Research - Case Studies
Ethiopia Teacher Professional Development:
Children's Home Society and Family Services
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia • 24-28 August 2009

Participant Reflections
Participant reflections include the principal of the hosting school (Children's Home Academy) and various participants from the workshop held from the 24-28 August 2009. This page includes written reflections and video clips of participant reflections.

Awol Endris, Ph.D.
Program Officer, Education
and Training
UNESCO - International Institute for Capacity Building
www.unesco-iicba.org
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
"I would like to see this continue in some form...this was a complete success...to have on an ongoing basis...for public school teachers...that would assist the whole education system in the country because this was a workshop about changing minds...acquiring a new set of beliefs about what education is all about..." (Video clip of Awol Endris, Ph.D. who participated in the five day workshop. The video clip is in Quicktime).

Debriefing about the training
At the end of each session, some time was given to the participants to reflect on its importance and relevancy of the training. That made the training even more interactive and participative. And the responses given by the participants were clear indications of the training’s significance.

The training at work
Right after the training, CHA teachers were self-motivated to apply the knowledge they acquired in their teaching methodology. Thinking Map, the master piece of the training, is posted in almost every class. Some of the techniques from the training that are currently being used at CHA include Think-Pair-Share, Braining Storming, Community Building and other elements of Thinking Map. Collegial Teaching, a method in which teachers have a chance to observe the classes of their colleagues and learn from each other, is also being exercised.
Ato Fekadu Negusie is on the right in the picture

Conclusion and recommendation
In the light of all the comments given above by the teachers, I would say that the training has produced a tremendous passion in the heart of the participants to look forward to getting subsequent trainings which, I believe, would revamp their knowledge and widen their scope of understanding towards teaching approaches. I suggest training as constructive as Price’s to be carried out at least twice a year entailing focus areas like effective classroom management, child discipline and other relevant topics. In addition to that, as Mr. Price and I discussed while he was here for the training, we could also think of ways in which these methods can be applied to the works of school administration particularly to the managerial leadership at large.

Video Clip of Participant Reflections

Ato Dagmauri Asefa
My Reflection on the Workshop
Thee week of teachers training and professional development was a great experience. It has enhanced if not changed the perception that I had for students. "The mind of a child is a blank paper that takes anything that you write on it" is a saying which is dominantly quoted by people who work with and around students in Ethiopia. Of course there are many things that children learn from adults but 'children know too.' From the workshop, I learned that if I give the chance for my students to think and express their thoughts, they will develop to be great thinkers (which I think is the major goal of education) and I will learn a lot from them.

I always believe that when people come together and discuss over a problem there will always be a solution. I have noticed this on the workshop as well. Though Mr. Price had put so many noble ideas on the table, he never intended to direct our thoughts to his target alone. He allowed us to think, discuss, inquire and debate upon the ideas and come up with solutions to our doubts and questions. If this tradition continues among those who participated on the workshop and if we try to take this tradition to other places, change for education in Ethiopia will be right around the corner.

What I have Used Already
We have started class now and I am already using most of the skills and knowledge that I acquired from the workshop. My students and I are enjoying the community activities and I tend to do this with them through out the year.. It's only a week since we started school but I have tried to use the vocabulary methods and methods of understanding each others frame of reference. I will try them repeatedly until I master them and use them when needed.

What I Planned to Do
I have introduced the circle map and I will introduce each of the thinking maps slowly in two or three weeks time relating them with the different activities that we do in class. Other teachers as well are interested with everything that we got from the workshop. The five St. Joseph School teachers who took the training are sharing what we learned informally with our colleagues. After we mastered using the methods and everything we are planning to share them with the other teachers in a staff meeting.

What I would Like to Get in Possible Future Trainings
I had taken a lot of trainings on various topics on education but the impact that this one has already made is far reaching. I can only imagine valuable the next training would be. If areas like using authentic materials to teach reading, writing, listening, and speaking and evaluation are touched, it would be interesting.

Ato Yonas Kebede
It was brilliant. I personally found the training very helpful for our professional and career development. I would be appreciative if the school keeps on organizing such trainings for the quality of education delivered in the school.

Ato Habtamu Hailu
The training was very fascinating to me. It will help to equip the pupils to have all–rounded personality with regards to the three major domains of learning. It is possible to apply in many of the topics. However, it requires higher levels of class discipline. The activities are done in groups so, it is a bit difficult to put it into practice unless and otherwise the classroom discipline is maintained. These methods of instruction demand the delivery of teaching materials like pieces of paper. It is not advisable to enforce the pupils to tear from their exercise books. Moreover, to some extent, it slows the teacher to cover all the portions according to the plan and scheduled time.

Ato Alemayehu Yohannes
It was a pleasure for me getting this kind of professional training from a talented and well-educated Mr. Robert Price. Thinking maps are like guides for teaching and organizing things in life easily like in:

• Organizing daily lesson and
• Expressing lesson in a very short, precise and simple way.

Finally, it made me to be creative to deliver the lesson, and I would appreciate if it will be an on-going process.

Ato Selfago Fuse
As we have discussed before, Mr. Robert Price’s Training on the method of teaching is so great. When we come to the practical situation, I’m trying to use or make it practical in the classroom with my students whenever THE NEED ARISES. Moreover I’ve made it part of my methodology for the whole year.

Thank you!

Ato Dagim Melese
It goes without saying that in-service training plays the role of enhancing teachers’ competence of effectively imparting lessons. Robert Price’s training, in my view, did constitute an enlightening and capacitating workshop as far as teachers’ roles in facilitating and suiting students’ learning is concerned. It bore the idea that entitling students [children’s] brains to learn of their physical and social environment by its own has in the long run the advantage of shaping independent learning at one’s own pace, intellectual capacity and other particular circumstances. It generally is a shift towards making education students’ responsibility.

As far as its application in classroom circumstances is concerned, it is both powerful and to some extent time–consuming. Here, it needs to be mentioned that the school and parents are expectant of students’ progress in terms of attainment of the learning objectives of topics assigned for an academic year. It is also important to be noted that successful accomplishment of the objectives of topics of a subject is effected through efficient allocation of time to the topics taught in a year. One major problem that could be faced in employing the teaching techniques in relation to the above mentioned fact, therefore, is the difficulty of managing time to, at the same time, well-equip students with the all learning objectives fully and completely. Otherwise, Price’s training was actually enlightening.

Ato Edom Mathewos
First of all, I would like to thank the school as well as the organization to give us such a wonderful training. I have been attending at so many trainings about how to make a teaching learning process student centered. But the trainers were using lecture method to give the training. Mr. Robert did not only discuss theoretically on how to make the teaching learning process student centered, he also showed us practically by making the training interactive. The method he used to give the training was student centered. That is why he convinced all the trainees to use those methods in their classrooms.

I may self believed in those methods. Then, I promised to myself to use those methods in my Amharic lessons without any pressure from the school administration. So I am very much motivated to use those methods in my classes. Of courses I am not using those methods always. But I am using it only when it is necessary and appropriate to the lesson. Even I am using those methods integrating with other methods. I used at least one of those methods at one lesson.

I found it very helpful that Mr. Robert put those books in the library. So, whenever we feel like referring to them to brush up our memory, we can read them.

Finally, I want to suggest to the school to arrange a meeting for us so that we can share our experiences about how we used those methods in our classrooms. Then we can develop our experiences making those methods.

Ato Yalew Arega
Mr. Roberts’s teachers’ training was very nice and interesting for me and helped me a lot in my lesson.  I learn new skills that really help me in fostering behaviors and academic performance of my child. I learn how to make busy misbehaving student and the whole class and have time for me to think what remedies (actions) to be taken on what part of the lesson the students lag to reach. Thinking map is new in any country and very much helpful to reduce burden. I already stopped lecture method or talk and chalk method (the most boring method).  We can observe deeply students’ understanding knowledge attitude and feeling towards the subject and topics presented.

Lastly, I would like to thank CHA Administration for giving me this chance to say few words about my best trainer Mr. Robert Price.  He is a special person in my life who showed me how a teacher should look like in accepting students’ questions and ideas and in respecting their thoughts.  Thank you!

Ato Yonas Kebede
I have been using the thinking maps and the other concepts I grasped from the training.I have seen the kids loving it.I would be very glad if you give me some tips on how to control the quantity of  the questions the kids forward, because  they are kind of unstoppable and time taking.