A project by the British Council and Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyaan
Mumbai, 1st February, 2016:
ELISS, End of Year Symposium was organized on 30th
January by the British Council to celebrate the three year completion
of the project- English Language Initiative for Secondary
Schools (ELISS). The Master Trainers’ were felicitated by Mr Nandkumar,
Principal Secretary of Maharashtra School Education and Sports
Department.
Following
the signing of the partnership agreement in July 2013, Rashtriya
Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan (RMSA) and the British Council have been
working together on a four phase project from 2013–2016
to develop the English language teaching skills and language confidence
of secondary level English language teachers in government schools
across Maharashtra.
Mr Nandkumar, Principal Secretary, School Education and Sports Department, said,
"Over the last three phases,
the ELISS programme has been successful in raising the confidence among
teachers as well as the state government. In the process we are
benchmarking ourselves to global standard."
Sharon Memis, Area Director, West India, British Council
said on the occasion,
“The three years of ELISS in Maharashtra has reaped good response and
results.
The programme so far has benefited teachers and schools in raising
their skills and teacher training abilities. We hope to continue the
partnership and our programme.”
The
English Language Initiative for Secondary Schools (ELISS) aims to
establish a sustainable cadre of 480 Master Trainers that will boost the
capacity of the RMSA to deliver effective in-service
teacher training during and beyond the life of this project. Content
will focus on improving the pedagogical skills of approximately 16000
secondary school teachers in student-centered approaches to teaching
English. Teacher training will be supported by Continuing
Professional Development activities to enable participants to develop
strategies to take responsibility for their learning.
Rohini Deshmukh Sankpal, a master trainer said,
“ELISS and Mentoring Project
have provided me with a good opportunity to work as Master Trainer and a
Mentor. It has helped me a lot in my CPD (Continuous Professional
Development). It has given me a vision beyond the traditional ways of
teaching, using
text, techniques and methods to share my thinking and ideas with
teachers’ community and experts.”
Minaxi Upadhyay - Principal Surajba Vidyamandir, said “Mentoring
has spread awareness among teachers of vernacular medium and
English medium the importance to know their area of development and
plan it with a smart goal. This has helped teachers to develop their CPD
(Continuos Professional Development). Mentoring has motivated teachers
for peer observation.”
In
each phase of the project, the British Council directly trains Master
Trainers in classroom practice and training skills for 6 days /year for
first three years, and these Master Trainers
then cascade five days of teacher training/year for first three years
to approximately 16,400 secondary school teachers of English across the
state. Year four will involve an impact study. This is reinforced with a
programme of activities and resources to
develop both Master Trainers’ and teachers’ awareness of other
opportunities available to facilitate their continuing professional
development.”
Phase 1 of ELISS (2013-14) involved:
•
Selection of the 480 Master Trainers based on a written assessment, a group interview and a group task.
•
Master Trainers subsequently delivered a five-day training course to teachers from 35 districts in Maharashtra
•
In
addition, Master Trainers and teachers have had access to CPD (
continuous Professional Development)opportunities and resources.
Teaching English Radio was broadcast from February
to April on Akashvani.
•
It increased their awareness on
planning their own continuing Professional Development15 Master Trainers
attended the annual Teacher Educator Conference in Hyderabad and 109
Master
Trainers, as well as 66 teachers joined Facebook communities jointly
administered by RMSA.
Phase 2 (2014-15) involved:
•
This consisted of input around
classroom methodology and trainer skills development. The materials for
this course were specifically written to cater to the identified needs
of secondary
teachers in Maharashtra. The ELISS materials take into account the
recommendations of key Indian government policy documents, such as the
National Curriculum Framework (2005) and the National Curriculum
Framework of Teacher Education (2009).
•
Feedback from the Master Trainers
was very positive and many of the Master Trainers were able to describe
what they had learned, activities they had tried out in their own
lessons
and how their learners had reacted and benefited from them.
•
the
large uptake and increase in activity on WhatsApp and Facebook groups
that discuss and share teaching ideas and which are helping to sustain
the effectiveness of the training
beyond the training room.
Phase 3 again (2015-16) involved:
•
focussed on building teachers’ skills and knowledge of using learner-centred methodology in their classes
•
Effective inclusion of technology in the classroom
•
Building Master Trainers’ and teachers’ ability to reflect critically on their teaching and learning
•
Providing
encouragement and support for Master Trainers and teachers to plan and
take part in professional development activities outside of face-to-face
training
•
Building capacity of a group of mentors from the pool of Master Trainers to make the impact of the project more sustainable.
Phase 4 (2016-2017) will involve:
In
this phase British council will monitor the project and do its impact
study. The British Council has brought a UK consultant on board to
quality assure the mentor model and make recommendations
that inform into the design of the scale up model of mentoring that the
State government implements for the whole state of MH.
About the British Council:
The British Council is
the UK’s international organisation for cultural relations and
educational opportunities. We create international opportunities for the
people of the UK and other countries
and build trust between them worldwide.
The
British Council has been teaching English for more than 75 years. We
reach 100 million people in over 100 countries and support teachers and
learners with comprehensive and innovative learning
resources. As the world’s English experts we work with governments,
institutions, teachers and learners to provide English language learning
and teaching solutions that create life-changing opportunities for
individuals and their future prosperity.
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