no lie!

 Beginning of the day dialogue!

 BTC group work!

 A M A Z I N G!

 A view of the center of South Campus (by the library)

 Michelle and Karla

 Karla, Inese, and Dr. Austin (we were not as thirsty as it may appear in this picture!)

 Heather and Dawn

 Linda and Inese

 Trace and Bernell working their magic!

 BTC participants!

More BTC group work!

A short video highlighting our drumming circle last night

Video of Drumming Circle

Shopping, Sight-Seeing, and Braai's... Oh My!

The title makes it sound like we had a very leisurely Sunday. In reality, we are all working hard to prepare for this week's workshops and while the cultural outings are great fun, we are spending the vast majority of our time collaborating with NMMU and preparing for our workshops. The next three days will be intense, with full days for us all. The cultural parts of Port Elizabeth pretty much ended today, and we will focus entirely on our work. We are not upset by this at all, because we all seem to be very energized by this collaborative professional experience and look forward to each day's agenda. It has been heard more than once on this trip, "I may look to do my dissertation (or a post-doc) at NMMU."

We did get in some nice weekend cultural immersion today. We went shopping at Wezandla, a city center craft store where local artists are featured. Looking at the art, carvings, bead work, etc was like walking through a museum. The opportunity to afford some things on our graduate student income was nice as well. We all seemed to enjoy the store:

After our shopping, we walked for a while downtown and also stopped by a beautiful park filled with sculptures and local art.

We then went to the waterfront and shortly stopped by a flea market. I heard an American accent by another shopper and asked where she was from. She told me New York. We started a conversation and she introduced me to her wife (yay for marriage equality in New York). Anyway, it turns our she is a professor at a small SUNY campus in education! She did a Fulbright Fellowship at NMMU, knows of Dr. Austin (she said that she did her fellowship a bit after Dr. Austin left), and comes back to NMMU for three months every year to teach. Her specialization is in special education. It is a VERY small world!

Everyone worked most of the afternoon to prepare for our workshops this week. The teaching and learning group met twice today to plan for our upcoming days at NMMU and to receive constructive feedback on Friday's workshops.

We were treated to a Braai (pronounced like Bry) tonight by our NMMU colleagues! The large fireplace at the B&B is called a Braai:

This is an amazing way to BBQ (S Africans don't really use the term BBQ). NMMU worked with the B&B hosts we are staying with to help prepare the Braai. The evening started with a drumming circle:

And was followed by an amazing meal and conversation with several of our NMMU colleagues and their families.

This was followed by continued late night prep for tomorrow, but well worth the sleep sacrifice!

The Goals of the HALE Collaborative Professional Development Experience

I’m so pleased that the HALE group has developed this blog to share highlights of our experiences in South Africa. As you can see from this blog, our days are very full—with lots of engagement with colleagues and students at the university, with planning for our work each day, and with the various experiences designed to help us all learn about South Africa generally, and higher education specifically, from many different perspectives.

I thought it might be helpful for me to add some comments that shed light on our experiences within the broader framework of our purposes for this trip. The trip is designed as a collaborative professional development experience. We approach the trip from the perspective that we are engaged in mutual learning and collaborative professional development with our colleagues at Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University. In the six months preceding our visit, our colleagues at NMMU share with us some of the teaching and learning issues and student affairs issues that they are working on. The MSU teams prepare for conversations and workshops whose design will contribute ideas to colleagues here while also enabling our MSU team members to learn more, in the process, about higher education in South Africa, about particular teaching and learning and student affairs issues, and about engaging in professional interchange with colleagues in a context that has both similarities with and differences from our university.
Once “on the ground” in South Africa, we interact in meetings, workshops, and conversations with many colleagues in academic staff, student affairs, and administrative positions, as well as with students at the university.  Part of the experience is sharing what we have prepared while also making adjustments as we work in response to learning more about the specific context at the university here. We have to engage in constant learning about the challenges, developments, and issues of higher education in South Africa, while also facilitating workshops in which we are asked to offer ideas and approaches concerning teaching and learning or student affairs topics.
The time here is quite intense but also quite rewarding. Key values that we bring are commitment to mutual learning, collegiality, and respect for our colleagues here in South Africa. We work hard, we do our best to make substantive contributions, and we learn a lot. We also experience South Africa in a variety of ways through experiences that help us understand more fully the context in which higher education here is situated. We’ll keep you posted on some of ideas and insights that we gain.

It seems that every day in South Africa is better than the one before. We are learning new things from our colleagues across the ocean, and we have enjoyed once in a lifetime experiences. On Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday we were able to work with faculty (or academic staff) to share ideas about many topics, including the scholarship of teaching and learning; creating active, collaborative learning opportunities in the classroom and in blended classes; using backwards design methods; and student centered learning in general.

Today we took some time to enjoy the South African landscape and animal populations. We visited Addo Elephant National Park and Schotia Safaris private game reserve. The bird and animal sightings were amazing and overwhelming, and I am still in awe of my experience today. I will post a few pictures, but these barely touch the breadth of what we saw, heard, and felt today. We have all had a most wondrous day today.