TEACHER TRAINING on EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION Progress Report September 2014

Teacher Training on Early Childhood Education Progress report

I. Overview

CITYNET Yokohama Project Office belongs to the network of local governments in Asia-Pacific called CITYNET which was established in 1987 with the support of UNESCAP and UNDP. The network currently has 131 members in Asia-Pacific region which consists of cities, institutions, academias, organisations and NGOs. The main purpose of the network is to promote sustainable development in the region through city-to-city cooperation while engaging with various related stakeholders. CITYNET operates its activities under its four main clusters, Climate Change, Disaster, Infrastructure and MDGs.

The project on Teacher Training on Early Childhood Education was proposed by CITYNET Yokohama Project Office to Toshiba International Foundation to improve teaching abilities of the teachers in Nepal to provide better learning environment to young students in Nepal. 9 schools from 4 municipalities were selected as a pilot group of teachers who have undergone two workshops starting June 2014.

This report contains the details of the workshop along with the current outputs and plans for the third workshop.

II. Target Municipalities and Schools

1. Madhyapur Municipality - Adarsha Higher Secondary School - Nawaratna English School

2. Bhaktapur Municipality - Bal Bikash English Secondary School - Bagiswori Higher Secondary School

3. Lalitpur Sub-Metropolitan City - Mahendra Adarsha Vidhyashram - Namuna Machindra Secondary School - Mitra Primary School

4. Kirtipur Municipality - Baghbhairab Secondary School - Rarahil Memorial School

OBJECTIVES

i. To coordinate the

Teacher Training for

Early Childhood

Education in Nepal

introducing a child-

friendly education

methods

ii.To introduce Japanese

culture through

educational material

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III. Summary of Workshop – I

Teacher training in Nepal was conducted as scheduled with the support of Municipal Association of Nepal (MuAN) from June 16-20, 2014. A total of 9 schools and 17 teachers from four selected municipalities attended the workshop to learn about Japanese elementary education strategies, teaching techniques and Japanese culture. Both public and private schools were represented in the workshop. The workshop is the first in a series and two follow-up workshops are expected to be held in August and November this year.

The workshop was conducted in Lalitpur Municipality where teachers from the surrounding municipalities also joined. The workshops are being funded by Toshiba International Foundation. Videos and posters containing Japanese education systems and culture was provided through the courtesy of the Embassy of Japan in Kathmandu, Nepal.

IV. Session Introduction

One of the objectives of the workshops was to introduce Japanese culture to the participants to familiarise them on the background of educational system in Japan. Dr. Shin Hayashibara from Fukuyama Heisei University in Hiroshima, shared several interesting videos and presentations to the participants throughout the workshop. The videos provided by the Embassy of Japan in Nepal included Japanese elementary education as well as cultural and sightseeing places in Japan.

Dr. Hayashibara is an expert on elementary education and teaches at the university. As he is from Hiroshima, he also shared the history of the city which also included the message on peace education with a particular reference to the devastation caused by the dropping of the atomic bomb on the city on August 6, 1945. The related animation highlighted the need for all human beings to understand each other for better friendships and relations.

The sessions included a number of popular Japanese cultural aspects linking education and culture. Examples include introductions on origami (paper folding) which not only helps generate creativity among children but also can be used as an aid to teach mathematics in a fun way. Kamishibai (story telling) was another popular material introduced to the participants. It supports the development of imagination and assumptions among children in addition to teaching them on a moral side of the story. Several songs and games were also included at various parts of the sessions to help participants link teaching and its material.

The participants had a very positive reaction to learning Japanese culture as historically, Japan and Nepal has had excellent relations both at government and individual levels. The introductions helped participants how children can be motivated through various non-standard teaching material.

V. Core Sessions

Participants were divided into four groups. Each group were given opportunities to discuss after each activity and to share that with the class. After each session theme, participants were requested to write

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their summarised understanding of the lessons on a chart paper which was then put along the wall. The sessions included presentations, DVDs, activities as well as discussions which made the participants fully occupied during the workshop. At the end of each day, participants were also requested to fill in evaluation forms to share their comments on the sessions.

Through the discussions and evaluations, it was clear that, it was the first time the participants had undergone such training which involved both activities and presentations which were practical, enjoyable and applicable to their own schools. The sessions focused on how child-centered education can be provided by schools and what parents as well as the communities can do to provide the necessary environment for the growth of a child. The sessions also allowed participants to understand how lesson planning and lesson study can be done among schools in order to share the knowledge, skills and methods of teaching as being done in Japanese elementary schools. Participants also developed their own Kamishibai as a group and presented it to the group with each receiving the feedback from the audience on the performance.

The final day involved participants to go through a mock lesson. This created a challenging opportunity on how the skills learnt over the first three days can be used effectively in classrooms. Despite some language difficulty, each participant performed very well and showed how they can quickly adopt and localise the lessons learnt to fit their usual environment.

The main components of the lesson shared from Japan are as follows:

i. Development of Kamishibai and its usage ii. Using Origami as an educational tool iii. Understanding child psychology iv. Elementary education and teacher training in Japan v. Teaching practice through mock lessons vi. Creative material development for elementary teaching

VI. Next Steps

A follow-up workshop was set on August 21st by which the participants were required to develop a teaching material of their choice, test it with children in their school and report the outcomes on the day. The second workshop would be an opportunity for the participants to not only test their newly acquired skills but also to explore further into how elementary teaching can be improved through creative and improvised teaching material. The workshop will also allow teachers to learn from each other and share the challenges at each school.

The second workshop was planned to be coordinated by MuAN and supervised by the instructor from Japan.

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VII. Summary of Workshop - II

The main purpose of the second workshop was to follow up on the progress of comprehensive training held from June 17-20, 2014 (First workshop), facilitated by Dr. Shin Hayashibara, Professor of Fukuyama Heisei University, Hiroshima. The training was targeted for the same group of teachers especially for the kindergarten and primary level of nine schools of four municipalities namely Lalitpur, Kirtipur, Bhaktapur and Madhyapur Thimi. The second workshop was mainly facilitated by MuAN.

As noted earlier, the teachers were given two months after the first workshop to develop and test their own teaching material in their classrooms and share the outcomes during the second workshop. All the teachers produced a high level of teaching material which indicated that their motivation and enthusiasm to provide better learning environment to the children were evident.

VIII. Core Sessions

The participants came up with different kinds of teaching material such as picture storytelling, new rhymes, games, making mathematical cubes and shapes etc. which they developed in the span of two months and presented them through mock lessons. The enthusiasm and drudgery reflected in the participants certainly indicated success of the initial training conducted during the first workshop. Besides presentation of materials and techniques, the tentative date and model of the third workshop was also decided which will focus on drawings of students in three themes i.e. family for KG, school environment for class 1 to 3 and community/village for class 4 to 5. It was decided that each school would bring 3 best pictures from 3 themes and the best ones would be selected through voting.

The material developed were quite creative and innovative as it also included items which had not been taught during the first workshop. Using different colors, self-crafted material, methods of teaching, communication, and the discussions showed that the impact made by the first workshop was indeed very positive and encouraging. The participants said that these kinds of workshops were the first of its kind that they had ever experienced and enjoyed.

The participants opined that the training had been very effective in changing their behavior and enhancing their capacity. They highly appreciated the techniques and models of the training because such forms of education help improve the imagination and creativity in children unlike conventional education system. Therefore, just as the four day long training, the second follow-up workshop was also equally pertinent as the participants could show their output and share experiences. MuAN assured that training on Early Childhood Education and continuation to programs like these would be in their priority.

One of the other outputs of the workshop was developing an exchange program between an elementary school in Nepal and in Japan. Dr. Shin Hayashibara facilitated the exchange between the two school. Bal Bikash Secondary School from Bhaktapur municipality in Nepal expressed interest in the program after Ekiya Nishi Elementary School from Hiroshima sent drawings made by children to Nepal. As a reciprocal activity, Bal Bikash students also drew pictures to be sent to Ekiya Nishi elementary school.

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IX. Exchange Visit to Hiroshima

Representatives from MuAN and CITYNET Yokohama Project Office had an opportunity to visit Hiroshima in September after attending a separate program organized in Yokohama through CITYNET Yokohama Project Office.

Ms. Sara Neupane from MuAN visited Ekiya Nishi Elementary School in Hiroshima to deliver the pictures drawn by the students in Nepal. On the occasion, the students performed a traditional welcome dance to the visitors. Ms. Neupane introduced Nepal to the students at Ekiya Nishi and shared lunch with the students. The principal of the school and the class teachers welcomed the initiative and expressed interest to continue the exchange. Ekiya Nishi Elementary School is a UNESCO designated school.

The visit to Hiroshima also included a courtesy call to the Dean of Fukuyama Heisei University where Dr. Shin Hayashibara teaches. The Dean expressed his support to host teachers from Nepal for a workshop if they ever get an opportunity to visit Japan. The university also is enthusiastic about conducting joint workshops with its students and the teachers in Nepal if such programs are arranged in the future. Apart from the department of childhood education, the university has four other departments.

X. Next Steps

The third and final workshop is expected to be held in late November or early December depending on the availability of the teachers from the selected schools. By then, participants are expected to hold a poster making competition in their schools and have them go through a selection process during the final workshop. The winning school is expected to receive a prize which shall be determined in due course.

The final workshop is intended to focus on student outputs through the lessons learnt from their teachers with a new set of skills. It is also expected to raise awareness on how children’s attentiveness, pro-activeness and feedback can be improved through innovative teaching methods.

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Glimpses of the Workshops from Nepal

Dr. Shin Hayashibara conducts ice-breaking session to begin the workshop Participants write the key phrases for teaching

Participants go through ideas presented by each group Participant explains teaching methodology in Nepali schools

Participants enjoy doing group work Participant guesses the activity shown on a picture drawn by Japanese elementary school student

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Schools in selected municipalities of Nepal

Participant shares a Nepali story as taught in her school MuAN representative helps explain the concept of Kamishibai to the participants

A participant leads a mock lesson for the class Dr. Shin Hayashibara introduces memory game to the participant through games

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