On 14-17 March, VVOB Vietnam, in cooperation with the British Council (BC) in Vietnam, and supported by the Asia and Pacific Regional Bureau for Education - UNESCO Bangkok, invited 15 teachers, 10 teacher trainers and 5 key trainers from the departments of education and training (DOETs) of Quang Ninh, Thai Nguyen, Nghe An, Quang Nam and Quang Ngai province and 6 teachers involved in the BC Schools Online project, for a capacity building workshop in Hanoi on Project-Based Learning (PBL) and Tele-collaboration.
Vietnam is one of the six countries that UNESCO Bangkok selected for participation in the project on Facilitating Effective ICT-Pedagogy Integration, supported by the Korean-Funds-In-Trust (KFIT). In 2012, UNESCO Bangkok partners with VVOB Vietnam for the initial capacity building workshop and for follow-up and seminars in local Teacher Training Instutes (TTIs) and schools. VVOB works in 5 provinces in North and Central Vietnam. In each of these provinces VVOB partners with the local TTI and the DOET. All TTIs have a network of practice schools. In-service training of primary and secondary teachers is organized via the DOETs.
The objective of this capacity building workshop was to improve knowledge of and insight in developing and implementing PBL and the use of tele-collaboration tools to enhance different aspects of PBL. During the workshop the participants received input on PBL and ICT integration from experts from the Vietnam National Institute for Educational Sciences and Hanoi National University of Education. Resource persons from the BC and VVOB provided rich illustrations and examples of PBL and integration of ICT. In each province, teacher trainers and key trainers from the DOETs supported the teachers from the practice schools in the development of their projects. By the end of the three and a half day workshop, six groups presented their proposal for PBL and completed a hands-on workplan for implementation. Throughout the workshop, participants were guided to upload their PBL planning documents and resources on the online portal of BC Schools Online.
After this capacity building workshop teachers are expected to implement their plans. VVOB and the BC will monitor, and teacher trainers from the TTIs and DOETs will offer guidance to the teachers when they get back to their school environments. UNESCO Bangkok announced they will soon start the PBL proposal competition (in June 2012) and looks forward to receiving exciting designs/plans from the groups. Two exemplary teachers will be invited to participate in the upcoming Regional Seminar on Innovative ICT Practices in Teaching and Learning – the culminating activity of the KFIT Project in Sept/Oct 2012 in Seoul.
The six PBL proposals from the practice schools:
- Domestic garbage in the residental area (Quang Ninh)
- Preserving the school environment (Quang Ngai)
- The traditional handicrafts of Tam Ky City (Quang Nam)
- The Long Tong Festival, ATK, Dinh Hoa (Thai Nguyen)
- Designing the plan of the eco-garden in the lower secondary school (Nghe An)
