Mediated Authentic Video: A Flexible Tool Supporting a Developmental Approach to Teacher Education

You Tube now has more searches than Google, indicating that video is a motivating and, potentially, powerful learning tool. This paper investigates how we can embrace video to support improvements in teacher education. It will draw on innovative approaches to teacher education, developed by the Open University UK, in order to explore in more depth the potential of video. It will use case studies from three continents, and draw on research from different sources, in order to highlight the successes and the challenges. Looking across the examples presented, the paper will describe models of teacher learning and video use, and demonstrate that video can add value to teacher development activities provided that appropriate support and mediation, consistent with the pedagogy that is being promoted, is in place. Sustainable Development Goal 4 emphasizes the importance of improving the quality of the experiences that children have in school. This requires new models for teacher education, and has become an urgent issue. Video could be a significant part of the solution

Moving forward with TESSA: what is the potential for MOOCs?

Teacher Education in sub-Saharan Africa (TESSA) is an educational development project run by The Open University, UK. Working collaboratively with partners in Africa, The Open University published (in 2010) a set Open Educational Resources (OER) which support teachers in developing participatory approaches to learning. With the global focus for education shifting from ‘access’ to ‘quality’ (Sustainable Development Goal, 2015) the TESSA OER remain as relevant as ever; student-centred pedagogy is at the heart of the development of 21st Century skills. In a similar project, Teacher Education through School-based support in India (TESS-India) The Open University developed a Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) to support teacher educator professional development. The purpose of this paper is to present the TESSA strategy for 2016-2019 and to draw on data from the TESS-India MOOC in order to argue for a MOOC for African teacher educators. The MOOC had an innovative design drawing on socio-cultural theories of learning; it was task-based, with face-to-face facilitation provided in the project’s target states. Data comes from pre-and post- course surveys for the MOOC; weekly surveys conducted during the pilot phase and weekly reports from MOOC facilitators, including some case studies. The response to the MOOC was overwhelmingly positive and a completion rate of 51% was achieved (compared to the average for MOOCs of around 12%). Whilst acknowledging that the African context is different, the TESSA team believe that a MOOC for teacher educators in Africa would support the strategic objective of improving teacher education across the continent

Teachers Taught, Lessons Learnt: Experiences of Using Video to Support Teacher Learning on Three Continents

This paper will focus on innovative approaches taken by the Open University UK, to school-based pre- and inservice teacher training, using video, across 3 continents – Africa, Asia and South America. It will use case studies to demonstrate various approaches, surfacing teachers’ voices and experiences of new ways of learning. It will share the successes and challenges of using video to support teacher education at scale and describe the impact that the training has had on teachers and their teaching. By examining common features across the examples presented, the paper will draw on models of teacher learning and video use and demonstrate that technology can add value to teacher development activities provided that appropriate support, consistent with the pedagogy that is being promoted, is in place

Teachers Taught, Lessons Learnt: Experiences of Using Video to Support Teacher Learning on Three Continents

This paper will focus on innovative approaches taken by the Open University UK, to school-based pre- and inservice teacher training, using video, across 3 continents – Africa, Asia and South America. It will use case studies to demonstrate various approaches, surfacing teachers’ voices and experiences of new ways of learning. It will share the successes and challenges of using video to support teacher education at scale and describe the impact that the training has had on teachers and their teaching. By examining common features across the examples presented, the paper will draw on models of teacher learning and video use and demonstrate that technology can add value to teacher development activities provided that appropriate support, consistent with the pedagogy that is being promoted, is in place

Challenges and Opportunities in the Implementation of School-Based Teacher Professional Development: A Case from Kenya

This study investigated how a school-based professional development programme, designed by the Headteacher and staff of a Kenyan primary school, and delivered by a Teacher Education in Sub-Saharan Africa (TESSA) team, supported teacher learning and growth. The TESSA team observed teaching in the classroom before the implementation of the school-based teacher professional programme. This was followed by the training of the teachers in the school. The TESSA team did an evaluation of the school-based training programme through classroom observation, an interview schedule and a teacher questionnaire. The evaluations were done three months and one year, respectively, after the school-based training. The findings indicate that teachers experienced professional growth through collaborative learning with colleagues, used a greater range of approaches and learned to self-reflect on their classes with more use of active learning. Teachers made productive use of textbooks as well as accessing and using TESSA OER in teaching

Taking ownership: Including all teachers in SBCPD

The Zambian Education School based Training (ZEST) programme (2017 - 2022), funded by the Scottish Government, is an innovative response to government policy which engages all levels of the education system . Ministers in Zambia recognise that CPD provision based on the cascade model which takes teachers away from scho ol is disruptive and expensive , and often not effective , as key messages become diluted by the time they reach teachers . However, the alternative system in place in Zambia (modelled on the Japanese system of Lesson Study) has not delivered the expected ga ins in learning outcomes, partly as a result of a lack of resources, and partly as a result of the challenges of ‘cultural transfer’ . ZEST was designed, in partnership with The Ministry of General Education and World Vision Zambia. The system preserves t he aspects of current practice which work well (collaborative planning in regular teacher group meetings), and operationalises the MoGE’s revised Zambian school curriculum, supporting teachers and stakeholders in making a pedagogic shift to a more learner - centred approach to learning and teaching. ZEST strengthens the existing system through the provision of resources made available to all stakeholders and adapts it for the African context. The resources draw on a wide evidence - base about the nature of teacher learning and learner - cent re d education . They include the Teacher Education in sub - Saharan Africa (TESSA) OER, alongside bespoke training guides , and video materials . The paper explains the ZEST approach and present s evidence of impact, drawn from the first cohort of 200 teachers from the Chisamba district, including the challenges faced since its inception. The presentation will offer the opportunity for participants to discuss the resources developed, and to gain first - hand experience of a proposed method for making them widely available using Raspberry Pi computers which can be connected to their Smart phone

Supporting Professional Development Through MOOCs: the TESSA Experience

Policy aspirations for education across sub - Saharan Africa are requiring teachers to change from being transmitters of knowledge to facilitators of learning. This means that teacher education needs to change as well. At present, teacher preparation courses are highly theoretical, and many teacher educators have very limited sch ool teaching experience. Teacher Education in sub - Saharan Africa (TESSA), open educational resources (OER) can support teacher educators in developing the practical knowledge needed, yet many see them as resources for teachers rather than themselves. Also, curricula and examination systems may restrict the incorporation of OER into teacher preparation programmes. The TESSA MOOC - Making teacher education relevant for 21 st Century Africa - was designed to support teacher educators in changing their practice and better support teachers in the new curricula being developed. It focused on active teaching approaches, incorporating ICT into classroom learning, and using TESSA materials and other OER. It ran three times, over two years, and nearly 7000 participants , mainly from sub - Saharan Africa (SSA), registered. For many people it was their first experience of online learning. They studied on phones, in environments where electricity and connectivity were erratic, and supported each other in local communities. De spite the challenges, the completion rates for the first two presentations were encouragingly high compared with the norm for MOOCs. This paper analyses data from the pre - and post - course surveys from the first two presentations to understand who took pa rt, how they studied, what they learnt and how it has impacted on their practice

Supporting the teaching of early reading: An evaluation of the TESSA: Teaching Early Reading with African Storybook Badged Online Course (BOC)

TESSA: Teaching Early Reading with African Storybook is a free, online course designed to support practitioners in developing their knowledge and skills as teachers of Early Reading. It was developed jointly by The Open University, UK and Saide in South Africa, funded by a grant from the David and Elaine Potter Foundation. The course is available online. It can be downloaded on to local devices and studied offline. A certificate is available for those who complete the course successfully but can only be achieved by logging on to complete the assessments. The course is very flexible, involving around 24 hours of study which can be completed over 3 or 4 days of full-time study, over 1 term with 2 hours study a week, and everything in between. The course can be studied by individuals, but the intention is that groups of professionals will study together in their setting and gain the benefits of collaborative learning and discussion as they study. The course has been adopted by Ntataise – an NGO which supports Early Childhood Education in South Africa – as part of their training programme for practitioners. At the time of writing (April 2020), a total of 366 participants have completed the course, 217 of whom were supported by Ntataise, funded by a grant from the Zoe Carss Education Trust. The purpose of this evaluation is: • to test the assumptions on which the design of the course were based; • to understand how the course is being studied and experienced by participants; • to evaluate the impact on practice and on learners; and • on the professional lives of the participants. It draws on data from the website (pre-and post-course questions) and data collected during a visit to South Africa in November 2019, in which researchers visited 13 Early Childhood Development settings, observed 11 story-telling sessions and interviewed 26 practitioners who had completed the course. The team found evidence to support the two underlying assumptions – that participating in the course supports professional collaboration, and the resultant small changes in practice can potentially have significant impact on children’s learning – and this evaluation makes a number of recommendations

Zambian Education School-based Training (ZEST) Project: Baseline Study, March 2018

About the ZEST project Working with World Vision Zambia (WVZ), the Open University UK (OU) have secured funds from the Scottish Government (SG) to implement a project called Zambian Education School-based Training (ZEST). The aim of the project is to contribute to improved quality of teaching and learning experiences for children in primary schools in Zambia, in support of effective implementation of the Revised Zambian School Curriculum, by helping primary teachers in Central Province improve the quality of their classroom practice. Working with The Ministry of General Education (MoGE) in Zambia, the project will do this through co-designing and testing a school based continuing professional development (SBCPD) programme with primary teachers, school leaders and educational officials; implementing the SBCPD programme with up to 4000 primary teachers in 4 target districts in Zambia's Central Province; and building capacity of MoGE officials in implementing the programme to help the MoGE in operationalising their national In-Service Strategy . Aim of the study The aim of the baseline study is to establish the current situation in 4 target districts of Chisamba, Kabwe, Mumbwa and Shibuyunji, in Central Province, with regard to active teaching and learning and teacher engagement in collaborative SBCPD, prior to project execution. The study will contribute to the overall monitoring and evaluation framework for the project. It seeks to establish benchmarks for three key Logical Framework (Logframe, Appendix 2) indicators and provide baseline values for these indicators against which ZEST project progress can be measured during implementation and after the project is completed

Zambian Education School-based Training (ZEST) Project: Cohort 2 Evaluation, April 2020

The aim of ZEST is to support the Zambian Government in the implementation of the Revised School Curriculum. The curriculum calls for more learner-centred approaches and a focus on the teaching of skills and values alongside knowledge. ZEST supports teachers through a focus on active teaching approaches and collaborative working, working within the existing system of regular teacher group meetings and collaborative planning. The main difference between ZEST and the current SBCPD model is that demonstration lessons have been replaced by an expectation that all teachers will try out the planned activities and reflect on how they went. Where possible, teachers are encouraged to observe each other informally for short periods of time. Thus, SBCPD involves all teachers as active participants. Cohort 2 was launched in December 2018, with the programme starting in January 2019. It involved approximately 200 teachers, from 6 schools in 3 zones of Kabwe district (Broadway, Nkwashi and Katondo). Five of the schools are considered to be ‘urban’ with one being ‘peri-urban’. This Cohort 2 evaluation report complements the year 3 annual report and logframe data submitted to the Scottish Government in April 2020, and forms part of the ongoing monitoring and evaluation of the ZEST project. We are firmly committed to the belief that it is ‘possible to research and learn from social policies, programs and initiatives in order to improve their effectiveness’ (Pawson & Tilley, 1997, pxii). Accordingly, this evaluation seeks to build on the Cohort 1 evaluation, to demonstrate what we have learnt from Cohort 2 of ZEST and to explain how this is shaping our approach to the project. Evidence for this evaluation includes an independent evaluation exercise undertaken in all 6 Cohort 2 schools in March 2020. For this we adopted the same methodology as the baseline study and the Cohort 1 evaluation, and the aim was to gather data to enable us to report the measures identified in the logframe (see below). This sort of experimental evaluation is essential for accountability. We have also included evidence which brings in the voices of Teachers, School In-Service Coordinators (SICs), Zone In-Service Coordinators (ZICs), Headteachers, and Zone and District Officials who form Cohort 2 in the ZEST programme, to enable us to better understand and illustrate what aspects of the programme are working well and why; and to identify learning to carry forward into the next phase of the programme