Gurtej Singh Bhamra, Grade 11
UWCEA Moshi Campus
Six years ago, back in Grade 7, our class entered the lab for our science lesson. Expecting our usual teacher, a familiar face came walking through the door. It was MYP Coordinator, Mr. Ochieng. Suddenly, half the class was in fear of what we could have possibly done to have Mr. Ochieng in our class. However, we were quickly reassured that he was the substitute teacher for the day. At that moment, we knew this was not going to be a normal science lesson and so we prepared ourselves for the better or worse.
Mr. Ochieng began his lesson by telling us a story about three students. The first student was named (*soft voice*) Milli-Centi-Deci in Grade 6, the second was named M in Grade 8 and the last was named (*deep voice*) Deca-Hecto-Kilo in Grade 10. All three students were new to the school and were sitting outside the principal’s office. Milli-Centi-Deci was afraid of Deca-Hecto-Kilo who was much bigger and bullied Milli-Centi-Deci. M was mutual between the two, hence all three of them found themselves outside the principal's office.
Later, Mr. Ochieng presented us with a ladder on the board. He then pretended to climb it as we saw him slowly disappear under the front table and suddenly reappear. As he climbed up the ladder he added the names of the characters (metric prefixes) to each step, beginning with Milli-Centi-Deci, M, and finally Deca-Hecto-Kilo. Mr. Ochieng began to teach us that when you move up the ladder, the decimal also goes up (right) and you multiply. Whereas, when you go down the ladder, the decimal moves down (left) and you divide.
During and after the lesson, the class was in stitches due to Mr. Ochieng’s high-spirited and spontaneous storytelling. However, we were also in awe of how someone could be both playful yet serious, lively, but bold. Such that we could learn in an effective and fun manner. Before this, I had never really been taught a lesson while tying concepts behind a storyline. Doing so allowed me to memorise metric prefixes and their rules in just that single class.
I realised how valuable this lesson was when another teacher tried to teach the same topic to a new group of students. Many were barely able to memorise it until the older students introduced them to Milli-Centi-Deci and the rest. The next year, Mr. Ochieng became our Maths teacher and I saw this was a continuous pattern, be it singing to explain certain concepts or sprinting with students to measure speed, while still having extremely focused periods of work.
Following these same steps, I began to also create stories to memorise various topics in subjects I take, be it the carbon cycle, notes in music, or formulas in maths. Despite teaching our class for only two years, over three years later I still reminisce about Mr. Ochieng’s classes and remember how fun learning can be.
Mr. Ochieng began his lesson by telling us a story about three students. The first student was named (*soft voice*) Milli-Centi-Deci in Grade 6, the second was named M in Grade 8 and the last was named (*deep voice*) Deca-Hecto-Kilo in Grade 10. All three students were new to the school and were sitting outside the principal’s office. Milli-Centi-Deci was afraid of Deca-Hecto-Kilo who was much bigger and bullied Milli-Centi-Deci. M was mutual between the two, hence all three of them found themselves outside the principal's office.
Later, Mr. Ochieng presented us with a ladder on the board. He then pretended to climb it as we saw him slowly disappear under the front table and suddenly reappear. As he climbed up the ladder he added the names of the characters (metric prefixes) to each step, beginning with Milli-Centi-Deci, M, and finally Deca-Hecto-Kilo. Mr. Ochieng began to teach us that when you move up the ladder, the decimal also goes up (right) and you multiply. Whereas, when you go down the ladder, the decimal moves down (left) and you divide.
During and after the lesson, the class was in stitches due to Mr. Ochieng’s high-spirited and spontaneous storytelling. However, we were also in awe of how someone could be both playful yet serious, lively, but bold. Such that we could learn in an effective and fun manner. Before this, I had never really been taught a lesson while tying concepts behind a storyline. Doing so allowed me to memorise metric prefixes and their rules in just that single class.
I realised how valuable this lesson was when another teacher tried to teach the same topic to a new group of students. Many were barely able to memorise it until the older students introduced them to Milli-Centi-Deci and the rest. The next year, Mr. Ochieng became our Maths teacher and I saw this was a continuous pattern, be it singing to explain certain concepts or sprinting with students to measure speed, while still having extremely focused periods of work.
Following these same steps, I began to also create stories to memorise various topics in subjects I take, be it the carbon cycle, notes in music, or formulas in maths. Despite teaching our class for only two years, over three years later I still reminisce about Mr. Ochieng’s classes and remember how fun learning can be.
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