The North-West University (NWU) celebrated the torchbearers of its teaching excellence during a virtual event. The best-of-the-best lecturers of 2020 were acknowledged for their work in taking teaching and learning to higher levels during the annual Teaching Excellence Award (TEA) ceremony, which was streamed online on 25 March.
The NWU is renowned for teaching excellence, having produced past winners of the Higher Education Learning and Teaching Association of Southern Africa: Distinguished Teaching Excellence Award – a showcase of the most esteemed and celebrated university teachers in South Africa. While continuously striving towards excellence in teaching and learning, the NWU was in past years ranked as one of the best-performing universities in South Africa with respect to teaching and learning.
At the NWU, academic members, as university teachers, are annually invited to showcase excellent teaching contributions by participating in the NWU TEAs.
Forty-six university teachers from all eight faculties and multi-disciplinary fields received awards. The respective faculties received the following number of awards:
Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences – four awards
Faculty of Education – 16 awards
Faculty of Engineering – two awards
Faculty of Health Sciences – six awards
Faculty of Humanities – three awards
Faculty of Law – three awards
Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences – nine awards
Faculty of Theology – three awards
Two university teachers displayed exceptional levels of excellence in their teaching and learning contributions within their respective disciplines. Prof Roelof Burger and Dr Teresa Hattingh were awarded the Distinguished Teaching Excellence Award (DTEA), the highest institutional award bestowed upon a university teacher.
Prof Roelof Burger is from the School of Geo and Spacial Sciences in the Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences. His expertise and exceptional teaching and learning contributions are in the fields of climatology, meteorology and remote sensing.
Dr Teresa Hattingh is a senior lecturer and programme manager in the School of Industrial Engineering in the Faculty of Engineering. Dr Hattingh’s teaching and learning contributions and involvement extend to a national and international footprint in emerging fields of industrial engineering education.
Prof Dan Kgwadi, vice-chancellor, expressed his appreciation for the high calibre of university teachers at the NWU. He thanked all 2020 TEA winners for their exceptional contributions to the South African higher-education landscape.
Prof Linda du Plessis, vice-principal, and Vice-Chancellor: Planning and Vanderbijlpark Campus Operations, congratulated all TEA winners and stated that awardees’ teaching contributions underpin the NWU’s reputation for quality, employability and responsiveness to market and national higher-education needs. She said that academics’ roles are not restricted to university halls and classrooms.
More about the NWU Teaching Excellence Awards
The NWU’s TEAs aim to acknowledge university teachers for their role, commitment, dedication and contributions to the quality and excellent teaching and learning within multi-disciplinary fields and with respect to student success.
Awards were presented in three categories: (a) Emerging Teaching Excellence Award (ETEA), (b) Teaching Excellence Award (TEA), and (c) Distinguished Teaching Excellence Award (DTEA).
The NWU’s DTEA is the highest accolade awarded to university teachers. It honours exemplary teaching at the highest institutional level. DTEA nominees are nominated and recommended for the award after consideration of nominees’ portfolios by evaluation panels. Nominees’ portfolios are then submitted to an external evaluation panel, followed by (a) a presentation by the nominees and (b) an interview with the panel.
Each DTEA nominee is evaluated on their distinct contribution to teaching and learning within the institutional, national and international higher-education landscape.
The following criteria apply:
- Notable success in the scholarship of teaching
- Innovative strategies employed in teaching and learning
- Reflection on teaching and learning that presents the nominee’s development and progress over time within their teaching and learning context
- An institutional, a national and an international teaching and learning presence
- Nominees’ reflection on the student voice about trends in higher education
- Recognition of nominees’ faculty leadership contributions in terms of curriculum development in the faculty and beyond
The 2020 NWU Teaching Excellence Award winners
Distinguished Teaching Excellence Award
Prof Roelof Burger, Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences
Dr Teresa Hattingh, Faculty of Engineering
Teaching Excellence Award
Dr Lettie Botha, Faculty of Education
Dr Byron Bunt, Faculty of Education
Prof Roelof Burger, Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences
Ms Janet Chalmers, Faculty of Education
Dr Dirk Cilliers, Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences
Ms Wilma Coetzee, Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences
Dr Louw de Beer, Faculty of Education
Dr Luiza de Sousa, Faculty of Education
Prof Elmien du Plessis, Faculty of Law
Dr Jean du Toit, Faculty of Humanities
Dr Philip du Toit, Faculty of Theology
Dr Ewie Erasmus, Faculty of Education
Prof Fazel Freeks, Faculty of Theology
Dr Allison Geduld, Faculty of Law
Dr Teresa Hattingh, Faculty of Engineering
Prof Marietjie Havenga, Faculty of Education
Mr Werner Kaiser, Faculty of Engineering
Prof Ankebé Kruger, Faculty of Health Sciences
Dr Leandi Lammertyn, Faculty of Health Sciences
Dr Dorothy Laubscher, Faculty of Education
Dr Shani le Roux, Faculty of Health Sciences
Dr Ananka Loubser, Faculty of Humanities
Dr Elma Marais, Faculty of Education
Dr Rachel Mayimele, Faculty of Education
Dr Deborah Mokgojwa, Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences
Mr Cobus Oosthuizen, Faculty of Health Sciences
Dr Kelebogile Paadi, Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences
Prof Rialet Pieters, Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences
Prof Johan Potgieter, Faculty of Health Sciences
Dr Lynn Preston, Faculty of Education
Dr Salome Romylos, Faculty of Education
Dr Frances Siebert, Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences
Dr Lynndle Square, Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences
Dr Pieter Swarts, Faculty of Education
Dr Sune van der Linde, Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences
Dr Annette van der Merwe, Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences
Dr Wanda van der Merwe, Faculty of Education
Dr Corné van der Vyver, Faculty of Education
Mr Abie van Oort, Faculty of Health Sciences
Dr Germarie Viljoen, Faculty of Law
Dr Elize Vos, Faculty of Education
Dr Hannelie Yates, Faculty of Theology
Prof Johan Zaaiman, Faculty of Humanities
Emerging Teaching Excellence Award
Mr Kgosietsile Frenk Monnagaaratwe, Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences
Mr Ruhann Steyn, Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences
Dr Johannes-Hugo van Schalkwyk, Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences
Recipients of the 2020 NWU Distinguished Teaching Excellence Award are Prof Roelof Burger and Dr Teresa Hattingh.
Dr Teresa Hattingh receives her reward from Prof Marco Le Roux, director of the Centre for Engineering Education.
Prof Roelof Burger receives his award from Prof David Modise, executive dean of the Faculty Natural and Agricultural Sciences.
