Activity 4.5 Subject resources

One resource that I would like to use – what it is, and why I like it.

A handbook for teacher educators

TESSA materials have been written by teacher educators from different countries in Sub-Saharan Africa., including Nigeria my country, suggesting they reflect African culture and surroundings, and are also available in English. The materials focus on developing teachers’ understanding of teaching and learning and improving their classroom practice. They can be adapted to suit local needs.

The case studies with each study linked to a particular activity makes the materials attarctive. The case studies illustrate ideas and concepts by describing how one teacher has approached the linked activity or a similar activity in her/his classroom. They may often focus on one particular aspect of the activity or on a particular classroom situation – for example working with a multi-grade class, with very large numbers of pupils or in particularly challenging circumstances.

Another attractive characteristic of the materials is that each section has supporting resources which can take a variety of forms including web links, articles, images, stories, posters, examples of pupils’ work, detailed lesson plans, poems and worksheets and template documents. The supporting resources are there to enrich the teachers’ learning and support their delivery of the activities. The resources support the development of different dimensions of a teacher’s knowledge base, including: • content knowledge pedagogical knowledge and pedagogical content knowledge.

All the TESSA sections have specified learning outcomes which help as a guide in adapting materials for the courses. In each section the activities are also organised in a particular sequence which scaffold the teacher towards the achievement of the learning outcomes in the final key activity. Access to TESSA Materials

The TESSA website offers many different versions of the TESSA materials contextualised for different environments. The website can be accessed offline in the event of lack of internet connectivity