Beyond Theory, Beyond the Classroom: Teaching My Students to Make Chin-Chin.
Practical Skills, Entrepreneurship and Learning Through the Life Skills & Enterprise Club
Beyond Theory, Beyond the Classroom: Teaching My Students to Make Chin-Chin
Practical Skills, Entrepreneurship and Learning Through the Life Skills & Enterprise Club
When Students Learn by Doing?
During a practical session with my students through the Life Skills & Enterprise Club, we explored how to prepare chin chin. The session gave students the opportunity to participate in the preparation process and learn the practical steps involved in making this familiar snack.
The value of the activity lies in more than the finished product. It lies in the opportunity for students to learn by doing, practise a useful skill and discover what they can accomplish when they are actively involved in their learning.
Taking Learning Beyond the Classroom
Education should prepare learners for life beyond school. While academic knowledge is important, students also need opportunities to develop practical abilities, explore their interests and discover skills they can continue to build on after graduation.
This belief informs my work through the Life Skills & Enterprise Club. I established the club to give students opportunities to acquire practical skills, learn through participation and begin to recognise how their abilities may connect with everyday life and future opportunities.
Preparing chin chin is one example of this approach. Activities like this can also open conversations about food preparation, teamwork, hygiene, product development and entrepreneurship as students continue to learn.
My aim is to help learners see that education has value both in what they know and in what they can do with that knowledge.
The video below captures the chin-chin preparation session with my students.
Take a look at the practical experience and see how students engage with learning when they have the opportunity to participate.
Keeping Learning Accessible
I share practical learning experiences and educational resources on my website to create a record of these activities and make useful learning materials accessible to students, teachers and other interested readers.
Documenting these sessions also allows me to reflect on my teaching practice and share approaches that may inspire other educators to create similar opportunities for their learners.
Learning That Continues Beyond Graduation
Every practical session creates another opportunity for students to develop confidence, practise a skill and discover their abilities. The goal is not simply to complete an activity, but to create meaningful learning experiences that students can draw on as they grow.
Through the Life Skills & Enterprise Club, I will continue to create opportunities for students to connect classroom learning with practical experiences and possibilities for the future.
Because learning should not end when a lesson ends, or when a student leaves school.
Teach the knowledge. Teach the skill. Create the opportunity.
Kalu Emmanuella Ngozi
Biology Teacher | Life Skills & Enterprise Club
2024 Maltina Teacher of the Year, Imo State Champion
