Teaching and learning

Environmental Science lecturer at Rhodes, Jessica Cockburn nominated my colleague Neil Kramm and I for a teaching award (2020-2021). We were not eligible given that the department where we are based hosts the award. However, she shared permission for us to use her motivation:

I cannot think of two more deserving candidates for this special COVID-19 version of the ViceChancellor's Distinguished Teaching Awards 2020-2021. While Nicola and Neil might not be seen as lecturers in the conventional sense (e.g. as staff who teach undergrads / postgrads), they have been all of our teachers as we have undergone the challenging transition to online teaching and learning. I therefore nominate them from my perspective as a lecturer at the university and as one of their deeply grateful students: they were, and continue to be, my teachers, mentors and supporters as I navigate the bumpy seas of online learning.

Furthermore, although it is probably somewhat unconventional to nominate a pair of lecturers, Nicola and Neil seem to work so well together as a team, and I don't think either of them could have done what they did in 2020 without the other. What they achieved in 2020 under extremely challenging conditions is nothing short of magical! I salute them and thank them for their tireless commitment to supporting the whole university to transition to online teaching and learning.

There are three main motivations underpinning my nomination for Nicola and Neil for this award - they have both demonstrated these qualities in their teaching and support: 1

) Commitment, excellence and care: Throughout 2020 Nicola and Neil were available, supportive and deeply committed to their work of supporting us all, as lecturers, to adapt to online teaching. They did this extremely demanding and challenging work with professionalism, kindness and enthusiasm. They were always available, always caring, and they provided high quality and reliable educational technology teaching support. They communicated effectively and clearly in a time when good communication skills were more important than ever.

2) Innovation, creativity and responsiveness: Throughout the on-going transition to online teaching and learning Nicola and Neil have demonstrated their ability to find innovative solutions to the everychanging demands of online teaching; they offered creative and thoughtful alternatives, tools and ideas; and they were responsive and flexible to changing needs. Moreover, they went to lengths to secure additional funding for this crisis teaching situation.

3) Scholarly approach to teaching and learning: it is evident that Nicola and Neil are taking a scholarly and reflective approach to their teaching practice within this new way of teaching and learning. They share important and useful cutting-edge research and perspectives on this new way of working, and they underpinned their own teaching and support with these insights. In addition, they are conducting research on the online teaching and learning experience whilst continuing to provide practical support and teaching for all of us, demonstrating their commitment to scholarly teaching and learning.

While I have written this nomination mostly in the past tense based primarily on my experiences of Nicola and Neil’s work in 2020, they continue to do this work and provide us with this exceptional support. They are truly an asset to our university and deserve the highest recognition for this!

Supporting staff in using educational technologies involves creating experiential learning opportunities. Lecturers are added to some sites as teachers so that they can access resources as well as use designated sections on these sites as a sandbox to experiment with using the tool.