Cape onnie in top 10 for global prize
LOCAL: Mariëtte Wheeler, Protea Heights Academy.
A Western Cape school teacher has been announced as a top 10 finalist for the 2023 Global Teacher Prize, and she was selected from over 7 000 nominations and applications from 130 countries around the world.
Dr Mariëtte Wheeler, a life sciences teacher at Protea Heights Academy, has been nominated as one of the Top 10 finalists for the prestigious Global Teacher Prize during an announcement by actor Stephen Fry in Paris on Wednesday afternoon.
Candidates for the Global Teacher Prize are judged on a rigorous set of criteria to identify an exceptional teacher who has made an outstanding contribution to the profession.
In 2021, Wheeler won the Department of Basic Education’s Best Teacher Award for her teaching approach that prioritises simple explanations and collaborative learning.
Learners engage in peer discussions, class debates, charades-like competitions, and use the Quizziz app to learn complex scientific terms.
“Outside the classroom, she also makes monthly record broadcasts on marine life for a local radio station, listened to by around 400 000 people," Western Cape Education Department spokesperson Bronagh Hammond said.
Hammond added that nine of the 50 finalists are from Africa, and in the history of this award, a total of eight teachers from South Africa have made it to the Top 50 and Top 10 Global Teacher Prize Finalists.
An excited Wheeler said the nomination was a huge honour, adding: “Being one of the Top 10 means that the work that I am doing at Protea Heights Academy for the Western Cape Education Department will be showcased at the event at the Unesco headquarters on November 8.”
Education MEC David Maynier congratulated Dr Wheeler on her outstanding achievement, and said it was “a testament to the quality of teaching taking place in our province”.