No subject

On Sun, May 4, 2008 at 10:14 PM, Bryan Berry wrote: 
> The stuff that needs to be translated is the 65 page teacher training 
> guide. I believe that Prabhas Pokharel is interested in working on it 
> but I don't know how much time he has had for it as of late. 

Is he on any of these lists? I would love to discuss it with him, and 
I may be able to help once there is a rough translation. I know just 
enough Sanskrit to almost totally fail to understand the Nepalese. ^_^ 

> http://wiki.laptop.org/go/Image:OLENepal_Trainer%27s_Manual.pdf 
> 
> I still need to post it in Word format to the wiki. That's my fault 
> 
> It's a pretty amazing document, takes lots of Constructionist examples 
> from Piaget and Vygotsky that kids learn differently than we 
> traditionally expect them to. Then takes those examples and explains how 
> XO's can be used to help kids in the manner they naturally do. 
> 
> 
> 
> On Sun, 2008-05-04 at 22:00 -0700, Edward Cherlin wrote: 
> > This is all excellent. It becomes even more urgent to have this 
> > material translated to English. Whom do we know who can help? Can 
> > others here ask for help through their networks on LinkedIn and other 
> > sites, or just their accumulated contacts in their address books, or 
> > any appropriate mailing lists? 
> > 
> > On Sun, May 4, 2008 at 5:25 PM, Bryan Berry wrote: 
> > > Dr. Saurav Dev Bhatta posted the review of the second week of teacher 
> > > training, which took place on-site at the schools 
> > > 
> > > http://blog.olenepal.org/index.php/archives/283 
> > > 
> > > 
> > > We have just completed Part II of our teacher preparation program. The 
> > > complete teacher training consisted of two segments: 
> > > 
> > > Part I) A 4 day intensive residential, out-of-school training that 
> > > focuses on integrating digitial educational materials and ICT-based 
> > > teaching approaches in the regular classroom instruction process. This 
> > > was completed on April 1, 2008. An earlier blog post has details about 
> > > this segment of the training. 
> > > 
> > > Part II) A 4 day training in the teachers' regular classrooms where they 
> > > get hand-on experience in developing, implementing, and fine-tuning 
> > > child-centric, interactive, ICT-integrated lesson plans. This was 
> > > completed on Friday, May 2, 2008. The current post is about this segment 
> > > only. 
> > > 
> > > Training location 
> > > 
> > > For Bashuki teachers, the training was held at Bashuki Lower Secondary 
> > > School itself. Similarly, for Bishwamitra teachers, it was held at 
> > > Bishwamitra Lower Secondary School. 
> > > 
> > > Why in-school training? 
> > > 
> > > Important fact: TEACHING THE KIDS HOW TO USE THE LAPTOPS IS A RELATIVELY 
> > > EASY TASK. THEY PICK IT UP IN NO TIME (within a few hours!!). 
> > > 
> > > Even more important fact: THE REAL CHALLENGE IS INTEGRATING THE LAPTOP 
> > > AND THE AVAILABLE DIGITAL CONTENT IN THE REGULAR CLASSROOM INSTRUCTION 
> > > PROCESS. 
> > > 
> > > The residential portion of the training did give the teachers some 
> > > experience in integrating E-Paati in the classroom process (apart from 
> > > making them completely familiar with the use of the laptop). But the 
> > > simulated classroom environment in any residential training is a far cry 
> > > from the actual setting in their own schools. Furthermore, since each 
> > > school is very different in terms of physical infrastructure, student 
> > > composition, community involvement and other resources, there are unique 
> > > practical challenges associated with each school. So we felt that it 
> > > would be very useful to give teachers hands-on experience in integrating 
> > > E-Paati in their regular classrooms. 
> > > 
> > > There is another important reason why in-school training is important in 
> > > this case. In most teacher training programs, it is possible for 
> > > teachers to learn about new approaches to teaching outside their school 
> > > (for example, through practice teaching in another school) and they can 
> > > take this knowledge to their own classrooms later. But in the present 
> > > context, successful implementation in the classroom also requires the 
> > > students themselves to learn about the new approach to learning and 
> > > teaching. And this can only happen in the school where the laptop 
> > > program is being implemented. 
> > > 
> > > Structure of the training 
> > > 
> > > Each day of the training was divided into four major segments: 
> > > 
> > > 1. Lesson plan review and revision 
> > > 
> > > * Content: group review of lesson plan for the day. 
> > > * Participants: all the teachers in the schools + facilitators 
> > > from OLE Nepal 
> > > * Time allocated: 1 hour (before the start of classes) 
> > > 
> > > 2. Classroom instruction and observation 
> > > 
> > > * Content: classroom teaching according to the lesson plan 
> > > * Participants: teachers (one teacher teaches the students; the 
> > > rest are observers) + OLE Nepal observers + students 
> > > * Time allocated: 3 to 4 full class periods (one period = 45 
> > > minutes in Bashuki; one period = 40 minutes in Bishwamitra) 
> > > 
> > > 3. Feedback 
> > > 
> > > * Content: discussion on the day's experience (strengths, 
> > > weaknesses, recommendations for improvement) 
> > > * Participants: all teachers + OLE Nepal facilitators 
> > > * Time allocated: 1-1.5 hours 
> > > 
> > > 4. Lesson planning for the next day 
> > > 
> > > * Content: development of a detailed lesson plans for each class 
> > > * Participants: teachers delivering the lectures in these classes 
> > > * Time allocated: 1 hour 
> > > 
> > > On the first day of the training (Saturday, April 26), the teachers 
> > > focused on teaching the students how to use the laptop and the E-Paati 
> > > activities in the laptop. This was done in two 1.5 hour long sessions. 
> > > 
> > > During the remaining four days, the teachers conducted regular math and 
> > > English classes in grades two and six according to the ICT-integrated 
> > > lesson plans they developed. At Bishwamitra the ICT-integrated classes 
> > > were held on Sunday (April 27) , Monday (April 28), Tuesday (April 29) 
> > > and Wednesday (April 30). Bashuki conducted similar classes starting 
> > > Monday (April 29). But since they had decided to keep the laptops in 
> > > school for this first week of classes, they set aside Wednesday (April 
> > > 30) for giving students more practice on how to use the laptops. They 
> > > had a break on Thursday and completed the training program on Friday 
> > > (May 2). 
> > > 
> > > Overview of content covered in the training 
> > > 
> > > Lesson planning: Integrating ICT-based educational materials in the 
> > > classroom requires teachers to carefully plan their lessons. We wanted 
> > > to give the teachers a very simple framework for developing lesson plans 
> > > so that they would continue to use it even after the training. If they 
> > > were to use it throughout the year, they would have to see that planning 
> > > the lessons would not really take up too much of their time—and that it 
> > > would help them in their other classes as well. 
> > > 
> > > Each lesson plan in this training consisted of the following: a) listing 
> > > of the learning objectives of the class, b) listing and brief 
> > > descriptions of the topics or activities to be covered in the class, and 
> > > c) listing of time allocated for each topic or activity. E-Paati 
> > > activites were integrated in each lesson plan as one of the many 
> > > activities covered to meet the learning objectives of the class. We 
> > > emphasized that the goal should be to integrate E-paati in the classroom 
> > > lesson plan; not devise a lesson plan around the E-Paati activities. As 
> > > a rule of thumb, we emphasized that E-Paati use should not take up more 
> > > than 40% of the total time allocated for the class. 
> > > 
> > > Lesson plan review and revision: The lesson plans developed were 
> > > critically reviewed and revised by all the teachers together to make 
> > > sure that a) the learning objectives of lesson were properly clarified, 
> > > b) the topics covered—including E-Patti topics—were consistent with the 
> > > stated learning objectives, and c) the time allocated for each 
> > > topic/activity was appropriate. 
> > > 
> > > Classroom instruction and observation: This segment of the daily 
> > > training was designed to (i) give subject teachers hands-on experience 
> > > in teaching according to the integrated lesson plans and (ii) enable 
> > > other teachers to critically examine the teaching-learning process in 
> > > the regular classroom. Hence, while the subject teacher was conducting 
> > > the lesson, the other teachers noted down their critical observations in 
> > > the following areas: 
> > > 
> > > a) Classroom structure (including appropriateness of seating 
> > > arrangement, placement of charging racks, seat assignment schemes etc.) 
> > > 
> > > b) Correspondence between lesson plan and practice 
> > > 
> > > c) Time on task (effective use of time from the perspective of student 
> > > learning) 
> > > 
> > > d) Interaction (student—student; student—teacher) and participation of 
> > > students in the learning process 
> > > 
> > > e) Instruction delivery (clarity, adequacy of explanations, …) 
> > > 
> > > f) Time and classroom management (including tackling disruptive behavior 
> > > on the part of students) 
> > > 
> > > 
> > > Feedback session: Feedback sessions were held at the end of each day to 
> > > critically review the classroom process. The teachers delivering the 
> > > lectures worked with the observers to analyze the strengths and 
> > > weaknesses of the classes held that day focusing on the six areas listed 
> > > above. Through these discussions, the participants were able to identify 
> > > areas that needed improvement and develop strategies for tackling 
> > > problems. 
> > > 
> > > Grade 2 students at Bishwamitra (English class)–totally into it! 
> > > 
> > > 
> > > Grade 6 students at Bishwamitra (math class) 
> > > 
> > > 
> > > Bishwamitra grade 6 students working intesnsely-1 
> > > 
> > > Staff involved in the training 
> > > 
> > > Facilitators/observers: 
> > > 
> > > * Saurav Dev Bhatta and Rabi Karmacharya (all five days) 
> > > * Kamana Regmi (three days); Bipul Gautam (one day). 
> > > 
> > > Most interesting outcomes 
> > > 
> > > * Grade 6 students in both schools took just one day to become 
> > > familiar with using the laptops! 
> > > * The children at Bishwamitra were allowed to take the laptops 
> > > home immediately after receiving them. The children at Bashuki, 
> > > however, did not take the computers home this first week. Not 
> > > surprisingly, we observed that the Bashuki kids were much more 
> > > familiar with the machines by the second day of the training. 
> > > The difference was more pronounced in the case of grade 2 
> > > children—it took two days for the Bashuki grade 2 students to 
> > > get the hang of things, while it took the Bishwamitra kids only 
> > > one day. 
> > > * In both schools, the teachers had no experience in designing and 
> > > using systematic lesson plans. They were very appreciative of 
> > > the experience they gained during this training period. 
> > > * One of the main challenges teachers initially faced when 
> > > designing ICT-integrated lessons was in focusing on the learning 
> > > objectives rather than on the E-Paati activities. 
> > > * The biggest difficulties faced by the teachers in the classroom 
> > > were a) getting the attention of students and b) managing the 
> > > time. Once the students had the laptops in front of them, they 
> > > were generally oblivious to what the teacher was saying. It was, 
> > > therefore, very difficult for the teacher to cover all the 
> > > material that needed to be covered in that class period. For 
> > > example, on the second day of the training, the classes ran up 
> > > to 30 minutes overtime on the second day of the training. 
> > > * It was much more challenging for the teachers to get the 
> > > attention of the grade 2 students. In fact, on the first day, 
> > > there was chaos in the grade 2 classes in both schools! 
> > > * Initially, just the process of getting the laptops from the 
> > > charging racks and putting them back after use took up a 
> > > significant amount of time. 
> > > * The most effective ways of getting the attention of students 
> > > were as follows: asking all the students to close the laptops; 
> > > asking them to clap together, or stand up and stretch together; 
> > > producing an alien sound that would grab their attention (for 
> > > example, rattling a can of marbles). 
> > > * In the case of grade 6, by the end of the training, the teachers 
> > > had completely figured out how to efficiently and effectively 
> > > conduct E-Paati integrated classes within the time period 
> > > allocated for the class. But they felt that it would perhaps 
> > > take another week for them to fine tune the classroom process in 
> > > grade 2. 
> > > * Bishwamitra teachers Manoj (who teachers grade 6 math) and Bhim 
> > > (who teaches grade 2 math) were naturals at designing and 
> > > implementing E-Paati integrated classes. Very impressive! 
> > > * The teachers in both schools felt that the most useful parts of 
> > > the training were the feedback sessions at the end of the day 
> > > and the lesson planning sessions. 
> > > * The biggest technical problem during this period was the jumpy 
> > > cursor. The problem was particularly bad at Bashuki. This is 
> > > something we have to fix!! 
> > > 
> > > Grade 2 students at Bashuki–a different seating arrangement! 
> > > 
> > > Bashuki grade 2 students-1Bashuki grade 2 students-2 
> > > 
> > > Grade 6 students at Bashuki 
> > > 
> > > Bashuki grade 6 students-1 
> > > 
> > > Our main "mantras" for the training 
> > > 
> > > * The learning objectives should determine when and how E-Paati is 
> > > used in class, not the other way round 
> > > * E-paati should be viewed as one of the many tools and activities 
> > > used to achieve the learning objectives 
> > > * The goal is to integrate E-paati in the classroom lesson plan; 
> > > not devise a lesson plan around the E-Paati activities 
> > > * Effective classroom management can make the class; ineffective 
> > > classroom management can break the class 
> > > * Proper lesson planning is the key to successful integration of 
> > > E-Paati in the classroom 
> > > * End-of-the day group review of lessons is the key to improvement 
> > > 
> > > Saurav Dev Bhatta, Education Director 
> > > 
> > > 
> > > 
> > > 
> > > -- 
> > > Bryan W. Berry 
> > > Systems Engineer 
> > > OLE Nepal, http://www.olenepal.org 
> > > 
> > > 
> > 
> > 
> > 
> 
> 



-- 
Edward Cherlin 
End Poverty at a Profit by teaching children business 
http://www.EarthTreasury.org/ 
"The best way to predict the future is to invent it."--Alan Kay 
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