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The subject content in the NCV Education and Development programme is too difficult for the average NCV student!  This is university level information that is covered in a BEd degree!

This is the cry that I have heard from many lecturers teaching within the NCV Education and Development programme and in some instances, I may agree but I think that the main focus needs to be how we are going to bring this material, which may be fairly difficult, over to the average NCV student who in most cases does not have a Matric qualification.  It is all about putting the content across in a creative manner so that students are stimulated and want to learn.  Standing in front of the NCV classroom with a textbook in your hand and delivering a lecture is the quickest way to lose your students.
I feel that we need to break the content down into the basic building blocks.  We need to ensure that students unpack the language of the subject and that they become familiar with this language.

Do you know about word walls?

I have found this to be a very valuable way to bring information within the reach of the student.  It does mean that we need to be creative and active in our classrooms.  Lesson preparation is a crucial element of any NCV programme.  What I do is try to identify words that the student may not be familiar with.  Don’t make assumptions about what they know.  Ask them!  Stick words up on the classroom wall that are unfamiliar.  Let students discuss possible meanings and guide them with their discussion.  Students must feel safe and secure to use these words and they can only do this when you reinforce, reinforce and reinforce the meaning.  Think about a preschool classroom where all of the items are labeled (e.g. chair, door, window).  Children are constantly exposed to these words and these words eventually start to gain meaning for them.  This is called emergent literacy.  The same can be done with a word wall.

Keep approaches to new content SIMPLE!

Take Art and Science of Teaching (level 2) as an example.  This has been identified by lecturers as one of the subjects within the programme that students perform poorly in.  Look at the following Learning outcome from Topic 1:  Describe the meaning of participative learning.   Do students know what the word participation means?  You will need to “unpack” the word before even beginning with the lesson content.

PARTICIPATION = TAKE PART
PARTICIPATION = EVERYONE TOGETHER

Let students look up the word and let them write the word and its meaning (in simple language) on large pieces of paper.  Students will then see this on a daily basis and start to familiarize themselves with the “language of a subject”.

Definition of participate from the Longman South African School Dictionary: to take part in something.
Students will now be able to link the idea of participative learning with the kind of learning where students take part in the learning. For example:  group work.
By breaking down the language of the subject, the content becomes more accessible for the student.
Dictionaries should be a part of your classroom resources when teaching the subjects within the NCV programme!
Another useful exercise to encourage students to engage with the language of a subject, is to provide them with a small A5 note book.  Every word that they encounter which is not familiar to them must be written down in this book with a brief explanation in their own words.  Students will start to build their vocabulary and become familiar with the terminology used within the programme.
If I had to think of a metaphor to explain all of this:  The NCV programme is a huge brick wall.  The lecturer must chop out the cement (the bits in between) and get down to the actual content of the wall – the bricks.  Give the students the bricks (i.e. the language of the subject) and let them rebuild the wall themselves.
Have fun!

Author: Melanie Vermaak

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