The Department of Education (DOE) Capacity Building Workshop for Provincial District Training Teams

The MANCOSA School of Education’s iTEACHlab held a Capacity Building Workshop programme for 115 DOE officials on the 11th of July 2022, from 08:00am to 15:30pm. These officials included Provincial District Training Teams from all 12 districts. Among the DOE officials included Mr. SD Manganye (Head Office Director) and Betty Smith (Chief Education Specialists-Head Office). Other officials included Chief Education Specialists; Mfanfuthi Madlala, Nozipho Mbotho, Philangenkosi Bheki Thabani, M. Ntombela, Hector Bongumusa Nxumalo, Nico Dlangalala, Mdu Zwane, and ST Mtwa (Deputy Chief Education Specialist). More officials including Foundation Phase Advisors, Intermediate Phase Advisors, Senior Phase Advisors, and Additional Subject Advisors were involved in the training.

The purpose of the workshop was to equip the officials with skills and tools that can be used to teach the applications strand in the Robotics and Coding Course. These skills included using more practical approaches to encourage learners to be independent long-life learners.

For instance, during the facilitation, participants were requested to complete tasks using their own data and information instead of being presented with already conceptualised and organised data. This encouraged them to think outside the box. Furthermore, participants were placed in groups and given a team project that was aimed at challenging them to solve a real-world problem of their choice using the skills taught in the course. These approaches emphasise the development of critical thinking skills, creativity, and collaboration. It also encouraged participants to be culturally sensitive since they were working with individuals with different backgrounds