My year of service for IFESH is about to come to an end. I will be returning to the United States on 14 June 2010. I have had an amazing and life-changing experience working here in the Fatick Region of Senegal, and so before I return, I want to share a review of all the different work I have done for IFESH.

However, before doing so, I would like to give thanks to all of my Senegalese colleagues, coworkers, and friends, especially the English teachers, those at the PRF in Fatick, and the participants of my English course. I have been truly welcome in your country and I hope that I have managed to teach at least a fraction of what I have learned while being here. I have enjoyed myself and I have enjoyed success in my work, and neither of those things would have been possible without your hospitality and cooperation. (Et je veux dire que le Sénégal est vraiment le pays de la Teranga. Je penserai tendrement à vous pour le reste de ma vie et j’espère que nous serons ensemble encore – très bientôt.)

Now, as for discussing the results of my work, first I would like to share a summary of my acheivements.

Summary of Major Achievements

- Worked with 300 beneficiaries from a variety of sectors, providing a total of 5740 person-hours of training, for an average of 19.13 hours of training per person; successfully incorporated the majority of the AEFA Program’s cross-cutting themes for “in-service teacher training” into my work

- Conducted training activities in remote areas, thereby providing access to training for teachers who would not otherwise be able to attend the sessions

- Built a strong relationship with the host institution (the PRF Fatick) and the Fatick Office of Academic Inspection; built a highly positive image of IFESH in the education sector in the region, paving the way for future opportunities and success

Teacher Training Activities

- Conducted 32 individual teacher training activities, equaling 35 days of seminars and workshops, thereby providing a total of 210 hours of in-service teacher training to teachers from a variety of teaching disciplines

- Worked with 263 in-service teachers, providing a total of 5128 person-hours of training, for an average of 19.49 hours of training per teacher

Community Outreach Activities

- Co-founded a new Community-Based Organization, « Organisation communautaire de base pour le revitalisation des mangroves et la préservation de la biodiversité » and helped to build momentum and plan for a project to create a community-managed nature preserve to expand and protect the mangroves and biodiversity in the Fatick Region

Teaching Activities

- Provided 60 hours of English-language training to NGO/CBO workers, government officials, educators and other Fatick community members, covering a wide range of topics, including HIV/AIDS awareness and gender equity

Expansion Activities

- Collected and organized extensive amount of contact information for NGOs, CBOs, and organizations that support the advancement of women, laying the foundation for the expansion of IFESH activities in the Fatick Region and for partnership-building with Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs)

- Built network of contacts and organizations that will provide many opportunities for collaboration in conducting teacher training activities in the project years to come

Improving Available Resources Activities

- Planned, prepared, set up, and established usage, security and maintenance procedures for a Community Resource Center at the PRF in Fatick, enabling the CPIs and future IFESH volunteers to conduct trainings focused on ICT

As for the details of these accomplishments:

Teacher Training Activities

During the course of the 2009-2010 academic year, I organized and conducted a total of 32 teacher training activities. Of these, I held 2 full day workshops for teachers from throughout the Fatick Region, 6 department-wide full day seminars, an IFESH-funded three-day seminar for untrained (“vacataire”) teachers, and 23 full day workshops for the 8 different “mixed training cells” of teachers of English within the region. In total, I conducted 210 hours of teacher training.

Departmental Seminar Series: Shaping the Way We Teach English (SWWTE) – 3 Departmental Seminars

Subtopic 1: Reflective Teaching

Subtopic 2: Developing Reflective Teaching Journals and Collaborative Journal Sharing Procedures

Subtopic 3: Student-centered Learning and Learning Strategies

Participants: 137 In-Service Teachers of English

Dates: 11 December 2009 – 15 December 2009

Training Workshop Series One: Teaching Methods for Success (1TMS) – 7 Individual Mixed Training Cell Workshops

Subtopic 1: Preparing Students of English for Tests

Subtopic 2: Using the National Curriculum for Lesson Planning

Subtopic 3: Differentiated Learning Activities in English classrooms

Participants: 114 In-Service Teachers of English

Dates: 9 January 2010 – 22 February 2010

“Vacataire” Teacher Training Seminar / 3-Day IFESH-Funded Seminar: « Initiation à la conception et à la mise en œuvre d’un projet pédagogique »

Subtopic 1: Planning and Conducting Classroom Activities

Subtopic 2: Developing Learning Objectives for National Standards

Subtopic 3: Lesson Planning

Subtopic 4: Classroom Management Techniques

Subtopic 5: Effective Student Assessment

Participants: 49 In-Service Teachers of a variety of subjects

Dates: 8 February 2010 – 10 February 2010

Assessing Learning Revisited: 1-Day Workshop for Teachers of “Terminale” Classes

Subtopic 1: Review of principles for Teaching and Learning English in Senegal

Subtopic 2: Current Beliefs about Testing in the Senegalese Context; Identification of Assessment Concepts

Subtopic 3: Aligning Tests with the National Curriculum

Subtopic 4: Involving Students in the Assessment Process

Participants: 10 In-Service Teachers of English

Date: 4 March 2010

Language Learning Concepts: 1-Day Workshop for “Vacataire” Teachers

Subtopic 1: Priorities of Teaching English in Senegal

Subtopic 2: The Four Language Learning Skills

Subtopic 3: Using the National Curriculum for Teaching English

Participants: 28 In-Service Teachers of English and French

Date: 6 March 2010

Training Workshop Series Two: Classroom Management (2CM) – 8 Individual Mixed Training Cell Workshops

Subtopic 1: Managing the English-language Classroom: Theories, Approaches, and Useful Strategies

Subtopic 2: Teaching English in Large Class Settings

Subtopic 3: Strategies for Building Student Confidence in Speaking, Reading, and Writing English

Participants: 134 In-Service Teachers of English

Dates: 9 March 2010 – 22 March 2010

Training Workshop Series Three: Strategic Teaching (3ST) – 8 Individual Mixed Training Cell Workshops

Subtopic 1: Creative Development of Teaching & Learning Materials

Subtopic 2: Collecting and Using Student Feedback for Success

Subtopic 3: Methods for Checking Student Comprehension

Participants: 137 In-Service Teachers of English

Dates: 16 April 2010 – 6 May 2010

Managing the Classroom: 1-Day Workshop for In-Service Teachers of English from Foundiougne Department

Subtopic 1: Dealing with Classroom Challenges

Subtopic 2: Managing Classroom Language

Subtopic 3: Managing Classroom Activities

Participants: 52 In-Service Teachers of English from the Foundiougne Department

Date: 30 April 2010

ATES Writing Workshop: 1-Day Workshop for In-Service Teachers of English from ATES branch of Foundiougne

Subtopic 1: Strategies for Teaching Writing Communicatively

Subtopic 2: Challenges to Teaching Writing in the Senegalese Context

Subtopic 3: Using and Teaching the 11 Sentence Paragraph

Subtopic 4: Modifying the 11 Sentence Paragraph

Participants: 18 In-Service Teachers of English from the Foundiougne Department

Date: 15 May 2010

FASTEF Research Seminar: 1-Day Workshop for “Vacataire” Teachers Enrolled in Credential-Bearing Online Training

Subtopic 1: Strategies for Writing a Research Paper on Pedagogy

Subtopic 2: FASTEF Research Paper Outline

Subtopic 3: Using and Teaching the Eleven Sentence Paragraph

Subtopic 4: Collecting and Citing Electronic Sources

Participants: 20 In-Service “Vacataire” Teachers of English from throughout the Fatick Region

Date: 25 May 2010

Community Outreach Activities

Since arriving here in Fatick, I have helped to restart and build momentum for a project to create a community-managed nature preserve to maintain and expand mangrove forests and preserve biodiversity in the Fatick Region. I collaborated with a pre-established Community Council, a Community Outreach Specialist, an Environmental Scientist and local government officials to assist in the design and implementation of the project.

As a result of preliminary research and planning, I suggested and helped to oversee the founding of a new Community-Based Organization, « Organisation communautaire de base pour le revitalisation des mangroves et la préservation de la biodiversité. » The first meeting of the CBO took place on March 12^th, 2010, with 15 members of the community. The purpose of the meeting was to introduce the vision and mission of the project and to establish candidates for the various board positions of the CBO.

I also held a series of strategic planning meetings to further this work. I met with Macky Sall, the mayor of Fatick, to introduce the concept, secure his approval to move forward, and to discuss strategy options for seeing the project to fruition. I also had a series of meetings with Lansanna Goudiaby (CPI for Spanish at the PRF Fatick, the co-founder of the CBO, and a member of the “Community Environmental Council” of Fatick) in regards to reaching out to the community to expand project support.

Currently, this remains a work-in-progress, but I feel very positively about the impetus and momentum I helped to create. I strongly believe that this project will move forward in the years to come. Also, I must say, given that the primary focus of development  is on economic and educational improvement in the economically challenged Fatick Region, a project focused on environmental protection and improvement is something that must be given time.

Teaching Activities

From November 2009 until May 2010, I organized and conducted bi-weekly English-language training sessions for nonprofit professionals, educators, local government officials (including health, safety, and administrative employees), and other individuals interested in improving their ability to speak English. The course took place on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 7-9pm in the conference room at the regional headquarters of the Agence Nationale de Conseil Agricole et Rurale (ANCAR), the National Agricultural and Rural Advisory Council. The Regional Director of ANCAR, Mr. Jean Charles Faye, provided me with access to the ANCAR conference room, as per an in-kind contribution to my efforts here in Fatick. In total, I conducted 30 two-hour training sessions, for a total of 60 hours of training. During the 30 classes (60 hours of training), we covered all of the following topics:

Phonetics and Grammar

Everyday Life: Family, Sports, and Food

Education and Leadership

International Development and North/South Politics

Global Food Crisis and the Fight against Poverty

Environment and Sustainable Development

Strategic Planning and Project Management

Monitoring & Evaluation

Agriculture and Rural Development

Community Development Strategies

Human Rights, Peacekeeping, and International Security

Gender Issues and Violence against Women and Children

Public Health and Health Education: HIV/AIDS and Malaria

Finance and Economics

Business Reporting

Telecommunications

Expansion Activities

During the 2009-2010 academic year, I have sought to lay the groundwork for expanding the work of IFESH in the Fatick Region, including finding possibilities for partnerships, opportunities to conduct trainings, and opportunities to contribute to existing projects and programs. 

In regards to building partnerships, I have collected and organized the contact information for most CBOs, NGOs, and “Women’s Support Organizations” in the Fatick Region. With this information, the IFESH volunteer for the 2010-2011 academic year should be able to reach out to a number of organizations, and thereby help to fulfill the AEFA program goal of “identifying and nurturing linkages with organizations in the Fatick Region and Historically Black Colleges & Universities (HBCUs).”

Another important aspect of my work this year has been based on working with other organizations to conduct trainings, and I believe that continuing to do so will be critical in realizing the goals of the AEFA program in Senegal. I was invited, collaborated, and conducted trainings in cooperation with all of the following organizations/institutions:

- Senior Regional English Language Fellowship, Bureau d’anglais, Ministère de l’éducation

- ANCAR – Agence nationale de conseil agricole & rurale (National Agricultural & Rural Advisory Council)

- The World Bank

- International Leaders in Education Program (ILEP), International Research & Exchanges Board (IREX)

- British Council of Senegal

- Association of Teachers of English in Senegal (ATES)

- CNFC – Coordination Nationale de la Formation Continuée (National Office for the Coordination of Professional Development for Teachers)

- FASTEF – Faculté des sciences et technologies de l’éducation et de la formation (Senegalese National Teacher Training Institute, formerly École Normale Supérieure)

As well, this year I have been in contact with those implementing other USAID-funded education programs in the Fatick Region.  One major project that I collaborated with, USAID/PAEM, effectively ended 31 May 2010, but a new project is currently being developed to pick up where it left off, and there is another major project already underway:

USAID/EDB: Programme Éducation de Base: Focused on improved middle school curriculum; increased involvement and government support for education with the participation of Parent-Teacher Associations; increased access to wireless Internet services for teachers and students; strengthened contribution of the private sector in education

Improving Available Resources Activities

During the 2009-2010 academic year, I prepared, organized and setup a Community Resource Center at the PRF in Fatick. Because IFESH (via the AEFA program) donated 5 computers, chairs, computer desks, and energy storage/surge protection devices, as well as a printer and wireless internet signal expander, I had the opportunity to create a Community Resource Center at the PRF in Fatick. Thus, I organized, oversaw physical improvements for security, and thoroughly cleaned the conference room at the PRF (which was a major undertaking).  I also coordinated the delivery of the donated items, ensured that arrangements were made for assembly of the desks, set all the computers up, installed necessary software, and verified that all of the equipment was in good working order. Finally, I collaborated with the Coordinator of the PRF to establish thorough usage, maintenance and security procedures for the newly created Community Resource Center.

A Closing Word

I am very proud of these achievements, but they are not mine alone to claim. It is amazing what you can accomplish in a little over 8 months when you have the levels of support and cooperation that I was lucky enough to receive in Fatick. A lot of planning, work, and collaboration went into making these things possible. I certainly would not have been able to do all of it without the support of my colleagues and coworkers at the PRF in Fatick, the USAID Regional Offices (thanks Latyr!), the Academic Inspection, the Ministry of Education, and most especially the teachers and participants in my classes and workshops. I am very grateful for the opportunities, guidance, and assistance that was provided to me, as it enabled me to flourish in my work and to be comfortable in my temporary home. I will never forget this experience, and I will never forget my home in Senegal.

Merci Fatick, merci beaucoup.

It has been some time since I have been able to sit down and write a blog post.  I have been extremely busy working with teachers, conducting English courses, building relationships with local organizations, and meeting reporting requirements.  I finally found a little free time today, and so I thought I share a bit about some of the work that has been keeping me so busy.

THE CONTEXT

In 2009, IFESH bid on and was selected for $8 million dollars in funding to be an implementing agent of the USAID-funded “American Educators for Africa Program.”  One of the big goals of this program is to provide teacher-training expertise in the most economically-challenged regions of the participating sub-Saharan African countries.  This goal guides the majority of my work here in Senegal.  It is one of the major reasons that I am here. Thus, over the course of the past three months, I have been traveling around the Fatick Region doing day-long teacher training workshops with les cellules mixtes or the “mixed training cells” of teachers of English.

THE “MIXED TRAINING CELL” SYSTEM

These “mixed training cells” are groups of about 20 or more teachers from schools in geographic proximity within the region that come together for a certain number of pedagogical trainings per academic year. So, for example, there are many schools in the tiny villages around the cities of Diofior and Fimela, plus the schools within the cities themselves, and together the teachers from these schools form le cellule mixte de Diofior/Fimela.  (There are also “school training cells” at most of the larger schools, those in the large villages and small cities which dot the region.)  Each training cell has a Cell Coordinator, who informs the colleagues of upcoming events, new requirements, or changes of plan, and makes the necessary preparations for all of the scheduled activities for the school year.

The teachers of English in the Fatick Region have a very dynamic and active training cell system.  The teachers assemble themselves four to five times a year, and they come from all over the region, including from some remote areas of the “bush.”  Transportation to and from these assemblies is not provided by the school system, so the teachers travel to the cell meetings and trainings at their own expense.  They come by les sept places (old seven seat Peugeot station wagons), bush taxis, donkey carts, pirogues, and whatever other means of transportation they can find to get to the predetermined location  for the training or meeting.  Sometimes they end up waiting for hours in the sun for a bus or car that never comes, and they do not even get to attend the training.  Sometimes they have to leave their house the day before the meeting to make it.  To help address this difficulty, the planning for all of the trainings scheduled for the academic year is done in October, right at the beginning of the Senegalese school year, so the teachers know well in advance as to when they will need to travel.  Also, all of the trainings are scheduled to fall on the “market day” of the cities or villages where they will take place.  In this way, it is much easier for the teachers to find a mode of transportation, as there are many more options and many other people traveling on market days.

The teachers of English in the Fatick Region have also organized an excellent system to provide lunch for the trainings, which is again at their own expense.  Each teacher comes to the meeting with a predetermined amount of money which they contribute to the “lunch fund.” The cell coordinator or one of the female teachers (who can often bargain for a better price!) then hires local women to cook big plates of traditional Senegalese food (usually the national dish Chebu Gen, or “Fish and Rice, Senegalese style”), which are finished off with soft drinks, Senegalese tea (VERY important!), and sometimes fruit or cookies.  In this way, by sharing and going in together for lunch, everyone saves a little money and eats very well.

TRAINING WORKSHOP SERIES

The trainings I have been conducting with the mixed training cells have taken place in cycles dispersed throughout the academic year, in what I call “Training Workshop Series.”  I go from one predetermined city or village to another over the course of some weeks and present the same training to each mixed training cell.  To this point in the academic year, I have conducted two of these series of training workshops (15 workshops total) for the mixed training cells, with another series (8 more workshops) which I have just begun.  Each individual workshop lasts all day and included six hours of actual training (and a nice lunch).  During the workshops, the teachers have to work very hard.  Since there can only be so many workshops held per year, because of the logistical constraints involved, a lot of work has to be crammed into one day. Also, the trainings (by the teachers’ choice and education policy) are conducted completely in English, which sometimes is a teacher’s fifth or even SIXTH language!  (They are truly amazing with language, and they inspire me to present extremely useful and informative workshops.)

ESTABLISHING AND DELIVERING TRAINING CONTENT

The content of these workshops has been designed to simultaneously meet the expressed needs of the teachers and align with the criteria of the USAID-funded “American Educators for Africa Program,” focusing on the cross-cutting themes of 1) Classroom Management and 2) Creating Teaching and Learning Materials.  More specifically, at the beginning of the school year, I studied the National Curriculum for Teaching English in Senegal, talked with teachers and education officials, and brainstormed topics that could help the teachers and simultaneously allow me to stay in line with my work for IFESH and USAID.  I then came up with a list of potential training topics, and with this list in hand, I met with the cell coordinators and thoroughly discussed the training needs of the teachers.  As a group, we ranked the training needs of the teachers and narrowed down the list of topics I came up with accordingly, selecting those that would allow me to provide trainings the teachers need, but that also would allow me to meet the demands of the project I work on behalf of.  Please see the basic data for each workshop series, and the topics we chose, below:

Training Workshop Series One: “Teaching Methods for Success” – 7 Individual Workshops

Subtopic 1:      Preparing Students of English for Examinations

Subtopic 2:      Using the National Curriculum for Lesson Planning

Subtopic 3:      Differentiated Learning Activities in English classrooms

Participants:    114 In-Service Teachers of English from the Fatick Region

Locations:        Fatick, Niakhar, Diakhao, Samba Dia, Tattaguine, Soum, and Sokone

Dates: 9           January 2010 – 22 February 2010

Training Workshop Series Two: “Classroom Management” – 8 Individual Workshops

Subtopic 1:      Managing the Classroom: Theories, Approaches, and Useful Strategies

Subtopic 2:      Teaching English in Large Class Settings

Subtopic 3:      Strategies for Building Student Confidence in Speaking, Reading & Writing English

Participants:    134 In-Service Teachers of English from the Fatick Region

Locations:        Fatick, Niakhar, Diakhao, Diofior, Dioroup, Jilor, Passy, and Gossas

Dates:              9 March 2010 – 22 March 2010

THE RESULTS

As to the results of the first two workshop series, I will let the teachers speak for themselves. The following quotes are taken from some of the “Follow-Up Survey Forms” that I give the teachers to fill out as part of IFESH monitoring and evaluation:

“I am losing my shyness.” – Ms. Ndeye Nogaye Diagne

“The training received has allowed me to vary the way that I evaluate my classroom activities.  Now I have many ways to evaluate the work of the students.” – Mr. Issa Diao, Niakhar

“I now have better regard for my students, and they are more involved in the classes.” – Mr. Ouseynou Noumou Ndiaye, Fatick

“The training has helped in my teaching because I am now better preparing my students for the [national] exams.  Also, sometimes I now organize games for them.” – Mr. Ousmane Mbaye, Diouroup

“The changes in my behavior resulting from the trainings received: at home, I am always learning; at school, I am better at explaining concepts to my students.” – Mr. Dib Ndior, Patar Sine

A LITTLE FUN

Working with the teachers is one of the highlights of being here in Senegal.  It has given me as close to an “authentic Senegalese experience” as a westerner can ever really have, and it has helped me grow as an individual as well.  You see, I too face the difficulties of transportation; I too work in the hot classrooms with no electricity; I too have to find ways to teach with minimal resources in remote places.  It has caused me to find adaptability and resourcefulness that I did not know that I had.  It has also made me come to truly appreciate the work that the teachers manage do to under the conditions they face.

But Senegal is not all difficulties.  There is a lot of positivity, “a spiritual wealth,” that counteracts some of the material poverty that you find here.  One significant demonstration of this positivity took place right here in my small town of Fatick, and all across the country.  April 4^th, 2010 was a special day in Senegalese history, as it marked 50 years of independence from the colonial rule of France.  All across the country, there were celebrations, parades and (in true Senegalese fashion) feasts.  Many people told me, “Michael, go to Dakar for the holiday.  There will be a HUGE parade that will last for hours. It will be televised. You might even be on T.V.!”  However, I did not want to go to Dakar, because I knew that there would be a smaller parade right here in Fatick.  I was so glad I stayed, because the our local parade had such a wonderful “proud little city; proud little region” feel to it, and featured the local military.  It was not some big international show like the parade in Dakar; this one had a “small town heart” (kind of like me), and made me happy to be part of the Fatick community.  One of the other IFESH volunteers, Yanick Douyon, was visiting on Senegalese Independence Day, and was with me for the parade.  Luckily, she remembered her camera.  So here is the parade, in pictures.  (All photos are credited to and courtesy of Yanick Douyon.)

Education in Senegal is expanding.  A publicly funded basic education is (to some extent) guaranteed, and there are more and more students enrolling every year.  Hundreds of new schools are being built, with many more in the years to come.  Beyond that, a good education is highly valued; people want to learn, and they want to learn well.

As more students and schools are brought into the rapidly expanding system, a conundrum has arisen: “how can Senegal continue to rapidly increase the size and reach of its educational system while simultaneously maintaining (and even improving) the quality of the education that that system delivers?”  The key ingredient in resolving this conundrum is, quite simply, good teachers.

For Senegal, however, this creates another problem.  There is an overwhelming demand for new teachers but the national system for teacher training lacks the capacity to deal with this staggering demand.  There are simply not enough institutions, funds, or experienced teacher-trainers available to produce the number of new, well-trained teachers that the growth of the educational system warrants.  It is a truly difficult situation, one that has no clear solution and that is being dealt with by the governments of many countries in Africa.

So, the government of Senegal, rather than allowing the new classrooms to sit empty and the new students to go without an education, has instituted a policy of hiring teachers, “vacataires,” who do not have the luxury of an initial teacher training.  As I had briefly discussed in one of my previous blog posts, most of these new teachers have a limited academic background; some are fresh out of high school, while others have only done one or two years of college, usually in fields other than teaching.  These teachers also do not have “tenure” and receive significantly less pay than their more experienced colleagues.   For less pay, they are expected to just walk into a classroom and teach under some very difficult conditions; the average class size in the Fatick region is around 70 students per class and students must often share the available desks and schoolbooks.  On top of that, they are usually placed in schools that are in the most remote parts of the region, making travel, and oftentimes life, more difficult than what they are used to.   Theirs is a tough job indeed.

So in support of the “vacataires,” IFESH has funded and organized a series of large training seminars, Initiation à la Conception et à la Mise en Œuvre d’un Projet Pédagogique, or “Introduction to the Design and Implementation of a Pedagogical Project,” to support the professional development of these new teachers.  These seminars, which are being conducted in collaboration with the Coordination Nationale de la Formation Continuée, or the “National Office for the Coordination of Professional Development for Teachers,” will take place in ten (10) different regions of Senegal, providing 500 new teachers with an extremely valuable, and otherwise unavailable, introduction to effective teaching practices.

The seminars themselves were designed to be a “crash course” in the “art of teaching,” and have five main objectives, which are:

1. To help the new teachers plan and conduct classroom activities

2. To help them develop learning objectives for their classes which meet the national standards

3. To give teachers strategies for writing well-structured and effective lesson plans

4. To provide basic classroom management strategies

5. To introduce assessment methods for monitoring and evaluating student learning and achievement

Each seminar features a number of highly informative and practical lectures, a range of participatory activities (including brainstorming sessions, group work, and presentations), as well as a pretest and post-test, which are given to document the teachers’ pre-existing knowledge of teaching practices, as well as that which they acquire in the course of the three days of the workshop. The seminar sessions last for eight intense hours a day, providing these new “vacataire” teachers with 24 hours of important pedagogical training.

The seminar here in the Fatick Region took place on February 8^th, 9^th, and 10^th, 2010 at the Pôle Régional de Formation de Fatick. 49 teachers (originally 50 but one was too sick to come!) participated in the activities, learned a lot in a short period of time, and had a lot of fun in the process!

Here is how things went, in photos.  Please enjoy!

I conducted my first series of teacher training seminars entitled “Departmental Seminar Series: Shaping the Way We Teach English (SWWTE)” in collaboration with Ms. Susan Strand, a Senior Regional English Language Fellow stationed in Dakar, who works at the Ministry of Education in the Bureau d’Anglais.  Working with Susan was just fantastic (she is an amazing teacher) and all three of the seminars were very successful and well-received by the teachers, so I feel that they warrant a new blog post.  Please enjoy!

 

The Basic Facts

Activity: Pedagogical Training Seminar for Teachers of English

Location: Fatick Region – Departments of Fatick, Foundiougne & Gossas

Fatick:  84 Teachers at Lycée Coumba Ndofféne Diouf on 12/11/2009

Foundiougne: 40 Teachers at Lycée de Passy on 12/12/200

Gossas: 13 Teachers at Lycée Khar Kane on 12/15/2009

 

The Participants

The participants in these seminars were all in-service teachers of English from throughout the Region of Fatick.  Some of the teachers are absolutely fluent in English, and have been teaching for many years.  For them, the seminars were ongoing professional development, and much appreciated.  Other teachers are very new to teaching, not yet fluent in English, and did not even have the luxury of an initial teacher training; they are referred to as “vacataires,” and they do not have guaranteed positions (i.e. they are not tenured).  They also receive less pay than their tenured colleagues and are often placed in the most remote places in the region, thus facing the most difficult teaching conditions.   So for them, participating in these types of seminars is a challenge; they do not have the English language level to fully comprehend everything that is discussed in the course of the day, and they do not have a background in teaching to allow them to take what they learn and easily apply it to their own personal teaching methods.  What is more, for some of the vacataires, it was the first training they have ever had outside the classroom (because they had to “learn on their feet” and just plain walk into a classroom and start trying to teach!).

The Structure

All three of the seminars lasted all day (approx. 9:30am to 5pm), and offered six hours of pedagogical training.  The schedule of each seminar was:

1. Introduction, Registration, and Pretest

2. Lecture and Participatory Activities – Subtopic 1: Reflective Teaching

3. Development of Reflective Teaching Journal and Collaborative Journal Sharing Procedures

4. Lecture and Participatory Activities – Subtopic 2: Student-Centered Learning and Learning Strategies

5. Demonstrations and practice of Student-centered Teaching Activities

6. Reflection period and Posttest

The Content

The Shaping the Way We Teach English Seminar was divided, essentially, into two complimentary workshops, one on “Reflective Teaching,” and the other on “Student-Centered Learning and Learning Strategies.”

Reflective Teaching Workshop: The teachers of English participated in a workshop designed to give them strategies to assess and improve their own teaching methods, but beyond that, it also was designed to give them strategies to cooperate, assess, and enhance one another’s teaching methods.  Good teachers are always learning – they are students of their own profession – and they continue to learn throughout their careers. One of the greatest assets that a teacher has is other teachers and this workshop focused on ways for the teachers of English to interact with one another to improve their results in the classroom.  To this effect, teachers were instructed in ways to document and assess their own work, and to cooperate effectively.  They were instructed in how to keep a “Reflective Teaching Journal,” how to efficiently and effectively setup peer observations, and how to participate in “Collaborative Journal Keeping,” where teachers select an aspect of their teaching practices to focus on, record their individual activities in regard to this area of focus, and then, as a group, share their documented experiences with one another.  The purpose of instructing on these three activities was twofold: all of them encourage reflective teaching practices, which are essential in limited resource environments, and, ultimately, they set the stage for “study groups” among the teachers, which is a stated goal of Ministry of Education of Senegal.

Student-Centered Learning and Learning Strategies: The teachers of English also participated in a workshop designed to give them strategies to incorporate “student-centered” activities into their lessons, and to develop and promote “self-learning” among their students.  Student-Centered Learning is a type of educational approach that puts the needs of the students before the goals of teachers and administrators; it requires that teachers become facilitators and coaches rather than the “leaders” of their classrooms.  This is difficult for many teachers to accept because the “traditional model” of education is that teachers give students information and instructions – and the students receive this information and perform tasks that meet the teachers’ expectations.  However, the teachers in the Fatick Region were very receptive to the idea of a student-centered approach (as they use the “communicative approach” to teaching English, a very student-centered way of teaching language) and together we worked through a wide array of techniques and activities that support collaboration and that recognize that students have ideas and experiences.  Once a “student-centered” approach came to be widely accepted, the teachers were also very responsive to the idea that in many ways, students can direct their own learning – all they need are strategies that help them “learn how to learn,” which was the second major idea in the workshop.  In support of this need, we did some demonstrations of activities that require students to organize their own strategies for accomplishing an education task.

The Results

The results of the “Shaping the Way We Teach English” seminar were very straightforward; teachers were extremely pleased with the training and gained valuable knowledge and teaching strategies that they will apply in their work for years to come.  I had a lot of fun, learned so much from working with Susan Strand, and provided some really valuable training to the teachers.  It was a very positive experience, and I am looking forward to the rest of the workshops I have planned for this academic year.

I have started a “Cours de Formation en Anglais” (Training Course in English) here in Fatick. So far it has been a huge success, and so I thought I would share a little bit about it.

The Structure

“Cours de Formation en Anglais” is open to nonprofit professionals, educators, civil servants (including workers in the sectors of health, safety, and administration), and other Fatick community members who would like to improve their ability to speak English. The course is for learners with any level of English, but it is intensive and stresses spoken and professional English. Participants must attend as frequently as possible, be highly motivated, and be ready to cooperate, with me and with one another, to improve their English. In all, there will be 29 two hour courses, so I am providing 58 total hours of English-language training. Here is the calendar:

November: 17, 19, 24, 26

December: 1, 3, 8, 10, 17

January: 26, 28

February: 9, 11, 16, 18, 23, 25

March: 2, 4, 18, 23, 25, 30

April: 1, 6, 8, 13, 27, 29

Classes are held on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 7-9pm at the regional headquarters of the Agence Nationale de Conseil Agricole et Rurale (ANCAR), the National Agricultural and Rural Advisory Council. The Regional Director of ANCAR, Mr. Jean Charles Faye has given me access to the ANCAR conference room as per an in-kind contribution to my efforts here in Fatick. (He is also one of my most avid and enthusiastic students!)

The Process

I started this course by doing some “grassroots” advertising.  I wrote up a course description (in French; it took me a while) and used it to make a simple poster.  I then went around to nonprofit organizations, government offices, the public services, and schools and got permission to advertise my course.  I hung about 30 posters in total, and I now have about 35 students, so I consider my advertising campaign to be a success.

Each participant has to register for the course and take a pre-test the first night they attend. The pre-test serves to determine their English level and gauge their pre-existing knowledge of project management, HIV/AIDS, and gender issues. With the exception of classes on project management, HIV/AIDS awareness, and gender equity, I did not have a fixed curriculum for the course. Instead, I devised a simple needs assessment, and the participants, coming from a variety of sectors and backgrounds, expressed their academic and professional needs. Basically, I asked them how I could help them (aside from “speaking better English”), and what they wanted to get from the course, especially for their professions. Using the information they provided, I devised a “potential curriculum” for the course and then presented it to the class. They happily accepted the curriculum on the very first draft! (Needless to say, I was rather pleased.)

 

During the final classes, the participants will take a post-test to determine their gains in English ability and knowledge of project management, HIV/AIDS, and gender equity.  They will also learn a little about Obama and MLK, as per their request! Here is the curriculum:

Introduction Unit – November 17^th to December 17^th

• Introduction, Registration, Pretest, Needs Assessment
• Phonetics and Grammar
• Everyday Life: Family, Sports, and Food
• Education and Leadership

International Development Unit – January 26^th to February 11^th

• International Development and North/South Politics
• Global Food Crisis and the Fight against Poverty
• Environment and Sustainable Development

Community Development Unit – February 16^th to March 4^th

• Strategic Planning, Project Management, and Monitoring & Evaluation
• Agriculture and Rural Development
• Community Development Strategies

Human Rights and Health Unit – March 18^th to 30^th

• Human Rights, Peacekeeping, and International Security
• Gender Issues and Violence against Women and Children
• Public Health and Health Education: HIV/AIDS and Malaria

Business Unit – April 1^st – 13^th

• Finance and Economics
• Business Reporting
• Telecommunications

Final Classes – April 27^th – 29^th

• Posttest and Course Evaluation
• Historic African-Americans: Barack Obama & Martin Luther King Jr.

The Participants

The participants in the course come from a wide array of professions and backgrounds.  There are nonprofit professionals of all types, in-service and pre-service schoolteachers, merchants, journalists, soldiers, policemen, healthcare professionals, restaurateurs, and businesspeople, all collaborating and learning about one another’s occupations in English.  It has made for a lively and diverse learning environment.   Here is a selection of the sectors and the workplaces that are represented in the class:

Rural and Agricultural Development Organizations

• Agence Nationale de Conseil Agricole et Rural – National Agricultural and Rural Advisory Council
• Conseil Régional de Concertation et de Coopération des Ruraux – Regional Council for Coordination and Cooperation in Rural Communities
• Direction Régional du Développement Rural – Regional Rural Development Board

Public Services

• Centre de Santé de Fatick – Fatick Health Center
• Gendarmerie – Regional Guard
• Commissariat de Police – Fatick Police Department
• Gendarmerie Nationale – National Guard (Armed Forces)

Community Development Organizations

• Femmes Enfance Environnement – Women Children Environment
• Agence Régionale de Développement de Fatick – Fatick Regional Development Agency
• Groupement d’Étude, de Recherche et d’Aide à la Décision – The Group for Study, Research, and Decision-Making
• Service Régional Planification – Regional Planning Service

Education

• Inspection Départementale de l’Éducation Nationale – Departmental Inspection Office of National Education
• Ecole Thiagoune Ndiaye – Thiagoune Ndiaye Elementary School
• Ecole Ngor Ndame Ndiaye – Ngor Ndame Ndiaye Elementary School

Communications

• Société Nationale des Télécommunications du Sénégal – SONATEL, the largest telecommunications company in Senegal
• Walf TV – A privately owned television network in Senegal
• Radiodiffusion Télévision Sénégalaise 1 – RTS1, the largest Senegalese public broadcast station

The Method

Most everyone who attends the “Cours de Formation en Anglais” speaks fluent French (except me!), and the French language, as you may or may not know, is often an exacting and formal language.  Here in Senegal, it is taught to schoolchildren with a focus on precision, accuracy, and grammar.  This stands in sharp contrast to the English I am teaching, professional as it may be.  So I have had to ask the participants to break their habit of immediately correcting any and all “mistakes,” which is what was done when they learned French, and to “just speak English.” That is, to let some of the mispronunciations and errors fix themselves over time, as comprehension increases.  For the first few sessions, many people would not speak out loud for fear of making a mistake.  But then, I reminded them of the class motto: “Le Lion, il a peur de rien” – “The Lion is Afraid of Nothing.” Everyone has gotten on board with this idea, and now the participants encourage one another to speak as much English as possible, with or without some errors.

This method, where people are encouraged to speak as much as possible and let errors fix themselves as comprehension increases, is called the “communicative approach” to teaching English.  I believe it is a very appropriate way to help my students improve in using Anglais, because most of them can read English with some proficiency; what they need is to learn how to speak English, and this is precisely what the communicative approach is best at doing – helping people learn to speak a language.  I have chosen to teach this way because it is the recommended methodology for the teachers of English in the public schools of Senegal.  It is a very collaborative style of teaching and learning, and with a large class in a small place, it is very important that the participants cooperate with one another, because I am not able to give each participant a lot of time individually.  Those who have stronger English skills help those who do not, and part of each class session is spent in small groups, reviewing presented materials or performing various learning activities.

The Results so far. . .

Teaching is the easiest thing in the world when you have good students.  When your job is just to show up with some relevant and useful information and your fluency – and the students really just teach themselves – there is no finer work in the world than teaching.  I can promise you that.

Teaching this course has proven to be a lot of work, but also a lot of fun.  I really enjoy the classes because the participants are very enthusiastic about learning and very grateful for the opportunity to build their English-speaking skills.  I also take pride in the fact that long after I have left Fatick, the professionals and teachers that are participating in the course will use their English skills to help improve the nonprofit, education, and public service sectors in the Fatick Region, and maybe even the nation of Senegal on the whole.

Please do not get me wrong: “Cours de Formation en Anglais” has also proven to be a training course for me.  For each class session, I am forced to research and translate a lot of information for the topics to be covered.  I am not just teaching; I am learning French too, and this is how I have presented the class to the participants – as an exchange among learners.  They help me and I help them.  It has made for a wonderful arrangement.

Hello Everyone,

Welcome to my blog.  I have been here in Senegal for one month, and so I decided it was time that I started blogging.  I hope you enjoy my posts, which will focus on my work here in Fatick, Senegal.  I look forward to your questions and comments.

However, before I report on what is happening here, I would like to take the opportunity to say “thank you” to those of you who have given me so many kind wishes and so much support in this endeavor.  It was not easy for me to decide to come here, even though I have always known that I would work/live in Africa for a time.  I am lucky to have a great family and many good friends, so it was very hard for me to give all that up, if only temporarily.  In fact, I would not have been able to come here at all without the help of three individuals: my step-dad Russ, my mom, and my girlfriend Shari.  The last few years have been tough for me, and I would not have had the means or the strength to do this, to be here, without them.   Russ, thank you so much for letting me come back home when I needed to.  Mom, thank you for always believing in me and telling me that I can do anything I put my mind to.  Shari, thank you for being there for me when things get tough, for supporting me as I chase my dreams, and for never letting me forget who I really am.  I love all of you very much, and please know that I am eternally grateful.

Now, for the first edition of my blog, I will start with the basics, “what am I doing in Senegal?”

Where do I live?

I live in an apartment in a place called Fatick, which is:

1. A Region of Senegal (similar to a state or province) – Region de Fatick
2. One of the three Departments (similar to a county or a parish) in the greater Fatick Region – Département de Fatick (the other two are Foundiougne and Gossas)
3. The capital city of the Fatick Region – Fatick

So technically, I live in Fatick, Fatick, Fatick, Senegal (which is kind of like saying “Sandusky, Erie County, Ohio, USA”).

Where do I work?

I work at a place called the Pôle Régional de Formation à Fatick (PRF).  Loosely translated, it is the “base for travelling trainers of middle and high school teachers in the Fatick Region.”  I work with 16 travelling pedagogical trainers (Conseillers Pédagogiques Itinérant [CPIs]), plus our Coordinator, a security guard, and a driver.  Each CPI is the trainer for one of the subject areas taught in middle and high schools here in Senegal.  There are two CPIs for French, Math, and Physics/Chemistry at the PRF in Fatick, and one for the other subject areas.   Here is a list of the staff:

Maba BA, Coordinator of PRF Fatick

Lamine DIOUF, Chauffeur, PRF Fatick

Moussa DIOUF, CPI, Mathematics

Mouhamed EL MOCTAI DIAYI, CPI, Arabic

Lansana GOUDIABY, CPI, Spanish

Oumol Fadly NDIAYE BA, CPI, English

Abdoulaye NDOUR, CPI, Earth and Life Sciences

Cheikhou NDOUR, Security Guard, PRF Fatick

Diokel NGOM, CPI, French

Ousmane NGOM, CPI, History and Geography

Mamadou NIANG, CPI, Physics and Chemistry

Demba SARR, CPI, Philosophy

Bassirou SENE, CPI, French

Elisabeth TRAORE, CPI, Art Education

Abdoulaye WANE, CPI, German

Not Pictured:

Abdoulaye FAYE, CPI, Physics and Chemistry

Birame FAYE, CPI, Physical Education and Health

Moussa FAYE, CPI, Mathematics

What do I do at the PRF?

First, get a bit of background info here: http://www.ifesh.org/news/25/59/Alumnus-to-Train-Teachers-in-Senegal

Then please read the sections that follow:

Support: Complementing and supporting the activities and trainings already planned for teachers of English in the Fatick Region for this academic year.  In this regard, I will travel with Madame Ba, CPI, English to schools, meetings, seminars, and trainings.  I will help her prepare and analyze documents for the scheduled trainings (pretests, posttests, questionnaires, informational handouts, etc.), and conduct teaching pedagogy and English-language usage workshops.  I will be a travelling trainer of teachers.

Expansion: Increasing the number and the impact of the trainings and activities for this academic year by securing additional external funding and planning multiple-day workshops for each of the three departments of the Fatick Region.  I will seek funding (in the forms of grants, awards, and other financial resources) to expand and complement the activities planned for this academic year (including class and cell visits, organizing a “festival” for the English Clubs, conducting seminars and trainings, and providing teaching and l earning materials for the teachers of English).  As required by IFESH and USAID, I will seek to ensure that at least 160 teachers of English will receive a minimum of 24 hours of pedagogical training through these activities and additional resources.

Capacity Building: Researching, developing, testing, and refining a guide that will allow teachers of English to better utilize the “national curriculum for teaching English” (a rough translation) in their lesson planning and teaching.  I will collaborate with Madame Ba, CPI, English to assess the needs of the current teachers of English with regard to improved use of the national curriculum.  I will then analyze the collected data and develop a draft document that is intended to close the gap between the “theory and practice” of using the national curriculum.  The document will be a tool for teachers to use in developing their own teaching and learning materials, specifically those that will allow them to pull from the ample information available in the national curriculum.  Strategies to use locally available materials as teaching and learning materials will be an area of primary concern.  I will then conduct a workshop (or series of workshops) to test the effectiveness of the draft document.  Then, after testing, I will revise the document according to the collected feedback.  Although I will initially create this document to support the work of teachers of English, the underlying framework will be widely applicable, so that the guide can be translated into French and then used for training in other subjects.

Community Outreach: Collaborating with a community outreach specialist and an environmental scientist to support and provide knowledge management services for a project to create a community-managed nature preserve in the mangrove forests along the rivers in the Fatick Region.  Part of my requirements for IFESH and USAID is that I must participate in activities that support the work of community-based organizations (CBOs).  I have agreed to provide English language documents that will expand the potential pool of partners and resources for this very important work.  I will seek to incorporate elements of HIV/AIDS education and gender-mainstreaming in this work as well.

Teaching: Organizing and conducting bi-weekly English-language training sessions for nonprofit professionals, educators, local government officials (including health, safety, and administrative employees), and other interested parties.  These sessions will focus on spoken English, as many of the people who will receive this training already read English with proficiency.

I am very excited about all the different work I will be doing, and I believe that with the help of my colleagues here at the PRF, I can make a positive and meaningful contribution to the training of teachers in Senegal, and be an agent for positive change here in Fatick.

Thank you for reading, and I hope you find time to comment, ask questions, and share this blog with others.