Teachers applaud newspapers as teaching aids
WITH a cut-out of a newspaper as his teaching reference, Erasmus Tumwesigye of Kajuzya Primary School, walked to the front of the classroom.
By Ayiga Ondoga
WITH a cut-out of a newspaper as his teaching reference, Erasmus Tumwesigye of Kajuzya Primary School, walked to the front of the classroom.
The cut-out was a news story from New Vision with which he took the ‘pupils’ through a lesson.
This was at the end of a training workshop about Newspapers in Education (NiE) for primary school head teachers in Kiruhura district organised by New Vision last week.
At the end of the demonstration session, over 100 head teachers had gone through an experience of learning to prepare lessons in any subject using newspapers as a teaching aid.
The workshop which was held at Kashwa Church of Uganda in Kazo county, Kiruhura district, aimed at equipping the teachers with skills to use the newspaper as a simple teaching tool.
The headteachers were led by Kiruhura district education officer, Sheila Mwine, and the district inspectors of schools, Williams Ahabwe and Bonny Matsiko.
Mwine noted that the NiE approach to learning and teaching is participatory and a practical way of relating what is happening in the world to the classroom environment.
She observed that performance in the district had improved as a result of using newspapers.
“Since last year, our performance has improved because we have been using the Orumuri newspaper examinations pull-out as a guiding tool for our pupils. It is cheap and affordable for both parents and schools,†Mwine noted.
NiE is a worldwide movement that strives to make learning child-centred and the classroom environment more stimulating through the use of newspapers. Through this programme, the New Vision works with education stakeholders to enhance classroom resourcefulness and improve the reading culture. The programme helps teachers learn how to use newspapers as a learning resource.
International research has shown that learners who use newspapers as a principal learning resource have better achievement scores than their counterparts who rely only on textbooks.
The newspaper is a versatile living textbook that can be used to teach any subject at any level and is an exciting teaching aid because it simulates the real world in the classroom.
The 2006 survey on national assessment of progress in education revealed that more than half of the children in Primary Three could not read or write to acceptable levels. The situation in upper primary school was even worse. In Primary Six, about 70% of the pupils could not read or write to acceptable levels.
Through NiE, the New Vision strives to bridge this literacy gap by using the newspapers as an exciting supplementary reading material.
Benon Mwesigwa of Rwabigyemano Primary School said newspapers will improve learning in a classroom environment.
“With newspapers, it is easy to generate interest among pupils,†Mwesigwa noted.
With a shortage of teaching materials in most schools, NiE can lead to effective teaching methods without using a regular text book. Participants noted that the newspaper summarises information which you would find in many different textbooks.
“The newspaper teaching technique will help us to improvise since we have a shortage of text books,†Zabron Tusiime Ibabaza of Nyakahita II Primary School said.
Jamesa Wagwau, the NiE manager, said the newspaper is a powerful teaching tool that encourages incidental learning.
“We should involve the children in the learning process, teachers should establish a child-centred approach of teaching where the children know that they are in-charge of the learning process as opposed to the teacher-centred approach in which the learner is a passive recipient of knowledge,†he observed.
“We should encourage our children to read newspapers to acquire more knowledge so that they can read and write properly. Our target is to perform well in the PLE examinations. We are also looking at reducing the number of school drop-outs in the district,†Mwine emphasised.
Arthur Baguma, the education editor, tipped teachers that with the new format of examining by the Uganda National Examinations Board, NiE will give them an edge to equip their pupils with better skills to pass exams.
Baguma said the change in setting exams from recall/rote to testing higher cognitive skills, calls for regular reliance on newspapers.
WITH a cut-out of a newspaper as his teaching reference, Erasmus Tumwesigye of Kajuzya Primary School, walked to the front of the classroom.
The cut-out was a news story from New Vision with which he took the ‘pupils’ through a lesson.
This was at the end of a training workshop about Newspapers in Education (NiE) for primary school head teachers in Kiruhura district organised by New Vision last week.
At the end of the demonstration session, over 100 head teachers had gone through an experience of learning to prepare lessons in any subject using newspapers as a teaching aid.
The workshop which was held at Kashwa Church of Uganda in Kazo county, Kiruhura district, aimed at equipping the teachers with skills to use the newspaper as a simple teaching tool.
The headteachers were led by Kiruhura district education officer, Sheila Mwine, and the district inspectors of schools, Williams Ahabwe and Bonny Matsiko.
Mwine noted that the NiE approach to learning and teaching is participatory and a practical way of relating what is happening in the world to the classroom environment.
She observed that performance in the district had improved as a result of using newspapers.
“Since last year, our performance has improved because we have been using the Orumuri newspaper examinations pull-out as a guiding tool for our pupils. It is cheap and affordable for both parents and schools,†Mwine noted.
NiE is a worldwide movement that strives to make learning child-centred and the classroom environment more stimulating through the use of newspapers. Through this programme, the New Vision works with education stakeholders to enhance classroom resourcefulness and improve the reading culture. The programme helps teachers learn how to use newspapers as a learning resource.
International research has shown that learners who use newspapers as a principal learning resource have better achievement scores than their counterparts who rely only on textbooks.
The newspaper is a versatile living textbook that can be used to teach any subject at any level and is an exciting teaching aid because it simulates the real world in the classroom.
The 2006 survey on national assessment of progress in education revealed that more than half of the children in Primary Three could not read or write to acceptable levels. The situation in upper primary school was even worse. In Primary Six, about 70% of the pupils could not read or write to acceptable levels.
Through NiE, the New Vision strives to bridge this literacy gap by using the newspapers as an exciting supplementary reading material.
Benon Mwesigwa of Rwabigyemano Primary School said newspapers will improve learning in a classroom environment.
“With newspapers, it is easy to generate interest among pupils,†Mwesigwa noted.
With a shortage of teaching materials in most schools, NiE can lead to effective teaching methods without using a regular text book. Participants noted that the newspaper summarises information which you would find in many different textbooks.
“The newspaper teaching technique will help us to improvise since we have a shortage of text books,†Zabron Tusiime Ibabaza of Nyakahita II Primary School said.
Jamesa Wagwau, the NiE manager, said the newspaper is a powerful teaching tool that encourages incidental learning.
“We should involve the children in the learning process, teachers should establish a child-centred approach of teaching where the children know that they are in-charge of the learning process as opposed to the teacher-centred approach in which the learner is a passive recipient of knowledge,†he observed.
“We should encourage our children to read newspapers to acquire more knowledge so that they can read and write properly. Our target is to perform well in the PLE examinations. We are also looking at reducing the number of school drop-outs in the district,†Mwine emphasised.
Arthur Baguma, the education editor, tipped teachers that with the new format of examining by the Uganda National Examinations Board, NiE will give them an edge to equip their pupils with better skills to pass exams.
Baguma said the change in setting exams from recall/rote to testing higher cognitive skills, calls for regular reliance on newspapers.