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05 September 2019 | Story Ruan Bruwer
Louzanne  and her guide, Estean Badenhorst.
Louzanne Coetzee ran a new national record time in the 1 500 m in Paris. Pictured with her is her guide, Estean Badenhorst.

The blind UFS athlete Louzanne Coetzee has broken yet another national record.

The South African 1 500 m record in the T11 classification (totally blind) will have the same name next to it, but a new time – as the previous record also belonged to Coetzee.

She clocked a personal best time of 4:51:65 at the Paris Para Athletics Grand Prix meeting over the weekend. The previous record was set at the World Para Championships in London in July 2017. Coetzee is also the world record holder in the 5 000 m and the African record holder in the 800 m.

Her time in Paris is good enough to take her to a second Paralympic Games. The qualification standards for the games in Tokyo is 06:20.00.

Estean Badenhorst – as her guide – accompanied her. “I have run with him before but couldn’t make use of his services last year due to his study commitments. It is a great privilege to run with him. Estean is a fantastic strategic guide. I hope we can join forces again in the future,” Coetzee said. 

Emphasis now on 1 500 m 

The 800 m and 5 000 m are not on the Paralympic programme; this shifted her focus to the 1 500 m, in which she will participate at the World Para Athletics Championships in Dubai in early November.

“This is now my main focus in the run-up to the Paralympics next year,” says Louzanne. 

She has already qualified for the Paralympics in the marathon, but this will play second fiddle to the track, said the 26-year-old, who is doing her master’s in Social Cohesion and Reconciliation Studies this year.

According to Rufus Botha, a respected athletic coach who previously coached Coetzee, her time in Paris was excellent. “This predicts a great World Champs where Louzanne seems ready for her first medal at a World Championship,” he said.

News Archive

Academic produces another book
2009-12-01

 Academic, author and motivational speaker, Dr Michael van Wyk (pictured), has written another book titled Cooperative learning as a teaching strategy for the classroom: A practical guide for economics teachers.
His latest offering provides a sound theoretical framework and practical ways on how to implement the different cooperative learning techniques. It unpacks the practical aspects of the outcomes-based approach, the National Curriculum Statement for the Further Education and Training phase and cooperative learning techniques for the economics classroom.
This easy-to-read book offers a thorough introductory text for economics teachers and economics students, as well as lecturers and researchers.
“This theoretical and practical guide will support Economics teachers to present their subject in practical ways that are meaningful and learner centred,” he said.
“If this can be achieved, learners will engage effectively in the subject and an interest in the learning content may be evoked.”
The book covers the following aspects:
  • It introduces the foundations of the outcomes-based education approach (OBE) and the new curriculum model for South African schools.
  • It examines the theoretical underpinnings and practical application of cooperative learning as a teaching strategy.
  • It provides practical guidelines for application of cooperative learning techniques.
 
“This book gives an outline, in a constructive way, on how to apply the cooperative learning techniques such as Teams Games Tournaments (TGT), Student Teams Achievement Divisions (STAD), role-play, simulations, Economics quizzes, small group teaching and research projects in the classroom,” he said.
 
“These techniques have the potential to make a positive contribution to the enhancement of academic performances, development of social skills and an improvement of the learning skills of the learners.”
 
The book is designed as a theoretical and practical guide for Economics Education students, Economics teachers, Learning Area Economics and Management Science facilitators, Curriculum developers, Economics subject advisors, researchers and trainers; for the successful implementation of cooperative learning as a teaching strategy.
 
Dr Van Wyk is a staff member of the Department of Curriculum Studies in the Faculty of Education at the University of the Free State (UFS). He also serves on the board of the South African Foundation on Economics and Financial Education (SAFEFE).
Photo: Mangaliso Radebe

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