2013: The year of relevant research and infusion of technology into the Natural Sciences Discipline
The Natural Sciences discipline is one of three disciplines in the SMNSTE, with four full-time staff members.
Our focus in 2013 was to improve teaching and learning through relevant research and infusion of technology. For the first time, in many years, almost all the modules in the discipline had an active presence on Blackboard, and not only using it to enhance students’ access of the material but also for lecturers to track student use and possible correlations to performance.
Dr Jannie Pretorius currently leads a systematically study of these teaching-leaning relations within the Life Sciences. Similarly, Dr Lekhooe Letsie and Mr Christo van Wyk have conceptualized ways of improving teaching and learning in the Physical and Natural sciences modules, focusing more on improved student-lecturer contact through both face-to-face approaches and using Blackboard.
My role as the Discipline Coordinator has been to provide support and leadership to my colleagues, by providing the needed resources and by being part of their research projects into the teaching and learning of the discipline. In research terms, we are also proud that almost all members of the discipline managed to publish a minimum of one research paper in 2013, something we hope to improve even further in 2014!
Why not join us?
Prof Loyiso Jita is the Discipline Coordinator of Natural Science Education. He is assisted by the following staff: