Former teacher employs Star-NiE program during Putrajaya seminar for 64 students
A retired educator’s faith in the impact of newspapers as an educational resource prompted her to utilize The Star’s Newspaper-in-Education (Star-NiE) program for providing engaging learning opportunities.
On Wednesday, Chang Siew Juen headed her inaugural session as a language instructor at a Star-NiE student workshop held in Putrajaya.
The workshop was a component of the Federal Territories of Putrajaya Education Department’s Literacy Drive.
Previously, Chang had utilized The Star newspaper as reading material at a school in Puchong where she had once been a teacher.
She mentioned that newspapers serve as more than just sources of current events; they are also platforms for education.
It has been a year since I began my journey as a language instructor, and I’ve noticed how enjoyable it can be when students receive varied learning resources such as articles from newspapers.
Textbooks serve as an excellent source; however, newspapers can equally help in understanding contemporary matters.
“It also relies on how effectively teachers utilize newspapers as an educational resource,” she explained to StarMetro during the workshop conducted at the Perbadanan Putrajaya governmental complex.
A total of 64 students from 16 primary schools in the country’s administrative city took part in the workshop.
One of the activities involved the children looking for images in The Star, trimming them out, and assembling these into jigsaw puzzles.
During a vocabulary activity, the students encountered difficult words which they proceeded to cut out along with their corresponding spellings.
They subsequently handed over these cut-outs to their classmates, who then needed to put the letters back together to form words.
Chang mentioned that every task was an enjoyable blend of reading skills, creative thinking, and collaboration.
Mohd Faizal Omar, who serves as the Assistant Director of the Educational Technology Resource Sector at the Putrajaya Education Department, mentioned that this initiative is a joint effort between his department and Local Agenda 21 Putrajaya.
This initiative enhances public understanding regarding the significance of sustainable development and offers chances for both community participants and interested parties to engage in programs aimed at fostering such practices.
Putrajaya schools get three distinct Malay-language newspapers.
As a result, we approached The Star for the Star-NiE program to enhance the students’ proficiency in English.
“Last month, we hosted a workshop for English educators representing 27 Putrajaya schools, including 11 secondary institutions and 16 primary ones. We aim to keep such initiatives going,” he stated.
Maryam Adilla Zainudin, who serves as the assistant director of the language unit within the department’s learning sector, stated, “Utilizing newspapers can be an effective method to motivate students to increase their reading.”
We can gauge the students’ maturity levels from their responses to questions, depending on their reading habits.
It serves as the most budget-friendly study resource for educators teaching a class of 40 pupils.