Teacher Training
The Curriculum Project (CP) implements various types of teacher training workshops in Post-10 schools and adult education programmes for people from Burma along the Thailand-Burma border. Our workshops include:
- Pre-service trainings for new teachers in Post-10 schools.
- In-service training workshops to upgrade the skills of practising teachers.
- Subject area workshops and seminars to plan curricula, upgrade teachers’ subject knowledge and discuss subject specific teaching methodology.
These workshops are usually short (1 day – 2 weeks), and are held during the school summer holidays, March – May, and during the mid-year break in October. We also try to respond to other training requests which are received throughout the year.
Our teacher training workshops cover various topics including:
- Fundamentals of Teaching
- Using Activities in Learning
- Classroom Management
- Topic and Lesson Planning
Our subject area workshops include:
- English Language
- Social Studies
- Community Management & Development
- Mathematics
- Science
We also try to provide ongoing support to teachers by offering on-site training on a one-to-one basis (time permitting). Methods include:
- Lesson observation and feedback
- Team-teaching
- Peer-teaching
CP produces and distributes teacher training materials to support the workshops and provides a reference resource for teachers in service.
Objectives
Many of the teachers that we assist work in difficult conditions in isolated places. They often have little experience and training, limited subject knowledge, few resources, and limited knowledge of how to identify and source appropriate materials. Through training, we aim to assist them to develop the skills necessary to undertake their jobs more confidently and effectively.
The most prevalent style of teaching in Burma is a traditional teacher-centred rote-learning method. This gives learners little or no opportunity to participate actively in the learning process and develop critical thinking skills. This method is reproduced to different degrees in schools along the Thailand-Burma border.
In our workshops we focus on the benefits (for teachers and students) of incorporating student-centred approaches into teaching. We also aim to provide teachers with useful resources and ideas, offer opportunities to observe, practice and analyse and evaluate student-centred teaching methods, and provide a forum for teachers to share their ideas and experiences.
We encourage teachers to decide for themselves how they might incorporate new methods into their teaching, taking into account to the cultural context, their school and students, and their confidence in their ability to use them effectively.