The Training Program for Innovative Use of Technology in the Classroom Overview The ERfKE Support Project (ESP) is an initiative funded by the USAID/Jordan that aims at supporting the Ministry of Education in Jordan to achieve its objectives in improving the quality of education in the Kingdom to prepare the students to be citizens in a knowledge-based economy. The aim of the pilot project is to develop a strong sense of local ownership for the development project by principals, teachers, students and members of the local community. The training program aims at paving the way to creating a student-centered environment in which the teacher and student become partners in the learning process. It is a unique pilot that experiments with various technology models of integrating ICT in the classroom and coming out with recommendations concerning the best models and strategies to be later rolled-out on a national level. The program targets the training of 120 teachers in 5 pilot schools across the Kingdom. CADER tailor-made a special content for the teachers’ professional development based on a need analysis for the competences and needs of the teachers of the involved schools. This 160-hour-program training is the only Arabic locally-developed content accredited by MoE, that entitles educators for their second teacher rank level. This program is the first local Arabic program to be granted this accreditation besides the program of INTEL and World Links. Content The professional development training program emphasizes and encourages a systematic process of continuous professional development where participants get the chance to enhance and develop their professional competences and put them into practice. It depends on learning by producing, promotes self-directed learning and achieves sustainability and continuous development. The professional development training program experimented with various methods of integrating information and communication technology in the classroom and testing new technological models introduced to the education scene in Jordan. Delivery Mechanism The professional development training program "Innovative Use of Technology in the Classroom" extends over a period of one scholastic year, distributed over three phases as follows: Phase I: It consists of: class visits and the Common Grounds Workshop. These activities aim at determining the teachers’ needs, creating ownership and commitment and creating a common vision among all the stakeholders in the educational process. Phase II: It consists of 16 weekly lectures at schools which rely on theory, learning by doing, cooperative work and a self-directed task that is given at the end of each lecture. In addition to this, it includes a weekly class visit during which teachers put what they learn and experience into practice. Phase III: The final phase comprises of the professional development plan and the final project. The professional development plan is competence-driven. Teachers choose the competences they want to develop and make plans for their own development. As for the final project, it is an opportunity for teacher to share knowledge and disseminate it and assume the role of coaches with their peers. |