After months of intensive work with experts at Conker House Publishing we are thrilled to share that we have now designed, published and distributed a suite of Training Manuals to trainers, teachers and student teachers in Ghana.
The Fast-track Transformational Teacher Training Manuals are the product of four years of testing and refinement as part of our Fast-track Transformational Teacher Training project.
The full pack of Fast-track Transformational Teacher Training materials includes:
• Three Trainer Manuals (KG1, KG2 & Student Teachers)
• Three Teacher Reference Guides (Reference Handbook, Phonics Manual & Assessment Manual)
• Fifteen Week by Week Theme Guides, which include weekly session plans and toolkits for teacher-made resources.
The Trainer Manuals for KG1 & KG2 and Student Teachers contain timed and scripted instructions to enable trainers to deliver all of the training workshops to practising teachers and student teachers. Through this, practising teachers can transform their classrooms and teaching methodology into Model Practice Classrooms, and host student teachers on practical placement. For the student teachers, these workshops, combined with spending their practical placement year in a Fast-track Transformational Teacher Training Model Practice Classroom, equip them with the knowledge and confidence to enact the kindergarten curriculum as Newly Qualified Teachers.
The Teacher Reference Manual contains all of the core training content, and is provided to teachers and student teachers. It provides a guide which teachers can refer back to in the classroom, and continue to refresh themselves on the key concepts of the training course; how young children learn best, positive behaviour management, early grade literacy and numeracy, story sharing, and working with parents.
The Phonics Manual includes day by day plans for every week in the school year for the introduction of phonics. Formal phonics begins in KG2, and is preceded by games, songs and other early literacy skills to encourage auditory discrimination.
The Assessment Manual contains the three classroom assessment tools developed by the Fast-track Transformational Teacher Training project:
1. Pupil Achievement Record, a one-page formative assessment for every child which covers all of the key learning domains for KG1 and KG2.
2. Teacher Monitoring Tool, which provides a basis for coaching and assessing a teacher’s classroom performance. It identifies the key attributes and skills of a competent kindergarten teacher in the Ghanaian context.
3. Head Teacher Monitoring & Supervision Tool, which provides a checklist for head teachers as they support their kindergarten teachers to enact the child-centred active and play based approach to teaching and learning.
The week by week guides support teachers in the introduction of the thematic learning approach. Each term is divided into two or three themes which guide all learning activities. The guides contain detailed week by week session notes which help teachers to plan and prepare activities whilst making a significant transformation in their pedagogy. The guides are fully referenced back to the National Kindergarten Curriculum.
The second part of each theme guide is a series of instructions which enable teachers to make their own classroom resources, using low cost and recycled materials, to support the active and play-based approach to learning.
Here is some of the fantastic feedback we’ve received about the Fast-track Transformational Teacher Training Manuals.
“They are excellent materials and represent state of the art interactive curriculum materials for learning and skill development. l find them to be exciting – great interactive step by step activities to build a plethora of skills.”
Felicia Boakye-Yiadom, Executive Secretary of the National Council for Curriculum & Assessment, Ministry of Education
“Wow! I am extremely pleased to see these expertly developed Early Childhood Education Handbooks and Manuals. I am very excited by them and grateful to all those who have contributed to their production. They are the first of their kind in the country and OLA College of Education feels proud to be associated with them. The Handbooks and Manuals will surely contribute in no small measure to bring quality to Early Childhood Education in Ghana.”
Rev. Sis. Elizabeth Amoako-Arhen, President of Ghana’s National Conference of Principals of Colleges of Education & Principal OLA College
“Thanks so much, I think they’d be great to integrate into the teacher training curriculum. I have actually been waiting for this kind of opportunity to introduce such new and innovative ways into teacher training curriculum, especially the early grades, which is the critical foundation for our children.”
Dr Eric Ananga, University of Education, Winneba
We’re incredibly proud of these manuals which have been a real team effort from across Sabre. Our Chief Executive Officer, Dominic, was even helping to make sure the precious manuals were packed safely for the long journey to Ghana!
We would like to thank our partners and collaborators at Ghana Education Service, OLA College of Education and Holy Child College of Education, and also recognise the generous financial support of our principal funders, UK aid from the UK government, Vitol Foundation and Comic Relief.
