Teacher development: Various approaches to developing the capacity of
teachers have been tried out over the years. In the initial program implementation
model, teachers attended a two-week pre-service training course. They continued to
meet once every two weeks for two days to reflect on the work and receive additional
training throughout the season. The current design includes the season-long training
but the period has been shortened from 15 weeks to 7 weeks in order to fit the school
break calendar. Teachers were trained on the rice curriculum for the first season and
the vegetable curriculum for the second season.
This approach was implemented in two provinces. The model was successful
in that it provided an on-going process for trainees to meet, reflect and built unity
among participating schools. However, the design required a period of at least one
year (i.e., two seasons) for teachers to fully develop their ability to use the curriculum.
In addition, the design created fragmentation of training topics, especially on the
studies that normally conducted during the season-long training. To address these
issues and to avoid teachers’ absence from school, TEF designed an eight-week
course for training teachers to fit the school break calendar.