TEACHER TAPP GHANA – THREE FASCINATING FINDINGS FROM THIS WEEK

Category: Education | Tags(#): Ghana , GSET , Teachers , Teacher Tapp , Students , Reopening of schools , COVID-19 , Health

Image credits: https://images.app.goo.gl/YJkg4fuBSW3GLsZD8

Published Feb. 2, 2021, 8:41 a.m. by GSET

Welcome to our weekly blog for Teacher Tapp Ghana!

Every Monday we summarise our most surprising and interesting survey findings from the week before. This weekly blog provides an easy way for you to learn about the experiences and opinions of teachers across Ghana.

Please encourage your colleagues to use the Teacher Tapp app to keep engaged with education even when they’re not teaching. Your responses are also a vital data source that will guide decision-making around best policies and approaches for enhancing the welfare of educators/teachers and ensuring robust educational sector management.

Many more teachers will like to be heard and this can be done through Teacher Tapp. Do share this blog with your colleagues and encourage them to use the download links at the bottom of the page. In the meantime, here are this week’s intriguing findings…

1. Students will be able to follow the COVID-19 protocols over the course of the term/semester.

Schools have been in session for almost a month now, with the K-12 category seeing two weeks of school activities since schools were closed down in March last year. Discussions are still ongoing concerning the pros and cons of this directive by the government of Ghana to reopen schools. Notable amongst such discussions is the topic of whether students will be able to follow the COVID-19 protocols in the long run. We conducted a survey this week to find out what educators thought of the subject matter. 42% of our respondents were of the view that students will be able to observe the protocols over the course of the term while 30% of them thought otherwise. 26% of our respondents also indicated that they were uncertain about what the turn of events might be. It is safe to assume that, school authorities and parents will help to monitor and encourage students to heed the protocols but there should not be any room for complacency. In view of this, it rests on us all as individuals and citizens to contribute our quota to ensure that we are able to control and hopefully, eradicate this canker of a virus.

2. Schools should not close down again despite COVID numbers

In recent weeks, there has been a spike in the number of cases in Ghana. The increase in numbers from a little over 300 active cases to over 5,000 active cases these few weeks has raised an alarm, with people calling for a partial lockdown and a closure of schools, yet again. We interacted with Teacher Tappers this week to solicit their opinions on whether schools should be closed down again. 37% of our users indicated that they were not in support of school’s closing down while 35% indicated otherwise. 26% of our respondents answered that they were unsure of the line of action that should be taken in the wake of the increment in the number of active cases. Our data add to the fact the topic of the COVID-19 pandemic remains very delicate and that major stakeholders, especially, in the educational sector are seeking the best interest of all and sundry.

3. The spike in the COVID-19 numbers were to be expected

From less than 400 active cases to over 5000 active ones, one may argue that the increase in numbers came as a shock. However, that is not the case. From becoming complacent to disregarding the covid-19 protocols, it seemed inevitable that the numbers would shoot up. Our interactions with Teacher Tappers this week informed us that many people were aware of the imminent danger that was ahead, which has become evident today. We will like to admonish everyone to adhere to the laid down protocols instituted by the World Health Organisation, our local government and local health institutions so that we can limit the spread of, and defeat the virus eventually.

4. Finally, we know you’re finding our daily readings useful, so here are some of the tips we gathered from last week…

 How to make learning targets clear to students.

Preparing to embrace a virtual classroom

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The Ghana Society for Education Technology is the premier professional educational technology association in Africa based in Ghana. GSET works with the Ghanaian education community with the aim of accelerating the use of technology to solve tough problems and improve innovation in STEM education.