Project News

From June 2017, 11 applicants, including Project team members (Natural Sciences), will participate in the training in Japan. At the beginning of May, they submitted sample chapters and annual teaching plan for the "Module of Natural Sciences Teaching Method" as preparatory work.

Before the training, we have interviewed them about their expectation for the training.

Q: What kind of image of Japan do you have?

A: Japan has developed technology very much, and is a totally different world from Mozambique, I think.

Q: What do you want to learn in Japan?

A: I would like to know how Japanese teachers deal with science experiments in lessons. In Mozambican primary schools, we do not have laboratory rooms and equipment generally nor enough time to conduct experiments in lessons. This is the reason that the students are not practical and active in natural sciences lessons, which results in that students only memorize the contents. By observing the Japanese lessons, I would like to find how to apply Japanese way to teach sciences in the Mozambican context. Moreover, I would like to know Japanese curriculum policies, such as how to develop and revise "Course of Study" in Japan.

Q: Do you want to see anything else in Japan, in addition to the training?

A: I want to know if the "Samurai House" really exists on the mountain in Japan. I saw it several times in Japanese movies.

(The "Samurai House" seems to be a temple, according to interviewee's description.)

Q: Do you have any anxiety over the trip to Japan?

A: I am wondering whether I should bring something to eat from my country. In Mozambique, we can easily recognize what a dish is composed of. For example, we can recognize "chicken" when we see a dish with chicken. But, I cannot see what is inside in Japanese dish… I have eaten one Japanese snack made of minced fish, and was surprised as it had very different taste from what I expected by seeing its appearance. I am scared of trying Japanese snacks...

They seem to have some anxiety partly because this is the first time for some of them to take an airplane. In any event, we hope they will enjoy and learn a lot in the training in Japan.

Project team members who will participate in the training