“I am curious about the Leaky Bucket tool” and “I am looking forward to exploring Intel education transformation policy development tool” were amongst participants’ feelings when they screened the workshop agenda.
“Innovating education: from vision to action” was the first workshop organized in collaboration between Intel and VVOB. The workshop, that was also a part of the annual EIP Steering Committee Meeting, was timely: TTIs involved in the VVOB education programme are developing the Education Innovation Plan (EIP) for the new academic year (2012-2013); and the Intel Transformation Education model and policy development tool was recently introduced to stakeholders in Vietnam. The objectives of the workshop were:
- To reflect on the old EIP and discuss a new EIP;
- To explore an innovative approach in resource development: Asset-Based Community Development (ABCD)
- To reflect on elements of ”education transformation”;
- To explore the “Intel Education Transformation Policy Development Tool” and the possibility of applying this tool in developing an education policy.
Participants of the workshop were EIP Steering Committee Members from five TTIs, representatives of DOETs, Intel managers and staff, a representative of UNESCO Hanoi and VVOB Vietnam staff.
The first day of the workshop the EIP Steering Committee focused on reflection on the old and new EIP. The Steering Committee Members participated in a focus group interview facilitated by VVOB and reflected on the impact of the EIP by assessing indicators related to capacity development, resources and M&E. It became clear that the EIP is becoming a crucial part in the General Plan of each TTI. Concerning Professional Development, the M&E reports of all TTIs show that different capacity building activities have reached a large number of lecturers, pre-service teachers and in-service teachers. The methodology multiplication workshops organized by TTIs for in-service teachers in practice schools were highly appreciated by the teachers. Those workshop not only improved capacities of the teachers, but also enhanced the relation between the practice schools and TTIs. In terms of resources, a large number of research has been conducted by lecturers on the topics of ICT and education, methodology innovation, material development for specific subjects, etc. Finally the participants discussed very actively how they carried out M&E and some more controversial approaches of teacher performance assessment. There was some discussion about the positive effect of student assessment on teacher performance, the capability students to assess teacher performance and the reliability of the data collection.
The participants also discussed the new EIP that they developed for the school year 2012-2013. In the new EIP, the main focus continues to be on professional development for lecturers, pre-service teacher and especially for in-service teachers in practice schools. Some TTIs indicate the need to organize a sharing workshop on research assessment. The pedagogic change initiatives still receive high interest from TTIs.
In the afternoon, the participants received an introduction to the Asset-Based Community Development (ABCD) approach. The basic idea of this approach is to “Develop the community, based on what the local people have, not on what they need”. This approach was first introduced in the 90’s and has been applied in different fields in different countries. The participants were very involved in exploring the approach, especially the ABCD tools: 3Hs (analyzing the individual asset), Leaky Bucket (analyzing the economic opportunities) and Venn Diagram: analyzing the networking in community). The discussions during the exploration made participants reflect on TTI development in the upcoming time.
On the second day, the participants received input from Intel and VVOB on the education transformation model and Intel policy development tool. The tool introduces a holistic approach in developing education transformation policy from different aspects (vision, research, evaluation, ICT and professional development). The tool was perceived to be helpful to reflect on the current EIP and to develop the policy towards education transformation.
Overall, the workshop was evaluated to be “Useful and exciting!” “Content is rich, diverse and useful!”, “Learned a lot!”.
For the attentive reader: are you still wondering what the Leaky Bucket (tool) is? More info of Leaky Bucket and ABCD approach can be found in http://coady.stfx.ca/tinroom/assets/file/resources/abcd/SEWA%20ABCD%20Manual.pdf
