Improved Methods on Teaching Difficult Topics in a Crowded UPE Class: A Case Study of Kinondoni Primary Schools in Tanzania.
The Support to Education in Primary Schools Project (STEPS, 2001 - 2005) has been supporting Kinondoni Municipality and Morogoro Rural District in capacity-building activities of primary education practitioners/ stakeholders for the purpose of primary school improvement. Initiated by the Aga Khan Foundation, STEPS aims to complement the Primary Education Development Plan (PEDP, 2002 - 2006 ), a national programme that was designed to revamp the delivery of primary education in Tanzania. Improved access, occasioned by PEDP interventions, has given rise to increased enrolments in primary schools. Large class sizes (over 100 pupils) became a common feature in primary schools in Kinondoni Municipality in Tanzania.
To improve teaching and learning practice in classrooms, STEPS had focused on the adoption of participative and interactive approaches, which encompasses the production and use of teaching and learning aids made from locally available materials, to promote child- centred learning by creating a conducive teaching and learning environment. This was to attract teachers and pupils attendance and participation. Large classes of over 100 pupils create conditions that could limit meaningful learning based on interactive pupil- teacher interactions.
This paper explores various strategies that teachers have been exposed to practice in order to make teaching and learning active and child-centred, even when handling difficult topics. A video film has been recorded whereby teachers in large classes have been able to improvise various strategies for avoiding chalk and talk, thus, practicing active teaching and learning. This paper (with the video) suggests and recommends improvement of teachers professional development programmes as well as pedagogical practices in order to improve classroom practices and promote meaningful learning of difficult topics even in large classes of over 100 pupils.