Jumpstart! Update: Micro-innovations ahoy!
June 12, 2015As we mentioned several months ago, our Jumpstart! team have mobilised “teacher-changer networks” in the Nwoya district of Northern Uganda. The brain-child of STIR Education with whom African Revival has established a strong working relationship, the aim of these networks is to provide a supportive forum for teachers to share ideas and innovations which have improved their classrooms, and schools.
Each network gathers around 15 teachers from local schools who are keen to develop as teachers, and positively impact their learning environments through exploring each other’s knowledge, and seeking advice from one another. Recently, African Revival attended STIR Education’s inaugural regional micro-innovation search event, where 8 of our Jumpstart! teachers’ innovations were shortlisted into an annual micro-innovation guide, which collate the country’s best innovations.The booklets are then distributed to all networks and allow teachers to draw inspiration for their own schools.
We were absolutely over-joyed to watch our fantastic teachers getting recognized for their hard work! After the event, STIR Education contacted African Revival to voice their appreciation of our “support and guidance that you had provided to your network of teachers which helped them to be invested and to enhance teaching and learning environment.”
STIR Education also delivered more good news; this year, STIR received an impressive 1,000 micro-innovation submissions from 46 districts of Uganda. However, we are thrilled to announce that two of our fantastic teachers have been selected as 2 of this year’s 50 finalists, chosen through a rigorous evaluation process!
Charles Kilama, who teaches at Anaka Primary School has called his innovation “Dancing all The Way!” Charles had noticed that absenteeism was an issue among his students, so decided to schedule morning dance sessions before the official start of classes. Charles found that having fun during morning assemblies encourages students to come to school early to join the fun!
Stephen Ojok, from Nwoya Public Nursery School, identified similar issues of lateness amongst both students and teachers. However, Stephen has successfully organized daily parades on school grounds at 7:00am, where students sing songs, perform traditional dances, and narrate stories. What an exciting to start a morning! Students and teachers agreed, which is why they now arrive at school promptly to enjoy the energizing festivities!
As I am sure you will agree, these innovations show real dedication, and commitment from the teachers who willingly offer their own time and energy to ensure that their pupils excel at school. We are all extremely proud of the teachers, who will be congratulated officially at the year-end summit in Kampala, receiving certificates from Roehampton University and STIR Education. In the meantime, we send our heart-felt congratulations on to Charles and Stephen!
