CET-Gordon’s Partnership: Academic Year Reflection
August 31st marks the official end to this academic year’s partnership programme between Gordon’s (United Kingdom), Dewey International School of Applied Science (Cameroon) and Tujatane (Zambia).
25 teachers participated this year, with teachers meeting fortnightly in their Teacher Learning Communities (TLCs) via Zoom or WhatsApp. These TLCs were groups of 3-4, consisting of 1 teacher from Gordon’s alongside 2-3 teachers from either Dewey or Tujatane. Topics discussed were designed by Kelly Hurley, Assistant Headteacher at Gordon’s and Lead Teacher of Gordon’s, and included differentiation and starting lessons effectively.
On completion of a final partnership questionnaire, teachers received a personalised certificate. All who responded said they would take part in the programme again and were able to clearly outline something that they had learnt from the programme.
Henry Diam, teacher at Dewey commented that:
‘I enjoyed being part of a Zoom meeting with members who are teachers in different subjects and learning from them how they apply the same strategies to meet the needs of their learners. I realised that some strategies are adapted differently to depending on the available resources and the kind of learners.
I applied one of Ted Jones types of lesson starter called ‘personal connection’ where learners were asked to share personal experiences related to the topic to be taught. This starter enabled the lesson to be more meaningful and relevant to the learners and engaging.
Sharing different ways of applying the same methods and strategies learnt, is a very enriching idea. This is because the different ideas bring in other ways that one can use to solve problems that one may have battling with because of lack of ideas.’
John Kakoma, Deputy Head of Tujatane, and Teach2030 Ambassador, Njilefac Atem, were Lead Teachers in their respective schools, helping to organise the programme further.
Mforkara Solange Nchang commented on the effect of Njilefac’s help:
‘I learned how to test for previous knowledge by using the Do Now technique which I picked from Njilefac. This helped me manage my time better and still do all what was on my plan.’
Meanwhile, Charlie Lewis, teacher of economics at Gordon’s said:
‘I enjoyed being part of a group and speaking with professionals in a different part of the world. I considered different aspects of differentiation.’
This partnership aligns with several of CET’s pillars, including working together to upskill teachers worldwide. We aim to create open and collaborative partnerships that connects teachers, pools knowledge and shares resources. We aim to deliver contextualised, TPD materials to teachers. At the same time, the trust actively seeks opportunities to promote the voices of teachers working in lower- income countries, and to share their experiences.
Our thanks go to Kelly Hurley for all her hard work this year.
We are excited for the new academic year and creating new TLCs across the world!
If your school is interested in becoming a partner school and creating a similar opportunity for other teachers around the world, email partnerships@commonwealtheducationtrust.org or click here.