Bronwyn P - Tutor in Rietfontein
History is one of my favourite subjects with English coming in at a close second. I have a Master’s in History Education and I am very passionate about this subject. My majors in my first degrees were Ancient Near Eastern History and Classical History, and Archaeology. Teaching History has broadened my knowledge to include southern African History, Modern History and Military History (another major interest of mine that blends in well with War Poetry). I have also had many years of teaching English to Primary and High School students. There is nothing more satisfying than a student really grasping the English language or literature being taught and seeing them grow. My experience in teaching has left me with many transferable skills that I apply to my lessons and in life in general. Another past time is reading; I am a huge fan of J.R.R. Tolkien, Steven Erikson, Terry Pratchett and Terry Goodkind.
Tutor basics
Teaching places
Online
Languages spoken
Bronwyn speaks English
Experience
Marker of University Examination scripts
Marking of University assignments and examinations covering the topics of transformations in southern Africa from the 1600s to the 1900s. Extensive comments on writing structure, how to communicate understanding better, sentence structure and paragraph structures. Encouragement to improve or continue with the work ethics.
History and English Teacher
English language and literature lessons to the Grade 10-12s in the CAPS curriculum. Day to day lessons included writing skills, analysis skills of advertising and poetry. Poetry writing and studies of the set poems and books. Many discussions and group work around the topics discussed and how to improve on writing skills. Marking of other student's work (not named) in order to understand the common errors that present themselves. Visit to the Brooklyn theatre to watch Shakespeare's Hamlet. History taught to all high-school grades 8-12 in the CAPS curriculum. Topics included southern African history, History of South Africa from Jan van Riebeeck right up to apartheid and the struggles against apartheid. The European histories of World War 1 and 2 and communist China and Russia.
English and History teacher
I started in this post teaching English and History to Grade 6 and 7 students. English included language and literature. The History covered a wide range of topics including the trans-Sahara slave trade and the trans-Atlantic slave trade. Lessons included the use of slide shows and videos showing the different regions the above events took place and to illustrate English language principles better, using more colourful aspects. Later I moved onto the high school section and taught senior History from Grade 8 - 12 in the CAPS curriculum. The lessons included debates and discussions of the issues presented. Topics raised were also relevant to current events and then linked to the past event that was the original topic. This allowed my students to see how History does indeed repeat. Use of videos, slideshows and visits to the Apartheid museums and Mandela's house.
English Subject Head and Social Sciences (History and Geography)
English language and literature lessons and assessments. Phendulani Book Quiz - my group of students won the 2014 competition. Lots of group work and discussions to work through the content of literature books. Use of slideshows and videos to show different aspects of the topics. Geography and History taught to Grade 6 and 7 students. Topics included river systems, map work and the trans-Sahara slave trade to name a few.
Special Needs Educator
Teaching of all subject areas to students in Grade 5 and 6. Incorporating differentiation teaching to suit the level of learning of my students. One on one assistance as much as possible. Very structured lessons laying out what is expected step by step. Singing and visual art activities for learners that struggle to read or memorise things. Lots of repetition.
Part time lecturer (Project Management)
Lessons were only conducted on a Saturday and I had to travel to the classes in remoter parts of Johannesburg. Presentations and discussions of the modules on Project management. Real life scenarios to prepare for and remediation of any previous tests that the students struggled with.
English Teacher (part time)
English teacher of Language and Literature to students from Form 1 - 4. Writing skills in essays, summary and letter writing. Grammatical lessons on sentence structure, form, punctuation, tone and more. Literature lessons on Shakespearean plays such as Romeo and Juliet. How to interpret the hidden meanings in poetry and prose. Identification of metaphors, similes, oxymorons, onomatopoeia and much more. Literature lessons included some drama to make the lessons more fun and realistic. Class discussions on use of language, using recent articles of interest to the learners. Something they can relate to.
Teacher History
IGCSE History taught to Form 1-4. Lessons in class and many discussions around the major topics of modern History and Ancient civilisations. Encouragement of students to figure out for themselves why a leader would make the decisions they did. Group discussions, panel discussions. Visits to the Maropeng Museum for the evolution aspect of the study. Creating worksheets that are fun and help with visual learning.
History Teacher
Taught History to Form 1 and 2 students. Topics included pre-history in southern Africa (including evolution and the first development of early societies), Early civilisations such as those in the Ancient Near East, Egypt and Greece, Medieval History and World War 1. Activities included incorporating the lessons on evolution using real bone specimens and bringing in an archaeologist to explain the formation of stone tool technology. Visits to the local natural History museum. General knowledge games based on the current topics covered.
Education
BA - UNISA
The major subjects covered were Ancient History and Archaeology.
BA Honours - UNISA
Major subjects included Ancient Near East, Classical thought and society (Greek and Roman). Research paper was about Alexander the Great's horse, Bucephalus.
PGCE - UNISA
Major subjects were FET English (Language didactics), and FET History.
Master History Education - University of Pretoria
Title of dissertation was History through Archaeology: A case study of Zimbabwean History textbooks. The aim of the study was to identify how archaeology was used in Zimbabwean textbooks to explain Historical narratives about the pre-history of southern Africa.
Subjects taught
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History
I have a Master’s in History, and a number of years teaching the subject. I am also extremely passionate about my subject and always strive to learn as much as I can on the subject including how to present the content in different ways. I have had the pleasure of teaching from primary school up to University level and I have been fortunate enough to have taught both IGCSE, IGCE and the CAPS curriculums. Being a teacher for a number of years has taught me to understand that my students all have different learning styles and it is best to apply these styles to their learning experience. History topics range from Modern History, southern African History, Military History and Ancient Near Eastern and Classical History.
Bronwyn teaches History at High School, Primary School, University/College, and Adult level(s)