Teacher training is now underway! After our first two days of training sessions, spirits are high and participants have comments that the facilitators from the Provincial Teacher Training College seem to be doing an excellent job overall.
Despite the soaring temperatures and stuffy classroom, 31 teachers from Khnar and Svay Dungkum Primary Schools made the trip to Svay Dungkum on motorbikes and bicycles, one woman with a 16-month-old child in tow, all taking time out of their busy schedules to improve their teaching skills. Among the teachers sat the Khnar and Svay Dungkum school directors, eager to participate with their staff in the 8 hour training sessions last Saturday and Sunday. Even the District of Education Office managed to participate by assisting the facilitator with different tasks throughout the day. The facilitator captured his audience with an energetic presentation filled with interactive questions, examples and activities on how to write effective on how to write effective lesson plans. We hope that by the end of the teacher training program, classroom management and teaching methodology will improve in classrooms at participating schools. During a quick break many of the attending teachers mentioned how effective the session seemed to be going, which is exactly what we like to hear.
Fifteen teachers from Wat Mon Thyean and Phoum Stung Primary Schools also attended sessions held Phoum Stung, about 18km outside of Siem Reap town. SCC’s Programme Officer, Jay, commented on the facilitator being well-organized and running a tight schedule (unlike many schedules in Cambodia, which tend to be very lax).
While the training sessions are going well over all, we will need to continue pursuing funding opportunities to make the next training sessions a possibility. For this group of trainings alone, SCC provided $624.58 USD worth of materials, instructor payments, transportation subsidies, participant manuals and refreshments.
That said, the sessions seem to be off to a good start and we will be glad to see the teachers progress through the training. Classes will continue on Saturday and Sunday 7-8 March between 7:30am and 5:00pm.
Stay tuned for the updates!