teaching philosophy 

My teaching philosophy and approach to teaching

The main aspect of my teaching philosophy is the constructive alignment of curriculum and case-based active learning as its instrument (e.g., Williams, 2020; LaDue et al., 2022). To develop a successful lecture course, one should explore what the moving forces of every teaching process are; and what makes students learn and be motivated to gain knowledge. Usually, for students, the most motivational thing is the assessment; this is why they are normally centering their learning around it. On the other hand, as noted by Biggs (1999), alignment of the course should be done by centering all the activities around the objectives of the curriculum (“learning outcomes” or LOs). Thus, I should integrate the objectives of the curriculum – the desirable LOs – into the assessments to make sure that the students and myself are on the same page.

Case-based learning is essential for geoscience education. Geology is everywhere around us, and is relevant for every rocky or icy planet, natural satellite, asteroid, and comet in the Solar System (and – quite possibly – beyond it). This discipline is mostly based on pattern recognition, supported by chemistry, physics, and mathematics. Therefore, there is no other way to study geology other than doing fieldwork and practicing by looking at the outcrops, rock samples, mineral collections, and thin sections under the microscope. Fieldwork is especially important and is proven to be essential for Geoscience education, as it includes such benefits as active learning, creation of meaning and knowledge, collaboration, case-based learning, and constant communication and access to lecturers (e.g., Jones and Washko, 2021). This gives students novel experiences, broadens their horizons, and changes the way they look at the world. Only case-based practical teaching is a student-focussed framework that can achieve the personal transformations mentioned by Biggs (1999). For this purpose, for example, I started to collect rock samples for student projects and demonstrations at lectures (Fig. 8). From every field and even leisure trip, I bring a few rock hand samples that can be good educational material for students in the classroom.

Interactions with industry professionals are critical for future geologists. I organize visits to core sheds, exploration camps, and mines (both open pit and underground), where geologists explain their workflow, and introduce students to core logging and other activities. My students visited such facilities as Gaamsberg mine, Black Mountain (Deeps shaft), Assmang exploration camp (Potsmasburg), and Khumani Parsons core repository.  I also invite specialists to read lectures and workshops in a classroom. In the first semester of 2024, several colleagues from MinRom (a consulting company based in Somerset West) presented for the Honors group on a variety of topics, such as Project Management, 3D Modeling, and Map Making. Students not only listened to presentations but were offered exercises and problems to solve.

Finally, geoscience is an excellent discipline for the decolonization of the curriculum. South Africa is so rich in natural resources and has such a long and diverse geological history that we can teach practically every aspect of geology merely based on South African examples (e.g., McCarthy and Rubidge, 2005; Whitfield, 2015). Therefore, I demonstrate to the students the necessity to learn based on real-world and relevant examples, and every field trip we make – teaching or research-directed – is within South Africa.

When it comes to alignment of curriculum to the UWC GAs, my main goals are to educate students so that at the end of my courses, they are able to:

• Provide evidence of the acquisition of sophisticated theoretical and practical insight into Geology as a discipline (GA tier 1 “Scholarship,” tier 2 “Inquiry-focused and knowledgeable”);

• Examine and apply analytical and interpretative procedures and techniques (GA tier 1 “Lifelong learning,” tier 2 “Critically and relevantly literate”);

• Critically appreciate the literature and deliver an independent analysis of information and observed field and structural data in support of conclusions and deductions (GA tier 2 “Inquiry-focused and knowledgeable” and “Critically and relevantly literate”). In other words, students should create their own “meaning” (Jones and Washko, 2021; Biggs, 1999).

The basic principles of teaching, which are important for me, are:

• Ensure student involvement in theoretical and practical work through thoughtful design and direction of the educational process via constructive alignment and case-based learning;

• Ensure diversity, fairness, and integrity of education;

• Ensure safety and respect for all participants in the educational process. Students and teachers should be treated with consideration in an atmosphere in which a diversity of views and opinions is valued (GA tier 2 “Interpersonal flexibility and valuing difference”);

Provide students with visual, audio, and tactile materials to allow for maximum understanding and absorption of material; this is especially important for Structural Geology, where all the concepts and study objects should be understood in 3 dimensions (Fig. 9).

Figure 9. Illustration of a concept of a geological map: it is a 2-D image showing the intersection of the 3-D geological structure of the uppermost crust with the topographic surface (daylight surface). Picture from the Internet.