(KPL) Teacher Self-assessment Tool (TSA) Pilot Key Findings and Next Steps Meeting was held on 6th November 2024 co-chaired by Ms. Vongdeuane Osay, acting Director General, Department of Teacher Education (DTE) and Ms. Vanessa Hegarty, First Secretary, Australian Embassy opened the Teacher Self-Assessment Key Findings workshop to report on the results of the pilot of a new tool to improve teaching quality and discuss the next steps for implementation. 

The workshop’s participants included management and representatives from the Departments of Teacher Education, General Education, Quality Assurance and Planning of the Ministry of Education and Sports. Representatives from Khoun, Namtha and Outhoumphone District Education and Sports Bureaus and Internal Pedagogical Support (IPS) staff who participated in the pilot phase joined online to share their feedback.

Ms Vongdeuane Osay said “The Teacher Self-Assessment (TSA) is a key tool to identify teachers’ strengths and challenges and consequently ensure effective and relevant continuing professional development (CPD) for primary teachers. The TSA tool was developed alongside the Primary Teaching Standards by DTE in cooperation with other Departments and several Teacher Training Colleges. I would like to thank Australia for their continuous support in terms of financial and technical assistance through the BEQUAL program.”

Ms Vanessa Hegarty said “Teachers are at the center of students’ learning. They are the ones bringing the revised primary curriculum to life in the classroom. This is why the Australian Government is focusing on teachers’ continuing professional development through Phase 2 of the BEQUAL Program.

 We are proud to collaborate with the Ministry of Education to create the resources needed to support teachers throughout the school year. Our common objective is to build teachers’ confidence and skills by providing them with regular access to high-quality support for their professional development.”

The TSA tool was designed in 2023 by the same technical working group responsible for revising the Primary Teaching Standards. The objective was to create a tool to help teachers reflect on their performance against the primary teaching standards and identify their learning needs. Then the teachers could design and implement a CPD plan to learn new skills and knowledge which respond to these needs and review what they have learnt and the impact this learning has had on student learning and engagement.

The TSA tool was piloted between January and May 2024 in three districts, Khoun, Namtha and Outhoumphone. The pilot involved selected primary teachers testing the tool with the support of IPS staff to explore whether the tool is easy to use and useful for understanding and responding to self-assessed learning needs through CPD.

 Ms Vongdeuane said “The pilot showed that the TSA tool helped teachers meaningfully focus on areas for improving teaching practices. It also confirmed that teachers observed changes in student engagement and learning after completing their CPD activity. In this meeting, we will unpack the data collected during the TSA pilot and explore the key findings. Our objective is to agree on the next steps to move forward on a wider implementation of this tool.”

Ms Vanessa Hegarty concluded “We believe that supporting high-quality teaching is key to improving student learning and ensuring the diverse needs of all students are met equitably and inclusively. The results of the pilot are promising. Reflective practice is an important element of CPD which enables teachers to become aware of their underlying beliefs and assumptions about learning and teaching. I believe this tool will help improve the teaching skills of primary teachers and I am looking forward to the scale-up of the TSA tool in the 30 target districts.”

BEQUAL is a program led by the Lao Government with support from the Australian Government and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). The program focuses on enhancing educational outcomes for the nation's youth, especially the vulnerable and disadvantaged. BEQUAL is focused on ensuring gender equality and promoting inclusive education across all activities.

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