Learning support program from netki
The second Teachers' Conference in 2016 brought
together 65 professionals for thought-provoking sessions, networking and plenty
of practical new teaching ideas to take back to the classroom.
What do the teachers do at the
lessons to motivate students? How can they teach well and use new methods of
teaching? How can they give and take a constructive feedback? All of these and
many other questions were discussed at the conference in three fully scheduled
days of the conference.
Representatives of
Oblast, City, and Regional Departments in Naryn shared their opinion on the
importance of this program for supplemental opportunity for students to get
extra classes and to improve their knowledge and skills in English language,
Math, and IT. Directors, teachers, and some of the students discussed and
presented their demo lessons, poster-papers at the educational sessions.
The conference gives us opportunity to stop for a while, reflect on the
achievements and evaluate values of the experiences in reaching a better
quality of teacher education. It promotes collaborative excellence
between both academics and professionals involved
in education.
The conference was organized
by Learning Support Program that is financed from AKES/AKS. All
participants discussed and presented the work that was done in outreach program
in Naryn villages. The aims of this program are to support the
teaching of English, Math and IT at schools, as well as to encourage
students to consider studying these subjects at UCA and other
Universities. This is a professional development program for teachers who
want to improve their practice by connecting with experts and each other.
It’s for teachers who love their students and work hard to help them.
It’s for hard workers and smart thinkers. It’s for teachers who believe
in inquiry and research and choice in the classroom. They share
observations, ideas, and suggestions that they can bring into teaching practice.
Learning English,
Math and IT not only requires a deep understanding of content, but also
critical thinking, use of technology, and collaboration. It demands to move
from a standard way of teaching toward learner-centered classrooms
and personalized instruction. Learning
Support Program promotes communication among teachers in schools in
Naryn villages and provides an opportunity for teachers to share curriculum
information and best practices. In Learning Support Program teachers get
new knowledge and skills through different activities, face-to-face educational
meetings, methodological trainings, inter-sessional discussions, feedback after
the lesson observations, and a conference. One of the ways in which it
promotes communication is to organize a teachers’ conference that will allow
evaluating the results of the work in academic year.
15 English language teachers, 14 Math and IT teachers have worked
collaboratively in two groups but shared their thoughts and ideas between each
other at the reflection sessions. The observation/feedback is a continuous
professional learning opportunity that enables them to work on improving their
lessons. All of the teachers presented their demo lessons and got feedback from
their groups. Teachers recognized their strengths and areas needing
improvement and planned their future work with their pilot groups of students.
SPCE instructors from Naryn, PDT trainers from Osh AKS and Khorog AKL
schools, as well as best representatives from Outreach program in Khorog presented
their educational sessions and organized short training sessions for teachers
of Naryn villages. The work and discussion was productive and beneficial for
everyone in the group. These
observations can play a key role in gaining teachers’ confidence in sharing and
developing practice, so feedback to teachers on what has been observed should
help them to decide on their next steps for professional learning and
development.
One of the
significant moments of the conference was a visit to the construction site of
UCA. The staff organized a tour for our teachers and they found out more about
wonderfully built classrooms, computer labs, dormitory rooms for staff and
students. All of the teachers were happy to be there and to plan that they will share
their feelings with their teachers, students, and parents at school after the conference.
What’s more is that
12 teachers- participants of two-year academic program have got certificates of
appreciation from Naryn Oblast Educational Department of Kyrgyz Republic and
AKES. At the same time at the end of the conference all teachers were awarded
by certificates of active participation and delivering of workshop and
presentation.
This conference supported
our teachers and professionals from both Outreach programs in Kyrgyzstan and
Tajikistan to share their working experience and to enrich it in many directions.
