Prof Kobus Wessels (Head: CEMS Office of Graduate Studies and Research), Prof Melinde Coetzee (leader of the CEMS ODL research flagship), Prof Ansie Minnaar (Institute of Open Distance Learning), Prof Elmarie Sadler (acting Executive Dean of CEMS) and Prof Greg Cuthbertson (Executive Dean of CGSR).
CEMS wants to measure its research into Open and Distance Learning (ODL) with the best in the world, Prof Elmarie Sadler, acting Executive Dean of the college told delegates at the college’s annual ODL workshop where stock was taken of the year’s achievements.
According to Prof Melinde Coetzee, the leader of the ODL research flagship in CEMS, twenty percent of the college’s research output from 2010 to 2012 was in the field of ODL research.
”This is the one place where we can learn from our research what we need to do to improve our teaching. In this way we can contribute to the broader community”, she said.
CEMS can make a major contribution in the technical field of ODL research such as cost-effectiveness studies in ODL Prof Ansie Minnaar of the Institute of Open and Distance Learning told delegates. The current level of ODL research in the world is regarded as mainly superficial and only touching on day-to-day issues.
“We need research that focus on strategic issues. Apart from studies on the cost effectiveness of ODL there is also a need for research on the graduateness of students and the view of employers of these graduates”, she said.
She advised delegates that they should not try to conduct research on their own, but rather to do it in groups. Staff should also get to know the specific research methodologies used in ODL.
The advantage of collaborative research, such as in the field of ODL, is that people from different fields enter it as equals, Prof Greg Cuthbertson, Executive Dean of the College of Graduate Studies said. Currently ODL research in the field of ODL is very scant which means CEMS and Unisa can make a major contribution in this area. There is a place for everyone from the research specialist to the networker to fundraiser. He also stressed the importance of interdisciplinary research across departments, schools and colleges.
Written by Ilze Crous
