Lively, Orderly & Conducive Classrooms
August 15, 2018My Morale Just Got Doubled Up
August 24, 2018When Mr Tukulula joined Homba Primary as principal there were no school management team meetings or staff briefings taking place. Class management was ineffective and the school was not results-driven: marks were poor, no analysis of marks were being done and there was no code of conduct in place.
When Edufundi came along in 2016, Mr Tukulula embraced the project and much has changed since then in terms of school performance and classroom management skills and techniques. The school has made significant progress in terms of discipline and their systemic results have also improved. There is now an open-door policy that is embraced at this school, and everyone is willing to help in any possible way, from the principal right down to all members of staff. The principal and his School Management Team have applauded the Edufundi project and are extremely supportive of it.
Mr Tukulula commented on the Edufundi techniques and the difference they have made in maintaining discipline in the classrooms.
Principal at Homba Primary
Mr Tukulula
The principal has commented on how the Edufundi techniques have supported teachers in preparing lessons that now have specific, measurable and achievable objectives thanks to the Double Lesson Plan Template that caters for how the teacher is going to present the lesson as well as taking into account what the learners will be doing alongside them and what their activities will be. Mr Tukulula further commented that the Teach Like a Champion workshops that were offered to the entire staff have been incredibly helpful and valuable and have played a huge role in his staff adopting these techniques throughout the school.
The principal is not the only member of staff to notice the difference Edufundi has made and the positive effects that have been felt throughout his school. Mrs Katsha, a School Management Team member and Foundation Phase Head of Department, has noticed the changes and also acknowledges some initial challenges. “Edufundi’s support came at a time when we were busy enforcing discipline and ensuring quality education, and this made it easy for us to fight the battle.
We are so grateful for Edufundi’s involvement. At first it was not easy for the school to adapt to the programme, but Mr Tukulula enforced this development as he could see the value in and the need for the programme. Some teachers were initially reluctant to join the programme, but now those same teachers are implementing the techniques daily and have witnessed much improvement in their learners’ discipline.
The school has now adopted the techniques to the extent that the SMT makes errands in the mornings to monitor the teacher’s practise of the techniques and to encourage and support their practise. They even randomly visit classes to assess the implementation taking place. Now that there are visible changes, more and more teachers are interested in the programme. Every morning Mr Tukulula personally checks if every learner is in their respective classrooms and that learning is taking place.” Mr Makapela, a Grade 5 and 6 mentored teacher, has been in the field for the past seven years, having been mentored by our Intermediate Phase mentor, Mr Manenge. The support he received from Mr Manenge was professional and delivered with great understanding through his mentoring and coaching skills.
“He would demonstrate techniques and walk me through them on how best to implement and maintain them in the classroom,” said Mr Makapela. “His support was outstanding as he showed me how to build-up a lesson plan and deliver it to my class. Mr Manenge demonstrated some classroom management techniques such as STAR, 100%, Circulate and 3:30:30, to mention but a few. I have been in the field for many years and these have brought about a lot of positive change in my teaching experience. The techniques I practised have shown some positive results in the behaviour of my learners and that, in turn, has led to better results across the year. My planning has improved and I have also been able to develop my class management skills.”
Written by Phillip Manenge and Sarah Berrisford