Bridge Teacher in First Ever Nigerian Teachers TV Show

The first ever Nigerian teachers TV show is being hosted in Abuja, with a Bridge Teacher from Lagos among the contestants.

The show, which is supported by the Federal Ministry of Education and the Teachers Registration Council of Nigeria, is designed to shine a spotlight on the incredible work that teachers do across the country in building the nation’s future.

The competition for the show saw teachers from across Nigeria compete for one of the prestigious fifteen spaces available.

Teacher MaryJane Ikeakaonwu teaches in Bridge International Academies, Daddy Savage in Fagba community, Ifako Ijaiye Lagos. She teaches primary 6. Mary Jane’s teaching focuses on the ‘big four teaching moves’ to manage an effective classroom and improve learning outcomes:

• Learning to follow the teacher guides to deliver effective lessons;

•Checking on each and every child’s learning;

•Responding with feedback that accelerates pupil learning outcomes, and;

•Motivating pupils towards good behaviour and academic effort.

It is through the lens of these ‘big four’ critical teaching skills and associated teaching techniques that teachers learn the approaches and techniques necessary to teach effectively in every lesson, every day.
MaryJane Ikeakaonwu’s teaching success comes from training that is focused on using a modern child-centred teaching philosophy, best practice classroom management techniques.

In her classroom MaryJane focuses on narrating the positive, encouraging children and ensuring that no child is left behind using techniques such as scanning and wait time. Approaches such as corporal punishment are banned in her classroom as they damage pupil-teacher relationships and undermine a child’s ability to learn.

In Nigeria and elsewhere, teachers rarely get the support they need to be effective. MaryJane is lucky to be part of a network where she receives daily and weekly feedback on her teaching; uses technology to help her teach lessons in the best possible way and benefits from ongoing training to help her achieve the best learning outcomes possible for her children.

Talking about her excitement at appearing on the first ever TV show, MaryJane Ikeakaonwu said: “It is amazing that i will get to be a champion for teachers. Teaching is such an amazing job. Every single day I get to help children shape their future. I am educating the lawyers, doctors, engineers that will shape the future of their communities and also help build our great country. It is such a privilege. I hope that the TV show will help people across Nigeria see what an amazing profession teaching is and encourage them to support the teachers in their communities, or even become one!”

Commenting on MaryJane’s participation into the competition Rhoda Odigboh, Bridge Nigeria’s Academic Director, said:

We are so proud of MaryJane’s success, to place in the top 15 teachers across the whole of Nigeria is an incredible achievement. The whole Bridge family across the continent wishes her the best of luck. Bridge believes that all teachers should be given the support to succeed and that with ongoing support, training and resources every teacher can excel.

MaryJane will have an opportunity to showcase to Nigeria the training and teaching skills that make her and all Bridge teachers so successful.”

Odigboh added that, “Our teachers must take credit for the success of their pupils. It’s the dedication, passion and hard work of our teachers who enable us to transform the opportunities for children each and every day across Nigeria.”

Bridge teachers are proud of their recent success in the National common entrance exam which saw pupils from economically marginalized communities in Lagos excel, winning places at some of the best schools in Nigeria.

In addition, a UK Department for International Development (DFID) study showed that Bridge children in Lagos have equity of learning in their schools highlighting the irrelevance of a family’s socioeconomic background; a groundbreaking finding.