My teaching philosophy

As a supervisor of postgraduate students I find myself amongst the two theories of social constructivism and scaffolding theory. The first theory coined by Vygotsky (1962) and Paiget (1953) relates to social interaction in the development of learning and the second by Bruner (1976) relates to structure based learning. For Vygotsky, individuals and societies develop psychological tools in order to promote higher thinking similar to how they develop physical tools to extend what they can do physically.

For me, teaching is the impartation of existing knowledge, while learning is expanding and building on existing knowledge. During my short exposure to teaching and supervising I noticed that my students had a thirst for knowledge and some were personally driven to answer a particular research question.

As a researcher at UWC I pride myself on providing current examples of scientific advances to teach students the usefulness of science. My teaching philosophy is to provide postgraduate students with optimal opportunities to develop their skill and in doing so develop new knowledge. During our journal clubs and lab presentations we often engage in critical discussion and I often remind students that we do the research because we do not yet have the answer to the question we are trying to answer. Also, I remind post graduates that nothing in science is set in stone as assumptions can change because we are working with complex biological systems. My brief experience have thought me to be a hands on supervisor in guiding my students in a particular project.

Teaching third years on the other hand requires a more diligent and patient approach by explaining each fundamental theory and still keeping them engaged in the lecture. I regularly ask questions during my lectures and attempt to learn undergraduate students names in order to communicate with students and keep them on their toes. I also incorporate practicals to show the students how the theory in the lectures is applied in practise. For undergraduate lectures I make sure as the coordinator that lectures are available way in advance to allow students to ask questions in the classroom and not focus on taking notes. I also allowed one student that stayed far from campus to electronically submit her assignment to avoid her travelling for two hours to campus and submitting it in person. This shows my ability to be compassionate and able to adapt based on the need of the student. My teaching philosophy was adapted during the COVID-19 pandemic as no face to face contact was allowed. Here virtual recordings of lectures was provided way ahead of schedule to allow students to interact with the data and additional time was given to hand in assignments due to internet connectivity issues.