Chemistry Lecturer’s Teaching Innovation Attracts Awards

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Dr Vino Paideya of the Discipline of Chemistry in the School of Agriculture and Science at the University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN) is receiving local and international accolades for her pre-lab interactive resources, developed to help first-year students overcome barriers, build confidence and improve their conceptual understanding in chemistry.

Paideya was one of seven recipients of the 2025 Teaching Innovation Award from the United Kingdom-based LearnSci organisation, which supports technology-enhanced learning innovations that positively impact teaching quality and enhance student experiences.

After receiving submissions from more than ten countries, judges praised Paideya for a clear, inclusive and pedagogically grounded solution to a common challenge, intentionally aligning pre-laboratory activities with learning outcomes to create a structured and highly accessible environment for student success in first-year Chemistry.

She was also recognised with the Digital Curriculum Transformation Award from UKZN's Teaching and Learning Office at the 2025 Instructional and Learning Design Symposium for her development of these resources.

Paideya’s digital innovation, developed in collaboration with LearnSci, transforms pre-laboratory exercises through interactive online simulations. She developed the project to address the challenge of transitioning into first-year university chemistry, particularly in South Africa, where many students encounter a laboratory setting for the first time. This is compounded by unequal schooling, limited access to scientific resources, and language barriers, eroding students’ confidence, conceptual understanding, class engagement, integrated learning and performance in practical sessions.

The project introduces weekly online pre-laboratory exercises embedded directly into the University’s learning management system (LMS). The pre-lab exercises combine interactive simulations, guided prompts, conceptual questions and automated feedback to prepare students before entering the laboratory. Each activity mirrors the structure, safety requirements, and learning outcomes of the upcoming laboratory session, enabling students to practise procedures, test predictions and explore outcomes in a low-risk virtual environment and at their own pace. The design applies active learning principles, Universal Design for Learning, and aligns theory, experiment and assessment.

By shifting preparation into an interactive, student-centred digital format, the project strengthens readiness, increases autonomy and bridges the gap between lectures and laboratory work.

The project has achieved consistently high completion rates, indicating strong student engagement. Instructors observed reductions in procedural errors, fewer basic misconceptions, and increased laboratory participation. Students reported greater confidence, improved understanding and reduced anxiety. It also enabled more effective time use in the laboratory, thereby increasing focus on data interpretation, problem-solving and critical thinking.

Learning analytics provided insights that enabled targeted interventions and more responsive teaching, and the collaborative design process strengthened curriculum relevance and ensured contextual sensitivity for South African students.

Paideya sees potential for wider application of the innovation across other science modules, and plans for deeper integration of video demonstrations, peer discussion forums, multilingual support, and research-led refinement.

“This project demonstrates how thoughtful digital transformation can promote equity, strengthen scientific literacy, and enhance the first-year learning experience,” said Paideya. “It offers a sustainable, scalable model for modernising laboratory preparation and advancing teaching excellence.”

Paideya, an alumnus who has taught in various capacities at UKZN since 2007, holds a PhD in chemistry education and a certification as a Supplemental Instruction (SI) Supervisor from the University of Missouri, Kansas City. She has also served on the SI National Advisory Board (Nelson Mandela University) since 2025.

Her research interests are first-year student experiences, chemistry education, student academic support programmes (SI), and institutional research projects, including the identification of the roles and responsibilities of Academic Monitoring and Support Practitioners, the Tutor Development Project, and the Institutional SI Training Project. 

She has published journal articles and conference proceedings in her field of interest. Paideya has also presented papers at national and international conferences and seminars. In 2022, she was appointed South African Coordinator by the South African National Resource Centre for the National Survey of Peer Leaders, which was designed to gain a cross-national perspective on the structure of peer leadership experiences and their impact on academic performance.

Words: Christine Cuénod

Photograph: Albert Hirasen