Don urges teachers to invest in research, teaching tools
By Joy Mbachi
A lecturer at Federal College of Education (Technical), Umunze, Dr Churchill Okonkwo, has urged lecturers to invest in academic research in order to meeting the teaching needs of the 21st century.
Okonkwo, a lecturer, in the Department of Physics at the institution, is the Vice-President, College of Education Academic Staff Union (COEASU).
He said this on Wednesday in Awka during a two-day international training for guidance counselors on ecological approach to social-emotional learning.
The training had as its theme: “Envisioning an Ecological Classroom to Enhance Knowledge in Social- Emotional Learning.
It was jointly organised by U.S.-based NGO, Life Care Coalition Outreach (LCCO), Igwe Davison Okafor/Mercy Ikeanyi (IDOMI) and Anambra State Ministry of Education.
Okonkwo said scientific research would help teachers to improve in their teaching and learning in a changing world for impactful development.
He said teachers should also avail themselves of new teaching tools and technologies to effectively engage in knowledge transfer in a digital age.
Okonkwo urged them to invest on research to gather more knowledge of new technologies and methods of teaching so as to be fit in transferring same to students as the world evolve.
Also speaking, the Coordinator, IDOMI, Dr Chinedu Ikeanyi, said the workshop was part of their contribution towards improving the standard of education in the state.
He said the organisation was conscious of the role of quality education in the development of any society.
According to him, the training was in response to calls by the present and previous administrations in the state for the repatriation of knowledge by those in the diaspora.
Ikeanyi said with the right teaching and learning environment, students would learn and impact positively on society.
He assured that the programme would be sustained in the same way the organisation had sustained its free medical and scholarship programmes.
He, however, said it would be evaluated to know areas of improvement.
The LCCO Coordinator, Mrs Victoria Anago, explained that the programme would also empower counselors to act as social workers in schools while improving the education system.
Anago said it would expose the teachers to ways of improving their teaching skills and enhance their competence.
Dr Sevaughn Banks, a Professor of Social Work, California State University, Stanislaus, Thurrock, California, argued that classroom ecology could addressing students learning and educational needs while customising the school resources.
Classroom ecology is the study of how students and their teachers interact both with the classroom environment and with each other within that specific space.
One of the participants, Mrs Loretta Uzuagu from Aguata Educational zone, said she would share the knowledge gained with her colleagues in the zone.
Mrs Chinwe Chukwuemeka from Otuocha zone, commended the organisers for the training noting that it had improved her communication skills.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the event was geared towards enhancing and addressing the needs of students and teachers towards improved learning and social development. (NAN)(www.nannews.ng)
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Edited by Uche Anunne
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