Some useful learning from a webinar

A couple of weeks ago, I had the privilege of listening to Dr Bongi Bangeni speak about constructive alignment in her learning and teaching context (University of Cape Town, South Africa), at an event which had to swiftly pivot online at the last minute because of train strikes. Bongi spoke inspiringly about her learners’ experiences, and showcased the contribution of her colleague Dr Aditi Hunma. The recording is available here.

I am now reading Dr Bangeni's 2017 edited collection, Negotiating Learning and Identity in Higher Education. The question underpinning the book, ‘How and why is it that students persist despite coming from social backgrounds that do not seem to be conducive to learning?’, and the insights the book provides in response to this question have yet more relevance in a pandemic-transformed context.

The value of collaboration across disciplines, highlighted by Dr Bangeni in her presentation and in her book, was also echoed by Guy Barton (University of the Arts, London, UK, at the same event). Guy Barton’s visually rich talk about conceptual mapping as a collaborative learning tool offered valuable complementary perspective on how environments conducive to learning can be created for students from diverse backgrounds. I very much look forward to hearing and reading more about these colleagues' work.