The Active Learning Project (ALP)
Our Goal: To improve the quality of education in Uganda by bringing active learning into every primary school classroom and Primary Teacher Training College across Uganda.
What is Active Learning?
Any teaching method that actively involves the student in the learning process. This serves as the ideal bridge to transfer the content of the curriculum to the learner, ultimately increasing the student's understanding and improving performance.
"Learning and teaching should not stand on opposite banks and just watch the river flow by; instead, they should embark together on a journey down the water. Through an active reciprocal exchange, teaching can strengthen learning how to learn.”- Loris Malaguzi
Why do we need it?
With 70% of the Ugandan population under the age of 24, the students in primary school today are in the pipeline to become the next generation of leaders, entrepreneurs, and voices of Uganda. But with less than 20% of students advancing onto secondary school, there is a distinct demand by the Ugandan government to improve the quality and delivery of education. The African SOUP galvanizes partners in the education system to champion Active Learning as the key intervention that will meet this demand across Uganda. This approach deviates from traditional lecture and rote memorization and engages students in meaningful learning activities to construct knowledge for themselves. Active Learning emphasizes higher order skills, such as creative thinking, critical analysis, and ethical behavior.
How do we implement it?
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The SOUP’s Active Learning Project (ALP) seeks to transform education in Uganda through active learning, a teaching methodology that emphasizes critical thinking, creativity, experiential learning, and a student-centered approach. In 2023, we aligned the ALP’s work with Uganda’s new National Teacher Policy by providing teachers with active learning skills through continuous professional development.
In 2024, we launched an ambitious expansion of the ALP throughout our District, reaching five teachers at each of 109 government schools and driving a system-led approach that engages Head Teachers, Inspectors of Schools, and other key government officials at the local, district and national level. We also work with our long-time partner Bishop Willis Teacher Training Institute by training 200 teachers and 40 tutors in active learning each year.
In addition to our work with teachers across the District, The SOUP School serves as a model school for the ALP, demonstrating the value of this teaching methodology with our own students. Seven exceptional SOUP teachers are also supporting the ambitious rollout across our District.
