Teachers demonstrating parallel co-teaching method

(KPL) The Ministry of Education and Sports (MoES), with support from Australia, has introduced a new teacher development video on how to use ‘co-teaching’ to encourage teachers to learn from each other and be exposed to new classroom practices.

Co-teaching is a continuing professional development activity in which two teachers, or one teacher and a pedagogical support person work together to plan, deliver, and reflect on a lesson. The aim of co-teaching is for teachers to support each other and learn new classroom activities and approaches from one another. It is an excellent way for experienced teachers to share their knowledge and skills and give “on-the-job” support to their colleagues. It encourages creativity, deepens professional friendships, and builds community among teachers.

Filming the new teacher development video

The Co-teaching video was produced by the E-learning materials and distant education section of the Research Institute for Educational Sciences (RIES) with support from six lecturers from Savannakhet, Khang Khai and Luang Namtha Teacher Training Colleges and technical staff from the Department of Teacher Education.

 “Teachers in Lao PDR are often working in difficult and remote conditions. Adopting new approaches to teaching as required to successfully teach the new revised primary curriculum can be challenging without support. The aim of the Teacher Development Videos is to provide primary teachers with guidance and real examples of how they can use the new pedagogical approaches, improve their teaching skills, and solve teaching challenges,” said Anoulom Vilayphone, Director General, RIES.

Teachers demonstrating the co-planning of a lesson

“Australia’s dedication to Lao PDR's education extends to empowering teachers with new teaching methodologies under the revised primary curriculum. This commitment aims to enhance teachers' abilities to bring the curriculum to life through practical, collaborative, and engaging learning experiences, ensuring teachers have the confidence and skills for effective curriculum delivery, supported by continuous professional development tailored to local needs. This collaboration with RIES, through the BEQUAL program, to produce more teacher development videos is part of our strategy to support teachers’ self-learning and professional development,” said Ms Vanessa Hegarty, First Secretary, Australian Embassy to the Lao PDR.

The Co-teaching video was filmed in a real classroom in Savannakhet province. It describes the three steps of co-teaching: co-planning, co-delivering the lesson during normal class time, and co-reflecting after the lesson. Each of these steps is explored in the video through live action footage of teachers, trainers, and students. The techniques demonstrated are simple and will help teachers gain confidence in teaching the revised curriculum.

The video has been released on ESTV – Education and Sports TV channel on Lao Satellite 8, and is also available on Khang Panya Lao and on the ວິດີໂອສໍາລັບການພັດທະນາຄູ Teacher Development Videos YouTube channel.

TTC lecturers supporting the filming

The ວິດີໂອສໍາລັບການພັດທະນາຄູ Teacher Development Videos YouTube channel was launched in 2019 by MoES with the support of Australia, through the BEQUAL program. The channel is a great success with more than 4 million views. It contains development videos, Role Model docuseries episodes and audio materials for primary teachers, teacher trainers, and pedagogical advisors. The videos cover a range of subjects and techniques on how to implement the curriculum’s new active learning and teaching approach. Teacher Development Video topics are selected based on the key challenges faced by teachers, based on feedback from teachers themselves. Teachers can use the videos to prepare lessons, improve their teaching methods, and learn or review specific techniques from the new curriculum Teacher Guides. They can also play audio tracks containing music, songs, and English stories to students in their classes. All videos are dubbed in Lao Sign Language to be more accessible.

The production and filming team with the actors

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.

Link to watch the VDO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a6Cz1_-joRU

KPL