In-STEP(INDIA SUPPORT FOR TEACHER EDUCATION PROGRAM)

AN OVERVIEW

A BRIEF PRESENTATION OF EXPERIENCES AT ASU FROM- NIRUPOMA BARIK SAIKIA

LECTURER, DIET, MORIGAON, ASSAM

02-04-2014

In- STEP participants at ASU

THE In-STEP COURSE

Topics discussed-

• Core learning science and Reform Planning by Prof. Christopher Clark & Prof. Suzanne Painter

• Dr. Swarup Mathur discussed about ‘Classroom Behaviour Management’& the PLC.

• Veronica Keystone and Sarah Beal-ASU Teacher Preparation Program (under graduate)- iTeach AZ, the Graduate program- ‘Teach for America’ - by Dr. Brad, Dr. Dave & Dr. Pam.

• TAP - Teacher Advancement Program by Dr. Teddy, National Institute for Excellence in Teaching (NIET)

• Kay Coleman had classes on Leadership for Change .

• ‘Education for Democracy’ - by Dr. Gustavo Fischman, ASU.

• ‘Early literacy- reading and writing’ by Carol Connor

• B J Stone of McREL imparted knowledge on How Classroom Instruction Works.

SOME OTHER TOPICS

• Issues in Sexual Harassment and Discrimination’- recognizing and preventing harassment by Kamala Green, Office of the Equity & Inclusion, ASU

• ‘American Culture and Some challenges of living and studying abroad’ - Adam Henry & Ketie Curiel, Centre for Global Education Service, ASU

• Dr. Molley Ott -‘Governance Issues in Higher Education in USA’

• Diversity and Equity by Equity Alliance Center, ASU

• ICT- technology training was provided by Dr. Keith Wetzel, Dr. Leanna Archambault and Dr. Todd Kisicki

• Writing workshop with Kristine Wilcox

• Smart Board training by CCS

• Academic conferences in ASU –by distinguished professors and researchers from other countries

• Observed classes of ASU faculties and direct school experiences

• Embodied Learning Lab at ASU- Learning games for Science by Mina C Johnson-Glenberg

• Sustainability by Lee Hartwell

OUR MOST RESPECTED TEACHERS

Prof. Christ

opher Clark

Dr. Suzanne Painter

Dr. Swarup Mathur

Dr. Mary Koerner, Dean, MLFTC, ASU with Dr. Ara Barsam, Prog, Coordinator, In-STEP

PROFESSIONAL LEARNING COMMUNITIES (PLCs)

Reform Proposal was the central theme of the PLCs.

The objectives-

To analyse and satisfy professional learning needs of each other, collaborative learning, to share and exchange views, to solve problems, to improve capacity and outcomes, to create new knowledge, skills & processes, to collaborate with colleagues and support each other in professional development, Continuous evaluation of progress in reform proposal.

Based on adult learning principle

THE COURSES I LIKED MOST - ‘THE CORE LEARNING SCIENCE’ AND THE ‘CHANGE LEADERSHIP’’ MODULE

1. Learning from the Core learning science –

The qualities of a good teacher and good teaching based on research findings (from an article ‘The Good Teacher’ by Prof. Christopher Clark)

Its comparison with NCFTE, 2009

Implications of these two for the reform proposal

Reform Planning-step by step planning to bring about a change – how to start from ownself, to think big and start from small for a change, to set short term and long term goals, Change of mind set to develop leadership qualities, etc

CORE LEARNING SCIENCE

Strengthening of concepts of teaching and learning already known

Professional Ethics – Hippocratic Oath for teacher educators

Theory of Constructivism

Writing practice, eg. on another group member

Online assignment practices

Panel discussion with small scale reformers

OATH OF ASSAM

OATH OF ASSAM

2. THE CHANGE LEADERSHIP MODULE -

Change should not be external, the urge must come from within. Change is a process, not an event.

A leader of change should have in-depth knowledge of the situation and skill for the job, kn of capability of co-workers and a good planning to bring about a change – from vision to reality.

The Innovation Configuration Map (different modes of operation to get the task done)- it has major components and variations of components, Stages of Concern and Levels of use of innovations.

Interventions are key to the success of the change process.

SIGNIFICANT IDEAS OF OTHER COURSES

We learnt-

• Philosophical and psychological background of how classroom instruction works

• The Instructional Planning Framework- Creating the environment for learning, Helping students develop understanding and Helping students extend and apply knowledge

• Performance evaluation of teachers with the help of TAP (a system for teacher and student advancement) rubric

• Ethics in classroom management to create positive learning environment

• Education and democracy- Everybody has the right of learning, needs and conditions for learning should be fulfilled.

• Knowledge of one person should not be the barrier in learning of others.

• Good education requires good teachers.

• Money is essential for good life, but it leads to inequality in education and can change the nature of social values/practices

• Importance of equity in education- equity matters in learning

• Elementary and higher education systems in USA

• Use of technology in education- Photo peach, creation of web site, exploring You tube for educational purposes

• Responding to behavioral issues of children and their management in the classroom

KEY FEATURES OF THE TEACHING –LEARNING PROCESS IN ASU

Co-teaching

Group work -brainstorming and providing feedback by the participants and the teachers

Formation of PLCs

Reinforcement of various concepts of education and strengthening of professional knowledge

Direct experiences of American education system by visiting schools and observing ASU classes

Interactions with experts –with small- scale reformers and subject experts

Exposure to technology

Presentations by eminent teachers of ASU and other institutes

Reading – we were provided with many books/materials and ASU Library access facility

Writing workshop- for development of writing skill of participants

Presentation of assignments by participants

Peer group discussion

Guest lecture by visiting professors from other countries

Video presentation and questioning on that video

NEW LEARNING IN SUBJECT AREAS-

Mathematics-

• Use of manipulatives in teaching

• How to teach fraction , its types and computations with the help of manipulatives and technology tools.

Language-

• A short lecture by the teacher on Academic and Social Language

• Use of metaphors and graphic organisers

• Group discussion with peers on topics given by the teacher & sharing

HOW TO MAKE OTHERS LEARN THE COURSES (NEW LEARNING IN ANY SUBJECT AREA)

• By creating PLC (of faculties) and participating in it

• Sharing of knowledge in PLC and with other stake holders

• Visual presentation of new concepts with questions on that

• Workshop, Seminar

• Discussion

• Short- term training of teachers

• Soft wares can be developed on various school subjects

SCHOOL EXPERIENCES

We visited elementary and high schools in Arizona. I visited 4 schools-

1. Pedro Guerrero Elementary School, Mesa Public School District (10/15/13) (Grade 4)

2. Longview Lancers, Osborn School District (11/05/13) (Grade 4)

3. Desert Thunder Elementary School, Phoenix (12/10/13) (Grade 5,8)

4. Alhambra High School, phoenix Union HS District (11/19/13) (Grade 9 & 11)

IMPLICATIONS FOR OUR SCHOOLS- AN EYE-OPENER

We can imbibe some of the elements into our educational practices-

• Technology based teaching and learning

• Coordination between theory and practice

• Application of Theory of Constructivism in the classroom practices

• More emphasis on well organized group- work

• Small size of the class (18-20 students only) is very much encouraging for effective teaching and learning

• Professional help to teachers (like TAP Lead Teachers)

• Grouping of students according to their performance in a subject and providing them inputs accordingly

• Academic planning by teachers for one week

GROUP WORK IN SCHOOL PROFESSIONAL HELP

INFRASTRUCTURES OF AN ELEMENTARY SCHOOL

LibraryCla

ssroom

on Maths

OBSERVATION OF ASU CLASSSES

We observed classes of ASU faculties-

Classes of Dr. Photini Spanias on Mathematics

Class of Dr. Irina Okhremtchouk on Language (Reading and Writing)

Learnings-

1.Emphasis on content

2.Extensive use of technology

3.Use of manipulatives

4.Use of metaphors and graphic

organiser Dr. Spanias taking class on Teaching of fraction (Maths)

VIEWS FOR BETTER TEACHER PREPARATION PROGRAMMES

Internship programme- o Intense internship for PSTE courses for rigorous teaching experience and to

relate theory with practice

o Internship can be for one semester (preferably the last sem) and 4/5 days in a week; in the remaining days trainees will attend TEIs/ site-coordinator’s office (like in ASU).

o Follow- up and monitoring of internship in the line of ASU- provision of site- coordinators for an area to monitor internship and the site- coordinators will coordinate with the respective TEIs.

o Provision of Pre- observation and Post- observation Conferences

o Evaluation on the basis of report of site- coordinators.

o Co-teaching can be done with regular teachers.

Dr. B J Stone

Some other aspects-To increase the accountability of teachers norms can be fixed-eg. each

teacher has to attend 2/3 short-term trainings/courses per year to be eligible for yearly increment.

Duration of these trainings should be at least 7 days.

Only one nodal agency should coordinate the teacher-trainings in the district. (Only DIET will impart training and SSA could be the organizing authority)

Training of teachers on Theory of Constructivism is important.

More emphasis on action- research (teachers conduct AR only in training period)

Introduction of some more courses in TEIs, such as- Montessory/ Nursery edn (Ka-sreni), on teaching of differently abled children, community involvement in edn, etc.

Physical facilities make a difference

For faculty development-

Refreshers courses for teacher educators

Incentives to best performing teachers

Deputation of faculties for higher studies- doctoral, post-doctoral

Orientation of faculties on new trends in education

Orientation on ICT based teaching- learning processes

Improvement of infrastructures of TEIs- building, enrichment of library with research studies, digital resources, journals; learning labs,

SIGNIFICANT ACADEMIC LEARNING IN ASU

• Practical experience of Co-Teaching

• Exposed to technology based teaching-learning processes

• Continuous feedback to every individual

• Input to students according to their need

• Advance planning for the next week

• Management of time- Time is money

• A humane relationship, bonding of love and respect among teacher and pupil

• To start from small, small success matters- the biggest learning

STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESSES OF THE PROGRAMME

STRENGTHS: Co-teachingExperience-based TeachingGroup- work PLCs Well- organized schedule of activities Time management Advance planning

WEAKNESSES:

Some sessions towards the end of the

programme were not very fruitful

In some sessions summing- up was not

effective

Towards the end overlapping of sessions,

so excessive work load and less time for

reform proposal

Due to tight schedule, less time for library

reading

IMPLEMENTATION OF THE REFORM PROPOSAL

• After attending learning sessions and observing classrooms at ASU and visiting schools, I realized the differences in between USA and my country in terms of educational opportunities. I also want to expose my fellow-teachers and my students to the world of information, world of knowledge, to the world of technology. As such, I proposed to undertake a pilot-study to change the instructional methods followed in our institute .

The title of the proposed study is-

‘Capacity Building Of Teachers In Inclusion Of Information And Communication Technology In Classroom Practices’

‘A vision without a task is only a dream,

A task without a vision is only a drudgery,

A vision with a task can change the world.’ (Attributed to Black Elk)

My vision is greater student learning with the task of integrating technology in classroom practices to make a change in the educational practices.

SUGGESTIONS FOR THE PHASE II PROGRAMME

• Preparation of the reform plan should be started a little earlier-

from the 1st month of the programme itself or less work load in

the last month (it takes time in refinement of the proposal).

• Participants should have more free time to devote strongly on

the reform proposal (second- half of the day could be made free

from classes to be engaged in library reading).

• Participants should have the opportunity to explore the library to

the fullest.