ພາສາລາວ
While teachers are being trained nationwide on the new Grade 2 curriculum, the Research Institute of Educational Sciences is producing new videos to train teachers on how to assess and support students’ learning
Teams from the e-learning, information media center and curriculum writing departments of RIES are very busy this month producing three new videos to help teachers develop their skills in using the new National Primary Curriculum and the new pedagogical approach. The production of these videos is supported by the Australian Government and the European Union.
The dedicated “ວິດີໂອສຳລັບການພັດທະນາຄູ Teacher Development Videos” YouTube channel was created in September 2019 to complement and reinforce the initial face-to-face training that all teachers received prior to the implementation of each new grade. The channel already contains 11 training videos. The videos demonstrate key new teaching techniques like “how to use the decodable readers” and show effective practices for challenges like “how to organize a classroom observation”. The videos cover a wide range of topics that are important for teachers to master such as Lao Language techniques and resources, classroom management strategies, peer-to-peer learning activities for continuing professional development, techniques and approaches to effectively assess students. The “ວິດີໂອສຳລັບການພັດທະນາຄູ Teacher Development Videos” YouTube channel also contains more than 50 Grade 1 and 2 songs and music from the new curriculum that teachers can use in their classroom.
Following feedback on difficulties encountered by teachers with assessing student learning, RIES decided to produce three new videos on assessment and how to support students. Indeed, assessment is an important part of the learning process. It is not only about scoring students. Finding out what students know and where their gaps are in their learning will help teachers to address them. Two of the new videos focus on observation and questioning techniques for assessing learning. The third video shows different strategies to support students during and after assessment. Like previous videos, they are filmed in a Lao classroom to show real examples from educators and students using the new primary curriculum. Live classroom demonstrations are key to help teachers better grasp the technique.
The videos can be used by teachers, principals, pedagogical advisors and teacher trainers for additional self-learning, lesson preparation or to refresh a specific teaching technique. The YouTube channel proved to be very useful during lockdown; it allowed teachers to continue practicing and improving their skills even when schools were closed.
The new videos on assessment will be released next month. Teachers and educational staff can subscribe for free to “ວິດີໂອສຳລັບການພັດທະນາຄູ Teacher Development Videos” YouTube channel to receive all the notifications.