Capitalizing on the many education innovations prompted by the pandemic, the Teacher Task Force chose “Innovation in teacher policy and practice for educational recovery” as the theme of its 13th Policy Dialogue Forum, which took place in Kigali, Rwanda, and online, 2-3 December 2021.
Teacher autonomy is essential
for meaningful innovation in teaching and learning
Teachers are best placed to
assess the conditions of their own classrooms. Based on these, they innovate
and adapt their practice, but their innovations often go unrecognized. The
Forum highlighted the need to promote teacher autonomy and agency – that is,
the capacity to act in an autonomous manner – to generate meaningful pedagogical
innovation.
Old and traditional practices and
approaches limit broader uptake of new technologies. In many cases,
experimentation with, or piloting of innovative applications of technologies
are often seen as outside the role of teachers, and thus discouraged. Students
are different, but schools are still using materials developed decades ago, but
today’s students come to school with very different experiences due to
globalization and information overflows. Changing these processes will require
major shifts in attitudes as much as they will in policy.
However, educators need training,
sufficient resources, good working conditions and support to develop the
autonomy and agency needed to initiate, implement and evaluate new ways to
teach that will improve student learning and wellbeing.
Innovations involving digital
technologies must be adapted to each context
The advent of utilizing
technologies as supplemental tool for education had been globally recognized by
academic institutions. The demand of providing these technologies had been
rapidly increasing. Thus, business firms that supply such need are significant.
The role of digital technologies
in innovation was also explored during the Forum, emphasizing tailored and
context-sensitive use of technologies rather than one-size-fits-all solutions.
With the introduction of
collaborative learning platforms, students would be able to get more involved.
Students would be able to access required resources anytime and from anywhere
and also tends to solve the problem on student’s interactivity and
attentiveness during classes. The use of technology would increase the
convenience, usability and accessibility of the educational resources available
in educational institutes.
For the purchasing authorities,
this would translate into reduction in overhead cost of maintaining student
records in house and related logistics. Overall, it enhances the teaching and
learning experience of various parties in the educational cycle.
Innovation in policy making
must be inclusive and collaborative
Teachers need to be part of
decision- and policy-making processes. One example presented was the
development of the Comprehensive National Teacher Policy (CNTP) in Ghana. This
process was coordinated by the Ghana Teacher Task Force (GTTF) with
contributions from the Ghana Education Service, development partners and other
actors.
This collaborative process
established a framework for social dialogue with teachers and their
representatives at the local, district and national levels.
The Final Report from the Policy Dialogue Forum is
available for download on the Teacher Task Force Knowledge Platform.
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