Teacher training in Kerala to evolve into professional development programme
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Teacher training in government and aided schools in the state is set for a major transformation with the rollout of a professional development programme for teachers up to High School level from next year.
For the first time, close to 1.7 lakh teachers from Lower Primary to High School sections will be brought under a learner management system (LMS) that periodically tracks and records their training progress as well as their professional accomplishments.
"In addition to the five day offline training that is being imparted at present, the new system will also have projects, assignments and tests in online mode for teachers. This will be conducted on a periodic basis to assess if the training has met its objectives," a senior official of the General Education Department told TNIE.
A project of the State Council of Educational Research and Training (SCERT), the professional development programme will be imparted to newly-recrutied teachers on a pilot basis. It will have various modules and credits will be awarded online on the successful completion of each module
The LMS will have the provision for teachers to add their professional accomplishments such as completion of various online courses, participation in seminars and other academic achievements. It will act as an officially-recognised professional portfolio that can be easily accessed online.
"Whether the professional accomplishments registered in the teachers' online portfolio needs to be considered for matters such as promotion is a call the government needs to take. However, it can definitely be considered as a yardstick for choosing the best teachers as resource persons for various projects or entrusting them with additional responsibilities," the official added.
The SCERT has proposed the rollout of the professional development progrramme for the 1.7 lakh teachers in a phased manner over the next three years. In the next academic year. teachers in LP Section will be brought under LMS followed by UP and High School in the following years. Inclusion of around 28,000 higher secondary teachers in the programme will be considered at a later stage.
As per the plan, while teachers of a particular section will receive five days of training under the revised programme, the existing five-day cluster training will continue for the remaining sections. "We are also thinking of coming out with separate training modules for teachers in accordance with their age or years of service. This would mean that not all teachers of a particular section would receive the same kind of training," the official added.