fail the module. Rather than accept these statistics, Dr Craig and his colleagues took action! They introduced Saturday classes combining face-to-face tutoring with online learning via Khan Academy. These sessions provided extra support and encouraged self-paced learning. Over time, the programme evolved into a more structured and targeted support system that remains part of the department’s offerings today. Dr Craig later brought in senior tutors to help sustain the initiative, recognising that successful teaching innovations must be scalable and not reliant on a single individual’s effort. His approach to teaching has matured from personal motivation to a more reflective and systematic practice. He encourages educators to document their teaching experiences by examining what works, what doesn’t work, and most importantly, why. In this way, he was able to develop a strong teaching philosophy, aligned with the continuous improvements in practice evident in his portfolio. For Dr Craig, the recognition provided by the Vice Chancellor’s award is meaningful for personal motivation because it affirms the value of teaching within the broader university community. Dr Craig reflects on the changing nature of his students, particularly the Gen Z cohort, who often seek instant gratification. Rather than fully adapting to that mindset, he opts to “hold the line,” promoting patience, reading, and deep thinking in a world increasingly driven by quick answers and short attention spans. Although he incorporates some digital elements, such as short videos, he remains committed to maintaining rigour and depth in his teaching. Looking ahead, Dr Craig considers generative AI tools as both a challenge and an opportunity. They complicate assessment integrity but also present new avenues for student learning if used responsibly. His advice to educators is to approach teaching with both passion and precision, recognise that great teaching is demanding, and develop systems that ensure quality and sustainability. For him, the true reward lies in both institutional recognition and witnessing former students succeed, with some even becoming academics themselves, thereby continuing the cycle of teaching that initially inspired him. His journey into teaching was influenced by his family of educators, including his mother, a biology teacher, and his father, a zoology lecturer, and was further shaped through years of tutoring and early academic experiences that demonstrated the rewards of close, interactive instruction. After joining UJ as a postdoctoral researcher in 2012, Dr Craig was appointed as a lecturer two years later. His initial years at UJ involved delivering large first-year mathematics classes, an experience that sharpened his ability to manage sizeable cohorts efficiently and effectively. Under the mentorship of module coordinator, Yolande Jacobs, he learned that teaching at such a scale demanded energy, enthusiasm, as well as organisation and teamwork. Running a firstyear course with 800 students required what he calls “military precision” to keep classes synchronised and to ensure assessments remained on schedule. These early experiences shaped his understanding that excellent teaching combines passion with structure. Although the COVID-19 pandemic significantly disrupted teaching, the experiences accelerated innovation. Already familiar with digital tools, Dr Craig adapted to online teaching more smoothly than many. While he continues to use the videos created during that period, he found the absence of human interaction challenging. The return to face-to-face teaching reminded him of the importance of nonverbal cues and informal exchanges in learning, elements that technology cannot replicate. Dr Craig’s teaching philosophy focuses on energy, enthusiasm, and clarity. He believes students respond best to lecturers who are genuinely excited about their subjects and draws inspiration from his own former teachers who demonstrated this passion even in routine tasks. Simultaneously, he recognises the importance of consistency and preparation, especially when working with large groups where a single moment of hesitation can cause a loss of focus. His award-winning initiatives stemmed from a desire to address one of the department’s longstanding challenges: low pass rates in first-year mathematics. Data analysis revealed that students who performed poorly on their first test were overwhelmingly likely to Dr Andrew Craig, a Senior lecturer in the Department of Mathematics and Applied Mathematics at the University of Johannesburg (UJ), received the Vice-Chancellor’s Distinguished Award for Most Promising Young Teacher in 2019. 103 A Journey of Innovation
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