The Science is Tough (But So Are You!) open textbook initiative is led by Associate Professor Dale Taylor and PhD student Mohammed Kajee in the Faculty of Science at the University of Cape Town in collaboration with DOT4D.
The textbook development process is focused on engaging a variety of student collaborators to create a resource that supports first-year BSc students in navigating the UCT experience for the first time.
Science is Tough (But So Are You!) guides students on a year-long journey on ‘how to learn science’ through an African lens and is part of the Science Faculty’s ongoing curriculum review efforts. The thematic areas of the textbook include student belonging, decolonising science, thriving at UCT, learning to learn, and exploring a future in science.
The Science is Tough (But So Are You!) open textbook initiative is explicitly designed to enable collaborative, student-centered approaches to authorship, quality assurance and publishing.