![]() Like many teachers at remote schools across Papua New Guinea, Elis Tenge did not have an opportunity to complete formal training before she volunteered at Bonong Elementary. The school is 15 minutes from Minj, Jiwaka Province, and serves a local community who mostly survive on subsistence farming and income earned from selling fresh produce. After graduating from high school, Elis’ jumped at the chance to step in when Bonong Elementary faced a staff shortage. “There wasn’t any opportunity for me after completing Grade 12,” Elis said. “I was just at home and when there was no teacher at the school my dad asked me to volunteer – I was teaching elementary one.
“After that, I heard CARE was running trainings for teachers on standards-based curriculum (SBC) English and maths,” she continued. “Although I did not attend the English training, I was given the training manual by the teacher-in-charge, who did participate. “They encouraged me to teach my class with the manual as my guide – I was teaching sounds and phonemic awareness (the ability to identify and manipulate individual sounds).” Elis was to get her chance though. After three years of teaching she was selected to take part in teacher training and support activities as part of CARE’s Pikinini Kisim Save Project. Pikinini Kisim Save is supported through the Papua New Guinea-Australia Governance Partnership and addresses gaps in education by strengthening the skills and capacity of teachers, community leaders, education stakeholders and service providers. It focuses on professional training and development for teachers, the provision of teaching and learning resources to schools, girls’ education, school leadership development training and adult literacy. “I attended the [SBC] maths training where I learnt a lot,” Elis said. “Before attending the training my approach towards teaching Maths was boring. Writing plus and take away signs on the board doesn’t help students learn. “I learnt different skills and strategies for teaching maths – like applying real objects when teaching – which I saw was helpful for the students and they were so interested in learning,” she continued. “We taught them how to use magic squares and the number line, which made learning addition and subtraction more fun.” After the maths training came English, where Elis continued to build class management and student engagement skills. “I was already using the manual to teach,” she said, “this refresher added more value to my work and brought me up to another level.” “The kids really enjoy their lessons and they look forward to coming to school every day.” Pikinini Kisim Save has now trained more than 1,300 teachers, benefitting nearly 40,000 students in Jiwaka, Simbu, Western Highlands and West New Britain. “Today, I see my students have improved their English speaking,” Elis said, “their reading has improved and they quickly pick up how to solve maths problems.” “I can plan my lessons properly and deliver them efficiently. I am now confident to stand in front of the students and support their learning with fun activities. “I feel like I am a teacher – a real teacher.” Pikinini Kisim Save is an initiative of the Australian Government supported through the Papua New Guinea Partnership Fund and implemented by CARE in partnership with the Adventist Development and Relief Agency, University of Goroka, and the Queensland University of Technology. LegendFM/PNGEducationnews //ENDS IMAGES Elis Tenge’s students are having fun learning more about maths and English. For the first time in her career Elis Tenge feels like a fully-fledged teacher. Next : Lupari Wishes To See Bible Studies Be Made Compulsory In PNG Schools Comments are closed.
|
: Get Free Webpage for your School. Send us your School Profile now
>> STUDY IN PNG Follow PNG Online School |