100 teachers embark on digital learning course

With the new school year set to begin virtually on September 20 owing to a spike in COVID-19 cases, 100 teachers are to be trained by an international university to equip them with the skills and knowledge to help them to better engage their students online.

The teachers are to participate in an Inter-American Development Bank-funded course, Teacher Training on Digital Education and Learning Pedagogies in the Caribbean, with Finland’s Tampere University of Applied Sciences. Teachers from Trinidad and Tobago are also to participate in the workshop.

At a virtual launch on Monday, Minister of Education Santia Bradshaw said while teachers and students were thrown into virtual classrooms due to the global COVID-19 pandemic, it was clear from feedback to the Ministry’s monitoring committee that there was need to urgently help teachers to better plan and to develop instruction in a digital environment.

Bradshaw acknowledged that teachers were being asked not only to perform online teaching but rather, given the circumstances, they had to provide emergency response instruction and later blended learning.

She said: “We had to be resilient and persistent in our efforts to provide devices for teachers and students. We had to bridge the digital divide and provide teachers to better adjust to blended learning. And while it is still a work in progress, I could think of no better country to assist us than Finland which is known for its high-quality education and training.

“I welcome the prospect for our primary teachers to not only acquire the requisite knowledge and skills in digital pedagogy, resources and online assessment, but to forge alliances with our neighbours in Trinidad, and to develop sustainable professional communities of learning to further our regional integration. The cross fertilisation of ideas and knowledge, I believe will redound to the benefit of both countries.”

She said the 100 Barbadian teachers from 55 secondary, primary and nursery schools, who will participate in the training, are being encouraged to grasp the opportunity to extract maximum benefits from the sessions, to commit to completing the course, and to share their expertise with their colleagues.

Bradshaw said it is expected that the teachers will utilize the training to help inculcate in their young charges the creativity, innovation, critical thinking and problem-solving skills that will transform the next generation for the demands of the 21st century.

She said: “You are a part of the critical frontline, making a difference in these trying times and we will do whatever is necessary to facilitate and to support you. Despite the challenging environment, my Government remains committed to educational reform and the provision of quality education will continue to guide us as we realize the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

“Primary education is foundational for the transformational endeavours we must embark on as a nation and it is with this in mind that we have started to introduce coding and robotics, STEM education, the revised curriculum and emphasis on a much higher level of literacy and numeracy. The abolition of what is known here as the Barbados Secondary Schools Entrance Examination (BSSEE) will also facilitate new and exciting initiatives that will change our methods of pedagogy and also assessment”.

Bradshaw declared that it is essential that if progress is to continue, learning environments and spaces ought to act as stimulus chambers to activate and nurture the intelligence and talents of every young citizen in order for them to make valuable contributions to society.

The education minister indicated that she was especially pleased that the areas of special needs and socio-emotional skills were two of the modules in the course. Bradshaw said she also believes that every teacher must be exposed to special needs and emotional intelligence training.

The course is to continue throughout the remainder of the year and into next year. (AH)