Most of the time when I tell a colleague or student that I am doing a PG Dip in Higher Education they look at me puzzled: "Why? Don't you have a PhD?" Yes, of course I do have a PhD.... in Political Science. But that is a research qualification. What the PG Dip provides me with is a teaching qualification. ... and I have experienced so much bad "lecturing" in my 10 years in formal higher education that I would definitively not want to end up as yet another bad university teacher.
I want to know about best learning facilitation, which means also that I need to know about learning theories. I want to know about best assessment practices, moderation, and, of course in my case, great supervision. I need to know about how to align my teaching and learning activities with assessment tasks and how to ensure that they actually foster and measure the intended learning outcomes of my courses. I had an excellent research training over many years. Hence, today I am a professional researcher. Now, I think that I should become a professional teacher, in order to be a full-rounded, professional; a professor indeed. Hence I am following a formal programme of learning, which includes such excellent modules like "learning facilitation", "evaluation", "programme/module design", "higher education theory", and so forth.
In 2011, Prof Jonathan Jansen, a great educator himself and still rector of the University of the Free State until end of this month, wrote a strongly worded column in the Business Times. A wonderful, forceful argument why I - and I would like to encourage - all other aspiring professors, should do a professional qualification in higher education teaching and learning - such as the PG Dip in HE that I currently do.
