(KPL) For the third episode of the Role Model docuseries, the TV, radio and newspaper teams from the Information Media Center (IMC) of the Ministry of Educations and Sports (MoES) travelled to Saravan to interview Mr Phothong Phonsongkham on the importance of teacher professional development support.

 Mr Phothong shared his extensive experience in the different aspects of teacher support, from writing training modules to visiting teachers during the school year and giving them advice to solve the challenges they may face in their classrooms as they implement the new curriculum.

“I think the most exciting change in the new curriculum is the new way of teaching and learning,” said Ajan Phothong. “It is more inclusive, and all children have the chance to participate.” Indeed, the revised curriculum introduced in 2019 by MoES with support from Australia through the BEQUAL program, adopts a new pedagogy with a focus on active learning and student-centered methods. It represents a big change in terms of teaching and learning approaches and teachers are at the center of this change. Teachers need ongoing support to embrace this change.

Ajan Phothong is part of both the Master Trainer and Provincial Trainer teams delivering orientation training on the new curriculum, as well as follow-up monitoring and support throughout the school year. “The training as well as the support during the school year is very important to ensure good teaching, and ultimately good learning outcomes for the students”, explained Ajan Phothong. “It is the role of pedagogical advisers to support teachers with the new techniques, and help them solve the problems they face in a timely manner.”

Pedagogical advisers, who are also Master and Provincial Trainers, are encouraged to conduct at least two visits per semester in the schools that are not performing well. MoES, with support from Australia, has developed several tools that pedagogical advisers can use while providing ongoing support to teachers as they navigate the curriculum throughout the school year. “The tools I use the most during my visits are classroom observation, co-lesson planning and teaching”, said Ajan Phothong. “The classroom observation tools help identify the areas where more support is needed. When I can spot the problems, I can help the teacher solve them. Then, I can support the teacher to plan their lesson and bring ideas on how to implement learning activities in the classroom effectively.”

“WhatsApp groups are very good for follow-up after a school visit and for the schools that are very remote and difficult to access frequently”, added Ajan Phothong. “The teachers can send their questions to the group, and I can give my advice or recommend watching one of the teacher development videos.”

Ajan Phothong is also part of the in-service Continuing Professional Development material writers’ team established in December 2020. He participates in the development of the Teacher Support Pack (TSP) modules. “We have produced eight modules so far” explained Ajan Phothong. “The TSP is being used by pedagogical support providers, especially Provincial Trainers. when they visit teachers”. The TSP is made up of stand-alone training modules on the most common challenges teachers face like classroom management or pair and group work. They include pictures taken in Lao classrooms to help trainers, pedagogical advisers, and teachers visualize teaching strategies in a real teaching environment. “We are eight members in the writing team, coming from different Provinces and with different experience. The most exciting part in the creation of the TSP are the discussions and the diversity of ideas shared with the other writers.”

Ajan Phothong is a strong advocate of diversity, gender equality and inclusive education. “On the occasion of International Women’s Day this year, I had the chance to be selected as a Role Model trainer and to discuss with the Minister of Education and the Ambassador of Australia. They both congratulated Saravan Province for the gender equality in our training team with 47% of the trainers being women. I think diversity in a training team is key. Diversity in terms of gender of course, and also abilities, ethnicity, social backgrounds and experiences, makes the team stronger.”

The Role Model docuseries project is fully supported by the Australian Government through the BEQUAL program. The objective is to promote and encourage the replication of best practices to boost successful implementation of the new curriculum and to show good examples of how to make primary teaching and learning more inclusive.

The story of Ajan Phothong can be watched on the ວິດີໂອສໍາລັບການພັດທະນາຄູ Teacher Development Videos You Tube Channel and on Education and Sports TV on Lao Sat Channel 8. In line with MoES’ and the Government of Australia’s commitment to promoting inclusive education for all, it is dubbed in Lao Sign Language.

Link to watch the video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xvqulgKjPJI&t=98s

KPL