The fifth joint SDC & SLAIHEE Conference organized by the Staff Development Centre, University of Colombo, and the Sri Lanka Association for Improving Higher Education Effectiveness was conducted on Friday 15th May 2009 at the Faculty of Graduate Studies with the participation of academic staff from the Sri Lankan universities. The theme for this years conference was”Reflecting on the Changes and Challenges in Higher Education”. This conference has been held annually with the aim of providing a platform for academics to share their knowledge and learn from colleagues on different aspects of staff development.
The welcome address was delivered by Dr. Nilukshi Abeyasinghe the President of SLAIHEE. Professor Kshanika Hirimburegama, Vice Chancellor of the University of Colombo, and guest of honour, addressed the gathering. The Keynote address was delivered by Professor Chandra Gunawardena, Emeritus Professor of the Faculty of Education of the Open University of Sri Lanka onReflections on changes and challenges of higher education.The Conference session was jointly chaired by Prof. Nelun de Silva of the University of Ruhuna and Prof. Marie Perera of the University of Colombo. Oral presentations were made by six academics from the universities of Colombo, Moratuwa and Jaffna.
Six abstracts for oral presentations were peer-reviewed. The titles were as follows:
- Using Small Group Activity to Promote Independent Student Learning Skills in First Year Law Students – Naazima Kamardeen, Faculty of Law, University of Colombo.
- Developing Assessment Criteria to Reflect the Mark Deserved by the Students at the Final Crit Assessment of Architectural Design Projects – Anishka Hettiarachchi, Department of Architecture, University of Moratuwa.
- Using Theatre Workshop Methodology as an Additional Resource to promote Oral Communication in English Classrooms – K. Shriganeshan, Vavuniya Campus of the University of Jaffna, Vavuniya, Sri Lanka.
- Challenges in Online Learning: Case of a Private Institute – Gayani Karunasena, Department of Building Economics, Faculty of Architecture, University of Moratuwa.
- Facing Challenges of E Learning Towards Better Learning – T.C. Sandanayake, Faculty of Information Technology, University of Moratuwa.
- Role of the ELT Lecturer in the Psycho-Social and Economic Challenges of the? Arts Faculty students, University of Colombo – Savitri Dias, English Language Teaching Unit, Faculty of Arts, University of Colombo.
The accepted Abstracts were printed in the Abstracts Book that was distributed, with the Abstract titles being reproduced above, and the full Abstracts appearing in SLAIHEE News letters Volume 8, July 2009.The feedback received indicated the need among participants for expanding such interdisciplinary activities in staff development to more universities on a more frequent basis. The vote of thanks was delivered by Prof. Marie Perera, Director Staff Development Centre, University of Colombo. The Conference organizing committee comprised of Prof. Nelun de Silva (University of Ruhuna), Dr. Enoka Corea (University of Colombo), Prof. Marie Perera (University of Colombo), Dr. Prasanna Ratnaweera (Open University of Sri Lanka), Dr. Vasantha Devasiri (University of Ruhuna), Mr. Krishantha Fedricks (University of Colombo), Mr. Anton Arulrajah (Eastern University of Sri Lanka)