THE Pro-Vice Chancellor of the University of Education, Winneba, Professor Mawutor Avoke, has called on teachers to adopt more useful and imaginative methods of teaching in the face of rapid technological advancement to match the learning styles of the students they are handling today.
He observed that the 20th century approaches, styles of teaching and assessment regimes were different and these should not be imposed on the mode of learning of the 21st century student since that resulted in a situation where the students became disinterested in the learning processes in class and consequently that promoted behavioral problems.
Professor Avoke was delivering a speech as the guest of honour at the second congregation of the Saint Francis College of Education at Hohoe in the Volta Region. It was on the theme "Modern Approaches to Teaching: The Role of the Basic School Teacher".
In all, 193 newly trained teachers graduated after completing their three-year courses with the best grade being 2nd Class Upper.
Professor Avoke noted that "what teachers fail to realise is that the learning style of students today is different from what it used to be 20 years ago because their approaches and strategies of learning had changed considerably but what had not changed was their mode of assessment and the teaching styles adopted by many teachers who are products of earlier generation".
He noted that teachers had to adapt very quickly to methods which would be relevant in the classrooms in the face of the rapid technological advancement.
The Pro-Vice Chancellor, therefore, noted that the training given to the teachers at the College of Education level should be structured in a manner capable of equipping newly trained teachers with the best preparation for supporting the learning needs of the students.
Prof. Avoke said the introduction of new Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in the classroom was stressful to some teachers who had fallen out of step owing to their reluctance to move with the pace of development.
"As such, that knowledge about technology has ramification for teaching and learning," he said, adding that, it was becoming increasingly clear that today’s teachers require a different set of skills to be relevant, particularly to ICT related learning environment where teachers have a responsibility to facilitate learning".
“He said, as teachers, you had the responsibilities of nurturing and moulding the students to be open-minded and inquisitive since in this era, the teachers traditional role of imparting knowledge alone has now become an archaic model.’’
For his part, the Bishop of the Ho Diocese, His Lordship Bishop Francis Anani Lodonu, stressed that education was a tool needed to establish the social values which govern the security of lives and property of individuals.
"The essence of education is the transmission of values but values are useful only when they become a part of our mental make-up", he added.
He therefore said teachers should be trained to be the bastion of morality and as such train the students to come out as role models in society. According to him in a world which is bedeviled with all manner of immorality and corrupt practices, it behoves teachers to ensure that their products are guided in such a manner that they would shy away from such negative tendencies.
The Principal of the St. Francis College of Education, Mr Dennis K. Agbenuvor, happily noted that the college continued to give good tuition to its students which was the reason why eight out of the 75 students nationwide, who had Second Class Upper in their examination came from the college.
He however appealed to the Universities of Cape Coast (UCC) and Education, Winneba (UEW) to come out with a clear progression guideline after the Diploma in Basic Education course so that their products that are eager to continue their studies would see their way forward.
He noted that the upgrading of their staff was very crucial for a tertiary institution and as such appealed to the UCC and UEW to design a programme for the tutors to pursue their post-graduate studies while teaching as was being done in the polytechnics.
He appealed to the Ho-Diocese and benevolent organisations to quickly come to their aid to complete the college’s assembly hall complex which was started in January 2006. He mentioned that accommodation for the staff was also inadequate, coupled with a deplorable road network, just to mention a few.
In the face of these challenges, he assured parents that the college was ready to offer their children who wanted to become teachers creative, holistic, innovative and relevant teacher education since " in FRANCO, learning is our passion".
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