In Madagascar, teachers are innovating to make students love science subjects

At the reference college of Ambovombe, in the South of Madagascar, the efforts of Odette and Voriraza, respectively teachers of Life and Earth Sciences and Physical Sciences are paying off. Out of 135 students who obtained their secondary school diploma last year, 133 chose to pursue a scientific pathway. To achieve such results, training and adaptations were necessary. Generally, only one child in three thinks of pursuing a scientific course because of the difficulty of understanding and applying the subjects. And boys are more prone to science subjects than girls.

In the 6th grade class where Odette teaches twice a week, talking to the air takes on its full meaning. The disinterest of students in Life and Earth Sciences affects the scores at school at each evaluation. Odette does not collect the average for the majority of these 90 students. “The challenge is to find the best way to transmit knowledge and maintain attention,” she explains. In fact, it is difficult for students to understand a subject that they do not visualize. “To develop a scientific culture and increase the spirit of research and critical thinking, it is useful to demonstrate what you learn, to experiment, to touch and feel the material. But the means made available to us are minor and the teaching methods are not always appropriate,” she says.

Aware of the danger and the flagrant regression of the level of pupils in mathematics, physical sciences or even Life and Earth Sciences, the Ministry of National Education, with the support of UNICEF which is supported by donors such as Zonta International, the interprofessional club that defends women's rights and the Findel Foundation owned by Susan and Stefan Findel have focused on the training of science teachers. In October 2021, 437 teachers in the region, including 11 for the Ambovombe reference college, benefited from capacity building. The modules are relating to the organization and preparation of the programme to be deployed over the year, the teaching methods to be implemented, the theory which must necessarily be followed by a simulation. For the teaching materials to be used during the lessons, the teachers rely entirely on their imagination and are inspired by the surrounding environment. For this lesson on plants, for example, Odette has unearthed two plants whose differences are observed visually and allow us to summarize the lesson.

Unsurprisingly, the children actively participate in the discussions, ask questions and understand quickly. "We did the same to learn the types of soil where everyone took a sample. As for the lesson on puberty, everyone felt involved and it went smoothly," she says. "Since the application of this method, there are fewer and fewer absences in my class," she concludes.