Mr Patrick MafenyaShort biography Nkhangweleni Patrick Mafenya originally comes from Thohoyandou in the Limpopo Province. He has worked as a high school teacher for many years before joining Unisa in 2009. Currently he is working as a researcher at the Institute for Open and Distance Learning (IODL). After completing Grade 12 , he went to college and qualified as a teacher in 1983. In 1985 he enrolled for an undergraduate degree at the University of Venda and completed this in 1987. In 1994 he completed B. Ed honours at the University of Cape Town. Between 1999 and 2002 he completed an M. Ed in Curriculum Studies at the University of Venda and an advanced Diploma in Adult Basic Education and Training at the University of South Africa (Unisa). Personal research interest: Assessment practices in education as a whole because to me assessment is, and always has been, fundamentally important to the whole process of education. Assessment forms an integral part of teaching and learning because it supports student progression, and its findings can be applied to establish educational goals and targets. Currently I am at an advanced stage of completing my doctoral degree in Curriculum Studies at Unisa and my research topic is “Assessment practices in Open and Distance Learning”. Through this research study I intend to find out best assessment practice guidelines that are suitable and appropriate for open and distance learning institutions like Unisa. I hope that this study will contribute to better understanding of how different assessment practices in ODL could be carried out in the context of ODL. The outcomes of the study could help when planning the act of teaching and learning in an ODL context. Publications I have completed an article entitled “Closing the open and distance learning gap: Access through mobile technology”. This article has been checked and edited by editors of Progressio, an ODL accredited journal at Unisa. The article has been sent to progression so that it could be peer-reviewed after which it will then be taken for publication. Currently I am busy with another article entitled “Increasing undergraduate throughput and success rates in open and distance learning using information communication technology”. I hope that this article will be published in the near future. Please contact me if you are interested in collaborative research on:
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Institute for Open Distance Learning
