Current trends in higher education learning and teaching focuses on the use of technology, integrated learning through "blended learning" and writing for academic purposes. This introductory article initiates the debate around the context of South African higher education teaching and learning. It does so by contextualizing the South African…

This study investigated the challenges that history learners in rural black schools are faced with during assessments when using English as the language of learning and teaching. The aim of the study was to investigate whether English, which is used as a language of learning and teaching in schools, is a barrier to the learning and teaching of…

Research papers take a long time to write and in an academic environment where the "publish or perish" clause applies, writing retreats are a way of creating time and space to write academic articles in a concentrated period of time. This article examines ways in which academics can write more articles for publication. In particular it focuses on…

The introduction of outcomes-based education in South Africa placed many challenges on the transformation of science classrooms. The 2009 National Education Evaluation and Development Unit (NEEDU) Report concluded that South African rural and township schools are largely dysfunctional. This article examined some of the reasons for the "collapse"…

Academics are viewed as one of the agents through whom the university classroom can be reinvented. With recent changes in higher education policies, the concept of the university classroom is undergoing change. This article explores the various aspects that make up the university classroom: the physical space, the resources available, the use of…