Winneba (C/R), Nov. 17, GNA – A three-day Academic Excellence Capacity Building Training workshop has been held at Winneba by Plan International-Ghana (Int-Gh) for 60 teachers from Ekumfi and Ajumako-Enyan-Essiam Districts.
The training is aimed at helping to improve their classroom delivery for them to support their students, particularly girls, to improve their performance at the Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE).
The teachers were made up of 15 Science, 15 Mathematics, 15 English, and 15 Social Studies teachers from 15 communities in the two districts.
They were schooled on topics including Testing and Teaching activities, English language, Mathematics, Integrated Science, and Social Studies by a-five-member subject Specialists and Examiners led by Mr. Seth Kotei Kotey.
It was coordinated by Mr. Alfred Dzikunoo and Mr. Godwin Korli of the Central Programme Unit of Plan Int-Gh and Emergency Response Team leader of the Unit.
Mr Richard Buadu, Manager of the Central Unit Programme on behalf of the Country Director of the Organization, gave an overview of the 28 years of their work in Ghana.
He indicated that Plan Int-Gh had all these years, been working in partnership with some communities, particularly in rural areas to support children, especially the most marginalized to exercise their rights to create a safe community for them and ensure that they had the opportunity for quality education to supplement efforts of the government.
He expressed the hope that they will utilize the knowledge and skills acquired to teach the students to excel in the BECE and other examinations.
Mr. Kotey in an address stated that studies over the years revealed that majority of students failed or performed poorly in examinations because of avoidable mistakes or have weaknesses which could be corrected for them to perform better.
“As teachers, you are expected to teach and teach the children well for them to read questions well to be able to answer them accurately”, he urged them.
“You are to determine the weaknesses of each pupil and each class in general and make intervention plans for each assessment”.
They are also to help the students undertake relevant learning activities to enable them to grasp the mental task or the thought process for each specific object.
He indicated that teachers should train the students to acquire distinct learning outcomes, skills, competencies, or behaviors specified in the prescribed subject syllabus.
They are expected to use a variety of teaching strategies or methods that will encourage active classroom learning to meet the learning needs of all the different types of learners.
He emphasized the need for them as trained teachers, to change their mindset and support the students with their competencies to perform well during examinations.
Mr. Kennedy Oppong Asante, a teacher from Ekumfi district and the course prefect, thanked Plan Int-Gh for organizing the workshop which he said was of great benefit to them and will positively impact the students.
He also appealed that the workshop will be extended to other districts to enable the teachers to also obtain the knowledge and experience they have acquired to facilitate teaching and learning.
GNA