Empower, Engage, Educate in Rural Kenya!

Do you remember your favorite teacher? Did she make learning fun and help you understand difficult concepts? Did he create a classroom environment with engaged students working to learn together?

At the heart of all education is a dedicated walimu, teacher. In Kenya, most classrooms are overcrowded, teachers lack even the most basic school supplies and are not provided with guidance and support to make their classrooms student-centered. The push to "cover the syllabus" whether students understand the content or not has been the guiding force. However, that is changing, especially in Wamunyu.

Since 2012, we have been working to provide teacher professional development workshops, and in 2018, we created "Professional Learning Communities" (PLCs) to help teachers learn from one another. As a result, when the new Kenyan competency based curriculum was introduced in 2019, many of our teachers were already using lessons that incorporated creativity, critical thinking, collaboration and self-learning. Basic techniques like "turn and talk" were introduced, along with brain breaks and movement as ways to create a dynamic lesson. 

This year, we are partnering with two groups to help us expand our work with teachers. We are piloting the "Teach 2030" program created by the UK based Commonwealth Education Trust with teachers in PLC groups at our four empowered schools. Accessing the program on a smartphone, these teachers are learning strategies to create a student-centered classroom and how to deploy techniques to help students learn together. The classes are "bite-sized" so that teachers can learn in a manageable way. Working with a partner encourages them to discuss concepts and how to integrate them in the classroom. After they have completed a unit, they receive a certificate.

Secondary School teachers are equally challenged, especially in teaching science, mathematics, and technology. Imagine teaching a chemistry class without beakers or chemicals and only relying on a textbook. In a recent analysis of the KCSE scores, we saw that students are struggling in the sciences and maths. As a result, we have engaged in a partnership with another NGO working in rural Kenya, SeaVuria. SeaVuria, dedicated to strengthening STEM education in the Taita-Taveta region of Kenya, reached out to us to create a program designed around the concept of "sense making" in the classroom for our teachers in Wamunyu and the Kyaithani cluster as well as teachers in Taita-Taveta. Executive Director Mary Margaret Welch, who is also the program manager for K-12 STEM education for Seattle public schools, has designed a program that focuses on creating an infrastructure of sustained supports for teachers to learn, enact, and reflect. The cycle is an iterative one in which student voice and input is considered. Teachers will take their new learnings into the classroom where they will practice the strategies and seek input from their learners.

We are thrilled that 60 teachers joined us for the first full session via zoom to begin to understand these strategies. Provided with readings and a "to do" homework charge, we are already seeing teachers posting what they have tried in "WhatsApp." Mwalimu Geoff commented, "It has enabled students in my class to quickly and easily understand some concepts as explained to them in a language that they understand best by their fellow students. It has also made our lessons to be more engaging and interesting."

Thank you for supporting our teachers in Kenya through your donation.  We can offer these programs thanks to you!