What we do
“I am blown away. I am just blown away. This is what teachers need – not more certificates.”
“Africa A+ has made a big impact on the school. I can see it in the classes.”
“It [A+] challenged me to think inspired me not to be brought down by CAPS. It gave me more confidence as an educator.”
“Changed my thought pattern… I am more comfortable bringing music and movement and more excited to come to class. I am not so rigid, have opened up.”
“A challenge is changing staff’s understanding of what creativity is. It’s difficult to break habits – it will be a three-year process. You have to get people to look with different eyes.”
“I had to make a lot of changes… It was just my perception and the fact that I closed myself off to learning. I saw it as a nuisance in all honesty. But it was a learning curve and it is ongoing.”
“It’s okay for children to be different, there are different ways (of learning and expression).”
“Changed my thought pattern… I am more comfortable bringing music and movement and more excited to come to class. I am not so rigid, have opened up.”
“It opened a lot of thinking – you have to think about essential questions, overarching questions, what is it that you want the child to learn. It was profound in a sense. It can work and it did work.”
“The children does not want to stay at home because of the exciting activities.”
“… but I didn’t learn this at college! Why isn’t every school like A+?”
“What inspired me is how we can make a difference in children’s lives. We’re here to build them up.”
“I didn’t know I could be this creative!”
“For adults, a lot of us think we can’t do things. Also, because of what we went through [ apartheid]. If a person says you’re stupid, you take on that you’re stupid. If you’re given the choice to try different things, make mistakes, then you grow, get more confident. Give kids free choice, they can see they can choose, accomplish something, become more independent.”
“I’m used to being told what to do. I like the way I was taught to think critically and be creative.”
“I see growth in children; they become more free in their creativity, thinking and reasoning.”
Africa A+ Schools is guided by a set of eight principles called the A+ Essentials. These were developed in the USA for the A+ international network. Africa A+ Schools has adapted the international A+ approach to the South African context. This table presents a slightly simplified version of the eight Essentials:
1. Arts
- Valued as essential to the learning process
- Taught daily and included in planning.
2. Multiple Learning Pathways
- Opportunities for learning in a variety of ways.
- Accommodate different learning styles and entry
levels.
3. Experiential Learning
- Hands-on, real- world application of learning.
- Concrete, play- based, differentiated approach.
- Development of innovative, critical thinking.
4. Collaboration
Acknowledges and intentionally
strengthens the roles that
- parents
- caregivers and
- communities play in children‘s development.
5. Curriculum
- A+ itself is not a curriculum.
- The arts are integrated into the national curriculum and learning programme.
6. Enriched Assessment
Evaluates achievement by:
- allowing children to demonstrate mastery
- through multiple means.
7. Climate
- Teachers and children are
respected. - The creative process is highly valued.
- There is a common vision.
8. Infrastructure
Organises:
- time
- space
- technology
- resources to support transformative learning
You can download the Essentials in three languages by clicking below:
More about the A+ approach
A+ is NOT an alternative curriculum, a quick fix, a short-term solution, or a convenient, cost-cutting, one-size-fits-all programme.
A+ IS:
- An approach to teaching and learning. We employ methods of joyful learning which include an emphasis on the arts and the use of “loose parts”. (Loose parts are no-cost materials that are curated and used in creative activities.) We promote problem-solving, innovation, critical thinking, collaboration, communication, and creativity.
- Training that provides a practical link between curriculum and theoretical training on the one hand, and practice in the classroom on the other.
- Adaptable to the contexts of all schools, including all socio-economic strata, age groups and grades.
- Comprehensive: Wherever possible, A+ involves all stakeholders: principals, teachers, classroom assistants, administrators, parents, carers and community representatives, and seeks to establish communities of practice.
- Supportive of the national curricular objectives, namely those of the Curriculum Assessment Policy Statement (CAPS) and the 0-4 years National Curriculum Framework (NCF).
- Sustainable, because:
- We provide teachers with intensive, hands-on workshops as well as sustained mentoring and support.
- We empower teachers to source and utilize no-cost materials as resources for teaching and learning.
- We develop teams of Community Facilitators who continue to support local schools beyond initial training periods.
- Whenever possible, we work with schools in their local contexts because, when we are gone, the context remains.
- We enable schools to identify their specific needs and find ways to thrive, despite their challenges.
View the Introductory Brochure for Africa A+ Schools.
View a brief document on how A+ work aligns with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals:
The following video provides a snapshot of what we mean by quality in early education:
These videos provide more detail on the work of A+. Note that the first long video is also provided as short segments in the following four videos. The four teacher interviews give an impression of the impact of A+ training on teachers and their work.
Segment One: Where does that start
Segment Two: What do we stand for
Segment Three: Why do we do this
Segment Four: How do we do it
Teacher Interview One: Nomonde MJA
Teacher Interview Two: Natasha Disney
Teacher Interview Three: Margaret Twinkle
Teacher Interview Four: Elsie Siembamba
Problem Solving Exercise
