A dynamic and involved lecturer at the Rhodes English department, Dr Deborah Seddon is passionate about teaching, which is why she will receive the Vice Chancellor’s Distinguished Teacher’s Award later this month.
It is when she talks about “a kind of magic”? that moment when a student starts to think differently about life? that it becomes clear that she really cares about the all-round teaching experience.
“Teaching is about the students; their curiosities, their interests. They must feel safe enough to be themselves,” she says.
Dr Seddon joined the English department in 2004. She says the advent of the Centre of Higher Education, Research, Teaching and Learning (CHERTL), located just around the corner, has significantly changed how she teaches, allowing her to be more self-reflexive about her teaching as well as within her discipline.
As part of the application for the Teacher’s Award, CHERTL was directly involved in the selection process and the committee members attended her lectures as well as conducting a detailed interview.
She says she was very pleased to receive a phone call from the Vice Chancellor, Dr Saleem Badat, to congratulate her. “Receiving this award is, for me, a sense of being acknowledged and recognised for the large amount of my time, my effort and my heart I put into teaching. Sometimes the most important experiences happen in my class so I know how important it is for me and for the students.”
She mentions how the selection process made her think about teaching in different ways. “Teaching can be a closed-off process at times so it was gratifying to have my colleagues share, participate and observe. I thought the selection process was very thorough and I appreciate the committee members taking time to attend my classes.
“The award is important because it acknowledges the relationship between an academic and her students.”
Dr Seddon has found that cultivating good conversation skills and solid arguments is still the best approach. “In the world of sound-bites and such, we do our students a disservice by aping the contemporary way of communication,” she says.
Technology ? especially the use of PowerPoint, music and film clips ?has certainly enriched the teaching experience for her, providing an essential complement to the texts.
“I don’t believe it’s old-fashioned to lecture; in the sense of making a space to share information, argue and make sense of the text. We work with serious, politically conscious students so, for me, the strategy must fit the material. It has to be what brings out the most interesting questions,” she says.
Story and photo: Anna-Karien Otto