Development of a training model on digital pedagogies for academic librarians at Universities of Technology in South Africa

Abstract

Globally, the Fourth Industrial Revolution has disrupted teaching philosophies at higher education institutions. This disruption beyond physical walls into virtual spaces has allowed academic librarians to explore teaching roles as online mediators and facilitators in the digital environment. However, historically, literature has challenged the pedagogical competencies of academic librarians when teaching in a face-to-face environment. In recent years, the ability to integrate suitable technologies with teaching methods in a digital environment has further questioned the competencies of academic librarians. Therefore, worldwide, the online teaching role of academic librarians is under the microscope. Thus, the objectives of this study were to ascertain, explore and establish the emerging role of academic librarians in relation to digital pedagogy and the online environment at UoTs in South Africa. Digital pedagogy can be defined as a process to effectively connect relevant pedagogical and technological knowledge to enhance teaching in multimodal environments. The Community of Inquiry (COI) and Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPACK) frameworks was used to probe the pedagogical and technological knowledge of academic librarians as teachers in the digital environment. A sequential explanatory mixed method design framed the research approach. During the quantitative first phase, a webbased exploratory survey was administered to academic librarians at UoTs in South Africa. The emerging themes from the web-based exploratory survey was used to design the interview schedule for the second qualitative phase. The results from both phases were analysed and interpreted to present the findings. The results from data collected were then triangulated with the theoretical frameworks and reviewed literature. The overall findings revealed academic librarians at UoTs in South Africa lacked in digital pedagogies juxtapose digital environment. Consequently, academic librarians need to acquire pedagogical and digital skills when teaching in a digital environment. The study recommends system, methods, and processes that the Library and Information Science sector can implement to ensure academic librarians gain the necessary expertise to teach in a digital environment. Ultimately, the study proposes a design of an online training model on digital pedagogies for academic librarians at UoTs in South Africa.