Document Type

Conference Paper

Publication (Name of Journal)

Impact: Making a difference

Department

Professional Development Centre, Karachi

Abstract

After completing the Master of Education (MEd) at Aga Khan University Institute for Educational Development (AKU-IED), most Professional Development Teachers (PDTs) enter a foggy zone where they have to grope to make a place for themselves. This paper is based on the experiences of two PDTs who found different paths to work on teachers’ professional development. The first PDT works as a school-based PDT, and hence the experience focuses on classroom teaching, student assessment, working with teachers at the school and the broader experience of working on professional development programmes. There is also an element of outreach as this PDT works with teachers of religion at the Ismaili Tariqa and Religious Educational Board (ITREB). The second PDT’s experiences are working with the Professional Development Centre (PDC) and its training programmes in the whole region of East Africa. This paper looks at how the teachers translated elements of what they learn in professional development programmes into their classroom practice. It focuses on the differences in the teachers’ attitudes towards teaching and their pupils, the teachers’ classroom practices, their efforts at reflection. Evidence of impact is in the form of students’ assessment scores, school results, teachers’ comments during discussions, comments by head teachers and comments by parents. The paper concludes with tentative suggestions as to why the impact was not as strong as it could have been. It looks at issues of school management and administration, lack of structures to support the teachers in school, and to some extent ineffective follow up of the professional programmes.

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