The quality of the citizen of country depends on the education systems of that country. As Uganda adopts the Competency-Based Curriculum to match the 21st century skills, many teachers are trapped in the knowledge-Based curriculum that advocates for memorization instead of competency. For such teachers to be equipped with the 21st century skills, their professional Development is key. A well-motivated and equipped teacher delivers the right content using the right teaching methods and strategies. The Field of Hope is one of the organizations in Uganda that takes the professional Development of Agriculture Educators across the country in the centre of its programs. Since 2019, Field of Hope has been conducting teachers training to build the capacity of the agriculture teachers to keep abreast with the 21st century skills.
But what skills do Ag Educators need to teach agriculture in a more inspiring way? Drawing from my own experience, I will share the knowledge and skills that I have built over the years as an Ag educator through either the institutions I attended, professional development or personal experience as an educator which helped me transform my classroom into a lively, hands-on learning environment where students are motivated to learn.
| Do you know that the first 5 minutes of your lesson determines how interesting and interactive or boring the lesson will be? Yes, it is critical that you capture the interest and curiosity of the students. This needs a lot of creativity. I use the interest approach. This interest approach should be relevant to topic that you are going to teach, engaging, and provoke critical thinking. This can be a poem, song, a scenario etc. |   |
| Example, when introducing a topic on cereal growing, I may ask students to read a bible verse that talks about cereals.
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For example, when introducing a topic on cereal growing, I may ask students to read a bible verse that talks about cereals example.
Say: Hello, class? Today we are going to start our lesson by ready a verse in the Bible. Our reading is taken from the book of Leviticus 2:1-11 which reads:
“1When anyone offers a grain offering to the Lord, his offering shall be of fine flour. And he shall pour oil on it, and put frankincense on it. 2 He shall bring it to Aaron’s sons, the priests, one of whom shall take from it his handful of fine flour and oil with all the frankincense. And the priest shall burn it as a memorial on the altar, an offering made by fire, a sweet aroma to the Lord. 3 The rest of the grain offering shall be Aaron’s and his sons’. It is most holy of the offerings to the Lord made by fire.
4 ‘And if you bring as an offering a grain offering baked in the oven, it shall be unleavened cakes of fine flour mixed with oil, or unleavened wafers anointed with oil. 5 But if your offering is a grain offering baked in a pan, it shall be of fine flour, unleavened, mixed with oil. 6 You shall break it in pieces and pour oil on it; it is a grain offering.
7 ‘If your offering is a grain offering baked in a covered pan, it shall be made of fine flour with oil. 8 You shall bring the grain offering that is made of these things to the Lord. And when it is presented to the priest, he shall bring it to the altar. 9 Then the priest shall take from the grain offering a memorial portion, and burn it on the altar. It is an offering made by fire, a sweet aroma to the Lord. 10 And what is left of the grain offering shall be Aaron’s and his sons’. It is most holy of the offerings to the Lord made by fire.
11 ‘No grain offering which you bring to the Lord shall be made with leaven, for you shall burn no leaven nor any honey in any offering to the Lord made by fir
Ask. What are the key words that you got from the bible verse?
Listen for: Grian, Offering, Priest, Aroma, Oil, Aroma
Say: Thank you all for the answers that you have given. From those I will pick three key words Grain, flour, and Aroma.
Ask. How many of you have ever grown cereals? Which type of cereal did you grow?
Listen for: maize, sorghum, rice, wheat
Ask: What did you use the cereal for?
Listen for: for making porridge, feeding animals, making posho.
Say: Thank you all so much for sharing your experience on cereals. For those that have not grown, we will learn together.
Say: So today we shall learn about cereal growing.
Such interest approach helps connect the learner’s experience to the topic you are going to teach which makes learning more relevant and applicable to their environment. I have had scenarios where teachers mixed interest approach with an energizer. Energizers are intended to get the class excited or awake, and they often do not relate to the lesson that a teacher is going to teach. However, an interest approach builds curiosity and engagement and should always relate directly to what you are teaching.
As an ag educator, you should be personally motivated. Therefore, writing your own teaching philosophy is key. A well thought philosophy will be a good reminder of your values and beliefs or commitment as an educator. To craft a good teaching philosophy, you need to consider your role as an educator, how you expect the students to learn and what teaching methods and strategies you think will make the students understand the concept you are teaching. Here is the creed one of Field of Hope partner teacher pinned on his room.
| A Creed is one of the powerful things that I have trained agriculture teachers to write with their students. During the support supervisions that I conducted to Field of Hope partner teachers, I have honestly admired how learners recite their well-crafted creeds with love, and passion. I advice that the creed should be pinned on the classroom wall and the students recite it frequently. This makes them have shared belief, get motivated and give them a sense of purpose and commitment that eventually, inspires them into taking careers in agriculture. This is a creed from senior three Agriculture students, Nabumali Secondary School. |
Knowing your students is critical as an Ag Educator. In every class we teach, there are extrovert, introvert and ambiverts. There are those with different backgrounds and learning styles. Knowing all these personalities helps you in co-creating of instructional materials and selecting methodologies and techniques to use in your classroom.
Are you aware that what we teach in agriculture if not all then most of them our students have interfaced with? That means it is important that we integrate students experience into our teaching. Structuring our teaching from known to unknown makes our students understand the concepts we teach easily. I always build my discussions from what the students know and mention in the classroom, which makes my lesson more interactive and engaging as students feel their experience, ideas and thoughts are valued.
| Experience have shown me that agriculture is taught best when you have an outdoor laboratory were students conducts hands-on learning. Therefore, as an Ag Educator try as much as possible to set up a project(s) which the students have experiential learning. This could be in pots, buckets or in the open garden. Learners love to explore agriculture beyond the four walls of the classroom. Schools with limited space, can practice urban farming. I have utilized and witnessed teachers use projects in their communities for pedagogical purposes to interface with and discover solutions to real world challenges in agriculture. |  |
| This is a good opportunity to learn from the community and for the community to learn from students or teachers. |
| It is true that if not all then most schools do not have most of the tools or equipment or resources that the curriculum requires us to teach. Integration of Information Communication and Technology (ICT) has done wonders in my classroom. It makes me access these tools and equipment or resources that are either not available in my school or very expensive to afford. These ranges from virtual reality to simulations or YouTube videos. |  |
| Integration ICT in teaching has made my class very interactive and engaging as it helps students to generate questions and conduct research at their own pace. |
Coaching and mentoring are key to students that we teach. Remember, they at the age of taking critical decisions that will determine their future careers. As an ag educator, I frequently conduct both group and individual career sessions to make my students understands what exist in agriculture industry. My guidance helped many get excited about agriculture.
As stated by William Author Ward “The mediocre teacher tells. The good teacher explains. The superior teacher demonstrates. The great teacher inspires.” Let’s be the teacher that teacher who inspire students to love agriculture. Let us not stop learning, since live will never stop teaching.
David Obong, Program Officer, Youth Agriculture Education Pillar Head
