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Grade 12 is already a stressful year for most learners as they complete their schooling career and face their final examinations. With the extended holiday and lockdown period we understand that this can cause further anxiety and distress.
Schools are closed, but learning can and should continue!
I would like to highlight what is on offer for our Grade 12 learners in preparation for the National Senior Certificate.
All Grade 12 learners are encouraged to revise the work covered during the first term, and work through all assignments and tests they previously completed. They will also need to prepare for the work ahead and for the examination process, using the “Tips for Success booklets” or curriculum guidelines (both located on the WCED website), learners can start reading about the topics and concepts that will be introduced before they write their examinations, using different sources and to share good material with fellow learners. Research is an important part of learning. Self-research, analysis of materials, and summarisation are all key skills.
Parents and guardians should encourage matric learners to focus on their work by planning specific study times, and respecting those times as a family. They can use the ePortal to see what is planned for their children for the remainder of the year. Most of all they should ensure that their children live healthy lives. Despite these very unusual circumstances, show them that you care and follow the measures to minimise the possibility of infection with the coronavirus.
The following resources are available to help make some of the above possible:
https://wcedonline.westerncape.gov.za/matric-support.
https://wcedonline.westerncape.gov.za/edumedia/revision-dvds-telematics.
https://wcedonline.westerncape.gov.za/grade-12-question-papers.
https://wcedonline.westerncape.gov.za/mind-gap.
The DBE also has a Matric Support package with a variety of resources, including TV and radio broadcast timetables, study material, tips for parents and digital resources. This can be accessed at: https://wcedonline.westerncape.gov.za/dbe-support-package.
We recognise the responsibility of school principals and School Management Teams (SMTs) to provide instructional leadership, even at a time when learners are not at school.
School principals and SMTs are expected to set up home-learning systems which include guidance on using the Teaching and Assessment plans to know what should be covered and using alternative ways to teach.
Teaching and Assessment plans were sent to schools in January 2020 which include guidance on what should be covered, making alternative ways of teaching more convenient, streamlined and organised.
We are aware of several groups that have been created for Quality learning @home by teachers. For example, Evan Papier, a Life Orientation teacher from Groendal Secondary School, has been teaching his Grade 12 class during lockdown via Whatsapp using Google forms, with various assessments being returned using voice notes, videos and text.
We will be providing examples of best practice later in the series and how we are assisting teachers to embrace this new concept of learning. However, it is evident that for those teachers that have embraced e-learning, distance learning during the holiday period is “business as usual”. For them, teaching continues, it is only the physical environment that has changed!
A broadcast system involving TV and radio is also being rolled out and developed as part of the Provincial, as well as, National process. Various radio and TV stations have already come on board. Other community radio stations such as Radio KC, Voice of the Cape, and Bloudruk Media, who host a variety of stations, have all offered slots for learning, which is currently being scheduled.
In partnership with eMedia Investments, the Department of Basic Education is broadcasting educational support for learners and teachers on the Openview HD (OVHD) platform – channel 122. This channel is available free of any subscriptions and will broadcast for a period of six months from 1 April to 30 September 2020.
There is much that can be done during this period of lockdown to keep our Grade 12 learners engaged and focused on the task that lies ahead.
It is often said that the 21st Century requires a workforce that can adapt to a changing world and working environment. The original “21st Century skills” cited were the “4Cs”: Communication, Collaboration, Critical thinking, and Creativity. Unbeknown at the time of conceptualization of these concepts, these 4C skills have become as important as ever.
May we embrace this challenge as we look at new ways to communicate and collaborate, and to stimulate critical thinking by ways and means that are creative in this lockdown period.
Issued by:
Western Cape Education
Distributed by APO Group on behalf of South African Government.
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