Shaping our Future Generations

By: Sausage Tree Camp Photos: Sausage Tree Camp

Sausage Tree and Potato Bush Camps are proud to be supporting ischool Zambia, a new method of teaching in the Zambian classroom, launched to help overcome the challenges of larger class sizes by creating better interaction between teachers and pupils. The introduction of modern interactive and enquiry-based learning in our communities helps encourage teachers to break away from lecturing and enables open-ended question and discussion sessions with students.

The challenge among teachers in local schools (combined with a lack of resources) is having to deal with 60:1 student-teacher ratio at any given time. iSchool seeks to reduce this scale by introducing the ‘Zedupad’ tablet, loaded with the Zambian Primary School Curriculum in English and 8 other local languages. This, coupled with voice-overs to aid literacy, has greatly improved student engagement and levels of numeracy, literacy and critical thinking, as well as reduced absenteeism among pupils.

Students are split into 3 groups; the creative tasks team works with the teacher, a second group works independently to help reinforce learning and the third team works with the tablet. Tablets can be shared by 6 students at a time to help reduce costs. Thus far this iniative has provided: • Teacher training and ongoing mentoring support. Three teachers from the school underwent training in Lusaka, partnering with iSchool Zambia. Training included face-to-face instruction at the start of the program, with introduction to the technology, as well as a comprehensive look at the transition from conventional to childcentred active learning. • Provision of Zedupads for Grades 1 and 2: 19 student tablets, 2 teacher tablets, one projector with a battery pack (to allow use without electricity) and a solar power docking station have been donated. • Provision of other classroom supplies including desks, chairs and bookshelves were also donated by the camps CSR programme.

The aim is to introduce ischool to the remaining grades 3 – 7.

For those wishing to support this programme, please visit www. sausagetreecamp.com or www. potatobushcamp.com.

Ischool also has a comprehensive website - www.ischool.zm. Alternatively, like our Facebook pages: Sausage Tree Camp and Potato Bush Camp for updates with latest developments.

The Camps’ Corporate Social Responsibility programme identified Mugurameno Primary School, located on the border of the Lower Zambezi National Park, as a beneficiary, with the aim to introduce iSchool in Grades 1 and 2.