Teacher trainee adopts innovative skills for teaching

A teacher trainee at Accra College of Education has developed Improved Practical Classroom teaching aid skills to assist slow pupils at the lower primary level to catch-up gradually with the rest of the class.

Ms Gloria Sarfo Nyamekye, a level 300 Teacher-Trainee explained the Transforming Teacher Education and Learning (T-TEL) Challenge Fund End of Project Learning and Sharing event at Koforidua, Eastern Region that she developed the model to meet the needs of slow pupils in class.

Ms Nyamekye who is a Mentee under the T-TEL Challenge Fund project said, “I was confronted with the challenge during teaching practice period and as a T-TEL mentee trained to adopt innovation in teaching I used simply local material to develop the Improved Practical Classroom Teaching Aid”.

She said the teaching aid enhanced professional values through effective use of instructional time; effective mechanism for planning ahead of lesson delivery; and behaviour management strategies.

She explained that systematic and sequential lesson delivery; good questioning and response skills; developed positive attitudes towards learning; work independently and interpedently develop and operate at all levels of thinking and learn from each other.

Ms Nyamekye has designed a colourful butterfly game with numerals which attracts the kids to easily play with the numerals whilst learning in a simplified interesting method.

She explained that second teaching aid identified as Reading Registration Centre which is a strategy to help poor readers to improve their reading through motivation. It has four pockets fluent readers, hesitant readers, beginning readers and lastly non-readers.

Mrs Elizabeth Aikins, Vice Principal of Accra College of Education explained that the college’s project funded by T-TEL Challenge Fund was to adopt innovative strategies towards improving trainee teachers’ pedagogical competencies and practical classroom skills.

She said a baseline survey conducted before the commencement of the project indicated that there was a variation in teaching practice supervision and scoring of tutors, and identified 65 per cent disparity in supervision and assessment.

It also revealed weak performance of teacher trainees’ practical classroom skills and lesson delivery and the survey conducted on 62 selected indicated that only 48 per cent of teacher trainees performed well in their practical classroom skills and delivery.

Mrs Aikins who was the Project Team Lead said at the end of the project, Accra College of Education has improved harmonisation and consistency in supervision and assessment of teacher trainees as well as practical teaching skills of teacher trainees.

“As a results of the Harmonisation of Supervision, Assessment and Scoring, the disparity in the supervision scores of our tutors has been addressed; Teacher trainees’ scores are now with little or no disparity.

“The interest and enthusiasm of Tutors in supervision has improved tremendously as a result of this, number of tutors who turn out for teaching practice, supervision and assessment has increased significantly,” she said.

Mrs Aikins explained that Accra College of Education Tutors could now supervise other subject areas with more confidence, “for instance an English tutor could supervise Science or Mathematics lessons without much disparity in the scores given.

“The trainees who benefitted from the project are more innovative and creative in their practical classroom delivery. (Using videos, Teacher Learning Manuals ‘TLMs’ and different methods of delivery in their lessons and in dealing with difficult topics).

The Accra College of Education Vice Principal explained that the trainees now exhibit effectiveness in lesson note preparation and lesson delivery, leading to improved teaching practice scores.

Mrs Aikins noted that preparation and usage of TLMs had improved mentees’ On-Campus and Off-Campus Teaching Practice (OCTP) performance and Mentors now organised reflective practice with the mentees, and shared ideas with them to improve on their lesson delivery.

“Reflective practice is now a common feature in the partner schools, especially where the beneficiary trainees were posted and teaching practice journal is used effectively by the mentees.

“It guides them during their reflective practice and it has helped to improve their lessons,” Mrs Aikins noted.

Mrs Aikins therefore commended T-TEL for supporting Accra College of Education through the project stressing that the project would be scaled up in the College for the entire student body.