teaching - The African Mirror

Apr

2024

Africa’s PhDs: study shows how to develop strong graduates who want to make a difference

THE challenge for universities is to produce graduates who can work with others to produce knowledge and research that can change institutions and societies for the better. That is the basis on which the Consortium for Advanced Research Training in Africa (Carta) began developing an approach to teaching PhDs 12 years ago. The consortium supports faculty members of public universities and research institutes on the continent who want to pursue a PhD. The training covers a range of research methods to ensure graduates value multidisciplinarity. It also includes a focus on stakeholder and community engagement and prepares students for life…

Mar

2024

By NALEDI SIKHAKHANE, BIRD STORY AGENCY

Lift as you rise – A young agri-entrepreneur star is teaching others how to succeed in small-scale farming

NEWS, MULTIMEDIA

“BEING busy doesn't mean you are making money, I've been busy for three years, I've only started making money in the fourth year,” 23-year-old entrepreneur Ntobeko Mafu told her class on a rainy day in February in Nhlazatshe, a rural area in the KwaZulu-Natal province in South Africa. Mafu was standing in her garden presenting to 30 people who appeared to hold on to her every word as she detailed how she had created a sustainable small-scale broiler and crop farm. Mafu is the founder and Chief Executive Officer at Madam Clucks A Lot and Madam Leafy Green. The former…

Mar

2024

By COLIN FOSTER

Understanding how the brain works can transform how school students learn maths

EDUCATION

SCHOOL mathematics teaching is stuck in the past. An adult revisiting the school that they attended as a child would see only superficial changes from what they experienced themselves. Yes, in some schools they might see a room full of electronic tablets, or the teacher using a touch-sensitive, interactive whiteboard. But if we zoom in on the details – the tasks that students are actually being given to help them make sense of the subject – things have hardly changed at all. COLIN FOSTER, Reader in Mathematics Education, Loughborough University We’ve learnt a huge amount in recent years about cognitive…

Oct

2023

By The African Mirror

History teaching in South Africa could be vastly improved – if language skills were added to the mix

EDUCATION

IN recent years there’s been growing recognition among education experts that integrating content and language learning is key to promoting comprehensive academic achievement. This is particularly relevant in multilingual education systems where English serves as the primary medium of instruction. NHLANHLA MPOFU, Chair- Curriculum Studies, Stellenbosch University So, in 2013, South Africa’s Department of Basic Education, which is responsible for primary and secondary education, set out to enhance academic performance through a strategy called English Across the Curriculum. This approach involves integrating language skills in content subjects such as history. Language skills include listening and speaking; reading and viewing; writing…

Aug

2020

By The African Mirror

COVID-19 disruption could be a chance to lay a firmer school maths foundation in South Africa

EDUCATION

CRAIG POURNARA, Associate Professor of Mathematics Education, University of the Witwatersrand LYNN BOWIE, Visiting associate, University of the Witwatersrand IN South Africa, when Grade 9 learners return to school after the COVID-19 closures, they will have a maximum of 76 teaching days left in 2020. But given the safety requirements and the limited infrastructure in most schools, it’s highly unlikely that they will be able to attend school every day. This means the average Grade 9 learner in 2020 is likely to have less than half of a normal year’s time in class. While learners in schools for the middle…