Return to Kwacha School: Observing Teachers

Mabuchi and Mrs. Shawa in the classroom

Mabuchi and returned to Kwacha to observe the grade 1 -7 teachers. 

Our first stop was Mrs. Shawa.  She read a story about the lion, the hyena, and the hare.  The children enjoyed the story but really enjoyed sharing ideas with each other. 

The more they shared and

Mrs. Shawa saw their excitement the more excited she became. Mabuchi and I were really pleased with her progress and understanding of the engagement strategies in such a short period of time.

 

Mr. Phiri

We went to Mr. Phiri’s grade six and seven class next.  Mr. Phiri taught about the digestive system.  He had several things in place in the lesson. Mabuchi helped out at the end by modeling for the teacher and reviewing with the students what they had learned.

Making sure all students are participating 

Our final observation took place in the grade two and three class where the teacher pointed out the provinces and provincial towns on the map of Zambia. 

The teacher explained to me that some students have been at the school for a year or more and others are new.  We discussed ways to help the new students such as having them sit next to a student who has attended Kwacha for some time.  The teacher was open to the new ideas we presented. 

After each lesson I met individually with each teacher asking what they thought went well in the lesson, what they might do differently next time to make it better, and if they wanted some suggestions from me.  All teachers offered insights about their teaching and welcomed suggestions for improvements.

One of a few stops we made on our shopping trip

After saying goodbye to our teacher friends we headed to town for a bit of shopping. The school with no pencils or exercise books mysteriously received a couple dozen pencils and a stack of exercise books after our shopping excursion.    

Mabuchi with our host family

Our host for the week invited Mabuchi and me to his house for dinner where we had a traditional Zambian meal prepared by his wife and daughters.  We enjoyed meeting his family and spending the evening with them.  
We are leaving for Lusaka in the morning on a bus ride for five hours.  Time for some sleep.

Posted late due to internet difficulties.