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06 November 2020
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Story Rulanzen Martin
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Photo Supplied
Dr Tronél Hellberg, UFS alumna, completed her PhD in Music from the OSM in 2018.
The COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent lockdown has posed many challenges. Not only has it distrupted our normal way of life it but has created a ‘new normal.’ Even in these trying times, alumni from the University of the Free State (UFS) have adjusted to the new normal by going above and beyond to make it as normal as possible.
One of these is Dr Tronél Hellberg, an alumna from the
Odeion School of Music at the UFS, who has supported Grade 12 learners by presenting free online prescribed music theory classes. The classes are beneficial for learners following the CAPS or IEB curriculum. “I trust the online videos will assist learners and teachers to get through this challenging Grade 12 year,” says Dr Hellberg. She has
recorded more than 38 live videos on her
G-Sential Theory of Music Facebook page.
The recordings are accessible to Grade 12 learners and their teachers at no cost. Dr Hellberg established the
G-Sential Theory of Music in 2007 and has since published 20 theory of music books.
Apart from assisting in teaching, one of her main objectives is to reach less fortunate learners who do not have access to music teachers. “Grade 12 music literacy requires an accumulative understanding of theory of music,” she says. With her initiative she also aims to “fill any gaps” to solidify knowledge and information which might still be unclear.
Vice-Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Teaching goes to trailblazer Dr Aliza le Roux
2013-11-15
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Dr Aliza le Roux
Photo: Supplied
15 November 2013 |
Dr Aliza le Roux, Subject Head in the Department of Zoology and Entomology at the UFS Qwaqwa Campus, is this year’s winner of the Vice-Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Teaching.
It came as no surprise. Dr le Roux has already been piling up numerous awards as a result of her outstanding work as an academic who is also an NRF-rated researcher.
In 2012, she joined the Teaching and Learning Champions group, which inspired her to take a more scholarly, research-focused approach to her teaching. Dr Le Roux has had huge successes in her teaching at the Qwaqwa Campus, propelling student pass rates from less than 50% to more than 90% in one course. As part of her approach, she makes use of interventions such as pre-class quizzes on Blackboard.
She is also doing Action Research on the teaching method known as ‘flipping’ the classroom, a process that essentially reversed traditional teaching practice. Dr le Roux is also looking into the impact of introducing Zotero (a free user-friendly online tool for research purposes) on the Qwaqwa Campus.
Her primary research outside of the classroom focuses on the evolution of wild mammals’ cognitive abilities. Dr le Roux and her students are starting fieldwork in November this year, investigating how paternal care impacts bat-eared foxes’ physical and cognitive development.