Student centered Learning What, how and why?

The workshop started at 9:00 am and was attended by 8 instructors from Yei Vocational Training Center, the participants asked questions on what is student cantered learning and how
Many of them see it as a new method of teaching which may enable the students to be responsible for their own learning.
The participants were asked to tell their thought about the SCL what is it all about and after a group discussion they were asked to use the internet as a research tool to find what is the student learning centre.
The participants were encouraged to reflect on their own teaching practice and how to improve it using student cantered approach.

Vocational Teacher development workshop

Yei - South Sudan
Feb/2009

Opening of the program:

The worksshop was open official by Mr. Legge the advisor of the Governor of Central Equatorial state during his speech Mr. Legge tell the history of the education during the war, he has mentioned that during the war there was no any schools in the south, and in 1997 during the war the Norwegian people’s Aids established the community development centre to offers to the local community vocational skills that are need to building the most part under the people liberation Army. And during this period the instructor where also facing some challenges due to lake of the training and courses for the staff to build their capacity. he said also today is a privilege to have this workshop taking place at the Yei Vocational Training Centre.

Mr. Legge said also “It is a pleasure to us to have this people with us today, as a representative of the government of Central equatorial we appreciate the work done by the Norwegians people during the war and after the war also” he encourage the participants to be active during the workshop saying “ people believe on learn either in a group or by doing . you have to be initiatives, you need to develop interest for the subject maters, and also the interest for learning”.
He said also for the instructors to develop their own self, they should have three things in mind he calls them the three C (a) Creativity (b) Commitment (c) Containment .

How can I improve my practices:
Mr. Trond the workshop facilitator state this question as a process to understand what are the needs of the participant inorder to unable them to improve their own practice as teachers and facilitators.

How can I improve my practice? This was a challenging question as stated by Mr. Johan the NUCOOP project coordinator “we can easily judge the people around us, and the thing surrounding us, we can say for example; the director is not doing well or the students are not performing well, but it is difficult to look into our self and said this I did wrong or I have to improve the way I do the things”.

The participants concerns:

I think the question how can I improve my practice? have energies the participants, and enable them to express their main concerns, and this concern comes in from of question and they have to get answers for their these questions. But who is going to provide them with the answers of the questions that they have raised. Before we get into this let me mention some of the question that has been expressed by the participants.

These are the question were asked by the participants.
- How can I improve in the new areas?
- How to learn in my field?
- How I am going to cope with this training?
- We need to learn in order to give more knowledge to the new generation?
- How to keep up with the new
- Who to get the right materials to improve may teach profession to improve mu students?
- How to make the students to learn?
- To learn new things on capacity building
- Thinking and getting the best way of learning?
- How to get a proper way of passing my knowledge to my students?
- What do I do to make my students to understand me better as a teacher?
- How to maintain my ethics when teaching?
- How to be creative to make others learn?
- How to improve the areas of weakness in my field?
- How to make the students happy when I am giving lessons?
- Will there be any improvement when delivering lesson to my students after this workshop?
-How to activate the community to join the vocational training centre?
- How to have the students to be attentive during the lesson?
- How do I ensure that student retain their knowledge so they are able to apply it when they need it?
- Which are the objectives of this workshop?
These are almost the concerns of the participants.

The first group discussion;

I think all the above questions shows That the participant are more interested in the teaching matters, how the can impart the knowledge to their students, so in light of these concern The facilitator of the workshop posted an important question to them and that was: HOW TO ACTIVATE THE STUDENTS IN THEIR LEARNING?. The participants were given 20 minute to discuss in a group 4 participants in each group, and as a group they should come up with some suggestion to make the students active in their learner.

The four groups after twenty minute comes with the following ideas as a result of their fruitful discussion;

GROUP 1
- we have discuss and come up with this points
1- professional presentation to students
2- presentation – speech
3- participatory learning e.g asking questions
4- teaching aids, books tab
5- Be happy be creative
6- Extra curriculum
GROUP 2
This what we have come with
1- Use of participatory method
- trainer ask questions and expect answers from trainees
- trainees ask questions and expect the answer from the trainers
- group discussion
- giving assignment and follow up to ensure that each trainees has done the assignment
- role plays – lesson
are acted as play
- monitoring
2- Study tour
- field
- workshop
- learning institution
-
GROUP 3
1- Asking questions
2- Group discussion
3- Asking and answer
4- Loyalty
5- Students concern
6- Learning by doing
7- Strength the students
GROUP 4
1- interdiction
2- correct method of teaching
3- you most be loud in your voice
4- self evaluation


I C T part of the workshop:

After the lunch break, we had a good session at the internet café , where by each participant has to create his own blog. Me personal I was impressed by the skills of the participant in use of the computers almost every one have the basic skills on how to use the computer, and this make it some how easy form them to create their own blog.

Group formation:
At the last part of the day one, the participant were asked if they want to be in a group learning or they want to learn individually, all of them they said that they want to be in group to enhance their own learning. Upon these the participants are asked to go out the lecturing hall and stand in groups, as a result four groups were formed.

Logs:
To improve each an every one own practice each should have a long in which he can write what was done, what he has learned and the smart way to make it better.

Reflection:
It is my first experience to attend this kind of workshop, which is more based on the participant learning centered, rather than teacher or facilitator centered, and the methodology used in the workshop is completely different compared with what we have use to.

During the opening Mr. Legge, has mentioned an imported point when he said “ we are building together a new system of learning in South Sudan, in which each an every one is able to build his own learning as well as others learning too”.

How can I improve my practice? When the facilitator of the workshop posted this question helps me to see what are the areas that I really need to improve in my own practice as a facilitator.

I have realized that, when the facilitator talks much, the participants learn little. But when the participant are given the chance and allowed to work in their own or in the groups they learned more. The evidence for these is that, when the participants are asked to answer the question; how to activate the students in their own learning? Individually they were not able to answer the question, but when they are given 20 min to work in a groups they come up with a lot of ideas to mention few of this ideas, are for example one of the group said “to activate the students in their learning the teacher has to use participatory method, and evaluate his own practices”.
The participate were all motivated during the whole period of the workshop, and when it come the time for opening their own blog we have shown to a few of them how to make a blog. And we asked them to show to the others too, how to make their own blog also.

This exercise helps me to see how the participants are helping each others, and supporting their self in their own learning, and enhancing their own learning too.

Qualitative analyses by Helena Mellquist and my research work along the river

Helena paper in qualitative research helped me to see how other people do their work. For me my question was. How to benefit for Helena experience in her analyses? Which part is relevant to my work?
I selected from here work some part which I think can be of more benefit. Here are some part which I decided to use in my research along the river side in Malakal.
1- The project background:
I decided to use the first part of here paper the project background. The way she has introduced her topic, she give the reader a background about the landscape and the important of it. she show to the reader that the action research can be a better option to her for increasing the awareness of the people for better change she said “I believe that Action Research function as a way to increase the awareness of landscape changes”

For me I think through action research I can involve the local people to participate in the research process. I need in my research to increase the awareness of the local people, I want them to see if there are building material available local, and to find possible ways to increase the production of the sand and the gravel locally.

2- Project objective:
I decided to use the project objectives as she did. Because the participants and the reader should know what is the driving force behind my research. The way she put the objectives gives me the insight, and let me organize my objectives accordingly.


3- The introduction:
She said “There is a generally known image of Sweden as a country where public participation and communication in the planning process is widely accepted and used (Hillbur 2008). Thisimage is not really true even though Sweden was a forerunner in the nineteenth century with its cooperative society”

For me I tried to use her introduction to describe the real situation of Malakal in term of building, the challenges for obtaining the building materials since the independence. I want the my participant to know the situation can not go along like this there should be some possibilities to get these materials locally.
4- Research Method:
I decided to mentioned the research method because I think it is important to tell the participant and the reader what are the method I used to gather the data. As well as the tools used.
5- Data analysis:
I tried in the section to see the way she has analysed her work, to benefit from her experience.

What parts I didn’t use:
I did not use a big part of her analyses because she has used different stage in her analyse which I did not do in my research from example Method of Coding , narratives, the analysis of change and the analysis of history

I did not use them because I think some of these are not relevant to my work.

Conclusion:
Helena Mellquist paper it is a useful one, helped me to understand how is the research can be organize and how data can be analysis. Even though all the part of the document are useful. I was very carful in selecting the relevant things to my situation. One part I did not use I wish to use it in my next work is Analysis with images I found it very interesting.

The building material available locally in Malakal Area 2

Background:
My research project is an effort to describe the vocational practices in each filed of vocational trades being practice locally in Malakal Area. To describe it and to create links between these practices and the practices at Malakal vocational training centre.
Action research can serve as an important tools to describe these practices, as well as an approach for the locally people.

Objective:
The objective of my research, is to looking for answers for the following questions. What kinds of practices are relevant to the local people (being practice by the local community) and how to link between them and the practices at the Vocational training center(MVTC). What are the building material available locally. What is the quality of these materials compared with the imported ones. How can the MVTC Identify the opportunities out of this research and make use of this information.

Introduction:
Building materials is one of the most challenges for Upper Nile State, especially for Malakal people almost since the independence of Sudan 1956. People are importing the building materials from North Sudan, and this cost the state a lot of money, time and energy.
Due to high cost for transporting these materials. The physical infrastructure is very poor. Almost 80% of the buildings are made of mute and grasses.
In vocational point of view, the high cost of the building materials, result on the high training cost for the building and bricklayer section. And it may reduce the chances for the students to practice their trades and get employment.

The above mentioned reasons give me more energy to carry on the research, and try to find out the availability of the local materials, and to draw the attention of the local people for these materials available locally.

Research Method:
In my effort to find an answers for my questions. I believe in participatory action research as important means to help me to talk with the people and spend with them more time in dialogue, and interviews.
In the research method I have identified three categories of people whom I should interview, the first one are the sand and gravel producers, the second are the trades in the local market who are sealing these building materials and the third category are the local builder who are using these building material on their daily practices.

Research tools I used:
1- Participatory Observation: I have been observing the women beside the river and take notes of what they are doing.
2- Record the conversation: I prepared questions for this conversation and I was recording while talking with the people.
3- Photos: after I ask permission from them. I took photos while they are working. I took these photos for my further reflection.

Data analysis:
The objective of my research, I was looking for answers for the following questions. What kinds of practices are relevant to the local community and how to link it with the practices at the Vocational training center. What are the building material available locally. What is the quality of these materials compared with the imported one. How can the MVTC Identify the opportunities out of this research and make use of this information.
I went along the River Nile to see how the sand and gravel are being processed, and if the quality is accepted by the local builder and contractors. And how the availability of these materials can contribute in the training process at the MVTC.

These interviewes show that, the building materials like sand, gravel can be found locally with a reasonable price, compared with the building materials being imported form outside Upper Nile State. Even though the quality is poor but it can be improved.
One of the builder said “the quality of the sand depends on the process. If the processor clean it well he can obtain a good quality relative the same like the one imported from North Sudan”.
The local people who are engaged in this business, some of them are doing it for economic purposes, and if their economic situation improve by any means they may not continue in work.
Due to this also the production is very low. For example there are young boys who are doing this work to get the money for the school fees and buy some clothes, and once they produce the quantity of the sand that will bring them the amount they are in need, they may not come again for this business, until they are in need again.

Deep they get into the river more they can find a clear and clean sand. But the women are having limited access to the sand in the river, the same to the young boys. Do their limit access to the sand in the river result in the quality of the sand they are getting.
I think, there should be in future a means for getting the sand from the river using the modern technology to increase the production of sand and gravel. But what are the consequences of introducing this new technology,what will happen to the local people who are doing this business manually, will it be accepted by the local people or rejected, what are the environmental effects in introducing such technology.

Another good example I found is the building materials sealer Mr. Deng, he sees the business opportunities on not only selling the sand only as a raw material. But in transferring it into a useful product (blocks). By doing so he has created employment and contribute in the availability of the building materials locally. He might be a good example for other trader to follow him.

For me I see many opportunities for the local vocational training centre. But I prefer to put it inform of questions:
1- Those people practicing this trade, sand processing. Can they be given a training that can help to make a good treatment for the sand to enable them to remove the clay elements from the sand?
2- Is it possible, for the Malakal Vocational Training Centre (MVTC) welding and machine shop department to produce wheelbarrow to help these people in transporting the sand from the river to where they dry it?
3- Is the MVTC ready to organize training program for short course in block making?
4- How can the VTC make the link between what is being practice out side, with what they are doing in side?
As I mentioned in the beginning my questions have been answered. But more questions come out as mentioned in the last four questions.