I will be
helping to facilitate a teacher workshop in Tanzania, East Africa during the
week of June 26-30.
I will
use my area of expertise, Science, as a tool and framework for teaching how to
construct an effective lesson plan that engages students. Since all high
school instruction is (supposedly) in English, I will be teaching ELL
techniques more than anything. The methodology that most aligns with the
Mwangaza plans is called SIOP (sheltered instruction).
I will be
paired with a Tanzanian teacher to teach one aspect of the SIOP model to the
group of 30 or so participants. There will be 4 Tanzanian teachers and 4
American’s working in the seminar room at the Mwangaza Centre in Arusha,
Tanzania.
The
Americans will be staying in the Mwangaza Guest House. It's got four bedrooms, 1 1/2 baths, a sizable living room and dining room, and an adequate kitchen. It's got plenty of running water (though the water heater is tiny and requires rationing if multiple people plan to shower), a gas stove and oven, and fairly reliable electricity (though it tends to go dark right when you're planning on sitting down for a meal).
There's
no internet at the guest house, but there is wifi at the Mwangaza Centre, so I
will be able to stay in contact with people during the trip. If anyone needs anything they can contact me using email.
All
Tanzanians speak Kiswahili (the Swahili word for Swahili), and many speak
English.
