During our first year at UiT, we learned about the four categories of classroom management: Relations, structure, motivation and expectations, and learning culture. After these three weeks in a South African school, we have made many interesting observations about classroom management here. Every morning, the students line up in front of their classroom. After entering, they say their “Good morning teachers, good morning, all” and prayer, before class can start. One key factor to consider is the classroom sizes. In Norway, there is a limit of around 20 students per teacher. At Machiu, it is not rare to see 40 students in one tiny classroom. Due to the class sizes, the teachers are highly focused on maintaining discipline and silence. We would therefore say that the teachers at Machiu as a more authorial teaching style than we have experienced in Norwegian schools. We also noticed that the male teachers are being more respected by the students. Different teachers handle it differently, but we recognize that the same things work here; a mixture of firmness and warmth.
Lessons are structured into 30 minutes sessions, where students switch classrooms in between. This creates challenges for teachers to quickly settle the class and focus students on learning. Sometimes, the day is structured into sessions, where the students have two consecutive hours of lessons, making it difficult to keep them focused towards the end of the sessions. The teachers seem to know most of the students, especially if there have been several family members attending the school. Several of the students have it difficult at home, and the teachers seem to be understanding of that. At the same time, the expectations are very clear, both behaviorwise and academically. If they do not perform, it is a risk of being stuck in the same grade next year. That brings motivation for schoolwork, and we experience that the students are easier to get started here than in Norway.
This week, we explored various teaching methods focused on active student participation. We had a lesson in social science for grade 7, where we reviewed a chapter on natural resource management. Based on the curriculum, we created a board game with question and challenge cards. The students enjoyed the game a lot and worked hard to complete it. In grade 7 math, we tried the “Thinking Classroom” approach. Although this was their first time using this approach, the students picked it up quickly. It was clear they found it both fun and educational to learn differently. In English class, the students were working on grammar. We gave the students an activity where they were supposed to find and answer questions around the schoolyard. The students appreciated this active and fun approach.
From Sunday to Tuesday, there was heavy rainfall, causing flooding and road closures. Many students stayed home on Monday and Tuesday due to flooding in their homes. Seeing images of the students’ flooded homes was a powerful experience. The weather also led to the cancellation of a planned trip to the waterpark, which has now been rescheduled to after our teaching practice. We’re glad the school organizes such trips, as they promote public health and life skills for the students. Unfortunately, students must cover part of the cost, which means about one in four students miss out on the waterpark visit.
Nora, Marte, Karianne, Mina and Torjus