Season of Light, Season of Change - Uganda.

Meet Joy, a teacher in St Patrick Primary School in Jinja, Uganda. Jinja is a city in the Eastern Region of Uganda, located on the north shore of Lake Victoria. The biggest local employer is the Kakira Sugar Works (KSW), a member of the Madhvani Group of companies. KSW is one of the largest sugar factories in East Africa, employing over 7,500. The factory burns bagasse byproducts from sugar manufacturing to generate 50 megawatts of electricity for internal use and sale to the national grid.

Here's Joy's responses to our questions.

1. What part of the Aprender training has made the biggest difference to you, and why?

1. What part of the Aprender training has made the biggest difference to you, and why?

About the Aprender training, COMMUNICATION and THE BIG 4 (a course about the essentials of lesson planning). have impacted positively in my life. About communication, I learnt to package my information depending on the type of audience and also became emotionally intelligent. I couldn't manage anger before the training but as of now, I can rarely get annoyed.

2. How has your approach to teaching or leading changed since?How has your approach to teaching or leading changed since?

My approach to teaching has changed in a way that I no longer teach to finish the syllabus but instead to make learners understand, this is through applying the cognitive load theory and also using the skills gained about formative assessment . DTT (Diagnose, Therapy, Test) approach has helped me give more time to finding out why learners perform differently and help them improve accordingly. I used to punish low performers but of now, I just diagnose, give therapy and then test them again.

3. Have you noticed any changes in your students since applying what you learned?

I have noticed a positive change in my students. They are more friendly than they used to be because I no longer give punishment but instead involve them in finding solutions to their poor performance.

4. If you could say one thing to the people who made your training possible, our donors and supporters, what would it be?ay one thing to the people who made your training possible, our donors and supporters, what would it be?

My sincere appreciation go to Lorna and JET for connecting us to Philip and ensuring that we get all the necessary training at a free cost. I'm so grateful.

To Phil, I lack the best words to use to express my gratitude for compiling such constructive ideas, may the Lord reward you abundantly.

So the only one thing I can say is that I'm very ready for even more courses if chance comes

5. What’s your dream for your students or your school in the coming year?ur dream for your students or your school in the coming year?

In the coming year, I want to try out the PROJECT ZERO ZEROS (no child failing) and see how it can help me get even more good yields.

Your donations will ensure we can continue to support Joy and other schools in Uganda. Please consider donating £10 per month to support teacher professional development, or £25 per month to support the development of resources to develop active learning possible in classrooms.

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