André Schlemmers project might not have earned him the coveted Microsoft Innovative Teachers Award this year, but educators can certainly learn a thing or two from him.
A principal at Settlers Park Primary School, Port Elizabeth, Schlemmer is an old hand at education, having started his teaching career in 1980 after finishing his training at the then Potchefstroom Teaching College.
Schlemmer has taught in four of the countrys nine provinces and his experience covers all spheres of education: primary, secondary and tertiary. Before he became a principal at Settlers Park Primary School, he held similar positions at White River Primary in the Lowveld and Excelsior Primary School in Port Elizabeth.
Settlers Park Primary School offers classes from grade R to grade seven and uses both Afrikaans and English as the medium of instruction. It boasts a multiracial learner body and a dedicated teaching staff. Schlemmers project for the competition was based on guinea-fowls and was a product of the schools annual Science Expo, which has been hosted for five consecutive years. The purpose of the expo is to stimulate creativity among learners.
The project involved 36 learners from communities such as Walmer, Motherwell, Zwide, Walmer Township and Forest Hill, a predominantly coloured area. The learners worked in groups to examine various aspects related to guineafowls; for example, the different kinds of guineafowls, such as helmeted, plumed and crested. They also considered the economic benefits which people derive from the fowls, the size of the fowls, the kind of food they eat and how much they weigh, among other things.
Schlemmer said they chose to focus on guineafowls because the birds are in abundance in the area due to its proximity to Baakens Valley, which is part of a nature reserve. He said residents have come to accept and care for the guinea fowls and peacocks that roam the area.
By focusing on these wild fowls, the learners not only gained intimate knowledge about them, but also began to appreciate the environment and how to preserve it, he said.
To obtain information, the learners had to conduct their own research using the internet and by physically studying the guineafowls. Since the idea was to relate the project to the syllabus further through the use of information technology, they shared their experiences with fellow learners from Northern Ireland through emails and video conference linkups. The school also introduced an outreach programme called The World Around Us, which are links schools locally and abroad.
In collaboration with Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University, Port Elizabeth, the school also created avenues through which learners from disadvantaged communities could be introduced to the world of technology. These learners visit the university campus after school to learn basic computer skills, internet usage and email. They had complete access to computer laboratories to do their IT-related projects and Schlemmers project exposed them to different computer programs and applications.
The learners worked closely with community members and friends during their research, making audio recordings and videos and visiting breeders to conduct interviews. While teachers normally struggle to get learners to do any work after school, this project had them fully engaged.
Zizipho Mgoqi (13), from Greenshield in Port Elizabeth, one of the learners who took part in the project, said: I have made new friends. To me it was a whole new experience I learned about investigating and getting new information from different sources, to present my project in my school and for my country.
I learned things about science that I never knew before. Having my own email, working with people I have never seen before, to communicate with people in Northern Ireland this was the best project, she said.
Thamsanqa Makhathini
Thamsanqa Makhathinis project, Lets Fix It, entailed research about social problems facing the Mpophomeni community in Howick, KwaZulu-Natal, but could apply to similar areas in the country. The project aimed to impart research knowledge, data-capturing and handling skills through the use of information technology, using programs such as Microsoft Powerpoint, among others.
A mathematics guru, Makhathini teaches grades 10, 11 and 12 at Mpophomeni High School. He holds a masters degree in the subject from the University of KwaZulu-Natal and is studying for end-user computer applications through a sponsorship from the provincial education department.
Makhathini said he has always been adventurous and his passion to explore new things deepened when he was exposed to the world of computers. I believe a computer can be an invaluable tool to enhance learning and teaching, he said. He stays up to date with new developments by regularly attending various workshops and courses in information technology and has mastered applications, such as graphmatica, which empowers him to teach key math concepts such as algebra and trigonometry. Under his guidance the school has increased its number of computers in the classrooms.
Makhathinis project asked learners to consider the social problems faced by their community. Once identified, they conducted research studies on how to resolve these problems and also had to come up with their own recommendations.
Mpophemeni was one of the areas rocked by fierce political violence between IFP and ANC members in the early Nineties. Although the community has since returned to normal, the conflict has left deep scars, with schooling being one of the areas that was badly affected.
The social problems identified by learners, aged 14 to 16, ranged from teenage pregnancy, illiteracy, HIV/Aids, crime and violence. They designed questionnaires and hit the road to conduct interviews with residents in the area. The data was then verified, analysed and synthesised and learners had to write reports and supply recommendations.
The learners gained valuable skills in a variety of fields: information gathering, presenting data in different formats, such as tables and charts, conducting interviews and electronic presentations. Mathematically, Makhathini said, this helped to achieve learning outcomes such as how to organise, collect, analyse and interpret data to establish statistical probability models to solve problems. It also helped learners to recognise, describe, represent and work confidently with numbers and their relationship to estimations, calculations and solutions, he said.
Without the use of information technology, it would have been very difficult to design good professional questionnaires. Some of the activities would not have been done in such a wonderful and impressive manner, Makhathini said.
The project also provided a rare forum for learners to interact with residents and other important social institutions, such as local clinics, police stations and libraries. Makhatini said residents were particularly impressed that their children took a keen interest in identifying and resolving the problems they face.
The winners of the Microsoft Innovative Teachers Awards 2007 were announced in the previous edition of the Teacher. Each of the 20 finalists in the competition will be featured in the months to come