‘Beautiful Strategies’
August 9, 2022
Building A Culture Of Support, Reflection And Respect
October 4, 2022
A positive impact from simple techniques : Edufundi techniques helping improve discipline in classes of up to 70 students
The historical Shembe village is home to Shembe Primary, one of the ten schools that Edufundi is currently supporting in KwaZulu-Natal. The school is built on a small area of land and faces the issue of overcrowded classrooms. “Classrooms are very packed,” says Mr Ndlovu, Head of Department (HOD) and Grade 5 Natural Science Teacher. “They are overcrowded in such a way that we teach about 70 learners in one class.” With such large groups of students per class, discipline has been a huge challenge for the school.
Behaviour and Culture
Part of Edufundi’s Support Programme specifically looks at teaching techniques called ‘Behaviour and Culture’. These are a simple set of techniques, which help teachers to quickly and easily settle their classrooms – big or small – and create systems and routines to set up their lessons for success. It also helps teachers manage classroom behaviour effectively.
When we asked Foundation HOD, Miss Sindi Dia how this has impacted the school she reflected on the improvement in students behaviour. “Now they don’t make noise,” she says. She goes on to explain that the techniques have helped the students understand what is expected of them – “once there’s a ‘Do Now’ activity, they know to sit properly and sit quietly – then they wait for the educator to start.”
Techniques: All Write (top left), Exit Ticket (top right), Show Me (bottom left) and STAR (bottom right).
Making lessons fun
Miss Dia and Mr Ndlovu have both seen huge improvement in the overall discipline of the learners. Miss Dia explains that, now, when the teachers start to use the Star Technique, for example, the students know to “leave whatever they are doing and focus attentively on the educator.”
With these improvements, teachers are able to focus on creating fun and engaging lessons, instead of focusing on classroom management. “It feels good! It’s made my lessons easier and more enjoyable,” says Mr Ndlovu. He looks forward to the time when all the teachers at Shembe Primary will be able to use the techniques, and when all the students understand and enjoy the techniques. “We hope that they will take these techniques to their next grade and even to highschool!” This is part of the long term, sustainable impact Edufundi looks to achieve in all the schools it supports.
Mr Ndlovu HOD Grade 5 (left) and Miss Dia HOD Grade 2 (right)
Shembe Memorial Primary School is a school situated in Shembe Village just outside Durban, the school joined the Edufundi support programme in 2022. Their mentorship team is Pam Naicker and Neli Mohali with leadership coach Bheki Ngidi.
