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Session 4: How can I rapidly upskill my large teacher workforce? [EdTech Hub Presentation]

Koomar, S., & Proctor, J. - 2022

The Strategic Choices for Education Reform workshop held in Zimbabwe in November 2022 aimed to provide a forum for senior government officials to reflect and consider the strategic reform options for their countries. The objective was to convene officials in key positions in the ministries of education, higher education, finance, and planning to learn about important issues and approaches in education; exchange experiences and lessons; develop an understanding of what is necessary to...

Technology use for teacher professional development in low- and middle-Income countries: A systematic review

Hennessy, S., D’Angelo, S., McIntyre, N., … Zubairi, A. - 2022 - Computers and Education Open, 3

Pre-service education and in-service teacher professional development (collectively termed teacher professional development or TPD here) can play a pivotal role in raising teaching quality and, therefore, learning outcomes for children and young people in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). However, TPD opportunities in LMICs are limited, unsustained, and often not informed by recent research evidence, and outcomes are mixed. Educational technologies offer potential to enhance formally...

This paper reports on the findings of a pilot school-based professional development programme for Tanzanian primary school teachers launched in February 2011 and evaluated in December 2012 by the Ministry of Education and Vocational Training with the support of UNICEF. The study set out to investigate the effectiveness and efficiency of the pilot programme in changing pedagogical practices before it was scaled up nationally. It was found that teachers who had participated in the school-based...

This paper explores a case of teacher professional development in Botswana, where a blended learning solution was attempted. The analysis of the implementation environment reveals deficiencies in policy, schools (workplaces), and training providers. The paper concludes with three recommendations: 1) Schools should support on-going teacher learning in the workplace and should manage ICT resources for use by both teachers and students; 2) Government should support participatory and localised...

MEWAKA (Mafunzo Endelevu kwa Walimu Kazini, or Teacher Continuous Professional Development [TCPD]) is a landmark, school-based teacher professional development programme being implemented nationally by the Government of Tanzania, with the ultimate aim of raising learning outcomes in schools. EdTech Hub, Aga Khan University, and the Tanzania Institute of Education (TIE) are conducting research to iteratively enhance the MEWAKA implementation at primary school level and to understand the role...

This article is based on an educational innovation, the creation of a cadre of teacher educators, in the developing world. Professional development teachers (PDT) were trained in an in-service two-year teacher education programme leading to a Masters of Education (M.Ed.) degree. The PDTs were expected to play three roles in their home schools upon completion of the degree programme: (a) exemplary teachers; (b) teacher educators; and (c) change agents within their home schools to effect...

As investments in K–12 math and science professional development programs expanded over the past decade, researchers and policymakers have questioned whether and how such programs work to improve student learning. This article summarizes the current knowledge-base and offers a theoretical framework researchers can use to design studies that explore mechanisms through which professional development programs influence teacher knowledge, teacher practices, and ultimately student achievement. We...

The prevalence and adoption of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) tools in education has often been guided by utopian perspectives without proper research to understand the schooling context and teachers’ ICT development needs. This paper reports on the findings from a study of in-service teachers who are members of a teachers’ union in South Africa. These teachers were surveyed using a questionnaire based on Second Information Technology in Education Study (SITES), which is an...

The prevalence and adoption of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) tools in education has often been guided by utopian perspectives without proper research to understand the schooling context and teachers’ ICT development needs. This paper reports on the findings from a study of in-service teachers who are members of a teachers’ union in South Africa. These teachers were surveyed using a questionnaire based on Second Information Technology in Education Study (SITES), which is an...

There is growing consensus in international and local literature that, to be effective, professional development activities (PDAs) should focus on ways of teaching that improve learners' learning, but there is no clear consensus on the teaching focus and the form in which teacher learning is organised. Drawing from literature on teacher knowledge, in particular Shulman's distinction between subject matter and pedagogical content knowledge (PCK), this article critically reviews the PDAs...

Several rigorously evaluated programs have recently shown positive effects on early literacy and numeracy outcomes in developing countries. However, these programs have not been designed to evaluate which ingredients of the interventions are most essential to improve literacy outcomes. Policy makers therefore lack evidence as to whether program ingredients such as teacher professional development (PD), instructional coaching, learner materials, teachers’ guides, community support, or...

Kenya is one of the countries whose teachers the UNESCO (2015) report cited as lacking curriculum support in the classroom. As is the case in many African countries, a large portion of teachers in Kenya enter the teaching profession when inadequately prepared, while those already in the field receive insufficient support in their professional lives. The cascade model has often been utilized in the country whenever need for teachers’ continuing professional development (TCPD) has arisen,...

The Malawi National Numeracy Programme (NNP) was designed in 2020 in partnership with the Malawi Ministry of Education and Cambridge Education (Mott McDonald), funded by the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO). Building on findings from a prior qualitative review of the NNP's programme components, EdTech Hub proposed a new phase of design-based implementation research (DBIR) to be undertaken in Term 2 of the 2022–2023 school year to refine the school-based teacher...

A Monitoring and Evaluation Framework for Blended Learning: Pakistan Ministry of Federal Education and Professional Training [Working Paper]

Khalayleh, A., Baloch, I., Dele-Ajayi, O., & Kaye, T. - 2021 - EdTech Hub

An output of the EdTech Hub, https://edtechhub.org

Teachers working in challenging contexts of mass displacement need both expert and peer support. This article shares a co-design methodology being used to develop and test the use of what we are calling Massive Online Open Collaborations (MOOCs) which involve blended learning approaches for teacher professional development

Sustaining educational initiatives beyond short-term pilot projects is highly challenging in low-income countries. We describe the outcomes and implications of our iterative Design-Based Implementation Research conducted in Zambia. This focused on a unique, school-based, peer-facilitated professional learning programme for primary teachers: OER4Schools integrates interactive pedagogy, open digital educational resources and mobile learning. Teacher interviews carried out 18 months after a...

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) estimates that 65.6 million people are forcibly displaced, having either crossed national borders or become internally displaced within their own countries. Of this estimate, over 22.5 million are refugees. Over half of the world's refugees are children. With an average length of displacement of approximately 20 years, the majority of these children will spend their entire childhoods away from home. Refugee children have limited...

The current study sought to assess teachers' conception toward the use of social networks as a tool for professional development in Tanzania government secondary schools the case of Dodoma Municipality. Thus, the specific objectives of this study were to assess the influence of demographic characteristics on the use of social networks or as a tool for professional development. To assess teachers conception on the available social networks opportunity that can support professional...

This study examines the use of Open Educational Resources (OER) in six teacher education institutions in three contrasting East African settings – Mauritius, Tanzania and Uganda – all of which had previous engagement with OER initiatives. Drawing primarily on interviews with teacher educators, the study examines how and when teacher educators engage with OER, the factors that support and constrain sustained OER engagement, and the influence of such engagement on their teaching practice. It...