Some of the teachers at my workshop
I must admit, on the days before my first Maths training session, I was terrified. I knew that this was my opportunity to prove my worth to the local schools, and I had nightmares of teachers standing up and calling me a fraud (completely unrealistic I know).
But the whole day was amazing! The teachers all responded enthusiastically, showing a real passion for learning. I could tell that they not only found my suggestions helpful, but felt that they would make their job easier and more gratifying. I even received this text message at the end -‘Thank you for teaching us, we need more from you!’
I was really relieved that it went so well, especially as I knew I could update you and show what your support has made possible.
Prepping the session
Whilst preparing for the day, my VSO training kept coming back to mind. VSO is very clear about the way they see development and the work we volunteers do. This is one of the incredible things about VSO, and is what initially drew me to them. They believe that the most sustainable way to make a change is to work with not for people. We share ideas and skills rather than enforcing them. I tried to bare this in mind for my workshop. I looked for ways to collaborate with teachers, and to get them infused about making plans for improvement.
As I mentioned in my previous post, ‘Diving straight in’, division and multiplication are some of the areas Tanzanian students have been struggling with most. So it seemed the natural fit for my first session.
Before I started delivering training workshops, I observed a variety of classes, and met with various different groups of teachers. My aim was to get a good grasp of how they were teaching, how the students were responding, and where improvements could be made.
Pupils in Tanzania sitting patiently ready to learn
It quickly became clear to me that the traditional methods weren’t working, the pupils were being asked to memorise the process but not given any context in to the how, what, and why.
I thought about my old favourites and researched new methods to help students visualise the topic, and soon came up with my plan for the day.
Dividing the numbers
I split my workshop into two sessions, division and multiplication, and presented different teaching methods to all the teachers. They were initially a bit confused as it was very different from what they’ve done before, but gradually they caught on and began getting excited about what I was saying.
A method I love for division is called repeated subtraction and it fits perfectly in to real life illustrations.
Example: What is 65 divided by five?
I want to move 65 apples from A to B. Unfortunately I can only carry five apples at the time. So, how many journeys will I make from A to B if I wanted to carry all 65 apples?
First of all, I asked the teachers to tell me how many journeys I needed to carry five apples. They answered one. Then I asked them how many journeys I needed to carry 50 apples. They answered 10.
Then I began working on the actual division. After 10 journeys I will have carried 50 apples, leaving 15 apples to be carried. To carry the remaining 15 apples I would need 3 more journeys. So, 10 + 3 = 13 journeys, which is the solution!
Total apples moved 65 – 50 = 15 10 journeys
15 – 5 = 10 1 journey
10 – 5 = 5 1 journey
5 – 5 = 0 1 journey
13 journeys in total
Another example I tried out
Multiplying the numbers
My favourite method for teaching multiplication is called a ‘Visual Grid’, and the teachers here loved it too.
So here’s an example for you – what does 15 times 14 equal?
I asked the audience to each draw a square with three rows and three columns. Then I asked them to take the number 15 and minus 10.
This makes the equation much easier as it gives them to smaller numbers to deal with, 10 and five. I asked them to then do the same with 14, splitting it to four and 10.
Then they filled in the first column and top row as below-
Look at the bright yellow square, this would equal the product of four and five, which is 20.
The teachers repeated the process for each of the four boxes.
You then simply add 20 plus 50 plus 40 plus 100, which equals 210.
The result
It was such a great day, I felt like I reached all mine and VSO’s targets. Everyone was so motivated, even the Head Teacher ended up joining in. Before leaving, I asked them to test out each of the alternative methods, write down the procedure, whether it worked and whether they would use it again in the future. They will be sending the results over to me, and I can’t wait to hear whether it was successful. I will let you know in my next update.
Thank you
Having you by my side is amazing, I hope this update has given you an idea of the work you are supporting. Making sure teachers give kids better lessons will ensure they get a brighter start to their futures.
Speak soon,
Andrea
