Student Support at Unisa: A Flowing-River Metaphor

The flowing-river metaphor is explored in this paper for the Unisa Department of Adult Education’s higher certificate programme student support. It is a qualitative case study, grounded in Connectivism. It involves seven lecturers’ reflections of using the elements of the flowing-river metaphor on the way in which technology has reorganised lecturers’ interactions when providing support to students in teaching and learning. Virtual talking circles on the Microsoft Teams forum, a review of departmental reports on student support, and my reflection on the experiences of higher certificate lecturers when providing student support in teaching the module material are the main data gathering tools. The flowing-river metaphor, on the other hand, uses the contrast between vehicle and target to help higher certificate students to develop their teaching and learning. In this case, the complexity of using available resources varies from lecturer to lecturer. The paper encourages other higher education lecturers to think more carefully about the flowing-river metaphor’s potential as a pedagogical guide for student support.