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Teacher Development
The teacher development component of the SEA project aims to instruct vocational teachers in the use of contextual learning methodologies, and to encourage the use of these methods in the classroom. Contextual learning is the application of academic and theoretic principles to real life applications. Contextual learning promotes problem-solving skills and encourages students to work together and learn from one another. It also integrates the use of technical skills. For these reasons, contextual learning methodologies are particularly well suited for vocational instruction.
Over the five-year life of the project, SEA will train all teachers in each of the fifty project schools, through a train-the-trainer strategy. The ultimate goal of this effort is to increase students' critical thinking and problem-solving skills through improved teaching. The train-the-trainer strategy utilizes a group of "master trainers" from each of the project schools. These master trainers receive training before returning to their schools to then train the remaining teachers in the methodologies they have learned.
Teachers are receiving training in four modules. Module content was developed and written by Macedonian educators in collaboration with outside consultants. The four modules are:
- Learning in the Classroom
- Project Based Learning
- Community Based Learning
- Learning in the Workplace
To facilitate training, the fifty project schools were divided into two cohorts. Training of master trainers from the first cohort began in May 2004, and will be completed in February 2005. Master trainers from the remaining 35 schools will begin their training in March 2005 and finish in June 2005. The second phase of training, during which time master trainers will train the other teachers in their respective schools, will begin once master trainers from the first and second cohorts complete their training. Schools will coordinate their own schedules for conducting the phase two workshops, with assistance from SEA staff and a team of 16 regional consultants who will help coach the master trainers during the workshops.
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