The Learning Paper's logo Something Pleasant


Teachers' Briefing



A Boiling Pot

Beneficiaries & Benefits

Introduction

The Learning Paper is a powerful learning and teaching resource for primary school pupils and their teachers. It combines a text book and exercise book into one and is produced in newsprint format. Structured into four stages, each edition provides pupils, P1 through to P7, with sufficient material for classroom use over one school term. Three editions provide all pupils with this fun and exciting method of improving their literacy and numeric skills for an entire educational year.

Teachers’ workshops create a central focus to provide workplace training, team building and teachers involvement in the creation of content and ideas for future editions. Workshops are organised for teachers before they receive the paper and through a network of School Inspectors and Coordinating Tutors, at District level, teachers receive support and advice on the papers use in the classroom.

Friendship

Primary School Pupils are motivated to learn as the paper provides key curriculum material in fun and interesting formats. Pupils are inspired to learn as the content provides exercises, puzzles and games to pupils in an educational environment which are age group and culturally relevant. The paper encourages pupils to take responsibility for their learning through the use of exercise descriptions in both Luganda and English languages. Pencils, another item in critically short supply in rural schools, are also supplied, thus enabling pupils to engage fully with activities. The Learning Paper is able to quickly respond, through new editions, to linguistic and cultural changes and thereby maintains sensitivity to local learning and teaching needs.

Primary School Teachers possess learning and teaching materials which relate to the school syllabus and compliment their classroom teaching programme. Lessons become more complete as the learning paper activities facilitate the achievement of pupil learning outcomes as stipulated in the curriculum. The paper critically increases the educational capacity and moral of under paid and under resourced teachers in rural areas. Teachers’ skills and competence is developed through workshops, further workplace training and contact with their peers at neighbouring schools.

Householders engage with the paper when it is brought home by the children thereby improving the basic literacy of the wider community. Opportunities exist to develop adult education programmes in the home and in community groups. The family unit, often led by the mother, have a focus to engage with one another through a learning medium. Through this route, girls who leave school, before age, will have some contact with the paper and may be encouraged to return to school attendance. Pre-school children will also be exposed to the paper in the home and may begin to learn some basic literacy before attending P1.

District Education Authorities are inspired by the improvement in pupil examination performance and the rise in teachers’ motivation and successes. The provision of learning resources provides School Inspectors and Coordinating Tutors a focus for ongoing teacher support. The paper and accompanying teachers’ guidance paper, is a communication platform to deliver concrete message to teachers and schools governors. National issues, such as early girl school leavers, HIV Aids and Abstinence can be addressed and messages on such topics delivered to target audiences.

Teachers Colleges are involved in developing content for further editions and introducing young teachers in training to such educational resources. Utilising the skills and experience of College Tutors in such ways will have motivational benefits on staff whilst also developing a greater support structure for existing teachers.

Local Contractors who provide their services in distributing papers throughout districts are engaged with the project in a commercial sense and will provide some stimulation to the local economy. Likewise the provision of collecting and recycling used papers will become another opportunity for private and public sectors partnerships.