Stories as a Mode of Instruction. A Module for teaching Natural Science in Basic 3

Abstract

From 1951 when Dr Kwame Nkrumah embarked on expansion of the education system in the then Gold Coast to the present, there have been several initiatives aimed at developing the education system. The most prominent are; the Accelerated Development Plans for Education (1951 and 1961), the New Structure and Content of Education Plan (1974), the New Educational Reform Programme (NERP) (1987), and the Free Compulsory Universal Basic Education (1996). These initiatives show that education policy makers recognise the need for modification as and when the situation demands but not enough has been done about teaching and learning. So far the most obvious teaching and learning initiatives are the National Language Accelerated Programme (NALAP) introduced in 2009 and the Teacher-Community Assistance Initiative (TCAI) in 2011. As a result of this observation, the study sought to ask; to what extent can storytelling be used as an effective approach to teaching and learning in public basic schools?, to what extent can stories be designed as a module for teaching Natural Science in Basic 3? And how can stories be created from topics in public Basic 3 Natural Science Text Book? To answer these questions, Sowa Din Memorial “2” Primary School was purposively selected to explore the possibility of using stories as an instructional method. Interviews, complete observation, participant observation and documents were used for this exploration. The study revealed that using stories as a mode of instruction falls in line with the Ghana Education Service teaching and learning initiative but the teachers had a challenge in creative teaching. A days’ training workshop served as an in-service training for the teachers and a test of the module revealed that when teachers are given specific skills to meet the needs of the classroom they would deliver. To ensure that teachers employed variety teaching to enhance learning, the study found that there should be reviews of course content at the training colleges and mode of supervision of teachers.