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| The
implementation of this new teaching strategy |
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| • Namibia
Report 1995 • Donation
Report 2003 |
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Photo
by Nick Crane in March 2003 - visiting one of the schools, 20 km from
the Bleve Nile Falls, where he
donated TTE-Visuals 3 years earlier. High school students in
Ethiopia process one of the 3000 TTE-Visuals
projected in front of the class - with the confident feeling of understanding.
This can be read from their faces. |
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The transparencies
are not a curriculum but a supplement to add interest
and visual impact to lessons, in any country.
The implementation of
this new teaching strategy is an important addition
to daily lessons in schools.
The tools are simple to use. In some schools the teachers
immediately comprehend - but in others they need to
experience the benefits and be guided into these rich
resources.
Therefore we tend to work with the Ministry of Education
directly and more importantly - via regional educational
offices. We insist on the involvement of the inspectorate.
If possible we get teacher training colleges involved
too. |
Special manuals
On our website we offer special manuals for the classroom
set up which can be down loaded as PDFs. There are also
manuals on how to effectively work with projected visuals.
On many transparencies we provide small texts which are
projected with the image to inspire the teachers to make
relevant comments and ask the relevant questions in the
classroom situation. |
If you are an experienced teacher, l
used to working with overhead projector and able to
organise and instruct groups of teachers in a very different
cultural setting, we could use your expertise to improve
the work in projects which are already established or
those to come. You are invited to contact us and to
spend a part of your vacation this way. Another way
to get involved is to plan a vacation: you donate a
visual encyclopaedia – (maybe on behalf of your
school), and you go and instal a system yourself or
with some of your children. You then spend a short time
instructing the teachers in the local school on how
to use the visuals.This could be a mutually beneficial
cultural exchange.
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For logistics and guidance.
Nick Crane shakes hands with a local chief in Tanzania
ensuring that his donation gets to the right places.
Nick understands the logical problems as well as customs.
When larger shipments have to be guided into an African
or Asian country, he is available to assist on the spot
- if we provide the plane ticket.
As a manager by nature he finds local persons for these
responsibilities and connects educational authorities
with local institutions. If necessary he also will give
instruction personally in the schools, teaching the
use of the new materials. On the inset photo you see
an instruction meeting of the teaching staff at Ghion
High School in Ethiopia. During his second visit in
2000 Nick considered that the use of these new teaching
tools needed improvement here.
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Introducing the concept of visually supported education
and all that is needed. |
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For
large projects we go to the countries ourselves,
for reasons of logistics, face to face contacts
and also to enjoy the pleasures of introducing
the materials to the teachers - always in very
interesting environments. |
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The expertise of
Bruce Tamagno can be used. He
was recently heavily involved in updating our
Geography encyclopaedia. He retired early as the
former head of the curriculum department for social
studies and sciences in Victoria, Australia to
travel the world once more and he is now temporarily
based on Cyprus. He toured Australia for many
years to implement educational innovations and
he was regularly in charge of groups of visiting
teachers from countries in South East Asia. He
is willing to go where projects are launched (at
travel expenses) to assist in the implementation.
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On the Ethiopean
highlands
One of the buildings at a high school with appr.
3000 students.
A boy from the market carries Jan Krol's bag as
two teachers and the director join him to a class
with 120 pupils and teachers waiting for a demonstration.
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Overhead Projector Project Amharic Region ETHIOPIA
Report on visits made by Nick Crane Bahir
Dar 20.3.03
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To |
Tilaxe Gete. Bureau Head
Asema Emeru Akalu
TTE, Holland
Fantu Gola, TTE Addis Ababa |
During the course
of the last week I have visited four of the schools
where the first 15 original projectors, geography
transparencies, screens and maps were placed.
Since my original visit some two and a half years
ago, some US $13,0000 has been invested in transparencies,
and many of the schools have had additional projectors
supplied. The probable total investment so far
is near to 1.6 million birr.
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Faciledes School, Gondar
This was my third visit to this school and over the period
I have noticed a big overall improvement of teaching facilities.
The projector project seems to be working well and I was surprised
to see a very well equipped computer room.
It was the third time that I have met the Geography teacher.
I recall his original reticence regarding this new teaching
method but I noticed this time a complete acceptance of the
method. He is using the transparencies well.
I recommend continued follow up by the bureau and the headmaster
since I did not get a chance to see the other science classes.
Tana Haike School
In the company of Ato Abera, I visited this school for the
4th time. The teachers seem to be working well with the system.
This is a simple school to monitor because of its proximity
to the bureau.
Ghion School
There was no electricity when we visited but Ato Abera will
recall that we removed the transparencies on the last visit
since they were not using the material because the electricity
bill had not been paid. I recommend that, subject to transparency
availability, that they are now given some material to work
with.
Danglia School
This school has 2 projectors and transparencies in all the
sciences. They had the map and screen.
Despite the power cut during my visit I was able to attend
a geography class where the teacher was talking about fishing.
I initially asked the students if they had seen the transparencies
and they replied only once to the embarrassment of the teacher
and headmaster.
I was then taken to the chemistry and biology laboratories
where the transparencies were locked in cupboards but a register
indicated that they had been used about 15 times only. However
some were in their original packaging and it was clear that
the use was limited.
Taking a transparency encyclopedia I turned to a page on "Fish"
and ''Plankton' (the subjects being discussed in the classroom),
I mentioned to the head that it would be so easy to show the
children these beautiful images to explain the lesson. It
was clear that the children did not understand what Plankton
look like and it is doubtful that in a place like Danglia
they are aware of the variety of fish in the rivers and oceans.
Here was a perfect opportunity to use transparencies but the
teacher preferred to lecture to the children without the aid
of images. Instead of a 90% comprehension there was probably
only a 10% comprehension by the brightest students.
I therefore concluded with the head that he hold two meetings
with his staff with the following objectives;
First Meeting 1. Bring all the transparencies (Geography,
Biology, etc) into the meeting hall and allow all teachers
to see the wealth of information. I feel the teachers have
not looked sufficiently at the book, nor are they aware of
what they contain.
2. Instil in the teachers that the material should not be
locked away and that it should be used more often to explain
technical points in the lessons.
Second Meeting This meeting will be a 'teacher training' meeting.
I left my training transparency of the 7 main teaching techniques
to be used with projectors. The teachers need to have these
methods explained.
Conclusion
In several schools the new teaching system seems to work
really well without investing much effort, but the project
has mixed results. Given the vast sums of money invested
by the bureau, coupled with the time spent by Jan Krol and
myself, it is disappointing that then material is not being
used correctly in some schools.
More guidance might solve this problem
I remain convinced that this teaching method is one of the
best available and applicable to secondary teaching in Ethiopia
and I know Ato Asema supports my view. I recommend a followup
by the bureau.
Nick Crane |
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| The most amazing experience:
the friendliness of the people |
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click
here for the order form
If you are interested in more information - do not hesitate
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responce: please e-mail us now your
information request click
here |
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| The Instant
Questionnaire January
1995 THE NAMIBIAN INVESTIGATION |
Transparency
Encyclopedia “Super Quartet Biology” 436 sheets
TTE-Visuals in Namibia
Use and Users satisfaction
one year after introduction
on pre-university level schools
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Virtually all teachers
marked the transparencies as ‘excellent material’
in a survey in December 1994. None of the other teaching
tools provided as development aid by the European Community
via the ‘INSTANT-Project’ to 50 Namibian
schools, was marked so positively.
The surveys was done by Drs. Nico Peek, who has been
working for 15 years as educational expert from the
University of Amsterdam in Southern Africa and Selma
Imene, then a young local teacher assisting in the Instand
Project and now Assistant Director of the Peace Corps.
They asked 48 teachers to respond to nine questions,
specifically on the transparencies.
To make the interpretation of the answers more lively,
questions 1, 2 and 4 are repeated.
An interesting experiment
An experiment, the ‘Instant Project’ in
Windhoek was launched early 1994. Never before had Transparency
Encyclopedias been introduced to schools in the Developing
World as a new strategy for educational innovation.
As a matter of fact educational tools like these - allowing
for visualisation of virtually all subjects in School
Biology have only been available for two years and also
for new for schools in Europe and America.
Because each encyclopedia costed appr. US$ 1,000 it
is important to know or this investment really is justified.
Is this educational innovation practical enough in local
circumstances - is it improving the lessons indeed?
Are the teachers really using the transparencies?
1. Do you use transparencies daily, frequently or occasionally? |
| number = |
48 |
Daily
Frequently
Occasionally
No response |
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27
11
01 |
(= 19%)
(= 56%)
(= 23%)
(= 02%) |
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75% of the teachers use the OHP slides frequently or
daily. As well as with the group of 23% using the transparency
encyclopedia occasionally, it is not clear whether more
intensive use is troubled or blocked by organisational
problems: no OHP-projector available in the classroom?;
other teachers are using the transparencies?, etc...
These questions are important because in the next question
100% of the teachers consider the use of the transparencies
to be relevant and they also give their arguments:
2. Do you think it is of value using transparencies?
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Number = 48
Yes = 48 (=
100%) |
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Why? Answers stated:
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Better understanding
Clearer for students
Makes work easy for learners
Makes work easy for teachers
Saves time |
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If ALL teachers
are convinced about the educational value of the transparencies,
why not use all of them intensively?
From the questionaire it can be concluded that 38 teachers
have to share their pack with colleagues. That is exactly
the total of teachers using them frequently (27 teachers)
or occasionally (11 teachers).
Only 8 teachers have the pack exclusively for themselves.
Possibly these all belong to the nine ‘daily users’
in the first question: they have access to the transparencies,
whenever they need them.
3. Do students like the
sheets?
98% of the teachers found their students like the transparencies.
In addition to ‘easy learning’ and ‘easy
teaching’ this must also be a reason for 96% of
the teachers recommending the “Super Quartet”
to other schools.
As such, Namibian teachers now place ‘Transparency
Encyclopedias’ in one line with models and microscopes
- probably also because they judge them as a low cost
substitute for many other teaching aids.
In Namibia transparencies now compete strongly with
other teaching aids.
Namibian Schools still lack a lot of materials which
in the developed world are traditionally considered
essential for the Biology classroom.
4. Suppose you were offered
N$ 5000 from the headmaster of your school, again would
you spend it on transparencies or would you rather spend
it on something else? |
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Number = 48 |
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Something else
Transparencies
No response |
25
21
7 |
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It is amazing, as
well as being a compliment for the Instant experiment,
that 21 Namibian teachers - despite the fact that they
now already have a fairly complete system of 436 full
colour transparencies - would spend another N$ 5,000
on transparencies.
Possibly most of these teachers belong to the group
of 38 teachers who share their Super Quartet with others
and now want to obtain one for their own classroom.
Some of the daily users might want to expand their Super
Quartet with additional resources.
5 Are the transparencies
too elaborate or extensive?
The question was not clear: it was left unanswered by
half of the teachers.
There are 19 teachers who think the transparencies are
too elaborate or extensive , and 5 colleagues think
they are not. (‘Some are for more extended, some
are for more details’).
But to how many of the sheets do these teachers refer?
Or are they talking about the complete series?
6 Do transparencies get
lost?
From the 48 teachers 17 fear this - possibly most of
them sharing the pack with collegues, whereas 30 teachers
are not afraid to lose transparencies. They are quite
confident that the storage in the ring binders is efficient,
also on the long term.
Conclusion:
This brief questionnaire has shown up great user satisfaction.
All teachers consider the ‘Super Quartet’
of value and found their students like the transparencies;
75% use the OHP-sheets frequently or daily; virtually
all the teachers recommend them to be used in other
schools as well. Many teachers give priority in investing
considerable amounts of money in more transparencies
for their own classroom.
Further investigation would lead to more in-depth information.
The results of this small questionnaire justify more
research because this educational innovation promises
great potential. |
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| A TTE-visual on
eductional developments since 1850 |
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