Teacher training, empowerment crucial to effective learning

achieve impactful teaching and learning, teachers must be empowered, regularly trained in order for them to be abreast of global best practices, and internalise universal core values of the profession.

This was the submission of the Founder/President of Edvigor Incorporation (a non-governmental organisation committed to teacher-training and development), Mrs. Nneamaka Enechi, during a five-day teachers training workshop organised for public school teachers in Ifako-Ijaiye Local Council Area of Lagos State.

Enechi, who stressed that nations that desire to be great, must ensure that their teachers are well equipped to deliver world-class learning, added that regular development of teachers remains the only way to achieve effective and efficient learning.

She said, “There is no doubt that Nigeria is sorely in need of positive social change in the education system. Through properly developed systems, schools can provide a powerful platform to prepare students for responsible citizenship. Teachers are like the gamechangers when it comes to education reforms, because they are the ones who deal directly with the students in the classroom.

“Successful teaching begins long before the teacher arrives in the classroom, it begins with targeted training and careful planning. The role of the teacher is in the education reform. Therefore, our resources should be dedicated to supporting and empowering teachers in ways that deepen the interaction between them and their students.

She continued, “There is need to regularly equip the teachers, especially those in public schools for sustainable social change in the country. By doing so, teachers will devise ways to set in core values like integrity, self-determination, teamwork and respect into their daily interactions with their students.”

She said that her organization was out to “stimulate positive change in Nigeria through social and academic education. We work with teachers to improve their ability to teach even better, as well as to seamlessly embed universal core values in their interactions with their students. The goal of the organisation is to deepen teachers’ knowledge of specific curriculum components so that they are better equipped to reach students in both whole group and individualised settings.”
 
Enechi noted that the workshop, which is their first outing in the country, was held in partnership with Ifako-Ijaiye LGA of the state. “Our first cohort comprises of 50 teachers from nine elementary schools and one private school. Each of these teachers has classroom sizes of about 80 students. Therefore, we project that our workshop will improve the learning experience of approximately 3,000 lower elementary students.

“Edvigor will continue to work with cohort one for the next three years to build a strong and sustainable literacy and mathematic curriculum and to evolve positive school-wide and class room practices. Five talented teachers from the United States facilitated the workshop.

It is noteworthy that our workshop models is designed by leading curriculum experts like Mahesh Sharma, the world renowned mathematician, and John Bower, our curriculum director whose expertise as a literacy coach is widely recognized within the US and beyond,” she said.