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By hja, August 14, 2013 10:52

Monday 26 August

13:00 – 14:00

AI Perold Building Seminar room 2005

Read more here

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By hja, August 14, 2013 10:35

On 26 August Dr Zurab Janelidze from the Mathematical Sciences Department will present a seminar on a very innovative assessment system used in Foundations of Abstract Mathematics I and II.

The assessment system used in Foundations of Abstract Mathematics I and II (second and third year modules offered by the Department of Mathematics Sciences) is in some sense a new type of flexible assessment system that recognizes the student diversity (some are more interested in the subject, some are less talented, etc.) and assesses the progress that an individual student makes in the course, instead of assessing student’s ability compared to peers. Such an assessment system should help to encourage the weaker students and at the same time grow the enthusiasm of the stronger ones. We will discuss how well this has been achieved in the last two years that the assessment system is used.

All interested academics in the Faculty are invited to attend.

Time: 13:00 -14:00

Venue: AI Perold Building Seminar room 2005

Tea and coffee provided. Feel free to bring your lunch.

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By hja, June 3, 2013 11:42

On 21 and 22 May the Teaching and Learning Discussion Forum hosted a two day teaching Event in the Science Faculty. This is a first fro the Faculty and involved inputs by experts, discussions by Faculty members and the showcasing of teaching initiatives in Departments. It was attended by 36 people on the first day, amongst which the Dean and Deputy Dean (Teaching),  30 people on the second day.

During feedback on the second day, all participants felt that would like to see the event repeated annually or bi-annually. They identified teaching evaluation, flexible assessment, assessments and its use in large groups and more creative teaching ideas as topics for further discussion. See graph of second day feedback below.

Click here for Teaching Event 2013 Programme

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By hja, June 3, 2013 11:15

The Faculty hosted three lunch hour discussions of which tutors had to attend one. These sessions formed part of the Faculty’s current focus on tutorials. Tutors spoke about their roles in the Faculty’s teaching function, and looked at ways in which they can promote student learning and overcome problems with student apathy and unrealistic expectations. These sessions were attended by between 20 and 50 students.

2 May 2013: Helping students become independent learners facilitated by Jean Farmer (CTL)

8 May 2013: Active learning techniques for Science facilitated by Hanelie Adendorff (CTL)

15 May 2013: Using questions to guide student learning inputs and advice by Chrischelle Hanekom (Post Grad Student and Physics tutor)

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By hja, June 3, 2013 09:34

Three teaching experts spoke at the Science Faculty during the first semester. Each of these lunch hour seminars was attended by roughly 20 staff members from the Faculty.

Denise Wood

On 20 March Prof Prof Denise Wood from the University of South Australia presented a seminar on “The pedagogical benefits of social media in learning and teaching“. Prof Wood has extensive experience in the use of accessible information and communication technologies (ICTs) to increase social participation, as well as the pedagogical benefits of social media in learning and teaching.

Her international research includes projects in South Africa where she is collaborating with the Gauteng and Limpopo Provincial Governments on a project involving an investigation of the use of accessible ICTs to enhance student learning and increase student retention in rural and semi-rural special needs schools, and the US, where she is collaborating with Professor Gregg Vanderheiden at the Trace Centre at the University of Wisconsin-Madison on a project which aims to make ICTs accessible and adaptable to the specific needs of the user through an open source solution.

Prof Jenni Case

On 15 April Prof Jenni Case from UCT spoke about “Science Teaching for the 21st Century“. Professor Jenni Case is an education researcher who specialises in university level science and engineering education, focusing especially on understanding how to improve the participation and success of students from a diverse range of backgrounds.

She holds a BSc(Hons) degree in Chemistry from the University of Stellenbosch, as well as an MEd from the University of Leeds, an MSc from the University of Cape Town, and a PhD in Education from Monash University. She holds a post focusing on academic development in the Department of Chemical Engineering at the University of Cape Town (UCT) and is Assistant Dean in the Faculty of Engineering and the Built Environment. She teaches in the undergraduate chemical engineering programme and in 2007 she was awarded the UCT Distinguished Teachers’ Award. She has recently been elected the founding president of the Society for Engineering Education of South Africa (SEESA). Her research on the student experience of learning has been widely published, with 35 peer-reviewed journal publications.

Judy Paterson

On 22 April, Judy Paterson from the University of Auckland spoke on “Team Based Learning (TBL) in the Computational Sciences: What might this mode of delivery offer?” Prof Paterson is a mathematics educator who has worked with three mathematicians and a statistician as they changed the mode of delivery of their courses to Team-Based Learning (TBL). She discussed their implementation of this model of delivery.

She used examples they have developed in combinatorics, dynamical systems, probability and mathematics education courses to illustrate the potential they believe TBL has to encourage student engagement and thinking in lectures. Their research indicates that TBL has the potential to stimulate both student and lecturer learning. More about TBL www.teambasedlearning.org/