KEY NOTES
Presentation
Phonics/vocabulary
Writing letter-small
Using Punctuation
Build the love and culture of reading
5 Storytelling/listening comprehension
Phonics/ comprehension Labeling
Using Punctuation
Build the love and culture of reading
6
Story telling
Asking and answering questions
Fluency/comprehension
Labeling
Using Punctuation
Build the love and culture of reading
7
Dramatization & Role play
Word families/ Vocabulary
Writing Simple Words
Using Punctuation
Build the love and culture of reading
8 Listening comprehension
Asking and answering questions
Word families
Writing Simple Words
Build the love and culture of reading
Using Punctuation
Conversation - Talking About Oneself, Vocabulary/ comprehension
Writing as a process
Using qualifying words: adjectives
Build the love and culture of reading
Listening Comprehension
Vocabulary Writing as a process Using qualifying words: adverbs
Build the love and culture of reading
Listening Comprehension
Vocabulary
Writing as a process
Using qualifying words: adverbs
Build the love and culture of reading
Listening Comprehension
Fluency/Comprehension
Narrative writing
Using qualifying words: adverbs
Build the love and culture of reading
Conversation - Talking About Oneself, Etc.
Fluency/Comprehension
Narrative writing
Using simple preposition
Build the love and culture of reading
Conversation- Talking About Oneself,
Fluency/comprehension
Writing as a process
Using simple, compound and complex sentences
Build the love and culture of reading
Presentation
Fluency/comprehension
Writing as a process
Spelling
Build the love and culture of reading
Presentation
Phonics/ comprehension
Writing as a process
Spelling
Build the love and culture of reading
Giving and Following Commands/ instructions/ directions and making and responding to requests
Writing as a process
Spelling
Build the love and culture of the reading
Listening Comprehension/ Asking and Answering
Questions
Phonics
Narrative writing
Spelling
Build the love and culture of reading
KEY NOTES
9
10
Presentation
Diphthongs/ comprehension
Writing Simple Words
Using Action Words/ Verbs
Build the love and culture of reading
Conversation - Talking About Oneself.
Diphthongs/comprehension
Writing Simple Words
Using Action Words/ Verbs
Build the love and culture of reading
11
Giving and Following Commands/ instructions/directions and making and responding to requests
Blends & consonant
Clusters
Guided Composition
Using Action Words/ Verbs
Build the love and culture of reading
12 Talking About Oneself, Etc.
Blends & consonant Clusters
Guided Composition
Using Action Words/ Verbs
Build the love and culture of reading
Asking And Answering Questions
Comprehension
Narrative writing
Using simple preposition
Build the love and culture of the reading
Asking And Answering Questions
Vocabulary/ Comprehension
Descriptive Writing
Using simple preposition
Build the love and culture of reading
Giving and Following Commands/instructions
directions and making and responding to requests
Comprehension
Descriptive Writing
Using simple preposition
Build the love and culture of reading
Giving And Following Commands Comprehension
Descriptive Writing
Using simple preposition
Build the love and culture of reading
(Source: NaCCA Resource Pack B1-B6))
Conversation: Talking About Oneself
Phonics
Narrative writing
Spelling
Build the love and culture of reading
Conversation - Talking About Oneself, Etc.
Blends & consonant Clusters/ Comprehension
Narrative writing
Using Action Words/Verbs
Build the love and culture of reading
Conversation - Talking About Oneself, Etc. Comprehension
Narrative writing Using Action Words/Verbs
Build the love and culture of reading
Conversation – Talking About Oneself, Etc. Comprehension Narrative writing
Using Action Words/ Verbs
Build the love and culture of reading
KEY NOTES
Template writing Scheme of Learning for a given term
Week Strand
1 Oral Language
Reading Writing Using Writing Conventions
Grammar Usage Extensive Reading Songs Phonics Penmanship Using Capitals Build the love and culture of reading
2 Oral Language
Reading Using Writing Conventions/ Grammar Usage Extensive Reading Rhymes Phonics/ comprehension Penmanship Using Capital Build the love and culture of reading
3
Oral Language
Reading Writing Using Writing Conventions
Grammar Usage Extensive Reading
4
Oral Language
Reading
Writing Using Writing Conventions
Grammar
Usage
Extensive Reading
5 Oral Language
Reading
Writing Using Writing Conventions/Grammar
Usage
Extensive Reading
Story telling Phonics/ comprehension Writing letter- small Using Capitas Build the love and culture of reading
Story telling Phonics/ vocabulary
Writing lettersmall
Using Punctuation
Build the love and culture of reading
Story telling/ listening comprehension Phonics/ comprehension
Labeling Using Punctuation
Build the love and culture of reading
B3.1.1.1:
B3.2.2.1
B3.4.2.1
B3.5.1.1
B3.6.1.1
B3.1.2.1
B3.2.2.1;
B3.2.7.1
B3.4.2.1
B3.5.1.1
B3.6.1.1
B3.1. 4.1
B3.2.2.1;
B3.2.7.1
B3.3.3.1
B3.5.1.1
B3.6.1.1
B3.1. 4.1
B3.2.2.1;
B3.2.6.1
B3.3.3.1
B3.5.2.1
B3.6.1.1
B3.1.4.1; B3.1.7.1
B3.2.2.1;
B3.2.7.1
B3.4.4.1
B3.5.2.1
B3.6.1.1
B3.1.1.1.1
B3.2.2.1.1.
B3.4.2.1.1
B3.5.1.1
B3.6.1.1.1
B3.1.2.1.1
B3.2.2.1.1;
B3.2.7.1.1
B3.4.2.1.1
B3.5.1.1.1
B3.6.1.1.1
B3.1. 4.1.1
B3.2.2.1.2; B3.2.7.1.2
B3.3.3.1.1
B3.5.1.1,2
B3.6.1.1.1
B3.1. 4.1.2
B3.2.2.1.2;
B3.2.6.1.1
B3.3.3.1.1
B3.5.2.1.1
B3.6.1.1.1
B3.1.4.1.2; B3.1.7.1.1
B3.2.2.1.3; B3.2.7.1.2
B3.4.4.1.1
B3.5.2.1.1
B3.6.1.1.1
Letter cards
Word cards, sentence cards, handwriting on a manila card and class library
Word cards, sentence cards, letter cards, sample handwriting on a manila card, and class library
Word cards, sentence cards, sample sentences on manila card focusing on punctuations class library
Word cards, sentence cards, letter cards sample sentences on a manila card, class library, sentences on manila card focusing on punctuations
Word cards, sentence cards, sample labelling on a manila card class library sentences on manila card focusing on punctuations
6
Oral Language
Reading Writing
Writing Conventions / Grammar
Usage
Extensive Reading
7 Oral Language
Reading
Writing Using Writing Conventions
Grammar
Usage
Extensive Reading
8 Oral Language
Reading
Writing Using
Writing Conventions
Grammar
Usage
Extensive Reading
9 Oral Language
Reading
Writing Using Writing Conventions
Grammar
Usage
Extensive Reading
Story telling
Asking and answering questions
Fluency comprehension
Labeling Using Punctuation
Build the love and culture of reading
Dramatization
Role play
Word families
Writing Simple Words Using Punctuation
Build the love and culture of reading
Listening comprehension
Asking and answering questions.
Word families
Writing Simple Words Using Punctuation
Build the love and culture of reading
Presentation/ Conversation
Talking About Oneself
Diphthongs/ comprehension
Writing Simple Words Using Action Words/Verbs
Build the love and Culture of reading
B3.1. 4.1;
B3.1.4.1.2;
B3.1.8.1
B3.2.9.1;
B3.2.7.1
B3.4.4.1
B3.5.2.1
B3.6.1.1
B3.1.5.1
B3.2.3.1
B3.4.5.1
B3.5.2.1
B3.6.1.1
B3.1.8.1.1
B3.2.9.1.1; B3.2.7.1.3
B3.4.4.1.1
B3.5.2.1.2
B3.6.1.1.1
B3.1.5.1.1
B3.2.3.1.1
B3.4.5.1.1
B3.5.2.1.3
B3.6.1.1.1
Word cards, sentence cards, sample of two paragraph composition on a manila card, class library
B3.1.7.1
B3.1.7.1.1;
Word cards, sentence cards, sample composition on a manila card, class library
Sentences on manila card focusing on punctuations
Word cards, sentence cards, sample composition on a manila card, class library
B3.1.8.1
B3.2.3.1
B3.4.5.1
B3.5.2.1
B3.6.1.1
B3.1.10.1
B3.2.4.1;
B3.2.7.2
B3.4.5.1
B3.5. 4.1
B3.6.1.1
B3.1.8.1.1
B3.2.3.1.2
B3.4.5.1.2
B3.5.2.1.3
B3.6.1.1.1
B3.1.10.1
B3.2.4.1.1;
B3.2.7.2.1
B3.4.5.1.3
B3.5. 4.1.1
B3.6.1.1.1
Sentences on manila card focusing on punctuations
Word cards, sentence cards, sample composition on a manila card, class library
10
KEY NOTES
Oral Language
Reading
Writing Using Writing Conventions / Grammar Usage
Extensive Reading Conversation Talking About Oneself, Etc. Diphthongs/ comprehension Writing Simple Words Using Action Words/Verbs Build the love and culture of reading
11 Oral Language
Reading
Writing Using Writing Conventions/ Grammar
Usage
Extensive Reading
Giving and Following Commands/ instructions/ directions and making and responding to requests Blends & consonant. Clusters Guided Composition Using Action Words/Verbs Build the love and culture of reading
12 Oral Language
Reading Writing Using Writing Conventions /Grammar Usage
Extensive Reading
Blends & Consonant Clusters Guided Composition Using Action Words/Verbs Build the love and culture of reading
B3.1.6.1
B3.2.4.1;
B3.2.7.2
B3.4.5.1
B3.5. 4.1
B3.6.1.1
B3.1.9.1
B3.1.6.1.2
B3.2.4.1.1;
B3.2.7.2.1
B3.4.5.1.4
B3.5. 4.1.2
B3.6.1.1.1
Word cards, sentence cards, sample composition on a manila card, class library
B3.1.9.1.1 Word cards, sentence cards, sample composition on a manila card class library
B3.1.6.1
B3.2.5.1
B3.4. 8.1
B3.5. 4.1
B3.6.1.1
B3.1.6.1.4
B3.2.5.1.1
B3.4. 8.1.1
B3.5. 4.1.1
B3.6.1.1.1
Word cards, sentence cards, sample composition on a manila card class library
Understanding the Phases in Lesson Planning
OVERVIEW
This session discusses the different phases in a lesson plan as spelt out in the pre-tertiary curriculum. Participants will be taken through the significance of each of the phases with their corresponding narratives and exemplars.
OBJECTIVES
By the end of the session, participants will be able to:
1. State and explain the main parts in presenting a lesson
2. Discuss what to consider before presenting a lesson
3. Demonstrate presenting phase 1, phase 2 and phase 3 parts of a lesson
MATERIALS
Flip chart, markers and printouts of templates
DESCRIPTION
Explain to participants that the new curriculum is organized based on the following:
Strands, Sub-strands, Content Standards, Indicators and Exemplars
A unique annotation is used for numbering the learning indicators in the curriculum for the purpose of easy referencing. The annotation is indicated in table below:
EXAMPLE
Strands:
These are the broad areas/sections or thematic content to be studied. E.g. as English Language: Reading, Oral language, Language items, etc.
Sub-strands:
These are sub-themes or sub-topics under each strand around which the content is organized. E.g. as in English Language: “Songs under oral language, Nouns under language items, Pre-Reading Activities under Reading, etc.
Content Standard:
Refers to the pre-determined level of knowledge and skills/or attitude that a learner attains by a set stage of education. In addition, it also refers to statements that define what learners should know and be able to do in various disciplinary areas: knowledge (facts, concepts, principles) and skills (processes, strategies, methods). E.g. as in English Reading, “Connect sounds to letters; and blend sound/ syllables to read and write”.
Indicator:
Refers to a clear outcome or milestone that learners have to exhibit in each year to meet the content standard expectation. The indicator represents the minimum expected standard in a year. E.g. as in English Language: “Blend sounds to produce simple syllables/words and blend syllables to produce words”.
Exemplars:
Refer to the support and guidance which clearly explains the expected outcomes of an indicator and suggests what teaching and learning could take to support the facilitators/teachers in the delivery of the curriculum. E.g. as in English Language under Phase 2 of lesson presentation, “In pairs, have one learner make individual sounds of a word and the other blend them together to make one-syllable words: e.g. (a-sh = ash, b-i-n = bin, a-t = at, a-m = am, i-n = in, c-o-t = cot)”.
Performance Indicators:
Measure performance against a set of learning targets which help to track and monitor the progress of learners. E.g. as in English Reading, “Learners can read and write simple words independently.
ACTIVITIES
ACTIVITY 1 - INTRODUCTION TO LESSON PLANNING
Discuss with participants what they would do to ensure that they teach effectively. Explain that, in starting to teach, they should always ensure that all classroom routine activities are carried out. For example, seating arrangement of the learners should be done such that the learners can interact freely during the lesson, class register is marked, relevant textbooks and teaching and learning resources are available for usage during the lesson.
Allow participants to sit in pairs and discuss how they will present their lessons during phase 1, phase 2 and phase 3.
After some minutes, allow each pair to join another pair to share their thoughts. Let participants share what they have agreed on.
ACTIVITY 2 - PARTS OF LESSON PRESENTATION
Take participants through the following: Explain that every lesson presentation can be divided into three main parts: Introduction, presentation and closure or conclusion.
Phase 1:
This is referred to as the STARTER. It gives the teacher the opportunity to prepare the minds of the learners for learning by teaching from the known to the unknown, from simple to complex and from concrete to abstract. This implies that the teacher should start discussing with the learners on what they already know about the topic of the lesson. Phase 1 is the part that precedes the main activities.
Phase 1 can be in the form of:
• Linking what learners know already with the main lesson of the day;
• Revising previous lesson so that it links with the new lesson;
• Using songs, poems, mental drills or simply a warm-up activity (short exercise) as a starter. Note that these are done to prepare the brains or minds of the learners and arouse their interest.
TEACHER TIP
Note: Whatever forms phase 1 takes, teachers should keep in mind that it should be motivating enough to capture and sustain the interest and attention of all learner throughout the lesson.
Phase 2:
This serves as the MAIN part of lesson presentation. It looks at new learning and covers assessment. This is the stage at which the main topic is presented in a step by step manner. It covers what both teacher and learners will be doing. Each step should include the following: alerts, explanations, expected responses, cautioning, examples, clues, referrals, etc. For example, you can caution learners by asking them to be mindful of sharp objects when they are collecting stones or pebbles from the school compound.
Phase 3:
This is the Plenary/ Reflections stage for both learner and teacher. It is the stage at which the lesson is brought to an end. The teacher has several options in ending the lesson.
The options may include the following:
• Facilitating the process for learners to reflect on what they have learnt;
• Summarising lesson by going through salient points. Learners could also be asked to summarise the main points of the lesson;
• Facilitating the learners to recall/explain what has been discussed;
• Asking learners questions about the lesson.
ACTIVITY 3 - GROUP TASKS
Put participants in groups of five to use 20 minutes to carry out the following tasks:
Group 1: Demonstrate the activities you will carry out on “Effects of bush burning on the environment” as a sub-strand under the Strand, Climate Change in Phase 1 of your lesson plan.
Group 2: List and discuss the activities you will carry out under Phase 2 of your lesson plan with “Pre-Reading Activities” as the Sub-Strand.
Group 3: Choose a strand and sub-strand of your choice and write out the following: 1. Content Standard and Indicator 2. Performance Indicator
Group 4: Choose a strand and sub-strand of your choice from Mathematics or English Language and provide the learner activities for Phase 1.
Group 5: Choose a strand and sub-strand of your choice from Mathematics or English Lan guage and provide the learner activities for Phase 3.
In addition to their findings, discuss the following with participants:
Sample Lesson Plan - School: .............................
Date: 03/06/19 Period: 6
Duration: 30 Minutes
Class: Basic 1 Class size: 20
Content Standard:
B1.2.2.1: Connect sounds to letters; and blend sound/ syllables to read and write.
Performance Indica-
tor: Learners can read and write simple words independently.
Indicator: B1.2.2.1.4: Blend sounds to produce simple syllables/words and blend syllables to produce words.
Subject: English Language
Strand: Reading
Sub Strand: Pre-Reading Activities
Lesson 1 of 3
Core Competencies: Critical Thinking and Problem Solving; Communication and Collaboration,
Key words: Blend, cover, sound, bin, cot,
Phase / Time Resources
Phase 1: Starter (Preparing the brain for learning)
5 Minutes
A sound ball, tape recorder,
Phase 2 : Main (new learning including assessment) 20 minutes
Letter cards, word cards
Exemplars (Learner activities)
Play a sound ball game or tape to review the letter sound.
1. Write a two-letter word on the board (vowel– consonant word, e.g. ‘as’).
2. Cover the second letter and ask learners to make the sound of the letter which is not covered.
3. Now cover the first letter for learners to make the sound of the second letter.
4. Remove the cover and use your finger to point to the individual letters while learners make their sounds.
5. Say: Let us increase the speed and as you do so run your finger under the word for learners to blend the sounds to read the word.
6. Continue blending other two-letter words in similar way. Initially maintain the same vowel while the consonants keep changing, e.g. an, at, am, ap, e.
7. Change the vowel sound and repeat the procedure to blend. Other two-letter words, e.g. in, is, it, us, un, etc.
8. Extend the learning by introducing consonant- vowel words, e.g. ba, ta, ma, etc. You can expand the words to three letter (but one syllable) words, e.g. bat, tan, mat, etc.
9. In pairs, have one learner make individual sounds of a word and the other blend them together to make one-syllable words: e.g. (a-sh = ash, b-i-n = bin, a-t = at, a-m = am, i-n = in, c-o-t = cot). Assessment: Have learners play Pick and Read game. Have learners pick word cards, blend the sounds and read one syllable words. Then the two write the word on the board. Go round to support learners with difficulties.
Phase 3: Plenary/Reflections (Learner and teacher)
5 minutes
1. Allow learners to say what they have learnt.
2. Allow learners to tell which part of the lesson they enjoyed most.
3. Allow learners to ask their colleagues which of the words they have come across before.
4. Independent Activity/Homework
5. Write five of the words you have learnt today. Form one sentence with each word.
ACTIVITY 4 - REFLECTIONS
Allow participants to ask more questions for clarification.
Ask participants to sit in pairs to share what they have learnt from the lesson.
Find out from the participants what they would do differently under the Phase 2 of the sample lesson plan to make learners more active in class.
Home assignment:
Choose a strand and sub-strand of your choice from Mathematics or English Language for B2 and prepare a lesson plan on the strand and sub-strand. (Use the new lesson plan format).
Establishing Good Teacher & Learner Relations
OVERVIEW
This session will focus on appreciating positive teacher – learner relations and strategies that foster, safe and a healthy learning environment. The teachers are expected to demonstrate how to establish good relations with their learners.
OBJECTIVES
By the end of the session, participants will be able to:
1. State and explain the approaches a teacher can use to win her/his learners’ support
2. Demonstrate how to develop positive teacher –learner relation
3. Identify strategies that the teacher can use to show that s/he cares for her/his learners
MATERIALS
Flip chart and markers
INTRODUCTION
Allow participants to brainstorm on power relations in the classroom. Ask participants the question, “Who has power in the classroom?”
Explain that the issue of power relations in the classroom is more of acknowledging the ways that power is mutually constructed and negotiated between teacher and learner, as well as between learners. It moves away from the concept of power as something teachers have over their learners. Willard Waller states that power is a structure of relationship that cannot be owned by an individual because rather than the individuals who create it. It is what shapes people’s actions.
Explain further that the power relations between a teacher and his or her learners are unequal. The teacher is the grown up and has more advantage to influence power in the school and in the classroom. Therefore the teacher, and not the learner, is the one who has the responsibility to make sure that the relations are fruitful and create a good learning environment. That is one of the reasons that the relation competencies are so important for quality education.
ACTIVITIES
ACTIVITY 1 - SCENARIOS
Ask two groups of participants to act out the following scenarios:
SCENARIO 1
A teacher comes to the classroom and says, “Learners, take your Math books. Open to page 10.
Answer questions 1 to 5. No wrong answer will be tolerated.
Hey you, come and clean my table”.
SCENARIO 2
A teacher comes to the classroom and says, “Learner, how are you all?
Today we are going to learn how to add using one digit numbers.
Let’s count our fingers.
Very good and well done.
Now Ayisha, count your fingers. Very good and well done.”
Ask participants to discuss the two scenarios. Use the following guiding questions for the discussion:
1. What is good about scenario A?
2. What is bad about scenario A?
3. Does scenario A depict any good relationship between the teacher and the learner?
4. If you were the teacher in scenario A, what would you have done differently?
1. What is good about scenario B?
2. What is bad about scenario B?
3. Does scenario B depict any good relationship between the teacher and the learner?
4. If you were the teacher in scenario B, what would you have done differently?
In addition to what the participants have said, explain that establishing goodwill in class can help minimize classroom disturbances, improve learner engagement and reduce stress on everyone.
ACTIVITY 2 - GROUP TASK
Put participants into four groups and ask them to carry out the following tasks:
Groups 1 & 3:
List and explain what constitute fruitful teacher-learner-relation for good learning environment?
Group 2:
Explain why the establishment of fruitful teacher-learner-relation is important for a good a learning environment. is important.
Group 4:
Demonstrate how you can establish fruitful teacher-learner-relation for a good learning environment.
ACTIVITY 3 - PLENARY SESSION
Allow the individual groups to present their work for plenary discussion. Other participants can contribute to the points raised by their colleagues.
ACTIVITY 4 - KEYNOTES
Generate new interactions and create positive relations
The following are some of the approaches you can use to generate new kinds of interactions that can help create better relations in the classroom: (Adopted from Dave Foley: Five Tips for Better Relationships With Your Learners).
Become a Good Teacher:
Teachers become good and exemplary teachers by building good relationships with their learners and by treating them the way they would like to be treated (Just like in the saying, “One good thing deserves another”). Simply stated, learners want to be treated with respect and empathy. Talking down to learners or lecturing them about their inadequacies will only irritate or frustrate them. Offering positive reinforcement or feedback, being consistent, smiling, and listening to their concerns all help to gain learners’ trust
and friendship.
Get To Know Your Learners:
Work at getting to know your learners as individuals. Sometimes, mentioning a learner’s name alone can win his/her support. Find out their interests. Initiate conversations with them about sports, TV, or school activities, or compliment them on their clothing. As you talk to them and listen to what’s on their minds, they will begin to see that you’re not just another adult, but someone who is genuinely interested in them.
What you are doing is building up goodwill. There may be some hard times ahead, where you will have to be tough on certain individuals. Having some previous interactions that were positive may help. Though having “favourites” is not a good idea, it doesn’t hurt to make a special effort to build good relations with those who may become your problem learners. This can be accomplished as simply as looking for opportunities to give them compliments, not overheard by others, such as, “You did a nice job in class today by raising your hand instead of blurting out when you had ideas to share. Your cooperation in class made it easier for me to teach today. Thanks.”
Protect the Learner’s Self-Esteem:
As teachers, we are dealing with fragile beings. Adolescence brings insecurities. Individuals at this age are pulling away from adults. Being accepted by their peers is the key to their self-esteem. Being criticized by a teacher in front of their peers humiliates them. To avoid “losing face,” learners may react by talking back, smirking, or walking out of class. They will do whatever it takes to preserve their dignity.
So, how do you manage a classroom without taking away learners’ dignity? Make discipline corrections quietly and quickly. When there is misbehaviour, keep your voice even. No sarcastic or condescending comments. Deal with a problem in a joke or light manner. Shouting will not help to solve the problem. Sometimes, a pause or look will settle the issue and nothing needs to be said.
Whenever possible try to handle disciplinary issues without an audience. When leading a class activity, you may be able to talk privately about a disciplinary issue at the learner’s desk or catch him as he leaves class. This allows for better, more genuine exchanges, since the learner’s classmates will not witness his or her responses.
Build Goodwill on Good Days:
Too often teachers only interact with learners when there is a disruption. When things are going well and learners are quietly reading, doing their work, or listening attentively, we just silently accept this situation and enjoy the respite from having to correct misbehaviour. Yet this is the time to build a little goodwill by commenting on how much you appreciate your learners’ good study habits. Here’s a great opportunity to use statements such as:
“I am happy to see all of you with your reading books.”
“I appreciate the efforts you are making to learn how to read.”
“It is time for games. I can see you are all eager to go out for the games.”
“You are a great class; I enjoy being your teacher.”
Listen to Learners:
Learners like to feel that they have some “say” or influence on what goes on in class. If a teacher is open to receiving feedback, this can bring about a better level of mutual respect. Let your learners see the importance of the contributions they make in class. Do not rebuke your learners when they answer questions wrongly. Taking time to listen to learners’ concerns is an example of demonstrating that you care.
When learners feel their teacher is a caring person, then the classroom becomes a happier place for everyone. In a less stressful situation, creative ideas are more likely to emerge. Maintaining good relations between teachers and learners is an all-around winning proposition as it fosters an environment where real learning can take place.
Developing positive teacher – learner relations:
Learners like any other person, want to feel cared for and valued. According to Zehm and Kottler (1993), learners will never trust us or open themselves up to hear what we have to say unless they sense that we value and respect them. When learners feel that you value and care for them as individuals, they are more willing to comply with your proposals. Learners will feel more attached to their teacher if the teacher does the following:
• Praises the learner for any good work done.
• Encourages the learner to keep on trying after several failures.
• Asks about the learner’s family.
• Finds out whether the learner has eaten or not.
• Appreciates efforts made by the learner.
The following strategies can be implemented to develop strong and powerful relationship with your learners:
• Communicating positive expectations;
• Correcting learners in a constructive way;
• Developing positive classroom pride;
• Demonstrating caring; and
• Preventing and reducing your own frustrations and stress.
Communicating Positive Expectations:
It is said that Learner behavioural performance is also dependent to a large degree on the expectations of significant adults in learners’ lives. Numerous studies indicate that the expectations teachers have for learners tend to become self-fulfilling prophesies. It is therefore critically important for educators to monitor their interactions with the goal of communicating appropriately high behavioural and academic expectations to all learners, not just to high achievers.
There are several techniques that can be used to achieve this goal. Monitor the way you call on learners. Make sure that you give all learners chances to participate in class. Try to increase the amount of time you wait between asking a learner a question and moving on by either answering the question yourself or calling on another learner. Give learners hints and clues to help them succeed in class. Tell learners directly that you believe that they have the ability to do well. Your belief in them will inspire their success.
Correcting Learners in a Constructive Way:
Correcting and disciplining learners for inappropriate behaviours is a necessary and important part of every teacher’s job. However, it doesn’t have to be a negative part of your job. In fact, you can actually build positive relationships when you correct learners.
Steps to Use When Correcting Learners
Imagine that Asana hit Musah because Musah called her mother a name. You may consider the following disciplinary steps:
1. Review what happened. Discuss the incident with Asana. Begin with fact finding to be sure that you are appropriately correcting the learner. The worst way to affect teacher-learner relationships is to unfairly discipline a learner.
2. Identify and accept the learner’s feelings. Tell Asana that you understand why it upsets her to hear somebody call her mother a name and that you too would be upset if someone maligned your mother. It’s important to understand that this step communicates that you respect and understand her feelings but that you are not accepting her actions.
3. Review alternative actions. Go over with Asana the different actions she could have taken, such as ignoring the remark or reporting it to a teacher.
4. Explain the building policy as it applies to the situation. Remind Asana of the building policy of not fighting and that the rule is if anyone hits another learner, he or she will be sent to the office and possibly be suspended from school.
5. Let the learner know that all learners are treated the same. Make sure that Asana understands that all learners must adhere to the policy and that any learner who disregards the rule will suffer the consequences.
6. Invoke an immediate and meaningful consequence. Communicate with the office about what happened and send Asana to the office.
7. Let the learner know you are disappointed that you have to invoke a consequence to his or her action. Tell Asana that you are disappointed that her actions have led to this situation.
8. Communicate an expectation that the learner will do better in the future. Remind Asana that although you do not approve of her actions and do not like to send her or any learner to the office, you like her and know that she will make a better choice next time. Also tell her that you are there to support her and work through these issues with her in the future.
Strategies to Develop Positive Classroom Pride
• Display learners’ work
• Positively reinforce learners verbally
• Show off the class’s achievements
• Speak to the accomplishments of all your learners
• Be sincere in your pride in your learners
• Look for opportunities for learners to be proud in all areas
• Develop parental pride in learner accomplishments
• Develop pride in improvement in addition to pride in excellence
Demonstrating Caring
Demonstrating caring is one of the most powerful ways to build positive relationships with your learners (Kerman et al., 1980). When your actions and words communicate that you sincerely care for your learners, they are more likely to want to perform well for you and enjoy coming to school.
Strategies to Show You Care
• Show an interest in your learners’ personal lives
• Greet the learners by the front door as they enter the classroom
• Watch for and touch base with learners who display strong emotion
• Sincerely listen to learners
• Empathize with learners
Frustration and Stress Prevention/Reduction Techniques
• Play soft, relaxing music
• Display posters of peaceful destinations
• Modify your lesson plans
• Take your learners for a walk
• Ask a neighboring teacher to take a difficult learner for a period of time
• Assign your learners independent reading time
• Clear off your desk
• Find a validating colleague
• Share staff duties
• Share frustration strategies
In summary, there are many ways you can develop positive relations with learners in your daily interactions with them. Not only does this contribute to a positive classroom environment, but it also improves the quality of school life for both you and your learners.
While building positive relations is the foundation to a strong discipline system, good relations alone are not enough. It is also critical to clearly define parameters of expected behaviours, to monitor those behaviours, and to implement consequences when necessary.
ACTIVITY 5 - REFLECTIONS
Ask the participants to use cardboards to design a web on roles of the teacher in developing good relations with his or her learners. See example below.
Allow participants to tell what they have learnt from the discussion.
ROLE MODEL
GUARDIAN
MENTOR
ROLES OF THE TEACHER IN RELATION BUILDING
COUNSELOR
PARENT
FACILITATOR
Creating a ChildFriendly Atmosphere in the Classroom
OVERVIEW
This session will expose participants to characteristics of a child friendly classroom atmosphere. This will include opportunities for learner-learner interaction, display of learners’ work, playing and working with learners, opportunities for independent learning and the use of teaching and learning resources to enhance learning.
OBJECTIVES
By the end of the session, participants will be able to:
1. Describe a child friendly atmosphere and relate it to the classroom
2. State and explain any ten strategies you would put in place to create a child friendly atmosphere in your classroom
3. Demonstrate how to apply any three strategies you would put in place to create a child friendly atmosphere in your classroom
MATERIALS
Flip chart and markers
INTRODUCTION
Brainstorm with participants on what a child friendly atmosphere in the classroom is like. Explain that in such classes, the teacher does not discriminate among the learner. It is all-inclusive and every child, whether with disability or not, is handled according to his or her abilities. They are strategies put in place to take care of learners with different abilities in the classroom.
ACTIVITIES
ACTIVITY 1 - INTRO TO CHILD-FRIENDLY ATMOSPHERE
Brainstorm with participants on what a child friendly atmosphere in the classroom is like. Explain that in such classes, the teacher does not discriminate among the learner. It is all-inclusive and every child, whether with disability or not, is handled according to his or her abilities. They are strategies put in place to take care of learners with different abilities in the classroom. Let participants make a KWL chart about child friendly atmosphere in the classroom.
They are to fill in the first and second columns before the start of the lesson. The last column will be filled after the lesson.
K: What we know about child friendly atmosphere in the classroom
W:
What we want to know about child friendly atmosphere in the classroom
L.
What we have learnt about child friendly atmosphere in the classroom
ACTIVITY 2 - GROUP TASK
Put participants into four groups and ask them to do the following tasks:
Groups 1 & 4: Describe a child friendly atmosphere and relate it to the classroom.
Group 2: State and explain any ten strategies you would put in place to create a child fri endly atmosphere in your classroom.
Group 3: Demonstrate how to apply any three strategies you would put in place to create a child friendly atmosphere in your classroom.
ACTIVITY 3 - PLENARY SESSION
Ask each group to present their work for plenary discussion. Explain that other members can suggest or make meaningful contributions to the presentations.
ACTIVITY 4 - CHILD FRIENDLY CLASSROOM WEB
Ask the participants to use cardboards to design a child friendly classroom web. See example below:
Provide opportunity for learner-learner interac-
CHILD FRIENDLY CLASSROOM
Sing with your learners
Creating a child-friendly atmosphere in the classroom
ACTIVITY 4 - KEY NOTES
Take participants through the following keynotes and ask them to compare their work with the keynotes.
Child friendly classroom atmosphere
A child friendly classroom atmosphere is essential for learners to learn and develop. Research shows that a positive classroom atmosphere increases learner academic achievements and leads to increase self-esteem. In a typical School for Life literacy class for instance, the facilitator facilitates, he or she does not teach . The facilitator mingles with the learners and this helps him or her to monitor the activities of the learners. Seating arrangement is “Horse shoe formation” where the facilitator sits with the learners. The class size is small (13 girls and 12 boys) and this makes it possible for the facilitator to know and attend to the needs of every individual learner within the shortest possible time. Learners are free to ask questions and interact freely with their colleagues. The faster learners among them are given the opportunity to help their colleagues.
Strategies to create a child friendly classroom atmosphere
Post Learner Work
When displays of essays, poems, projects, and exams dominate the walls, there is learner ownership of the room. When they look around and see their own writing and thinking, they certainly experience a higher level of comfort than if they see store-bought posters. That said, if informational posters are needed, ask your learners to create them.
Have Non-Negotiable Behaviours
Along with classroom rules and procedures, learners must know non-negotiable behaviours right out of the gate. An example is “Name calling”. Tackle name calling head on or else kids won’t feel safe to be themselves, let alone learn.
Admit When You Don’t Know
Learners appreciate when we show our humanity. Saying ”I’m not really sure. Does anyone else know or might they like to look that up for us?” It is powerful stuff.
Read with Your Learners
The message this sends: I like to read. I don’t just tell you this and grade you on how much you read, I read side-by-side with you. You see my facial expressions as I struggle to understand something difficult and you see when I feel emotion at a sad or funny part. I am a reader, too.
Remain Calm at All Times.
Once a teacher loses his or her temper with a class or learner, it takes a long time to rebuild that feeling of safety and trust within those four walls. Step right outside the door and take a few breaths. It’s worth it.
Take Every Opportunity to Model Kindness
They will follow.
Circulation
Mingling lets you monitor their work, yes, but it also gives you a close view of any tensions or negative energy brewing with groups or between learners. Also, circulation gives you great opportunities to overhear a learner sharing an idea or question that you can use with the whole class.
Address grudges early on
If tension is building between two learners, create time and space for them to talk it out while you mediate.
Write with Your Learners
The message this sends: I like to write. I don’t just tell you this and grade you on your writing, I write side-by-side with you. You see me struggle as I am drafting a poem or letter, and you see me contemplate new words, cross-out old ones, and take chances as I revise. I am a writer, too.
Model Vulnerability
They will appreciate this. If we are asking kids to write and talk about times they have felt scared, alone, confused, etc., we need to be willing to do the same.
Follow Through with Consequences
A consequence must proceed a non-negotiable ?. Learners need to know there’s a consequence for those serious infractions. They need evidence to believe they are safe in each classroom.
Smile Often
The antiquated saying in the teaching profession is wait until Christmas to smile. This is not good enough in a child friendly classroom. Let the learner see those pearly whites often and genuinely. The more smiles we offer to learners, the more smiles and attention we will receive.
Use Every Opportunity to Model Patience
This may include: Give Kids a Chance to Problem Solve on Their Own. It’s so much better when ideas and solutions come from the learner. This is a chance for us to ask rather than tell: ”What might be some things you can start doing, so that you complete your homework on time? How about if I write them down as you tell them to me?” This also helps to instil independent learning among the learner.
Laugh with your Learners
The message this sends: Learning doesn’t have to always be so strict or rigid. Sometimes, when tensions are high, like during testing or when crazy things are happening out in the world or on campus, we need to laugh together or create an enabling environment that will make the learner laugh and feel happy.
Offer Options
If we start an assignment with, ”You will have three choices,” kids may even get excited and are often much more willing than when we say, ”The assignment is...” By giving kids choices, we send a message that we respect their decisions.
Keep the Vibes Good Learners, no matter how young, know when a teacher is not happy. Joy can be contagious, but so too can misery. May be a vacation, a massage, watching a Talk Show, or even changing the level of grade you teach will help re-kindle the flame between you and teaching when you are in a slump.
Sit with Your Learners
Sitting in a chair made for a child is not the most comfortable thing for an adult. But joining a group of learner at their table takes us off stage and let’s us, even just for a few moments, become a member of the group. We might ask a strategic question, inquire about the group’s project, or simply listen.
Art and Music Feed the Soul Incorporate both of these routinely in your lessons. Other strategies that you can consider are games and the creation of four corners or learning centres of the classroom (e.g. Selecting four different areas or topics related to a lesson that is being treated for the learners to choose any one of them for further discussion). This activity is easily implemented. It can take less than five minutes to set things up.
ACTIVITY 6 - REFLECTIONS
Ask participants to pick up their KWL charts and fill in the last column. Let them share what they have done with their colleagues and the whole class. Allow them to tell what they have learnt from the discussion.
Implementing ChildFriendly Classroom Management 7
OVERVIEW
Overview: This session examines classroom management practices in a child friendly classroom. The teachers are expected to demonstrate their classroom management skills and share some of their experiences and lessons learnt.
OBJECTIVES
By the end of the session, participants will be able to:
1. Describe classroom management
2. Distinguish between authority and discipline
3. Demonstrate how the teacher can effectively exercise his or her authority in the classroom
4. Demonstrate how the teacher can manage learner disorders or misbehaviour
MATERIALS
Flip chart and markers
INTRODUCTION
Allow participants to brainstorm on classroom management. Use questions such as:
• What do you understand by the term classroom management?
• What are some of the challenges in managing a class?
• How do you address some of the challenges?
Explain that a child friendly classroom atmosphere depends strongly on how the teacher manages his or her class. Classroom management is the art or process of tactfully planning, controlling, directing or sharing the human and material resources of the classroom to facilitate effective teaching and learning. Thus in the school situation, it is not only the head teacher who manages, every teacher must be capable of managing his or her class to make learning easy and more beneficial to the learners. It refers also to all the tasks that are carried out by the teacher with the purpose of creating an enabling environment in the classroom. The tasks include effective planning, organization, communication, human relations, classroom authority and discipline.
ACTIVITIES
ACTIVITY 1 - GROUP TASK
Put participants into four groups to carry out the following tasks:
Groups 1 & 2: Distinguish between authority and discipline.
Group 3: Demonstrate how the teacher can effectively exercise his/her authority in the classroom.
Group 4: Demonstrate how the teacher can manage learner disorders or misbehaviour.
ACTIVITY 2 - PLENARY SESSION
Ask each group to present their work for plenary discussion. Explain that other members can suggest or make meaningful contributions to the presentations.
ACTIVITY 3 - KEY NOTES
Take participants through the following keynotes. Allow participants to ask for clarification as you take them through.
KEY NOTES
AUTHORITY
In the classroom setting, authority refers to the situation where both teacher and learners insist on orderly and controlled actions that promote a meaningful learning environment.
How can The Teacher Exercise His or Her Authority Effectively in the Classroom?
1. The teacher should conduct himself or herself well; that is, she or he should: (a) Know his or her work well (b) maintain his or her dignity by not arguing unnecessarily with or involving himself or herself in unprecedented physical struggle with learners (c) practice the virtues that he or she preaches.
2. The teacher should be consistent in relating with his or her learners as far as the rules of the class are concerned.
3. The teacher should be fair, firm and friendly in decisions (letting his or her YES be YES
and NO be NO).
4. Punishment and rewards should be wisely used (remember that punishment is an unpleasant duty for a teacher)
5. The teacher must be aware of his or her strengths and weakness and try as much as possible to avoid personal mannerisms and undesirable character traits.
6. The teacher is expected to behave responsibly i.e. help learners to solve their problems rather than trying to extort monies and other items from them.
DISCIPLINE
Discipline in the classroom refers to the ability of the learners to adjust existing culture and traditions of the class for effective teaching to occur.
What is Discipline About?
Discipline is about:
1. Respect for authority
2. Co-operative effort or working co-operatively
3. The need for planning (organizing)
4. Respect for others
5. The need to do the unpleasant task too.
Example of indiscipline includes the following:
1. Insolence
2. Continued disturbance in the classroom.
3. Failure to complete assignments satisfactorily.
4. General apathy (i.e. showing no interest, feeling, or commitment to what is going on in the classroom).
5. Fighting with other learners.
6. Cheating in class tests or examinations.
7. Damage to school property such as books, furniture, etc.
What Causes Indiscipline in the Classroom?
The classroom is an artificial kind of place which is bound to experience disorders or indiscipline. These can be put under three main headings, teacher-caused, school-caused, and learners-caused-disorder.
Teacher-caused Disorders
1. This is where the teacher’s lessons are poorly delivered or not interesting or if the subject or topics delivered by the teacher are out-of-date, irrelevant or of-little-interest.
2. Absence of appropriate materials: Lack of teaching /learning materials, textbooks and furniture. Implementing child-friendly
3. Unsuitable topics: Either the topic is above or below learner’s ability.
4. Use of unsuitable methods especially where there is lack of variety.
5. Teacher centered method; this is where the teacher is the only active person and the learner made passive listeners.
6. Poor arrangement of the time table e.g. where TWO ACADEMIC lessons follow each other. Another example is when the teacher places mathematics or physical education after midday.
7. When the teacher disturbs the child emotionally e.g. beating or insulting.
8. Poor seating arrangements.
9. A teacher who is unable to control his or her class will have naughty learner playing the fool.
10. Unpleasant attitude can cause some learner to be inactive.
11. Inconsistency and favouritism can make some members of the class inactive.
School-caused Disorders or Misbehaviours
This may be due to shortage of school facilities such as classroom, toilet, urinals, furniture, teachers and textbooks. If the school is sited at a wrong place, say near the market or the main road, it will generate certain misbehaviours in learner.
Learner-Caused Disorder or Misbehaviour
They may be due to mental, physical, emotional and social state of the learner. For instance, in the first week in school of a primary one learner, he or she may miss the company of his parents, brothers and sisters, and other relatives and playmates. This state of affairs may cause the learner to carry or even wet him or herself. Other issues such as ill-health, lack of rest or food may lead to a learner’s discomfort resulting into misbehaviour.
Management of Learner Disorders or Misbehaviour
1. The subject matter and lessons should be made interesting and captivating.
2. Provide very good introduction to lessons and use sufficient teaching and learning resources (TLSs)
3. The topic should be suitable for learner’s ability
4. Allow learner to participate fully in the lessons. Thus, learner should do most of the talking and perform activities.
5. Look enthusiastic, cheerful and friendly to learners.
6. The time table should be well planned to avoid two academic subjects following each other
7. Occasionally allow learners to look at whatever attracts them and call them back to the lesson.
8. The sick should be helped to get medical attention.
9. Be conversant with the subject matter and make it accessible to the learner instead
10. Be fair and firm in maintaining order in the classroom.
How Can the Teacher Establish Discipline In His or Her Classroom?
1. Lessons should be introduced in such a way that learners’ attention is captured
2. Lessons should be related to the needs of the learners (i.e. learners should see the lessons useful and worthwhile).
3. Lessons should not be dreary and boring.
4. Handle the class with a sense of humour (this means that the teacher should not appear as a brute before the class)
5. Like and treat all learners in a firm but respectful manner
6. Stress order, courteousness, co-operation and self-control in classroom rather than repression.
7. Be conscious of the type or degree of noise that is needed in a particular lesson or learning situation.
8. Learners’ assignments should be relevant, related to what was studied in class, neither too easy nor too difficult, challenging and interesting. But most importantly, the teacher should mark them; otherwise learners may neglect them and hence create a problem for the teacher.
PERSONAL QUALITIES OF TEACHERS THAT PROMOTE DISCIPLINE
Authority and Efficiency is the cornerstone of every management, and without them, effective management is impossible. Therefore every teacher should command authority and be efficient in his or her classroom because the efficiency of class is the measure of its teacher. To command these qualities well, the teacher should possess the following:
1. Dignity: The teacher must maintain dignity by not getting involved in seemingly inappropriate arguments or physical struggles with learners. The teacher should therefore practice the virtue he or she preaches.
2. Consistency: The teacher should be consistent in all decisions and avoid favoritisms and partiality.
3. Fair and Firm: He or she must be fair and firm in taking decisions as much as possible and to be a master of his or her works and treat all learner equally.
4. Punishment: Use punishments and rewards judiciously. Punishment meted out to learners should be proportional to the offence and regard should be used to acknowledge success and efforts.
5. Self-criticism: To ensure authority, the teacher must be aware of his or her strength and weaknesses. Also avoid personal mannerisms and undesirable character traits.
6. Responsible: The teacher should be alert to his roles and responsibilities and give the necessary support to the learners.
7. Good Human Relations: this has to do with the teacher’s ability to work in harmony with various individuals and groups within the locus of the school i.e. learners, the head teacher, staff, school management committee, the PTA and the entire community. All this is done for the benefit of the learners. The teacher’s personality must play a vital role in his or her effectiveness to work with these individuals and groups. He or she must therefore establish cordial relationship with learners to promote a cordial learning environment.
8. Discipline: Instead of punishment in the classroom, a good teacher should train learner to be self–disciplined without the use of force or threat. By this the learner will comport themselves not for fear of punishment but for good behaviour
9. Methodical: The teacher must be methodical in the presentation of lessons and also use a variety of teaching methods.
10. Regularity and Punctuality: The teacher should be regular and punctual not only to school but in whatever he or she does.
11. Knowledge of Subject Matter: The teacher should know the subject matter very well.
12. Proper Seating Arrangement: Seating arrangement should be flexible i.e. to allow easy movement to suit various topics.
13. Enthusiasm: The teacher should be energetic and always show same amount of enthusiasm in all that is done.
14. Communication: The teacher should adopt an effective communication channel to ensure free flow of information.
REWARDS AND PUNISHMENT
Forms of Rewards
Rewards include the following:
• Words of encouragement – well done, keep it up, very good etc.
• Praise - clapping, shining, singing a song for the child etc.
• Giving material rewards – toffee, biscuits, pencils, pens, exercise books etc. (but with caution).
• Rewards of any kind should be used sparingly and considerately.
PUNISHMENT
Forms of Punishment
There are other forms of punishment instead of corporal punishment that should be used for effective classroom management. These include:
• Reproof: Often a mere look from the teacher can be keenly felt by the offending learners, especially those with a highly sensitive nature. A word appealing to the learner’s better nature will help to change his or her behavior. The teacher should be careful about the choice of words; avoid humiliating a learner that he or she is stupid, hopeless, and can never succeed in life..
• Detention: It is quite reasonable to demand that learner who come late should make up for the lose time by remaining behind after punctual learners have gone home. However, when learner are detained this way, a time limit should be set and the teacher should remain behind to supervise their work.
• Deprivation: When a learner commits an offence he or she could be excluded from go to play a favourite game while the colleagues are enjoying such a game. That learner is not allowed to play with the peers. As learner enjoy playing, it is expected that such a learner will comfort himself or herself next time for him or her to enjoy the game.
• Discipline: Instead of using punishment in the classroom, the good teacher relies on good discipline and praises in the classroom; recognizes the positive behavior of learner and build upon that. That is the learner are given training in self- discipline without the use of force or threat. Learner then become self- disciplined by comporting themselves not for fear of punishment, but for good behaviour. They have the freedom to
move about using the discipline of “I will do good to my friends and other people and I will expect them to do same to me”. By this, learner respect one another, their teacher, authority and people they meet. I order to achieve good discipline the teacher should know his or her subject matter very well and prepare his or her daily lessons thoroughly. He or she should also be capable of delivering the lesson effectively.
It is worthy of note that punishment that takes the form of manual work should not be used or it may lead the child to connect such work only with punishment and so develop wrong attitude to all manual work.
ACTIVITY 4 - REFLECTION
Ask participants to tell what they have learnt from the session.
Incorporating Reflective Teaching Processes
OVERVIEW
In this session, teachers will be exposed to how to demonstrate the application of reflective teaching processes using approaches such as peer observation, video recordings and self-evaluation journal.
OBJECTIVES
By the end of the session, participants will be able to:
1. Describe reflective teaching and state the factors that will call for it
2. State and explain reflective teaching approaches
3. Demonstrate the application of reflective teaching process
MATERIALS
Flip chart and markers
INTRODUCTION
Brainstorm with participants on reflective teaching. Find out from participants whether they have ever done any reflective practice/teaching. Add that most teachers develop their classroom skills fairly early in their teaching careers. They learn from their previous experiences. Bartlett (1990) points out that becoming a reflective teacher involves moving beyond a primary concern with instructional techniques and “how to” , “what” and “why” questions that make instructions and managerial techniques not as ends in themselves, but as part of broader educational purposes.
In reflecting on the above kind of questions, we begin to exercise control and open up the possibility of transforming our everyday classroom life.
ACTIVITIES
ACTIVITY 1 - REFLECTIVE TEACHING 1
Show video of a teacher teaching a class for participants to observe and make constructive criticisms about what they have observed.
Ask participants the following questions after playing the video:
1. What would you say about the video clip?
2. Was the teacher confident in the subject matter being taught?
3. What do you think is the teacher’s challenge?
4. What would you have done differently?
5. What lessons have you learnt from the clip?
Explain that such questions help the teacher to evaluate him/herself.
ACTIVITY 2 - REFLECTIVE TEACHING 2
Put participants into four groups and ask them to carry out the following tasks:
Groups 1 & 3: Demonstrate reflective teaching process using any approach of your choice.
Group 2: State and explain any three reflective teaching approaches.
Group 4: Describe reflective teaching and state the factors that will call for it.
ACTIVITY 3 - PLENARY SESSION
Ask each group to present their work for plenary discussion. Explain that other members can suggest or make meaningful contributions to the presentations.
ACTIVITY 3 - KEY NOTES
Take participants through the following key notes.
KEY NOTES
EXAMPLE
Self-Evaluation: Lesson Reflection
Subject:
Date:
Class: Topic:
# Did I have to modify my lesson plan during the lesson?
# Was I able to complete my lesson as planned? If no why?
# Was I confident in the subject matter being taught? If yes, what were indicators?
# How could I determine that the learner were engaged?
# Were the teaching strategies appropriate? If yes, what made it so? If no, why?
# Was my assessment connected to the lesson objectives? If no, why?
# What evidence did I witness that supported learners’ comprehension?
# Was I consistent, fair and positive in my classroom management? If no, why?
# In my opinion, the most effective part of my lesson was:
# What was I supposed to do that I did not do?
# What would I do differently?
# What will I do in my next lesson?
Organising Reflection & Experience Sharing Sessions in Schools
OVERVIEW
This session will provide teachers the opportunity to discuss how to organize reflection sessions with their learners. Such sessions will give the teachers the opportunity to listen to views from their learners about the way they teach. The session will also look at how the teachers can organize experience sessions with their colleague teachers as a form of reflective teaching practice.
OBJECTIVES
By the end of the session, participants will be able to:
1. Demonstrate how to organize reflection sessions with their learners
2. Demonstrate how to organize experience sharing sessions with their colleague teachers for enhance teaching and learning.
MATERIALS
Flip chart and markers
INTRODUCTION
Brainstorm with participants on what reflection sessions entail and the benefits that can be derived from such sessions. Explain that teachers who promote reflective classrooms, ensure that learners are engaged in the process of making meaning. They organize instructions so that the learners are the producers of knowledge and not as consumers. Add that reflection can be done alone but enhanced when it is done with others.
ACTIVITIES
ACTIVITY 1 - GROUP WORK
Put participants into five groups and ask them to respond to the following:
Groups 1 & 2: Discuss difference between reflection session and experience sharing session.
Groups 3 & 4: Demonstrate how to organize reflection sessions with their learners.
Group 5: Demonstrate how to organize experience sharing sessions with their colleague teachers for enhance teaching and learning.
ACTIVITY 2 - PLENARY SESSION
Give individual groups enough time to present their work. Ensure that while a group is presenting its work, the other participants pay attention and take note of issues that will need clarification.
ACTIVITY 3 - KEY NOTES
Explain that in addition to what they have discussed, they should also consider the following:
Reflection sessions versus experience sharing sessions
KEY NOTES
Reflection session can be described as a period by which a teacher (an individual) or a group of teachers (individuals) have proposed to discuss an observed behaviour or behaviours. This means that a reflection session can be initiated by an individual (e.g. a teacher) to review his or her lesson delivery with others. In addition, the teacher can also facilitate the process of helping his or her learners to reflect on what they learn.
Experience sharing on the other hand is said to be a powerful social learning strategy that creates an environment for learning. This helps participants to take inspiration from their successes as well as learn from their mistakes. Platforms such as social media (WhatsApp, Facebook, twitter, etc.), forums, meetings, etc. are examples of social learning spaces that can be used for experience sharing.
How to organize reflection sessions with learners
Teachers can organize reflective sessions with their learners in the following ways:
• Discussions: Learners realize meaning making is an important goal when reflection becomes the topic for discussion. Teachers can conduct discussions, for example by inviting learners to describe their mental maps for monitoring their problem-solving processes, and reflect on the strategy to determine its adequacy. This gives the learners the opportunity to learn from their successes and mistakes.
• Interviews: Are other ways to lead learners to reflect about their learning. This can happen at the end of a lesson or at the end of a day’s work. The teacher can ask individual learners about what they have learnt or learners can ask their colleagues. You can also ask them to look for ways they can apply their learning into future settings. Interviews also provide teachers and learners the opportunities to model and practice a variety of habits: listening with understanding and empathy, thinking and communicating with clarity and precision, and questioning and posing problems.
• Questioning: The teacher should support the learners with well-designed questions for them to reflect on their insights, understanding and application of their learning. Find below some possible questions:
1. What strategies helped you most to succeed in learning?
2. As you reflect on the strategies you used, what lessons have you learned?
3. As you reflect on the strategies, what insights have you gained?
• Journals: This is also a reflective tool that both teachers and learners can use. Ensure that the learners have their journals that contain their own write ups about what they do in the classroom. Periodically ask learners to read their journals, comparing what they knew at the beginning of a learning sequence with what they know now. Ask them to select significant lessons learned and imagine how they could apply the lessons learned to future situations.
Steps to organize experience sharing sessions with colleague teachers for enhanced teaching and learning
Teachers should note that shared experience allows for lesson learning, promoting expertise and best practices. Experience sharing session is best done when it is organized by the head of the school. The following are suggested steps to follow:
• Plan the experience sharing session with your staff. Explain that during the experience sharing session, they are to tell what they know, get feedback from colleagues, learn lessons and best practices regarding their work as teachers.
• In order to control the session, you can choose a topic for discussion. E.g. issues regarding lesson preparation and delivery.
• Get a team to plan an agenda and suggested date for the session. This should include a chair person and moderator.
• Agreed date, time and agenda for the session should be shared with every staff of the school.
• During the session, ensure that ground rules are spelt out. E.g. respect for each others’ views, staff should be free to air their views, etc.
• Issues discussed should be documented for the purpose of reflection.
ACTIVITY 4 - REFLECTION SESSION
Having looked at the key notes, divide participants into two groups to demonstrate:
1. A reflection session
2. An experience sharing session
After the demonstration, allow participants to tell their observations about the entire session.
Building School < > Community relations 10
OVERVIEW
In this session, the teachers will be exposed to how to healthy school and community relations. The teachers will be expected to examine how to elicit good and healthy school community relations.
OBJECTIVES
By the end of the session, participants will be able to:
1. Explain school and community relations
2. Demonstrate how to build school-community relations
3. State and explain factors that would call for school-community collaboration
MATERIALS
Flip chart and markers
INTRODUCTION
Brainstorm with participants the following African saying: “It takes a village to raise a child”. After the discussion, explain that one could imagine that it would take a whole community to raise a school. A school cannot operate in isolation. It has to depend on all stakeholders including the local community, the District Assembly or the state in order to operate successfully.
ACTIVITIES
ACTIVITY 1 - SCHOOL < > COMMUNITY RELATIONS
Let participants make a KWL chart about school-community relationship.
K: is what we know about school-community relationship.
W: is what we want to know about school-community relationship.
L: is what we learnt about school-community relationship.
They are to fill in the first and second columns before the start of the lesson. The last column will be filled after the lesson.
K: What we know about school <> community relationship
W: What we want to know about school <> community relationsship
L. What we have learnt about bout school <> community relationship
ACTIVITY 2 - GROUP WORK
Put participants into four groups to carry out the following tasks:
All Groups: Explain school and community relationship. Groups 1 & 3: Demonstrate how to build school-community relationship. Groups 2 & 4: State and explain any five factors that would call for school-community collabo ration.
ACTIVITY 3 - PLENARY SESSION
Allow participants to present their work for plenary discussion. Contributions can be taken from other participants.
ACTIVITY 4 - KEY NOTES
Take participants through the following key notes.
KEY NOTES
School <> Community Relationship
Can be likened to a kind of partnership between the school and the community, where both are willing to share information and responsibilities to the best interest of learner in school, likewise when dealing with members of the community.
The parents are the first teachers in the home. They are responsible for the development of values, attitudes and habits that will be needed as their learner associate with classmates in the school.
Teachers in the schools continue to enrich the learners’ experience at home, thus strengthening the valuable personal traits and characteristics initially developed. The members of the community, in addition to the parents and relatives like the government officials, the professionals and all the residents are highly motivated to participate in the parent-teacher activities and projects.
Importance of School < > Community Relationship
1. The African saying that, “It takes a village to raise a child”, this could imply that the school, the community and the state all-together work to raise the child. The school therefore cannot operate in isolation.
2. The school must do a good job and communicate that success to the community that it serves.
3. The community on the other hand, has certain expectations, which must reflect in the school’s Program. The expectations are that administrators will anticipate and prevent crises, increase communications between the school and the home, and respond to special interest groups. The consideration of these issues presents administrators with the understanding that they are an important link to our communities and that the development of appropriate skills is important to being a successful administrator.
4. The community can advocate on behalf of the school for better things to happen.
Building School < > Community Relationship
There are a variety of activities in which schools can become involved to build/improve school-community partnerships; below are some suggestions:
• Make decisions together: This gives the community the opportunity to be more involved in the management of the school. They are encouraged to support and make meaningful contributions to the development of the school if they take part in making decisions.
• Encourage Community Use of School Facilities: Often the school buildings sit empty after the end of the normal school day. Encouraging non-profit community groups to use the facilities is not only good use of resources but also provides opportunities for the school to get involved in community projects.
• Speech and Price Giving Days: At least once a year, parents could be invited to take part in the school’s speech and prize giving days. Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) or corporate bodies and Financial Institutions can sponsor such occasions. Usually, parents are willing to come in to see the performance of their wards.
• Back to School Week: Choose a week during the school year to invite parents and community members to your school. Make a special effort to personally invite community and business leaders to attend school for the day, or part of the day.
• Career Day: Hold annual career days; this is not only good educational experience for the learners, but also helps local business people to learn more about the school and school’s needs. In addition, it helps to understand the employment needs in the area.
• News Releases: News releases mailed to local media could be a good strategy for public relations and community outreach programs.
• Newsletters: Provide periodic newsletters not only to the families of the learners, but also to board members, business leaders and other community members. A simple database can be used to include new people; encourage members of the school community to suggest other folks who might be included in the mailing list.
Source: J. Kretzmann and J. McKnight, Building Communities from the Inside Out, 1993.
What calls for school-community collaboration?
Learner experience difficulties and problems regarding:
• Ability to accomplish assignments
• Irregular attendance
• Study habits in school
• Negative attitudes and
• Problem with self-discipline.
• Inadequate teaching and learning materials.
Solutions
The best way to thresh out causes and come up with solutions is to:
• Conduct a dialogue wherein parents may be invited to drop by the school or the teacher may pay a visit to their home.
• Undertake a calm and friendly face to face exchange of observations to strengthen some disturbing interactions and ending with a promise of undertaking remediation in both quarters. Positive attitudes of kindheartedness and patience are developed through modeling.
• Regularly in attendance and doing daily assignments need strong motivation and encouragement from both sides. Letters and praises to parents for outstanding performance build confidence and strengthen determination to continue the good work.
• Interesting lessons never fail to motivate learners to be present in class.
• Extreme behavior needs detailed consideration of past experience in school and at home. Values and strong inclinations are instilled starting from the home and developed further in school.
• Some of the most desirable are respect for elders and for the right of others.
• Cooperation
• Willingness to share
• Deep sense of responsibility
• Special interest and innate talents noticed at young age such as heightened propensity for music and drama, athletics and the arts must be attended to by sensitive mentors and guardians in order to provide them with continued opportunities to attain the full realization of their natural gifts.
• The community would in turn show their gratitude and appreciation by keeping their school’s surrounding clean and comfortable for the learner, and by sharing resources whenever needed.
• The school community actively participates in community projects such as the Complementary Basic Education Program for out-of-school learner and house campaign for healthful practice.
• The PTAs or SMCs are likewise ready to provide help in improving physical facilities of the school.
• Professionals and Practitioners form the community and can be invited as resource persons during observance of significant school rites.
• Representations during town or school affairs create strong ties among members, thus helping hands are volunteered in times of need.
ACTIVITY 5 - REFLECTIONS
Ask participants to pick up their KWL charts and fill in the last column. Let them share what they have done with their colleagues and the whole class. Allow them to tell what they have learnt from the discussion.
