UFS School of Mathematics Natural Sciences and Technology Education
UFS School of Mathematics Natural Sciences and Technology Education – check below:
The School of Mathematics, Natural Sciences, and Technology Education is guided by the principles of academic excellence and respect for human dignity enshrined in the University of the Free State’s vision and mission statement and cascaded through similar ideals of the Faculty of Education.
In pursuance of these ideas, as the School we strive towards delivering curriculum offerings with the highest levels of cognitive demand comparable to, if not better, than the best in the world. To achieve this objective, Mr Nixon Teis and Mr Moeketsi Mosia, for example, are in the process of facilitating our collaboration in Technology Education with Massachusetts Institute of Technology in the United States.
Our school also intends to ensure that this rigour in curriculum is coupled with a strong support base for all learners, especially those who might not have a very strong foundation in Mathematics, Natural Sciences and Technology Education.
A programme of action that will identify students experiencing problems and provide an all-round support is being put in place by a team led by Mr Johan Coetzee, supported by all academics in the School and linked to all similar instances at the University of the Free State and beyond.
As the School we are also convinced that strong curriculum offerings are always possible if we also have strong community engagement programmes.
Prof Loyiso Jita’s Instructional Leadership project is one such example, providing the School with much needed engagement with the schools in the Free State Province and beyond. Through this project, teachers and school management teams join forces with the School to share the most current and cutting-edge strategies to enhance teaching and learning of Mathematics, Natural Sciences and Technology Education in schools.
As the Academic School we come to our fullness if schools for which we train teachers can also perform their level best.
Beyond teaching and learning and community engagement, the School has embarked on an aggressive drive to improve our research output. This research output is based on programmes to address challenges in the schools locally and nationally, informed by best practices internationally.
The research being produced is also of such quality that it is published in high-impact international journals and conference proceedings. Financial support is provided to all staff in the School to attend and present papers at least at one international and one local conference.
For colleagues to be able to achieve this goal, the School under the leadership of Dr Jungueira, Mr Johan Coetzee and Prof Loyiso Jita, (who are Discipline Coordinators in the School) have worked out a plan of action whereby there is mentoring for all academics in terms of research methodology, research writing skills, identification of conferences, and critical readership of one another’s work, to mention but a few.
All the above are supported and managed by Prof Sechaba Mahlomaholo, the Head of the School, who encourages all to act as role models for excellence in teaching, learning, community engagement and research, underpinned by principles of social justice, fairness and caring.
- Mathematics and IT Education
- Natural Sciences Education
- Technology Education