A two-day re-orientation workshop was concluded at Inspire, Educate and Empower Rwanda (IEE) for 16 Pedagogical Advisors to plan on how to strengthen their role in supporting teaching and learning at Rwanda’s 16 Teacher Training Colleges (TTCs). This program is supported by UNICEF to enable play – based teacher quality development at pre- and in-service levels and guarantee quality results for children, in alignment with priorities of the Education Sector Strategic Plan (ESSP). UNICEF supports schoolteachers (pre and in -service) to gain appropriate levels of skills and competencies to deliver the competency-based curriculum (ESSP Priority 2) and improved teaching and learning (ESSP Priority 3).
The workshop intended also to help Pedagogical Advisors gain more skills in systematic reporting, making weekly and monthly evidence – based reports, offer support to pre-and in-service teacher development for quality results and promoting the use of playful pedagogy. The 16 Pedagogical Advisors will be re – deployed in 16 TTCs across Rwanda.
While officially opening the workshop, the Country Director of IEE, Emmanuel Murenzi told participants that there is a lot to learn and accomplish through collaboration and hard working. He called upon the Pedagogical Advisors to use the two days to plan how best they would make pre-service training for TTC student teachers so effective.
“Pre–service teacher preparation is foundational to quality teaching and learning at all levels. The effectiveness of implementation of the basic education competence-based curriculum is dependent on the quality of teachers. It is therefore essential that we support TTCs in their efforts to produce effective teachers to facilitate children’s learning”, said Murenzi.
Noel Nsanzineza is currently a Pedagogical Advisor at TTC Muramba in Ngororero district. He says that after this workshop, he is optimistic in accomplishing a lot through partnering with all stakeholders. “I believe that this will help me continue my role in working together with TTC tutors to follow the Competency Based curriculum through developing schemes of work, learning materials and guidance on professional ethics”, says Nsanzineza.
According to Silas Hakizimana, the Pre-Service Pedagogical Coordinator at IEE, this year’s expectations from the Pedagogical Advisors include supporting TTC tutors and student teachers understand professional teaching standards, how to use basic education curriculum for pre-and primary in a play based approach, facilitating Continuous Professional Development (CPD), micro-teaching and remedial sessions to student teachers, as a way of helping teacher trainees to maximize their potentials in various academic options.
Teachers in primary schools and TTCs still lack pedagogical skills and necessary knowledge to effectively deliver these curricula. That is why UNICEF continues to implement programs to address teacher capacity development both at pre- and in-service levels. The new Competency-based Curricular (CBC) also focuses on learner-centered teaching and provides for learner involvement in play activities, but teachers in primary schools and TTCs still lack the pedagogical skills and necessary knowledge to effectively deliver these curricula.
Amon Mutegaya is also a Pedagogical advisor at TTC Matimba in Nyagatare district who stressed the need to promote inclusive education for students with disability and developing enough instructional materials for TTC student teachers.
Rwanda’s education sector still faces challenges including teachers who have low competency in the English language, ineffective teaching methodology by TTC graduates to address different learning needs of children, teachers lacking knowledge on career guidance for children, among other obstacles, which call for various interventions, among them, using Pedagogical Advisors.
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