Teachers embrace school-based projects

Thokozile Mbedzi

THE Centre for Talent Development (C.T.D) invited teachers to a two-day School-Based Project workshop at Evelyn High School, aimed at equipping Ndebele teachers with a deeper understanding of the Heritage-Based Curriculum and the effective implementation of School-Based Continuous Learning. The workshop concluded on Friday.

MR Thabani Moyo, the Director for Talent Development, emphasised the importance of teachers understanding the requirements of the new curriculum. He said, “When the curriculum changes, teachers must understand the requirements of the programme. Now, we have Heritage-Based Projects, and as teachers, we come together to understand the materials provided. This was done to equip teachers so they can provide proper guidance to learners, as the projects are learner-centred.”

One of the attending teachers, Ms Busi Ncube, shared her experience, saying, “As teachers, we have gained knowledge which we did not have before. This will help us guide our learners when we return to our respective schools. Teachers are now equipped with the best content, which will enable us to make informed decisions for our learners. Since the project is learner-centred, our role is to guide them effectively.”

Facilitator Mr Chelesani Sibanda highlighted the importance of teachers thoroughly understanding the curriculum documents. “As teachers, we needed to understand the documents very well. We must be equipped with the rich knowledge provided in the books, which are written in English. This required us to collaborate, translate (ukuhumutshela), and agree on the content to establish proper guidelines. This way, we can return to our schools and guide our learners, as they are the ones who write the projects,” said Mr Sibanda.

The main facilitator, Mr Alexius Mangoro, explained the purpose of the workshop, saying, “As teachers, we all wanted to gain a better understanding, which is why we came together. We collaborated to develop a way forward on how to guide our learners. Our goal was to equip ourselves and then provide proper guidance to our learners based on the agreed guidelines. We focused on understanding the Heritage Curriculum, the implementation of School-Based Continuous Learning, the characteristics of School-Based Projects, and the types of projects learners can undertake.”