“I completed coaching courses of TeachUNITED, and those courses made me a new teacher,” shares physics teacher, mentor, and now certified TeachUNITED Coach Ernest Nsekanabanga.
Ernest completed TeachUNITED’s teacher training program in Rwanda through our nonprofit partner 1 Million Teachers. “I remember when they asked us to think about the mission and vision of our schools. I have been teaching for more than 15 years, but have never thought it important to know the mission and vision of the schools I worked in. Thank you, TeachUNITED, you made me a professional coach and assisted me to positively impact my learners.”
He describes the impact he has seen on his students at NuVision High School, in Kabuga-Kigali: “My students used to not talk in class and such a behavior embarrassed me. I searched for ways to engage them but did so in vain. With TeachUNITED, I learned to practice planning and reflection to help me experiment with new ways to increase participation. It’s always a blessing to be a teacher and a learner at the same time. Whatever I learned with TeachUNITED, I tried with my students. What made a total change was the use of ‘Hot Seat’ in my classes. They loved it.”
One of his students explains the activity’s value, “Hot Seat is when a student comes to the front, sits on a chair, and other students ask them questions they have to answer. That helps us a lot with answering and revising. Because when we’re answering, we are understanding even more.”
Ernest shares the effect of Hot Seat, one of many teaching strategies within the TU training: “I started seeing them colliding to come in front to be asked anything on the topics we learned. I discovered a lot of talents in my students, and I could not believe my ears and eyes.
I saw a female student who is good at asking questions and another who is extremely good at answering with humility, respect, and encouragement, to name a few examples.”
His desire to continually improve his skills and those of his students is contagious. A student shares, “Teacher Ernest is the best teacher. He always tries his best to help us. He tells us revision points to help us pass exams. He challenges us with questions. He tells us the truth about what we must change and improve.”
Beyond boosting student engagement, motivation, and confidence, these new teaching skills and activities have had a quantifiable impact on learner outcomes. Ernest’s students’ physics scores have increased by 63%!
As you may expect, Ernest does not take credit for the praises of his students, eager to pass them right back to the TeachUNITED team. “I think this should come to you, not to me. Thank you very much for your positive impact on education worldwide.”
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