In this project from Plan International, facilitators of an existing project had to quickly adapt their teaching approach and curriculum to suit remote learning due to the COVID-19 crisis. In total, 50 to 60 facilitators of informal and non-formal programmes were targeted, who were training adolescents and youth aged 12 to 24 years old. 

To support these facilitators with the switch to remote facilitation, a phased approached was used, informed by contextual factors:

• An emergency phase: daily intensive communication with facilitators to provide immediate support using Zoom and Teams for synchronous training and WhatsApp for both synchronous and asynchronous training.
• A less intensive phase: a more structured modality during which facilitators meet synchronously 3 times/week, with a shift towards self-study by providing guides and manuals. 
• A blended (in-person/remote) phase: facilitators meet once a week in-person, combined with asynchronous learning.

During these three phases, education specialists from Plan International set up a WhatsApp group with facilitators to:

• Create a sense of presence to support facilitators in the shift to remote facilitation.
• Give facilitators ample opportunities to ask questions about using digital tools.
• Build rapport and motivation with facilitators. 
• Provide both asynchronous and synchronous support to facilitators to cater for facilitators with weak connectivity.

BRAC Institute of Educational Development (BRAC IED) has implemented the “Champion Teachers” initiative that empowers teachers by enhancing their knowledge and skills in play pedagogy. 

The Champion Teachers initiative used a blended design. A fully in-person modality would have been too expensive and would not have been feasible, as some schools are located in remote regions. 

The training is centred around four broad areas: play and play pedagogy; well-being and teacher-student relationship; utilisation of available space and materials to apply play pedagogy in school compounds; and play-based lesson plan. Teachers are equipped with the required skills and knowledge to integrate play-based pedagogy in lessons and facilitate active participation by students. 

25 teachers were selected for the piloting of the intervention. A 5-day virtual training session was designed for the teachers to ensure the effectiveness and successful implementation of the intervention. Following this training, supportive meetings were conducted face-to-face and online. After the completion of the training, teachers went on to apply play-based pedagogy in the classrooms for approximately 2 months as a piloting phase. 

The initial synchronous online sessions indicated that some teachers were not actively participating and needed more guidance. The wide use of smartphones played a crucial role to overcome this problem. Teachers were given SIM cards of carriers with strong network coverage and internet packages to avoid disruptions during the sessions. Field managers with content team members have been assigned to ensure proper communication, accessibility and guidance is in place to encourage participation and monitor implementation. 

Based on the outcome of this piloting, the design will be modified as needed. In 2023, a larger group of teachers will participate in blended CPD to increase their skills to incorporate play-based pedagogy in classrooms.

The Learning Assistant Programme in Sierra Leone emerged from the GATE-GEC project, funded by UK aid through the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office’s (FCDO) Girls’ Education Challenge. 

GATE-GEC aimed to support marginalised girls and children with disabilities in primary and junior secondary schools in Sierra Leone to attend school, reach their full learning potential, learn in a safe and inclusive environment, and successfully transition to further education and beyond. In Sierra Leone, only 27% of teachers at primary level and 14% at secondary level are female; this has immediate consequences on girls’ enrolment, retention and achievement as well as school culture, with longer-term impact on girls’ aspirations, safety in school and job prospects. 

This programme was designed to support young women, who had not previously completed their own primary education, through their professionalisation to qualify as primary school teachers. The programme was delivered through a partnership with Plan International, Open University, the Teaching Services Commission and initial teacher training providers within Sierra Leone. The project currently has 483 graduates from two cohorts; a third cohort of 228 teachers have been trained and sat their NCTVA teacher qualification exams at the end of 2021. Participants initially worked as Learning Assistants in schools within their local communities, undertaking a practical work placement and engaged in a distance learning programme (Maths and English) supported by a tutor, before sitting their entrance examinations for Initial Teacher Training Colleges (ITTCs). 

This model is not an example of blended continuous professional development per se, it is a blended model of initial teacher training. An initial work placement is accompanied by a foundational literacy and numeracy skills development programme. After passing their ITTC entrance exams, participants begin the distance model of ITT training. The model requires a combination of face-to-face mentoring and support from Programme Study Mentors who visit the teachers throughout their school-based placements, ensuring that participants are receiving appropriate support from head teachers in the school setting with access to relevant teacher training materials. 

Materials for distance learning included paper-based learning materials and the use of digital technology in the form of tablet-based teacher training modules. The tablets allow trainees to access digital content in the form of ITT modules including literacy, numeracy, child protection, safeguarding and inclusive pedagogy and others via a mobile Moodle application. This mitigates internet connectivity issues within rural areas in Sierra Leone, with content updates and maintenance accessed by the trainees periodically while visiting an area with connectivity and when attending face-to-face training. In additional to the distance learning and school-based training, trainees met for face-to face training to encourage reflective practice and enable participants to form regional communities of practice. 

The programme was adapted throughout the Covid-19 pandemic, with newly-qualified teachers trained to support vulnerable girls and children with disabilities in their localities during school closures, providing telephone-based home learning, child welfare and protection.

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In Vietnam, VVOB works in close partnership with the Ministry of Education on strengthening blended learning approaches with teachers and school leaders. Through a blended CPD trajectory that embeds play-based learning approaches, school leaders and teachers are trained to provide responsive and engaging learning experiences to their learners. 

The blended CPD trajectory starts with a Digital Literacy course to ensure that all participants have the required digital knowledge, skills, and tools. This Digital Literacy course was in-person, tailormade for this trajectory and addresses both general digital literacy as well as programme-specific content with a focus on Moodle, as this is the main course platform. The course takes 1.5 days to complete. 

As this was a newly developed course, VVOB decided to organise both a dry run and a pilot. The dry run consisted of a run of the complete course, with all the course facilitators present to go through the course with a group of learners composed of VVOB staff and focal points of the Ministry of Education and Training. At the end of the course, all participants of the dry run shared their feedback on the content of the course, the design of the activities and the facilitation methods. 

After this dry run, there were still a few uncertainties about the practical organisation of the course with many learners in one room (70-100 people), all needing access to Wi-Fi and personal support. Therefore, a pilot of two cohorts was conducted with the target group of teachers in one of the target provinces. This pilot allowed VVOB to analyse organisational challenges and find ways to solve these challenges. Both VVOB staff and the course participants shared their feedback after the pilot. The focus of the pilot was more on the organisation of the course, but feedback on content, facilitation, methods and learning outcomes was also collected. 

Both the dry run and the pilot contributed to a stronger course. Nevertheless, VVOB opted to take an iterative approach throughout the whole course cycle and kept organising feedback moments with the facilitators after every cohort to finetune the course.  

Pratham has been working on the capacity-building of district-level resource groups (trainers) in Maharashtra in the western peninsular region of India on a school readiness campaign to engage parents, particularly mothers, in preparing their children to enter grade one. 

A state-level resource group (SRG) was created which trained district-level resource groups to train schoolteachers on the school readiness campaign. More than 200,000 mothers’ groups were formed during this campaign and supported by schoolteachers through a blended approach which consisted of several components:  

• “Idea videos” as well as paper-based activity cards, called “idea cards,” with demonstrations and explanations of play-based activities in local languages. 
• These idea videos are further disseminated to the schoolteachers and shared via WhatsApp messages to mothers’ groups 
• Mothers meet weekly in groups to watch short video clips with a demonstration of an activity. They receive instructions for the weekly play-based activity, discuss experiences, and give feedback.
• Upon request, mothers’ groups also receive some practical messages (e.g., simple tutorials) to enhance digital literacy (e.g., how to use YouTube to find information such as a rhyme or songs in local language). 
• Mothers individually spend at least one hour a week doing an early childhood education play-based activity with their child. 
• Pratham staff, schoolteachers and volunteers maintain the regular running of the programme by visiting mother groups and providing support via WhatsApp and radio programme broadcasts.

In a second initiative, Pratham supported the Capacity Building of Master Trainers of Himachal Pradesh Pre-Primary Programme (Government and Pratham Partnership initiative) through technical support on content, systems, monitoring, and more. This work continued even through the challenges posed by the Covid-19 pandemic.

Teaching and Learning Foundational Mathematics Through Play for Grade R-3 Educators is a pilot project that targets 1000 Foundation Phase educators from 250 schools across 4 districts in KwaZulu Natal (South Africa). 

The project, implemented by VVOB in South Africa, aims at enhancing educators’ classroom practice in the teaching of foundation phase mathematics by integrating a play-based approach. To achieve this, the project tests the effectiveness of two modalities (synchronous/ blended and asynchronous /remote CPD) for educators’ professional development.

Central to the approach in both synchronous and asynchronous modalities is to build a community of learning. 

Key features are:

Social Learning Platform

A needs assessment was conducted which showed limited exposure to online learning with educators. The decision was made to include the Social Learning Platform (SLP) in the LMS to stimulate content-related engagements among educators for augmented knowledge acquisition and link the course content to classroom practice using Learning through Play (LtP). PLC prompts were integrated into course modules to stimulate and encourage peer learning via the SLP. 

Peer and Community Recognition

In-course and Social Learning Platform motivation is promoted through the “Wall of Fame”, recognition and celebrations for educators that engage meaningfully and share resources and practice. Badges and certificates of completion serve as a motivation.

Weekly WhatsApp prompts 

During the face-to-face orientation sessions, WhatsApp groups of local groups of teachers were established. The groups were aimed at encouraging educators to participate in the course and engage with others via the Social Learning Platform. All prompts focused on directing teachers to the course platform.

Delivery and unpacking of the Mini Toolkit

Each educator received a toolkit with resources and manipulatives for the classroom. To motivate them to use the toolkit, they had to unpack it and perform an activity that aligns with the R-ATPs (Recovery Annual Teaching Plan) for the upcoming term for classroom teaching practice and relevance. Teachers were encouraged by the toolkit to think out of the box and create resources to add to the toolkit.

Reflection sessions 

A face-to-face reflection session was facilitated with the groups in the districts. The following aspects were covered:

LtP course content Q&A drawing on data from online engagements on the Social Learning Page and LMS.

Evaluate if educators have formed PLCs and the composition of those PLCs.

Orientation of PLC Champions. 

A mini toolkit was presented, and an unboxing activity aligned to the R-ATPs (Recovery Annual Teaching Plan) conducted.

Reflection sessions 

A face-to-face reflection session was facilitated with the groups in the districts. The following aspects were covered:

• LtP course content Q&A drawing on data from online engagements on the Social Learning Page and LMS.
• Evaluate if educators have formed PLCs and the composition of those PLCs.
• Orientation of PLC Champions. 
• A mini toolkit was presented, and an unboxing activity aligned to the R-ATPs (Recovery Annual Teaching Plan) conducted.

For the asynchronous group, an online version of the reflection sessions and virtual unpacking followed the delivery of toolkits to their schools.