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The Teacher Task Force’s Mobile Learning Week workshop was a resounding success with high participation. Nearly 55% of the participants who took our workshop survey indicated that the presentations made by our members were very useful.

Participants to the Teacher Task Force’s Mobile Learning Week workshop were also invited to take part in a survey designed by our colleagues from UNESCO IITE to allow us to better understand attitudes toward ICT competency for transformation of teaching and learning.

93% of the survey respondents agree that a new model of a teacher for Education 2030 will be based on the ICT competencies.

For 38% of respondents, the divide in qualifications of teachers who lack opportunities to acquire basic ICT literacy skills, low motivation for the use of ICT in professional daily experience and the lack of ICT and internet connection are the most important reasons for the gap in ICT application by teachers nowadays. This gap could be explained by the absence of available pedagogical resources, relevant curriculum, teaching/learning materials for 35% of the respondents.

45% of the respondents indicated that carrying out online trainings was the best way to support teachers and school leaders in ICT applications.

96% of respondents agree that online trainings will be a necessary part of teachers’ professional development in the future. However, it was also underlined that online training should be viewed in a holistic approach, including the need for technical support (hardware, software, teacher-oriented) to make online trainings work. Online guidance/mentoring was also highlighted as a way to ensure online trainings completion. The experience described by Mr. Mathieu Lacasse in the Camara Learning Academy was cited as a good example of such an approach by a participant.

The presentations made during our workshop can be downloaded on this page. 

The Teacher Task Force would like to thank the members who came to present their projects. The TTF would also like to thank the people who came to take part in our workshop.

How do the top-ranked countries in education achieve outstanding school performance? What are the reasons behind the rise of their school performance? This was the discussion subject of a conference organized by the Permanent Delegation of Argentina to UNESCO in March. As teachers constitute one of the key elements behind students’ and schools’ performance, a large focus was put on discussing what makes a good teacher. Experts from around the world gathered to share their countries’ perspectives on how to train teachers, analyse their performance and motivate them. 

Teacher training: what type and for how long?

The UNESCO Institute for Statistics defines a trained teacher as a “teacher who has fulfilled at least the minimum organized teacher-training requirements (pre-service or in-service) to teach a specific level of education according to the relevant national policy or law.” However, there is no universal agreement on what being a trained teacher means or what the minimum requirements to qualify as a teacher are.

Experience from top-ranked education systems, though, shows consistent patterns regarding teacher training and education. They all normalized pre-service training as a university course sanctioned by a degree, some of them even requiring having obtained classroom experience prior. Dr Huihua He, Associate Professor and Deputy Director, College of Education - Shanghai Normal University, indicated that it takes the completion of a four-year programme followed by one-year in-service training to become a qualified teacher. It is impossible to practice as a teacher in Shanghai without this certification.

She also underlined the importance of providing students with information and guidance on professional development. The university, to this end, integrated a “teacher professional development” course into other courses so that students have an understanding of the career ladder.

Should teachers be evaluated?

Another aspect of ensuring students are taught by good teachers is through evaluation. Ms Sonia Guerriero - Senior Programme Specialist, UNESCO – stated that teacher evaluation is necessary, as they need to keep their knowledge up to date on theory and practices as well as develop knowledge on new skills needed. Performance evaluations can be used to identify areas where teachers may need additional training.

However, there is an ongoing debate regarding what means can be used to determine a teacher’s performance. Is it through the evaluation of the students learning outcomes or through teacher evaluations?

There are several arguments against the use of students’ learning outcomes as the only means of teacher evaluation. Indeed, there are several factors that can affect students’ test scores outside of teachers’ performance, such as parental support, resources, curriculum content, and learning materials. Children’s economic and social background also play a role in their learning achievement.

Mr Hong Joon Chae – Director of the Education Budget Division, Ministry of Education, Republic of Korea – indicated that, in Korea, teachers in primary and secondary education are evaluated every year. This evaluation includes both a performance evaluation and an expertise evaluation to determine their knowledge on the subject they teach. It also includes an evaluation of the classroom climate and the teacher’s attitude.

Ms Guerriero debated that a more effective means of teacher evaluation would be to use classroom observation with mentoring and feedback by peers. Through observation, the focus can be placed on instructional practice, on-the-spot decision making, maintaining high-functioning and nurturing classrooms, content focus and depth of instruction. Evaluations can also include peer reviews of teaching through interviews and analysis of videotaped instruction. Indeed, teachers are not only there to share knowledge with their students but to also develop their skills.

Evaluation, especially through peer reviews, can also influence classroom practices, through informal in-service training. In Japan, for instance, there is a strong culture of seniority, with mentoring of younger teachers within schools. This includes evaluation of those young teachers’ performances by senior teachers, leading to teachers learning from and supporting each other.

Impact of incentives on teachers’ performance

Mr Chae underlined that, in Korea, teachers are very well paid. Indeed, teacher pay in Korea is higher than the average calculated based on OECD countries. Therefore, it is not a crucial variable for improving teachers’ performance. He noted that amongst surveyed teachers, autonomy in the classroom and professional development opportunities were indicated as affecting teachers’ performances.
This is also the case in Finland, where an important emphasis has been put on teachers’ autonomy. Indeed, Ms Jaana Palorjävi – Director, International Relations, Ministry of Education and Culture, Finland – explained that a lot of leeway is given to teachers in how to organize the school day, based on a skeleton framework provided to them.

It was also noted that teacher development programmes should focus on allowing teachers to go further than transmitting knowledge. Dr Makito Yurita – Senior Researcher, National Institute for School Teachers and Staff Development, Japan – described the teacher as a learner, a thinker and an enquirer. He also further explained that as teachers are not just preparing students for the job market but also preparing future citizens, they should be encouraged to participate in discussions on the goal of education.

Download Workshop proposal for Mobile Learning Week 2018

The International Task Force on Teachers for Education 2030 (Teacher Task Force) is organizing a workshop during the upcoming Mobile Learning Week 2018. This year, the theme of the event “Skills for a Connected World” will examine the types of skills needed in and for a connected economy and society, with a focus on digital skills and competencies. It will also review strategies and ways in which these skills can be delivered and assessed within the context of Sustainable Development Goal 4 (SDG4).

The Education 2030 Framework for Action underlines teachers’ key role in achieving SDG4. However, to increase access and improve the quality of education, new models of teacher professional development are required. With the ever-changing demands for the workforce’s qualifications and the apparition of new skills needed, teaching and teacher training/development have to build on successful uses of ICT to improve learning. Teachers have to adapt the way they teach to focus on skills required for an increasingly connected world, skills teachers also need to understand and possess.

The Teacher Task Force is mobilizing its members, particularly those belonging to its thematic group on ICT and distance education for teacher development, to share innovative pedagogical approaches and teacher management and professional development methods based on ICT use. The workshop will feature examples of responses to the new ICT-based educational environment and will offer the opportunity to question the models of emerging approaches and practices for teaching and learning. It will collect feedback on the potential for scaling up the examples presented and their replicability to other contexts.

Five projects related to the demands for new ICT competencies of the 21st century teachers, barriers faced by teachers and the role ICT can play to overcome them and facilitate the teaching and learning process, planning main stages of ICT competency development for teachers, and approaches to online teacher professional development will be presented:

• Camara Learning Academy, Camara Education
• mproving ICT competencies of teachers in remote area schools, Indonesia
• Digital solutions for 21st century teachers and learners, Weidong Cloud Education Group
• ICT in the system of professional development of teachers. A look into the future, Peoples' Friendship University of Russia
• The P4R EMIS.Education App, JET and Program4Results

The workshop will enable participants to consider several models of teacher ICT competency development, and compare and discuss existing approaches and online training platforms. It will also enhance their understanding regarding the necessity of the ICT competency framework for teachers, to ensure teachers have the required skills to adapt to both an ICT-based education system as well as understand the skills learners need to develop.

The results will be used by the Teacher Task Force’s working group to pursue its action towards the increase of qualified teachers and the improvement of teaching for better learning outcomes.

More information on Mobile Learning Week 2018 is available on the UNESCO dedicated website.

In Zimbabwe, a teacher’s passion became a sustainable way of life for a community.

Headteacher Sibanga Ncube took at heart a Zimbabwean saying when he decided to teach permaculture to his students.

During Mr Ncube pre-service teaching education there was no training in Education for Sustainable Development. However, while pursuing his own interests, he discovered a passion for permaculture. After undertaking small projects, he was invited to attend a training by the Schools and Colleges Permaculture Programme (SCOPE) of Zimbabwe and decided to implement what he had learned in his school.

“Don’t just grow old, plant a tree”

In Mr Ncube’s school, Silhengeni Primary School, agriculture is a learning subject so he decided to incorporate the four principles of permaculture he had learned about in the school curriculum and syllabus. To do so, he introduced permaculture through a tree planting activity. This was a way to familiarize the students with the concept of permaculture, while benefiting the school with an improved learning environment. Indeed, planting trees helped with providing students and teachers with shaded areas, as well as with regulating the temperature in classrooms.He also regularly meets with parents to show them the progress made by their children and to explain the benefits of this programme for the community at large. He indicated that highlighting the school successes was a way to get the community more involved in the implementation of the project.

Gaining life skills

This project taught children life skills that they will carry through their adult lives. They developed their sense of responsibility and discipline; they also learn the importance of teamwork. It also influences their behavior as they learn the spirit of sharing and the value of respect for nature.

Mr Ncube teaches students from age 5 to 14 through a hands-on-learning method, which means that he explains the importance of tree planting to students while showing them how to plant trees. Each child chooses a tree to plant and is responsible for caring for it, i.e. watering, weeding, etc... “It gives them a sense of responsibility and ownership of the project,” said Mr Ncube.

Advice to other teachers

When asked what he would tell other teachers interested in implementing the same type of project in their schools, Headteacher Ncube said that there were three simple things to keep in mind.

First, teachers need to be interested in what they are teaching. “If a teacher is passionate about a project, he will be able to interest children,” he explained.

He then emphasized the need for participatory and hands-on teaching, describing it as the best method to implement this kind of project. “Avoid being a manager, be a participant”, he stated.

The third advice Mr Ncube would give teachers eager to undertake this kind of project with their students is that whichever project you choose to undertake with students it should also need to benefit the entire community.

Future steps

Headteacher Sibanga Ncube was awarded the 2017 UNESCO-Japan Prize on Education for Sustainable Development on behalf of the Silhengeni Primary School for its permaculture project. The school will be exploring several ways to improve the projects such as expanding the school garden to become a commercial garden and orchards; improving the nature park to be run by the students and the community; expanding the reservoirs for the school’s water collection.

He also wishes to export the project to other schools. Mr Ncube plans to continue to train teachers in surrounding schools. Indeed, understanding the needs of a community is a key feature of this project as it allows teachers to better contextualize and adapt it to the students.

Mr Ncube also hopes to create school manuals and books to teach students permaculture.

The UNESCO – Japan Prize on Education for Sustainable Development recognizes the role of education in connecting the social, economic, cultural and environmental dimensions of sustainable development. It is funded by the Government of Japan and consists of three annual awards of USD 50,000 for each recipient.

Links

UNESCO – Japan Prize on Education for Sustainable Development

Education for Sustainable Development

UNESCO and Teachers