Teacher Training__AIL’s Teacher Training Programs focus on quality, in-depth education to Afghan teachers in Pakistan and Afghanistan, and are changing the way people think and their expectations for their futures.
The training of teachers greatly increases the capacity of schools to offer quality education to Afghan students. Once teachers are trained in the pedagogical basics of teaching, AIL offers workshops to allow them to go deeper into the next level of education and upgrade the subject matter. In-depth topics are offered through short mini-workshops in order to enable the teachers to attend both the basics of teaching techniques and advanced subject matter such as Report Writing, Ethics, Writing Lesson Plans, Writing Objectives, Classroom principles, Primary Math, Psychology, Basic and advanced Literacy, Dari, Administrative Responsibilities, Teaching Methods, Fundamentals of Afghan Law, and Women’s Rights; all through using interactive methodologies that build critical thinking skills. The skills of AIL’s teachers and teacher trainers are consistently gaining strength. AIL teacher trainers continue to add new curriculum gained through their own teaching experience and outside sources. AIL recently added curriculum that teaches students how to handle their own money and save for the future, as well as hands-on learning about their native, natural environment. Teacher trainers are also adding new experiential learning opportunities to expand on critical thinking skills. Recently, a teacher training was held that brought students in during the training sessions so that the teachers could try their hand at the new methodologies they were learning in a classroom setting before implementing them in their own classes. It allowed them to get a true feel for how these new methodologies would work in the real world. It’s this forward thinking of the teacher trainers that is making such a great impact on the overall educational system in Afghanistan. In February, AIL was able to respond to a request from the remote Nooristan Province to train their teachers who had never had the opportunity to be trained. Those teachers were able to return and train more teachers and impact students who had never received anything close to quality education. The Afghan government consistently requests AIL to train its public school teachers as well. It has requested that AIL add more teacher training in the refugee camps in Pakistan so that when the Afghans return home there will be an adequate number of highly qualified teachers ready to help them. The proven success of AIL’s teacher training resulted in the Herat Ministry of Education requesting that AIL train all of the teachers in that city. |
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Why this is different?
Interactive, student-centered teaching is a radical departure from traditional teaching methods in Afghanistan, which emphasize dictation, rote memorization, and recitation. Using the new teaching methods, teachers are able to teach students to think critically, use logic for problem-solving, and interpret and evaluate information. This fosters self confidence, self reliance and sharing of ideas and helping others. Students question and seek help in understanding.
The result is students adapt and learn quickly. Many students who are taught by AIL-trained teachers are able to read after only 3 months of instruction compared to the typical 3 years students need when taught under the old methods. Some students have been so energized by their ability to learn quickly that they have accelerated their education, completing multiple grades within one year. With AIL’s teacher training, teachers in Afghanistan are learning from each other and students are learning more in classes. These new patterns hold promising implications for the future of education in Afghanistan.
Another aspect of the situation in the country is that much of the curriculum in Afghanistan has been lost and destroyed because of the war and civil strife. Also, the old curriculum did not incorporate interactive, student-centered lessons. In order to improve educational opportunities for children and youth, Afghanistan urgently needs updates to existing curriculum subjects as well as new lesson materials for teaching important topics like peace, health, human rights, gender issues, and life skills. AIL’s teacher training staff develops curriculum, training seminars, and workshops with dozens of such workshops developed to date. Recently, AIL teacher training staff developed life skills workshops in topics like peace, health, psychology, and manners.
Interactive, student-centered teaching is a radical departure from traditional teaching methods in Afghanistan, which emphasize dictation, rote memorization, and recitation. Using the new teaching methods, teachers are able to teach students to think critically, use logic for problem-solving, and interpret and evaluate information. This fosters self confidence, self reliance and sharing of ideas and helping others. Students question and seek help in understanding.
The result is students adapt and learn quickly. Many students who are taught by AIL-trained teachers are able to read after only 3 months of instruction compared to the typical 3 years students need when taught under the old methods. Some students have been so energized by their ability to learn quickly that they have accelerated their education, completing multiple grades within one year. With AIL’s teacher training, teachers in Afghanistan are learning from each other and students are learning more in classes. These new patterns hold promising implications for the future of education in Afghanistan.
Another aspect of the situation in the country is that much of the curriculum in Afghanistan has been lost and destroyed because of the war and civil strife. Also, the old curriculum did not incorporate interactive, student-centered lessons. In order to improve educational opportunities for children and youth, Afghanistan urgently needs updates to existing curriculum subjects as well as new lesson materials for teaching important topics like peace, health, human rights, gender issues, and life skills. AIL’s teacher training staff develops curriculum, training seminars, and workshops with dozens of such workshops developed to date. Recently, AIL teacher training staff developed life skills workshops in topics like peace, health, psychology, and manners.
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