KAWA in collaboration with RCDF and the Ministry of Education and Sports has held a One Day Workshop for Secondary and Primary teachers in Busia District. It was officially opened by the District ASSHU Chairman and closed by the Municipal Education Officer.
In the discussion groups held at Pride Junior School Busia, most teachers discussed and came up with the following challenges they are facing as far as ICT for teaching and learning is concerned.
- Few computers and computer accessories in schools compared to the student populations
- Lack of Internet connectivity in most schools
- Inadequate'/limited computer laboratories
- Lack of E-learning platforms
- Few teachers of computer studies/ ICT
- The problem of power especially in rural areas where there is no national power grid
- Few schools have working printers
- Almost all schools in the district have no projectors
- Limited ICT skills among the students and teachers
Possible solutions to the above problems/challenges
- Tooling and re-tooling of Primary and Secondary School teachers
- Provision of computers and computer accessories e.g projectors, printers, speakers.
- Training of teachers and students
- Provision of solar power to those schools not connected to the national power grid.
- Construction of computer laboratories
Moses informed the workshop participants that the workshop will try to address a number of gaps already noted among the participants:
Pedagogical skills gap: Among the participants, there are those who have a formal qualification in ICT or Computer Science but do not have any qualification in teaching. Such teachers have ICT skills but no pedagogical skills. The workshop was to equip them with some pedagogical skills.
ICT skills gap: Some participants though they teach ICT, they are qualified to teach other subjects like geography, physics, etc and have no formal training in ICT. Such teachers have pedagogical skills but very little ICT skills. The workshop was to equip them with more ICT skills.
Formative assessment gap: A few teachers know the difference between formative assessment (assessment for learning) and summative assessment (assessment of learning). Most teachers never do any formative assessment. The workshop was to integrate formative assessment in the sessions so that teachers not only get to know what it is but also how to do it.
Understanding and interpretation of the ICT syllabus gap: Some of the workshop participants have never seen or read the A'Level ICT syllabus. Some think the A'Level ICT syllabus is a continuation of the O'level computer studies syllabus. The workshop was to help the teachers to know that whereas the O'Level Computer Studies syllabus is a foundation for students who want to pursue further studies in computer science, the A'Level ICT syllabus is meant for producing end-users of ICT in the job market implying that the ICT should not be taught in the same way as Computer Studies.
Teaching/Learning strategies skills gap: The ICT teaching syllabus recommends the use of strategies like teacher-guided research, hands-on activities, teacher exposition, group discussions and peer presentations, collaborative tasks, and brain-storming. A number of teachers don't know how to use these methods. The workshop was to help teachers experience these methods.
Project-based learning skills gap: Most of the workshop participants have no experience in using project-based learning as a teaching/learning strategy. The workshop would introduce teachers to project-based learning.
Linking classroom work to application in the job market gap: Few teachers link what they teach in class to the applications in the job market. Most teachers teach students just to pass exams. The workshop was to give the teachers an exposition to the application of Desktop Publishing, Elementary Programming and Website Development in the job market.