Abstract:
Globally, the COVID-19 pandemic necessitated a shift in teaching
and learning practices. The University of Pretoria in South Africa
was not entirely unprepared for this event, since the university’s
teaching strategy had gradually evolved into a hybrid delivery mode.
In the Faculty of Veterinary Science, however, the practical nature
of the discipline brought about unique challenges in implementing
hybrid-mode teaching and learning methodologies. An intervention
was thus required to empower lecturers in the faculty to adapt
their teaching methodologies to incorporate the hybrid teaching
and learning mode. The aforementioned intervention was gleaned
from a professional development framework developed by Brown
et al. (2010) with a definite focus on core knowledge, areas of
activity and core values. Long before the COVID-19 pandemic,
the university’s educational support department developed and
presented a tailor-made course, called “The Mix Matters: Step up
your hybrid teaching”, to enhance lecturers’ hybrid teaching skills.
Unknowingly, the workshop amply prepared the lecturers for what
was still to come in 2020. The aim was to provide participants
with a deep understanding of the complexities involved and the
skills required for revising and quality-assuring academic courses
for the hybrid-teaching environment. Using a mixed-method
research design, this paper elucidates how the training and its
learning outcomes inspired the lecturers to implement the hybrid
teaching and learning mode that conforms to the University of
Pretoria’s teaching and learning model. A noticeable paradigm
shift was accomplished once the initial scepticism had turned into
enthusiasm and positive attitudes.
