Disappointment

I am so disappointed and annoyed because among more than 50 teachers who originally registered and agreed to participate in the training, only 23 of them showed up for the first session and about 20 for the second. However, despite this defection, the sessions went very well. The teachers who attended the sessions – held in one of the biggest high schools of the capital city Porto-Novo – participated actively in the different activities.
During the first session (Tuesday 19, 2008), we discussed in the morning, issues related to science and technology, the differences and relationships between both concepts. Early in the afternoon, teachers made the first object included in the physical science and technology curriculum of middle schools in Benin: an electrolysis apparatus. The last activity of the day was the “Exploration on the Internet.” Internet connection fees were paid for teachers to search information related to teaching technology education. The topic discussed in the morning of the second session (Friday 22, 2008) was tilted: Why teach technology. Different perspectives were provided pertaining to the impacts of technology education on Benin secondary school students. Obstacles related to teaching of the subject matter were listed by the participants. In the afternoon, after reviewing their first object made on Tuesday, teachers started making the second: an electric current detector. The session ended with the daily evaluation. Two other sessions have been scheduled for Easter break (March 25 and 27). I hope that they will come.

Training about 50 teachers is one of the purposes of my data collection. I am very confused regarding what to do after getting this little number of participating teachers. Anyway, I already emailed my committee members about the difficulties encountered on the ground. One suggestion that I made was whether or not I should replicate the training in another province.