Olashore International School, Osun State has urged teachers to be emotionally literate especially in dealing with their students, by taking cognizance of the Social and Emotional Aspect of Learning (SEAL) of students to help improve their academic performance.
This was stated at the Olashore Teachers’ Training Programme with the theme, ‘21stCentury Challenges and Remedies in Teaching and Learning’, organised for Olashore partner schools in Lagos recently.
The second edition of the training is a social responsibility initiative geared towards creating a forum where teachers from partner schools can share ideas on improving self and effectiveness.
One of the facilitators, a Bradford College-trained teacher, and an Olashore Master Teacher in Physics, Mr. Jatto John, highlighted the relevance of SEAL, saying that the positive social and economic well-being of a student enables him/her to become more effective and confident learning individually, while developing his/her skills in group learning, and fostering team spirit and collaborative learning.
“SEAL can affect a student’s academic performance positively and negatively. It will be good for a teacher to have a reasonable insight into the background of the child in order to manage interactions. If a child knows that you empathise with him/ her, he/she pays more attention during classes, and positive responses will be seen in the child’s academics.
“To manage students’ behavior, certain skills should be employed such as self-awareness, emotional management, empathy, motivation, and social interaction. I believe that SEAL can assist in the overall behavior of a student. To be emotionally literate is to be able to handle emotions in a way that improves your personal power and improves your quality of life and equally important, the quality of life for the people around you. My advice to Nigerian teachers and teachers all over the world is for them to exercise patience in teaching so that they can carry students along.”
Another facilitator, who was also trained at Bradford College, and an Olashore Master Teacher in Chemistry, explained that people learn better when they are interested, involved and appropriately challenged by the work.
In his paper, ‘Active Engagement Techniques’, he said, “active engagement techniques in teaching and learning will allow for on the surface learning, but deeper learning. In order to develop engagements, a good teacher-pupil relationship has to be developed; physical environment has to be attended to and clearly defining routines and ground rules.”
He highlighted the strategies of thinking skills to include classification, odd man-out, mysteries, and mapping. On the benefits of the training, he said, “the benefits of the training are numerous. Olashore takes the lead in providing this opportunity, a forum where participants from various schools can come together with a facilitator to identify challenges, issues, and proffer solutions as far as teaching and learning is concerned. Teachers have to know the purpose of which they are in the profession, update themselves, and seek improvement all the time.”
One of the participants, Mrs. DoyinsolaAdebumeyin, a Montessori Director from the Learning Place Montessori School, said “this training has enabled me to get a lot more ideas and tips on what to do and what not to do in teaching. I really enjoyed coming here because I will be going back to my environment, not just to my class work, but also to share with my colleagues so that together, we will raise children in a better place.”
