STEM teaching and learning in TVET colleges

Over the past few years, TVET colleges and STEM teaching and learning practices have come under the spotlight for all the wrong reasons. Colleges are trying to accommodate school leavers who are not really equipped for the rigours of the National Certificate (Vocational) (NC(V)) and Report 191 National Technical Education (Nated) curricula. The examinations are being leaked via social media and messaging apps such as WhatsApp, while student strikes and violence over funding issues, have been the order of the day.

These issues cannot be denied or wished away. They are among the very real problems lecturers, institutions and government deal with daily.

Apart from this context, the mere mention of subjects such as Mathematics and Physical Science is enough to send many students into a state of panic.

It is as if South Africans are pre-programmed to believe that these subjects are ‘too difficult’ for most to study. Many of us can relate to the ‘stigma’ associated with Maths. It is difficult, too challenging, it requires hard work. Some of us have concluded that we are either born with the talent for it or are not.

Veteran Mathematics teacher Liezel Blom, founder of SA Teacher, Maths4Mommies, and one of the most prolific Mathematics authors in South Africa, with more than 300 titles under her belt, cites the practice of teaching students to become good examination and test writers as her greatest concern. Instead of teaching students to regurgitate concepts in parrot-fashion, she makes a plea for teaching them foundational building blocks. These blocks defy compartmentalisation.

They actually gear students towards life-long learning.

While South Africans often face a barrage of doom and gloom reports about looming crises in the STEM sector, this article celebrates two lecturers committed to preparing their students for success. Mr Asokgan Archary and Mr Simamkele Danny Somerset are two passionate and dedicated individuals devoted to bringing about innovation in the manner in which subjects like Mathematics are approached.

Both strive to ensure that students leave their classrooms invigorated, enthused and ready to face the challenges presented by the world of work. They are both set on challenging debilitating, and false, beliefs about STEM subjects. They do so by demonstrating how teaching can be transformed into palatable, bite-size chunks for even the most reluctant student or teacher by applying creative and empathetic techniques.

Mr Somerset is attached to False Bay TVET College, and Mr Archary, Coastal TVET College.

Interestingly, both lecturers chose to use tools readily available to them in order to make a success of their respective methods. Mr Archary has been teaching Mathematics for nearly two decades. He decided to apply his skills in a manner befitting both his students and the college’s infrastructure.

Having very limited access to technological teaching aids, he decided to develop an interactive method that would encourage his students to tackle the subject. To this end, he has compiled a series of interactive study guides, with exercises and notes that enable him to communicate better with students.

The material invites them to connect with him around topics they do not understand. Rather than relying solely on one textbook and expecting some of the already impoverished students to carry the financial burden on their own, his study guides ensure that all students leave his classroom with the same content knowledge.

At which point, they are able to work through problems together. Mr Archary understands that a major problem is a lack of understanding caused by language barriers. He realises that he needs to break down topics in a way that encourages students to see for themselves how easy Mathematics is to learn as a ‘language’ in and of itself.

His aids and examples lend interaction, with a strong visual focus, to an otherwise overwhelmingly theoretical subject. A subject that students simply would not understand, given long-winded explanations in complicated English.

Mr Somerset has been teaching for five years. He has taken a route that many lecturers who favour traditional teaching methods would baulk at, namely digital learning. His approach is not novel, however. South African educationalists have been exposed to the notion of ‘blended’ learning, the combination of traditional classroom methods with digital media in an educational programme, since at least the early 2000s.

Armed with his smartphone, a whiteboard and a makeshift-rig to keep the phone steady while he works through solutions, Mr Somerset started making videos to assist his students and later uploaded them to his own YouTube channel. It is here that students who need difficult concepts explained to them, particularly those who do not have regular contact with lecturers, find the support they need.

A self-defined ‘creative-thinker’, Mr Somerset credits his natural curiosity as one of his main teaching assets. For him, changing his teaching approach and methods was a necessity because students were bored. He focuses on empowering the student and fostering learning freedom through what he refers to as a ‘continuous learning experience’. As he explains, “Students needed an alternative.

They need to be listened to. I wanted to bring curiosity into the learning process, and maintain it. Student-centred learning is key to me. I decided to ‘go digital’ because I wanted to involve students. I want to change things for the better by empowering them and changing their perspectives about the learning experience.”

Teaching via digital media does not necessarily mean that a college or lecturer needs to be equipped with the latest technologies. Students use the resources already at their disposal, such as smartphones, tablets, and TVs (with DVD/USB players), to create an independent learning experience. The lecturer can simply record content on their smartphone and share it on a platform like YouTube, or choose to share it exclusively with their students.

For Mr Somerset, the key is collaboration. Not just collaboration between student and lecturer, but also between lecturers and their colleagues. “We need recorded lessons. Collaborate and share your videos with your network.

Particularly if someone you know is an expert in a specific field, or is able to explain a particular concept really well. Create an inter-college collegial network to empower and encourage each other. Passion is key. Your passion will motivate others to learn and develop their own teaching skills.”

Although both lecturers represent two different approaches to teaching and learning, they agree that change in the sector is a pressing need if students are to succeed. Collaboration between colleges is one of the options that can be explored in terms of effecting change. We live in a connected world. If a dialogue between institutions with similar interests or challenges is started, it may afford that allimportant spark of innovation and creativity. We can all learn from Mr Somerset’s sage advice. “In education, we cannot be isolated. Treat your challenges as learning curves and embrace them. Be willing to make mistakes. Ask your students and colleagues for support in order to improve what you’re doing in the classroom.

Most importantly, be patient with yourself. Archive and spread the skills you have.” Thank you for your contributions in- and outside the classroom Mr Archary and Mr Somerset. You are assets to your students, and an inspiration to us all.

Caption: On the left Mr Asokgan Archary, a lecturer who has capitalised on lengthy professional experience and on the the right Mr Simamkele Danny Somerset applies Safety in Society students of Capricorn TVET College on Parade simple technologies to enhance his teaching and facilitate enthusiastic learning

Source TVET College Times