Teacher Training Program
Several universities from the United States have partnered with Escuela Integrada
to assist in providing ongoing teacher training in these areas: child psychology, conflict
resolution, literacy and dynamic, interactive teaching methods. These Universities
include Rowan University, University of Southern
California, Wheaton College, and
Imaculata University.
Professional Development
This list identifies the various professional development programs conducted in 2006. To our knowledge we are the only elementary school in Guatemala
that has instituted systematic, ongoing professional development that is directly
catered to our unique needs and vision. Follow the links in the table for a more detailed discussion
of the individual programs and the Universities involved.
|
2006 Professional Development Program Schedule |
|
February |
Second Institute on Literacy Training
Five days (One week) of 3 hour session
per day. |
Dr. Jane Sullivan
Dr. Midge Madden
Rowan University,
Glassboro, NJ USA
|
|
March |
Twice weekly writing workshops in
their classrooms – Grades 3 through 6 for two weeks
|
Dr. Paul Boyd-Batstone
University of Southern California,
Long Beach, CA USA
|
|
May |
Third Institute on Literacy Training |
Dr. Jane Sullivan
Dr. Midge Madden
Rowan University,
Glassboro, NJ USA |
|
July |
First Institute on Psychology in the
Classroom |
Wheaton College,
Psychology Department,
Wheaton, IL USA |
|
July |
Cross Cultural Sharing –
One afternoon |
Immaculata University
Patricia Verbovszky |
|
July |
Classroom Visits One week |
Dr. Perry Stio
Dr. Jane Sullivan
Rowan University,
Glassboro, NJ USA
|
|
September |
Fourth Institute on Literacy Training
Five days (one week) of one 3 hour
session per day |
Dr. Jane Sullivan
Dr. Midge Madden
Dr. Janice Betts
Rowan University,
Glassboro, NJ USA
|
|
November |
Universal Education
for Integral Development 4 weeks of daily afternoon sessions
|
Gilda Darlas,
MPhil/Phd candidate
Institute of Education,
London University |
Escuela Integrada will be participating and sharing our vision and experiences in
the 5th International Literacy Conference in Guatemala City in February 2007.
Escuela Integrada has made a firm commitment to the continuous training of its teaching
personnel.
It is important to remember that in Guatemala all someone needs in the
way of certification
to teach at the grade school level is, simply, to be
a high school graduate.
We have also made an institutional decision to use new teachers
so that we are able to mold them according to the school’s vision as a school and
as a project. This presents us with a unique challenge: to provide and maintain strong professional
development programs as a core part of the LACES educational agenda in Guatemala
and maintain it as a high priority.
Where do we go from here? In addition to the constant revision of where the faculty
is in relation to teaching the basics of reading and writing, we are moving ahead
towards two larger goals:
- to offer the training program and curriculum that we have developed to other schools
within our network. In particular to the staff of our new middle school in Chuchuca
Alto, an indigenous area of Guatemala.
- to develop a high school level career program focused on the formation of pre-school
and elementary school teachers.
It is important to remember that high school in Guatemala requires that students
pick a career and then they are trained in this area exclusively.
The typical examples
are teaching, accounting, secretary, mechanic etc. Therefore, instead of taking
teachers who have already been formed by a system which emphasizes teacher monologueing
and student memorization, Escuela Integrada will be able to form new teachers from
the ground up who are trained to use teaching methods and skills that deliver excellent
results in student achievement. This program more effectively empowers local
Guatemalans to create a self-sustaining and self-reproducing system that will deliver
improved educators into their school systems for generations to come.
This is our vision. In Guatemala where illiteracy and poverty is the norm
for the majority of the national population, education, here, is truely
the Door to Life.
Scholarship Fund
For more information on how you can help by helping us provide Scholarships to our
teachers
to help them pursue a University education go here.
|