INVITATION TO PTTT BOOTCAMP

Following previous discussions and as a follow up to CES25 held in Durban last year, you are invited as an instructor teaching in a construction higher education program at a university in South Africa to participate in a 3-day IBL/SBL/PBL instructor bootcamp to be held in Durban at The Edward Hotel from July 20-22.

CONTEXT

There are very few, if any, instructors in construction programs at South African universities who have the knowledge and/or experience of ‘teaching’ using this constructivist student-centered and student-driven pedagogy because they are typically schooled in and familiar with the positivist ‘sage on the stage’ lecturer-centered and driven approaches. There are consequently also very few, if any, students in these programs who have experienced being taught using this approach where the emphasis is on ‘learning by doing’.

PROJECT TURN THE TITANIC INSTRUCTOR BOOTCAMP

Project Turn the Titanic (PTTT) seeks to build capacity by continuing to provide by invitation a small cohort of instructors from universities, who have shown interest in making Small Shifts to adapting their instructional approaches, with the skills needed to navigate this alternative approach to current instructional approaches.

Since this project is funded in part by the NRF, we will throughout this process be gathering data on aspects such as, for example,

• the relationships between the profiles of both students and instructors and the paradigm shift to the IBL/SBL/PBL pedagogy,
• the level of resistance and strategies to overcome them,
• development of metrics to measure effective learning as opposed to teaching,
• impact of the paradigm shift on levelling the playing fields in terms of academic performance and success of students,
• impacts of the iterative ‘propose, critique, reflect, propose’ cycle,
• effectiveness and impact of the use of ‘learning by doing’,
• measuring the outcomes in terms of problem solving, communication, collaboration and related skills, to mention a few.

Given these realities this bootcamp aims to create the environment/platform to be able to, for example, collaboratively, change the way built environment higher education programs are delivered in terms of curriculum design, assessment, instructional strategies, student learning outcomes, and instructional space design.

BOOTCAMP OUTCOMES AND EXPECTATIONS

As an instructor who during our several earlier discussions and conversations has expressed interest in implementing some form of IBL/SBL/PBL in a module or subject in your existing curriculums in 2025/6 you are specifically invited as a follow-up to ‘Small Shifts’ that you committed to during CES23-25 and earlier, to this special training bootcamp. The bootcamp will be run by a team of experienced facilitators and instructors. You will be trained to use constructivist and active learning techniques in your classrooms including developing appropriate student learning outcomes (SLOs). The number of participants in the special instructor boot camp is limited to about 10-15 participants besides the team of facilitators.

Since we will gather data on your experiences and challenges during the bootcamp it is critical that you commit to participating in the entire 3-day program. We are committed to providing you with continued support beyond the bootcamp as you develop the module/subject that you intend to deliver in 2026/7.

PROVISIONAL PROGRAM

The preliminary program which might change is expected to be as follows:

FUNDING

The costs of travel and accommodation of yourself will be covered by PTTT.

RSVP

Since the number of participants is limited, will you as at your earliest convenience advise myself at pinnacle.haupt@gmail.com or +1 307-630-6443 of your intention to participate in the bootcamp together with your personal details so that travel and accommodation arrangements can be made? Also indicate any special needs and dietary requirements.

INFORMATION

Should you need more information or are uncertain about any aspect of the bootcamp please contact with Prof Claudia Loggia on claudialoggia@gmail.com or Prof Haupt at pinnacle.haupt@gmail.com