Teacher training secondary school Kabwe

Name: Bwacha Highschool

Location: Kabwe - area Bwacha
Grades: 9 - 10 - 11 -12
Capacity: approximately 1300 pupils
Average class size: 45 pupils
Lesson period: 40 minutes
Teachers: 70
Mentor: Mr. Mwanza
My class: 11 A - 22 pupils - age 15

Teaching techniques teachers Bwacha Highschool.

The pupils don't have their own books, this means that either the teacher should bring the books for all the pupils to the classroom, what he usually doesn't do, or that he has to write everything on the blackboard. Mostly they choose to write everything on the blackboard. The pupils have to copy everything the teacher writes on the blackboard into their notebook. This takes a lot of time, and in the meanwhile the teacher leaves the classroom and comes back half an hour later to see if everyone is finished. Now you probably think that that's a lot of time, but they write really slow, so when the teacher comes back there are often pupils who still haven't finished.
Then they hand in their notebooks for the teacher to correct them, he takes them to his office, and the class manager will collect them during the break, and generally that's everything for a lesson period.
The interaction between teacher and pupil is minimal. Only sometimes pupils dare to ask questions to the teacher. They do ask each other, because the teachers isn't in the classroom most of the time.

Structure Bwacha Highschool

The first lesson period starts at 07.30 and the duration of every lesson period is 40 minutes.

This is how a lesson schedule looks like:

07.30 : 08.10 - first period

08.10 : 08.50 - second period

08.50 : 09.30 - third period

09.30 : 10.10 - fourth period
10.10 : 10.30 - break

10.30 : 11.10 - fifth period
11.10 : 11.50 - sixth period
11.50 : 12.30 - seventh period
12.30 : 13.10 - eight period

13.10 : 14.30 - break

14.30 : 16.30 - pupils come to school to read, do homework, or projects.

I'm not sure if this counts for every teacher, but my mentor teaches 16 periods a week.    
If pupils don't attend in class there's no restriction for that.
And if teachers don't make it to teach a lesson that's also not a problem.
The classes are divided into levels, the best classes are the 'A' classes and then it continues until 'G'.
There are classes which contain up to 90 pupils. They have to share desks, and sometimes there isn't a chair for everyone of them, then pupils also share the chairs.  
There is a high level of respect expected from the pupils, when a teacher enters the classroom they all rise, the teacher has to greet them, they respond with 'good morning Madam/Sir' and when the teacher allows them to sit, they can sit down. They have to wear the school uniform, for girls a skirt with socks up to the knees and a blouse with a tie, for boys trousers with a blouse and a tie. If it's cold they also wear a pullover. All these clothes have the logo of the school on them.
The only marks the pupils get are the ones on the exams at the end of each period.
Pupils have 3 months school, 1 month holiday, and that three times a year.


My first experiences teaching class 11A

I had already done my observation in class 11A, I had introduced myself.

But when Mr. Mwanza and I entered the room, it could have also been that they had seen a ghost.
Mr. Mwanza told them that I was going to teach from now on, and then he had to leave for some urgent business. I started with some questions about their previous lessons, but I didn't get a lot of response. They put nametags on their desks so I could call them by name.
I taught  a lesson about 'conditions' and whenever I asked if they understood everyone would nod and say 'yes'.  Then I would ask a question to see if they really got it, and they often didn't know the correct answer. I explained them that they just had to ask if they didn't understood. They really looked at me like they had never heard such a strange thing.
They are also not used to a teacher who stays in the classroom, and walks around and sees if everything is clear. One of the difficulties with my class is that they are really not used to the interaction, and that they don't really speak up, the strong Zambian accent is hard to understand so they need to speak loud and clearly.

one of the classrooms

                                   

Mr. Mwanza

the school