Teaching with Research

 

 

The Optentia Research Unit, North-West University, in collaboration with the Research Support Department, North-West University, and the Norwegian Institute of Technology, invite you to a two-day workshop titled Teaching with Research, exploring ways to strengthen teaching through research-informed practices.

 

This two-day workshop brings together university lecturers to examine how research is taught—and how teaching practice in this area can be strengthened. While grounded in research content, the focus is on pedagogy: how to design learning experiences that help students engage critically and practically with research. Hosted at Monate Game Lodge, the event offers space to share teaching approaches, test new ideas, and connect with colleagues working toward better methods education.

 

The workshop will produce practical outputs, including teaching resources and ideas for integrating new approaches into curricula, which can be shared across institutions. By centering pedagogy in the teaching of research, the event aims to improve student learning outcomes and, ultimately, the quality of research emerging from South African higher education.

 

Why Join

 

• Transform your teaching: Turn your research into a dynamic learning resource.
• Master AI-enhanced pedagogy: Build intelligent tools that extend your teaching capacity.
• Promote critical thinking: Help students reason clearly, ethically, and independently
• Stay ahead: Integrate emerging technologies with responsible academic practice.
• Collaborate with peers: Share ideas and co-develop approaches for the modern research classroom.

 

Who Should Attend

• Lecturers teaching or supervising research projects
• Postgraduate supervisors and academic mentors
• Curriculum designers and educational developers
• Research methods instructors across disciplines

 

Workshop Details

 

Dates: 24–25 November 2025

 

Venue: Monate Game Lodge

 

Duration: Two days (in-person)

 

Facilitators: Optentia Research Unit, North-West University, the Research Support Department, North-West University, and the Norwegian Institute of Technology

 

Registration: https://forms.cloud.microsoft/r/MsRg4Wp33t?origin=lprLink

 

Contact

 

RSVP by: 30 October 2025, 12:00

 

Enquiries:
 

Ms Lynn Booysen

 

NWU Optentia Research Unit

 

email: lynn.booysen@nwu.ac.za

 

website: www.optentia.co.za

 

Workshop Programme

 

09:00 – Opening and Welcome (Prof. Ian Rothmann)

 

09:15 – Session 1: AI as a Research and Teaching Tool (Prof. Leon De Beer)

 

This session examines how AI can support both research and pedagogy. Participants will explore how to guide students in using AI tools for literature synthesis, conceptual framework development, data visualisation, and scenario simulation—while maintaining critical awareness of bias, overreliance, and plagiarism. The focus is on the responsible use of AI in research, teaching, and supervision; learning strategies to help students use AI thoughtfully in research; evaluating AI outputs critically; and maintaining transparency in AI-assisted work. Educators will also experiment with AI for teaching tasks such as generating case studies, designing rubrics, and creating adaptive feedback systems.

 

11:15 – Refreshments

 

11:45 – Session 2: Building Hyper-Personalised AI Learning Systems (Prof. Llewellyn van Zyl)

Research methods can be complex for students, and personal feedback is often hard to scale. This hands-on session introduces OpenAI’s Agentic Prompt Framework—a structured approach to prompting that helps educators generate pedagogically sound outputs using AI tools like ChatGPT.

 

You will learn how to craft prompts that reflect your teaching philosophy, guide AI reasoning for clarity, accuracy, and context, and demonstrate how AI can explain complex research concepts such as qualitative coding or data interpretation. A live demonstration will show how vague queries can become precise, reasoning-rich teaching prompts.

 

13:00 – Lunch

 

14:00 – Session 3: Building Hyper-Personalised AI Learning Systems (Prof. Llewellyn van Zyl)

 

Move from prompting to creation. Using Google’s NotebookLM, participants will build a virtual research methods assistant that reflects their expertise, course materials, and feedback philosophy. Students can then adapt these assistants to support their own projects, datasets, and reflections—creating personalised learning companions that evolve over time. The focus is on scaling teaching impact and tailoring learning to each student’s research journey.

 

15:15 – Refreshments

 

15:30 – Practice and Reflection

 

16:15 – Relaxation / Pre-booked game drive

 

19:00 – Dinner

 

Day 2 – Teaching Research Thinking

 

08:00 – Recap

 

08:15 – Session 4: The Triple Loop – Linking Research, Practice, and Teaching in Norway (Prof. Marit Christensen and Prof. Siw Tone Innstrand)

 

This session examines how research, teaching, and professional practice can reinforce one another. Drawing on Norwegian higher education innovations, participants will discuss how reflective cycles between research and pedagogy can strengthen research capacity and relevance. The focus is on building reflective, interconnected models of research-led teaching.

 

09:15 – Session 4: Teaching for Critical Inquiry (Prof. Leoni van der Vaart)

 

This session explores how to integrate reasoning and evidence-based thinking across disciplines. The focus is on moving beyond skills training to embedding these habits of thought within supervision, classroom dialogue, and feedback.

 

10:15 – Refreshments

 

10:45 – Session 5: Teaching and Supervision for Critical Inquiry (Prof. Ian Rothmann)

 

This session continues to explore how to integrate reasoning and evidence-based thinking across disciplines. The focus is on moving beyond skills training to embedding these habits of thought within supervision, classroom dialogue, and feedback.

 

11:45 – Session 6: The Future of Supervision (Prof. Leon de Beer)

 

A conversation about how AI and digital tools are changing the supervisory role. Discuss expectations for AI-assisted work, feedback on AI-generated content, and maintaining academic integrity. Participants will consider how to balance innovation, ethics, and mentorship in guiding responsible inquiry. The focus is on cultivating critical, ethical, and inquiry-driven research practices through integrated teaching, assessment, and supervision.

 

12:45 – Lunch

 

13:30 – Session 6: Curriculum Design for the 2025+ Research Classroom

 

Facilitators: Prof. Ian Rothmann, Prof. Leon de Beer, Prof. Leoni van der Vaart, Prof. Llewellyn van Zyl

 

Work collaboratively to design future-oriented research methodology curricula that prepare students for an AI-augmented academic environment. Discussions will centre on how to integrate AI literacy, ethics, and responsible supervision into departmental or institutional practice. Topics include a) Embedding AI literacy and ethics; b) Designing fair assessment for AI-augmented work; c) Supervising responsibly in digital environments; d) Promoting replication, transparency, and methodological diversity.