The Ministry of Education is seeking to enhance the teaching and learning of literacy and numeracy to the nation’s primary school students by using interactive software.
Twenty-four educators, including IT teachers and principals representing 6 school districts, met on 15 and 16 July at the Anglican High School to participate in a pilot programme. The 24 educators interfaced with 3 softwares: Nearpod, Wordwall and ABCya! which will be later implemented in additional schools on the island.
The principal of St Peter’s Catholic School in St John Ian George said the introduction of the different software will enhance student learning in the classroom. “We were introduced to a software programme, that’s Nearpod, and it’s a highly interactive programme that students can be engaged in to improve their learning outcome in the classroom. The teachers would have opportunities to add activities, create activities — meaningful learning activities, to enhance students’ learning,” George said.
Jessel Williams-Walcott, who is the District IT Officer for District 3, was one of the facilitators. She explained how the different software can be used. “With Nearpod, [it] allows for interactivity. It gives the students the ability to interact LIVE. For example, the teacher can have LIVE lessons with the students, as well for those students who may need the individual attention, it allows for the students to do that on an individual basis. With the Abcya, there is content that is already there for the students, so what the teachers need to do is really access the content and link it with their objectives. They would have to ensure that whatever they are exposing the students to its relevant to the objectives they are trying to achieve. We also have the Wordwall, which is to an extent, like Nearpod. There are templates there that the teachers can use and create the lessons for the students, as well as there are resources there within the community which they can access. These are other resources that are already there that have been created by other educators that they can use with the students.”
Teacher at St Joseph’s Catholic School, Ronald Grainger, is very optimistic about students using the interactive software. Grainger said, “Just the mere fact of using computers, they’ll be very interested, they’ll be excited, and the Nearpod also gives it an extra boost. To be able to learn, they can play games, they can hear themselves speaking, they can hear the teacher speaking. So, the auditory learners could be boosted, the visual learners could be boosted, and a multiple number of ways can be used to enhance the teaching and learning profession.”
Enhancing the teaching of numeracy and literacy will help to address those 2 areas that continue to be problematic for students.
District 4 and 5 IT officer Alica Edwards was the co-facilitator. Carriacou and Petite Martinique were not represented at the 2-day workshop due to conditions on the sister isles in the aftermath of Hurricane Beryl.
Ministry of Education
