18 October 2021

To whom it may concern,

Peer Observation of Dr Carla Pretorius

I first met Dr Pretorius in her capacity as chemistry lecturer on the Stellenbosch University Extended
Degree Programme (EDP) when I joined the programme as physics lecturer in 2018. Having recently
graduated with a PhD in physics education, I was delighted to meet someone so passionate about
chemistry education. Dr Pretorius and I started a collaborative project with another colleague,
developing a “mathematics boot camp” to ensure students had the requisite mathematical skills for
success in chemistry and physics. We have subsequently collaborated on a project involving the use
of Virtual Reality in science education. We have also attended numerous education workshops,
seminars and conferences together.

Part of my role in the EDP programme was to get a sense of “a day in the life” of an EDP student. I
therefore had the privilege of attending a few of Carla’s classes: (i) a regular chemistry lecture, (ii) an
interactive chemistry tutorial, and (iii) the final student presentations of a collaborative project
between chemistry and two other EDP modules: scientific communication skills and computer skills.

Having observed dozens of physics and mathematics lectures (of various lecturers) for my PhD and
MSc research, I can confidently rank Dr Pretorius’ lectures among the best I have ever observed. Not
only was her content clearly and engagingly delivered, but it was immediately apparent that she had
created an exceptional rapport with her students; her classroom is a space where students feel both
safe and enthusiastic to explore a subject many have inherited Dr Pretorius’ passion for. For
example, the interactive tutorial session involved students having to pick a chemistry experiment
they did during the year and use the principle to come up with a novel application. Dr Pretorius
began the lecture by clearly outlining the goal of the tutorial, and then provided an inspiring
example: the pink polka dotted airplane – an indicator included in paint pigment that would change
colour to indicate rust on planes. As I walked among the students there was an unusual amount of
stimulating discussion (for a university tutorial session!) It was clear that students had been deeply
engaged with their previous chemistry practicals and were eager to apply their established
knowledge in an innovative context. There was a wonderful atmosphere during the final
presentations as students were excited to hear the ideas of their peers. Dr Pretorius had a created a
space in which students were rewarded (both academically and socially) for clearly articulating what
they had learnt in chemistry and for being creative with these ideas. A similar exuberant atmosphere
accompanied the students’ final presentations of their collaborative projects. It is a great testament
to Dr Pretorius’ teaching ingenuity that these student presentations were screened as films in Pulp
Cinema – the students and I were educated and entertained while munching popcorn! As stated
above, these projects were designed by Dr Pretorius and her EDP colleagues to give students the
opportunity to apply their communication and computing skills in a chemistry context. The
suggested project topics were relevant and contentious, such as the debates around nuclear power,
fracking and fluoride. Students’ final productions were created on free video software (such as
Powtoon). I have never seen students so excited to attend a university class.
As evidenced above, Dr Pretorius has a keen eye for collaborative opportunities that can lead to
more effective teaching and the deep integration of student knowledge. She is involved in an
extensive, collaborative project around gamification and co-presented a workshop at SOTL 2019. As
a workshop participant I directly experienced Dr Pretorius’ patient and engaging teaching style; I left
the workshop with a clear sense of the immense potential for gamification in education. I have also
been privy (as an editor) to another of Dr Pretorius’ gamification collaborations: an ambitious online
tutor training programme that might revolutionise the way in which we train our tutors in the
science faculty.

In all these activities Dr Pretorius shows an unusual combination of personality traits and skill sets
that make for an exceptional educator: she has an incisive intellect, clarity of thought and
presentation, deep empathy and compassion for her students, as well as a sensitivity and
commitment to rectifying the inequalities that exist in the South African education system. She is an
obvious choice for an SU Teachers’ Award.

Yours sincerely,
Dr Philip Southey

BSc Verlengde Graadprogram (VGP) | BSc Extended Degree Program(EDP)

Fakulteit Natuurwetenskappe | Faculty of Science

Universiteit Stellenbosch | Stellenbosch University