Our in-service teacher training team had a busy start to 2019 delivering a four day Training of Trainers session in preparation for the second Intensive Training Workshop for teachers and head teachers in the Abura-Asebu-Kwamankese district as part of our districtwide teacher training project.

This Training of Trainers was crucial as it focused on some important elements, drawn from our award winning Fast-track Transformational Teacher Training, namely assessment, phonics and creativity. Assessments provide a measure of how children are performing in school and allows teachers to reflect on their practice and how best to support their children’s development. Two main techniques of assessing children are introduced in this training;

  1. The use of portfolios*
  2. Observations

This is a substantial shift from the regular assessment in most Ghanaian classrooms that focuses on the use of book and pen/pencil.

This training also introduces teachers to phonics and a range of activities that can be used to develop children’s listening, reading and writing skills. Teachers will explore opportunities for creating their story books with words that the children have learnt in the phonics sessions so that they have more reading material to practice reading in the classroom.

Participants in the workshop had the opportunity to experience some creative arts activities and discuss the value of allowing children the freedom to be creative.  We also looked at other areas of creativity such as music, dance and drama and explored how teachers can provide opportunities for children to build these skills in the classroom.

At the end of the 4 days session, the trainers were feeling confident and ready for the Intensive training workshop over the coming weeks!

*a folder for every child that teachers fill with the children’s work throughout the year, parents can see the portfolios of work when they visit on open days.