Outline of the Project

Name of the project

The Project for Improving In-service Teacher Training For Science and Mathematics Education (ITSME)

Country

Lao People's Democratic Republic

Date of the agreement

November 19, 2009

Target organization and area

Department of Teacher Education in Ministry of Education, Savannakhet Province, Chanpasack Province, Khammouane Province

Period of the project

22 February 2010 to 31 October 2013 (Three years and eight months)

Counterpart organizations

Department of Teacher Education (DTE), Department of Primary and Pre-school Education (DPPE), Provincial Education Service (PES), District Education Bureau (DEB), Teacher Education Institute (TEI))

Background

As one of the top prioritized sectors in contributing to poverty reduction in Lao PDR, various efforts have been made in the education sector under the following three pillars: (1) improvement of equitable access; (2) improvement of quality and relevance; (3) improvement of administration and management. Although the enrollment rate in the primary education has been improved, other indicators that are related to the quality of education, for example, repetition, drop-out, and completion rates have not been improved as expected.

With these backgrounds, the Education Sector Development Framework (ESDF) places an emphasis on the improvement of teachers' quality by strengthening the capacity of in-service training.

Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) has supported the improvement of teacher education through the Project for Improving Science and Mathematics Teacher Training (SMATT) from 2004 to 2008, which aimed at improving quality of teacher education institution (TEI) science and mathematics teachers. Training contents and learner-centered approaches of SMATT have been recognized as relevant and useful for persons and organizations concerned. Recognizing these achievements and impacts of SMATT project, the government of Lao PDR requested the continuous support to enhance and expand the output of SMATT project to the school level.

In response to the request, the government of Japan dispatched the Detailed Planning Survey Team in August 2009 in order to collect necessary information and to discuss with the Lao authorities concerned the detail design of the Project. Finally, on 19th November 2009 the Record of Discussions (R/D) was concluded.

Objective

Overall Goal

Quality of lessons in target provinces is improved.

Project Objective

Quality of science and mathematics lessons in target schools is improved.

Outputs

1. Mechanism for improving lessons is strengthened.
2. Human recourses to promote improvement of lessons are strengthened.
3. Materials for improving lessons are developed.

Activities

1-1	Ministry of Education and Sports (MOES) and Provincial Education Services (PES) conduct baseline survey on science and mathematics education in target provinces.
1-2	MOES selects ITSME trainers from Teacher Training College (TTC), PES and District Education Bureau (DEB) officials.
1-3	MOES makes an operational plan for supporting the mechanism for improving lessons.
1-4	MOES conducts ITSME workshop according to the plan stated in 1-3.
1-5	DEB with support of TTC and PES conducts Training of trainers (TOT) for introducing the developed materials.
1-6	Principals and Academic teachers　(AT) in target schools make action plans for improving lessons in TOT.
1-7	Principals and AT implement activities according to the action plan stated in 1-6 in target schools.
1-8	DEB monitors utilization of model lesson plans in target schools and reports to PES.
1-9	Project facilitates discussions to have Minutes of Understanding (MOU) between TTC and PES/DEB at provincial level for strengthening the mechanism.
1-10	Project facilitates with support of an Education Policy Advisor discussions among MOES officials of departments concerned (e.g. DPPE, ESQAC, RIES) to support IS toward SOQ achievement.
1-11	MOES organizes seminar to share the experiences with relevant organizations.
2-1	ITSME trainers participate in ITSME workshops to gain necessary subject knowledge and skills for improving lessons.
2-2	Principals and AT participate in TOT to learn how to improve lessons in target schools.
3-1	A standard format of lesson plan and a lesson plan preparation manual are developed.
3-2	ITSME trainers develop model lesson plans that satisfy the standard stated in 3-1.
3-3	ITSME trainers develop manual for IS for improving lessons.
3-4	A lesson plan evaluation sheet and a lesson observation sheet are developed.
3-5	A monitoring report format is developed.
3-6	Reference materials for improving lessons for ITSME trainers are developed.
3-7	The materials stated in 3-1, 3-2, 3-3, 3-4, 3-5 and 3-6 are compiled as reference for improving lessons.
3-8	Workshops are organized to share the experiences of the teachers of target schools as a part of Endline survey.
3-9	A document to propose to MOES to consider the developed materials as national standard is prepared referring to 3-8.

Input

Japanese side
Experts (Chief Advisor /Science Education, Mathematics Education, Teaching Materials)
Training of counterpart personnel in Japan
Provision of equipment
Local expenses for JICA Experts

Lao side
Central Level
Counterpart personnel
Expense for counterpart personnel
Office space and necessary facilities in MOE for the Japanese experts
Other local expenses

Provincial Level
Counterpart personnel
Office space and necessary facilities in PESs for the Japanese experts
Expense for trainings
Expense for monitoring
Other local expenses