EDC is bringing online learning and teacher coaching into Indonesian schools through the One-Computer Classroom and Coaching Pilot. A departure from the more traditional off-site training workshops, the coaching initiative is teacher-centered, offering weekly face-to-face coaching sessions after an initial online training session.
The program started out small—with 12 coaches and 92 teachers. It was so successful that a 2010 pilot will involve 48 coaches and approximately 250 teachers, using a variety of training and coaching models.
The professional development program is part of the national DBE 2 project, or Decentralized Basic Education, which is funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development. Its aim is to improve the quality of teaching and learning in Indonesia’s public and private sector primary schools.
“Ordinary training is just training. That’s it. There’s no follow-up,” says teacher Siti Fatimah. “I never know what I lack and need to develop further for improvements. I need to receive feedback for refinements.”
The first phase of the program is already producing positive results. One hundred percent of the teachers in training carried out the activities with their students, with 100 percent implementing learner-centered, one-computer activities. Results for the coaches were similarly promising, with all reporting increased confidence in their abilities as coaches, their knowledge of craft, and their technology skills.
The coaching program is popular with principals, the coaches themselves, and teachers. “This was a very small pilot, but results are highly encouraging and consistent with what we know about coaching,” says EDC’s Mary Burns.
Originally published on April 15, 2010
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