Mitrataa Foundation - Projects - Teacher Training Programs

In October 2007 we ran the first teacher training program entitled "Teachers' Workshop on Learner Centred Education". The course was attended by around 20 teachers from Riviera International Academy in Maijubahal, Kathmandu. We are working closely with CWISH (one of our partner organisations) to develop this school into a Model School. The program was a huge success and we now have a model that we intend rolling out on a much larger scale in 2008. You can read a little more about the initial course in our blog entry.

The next step in the program was a follow-up training session with the same teachers which was given in April 2008. This was conducted in conjunction with students and teachers visiting from MLC School, Sydney. MLC visited Nepal with us as part of our Thulo April 2008 trip. You can read more about the MLC visit to the model school in our blog - MLC Sydney - Nepal Service Project Day 2 and MLC Sydney - Nepal Service Project Day 5.

In April 2009 a group of teachers from various IB Schools across Australia visited Nepal and spent two days providing more subject specific workshops for the teachers at Riviera. The workshops covered topics including English, Science, Maths, Tips for Lower Primary Teaching, Social Studies and Art. You can read more about this visit in our blog – Volunteer Teachers Get To Work and Back to Riviera.

The aim of the project is to deliver training programs that enhance the teachers' ability to get through to more students by incorporating teaching methods that are aimed at different styles of learning. We also hope to foster a greater enthusiasm for the careers of teachers as they develop skills that enable them as well as motivate them to have a bigger impact on the lives of the children in their care on a daily basis.

The response we have had so far suggests this program has already been a fantastic success! Since first meeting the teachers in October we have had a number of requests for more information and ideas as well as sharing of their 'new and improved' lesson plans. This is such an encouraging and inspiring result!

Current Status

As a result of the teacher training programs conducted so far we have established an ongoing mentoring program for the teachers to provide guidance and support as they attempt to introduce the things they have learned into their classes. The teachers submit lesson plans on a quarterly basis for review and comments.
The principal of an IB School in New Zealand will be visiting Riviera in November 2009 to conduct some workshops on Maths and the practical application of learner centred education.
MLC are planning another visit for April 2010. We are also in discussions with a number of other schools for similar visits to Nepal in 2010.
We are also working on the details for a more advanced course which will involve teaching more experienced and qualified Nepali teachers in order that they can become the trainers for future classes, enabling the courses to be run continually throughout the year.

How YOU Can Help

We are particularly interested in hearing from people with skills and experience in this area as we can always use assistance in terms of writing course materials and/or advising on the course structure and ways in which it can be presented.
If you have any resources, text books or other materials which may be useful in for the course, we'd be very interested in speaking with you or borrowing them.
Donations of any amount are very useful for a program such as this. The funds enable us to provide books and pencils to the teachers/students as well as other materials to aid in their learning.