Radiotherapy teaching during COVID-19: An emergency teaching response

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Professional communication practices of radiotherapists in the workplace and classroom in higher education in the Western Cape, South Africa.

Thesis (MTech (Radiography))--Cape Peninsula University of Technology, 2008.The focus of this study is the professional communication practices of radiotherapists as clinical practitioners and as teachers of student/novice radiotherapists. The study was undertaken at a higher education institution and a radiation oncology department in South Africa and addressed the research question; what are the communication practices of radiotherapists in their professional practice and as higher education teachers. This work on professional communication was based on practice and discourse theory as relating to a local context of professional practice and education. Professional communication, seen in this sense, is a social practice which needs to be understood as operating within educational, work and social discursive practices of radiation therapy. A case study approach was chosen as the most appropriate research strategy for capturing the authentic communication practices of radiotherapists in clinical and educational practice. The professional communication practices of ten student and five qualified radiotherapists were investigated through typical teaching and learning interactions in a work integrated learning curriculum. The learning interactions were observed and video-taped in the classroom, tutorial, and demonstration room. Communication interactions were observed and audio taped in the clinical workplace. The research participants, using the video footage as part of their reflections, were interviewed about their communication practices. All interviews were audio taped and transcribed. Analysis of the data was by means of thematic analysis where the data was coded and categorised by means of pattern matching

Professional communication practices of radiotherapists in the workplace and classroom in higher education in the Western Cape, South Africa

Thesis submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree Master of Technology: Radiography in the Faculty of Health and Wellness Sciences at the Cape Peninsula University of Technology 2008The focus of this study is the professional communication practices of radiotherapists as clinical practitioners and as teachers of student/novice radiotherapists. The study was undertaken at a higher education institution and a radiation oncology department in South Africa and addressed the research question; what are the communication practices of radiotherapists in their professional practice and as higher education teachers. This work on professional communication was based on practice and discourse theory as relating to a local context of professional practice and education. Professional communication, seen in this sense, is a social practice which needs to be understood as operating within educational, work and social discursive practices of radiation therapy. A case study approach was chosen as the most appropriate research strategy for capturing the authentic communication practices of radiotherapists in clinical and educational practice. The professional communication practices of ten student and five qualified radiotherapists were investigated through typical teaching and learning interactions in a work integrated learning curriculum. The learning interactions were observed and video-taped in the classroom, tutorial, and demonstration room. Communication interactions were observed and audio taped in the clinical workplace. The research participants, using the video footage as part of their reflections, were interviewed about their communication practices. All interviews were audio taped and transcribed. Analysis of the data was by means of thematic analysis where the data was coded and categorised by means of pattern matching. The findings from the study showed that the communication practices of radiotherapists include: an ‘academic language’, through which academic content knowledge is expressed; a ‘professional language’ for negotiating the complex professional relationships within the clinical environment; and a language for patient care. Their students (novice radiotherapists) are required to master this professional language within their own ‘language of learning’ practice which includes the multilingual component of the workplace. A multilayered model of professional communication evolved and was developed within the analysis process. This model identifies three genres of professional communication: intra-, inter- and extraprofessional communication. Each of these genres was shown to have both formal and informal registers. Technical communication was further identified as a subset of intra- and interprofessional communication. These were further contextualised within the clinical radiotherapy workplace and the classroom (pedagogic) communication practice. The findings also identified multilingualism as a discursive practice within the professional communication of the radiotherapy classroom and workplace. In conclusion, it is argued that the professional communication of radiotherapists comprises a continuum of communication practices that has significance for both professional and pedagogic radiotherapy practice, and it is shown that communication practices play an important role in the establishment of professional identity and expertise and enable the novice radiotherapist to find their ‘professional voice’

Conceptualising linguistic access to knowledge as interdisciplinary collaboration

Communication lecturers often find themselves in the position of having to do considerably more than teach communication practice in professional programmes, for example, they are commonly expected to provide a 'service' function to lecturers in other disciplines. When communication lecturers are 'embedded' in science, engineering and technology-based departments, the 'service' provision role of communication lecturers can be exaggerated because of their marginal position in such departments. In this paper we argue that the lens of interdisciplinarity is a useful one for reconceptualising the role of communication lecturers in professional programmes in science, engineering and technology-based departments. We draw on a number of case studies to show how reconceptualising the work of communication lecturers can enhance collaboration between communication and content lectures in science, engineering and technology and, ultimately, contribute more meaningfully to the language development of students enrolled in professional programmes

Collaborating for Content and Language Integrated Learning: The Situated Character of Faculty Collaboration and Student Learning

Globalisation, internationalization, and widening participation are trends in higher education that require efforts to foster a culture of cooperation, reflexivity and learning among lecturers as well as among students. These central forces in education call for curriculum change to respond not only to workforce and student mobility but also to indirect effects like changing requirements for teamwork in the professional world and by extension also in education. These requirements might involve an emphasis on transdisciplinary teams, an increasing amount of information distribution, and greater cultural and disciplinary variety in student or co-worker profiles. One curricular approach exploring and problematizing this 'culture of cooperation' is Integrating Content and Language (ICL), where a disciplinary focus (content) is combined with a concurrent emphasis on the corresponding communication dimensions (language).[1]This special issue of ATD investigates understandings of Integrating Content and Language (ICL) through the exchange of knowledge and experience regarding collaboration between content (discipline-based) and language (communication / academic literacies) lecturers in higher education contexts. To date, it seems that this type of collaboration can be challenging to students and faculty alike for infrastructural, institutional, epistemological, disciplinary, rhetorical, and other reasons. The papers in this issue help us address some of these challenges and improve our understanding of ICL-collaboration