Mr. Mwagodi, Teacher at Sacred Heart Secondary School,
Instruction in school has for days been teacher-centered where the learners consume information and be passive for the whole of the teaching/ learning process. This has made learning amongst learners to be a bitter pill to swallow as it is not only monotonous but also teacher centered. Change in the pedagogy to instill the 21st Century skills into the learners has brought a paradigm shift in the art of teaching. ICT has proved to be the best solution to enhance more learner-centered interactive learning where integration of ICT in teaching and learning is given a tap on the back. Traditional teaching method of use of chalk, board and talk has been enhanced through teaching with technology, an efficient learning tool.
As a teacher, my teaching was based on passing information to the learners where there was limited learner involvement due to the work load. I had once in a while struggled with the use of ICT in some of my lessons where theory would not be applicable. With my engagement and competencies in the use of ICT to teach, e.g. PowerPoint presentations and use of video clips, etc, it did dawn unto me that a lot of improvement was needed into my teaching.
During the April holidays this year, I was selected to attend a Jielimishe GEC workshop on ICT Integration in Learning held at Pride Inn and funded by UKAID. This came in at the right time of my teaching career, motivated and inspired me to become an innovative teacher and take more time and dedication into integrating ICT in my lessons.
With the knowledge I gained during the four days training, my ICT skills were not only sharpened but taken a notch higher. This built my confidence and competence in use of ICT in delivery of the curriculum. I was introduced into the Microsoft Educator Network through which I have received global support from fellow, like minded teachers and students. The introduction to Teaching with Technology has really boosted my skills and changed my attitude towards embedded teaching. This has made me more innovative, a good time manager, a mentor, a coach and a guide for learners through their journey. It has made teaching fun and interactive, enabling abstract concepts to be made easier to the learners. It has also enabled me to mentor learners in taking a center stage in drawing their own learning pathways. Above all, it has made learning to be learner centered, where learners are not restricted to normal lesson time in class.
Graph 1: Improvement in lowest marks scored in both Biology and Agriculture due to ICT
Graph 2: Improvement in highest marks scored in both Biology and Agriculture due to ICT
Graph 3: Improvement in Subject Mean score in both Biology and Agriculture due to ICT
The teacher recorded that there was an improved performance both in Biology and Agricuture subjects for form fours where the lowest scores before ICT were 24 and 29 respectively. These improved to 40 in each of the two. The highest score in biology before ICT was 39 and that of Agriculture was 41. The teacher reported an improvement of 51 and 80 respectively thanks to ICT integration. The mean scores on the other hand improved from 2.0 to 3.68 in Bilogy and 3.1 to 4.0 in Agriculture
ICT is an effective technological tool, that can transform teaching and learning in all aspects, it should be embraced by the teaching fraternity in order to trigger the best out of our learners. Thank you to Jielimishe for granting me this chance to better our learning experiences and outcomes.
