After the literacy training, I’ve been thinking a lot about enhancing classroom experiences for Gambian students and for teachers. When I asked some teachers what kind of resources would help them teach subjects like English and Math more effectively, they said they wanted more permanent teaching resources in the classroom.
Since then, every weekend I come to the school with a different teacher and we paint teaching resources on the classroom walls! Based on the grade level and the student, we’ve painted several different types of teaching aids from the national anthem to all of the vowel sounds. It’s been a great time to talk with teachers about classroom management, reward systems for students, and just to hang out.
Usually, Gambian teachers will draw a topic on a poster board and paste that poster board in the class. But since the classrooms are open, wind, rain and children will come in and tamper with the posters. Now we’re taking the posters off, painting bigger and brighter renditions on the wall and using those in classroom lessons.
Classroom teaching is not easy, especially when you’re teaching in English and most of the students don’t understand it. If I can help with some teaching aids, both teachers and students can be more effective in the classroom.