The words “participatory method” are very much a buzzword amongst teachers here. However, it often does not mean the same
thing here as it means to us, so much of our work here is simply expanding teacher thinking on “what does participation mean?”
One teacher’s
example of a participatory method exercise was unscrambling sentences. While this can be a great deep thinking
exercise, it doesn’t get at the complete idea of participation in the classroom. Another teacher’s example was bringing
students up to the front of the class to demonstrate a lesson, for example
showing the students parts of the body.
While it’s great to get students out of their chairs and give them
something other than a blackboard to look at, the rest of the students are
listening to the teacher rather than thinking for themselves.
Participation can mean different things for different people, but from my own experiences in school, I think participation on the most basic level is when ideas are generated by the students. A good teacher is one who can keep the class on track with his/her lesson plan, but still facilitate a safe and open environment in which students are driving the ideas through critical thinking skills. Here's a list of what "participation" means in the context of LTP:
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Explaining concepts in your own words
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Expanding writing skills
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Making inferences (coming up with a story based on evidence in a picture)
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Visualizing core concepts
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Working in groups
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Translating ideas from one medium to another i.e. picture à writing à picture
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Observation
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Recording information (with writing, pictures)
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Brainstorming
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Mapping ideas/information
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Using new technology
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Studying personal life stories/using personal experiences
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Reinforcing curricula lessons
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Critical thinking
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Making associations
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Understanding practical application of ideas
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Interaction with teachers
and students
Word of the day: mwanafunzi - student
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