Practice-Based Professional Development in Malawi
This blog is part of a series that highlights the education best practices that are the foundation of Chemonics and One World’s work together around the globe. Today’s example comes from the USAID Malawi Next Generation early grade reading activity, where approximately 27,000 Grades 1 and 2 teachers are being trained on key techniques and practices to support the National Reading Programme.
The Problem
The classroom is a complex ecosystem, with the interplay of the Instructional Core – what many refer to as the relationship among students, teachers, and content – at the heart of a students’ experience. To accelerate learning, it’s necessary for school systems to provide rigorous and engaging curricular resources, both in the form of textbooks and supplementary teaching materials. Especially when it comes to foundational literacy, exposure to the written word in multiple forms is essential.
However, resources alone are not sufficient. School systems also need to support teachers in how best to implement them in their local context.
A Solution: Practice-Based Professional Development
For curricular resources, teaching and learning materials, and instructional strategies to all work in concert, teachers must understand both the why and the how for each. We believe that a professional development approach that emphasizes practice is critical to achieving the how.
Practice should occur multiple times in multiple settings. To do this, professional development (PD) training can incorporate practice sessions where facilitators -- or even expert classroom teachers -- model techniques and participants practice and receive feedback on them. These sessions should then be followed by opportunities for teachers to practice and receive feedback on the same techniques with actual students, ideally in a low stakes environment.
An Example from Malawi
In Malawi, our early literacy work is being rolled out on a national scale. This includes bringing teachers together for a two part, week-long training at teacher development centers. During the initial week of this program, teachers were introduced to three key instructional techniques: Pair-Share, Morning Greeting, and Question of the Day. Additionally, they were trained on how to effectively use newly introduced teacher learner materials. These materials, designed to complement the current curriculum, include items such as Letter Cards, Phonic Picture Cards, and Read Aloud Story Cards.
As part of the training, teachers were introduced to the new techniques and materials and given an opportunity to practice using them during the professional learning sessions. During the three-hour Pair-Share session, teachers spent a quarter of the time in explicit practice.
The second week of training took place in the schools. Because students were still on break during this week, teachers were able to return to their schools to try their new learnings with students who had volunteered to attend. Many parents were eager to sign up their child for this week of extra school as it was a great opportunity for additional literacy support. This low stakes environment allowed for a confident vulnerability amongst teachers, as they were able to work on their craft, make mistakes, reflect upon them and improve without the pressures of a normal school week. At the end of each day, teachers gathered with the head teacher to debrief what had gone well and what was challenging. Teachers then had the opportunity to practice whichever skill or technique they wanted to improve for the next day’s lesson.
This differentiated approach allowed teachers a chance to hone their skills and support colleagues with practice. Melenia Lackson, a Standard 1 teacher at Tsupe primary school, Thambani Zone, said, “As a teacher it was difficult for me to engage all of my learners in the classroom, but after attending the trainings, I have been imparted with knowledge of Pair-Share, and I am now able to engage all my learners in my class.” Dalitso Ntambalika, another standard 1 teacher at St. John's, in the Lilongwe district, felt, “The trainings have helped me realize that there is a need to consistently and correctly incorporate various methods that are fun, engaging, interactive and inclusive.”
Practice-Based PD Key Wins
When teachers have an opportunity to practice and review feedback in low stakes environments they feel supported and are more likely to implement their new learnings into their teaching practice.
Teaching & learning materials, like the early literacy cards, and strategies, such as Pair-Share, are intended to engage all learners. As teachers become proficient with these strategies every student is able to get on the path to reading fluently.
Written by
Zione Banda, USAID NextGen Malawi
Elizabeth Namba, One World Network of Schools