The Director, Institute of Education, University of Cape Coast (UCC), Professor Eric Anane, has underscored the need for teachers to incorporate traditional non-digital teaching approaches with technology to enhance teaching and learning.
“Teachers control the approaches and situations, so what is essential is to ensure that you strategically incorporate all the traditional approaches you have learnt with those of the technology to enhance your teaching,” he stressed.
Congregation
Professor Anane was speaking during the 17th congregation of the Offinso College of Education in Offinso in the Offinso South Municipality in the Ashanti Region.
The event, which was held on the theme: “Enhancing the 21st century classroom: The role of the young teacher,” was used to award degrees to 496 teachers.
Eighty-four of the total number had first class, out of which 30 were women; 316 had second class upper division, 88 had second class lower, while eight had third class.
As part of the ceremony, a new lecture hall annexe was inaugurated and a new bust of the college’s principal was unveiled as well.
Leverage
He stated that technology had become a leverage for teachers to be efficient in the discharge of their professional duties, saying, “there is no way you should set your classrooms on the television for students to be learning what appears on the screens. It will not work”.
He urged teachers to promote reflective discussions and focus on core values such as interpersonal skills, which were very essential towards effective teaching and learning in the classroom.
Sacred calling
The Bishop of the Methodist Church, Ghana, Rev. Prof. Johnson K. Asamoah-Gyadu, said teaching was a sacred calling that united, planted seeds in students and watered them to grow to contribute to national development.
He urged the newly trained teachers to teach with their hearts and with integrity and to learn continuously to be able to positively impact the lives of their students.
Performance
The Principal of the college, Very Rev. Dr Joseph Nkyi Asamoah, described the performance of the graduating students as exceptional, as the accomplishment of the 84 first class honours represented the highest ever recorded in the history of the college.
“Generally, this year’s performance of the college is also the best among all the 16 colleges of education affiliated to the UCC,” he said, and further commended the staff for their efforts towards the achievement.
Touching on the critical needs of the institution, he said there was an urgent need for decent accommodation for the staff as a means of motivating them to work harder towards the growth of the institution.
