Document Type

Conference Paper

Publication (Name of Journal)

Impact: Making a difference

Department

Professional Development Centre, Karachi

Abstract

This an interactive poster that presents findings of the Professional Development Teachers (PDTs) from Osh, Kyrgyzstan, in the field of teaching and learning English, as well as professional development of teachers that was carried out by them since they graduated from Aga Khan University Institute for Educational Development (AKU-IED). This presentation will consist of three parts. The first part will describe findings from the professional development programme, which has been carried out by the English Language Programme (ELP) at the faculty of World Languages at Osh State University. The second part will reveal changes that have been made in the course of teaching English at the above-mentioned university. Finally, the third part will describe attempts taken by another PDT at Osh Aga Khan School. The Ministry of Education of Kyrgyzstan identified service training programmes for schoolteachers as one of the priorities in its activities. To meet these requirements, the Osh ELP team proposed a four-cohort project to disseminate/embed the principles of interactive communicative approach to teaching English at schools in Osh, Jalal-Abad and Batken regions. Considering AKU-IED’s experiences, the six-week field-based programme was offered to regional teachers. The programme comprised the following components: four-week intensive training-a field-based component during which teachers have been observed by cascading team and observers; and, a two-week component in which participants reflected on their experience and received additional intensive training. A PDT from the AKU-IED Master of Education (MEd) Class of 1999 will share the outcomes of this programme. In order to help PDTs practice the gained skills of exemplary teacher, teacher-educator and teacher-researcher, six PDTs, with the support of AKU-IED, work in their host institutions within the project “Researching Practice, Practicing Research”. The unique feature of this project is that the PDTs have to train teachers in one strategy and do action research to systemically inquire into their classroom practices. By the end of the first year, the PDTs and teachers were able to analyse and report the findings. The PDTs will share the findings and display some works by the students and teachers related to this project. As a new system, Aga Khan Education Service-Kyrgzystan (AKES) established a high school in Osh in 2002. One of the PDTs joined this institution with the aim to conduct professional activities for the newly recruited teachers. In the process of her work, she carried out several workshops to introduce innovative methods of teaching and learning. As the only PDT in the AKES-Kyrgyzstan system, she had successes and also faced challenges in her practice. All these will be reflected in her report and in the interactive poster.

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