Author Archives: Teachers' Resource Centre

The period between July and September 2017 was a productive one for TRC. We were actively involved in training sessions for the Badal Do! Project, which engaged schools and teachers, equipping them with tools of inclusive learning. These were large scale trainings and our core team of trainers took on the challenge with great success. Our Early Childhood Education and Development Programme (ECED) is currently being revamped and the content is being updated to keep it abreast of global changes in ECED. The updated programme will be launched in January 2018. Meanwhile, TRC’s workshop programme continued to offer a wide range of sessions on topics as diverse as school management and improving reading skills in the primary classroom to teachers.

Our team was also busy following up on ‘The Thinking Classroom’ Project. Two teams visited master trainers in Azad Jammu and Kashmir and Baluchistan. As part of the follow-up, the teams interviewed the master trainers/teachers who had been trained during ‘The Thinking Classroom’ project to evaluate their understanding and use of the training content and the resources developed under the project. It was heartening to see some of the master trainers actively using what they had learned under the project to create vibrant learning spaces in their schools. Such examples serve to restore our faith in the work that we are doing. Both teams also had meetings with education managers at provincial and district levels in AJK and Baluchistan.

TRC’s training team also trained 55 teachers on ECED for the British Asia Trust (BAT) under the ‘Strengthening ECE Provisions through Peer to Peer Learning in Government Schools’. This hands-on training was conducted at the TRC premises and the participating teachers were given a resource kit especially developed for the project. The kit included a teachers’ guidebook, a young facilitators’ activity book, and two compilations of stories and poems for young learners that were developed in-house by TRC.

Throughout the reporting period, TRC’s team continued to work hard, reaching out to teachers and educators in the public and private sector and working towards our goal of enhancing the quality of education through teachers’ professional development.

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TRC News

Written by Teachers' Resource Centre

Dear Readers,

Please check out our new Opinion Poll on whether timed testing useful, and cast your vote by the end of December 2017. As you know …

your opinion counts

Our November 2017 poll was about whether young children should be taught in their mother tongue:

Should young children be taught in their mother tongue?

Yes. This can help preserve local languages and enables children to easily grasp concepts in the vocabulary they are used to. (86%, 37 Votes)

No. A student taught in the mother tongue will probably have a difficult time in high school or college when required to learn engineering or medical concepts in English. (14%, 6 Votes)

Result:
The majority (86%) of the respondents feel that young children should be taught in their mother tongue. They feel that when the mother tongue is the main teaching medium, young children are better able to understand the concepts that they are being taught. The respondents also felt that teaching in the mother tongue was important to preserve local languages. Only 14% of the respondents felt that students should not be taught in their mother tongue, because it will affect their ability to learn concepts (which are usually taught in English) at the higher education level.

Workshops

Written by Teachers' Resource Centre

Dates: 26th, 27th & 28th December 2017 | Time: 2:30 – 5:00 p.m.

As we move further into the new millennium, it becomes clear that the focus of the 21st Century classroom is on students experiencing the environment they will enter as 21st Century workers. The interdisciplinary nature of the 21st Century classroom sets it apart from the 20th Century classroom. The focus of classrooms today needs to be on producing students who are skilled collaborators and communicators, inventive thinkers and problem solvers, self-directed and self-regulated learners.

Workshops

Written by Teachers' Resource Centre

Dates: 18th & 19th December 2017 | Time: 2:30 – 5:00 p.m.

Cooperative Learning is a successful teaching strategy in which small teams, with students of different ability levels, use a variety of learning activities to improve their understanding of a subject. Each member of a team is not only responsible for learning what is taught, but also for helping teammates learn, thus creating an atmosphere of achievement.

Ilm o Amal

Written by Teachers' Resource Centre

Do your students have a fear or math? Are you stressed out by math? In this month’s Ilm o Amal, Shahrezad Samiuddin looks at the factors that can trigger math anxiety and what teachers and parents can do to prevent it.

Workshops

Written by Teachers' Resource Centre

Dates: 20th, 21st & 22nd December 2017 | Time: 2:30 – 5:00 p.m

Active children are healthy, happy and ready for school. Use of kinesthetic style of learning can positively influence and develop all the three domains of learning: cognitive, affective and psychomotor. Physical literacy combines Visual, Aural, Verbal, Physical, Logical, Social and Solitary learning that caters to individual learning styles. Combining core curriculum with Physical Activity has been proven to have positive effects on students’ growth and development.

TRC News

Written by Teachers' Resource Centre

Dear Readers,

Please check out our new Opinion Poll on whether young children should be taught in their mother tongue, and cast your vote by the end of November 2017. As you know …

your opinion counts

Our October 2017 poll was about whether students should be punished or not:

Should students be punished?

Yes. When you don’t punish students you erode discipline and encourage unruly behavior. With certain disciplinary issues, punishment is the only thing that works. (12%, 5 Votes)

No. Positive guidance works better than punishment when it comes to teaching students right from wrong. (88%, 36 Votes)

Result:
The result of this opinion poll was in favour of not punishing students. The overwhelming majority (88%) of respondents believe that students should not be punished because guiding them positively is a better option for disciplinary purposes. On the other hand a small minority (5%) felt that punishment was necessary because if teachers don’t punish children it erodes discipline and encourages them to misbehave.

Ilm o Amal

Written by Teachers' Resource Centre

Great school heads adapt to the environment and empower their teachers, staff and students to succeed. In this month’s Ilm o Amal, TRC staff outlines the traits of an exceptional school head.

Workshops

Written by Teachers' Resource Centre

Dates: 28th, 29th & 30th November 2017 | Time: 2:30 – 5:00 p.m

From birth, children begin to explore how the social world works. Exploring and learning to manage feelings, behaviour, rights and responsibilities is a complex process. Educators play an important role in supporting children to manage their own behaviour. Positive, respectful daily interactions with children can support them to learn about interdependence and to become considerate citizens. These relationships provide a solid foundation from which to guide and support children as they develop the self-confidence and skills to manage their own behaviour, make decisions and relate positively and effectively to others.

Workshops

Written by Teachers' Resource Centre

Dates: 22nd & 23rd November 2017 | Time: 2:30 – 5:00 p.m

In today’s result-driven world, there has been a rise in adolescent depression, abusive trends, and substance abuse. Self-reflection is necessary for educators so they can evaluate their own behavior in the classroom, ensuring that class-time inspires, and adds value to young, impressionable minds. Teachers who are reflective, and skilled at adopting meaningful approaches can do wonders for a child’s mental and emotional stability, which then translates into academic success.