MUNUNGA SECONDARY SCHOOL Teaching practice report

Reported by : MWABA ANTHONY

ID NUMBER : DC2157

PROGRAME : COMPUTER STUDIES WITH

EDUCATION

LECTURE : MR. NAKASAMU

TERM : Two

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Contents
INTRODUCTION...............................................................................................................................3
MUNUNGA SECONDARY SCHOOL.............................................................................................3
STAFFING...........................................................................................................................................3
SCHOOL ORGANISATION.............................................................................................................5
ENROLLMENT..................................................................................................................................7
GENERAL EXPERIENCE................................................................................................................8
 IN CLASSROOM....................................................................................................................8
 COMMUNITY......................................................................................................................10
 SCHOOL...............................................................................................................................10
CHALLENGES FACED BY THE SCHOOL AND WAY FORWARD.......................................11
REFLECTION..............................................................................................................................12
CONCLUSION..............................................................................................................................13

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INTRODUCTION
This report will tell the experience, knowledge and feedback during my teaching
practices at Mununga secondary school. The student teaching experience allows to put
everything learned about education and subject matter into action. Students get to have the
test of teaching in schools under the supervision of an experienced teacher who can guide
along and help become the kind of teacher a student want to be. I will explain the process that
I went through, and what I did to have a chance to improve my teaching. The report will first
outline the history of the school then will follow by school organization, it will then follow
by the general observation of the school and inside classroom and then will cover the
challenges of the school and possible solutions.

MUNUNGA SECONDARY SCHOOL

Mununga Secondary School is situated in Chiengi district, Luapula province, Zambia.
The address of Mununga Secondary School is P.O Box 740050 Chienge. School motto:
umuntu mutwe. The history of Mununga secondary school dates back to when it opened in
January 2010 with only ten teachers. Under the vision stating “create an enabling
environment which is gender based for quality and inclusive education.” And mission “to
provide quality education by imparting relevant knowledge in life and survival skills,
physical, spiritual and good morals so as to make our pupils responsible and self-sustained

citizens in society.”

Mununga secondary environment

STAFFING
By then the school had nine male teachers and one female teacher. For which the
departments were as follows:

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 HEAD TEACHER MR. CHISANGA M MALE
DEPUTY HEAD TEACHER MR. CHILEKWA R MALE
MATH DEPARTMENT MR. CHISANGA MALE
NATURAL SCIENCE MR. CHAMA K MALE
EXPRESSIVE ARTS MR. MWANSA K MALE
SOCIAL SCIENCE MR. MWENYA M MALE
LANGUAGES MRS. CHISHIMBA F. M FEMALE

SUBJECT TEACHERS SEX

MR. SONKOLO MALE
MR. BWALYA MALE
MR. MUBANDA MALE
MR. CHISENGA MALE

As of date September 8, 2021 the school has

HEAD TEACHER MR. CHILEKWA R MALE

DEPUTY HEAD TEACHER MR. SONKOLO MALE
MATH DEPARTMENT MR. CHISANGA MALE
NATURAL SCIENCE MR. CHAMA K MALE
EXPRESSIVE ARTS MADAM ZIMBA MALE
SOCIAL SCIENCE MR. CHISHIMBA MALE
LANGUAGES MR. KAPASA MALE
BUSINESS MR. SILANGWA MALE

SUBJECT TEACHERS

1. MR. KAPASA. A
2. MRS. MUSONDA. M
3. MR. SIKANYIKA. A
4. MR. MTONGA.
5. MR. HAMWEEMBA. D
6. MR. KALUMBU.K
7. MR. MANDA. K

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 8. MRS. ZIMBA. H
9. MISS. PHIRI.R.G
10. MR. MPUNDU.G
11. MR. CHENDAPANSHI.A
12. MR. MUSHOKA. F
13. MR. SILANGWA. C
14. MR. MWANSA. C
15. MR. CHISHIMBA. G
16. MR. CHAMA. G
17. MR. MWAMBA. I
18. MR. MULENGA. B
19. MR. CHISANGA. C
20. MR. CHISENGA. L
21. MR. NKWETO. M
22. MR. MWEWA. E
23. MR. MULENGA. M
24. MR. KANONKELA. CK
25. MR. CHOMBA. A
26. MR. MWILA. E
27. MR. CHOMBA. L
28. MR. KALUMBA. B
29. MR. CHABU J

The school has 1 station hand man, 1 office orderly, 1 lab assistance, and 2 watch men.

SCHOOL ORGANISATION
The school organizational structure is as follows; The school is organized that the head
is overall manager of the school followed by the deputy head teacher who is followed by the
Heads of department which are divided as Mathematics department, Natural science,
Expressive arts, Social science Languages these heads of departments are in charge of
supervising subject teachers who then carry out class lessons to the classroom students. Class
supervision and management flows in the order as follows: class monitors supervise class
room students and reports to the class teachers who then report to the deputy head teacher
and to and flow to the head teacher. During work activities and school maintenances prefects

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supervise students through the teachers on duty and gives report to deputy head to and flow
the head teacher.

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 HEAD TEACHER

DEPUTY HEAD TEACHER

HODS TODS

CLASS HEAD BOY

TEACHERS HEAD GIRL

SUBJECT TEACHERS PREFECTS

CLASS MONITORS AND

MONITRESS

STUDENTS

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ENROLLMENT
GRADE CLAS BOYS GIRLS TOTAL GRAND CLASS
S TOTAL PATTERN
8 A1 15 18 33 60 2

A2 14 12 27

9 B1 41 21 62 119 2

B2 27 30 57

10 C1 68 36 104 202 2

C2 35 53 88

11 D1 77 35 112 212 2

D2 50 50 100

12 E1 43 19 62 128 2

E2 31 35 66

GRAND 821
TOTAL

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 GENERAL EXPERIENCE
 IN CLASSROOM

Mununga secondary grade9 class

In the introduction stages students in both the grade 8 classes I was given seemed to
be excited to receive me as their new teacher. In these early stages I expected to always plan
the perfect lesson, explain everything perfectly, and have everything go smoothly and as
planned. However, there were times when students seemed uninterested in learning computer
studies. At times when given exercise students would not bring books for marking. To solve
this, I consulted with the students to why this was the case, from the feedback it was noted
that students had only learnt computer studies for less than four weeks, I spent a lot of time
preparing each lesson plan. I worked hard to research different ways to present the
information for each lesson. I looked for activities that my students would enjoy, and I made
sure that I had all of the materials and other things that I needed before class started. Even
then, there were always things that would go wrong. Technology would fail like I would
want to make prints and power would not be available, sharing of a computer lab was also a
factor. Students would complete activities quicker than planned. Or students would require
much more time and explanation than expected. With the grade nines mostly they would say
they had not learned on certain topics which was expected to be covered in grade 8.
As such, I realized that I needed to be prepared as much as possible, but, more
importantly, I needed to prepare to be flexible. “You never know what’s going to come up or
what will catch the students’ attention”. Hence there was need for me to change the approach

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of teaching from more oral oriented to bringing teaching aids mostly in form of real
computer components, enabled learners to visit the computer lab more often and emphasized
more on the meaning of terms and the importance of computer studies. Learning is achieved
when the provided stimulus changes behavior as according to the behaviorism theory and
Pavlov experiment I used this approach in classroom management. I taught my students that
if I walk in the classroom they were to stand, wait till I tell them to sit, when I stood with my
arms folded, they know that I’m getting frustrated with the level of noise and they start to
quieten down or if I am in class they should be observe the rules I set for them.
Another notable experience was where English language was concerned, students
were very much used to being explained to in vernacular which proved hard for students to
ask questions even when they did not understand. Just as according to the “theory of Learner
Differences as Resources” no two students are alike, and the way every person learns will
vary it was to this point of view that the learners had different potentials in the sense that
some were fully participating in the class lessons on one hand others were performing with
good grades in written work and had difficulties in oral questions in class, others participated
more in oral questions and had low scores in written work. Students had motivation to do
their homework and as this was observed by the number of books which were brought at
85% rating for marking. Students were able to follow instructions it was though they were
under my command this made it easy for me to manage the class and give instructions for
them to follow especially when told to be silent and do the work and only go out with a pass
that is assigned to the class monitor.
Class room environment were mostly clean and conducive for learning but at times
especially after art class, classroom was observed to be with paper, cardboards and leaves
also class sitting arrangement was changed hence putting things in order when starting class
proved to be time consuming. And in the time covid 19 learners in class rooms were seen
wearing face masks at times they did not until they were talked to this would repeat at times.
In class the overall routine was that when the teacher walks into the class, students stood up
to greet the teacher and only upon being told to sit will they sit be.
 IN THE DEPARTMENT
Staff members were very welcoming, from the first meeting I attended the head teacher
introduced me to the staff members, it was only two weeks that my welcome party was
conducted this was a very great gesture. Every Monday morning before lessons a brief
staff meeting was conducted headed by the school manager. All members were
encouraged to give views and perspective on matters arising. There were times when

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 teachers would not agree on certain aspects a majoritarian vote by hand would be
conducted to settle the matters. In the passing on of a science teacher, contributions were
made to help at the funeral house this resulted in a staff meeting to find ways to help in
such short comings. Specifically in the business department teachers were very helpful in
areas where I needed assistance I was told to consult to any teacher for assistance by the
deputy head teacher. By the time I arrived Mr. Mwansa was the acting head of the
business department until June 2021 when we received Mr. Silangwa as new head of
department. All reports were handled by the head of department and members were very
interactive to one another. Every after two weeks files were submitted to the head of
department for supervision and were to be corrected from the deputy head teacher on
Monday morning. Being specific computer studies is under the business department and
it only runs from grade 8 to grade 9 the head of the business department of date
September 8, 2021 is Mr. Silangwe and subject teachers are Madam Chanda M, and Mr.
Mwansa C.

 COMMUNITY
Mununga is a community mixed of different people who are in full-time, paid
employment such as the nurses and the teachers, business people who own stores,
restaurants and other businesses some are fishermen and farmers. Accessing clean and
safe water is one of the challenges as most people fetch water from rivers, shallow wells
and a few cover long distances to get water from the boreholes. Many people live in grass
roofed houses some houses and a few have electricity. It was a hard experience as prices
of items used for learning are expensive and most materials are not available at the
market, roads also are yet to be fully upgraded. It was at least 0.5 kilometer which I had
to cover on foot from home to the school as there are no public transport to cover that
area, generally the teacher is well respected in the community, and he or she is viewed as
a center of knowledge for which young and old members of the community can learn
from. Therefore, the social environment in which children learn has a massive impact on
how they think and what they think about, Vygotsky’s Theory of Learning Is observed in
this regard as most of the learners are subjected to work and come to school.

 SCHOOL
The school routine goes as follows, from Tuesday to Friday classes start at 07:10
except for Monday classes started after a brief staff meeting. Every weekday teachers on
duty report together with the prefects report early to supervise the learners in cleaning of
the surroundings, classrooms, toilets and fetching of water. After that classes would start

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 up to 09:40 hours and break time for 30 minutes and again lessons would continue up to
12:40 for which another lesson break which went till 14 hours and resume lessons till
14:40 which marks the start of preparation which goes until 15:30 and other activities of
clubs, sports, class maintenance and entertainment would start up to 17 hours. In school
all teachers are given respect by both the learners, parents and fellow teachers as a whole.
The school plays a big role in handling community disputes and especially those that
involve learners the head teacher is also consulted to by the chef in matters concerning
the community at large. Learner’s altitude and behavior is controlled by Behaviorism
which is based on the idea that knowledge is independent and on the exterior of the
learner. This can also be proved by how they are subjected to respond when they see a
teacher if at all they were making noise they will stop, or if outside they will run to class.
Generally, extracurricular activities are voluntary, are approved and sponsored by school
staff, and carry no academic credit toward the final exam for the learners. For my
extracurricular I was involved in the school software club where we had to create,
manage and monitor school soft wares, make time tables, print school documents and
help teachers with the use of computers when called upon. Other activities at the school
are agriculture, jet clubs, debate, entertainment club and sports.

CHALLENGES FACED BY THE SCHOOL AND WAY FORWARD

 Class room infrastructures such as class rooms, offices, books and furniture. The school
has limited number of class rooms compared to the number of learners at school. The
departments also has few offices hence there is sharing of the limited that are available, it
is noted that the community has few secondary schools. Hence if more secondary schools
are to be built this would help in reducing over population at the school. Building more
office blocks. Mostly government contribution have proven helpful as new materials have

seemed arriving at the school.

 Water is another factor faced by the school. The school relies on one borehole for the
water used by the entire school. At least four boreholes to be constructed this will prove
helpful or employment of staff to help with fetching of water unlike reliance on learners
to do the task.
 Security of the school is another major challenge, there have been reports of stolen school
equipment and yet the school has no fence to prevent trespassers and other people passing
through school. Construction of school fence will enable only authorized individuals to
enter the school through the gate thus improving security.

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 Student boarding method, this is where learners rent houses near the school and are to
prepare lunch before returning to school. This ways do not prove security to the learners
as there is no supervision or monitoring to the activities for which they are exposed to
after school. Mostly this has led to increase of pregnancies, increase of early marriages
and high dropout rate. According to Piaget, the whole process is active and requires the
rediscovery and reconstructing of knowledge across the entire process of Stages.
Understanding the Stage a child is in informs what they should be presented with based
on what they can and cannot do at the Stage they’re in. Better ways can be if boarding
hostels are built for the learners for food is also prepared for, so that learners can focus on
learning, proper supervision and monitoring rather learners taking so much care of
themselves as though they were already adults. Another way is construction of more
secondary schools so learners can attend to those near their homes.
 Few teachers, this has led to a situation where some subjects are not taught at the school.
This was also observed that in Computer studies the school at the time was having no
teachers in the subject and relied on teachers from other department for assistance. The
solution is employee more teachers at the school to cover the subjects.

REFLECTION
When reflecting on my student teaching experience, when I expected to always plan
the perfect lesson, explain everything perfectly, and have everything go smoothly and as
planned. There have been so many challenges, so many celebrations, and so much that I
have learned. I have been pushed beyond my comfort zone. One of the most important
lessons that I learned was the importance of feedback. During my student teaching
experience, i wanted to find ways to improve my teaching skills. I was not afraid to ask other
teachers for advice. When observing me in action, the head of department will notice things
that I hadn’t noticed before. I found that when I was teachable and willing to hear criticism, I
saw greater improvements in my teaching and increases in my confidence. Student teaching
was a great experience. It had its ups and downs, but I was increasing my scores each time I
was observed.
Finally, I have learned the importance of having an open mind. You can walk into
any classroom and see completely different environments, teaching styles, student
personalities, resources, etc. I have learned that opening up to approaches and styles that I am
not particularly used to is beneficial to help me learn more ways that I can help my students
and to also learn more about what I like and dislike as a teacher.

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CONCLUSION
This report was narrating the experience, knowledge and feedback during teaching
practices at Mununga secondary school by Mwaba Anthony as part of the third year program in
computer studies with education. It stated some actions and the process that I went through,
and what I did to have a chance to improve my teaching. The report first outlined the history
of the school then school organization, it then followed by the general observation of the
school and inside classroom and then covered the challenges of the school and possible
solutions. The student teaching experience allows to put everything learned about education
and subject matter into action. Students get to have the test of teaching in schools under the
supervision of an experienced teacher who can guide along and help become the kind of
teacher a student want to be. Being it a secondary school that is only ten years old there have
been massive upgrades that the school is undergoing, as it stands the school received school
equipment and 7 new computers to be specific to be used for computer studies. The
commitment of management and teachers towards the school is also something that will
bring more development to the school. Rarely does anyone have a perfect student teaching
placement. I am fortunate to have enjoyed mine.

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REFERENCES
Sonkolo. (2021). School report interview. Conducted by Mwaba Anthony, 8 September.
2021.
Enrollment chat. (2021): Mununga Secondary School.
Paul F. (2019). What are Learning Theories?. Retrieved from: 15 Learning Theories in
Education (A Complete Summary) (teacherofsci.com)

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