Happy New Year from all of us at TRC. We hope you and your loved ones have a safe and prosperous year. TRC has entered its 25th year and we have some exciting events coming up in the next few months. However, before we embark on that journey, here are some highlights from the last three months of 2010.

? ED ? Links Mathematics CD Ready

Lending our expertise to the development of interactive self-learning materials, we are preparing CDs for grades 6-8 in Maths, Science and English, for a USAID funded project, Ed-Links. With animation, voiceovers and debugging processes complete, the Mathematics CD is ready for production and distribution and we expect to have the other two ready by the end of February 2011. ED-Links Programme Managers took the responsibility of ensuring these materials can be utilized across the public sector (in addition to their ?project? schools) by conducting a round table exercise with key policy makers and donors. It will be a groundbreaking initiative in public schools when Information Communication Technology (ICT) components are introduced to schools ? TRC is proud to be a central contributor.

? Asia Pacific Consultation: 4th Global Campaign for Education

On October 14 -15, 2010, organized by the Asia South Pacific Association for Basic and Adult Education (ASPBAE), an Asia Pacific Consultation of the 4th Global Campaign for Education General Assembly, was held in Jakarta, Indonesia. TRC participated from the Pakistan Coalition for Education (PCE) platform. TRC Senior Manager Advocacy and Programme Development, Amima Sayeed (who represents TRC on the PCE Board), was amongst the nominees for the meeting. TRC drafted a motion on the promotion and expansion of quality Early Childhood Education on behalf of PCE. Going through a round of prioritizing, the motion will be tabled in the World Assembly to be held in Paris early next year.

? RCC Active Learning Workshop for SUNGI

A 50 – hour workshop titled, ?Qaumi Nisab Ibtedaey Bachpan Ki Taleem Par Moassar Amal? was conducted in Abbottabad from October 25 ? 30, 2010. Our Training and Development team member, Nighat Hasan and ECE resource person Hafiza Rehman, facilitated this workshop, which was attended by 43 participants. Sponsored by the Aga Khan Foundation, Pakistan (AKFP), the workshop was organized for SUNGI, a new partner in the Releasing Confidence and Creativity (RCC) Project. The main objective of the workshop was to equip the participants with the knowledge, skills and attitudes that are necessary for implementing the National Curriculum for ECE (NCECE). Some of the topics covered were: stages of development, developmental domains; how children learn; the learning environment, the teachers? role; activity learning and the importance of using stories and rhymes in ECE classes.

? RCC Active Learning Workshop for Mountain Institute for Educ. Development (MIED)

The same workshop was held concurrently, in Mansehra, for the teachers of MIED project schools, the other new RCC partner. This 50-hour workshop was facilitated by TRC Training and Development team members, Seema Yasmin and Tabinda Jabeen and was attended by 29 participants.

? RCC Workshop for MIED School Heads

On November 1 – 2, 2010, a workshop titled ?Qaumi Nisab Ibteda-e-Bachpan ki Taleem par Moasser Amal? was held at Mansehra for head teachers of MIED partner schools. Supported by AKFP, 15 participants attended this workshop, which was facilitated by TRC Training and Development team members, Seema Yasmin and Tabinda Jabeen. The participants were introduced to the importance of ECE and active learning. Principles of ECE, holistic development, six key learning areas of the NCECE, observation and assessment and roles and responsibilities of heads were amongst some of the topics covered. To demonstrate how easily an active learning environment can be created in the classroom, our learning resources including our Pehla Taleemi Basta and our training videos: Nazmoon ki Dilchasp Duniya, The Learning Environment, and Language and Literacy were shown during the session. Our teachers? and heads? handbook Mazboot Bunyadein and Behtar School ki Janib were distributed amongst participants.

? National Institute of Management (NIM)

The NIM Karachi, holds a Mid-Career Management Course for Grade 18 officers. To assist them in making informed decisions, an integral part of this course is training officers in conducting research. Interestingly, NIM participant, Dr K.H. Jatoi selected TRC as a case study for his research, which is titled: ?Capacity Building of Teachers in Sindh by Teachers? Resource Centre.

?On October 25, 2010, Dr. Jatoi visited TRC. Our Training and Development Team member Farzana Kauser, met with him giving him all the pertinent information and a tour of our facility. He viewed our teaching/learning resources and was given three of our research studies highlighting our work in capacity building of teachers.

? Pakistan Children?s Television National Workshop

On October 20 – 21, 2010, Rafi Peer Theatre Workshop (RPTW), in collaboration with USAID Pakistan and Sesame Workshop, held a Pakistan Children?s Television (PCTV) National Educational Content Seminar in Islamabad. PCTV aims to address the literacy issue and reinforce positive messages to children in rural areas, through various mediums including puppetry, live shows, TV and interactive websites. TRC was invited to participate in this 2-day workshop where participants reviewed and provided input into each area of the educational content proposed by PCTV. Ms. Natasha Ansari represented TRC.

? School-focused Workshops

In addition to the multi-school workshops that TRC organizes every month, we often receive requests for school-focused workshops. Some of these were:>

Workshop at Korangi Academy

On 13 November, 2010 a 6 – hour workshop on ?Professionalism? was held at Korangi Academy for 25 teachers. The training session, led by Mrs. Naqvi, focused on the importance of maintaining a positive attitude at work, time management tips and skills, and the difference between a job and a profession. It was encouraging to see teachers actively participating in discussions and sharing their concerns and experiences.

Concern for Children (CFC) Workshop

From November 23-25, 2010, TRC?s, Nighat Hasan conducted a 12 hour workshop titled ?Tadrees ka Moassar Amal? for 23 teachers, at the CFC Community Centre. The teachers had no prior experience, so an initial teacher?s workshop was run for them. The topics covered were: how children learn, classroom organization and a teacher?s role and responsibilities. Special attention was given to understanding how the learning environment effects children?s self esteem and as a result their own capacity to learn.

Classroom Support for Cant. Schools

As a follow-up to the workshop ?Effective Teaching? (August 2010), we carried out classroom support for 20 secondary teachers of classes 6 to 10, from October 3 ? 29, 2010. TRC?s Mrs. Naqvi observed and assessed teachers against pre-determined criteria and the effective practices highlighted during the workshop. Feedback sessions helped teachers identify their own strengths, areas for development, and sharpen their evaluation skills. The teachers appreciated the feedback and advice given to them.

On December 11, 2010 another 4-hour session was conducted by Mrs. Naqvi at Cant. School to share all the findings of the classroom support programme. The session began with the effective practices that had been observed and building on these, the common areas for improvement were discussed in detail. Examples from their own classroom teaching, helped teachers relate theory to practice, and understand different aspects of the learning process.

? TRC Showcased in TV One Documentary on Education

TV One is producing a documentary about the status of education in Pakistan with a particular emphasis on private organizations positively impacting the sector. In September, they approached TRC to request showcasing our work across the public and private sectors. Filming took place over November and December 2010. To highlight our work in ECE, the team visited two of our partner schools in the public sector. To attain an all-inclusive picture, they filmed the ECE class in session as well as interviewed teachers, supervisors and government officials. Next, to highlight the inner workings of TRC, filming took place at our premises. This segment comprised of interviews with members of our Senior Management Team, Mahenaz Mahmud and Natasha Ansari and one of our ECE-CP alumni/faculty, Fazila Hussain. Our learning resources were showcased with a brief history of their development and impact in the field. Now the tedious job of editing and finalizing will take place before it is aired on TV One and in Canada.

? RCC Refresher Workshops for ECE Teachers

During classroom support visits to ECE teachers of Jamshed and Korangi towns, it became evident that they were experiencing difficulties with designing curriculum activities and planning the daily routine. Two one-day refresher workshops were held on December 6 – 7, 2010, for the 40 teachers of our partner schools. These refresher workshops were facilitated by TRC Training and Development Team member, Mehnaz Amir Ali; feedback revealed that the teachers felt more confident and better equipped to plan the daily routine and curriculum activities.

? TRC Attends Exchange for Change Press Conference

The Citizens Archive of Pakistan (CAP) is a non-profit organization dedicated to cultural and historic preservation. On December 13, 2010, TRC Director Programme Development, Mahenaz Mahmud attended the press conference launch of their project, ?Exchange for Change.? This initiative is a collaboration of CAP and Routes 2 Roots, an Indian non-profit organization, which connects 2400 students from across Pakistan and India through letters, postcards, photographs and oral histories.

? Teach for Pakistan (TfP)

TfP?s new Executive Director, Farida Zuberi came to visit us at TRC on December 15, 2010. TfP is a local initiative associated with the global Teach for All network of independent social enterprises working to expand educational opportunity in 18 countries around the world. TfP aims to hire fresh graduates and young professionals who will go through an intense 6-week training programme to become teachers in under-resourced schools. TfP is interested in partnering with TRC and have been meeting with us since May 2010.

? Acumen Fund
Acumen Fund is a global non-profit venture capital fund, focused on supporting the delivery of critical services, such as, water, health, housing and energy at affordable prices to the poor. The Acumen Fund is now actively creating a new portfolio to invest in education plus training and development for low-income communities. On December 27, 2010 Acumen Fund consultant, Amna W. Khalid visited TRC, to gain insight from our extensive experience in the education sector and to seek help with identifying potential project partners.