A professor in the Media Department has been honoured with a national accolade for teaching excellence.
Prof Nic Theo recently won one of the five National Teaching Excellence Awards – a joint project by the Council on Higher Education and the Higher Education Learning and Teaching Association of South Africa.
The aim of the awards are to show support at a national level for excellence in teaching and learning in higher education and to generate debate and public awareness about what constitutes teaching excellence.
The award was not the first time that his excellence in teaching has been acknowledged as Theo has received a number of awards from within the institution over the past few years.
For the National Teaching Excellence Awards he had to, among other things, present a teaching portfolio as well as supporting material from students and colleagues before he was shortlisted.
“I was very excited when I actually won. I felt really honoured to have been chosen.”
Asked about the attributes he believes a good teacher should possess, he replied: “I have noticed that the people that are the most effective are the most humble”.
His advice to prospective teachers is, “listen more than you talk”.
He is not a believer in the one size fits all approach in the classroom, and instead tries to tailor the course material and his style of teaching to meet the specific needs of his students.
He received a prize money and a certificate during the awards ceremony held at the Kirstenbosch Botanical Garden.
Written by Ilse Fredericks
