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Lecturer empowers students to take control of their studies

22 October 2020 | Story Leonie Bolleurs | Photo Supplied

LiezelNel (1)_read more — Prof Liezel Nel, who received the 2020 Excellence in Learning and Teaching Award in the category Research in Teaching and Learning, says this recognition of her work is undoubtedly an inspiration to continue her research with even more vigour and enthusiasm.

Prof Liezel Nel, Adjunct Professor in the Department of Computer Science and Informatics at the University of the Free State (UFS), was announced as winner in the category Research in Teaching and Learning at the 2020 UFS Excellence in Learning and Teaching Awards, hosted by the Centre for Teaching and Learning in September this year.

Prof Nel, who is passionate about the Computer Science discipline due to its ever-changing nature, says she not only constantly revises the subject material, but also the way in which she presents it to students. “In order to be an effective facilitator, I adjust my teaching and learning strategies based on the needs of my students and their pace and depth of understanding,” she says.

As an adjunct professor, she currently teaches Web Development and Internet Programming modules on both undergraduate and postgraduate level. Prof Nel also supervises master's and PhD projects in the field of Computer Science Education.

She believes in a research-informed way of teaching that is sensitive to the needs of individual students in a diverse educational context. Prof Nel is constantly investigating innovative ways in which the teaching and learning experiences of Computer Science students can be enhanced. “My teaching philosophy is geared towards the empowerment of my students in order for them to take control of their own learning experiences,” she adds.

Best teaching experience

She is in the position of working with students who are entering higher education for the first time and is of the opinion that especially first-year students need to be exposed to the best possible teaching experience.

“My students and I work together to overcome many of the unique challenges they are experiencing in order to better prepare them on an academic and a personal level for the successful completion of their higher education journey and for a successful career in Computer Science,” she says.

Besides the role that Prof Nel is playing in preparing first-year students, she also participates in the development of postgraduate students. “By involving all my postgraduate students in teaching and learning-related projects, I believe that I am playing a valuable role in shaping a new generation of teaching and learning scholars,” declares Prof Nel.

Continuous excellence

Her work to enhance the learning experiences of her students has received both local and national recognition. Since 2009, she has received numerous awards, including the UFS prestige award for Excellence in e-learning, the UFS prestige award for Excellence in Teaching; and the UFS Vice-Chancellor’s award for Scholarship of Teaching and Learning. Prof Nel also received the National Excellence in Teaching and Learning award from the Higher Education Learning and Teaching Association of Southern Africa and the Council for Higher Education (CHE).

News Archive

Contemporary Modes of Othering at UFS this May

2015-05-18

The Centre for Africa Studies at the UFS is hosting an interdisciplinary project on the Bloemfontein Campus from 20-22 May 2015.

The project, entitled Contemporary Modes of Othering: Its Perpetuation and Resistance, will look at different perspectives, representations, and art forms of otherness, how it is perceived, and how it is resisted.

The programme, which will run over three days, is as follows:

Wednesday 20 May at 19:00

Official Opening of Exhibition: ‘Representations of Otherness and Resistance’
Johannes Stegmann Art Gallery, Sasol Library
Opening: Prof Lucius Botes
Speaker: Ms Annali Dempsey, Curator UJ Art Gallery
Exhibition will run from 21 May to 19 June 2015

Thursday 21 May

10:00-11:00
Critical Dialogue: ‘Representations of Otherness and Resistance’
Johannes Stegmann Art Gallery (Facilitator: Prof. Gobodo-Madikizela)

11:30-13:00
Roundtable: ‘Music, Resistance, and the Residue of Race’
Odeion School of Music, Odeion Room 6

14:00-15:00
Seminar: ‘Reading the Past across Generations through the Image of the Hector Pieterson Iconic Photograph: Shaping of a New Consciousness’
Prof Gobodo-Madikizela, FGG 201

16:00-17:00
Seminar: Living Motswako, Centre for Africa Studies
President Steyn Annex Building, Committee Room (ground floor)

18:00-20:00
Africa Day Memorial Lecture ‘Youth Protests and Political Change in Africa’
Prof Alcinda Honwana, CR Swart Auditorium

Friday 22 May

10:00-11:00
Seminar: ‘Collectively Born (Un)free’, Prof. Steyn Kotze, FGG 201

11:00-11:30
Tea/Coffee Break, Scaena Foyer

11:30-12:30
Visual Presentation: ‘Linguistic Tokenism and Branding through Art in SA Advertising’
Prof Van Niekerk & Dr Conradie, Scaena Foyer

12:30-13:30
Performance: ‘Playland’
Scaena Teatre (Facilitator: Mr Willem Ellis)

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