The Aga Khan School, Osh Outreach Learning Support Program’s Teachers’ Forum in Naryn
On the August 24th and 25th of 2017, the Outreach Learning Support Program (LSP) in Naryn organized a Teachers’ Forum. 31 participants from Naryn villages, AKS, Osh, and Tajikistan were in attendance.
The goal was to provide opportunities for English, Math, and IT teachers to communicate and share best practices of their work for personal and professional development.
Since 2015, the LSP Teachers’ Forum has been a professional development opportunity held yearly in Naryn region. Each year, the conference provides an opportunity for teachers, directors, leaders, and representatives of Educational Departments to discuss continuous professional improvement, and ways to effectively guide students toward greater achievement. During the conferences, participants discuss the teachers’ past and present performance, their areas of strengths and improvement, and the individualized professional development opportunities that support their continued learning and professional growth. The forum is a place for teachers to meet, share resources, get feedback on project ideas, and develop project plans and strategies to further improve their work.
Long-term goals of the Teachers’ Forum are to promote the elevation of educational standards for the students of Naryn region schools. This is done through the encouragement of educators in professional areas, such as:
Teaching and learning: to increase professional awareness and provide support for teachers
Communication: to foster communication between school and district educational departments
Leadership: to promote and support teacher and administration leadership within and beyond the school setting, and
Outreach: to build relationships between school, community, and partners.
The role of collaboration was highlighted in the speech given by the invited Head of Naryn Education Department, Mamitov Kazimbek. He stated that professional growth through Outreach LSP assists teachers in improving strategies of their work, in monitoring results and progress, and in encouraging students to study at University.
Attendees of the forum were inspired by the speech given by program alumni, Nogoibaev Nurlan, who studies at UCA. He said that his teacher, Japarkulova Gulmira, gave him an understanding of math which has had an astounding effect on his life. He attributes his success in UCA to our program, as math was highly important in his entrance exams, where his performance led to a scholarship covering 95% of his tuition fees.
Coordinators Natalya Deryabkina from Kyrgyzstan, and Abduljon from Tajikistan presented the progress of the work, the organized activities, and the outcomes. After these presentations, teachers introduced their workshops and demo-lessons, followed by discussions.
The second day kicked off with the presentations on “Critical Thinking in Math,” and, “Essay Writing.” Topics were introduced by UCA Professors, and the sessions were organized in segments: introduction, lecture, practice, and discussion.
Teachers continued their wonderfully prepared workshops with innovative approaches on work in English, IT, and math. Two experienced facilitators, Klara Kazakovna in Math, and Abduljon in English, led and monitored presentations and workshops.
At the end of the Forum, results were introduced by Natalya, and the top 21 teachers received letters of thanks for their work in the project. Afterwards, coordinators organized outdoor team-building activities, which helped bring everyone closer together. Participants said it was a wonderful, uplifting experience!
Outcomes:
- Networking and collaboration with Educational Departments, teachers of pilot schools, teachers from AKS, Osh, and Villages of Gorno-Badahshan region
- Strengthening the role and position of Learning Support Program
- Discussing and learning about innovation in Education with practical experience through workshops, demonstrations, and lessons
- Promoting LSP and its goal to encourage progress in students, especially in continuation of their education to prestigious universities, such as UCA
At the end of the Forum, teachers proposed strategic plans for the next academic year, based on their self-reflection and prior year’s performance. Overall, the forum was a great success!
