160 likes | 288 Views
From Encyclopaedia Britannica to Wikipedia: collaborative authorship of school-based professional development materials . TEC14, Hyderabad. Introduction. Tess-India: Teacher Education through School-based Support in India Led by: The Open University UK, with funding from DfID/UKaid
E N D
From Encyclopaedia Britannica to Wikipedia: collaborative authorship of school-based professional development materials TEC14, Hyderabad
Introduction • Tess-India: Teacher Education through School-based Support in India • Led by: The Open University UK, with funding from DfID/UKaid • Goal: toprovide flexible, practical, context-appropriate school-based teacher development at scale • Format: as Open Educational Resources (OERs), to be translated and localised as required • Design: to employ a Wikipedia-based model of creating teacher development resources that draws on the collective wisdom of teacher educators from India and in place of the traditional top-down Encyclopaedia Britannica approach professional training.
The materials • One set of School Leadership and Management Units (LDUs) (20 units) • Seven sets of Teacher Development Units (TDUs) (15 units per set) • Elementary Language and Literacy Development • Elementary Science • Secondary Science • Elementary Maths • Secondary Maths • Elementary English • Secondary English • Total 125 units • All include • An introduction, learning outcomes, practical activities, case studies, reflective tasks, images, photos, videos
Valuing different voices • The ‘institutionalised intellectual isolation of the school teacher’ (NCFTE, 2009) • A host of disconnections at different levels of the teacher education system • Agency, capability and the pursuit of good quality education
Our approach to teacher development • Starts from the voices of Indian teachers and an appreciation of their educational context • Is supportive and speaks directly to the teacher • Focuses on transferable classroom techniques • Includes many practical activities • Takes the form of a resource or tool kit, rather than a linear course • Stands alone, complementing other forms of training • Suggests and inspires rather than being prescriptive and exhaustive • Provides the ‘seeds’ for adaptation and adoption • Promotes reflection
Our emergent pedagogic principles • Lessons actively engage students • Teaching learning involves dialogue • There is mutual respect between teachers and students • New learning builds on students’ prior learning and existing knowledge • Teaching Learning is relevant to students’ lives • Children’s background, skills and attitudes are valued, as well as content, knowledge and understanding • Assessment is holistic, continuous and values a range of skills and competencies
The wikipedic writing process • Gathering a bi-national writing team • Scoping what is needed (policy, research, experience) • Outlining a syllabus for each subject set, focusing on classroom techniques, as applied to selected topics • Writing each unit as a team, peer reviewing and reworking it to produce the first draft • Circulating the first draft to critical readers (Indian and UK pedagogues) • Using their feedback to inform the writing of the second draft • Preparing the audio visual content (photos and films from Indian classrooms) • Developmentally testing the materials in Indian classrooms
Production • Standardisation and quality assurance of the set of TDUs & LDUs • Signing off of final drafts • Formatting, editing and tagging of text and video content • Final quality check • Publication of the units in English as ‘shells’ • Making them available in multiple formats: in print, online, on CDs, on SD cards for mobile phones
As OERs, the online sets of units are: • Free • Open • Assume adaptation and amendment by teacher educators, in conjunction with user feedback • To be translated • To be localised to fit different teaching and learning contexts • Never finished or complete
Example content from Elementary English (1) EE 15: Everyday English: using the community as a source: Activity 1 EE 02: English emergent literacy: songs, rhymes and word play: Activity 5
Example content from Elementary English (2) EE 15: Everyday English: using the community as a source: Activity 5 EE 6: Reading English: shared reading and guided reading: Resource 2
Example content from Secondary English (1) SE 02: English in the Classroom: Case study 1
Example content from Secondary English (2)-- SE 6: Helping students write independently: Resource 1 SE 12: Teaching literature: Activity 5
Units • The units represent both tools that can be employed according to their users’ differing needs and contexts, and vehicles for creating supplementary units to extend what is currently available. • As such, they place their end-users at the centre of their creation, enhancement and deployment, in a collaborative, needs-driven, iterative process.
“Our efforts to communicate with each other have, I hope, helped shape our materials with a balance of thoughtfulness and practicality.” Professor R. Amritavalli Hyderabad
To find out more, see our website: • www.TESS-India.edu.in