The teacher training workshop was held at DPS STS School Dhaka from 17th – 19th July 2016. It was designed for the intensive dissemination of teaching methodologies and teaching principles.

Objectives for the Teachers Training Sessions:

• To provide opportunity to the teachers themselves to experience and try out the questions and activities

• To enable teachers to use innovative teaching methods effectively.

• To facilitate teachers in curriculum planning

• To involve teachers in the process of regulating their own attitude and behaviour along with appropriate monitoring and approach towards students

• To orient teachers to a general understanding and the approaches and methodologies for communicating environmental concepts and issues.

EDUCATION IN THE 21ST CENTURY by VICE PRINCIPAL MRS. MADHU WAL

The three day workshop was divided broadly into 4 sessions. On the 17th, the session was inaugurated by Honourable Vice Principal Mrs. Madhu Wal as she conducted an immensely enlightening session with teachers teaching Primary to Grade 4 on ‘Education in the 21st century’. She discussed the need for a paradigm shift in order to nurture the competencies focusing on emotional, spatial, kinesthetic, and spiritual aspects. She reminded teachers to influence the minds of the children with empathy, love and sensitivity.

Furthermore, Vice Principal Ma’am also reiterated that in the 21st century, workers need a different mix of skills than in the past. In addition to foundational skills, they need critical thinking skills and character qualities. A technology enabled closed loop system is necessary which will create learning objective, develop curricula and instructional strategy, deliver instruction, embed ongoing assessment and provide appropriate intervention.

TEACHING AND VIRTUES OF A TEACHER BY PRINCIPAL MR. HARSH WAL

As Vice Principal Ma’am mesmerized the teachers with a PowerPoint presentation, in another room of the school, teachers teaching Grades 5 – 7 assembled and attended an inspirational and rewarding session about passionate teaching, home management capacity and virtues of a teacher conducted by Principal Mr. Harsh Wal.

Principal Sir reflected on his childhood memories and reminisced about what led him to make the decision of being a teacher. He spoke about the determination and perseverance that he had to put in in order to attain his goal while motivating and inspiring all the teachers there. While speaking of virtues, Principal Sir quoted the words of a famous Guruji, ‘a person should always think today as his last day and tomorrow he may not be alive. So he needs to do all the good things today not leaving for tomorrow. Personality will be changed if a person can think like this.’ He ended the session with four

valuable quotes to guide and encourage the teachers in their professional lives:

1. "You have to be passionate." 2. "If you are committed to your work, do not worry what will happen.” 3 "Never hate a person who is jealous of you " 4 "There is no word called Impossible."

The outstanding communicator used a diverse mode of communication to grasp the attention of the eager teachers. The teachers were filled with respect and admiration after the session and realized what made him a principled Principal.

ART OF SCIENCE AND TEACHING BY MR. NAZMUL HAQUE (PROFESSOR OF EDUCATION, DHAKA UNIVERSITY)

As Principal and Vice Principal conducted their valuable training sessions, Teachers teaching Grades 8- 12 gathered to attend a workshop conducted by Professor of Education Mr. Nazmul Haque from Dhaka University. The trainer reflected on his own teaching methodologies and explained how to be more organized and use teaching tools and resources effectively. The trainer also involved the teachers with his questions and helped the teachers see their own errors and provided solutions. Overall, it was an effective session and teachers left feeling satisfied and inspired.

After three sessions in the first day, teachers again gathered in their respective rooms for training.

LANGUAGE DEVELOPMENT IN EARLY YEARS by MS. KUMKUM JAHAN (HEAD OF PRIMARY SECTION)

PG – Grade 2 Teachers attended an enlightening workshop conducted by English Teacher Ms. Kumkum Habiba Jahan. It was a fruitful session where the trainer discussed ideologies of language development. Language development is crucial in the early years as highest level of vocabulary development takes place during this period. It is also vital to develop reading skills and for overall cognitive development, and as it plays an important role in child’s social development. There are different ways to develop language skills: For example, through Rhymes, Pictures/images, Speaking/listening/conversing, Read aloud sessions, Outings and Question/ answer sessions.

It is very effective to teach children the use of synonyms from a very early stage. Teachers can make the early years’ language developmental lessons attractive by characterizing roles, introducing the use of speech bubbles, teaching the difference between description and speech, etc.

CAUSES AND PREVENTIONS OF MATH ANXIETY by MR. MANOJ KUMAR (DEAN OF ACADEMICS AND DIRECTOR OF SPORTS)

Grades 5-7 Teachers had a session with Mr. Manoj Kumar on Causes and Preventive Methods of Math Anxiety in students. He highlighted several causes and reasons which propel students to disregard Math or pay any mind to it. Furthermore, he also discussed methodologies which help teachers successfully teach Math to their students. It was a well communicated and calculated session and enjoyed by all.

EFFECTIVE USE OF TECHNOLOGY BY MR. MOSTAFIZUR RAHMAN MRIDHA (HEAD OF I.T)

Grade 3 – 12 teachers had 2 sessions with IT Manager Mr. Mostafizur Rahman Mridha in Computer Lab-1 regarding ' How technology can be effectively used in IT? It was held twice in the same day for different teachers teaching different grades. ‘During this session, teachers were shown and discussed various facts about IT which helps run daily academic activities inside and outside the school. Mr. Mridha also informed the teachers that the school is fully IT equipped along with smart class facilities in the classroom through which teachers can

teach the students in various ways. Furthermore, Mr. Mridha also helped teachers understand the usage of Youtube and Edmodo for effective teaching methodologies. Overall it was a very useful and informative session for all.

CLASSROOM MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES by MS. TARANA MAJID (HEAD OF SECONDARY)

Grade 8-12 Teachers had a session with Ms Tarana Majid on Classroom Management Strategies for Effective Instruction. She basically outlined the problems that teachers face in a classroom and also asked the teachers to give their inputs regarding minor issues occurring in class. She gave examples and also elaborated the reasons which lead to behavioral issues in class. It was a great session and all the teachers attending it felt enlightened.

TEACHERS’ PERCEPTION IN LEARNING by MS. ASHEKA-E-EPIR HASHMI (CO ORDINATOR FOR K.G)

Pre Primary Teachers attended a session with Ms. Asheka-E-Pir Hashmi on Teachers’ perception in developing social and emotional learning in children. She covered many points regarding the reasons why children act the way they do and also discussed issues which prompt children to behave a certain way. It was a rather informative session and all the teachers attending it felt involved and inspired.

TEACHING STRATEGIES; LARGE CLASSES by SAMSUN NAHAR (PRIMARY TEACHER TRAINER)

DPS STS School Teachers' Trainer Ms .Samsun Nahar Rupa conducted a workshop on "Large Class" with Primary Teachers. The session was very interesting for the teachers. She shared Large Class Management skills with the participants and during her session, she discussed how teaching Large Classes can be challenging and what the strategies for Large Classes are. Her session was fruitful for the "Primary Teachers" indeed.

RIGOR RELEVANCE AND ENGAGEMENT by MS SHAMMIN SULTANA (GRADE 1 CO ORDINATOR)

Ms Shammin Sultana conducted a session with the Primary Teachers. She highlighted what rigor is, but first it’s necessary to understand what it is not. It isn't enough for a teacher to make tests longer or add a comprehensive project to the curriculum and to increase rigor in the classroom, teachers need to get to the heart of what rigor is and understand the levels of rigor that exist so that they can evaluate their own teaching practices and build a plan to increase rigor from there. School must mimic real life and it is not enough anymore to simply memorize facts and figures. Our students need a more rigorous learning environment that will help prepare them to interact with our ever-

changing world. Overall it was a very instructive session where teachers were given different applicative methods and tools of rigor in classrooms.

CHALLENGES IN THE CLASSROOM by MR. ADNAN CHOUDHURY (IGCSE CO ORDINATOR, PLEDGE HARBOR SCHOOL)

The session started with Mr.Adnan Chowdhury, IGCSE coordinator. Initially, he shared his background and then he talked about taking teaching as passion and not only a profession. Teachers are capable of changing somebody’s life for the better. Most importantly, he suggested that the students must be kept interested in what they are learning. Syllabus is a one dimensional thing which can not contribute to students’ creativity and potential. He stressed on interactivity, communication and making education a two way process. He also expressed his opinion that teachers today are facilitators- who explains things yet remains unbiased.

PARENT TEACHER COMMUNICATION by MS. NADIA NUSRAT (PRIMARY TEACHER)

Pre-Primary and Primary Teachers attended a session by Ms. Nadia Nusrat on Parent Teacher Communication. It was an open floor for the teachers. Ms. Nadia presented a power point slide on the following topics:

1. Why Communication is important? 2. Characteristics of successful communication. 3. Importance of Parent’s involvement. 4. How to promote parent involvement. 5. Top 5 reasons: Why Parent- Teacher Communication is beneficial?

6. Keys to Successful Parent- Teacher Communication. 7. Reasons for Poor Communication. 8. Tools for Parent Communication. 9. Barriers to Communication.

Lastly she told teachers how to effectively conduct a PTM Conference:

1. Greet parents 2. Eliminate physical barriers. 3. Active listening. Pause, Probe, Paraphrase. 4. Positive Tone 5. Ask for opinions, reactions, and concerns. 6. Be careful with jargon. 7. Summarize.

She concluded the session with an activity. It was an informative and enjoyable session.

CRITICAL THINKING by MUZAKKIR HUSSAIN - FROM UWC (FORMER DPS STS SCHOOL STUDENT)

Muzakkir Hussain (Former Student of DPS STS School) conducted a session with Grade 8-12 Teachers about Critical Thinking. The topic “Critical Thinking” was pretty intriguing. Fundamentally, his point was that learning isn’t all about absorbing information just like that; instead, it’s about reasoning and “figuring thing’s out for yourself”. He had also exhibited six ways in which to redesign education to implement this concept of reasoning.

EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION by MS. PAUROMA MALLICK (PASTORAL COUNSELLOR)

An interesting session on ‘Effective Communication, Types of learners and behavioral issues during adolescence’ was conducted by Ms. Pauroma Preety Mallick Pastoral Counsellor at DPS STS School, Dhaka. She highlighted Disruptive behavior, Stress management and Common misconceptions about counseling and discussed the three different types of stress which also giving ideas on how to promote a positive atmosphere in the Classroom. She involved the Teachers in a group discussion and the session helped the teachers make a lot of new approaches.

PRODUCTIVE PEDAGOGY by MS SHARMIN I HUSSAIN (PRE KG TEACHER)

Pre Primary Teachers attended a session conducted by Ms. Sharmin I Hussain on Productive Pedagogy. 'Productive Pedagogy reassembles our understanding of what good teaching is and changes the emphasis from issues we've concentrated on in the past - the processes and techniques of the classroom, which are important, but not ends in themselves. It captures the essence of what is really important - a focus on student learning that's of high intellectual quality.' Productive Pedagogy is the balanced theoretical framework enabling teachers to reflect critically on their work.

The word “Pedagogy” means “the art of teaching”. It refers to strategies of instruction, or a style of instruction. There had been different pedagogues at different points of time whose new ways of thinking has influenced teaching as the next big thing in learning and development. She also emphasized on the key strategies for effective lesson where she discussed about the planning, importance of communication, extra vigilant during delivery time, method of questioning, creative activities, children’s motivation, and a dynamic lecture. It was a very interactive session.

TEACHING IN A MULTI CULTURAL SETTING by MR. MASHKY CHOWDHURY (SENIOR MATHEMATICS TEACHER)

Teachers of Grades 1 – 4 attended a session conducted by Mr. Mashky Chowdhury on ‘Teaching in a multi cultural setting.’ One of the challenges facing the faculty helped them commit to creating a transformative curriculum is how to design a learning community that is reflective of both our multicultural society and individual differences among citizens. Mr. Mashky helped teachers understand how one needs to help students participate together in activities and work collectively despite their cultural differences. The pedagogical challenge of individualism and diversity within the classroom mirrors is the same as the challenge within the larger society. According to Mr. Mashky, the interesting reason in teaching in multicultural settings is how exciting learning environments are when many different cultures, ideas and perspectives are brought together. His points were very helpful and everyone present enjoyed the session.

CONTEXTUAL VOCABULARY by MR. EMRAN JAMSHED TAHER (SENIOR ENGLISH TEACHER)

Grades 5 – 7 Teachers attended a session with Mr. Emran Jamshed Taher on Contextual Vocabulary. His topic was “Contextual Vocabulary”. He started his session with the discussion on what vocabulary is and why vocabulary building is important. The different categories of vocabulary, how one gets to receive and then produces new words, the different steps and strategies to facilitate a learner assimilate newer words into his life were the arena of his focus that Mr. Taher almost pinned into the mind of the participants.

The mention of vocabulary games like Taboo words, Last man standing, What am I thinking or Chalkboard acronyms, in fact, facilitated the teachers. Teachers appreciated the buoyant contribution of Mr. Emran Taher on “Contextual Vocabulary” and relished the session to their heart’s content.

MISCONCEPTIONS OF STUDENTS AND EFFECTIVENESS OF SCIENCE VIDEOS by MR. IMRAN WAHIDUZZAMAN (HEAD OF DEPARTMENT – PHYSICS)

Grades 8 – 12 Teachers attended a session conducted by Mr. Imran Wahiduzzaman on the Misconceptions of students and the effectiveness of Science Videos. . He shared his insights through his experience and demonstrated his ideas through some excellent practical land informative videos.

He started the session with a hook to engage the audience (teachers) into thinking of a very common practice now a day in the classroom: use of videos in the lessons and how effective it is as a resource in imparting the knowledge to the students. Mr. Imran asked the

audience to think of some misconceptions that they regularly deal in their respective subjects. We ended the session with an even more interesting and amusing video presented by Michael “Vsauce” who discussed why we ask questions. He also explained how we can reach the curiosity of all kinds of individuals by tapping into the right interest through questions. Even very seemingly ordinary phenomena could be explained with the science and still be interesting to the audience if the correct question is raised. The video and the session was very informative and enjoyed by all.

MOTIVATION by PRINCIPAL MR. HARSH WAL

Teachers teaching Pre Primary – Grade 2 started their day with a motivational session conducted by Honorable Principal of DPS STS School Dhaka, Mr. Harsh Wal. Principal Sir highlighted ideas that he used in his own life as a motivational tool. He also discussed elaborately on how Teachers should motivate their students and methods to keep their concentration. Teachers attending the session felt very motivated and inspired.

SCHOOL TIMETABLE AND INTERNAL EXAM SYSTEM by MR. S RANJIT (HEAD OF DEPARTMENT – COMPUTER SCIENCE)

All Teachers attended a session with Mr. S Ranjit regarding the School Timetable and the Internal Examination System at DPS STS School, Dhaka. As there are new teachers who have joined, it was a very important and useful session. In this session, Mr. Ranjith explained how the timetable works and internal examination happens. He also informed the teachers about:

Where to get the timetable? What if the timetable changes?

How to be informed about updates As a class teacher, how to obtain the grade wise timetable? He also explained a few points about internal examinations such as: Rules and regulations of the exam, Instructions for the students during the exam, Question paper framing, making and submission, Answer script collecting, checking, marks entry and the Confidentiality of the question paper. Overall, it was a very useful and informative session for all of the new teachers.

PERSONALITY DEVELOPMENT by MR. ARUNAVA DAS (SENIOR CHEMISTRY TEACHER)

Teachers of Grades 8- A Level attended a session on Personality Development by Mr. Arunava Das. In the session, Mr. Arunava reflected on several issues leading to personality development. It was an interactive session where he highlighted:

# Proper Definition of Habit #Examples of great people with great habits #Proactive, lifelong learners, perseverant and practical #Teachers must be proactive and good planners #Good habits of teachers are to be Courageous and Positive #Teachers should know the Paradigm Shift

It was a remarkable session and Teachers felt very inspired afterwards.

EDUCATIONAL TECHNOLOGY by MR. SHAKIL AHMED (CONSULTANT, DHAKA TRIBUNE)

Teachers teaching Grades 3-7 had a session with Mr. Shakil Ahmed (Consultant, Dhaka Tribune) on Educational Technology. Education Technology requires an advanced use of technology based on ideas. Mr. Shakil comprised his topic by some great and enthusiastic ideas like Idealism, Realism, Pragmatism, and Existentialism.

Educators are the bridges to connect the students with their knowledge resources to enhance their capability of their learning. Using the best way to build up the relation between the educators and the students must NOT be only limited within the books or any traditional resources rather it

should be spontaneous. Any visual and thoughtful vision of any topic applicable for the learners must be adapted.

Philosophy of life and leading life can be inspiring as a useful technology for both educators and students. It’s not always necessary that much updated scientific technologies are the only devices of technology to teach, hence educators can use any life related thoughts and use them as an education technology. Making bonds with reality, ideas, existence are all a pleasant part of education where the philosophy of life grows more. There might be different thoughts and ways of thinking or behaving but at the end of the day, all these matter when someone learns something and never forgets in their entire life.

DEVELOPING SKILLS FOR 21 CENTURY LEARNERS by MS. IMRANA IQBAL (HEAD OF DEPARTMENT – BIOLOGY AND SCIENCE)

Pre Primary and Primary Teachers attended a session by Ms Imrana Iqbal on Developing Skills for 21st Century Learners. In this session, she talked about some important topics such as - traditional classroom, the modern workplace, and skills for 21st century learners and how can the teachers help them to develop their skills and so on. It was very informative and the session was more discussion based and oriented to group work. In group work, teachers were able to share their views and opinions which were fruitful. It was a very new and informative topic for everyone.

ROLE OF TEACHERS AS EDUCATORS by MS SHEGUFTA KHAN (SENIOR ECONOMICS TEACHER)

Grades 5-7 Teachers attended a session won the Role of Teachers as Educators by Ms. Shegufta Khan. It was a very informative session where she highlighted several points regarding the role of an educator. It was an interactive session and Teachers were greatly inspired by the end of the session.

INSPIRATIONAL TEACHING by DR. MAHBUBUR RAHMAN (PROFESSOR, NORTH SOUTH UNIVERSITY).

Grade 8 – A Level Teachers attended a session on Inspirational Teaching by Dr. Mahbubur Rahman (Professor, North South University). The trainer

emphasized on the real qualities of an inspirational teacher who is able to change students' lives. It is not an easy task, but quite challenging. In this regard, a teacher's attitude does matter, not his or her skill. Six steps were prescribed by the trainer to become an inspirational teacher. These are as follows: 1. Empathy 2. Developing positive mental attitude 3. Growing excellent verbal skills

4. Showing respect to the learners 5. Remembering that each student is unique and individual 6. Being aware of the "power of profession"

It is stressed that growing positive relationship with the students is a prerequisite to ensure high level motivation in and outside the class. Overall the session was indeed thought provoking, enriched and quite entertaining.

MANAGING A LEARNER CENTERED CLASSROOM by MR. SHAMIM HOSEN (SENIOR ENGLISH TEACHER)

This session was conducted in a manner that intrigued the attention of all the teachers. The trainer managed to deliver by grabbing the attention of all the respected teachers by grouping them first and then making them work in groups with a task of arranging chronological sentences of a story. Within the time limit, all the teachers were heavily busy and eager to complete the task. The next stage involved each group to draw out the scenario portrayed by the sentences and also to continue the story. At the end of the little group work, he made the groups hold the banners on the walls for other groups to judge their works. Overall, it was a productive and successful session.

HOW TO BE AN EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATOR by MS NAHID TABASSUM (PRIMARY ENGLISH TEACHER)

Pre Primary Teachers had a session with Ms Nahid Tabassum on “The importance of right communication and how to become effective communicator.” A person who communicates is a communicator .Communication is simply the act of transferring information from one to another. It is the key to open up a whole new world.

There are main three types of communications:

1) Verbal-conversation, dialogue, group discussion etc. 2) Written-Letter, email, journal etc. 3) Body language-gesture, posture, intonation etc.

Teachers can follow some strategies in order to have effective communication. Teachers can prepare how to communicate. Deliver the message in a precise manner so that the other person understands. Teachers should listen well when someone is talking and confirm understanding. It is both receptive and expressive.

*Communication in teaching *Communicating to parents *Interacting with colleagues and superiors *Evaluate the effectiveness of the communication afterwards * Take corrective action as necessary There are some barriers to effective communication, like failure to understand, lack of respect to others, intimidation, not listening properly etc. Teachers should never ever use the communication shut downs. To be an effective communicator, teachers need to expand vocabulary, practice listening skills, learn to understand and appreciate difference of opinions and try to avoid communicating when emotional. It was a great session and Teachers felt greatly benefited afterwards.

USE OF PERSPECTIVE AS AN EFFECTIVE TEACHING TOOL by MS MAHFUJA M (HEAD OF DEPARTMENT – SOCIAL STUDIES).

Grades 1 -4 Teachers had a session with Ms Mahfuja Majumder on the ‘Use of perspective as an effective teaching tool.’ The session started with questions like, can we bind teaching? Or is there any specific teaching technique? The answers were discussed with the teachers view points and a power point presentation. The slides started with Dan Pratt’s 5 different perspectives of teaching and these are:

1. Transmission 2. Apprenticeship 3. Development

4. Nurturing 5. Social Reform

The above mentioned teaching techniques were discussed along with ‘Teaching strengths and challenges’ and ‘Different orientations toward teaching.’ The different orientations of teachings are:

1. Behaviourist 2. Cognitivist 3. Humanist

4. Social Learner 5.Constructivist

The session ended with the understanding of individual perspective while teaching should be positive or presented positively, so that the learners develop a better and positive perception towards the society and world.

LEARNING IN THE EARLY YEARS by VICE PRINCIPAL MRS. MADHU WAL

The session conducted by the Vice Principal, Madhu Wal with the pre-primary and the Grade 1 and 2 teachers focused on the ideal way and methods of working with the children in their early years. The shift of focus from each childhood in the pre-primary years to each subject is evident in the first two grades of early education. She shared some ideas to improve the value of early education years and gave some valuable thoughts on the topic She discussed ways to improve skills, type-physical, social, emotional, cognitive and lingual skills of the children under the guidance of the teachers.

The session began with the most basic learning method, imitation that is stimulated by the environment and the surroundings. Hence, she advised the teachers to decorate the classrooms with charts, models,

colours and pictures that create a welcoming environment for the students. According to Mrs. Madhu Wal, this is a way arousing curiosity in the young and malleable minds. She asked the teachers to educate the children with the understanding of the world.

Subsequently, she talked about the match between the child’s capacity and the curriculum keeping the average and the below-average students in mind. According to her, age appropriate education should be ensured for the betterment and growth. Thus, she suggested the teachers to make the lessons challenging to for the children that enhances their critical thinking and problem solving capability. She also emphasized on the importance of having safe, clean and user friendly classrooms that has a positive impact on the work cultures and the students as well.

The environment and the lessons should be a harmonic combination that develops their sensibility, personality with right values, attitude and social skills. Conflict resolution and critical thinking should be evoked by the patterns of the lessons and daily activities. Routine activities should be provided for uninterrupted academic progress.

The Vice Principal of DPS STS School also mentioned about the co-relation between competency and qualities. She described how these years build up each child’s personality and admirable qualities. In the early years of their growth, socially desirable habits should be promoted in the lessons as well as the daily activities. Madhu Wal advised the teachers to make more flexible, inclusive, creative and adaptable curriculum for children. She also added games and activities as some useful methods that the children should be introduced to. Next, she pointed the significance of having daily routines and rituals to grow a sense of orientation and belonging. Self- reliance, self-confidence building activities are essential that needs to be improvised. Most importantly, she encouraged the teachers to be reliable, caring and affectionate towards their students. She named some activities like drawing Mandalas as a part of creative work for kids in the classrooms. With that she concluded her wonderful session.

VOTE OF THANKS by VICE PRINCIPAL MRS. MADHU WAL

As the 3 Day Teachers’ Training came to an end, Vice Principal Mrs. Madhu Wal reflected on the main idea of the workshop and also encouraged all the teachers present. She also welcomed the new Teachers and concluded with a motivational and inspiring short speech.

Once the Training Workshop had been completed, all the Teachers gathered at the School’s Cafeteria for a luncheon.