Critical Thinking Experience in Liberia

Veronica Cretu and Nicu Cretu of “CMB” Training Center, got involved on behalf of Open Society Institute, as International Experts in the Liberia Teacher Training Program.

The Liberia Teacher Training Program (LTTP) is a three-year USAID-funded initiative that supports the Ministry of Education (MoE) and university officials in the redevelopment of a cohesive and effective training system to serve Liberian educators. The program draws upon the collective expertise of three implementing organizations, the Academy for Educational Development (AED), International Rescue Committee (IRC), and Mississippi Consortium for International Development (MCID). LTTP supports a broad-based, consultative, and collaborative process that actively engages the Liberian Ministry of Education (MOE), University of Liberia (UoL), Regional Teacher Training Institutes (RTTIs), schools and communities in five counties, and local and international organizations working to improve the quality of teaching and learning in Liberia. LTTP activities support:

• A comprehensive assessment of the Liberian education and training system.
• A nationally-recognized competency framework for teachers.
• Effectively designed programs of training.
• Institutional capacity at the UoL College of Education and RTTIs.
• Stakeholder engagement in the improvement of the quality of teaching.

In line with the above, Veronica Cretu and Nicu Cretu, conducted a 2 weeks training of trainers program in Kakata (May 2008), conducted monitoring and evaluation on the implementation of the 4 weeks Residential Teacher Training C-Certificate Program, in Zorzor ( September 2008).

Veronica Cretu and Nicu Cretu, acted as Lead Trainers in monitoring and assisting with the implementation of the residential teacher training program at the newly renovated Rural Teacher Training Institute inZorzor. Their main responsibilities included:

1. Observing and Guiding Trainers in the Delivery of Training Sessions;

2. Assisting Trainers Plan and Prepare for Delivery of Training Sessions;

3. Ensuring that Input on Delivered C-certificate Sessions is Completed and Collected;

4. Assisting Trainers with Record Keeping and Evaluation of Trainer Session Assignments.

Veronica Cretu and Nicu Cretu assisted the team of International Rescue Committee trainers in Zorzor, in planning of the session plans and making the necessary adjustments to them when relevant. They also provided trainers with feedback and training on certain content/concept areas and methodology related issues. The entire teacher training program took place from September 8th to October 3rd, 2008.

The Program has just finished and Elena Andreotti, IRC Educational Program Manager shares that ‶It seems we accomplished the mission of putting them on the path to becoming professional teachers, and empowering them in their schools and communities”.

RWCT Trainers have contributed to accomplishing the program mission as well, by supporting IRC trainers and IRC staff in Zorzor. They managed to put a process in place that allows teams of trainers plan in advance for their sessions, and to utilize the session plans during the debriefing stage of the session together with the teacher participants. Thus, the trainers did not only learn how to plan in a team, but also learned how to make valuable use of the session plans both for themselves and for the program participants. An interesting photo gallery and some videos from the residential training program can be viewed athttp://picasaweb.google.com/veronicacretu/Photos_Zorzor#

In addition to these experiences, Veronica Cretu participated with a presentation on ICT for Development during an International Conference in Monrovia back in November 2008, as well as conducted Organizational Development Training for Critical Thinking Liberia – a non-governmental organization which aims at promoting Critical Thinking in Education in Liberia.

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