DAPP In Service Training Programme Promoting Innovation

Teachers now use TALULAR
(Teaching And Learning Using Locally Available
Resources)

Mrs. Carolyn Kafodya Linje a teacher for standard 2 at Mzumazi Primary School in Lilongwe rural has been teaching for 19 years now. Like many other primary school teachers, her every day teaching routine had been reading in front of the pupils and writing on the board and nothing more.

Carolyn Kafodya Linje

“Every day I made sure that I delivered my lesson plan and knock-off the class” confides Mrs. Linje

Throughout these years, it had been no problem at all for Mrs. Linje as a teacher seeing a pupil packing up before the class is over and could not even bother to follow up a pupil who has been absent or has dropped out of school because to her, parents of the learner  must be the problem. All she cared for she says, had been teaching those pupils who seem to be interested to being in her class. 

In 2016, she attended two trainings during school holidays on In Service Training Programe of ‘Let Children Stay in School’ project being implemented by DAPP at Mzumazi Primary School where she is teaching today. The project is supported with funds from the Roger Federer Foundation.

Since then her teaching methods have changed for the better and says her relationship with learners has improved than before.

 

“Pupils in my class are enjoying lessons” says smiling Mrs. Linje, “Am teaching using a simplified method called TALULAR (Teaching And Learning Using Locally Available Resources) which learners are finding every lesson more interesting and simple because they are able to visualize everything that I am teaching them.” 

Through the DAPP In service training, she acquired skills of making sure that her class suits the learning environment for a child. Using local resources she fully decorated the inside walls of her class with kids friendly paintings of diagrams, numbers and words. Some colorful words inscribed on cards hang up under the roof of the class in rows and she handmade a beautiful seamless watch which hangs in front of the class which learners are finding it more interesting because most of them have never seen a wall clock at home.

“I use these resources to teach them in relation to the topic that I am delivering that day.” Explains Mrs. Linje, adding; “Learners are now able to read these words and are excited to see attractive diagrams. My class is more interactive and pupils easily understand every lesson very fast unlike in the past where it used to take me a lot of time for a pupil to read texts.” 

 

Because of the kids friendly teaching methods Mrs. Linje is pursuing now, some of the pupils who stopped attending her class they now regularly enjoy being in class until class time is over. Mrs. Linje also made a follow up of one pupil Ishan Jafali who dropped out of school and now is back enjoying classes after Mrs. Linje had discussions with his parents and encouraged Ishan to return to school.