4.3 Teachers on teaching
In this activity you will hear from three primary school teachers in different countries. At the end of the interviews, you will make a comparison of their ideas and experiences.
Activity 7
Lucy Conde is a teacher with over 30 years of experience. As you watch the following 10-minute video, think about the areas that appear to be most important to Lucy.
Discussion
Are you surprised that her focus appears to be on aspects other than teaching and learning? She talks about children coming to school for love and protection, and that the purpose of primary education is to teach children to love themselves.
Lucy also mentions the importance of children being sufficiently nourished in order to learn well. This isn’t just an issue in low-income countries. While teachers need to know a great deal about a lot of subjects, what Lucy emphasises is that successful teaching is much more than just standing in front of a class of students.
Activity 8
As you watch and read about Pham Thi Vi’s experiences and perspectives, observe how she uses terminology like ‘methodology’ to explain her work. Listen as she explains the length of her teacher training programme and how her current school was also her training school, how long she spends in school and the time she starts her day.
Activity 9
In Germany, teachers spend five years studying a degree subject and a further two years learning to teach. Listen to Birgit talking about her experiences of teaching and compare and contrast her comments with those of Lucy and Pham Thi Vi.
Discussion
Did you notice similarities in the way that Birgit spoke about teaching compared to Lucy and Pham Thi Vi, or maybe you noticed some differences? For instance, Birgit comments on the importance of pupils learning more than one language and about the success the children enjoy when they can speak in a new language. The three teachers have different backgrounds and they all took different pathways into teaching. Birgit works in a much better resourced environment than Lucy and Pham Thi Vi, and Birgit has had many more years of formal education.
OpenLearn - Global perspectives on primary education
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