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Dr Mirriam Moleko ready to empower teachers after completing prestigious NRF programme

11 July 2023 | Story André Damons | Photo Supplied

After completing the National Research Foundation’s Black Academics Advancement Programme (BAAP) fellowship, a lecturer from the University of the Free State (UFS) now wants to train more teachers on issues of access and inclusivity in different mathematics settings. She also wants to establish a centre for access and inclusivity to promote quality teaching that caters to a diverse learner population.

Dr Mirriam Moleko, a lecturer in the UFS’s Department of Mathematics, Natural Sciences, and Technology Education in the Faculty of Education, participated in the BAAP fellowship, an initiative of the National Research Foundation (NRF) and the FirstRand Foundation (FRF), from 2021 to 2022. She also got the opportunity to visit universities and schools in the USA for three weeks.

Supporting emerging academics

Dr Moleko says the BAAP is a prestigious NRF programme which supports well-structured research projects with achievable aims, sound methodologies, and demonstrated prudent use of funds. The programme supports emerging academics to ensure that they develop strong research skills, collaborate with prolific scholars in their fields, visit other universities abroad, give public lectures, and attend international conferences to establish an international footprint.

“The programme allows the candidates awarded the grant to focus on research for two years” she says. “I managed to run my teacher community research project successfully during this period. My goal as an academic and a researcher is to produce work that teachers can relate to and be able to apply in their profession. I have always aspired to empower teachers to be knowledgeable and resourceful”.

“Furthermore, my goal is to strive to partake in critical conversations that are taking place within the mathematics education field, and to contribute my skills and knowledge in addressing the existing challenges, thus being part of the solution. I believe the skills that I have gained on how to conduct quality research will assist me in achieving my goals,” she added.

Benefit from funding

During the period of her fellowship she learned about forming partnerships and collaborating with other scholars in her field, which she believes is an important skill to possess as a developing scholar.

Dr Moleko says the programme played a pivotal role in the attainment of numerous significant accomplishments in her professional career thus far. She also benefitted in terms of funding, which helped her undertake autonomous research and advanced training in her area of expertise, as well as facilitated engagement in collaborative research ventures with esteemed professionals and researchers, both domestically and abroad.

“The research leave that I got enabled me to successfully conceptualise, strategise, and implement a research endeavour that yielded a more profound comprehension of the research gap that I had identified within the teacher community, thus culminating in multiple publications in esteemed periodicals.

“The NRF-BAAP funding also enabled me to undertake training, thereby refining my skill set and augmenting my comprehension of intricate principles. The experience proved to be a crucial factor in my vocational growth and bolstered my aptitude for scholarly inquiry. It also afforded me the chance to engage in mentoring endeavours for fledgling researchers.”

Transformation of the Professoriate Mentoring Programme

Dr Moleko, who is part of the UFS Transformation of the Professoriate Mentoring Programme, says this programme is an excellent initiative which is aimed at preparing young academics for future promotions and offering them skills to be competitive. The programme’s goals include building strong academics who will follow in the footsteps of the university’s current leaders.

She says the programme is critical in supporting young academics by connecting them with seasoned mentors and scholars from various fields of study. It is essential for young academics in terms of maximising their learning, expanding their network, and gaining opportunities to help facilitate their growth.

“I see the programme as a catalyst for change necessary for the university to realise the desired results,” Dr Moleko says.

During her visit to the USA she spent two weeks at Boston College and the University of Rhode Island, and also visited the Center for Applied and Specialised Technology, the Paul V. Sherlock Center on Disabilities (Sherlock Center), and the TechACCESS Center.

“The purpose of my visit was to establish networks and collaborate with prolific scholars outside South Africa on research engagements. Furthermore, the visit was intended for me to meet with my international mentors in person regarding research engagements.

“During my research visit, Prof Elizabeth Dalton from Rhode Island University and a UDL specialist, and I focused on several academic conversations and demonstrations of Universal Design for Learning (UDL) strategies and approaches, as well as the sharing of many online resources available to support the implementation of UDL in inclusive settings.”

News Archive

Researchers international leaders in satellite tracking in the wildlife environment

2015-05-29

Ground-breaking research has attracted international media attention to Francois Deacon, lecturer and researcher in the Department Animal, Wildlife and Grassland Sciences at the UFS, and Prof Nico Smit, from the same department. They are the first researchers in the world to equip giraffes with GPS collars, and to conduct research on this initiative. Recently, they have been joined by Hennie Butler from the Department of Zoology as well as Free State Nature Conservation to further this research.

“Satellite tracking is proving to be extremely valuable in the wildlife environment. The unit is based on a mobile global two-way communication platform, utilising two-way data satellite communication, complete with GPS systems.

“It allows us to track animals day and night, while we monitor their movements remotely from the computer. These systems make possible the efficient control and monitoring of wildlife in all weather conditions and in near-to-real time. We can even communicate with the animals, calling up their positions or changing the tracking schedules.

“The satellite collar allows us to use the extremely accurate data to conduct research with the best technology available. The volume of data received allows us to publish the data in scientific journals and research-related articles.

“Scientific institutions and the public sector have both shown great interest in satellite tracking, which opens up new ground for scientific research for this university. Data management can be done, using Africa Wildlife Tracking (AWT) equipment where we can access our data personally, store it, and make visual presentations. The AWT system and software architecture provide the researcher with asset tracking, GPS location reports, geo-fencing, highly-detailed custom mapping, history reports and playback, polling on demand, history plotting on maps, and a range of reporting types and functions,” Francois said.

Data can be analysed to determine home range, dispersal, or habitat preference for any specific species.

Francois has been involved in multiple research projects over the last 12 years on wildlife species and domesticated animals, including the collaring of species such as Black-backed Jackal, Caracal, African Wild Dog, Hyena, Lion, Cheetah, Cattle, Kudu, Giraffe, and Black Rhino: “Giraffe definitely being the most challenging of all,” he said.

In 2010, he started working on his PhD, entitled The spatial ecology, habitat preferences and diet selection of giraffe (Giraffa camelopardalis giraffa) in the Kalahari region of South Africa.

Since then, his work has resulted not only in more research work (supervising four Masters students) but also in a number of national and international projects. These include work in the:

Kalahari region (e.g. Khamab Nature Reserve and Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park)
Kuruman region (Collared 18 cattle to identify spatial patterns in relation to the qualities of vegetation and soil-types available. This project took place in collaboration with Born University in Germany)
Woodland Hills Wildlife Estate and Kolomella Iron Ore – ecological monitoring
A number of Free State nature reserves (e.g. Distribution of herbivores (kudu and giraffe) and predators (camera traps)

Francois is also involved with species breeding programmes and management (giraffe, buffalo, sable, roan, and rhino) in Korrannaberg, Rustenburg, Hertzogville, Douglas, and Bethlehem as well as animal and ecological monitoring in Kolomella and Beesthoek iron ore.

Besides the collaring of giraffes, Francois and his colleagues are involved in national projects, where they collect milk from lactating giraffes and DNA material, blood samples, and ecto/endo parasites from giraffes in Southern Africa.

With international projects, Francois is working to collect DNA material for the classification of the nine sub-species of giraffe in Africa. He is also involved in projects focusing on the spatial ecology and adaptation of giraffe in Uganda (Murchison Falls), and to save the last 30 giraffe in the DRC- Garamba National Park.

This project has attracted a good deal of international interest. In June 2014, a US film crew (freelancing for Discovery Channel) filmed a documentary on Francois’ research (trailer of documentary). Early in 2015, a second crew, filming for National Geographic, also visited Francois to document his work.

More information about Francois’ work is available at the GCF website.

Read Francois Deacon's PhD abstract

Direct enquiries to news@ufs.ac.za.

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