Transforming teaching and learning in Asia and the Pacific: case studies from seven countries; 2015

(ff) #1

and Goreto, Nepal (in Sindhupalchowk District). In most of the lessons the
teachers were observed using methods they had been taught in the training.
The key observations were as follows:



  • One teacher asked all the 15 students in the class to come in the front of the
    room. The task was to share the name of a food with their peers and find out
    what food name their peers were thinking of. The activity was ‘mix-freeze-pair’
    and was enjoyed by the students. After the class the teacher explained that
    this activity enabled students to learn from each other and also led to students
    developing positive social behaviour. The teacher reported that after using
    this activity in the previous year, the students had become more open to
    one another and they mixed more easily.

  • In a science class the teacher began with a ‘think-pair-share’ activity. Although
    the activity was correctly implemented by the teacher, the question used for
    the activity was not appropriate because the question was about the content
    the class had yet to cover that day.

  • In a mathematics class, the teacher asked the students to sing a song related
    to the course content. The teacher then showed the class picture cards and
    asked the students to count the number of animals in a picture. The teacher
    then showed the students how to match number cards with the animal
    picture cards so that the number cards matched the number of animals.
    After that, the students were divided into groups and the teacher gave the
    students a stack of number and picture cards for the group to match. The
    teacher moved around, checked the group’s work, and helped students
    when they asked for assistance. This activity seemed to promote collaborative
    learning. When a student in a group made a mistake, other students helped
    him or her correct the mistake. Apart from learning the content, the students
    also learnt important life skills such as cooperative behaviour, helping each
    other, and teamwork.

  • In another class, a ‘jigsaw’ activity was used to involve everyone. The students
    also participated in discussions and some also made presentations. For the
    ‘jigsaw’ activity, the class was divided into three groups to work on three
    different sections of a theme. Each of the groups discussed the topic, then
    made a presentation to the rest of the class. In one group, the discussion and
    presentation was led by one student only. When the group was asked why
    the others were not participating, the students explained that the assignment
    was prepared by one student only, not divided between the members of
    the group. The teacher suggested that the group members should divide

Free download pdf