JGI Uganda Education Volunteers Past

KELLIE GORMAN:

Volunteer for the education department February to July 2007. The main focus of my volunteer stint was to help develop an environmental education teachers guide for Ugandan primary school level 6 & 7 teachers. The aim of the guide was to give activity ideas that would incorporate as many aspects of the national curriculum that could be done inside or outside the classroom, using alternative teaching methods (try to encourage active involvement of the pupils in their education).

Kellie Gorman

All the technical stuff aside I had an opportunity to work with some fabulous people in the Education department of the JGI Uganda office. The experience and insight of the Ugandan staff was invaluable and an essential part of my education of the country, education system, and the way that teachers actually think. We spent lots- and lots of time in the office brainstorming ideas and hours- and hours in front of the computer writing and re-writing the activities. We also spent time running teacher workshops that reviewed the already distributed Environmental Education Teachers Guide for Primary 5 Teachers as well as covering alternative teaching and learning methods. Towards the end of the project there was time to work with an artist from the Congo to add sketches and diagrams to spruce up the guide and create consistency throughout the activities.

Unfortunately my time as a volunteer was scheduled to end before the project was totally finished- but thankfully another dedicated environmental educator joined the team to help the staff finish up the guide and provide new and exciting insight.

It was difficult to walk away from the project- but very exciting to see the first draft. All in all, I can look back and think fondly on the people I was privileged enough to work with, the teachers who participated in the trainings and evaluations, and the friends made along the way. All the best in the continuing education projects!