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ISRC President Simphiwe Dube obtains degree with distinction

03 May 2022 | Story NONSINDISO QWABE | Photo Supplied

The president of the ISRC, Simphiwe Dube, left his seat alongside the Convocation and traded his procession regalia for the black gown, as he walked across the stage to receive his qualification during the morning session of the Qwaqwa Campus graduation ceremony on 30 April 2022.

Students, proud parents, and loved ones in the Rolihlahla Mandela Hall ululated and clapped as Dube received his Bachelor of Education degree majoring in Intermediate Phase Teaching, with distinction.

Dube himself revelled in the moment, shouting “amandla” to the overjoyed crowd.

Reflecting on how he managed to balance an impeccable academic record while being fully active in student politics as well as other extracurricular activities on campus, Dube said it was all doable with determination, courage, and selflessness.

“I always knew I wanted to make a difference in one way or another, and I suppose that's why I chose teaching as a profession. Coming to university, I was received by a cloud of activism that changed the way I viewed the world. I suppose that's where my journey in the space began.”

He said the first duty of a revolutionary was to be educated. “Education should be the bloodline of every true revolutionary; it should be the driving force, and it really is inspirational to end an academic period in a cloud of glory; this itself should be a message.”

Describing himself as keen and goal-driven through academic excellence and leadership skills, Dube shared the following words with the student community: “The true goal is to be educated; the main thing is to get that qualification. We are born to be great from the day we enter the UFS gates, we can only stop at the top. Therefore, we should always anchor ourselves in the true revolutionaries who have sought to emancipate education at every turn.”

Click to view document View his moment on stage here:

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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