Have you ever tried to explain a concept to your child or student only to be received with a blank stare?
To make matters more complicated, different children learn in different ways. This means that your regular go-to explanation of why the algebraic expression xy = x × y and not x + y may not satisfy every type of learner.
We’ve all been there.
Luckily there are persons out there such as Mr. Issac Petit, who shares your pain and has put together countless resources to help parents and teachers explain everyday high school lessons.
Mr. Issac Petit is founder of The Open Handed Classroom (TOHC), an elearning company that specializes in providing micro video lessons, study guides and detailed exam answer key ebooks for BJC & BGCSE Maths and Science subjects
The video below shows a preview of the different learning resources available from TOHC.
Resources Made Just for Parents & Teachers
Like all of the learning resources on The Student Shed, The Open Handed Classroom’s resources are digital and available at your fingertips when you need it.
If you’re right in the middle of explaining a concept but you know it’s not going anywhere, these resources provide an alternative teaching method for your student.
Sometimes, parents and teachers want to assess whether or not their student is ready to sit the national exams. Well, TOHC’s easy to download lesson explanations cover real exam questions and answer explanations when you need it.
These resources can also act as alternative teaching methods for your students as well. The micro video lessons, study guides and exam answers past papers with explanations saves time with lesson prep and makes teaching that much easier
Today, we’re happy to announce our collaboration with the Open Handed Classroom in our elearning marketplace. We welcome their contribution back into the lives of our Bahamian students.
Interview with The Open Handed Classroom
Check out what Mr. Issac Petit had to say during a virtual interview we had with him;
Question – Would you briefly introduce yourself?
Answer – My name is Issac Petit and I am 23 years old. I was born and raised in the Bahamas, in particular on the island of New Providence. One of my strongest passions and interests is education.
Question – What is your educational background?
Answer – I have completed 12 years of schooling, from primary school to senior high, all of which happened in New Providence.
Respectively, I went to Uriah McPhee Primary School, C.W.Sawyer Primary School, A.F.Adderley Junior High School and C.V.Bethel Senior High School.
My academic pathway has been laden with success. As a general rule, my grades were stellar and my dedication to my work admirable. Twice, I was chosen to be Headboy and I graduated from C.V.Bethel as the Valedictorian of the entire graduating class.
Currently I am a senior at the University of the Bahamas and I am pursuing a Bachelor’s degree in Mathematics.
Question – When and Why did you decide to become associated with the field of education?
I am convinced that teaching is my gift.
Question – What are your subject expertise?
Answer – My major is mathematics so this is truly one of my strongest subjects. Other areas of familiarity would be Health Science, General Science, Social Studies, Religious Knowledge, English Language, Biology, Physics, and Chemistry.
Question – What is your teaching style/philosophy?
Answer – A key priority for me is to have engaging lessons. I want to give my students an experience, not just information.
It is also critical that they understand what I am relating, and I encourage and solicit questions.
It seems to me that students learn a great deal by doing the problems on their own. After I have taught a concept I enjoy allowing students to do the exercises on their own.
This is my way of assessing whether or not they really understood what was taught to them.
Question – What do you think is the role of parents in their children’s education?
Answer – The role of parents in their children’s education cannot be overemphasized; it is extremely crucial.
Ideally, parents should be the first teachers of their children. From their hands children should learn the fundamentals such as manners, respect and consideration for others.
As the child grows and other teachers are needed to provide instruction in certain disciplines, the role of the parent should be supportive in nature.
Learning new things can be mentally challenging and straining. In light of this parents should brighten and smooth out the journey for their children by providing encouragement and motivation.
Nothing phenomenal can be accomplished without discipline and dedication to a routine.
Parents should serve to assist their children in both the construction and execution of their study habits and goals. Being more experienced than their children, parents can offer invaluable lessons, which can cause their children to avoid the same pitfalls which they themselves might have stumbled over.
Question – How important do you think it is to incorporate new technology in education?
The incorporation of new technology in education is very important. Used appropriately these technological advances can enrich and beautify the learning experience.
Some concepts are hard to explain and understand using traditional methods: marker, chalk, textbook and whiteboard. Sometimes a well-chosen video or animation would do more to explain a concept, than a thousand sentences or steps seeking to bring understanding.
In education we know that there is always room for improvement. New innovation answers this call by providing flexible, convenient, smart, quick alternatives to previously cumbersome tasks.
Question – What are some of your favorite resource apps or websites that you use for virtual teaching?
Answer – For virtual teaching I use either Zoom or Google meet to host the meetings and I use microsoft whiteboard/powerpoint/word to write and display text and graphics.
The Student Shed – Thank you for your time and we wish you all success in your educational endeavors.
In Conclusion
As we move forward in this new age of elearning, we should take advantage of the tools available so that we can embrace the various learning styles of our children and students.
Also, parents and teachers who need just in time resources can certainly benefit from the wide variety of learning tools offered by The Open Handed Classroom. Among those are a free micro video tutorial covering an answer from the BJC General Science exam. Click here to download it.
To learn more visit TOHC’s online store here and their YouTube channel here.
What sort of tools or resources do you use to assist with different learning styles?
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