KIX Education Policy Innovation Conference (EPIC) Day 4

24 December 2021
Panelists
Credit: NORRAG

The final day of the KIX EAP Education Policy Innovation Conference (EPIC) on the topic of Teaching Quality and Learning was held on 28th October 2021. The keynote address was delivered by Freda Wolfenden, Professor of Education and International Development at Open University.

Professor Wolfenden focused her address on scaling innovations, in particular innovations relating to teacher professional development. There were three main takeaways from her address. First was her insight on designing and implementing professional learning. According to her, even though cascade models are the usual practice, they are not very efficient as individual teacher experiences are not considered. Instead, implementation of professional learning should consider the local education ecosystems in place. Second was her appreciation for the use of ICTs in teacher professional development. The use of ICTs can make TPDs more personalized and teacher owned. Furthermore, it can extend the reach of professional development and make it more inclusive and localized. Last was her message on the three key factors to think about when scaling TPDs. These are quality, efficiency, and equity. Quality refers to effective professional development established through research, efficiency refers to the use of resources that ensure quality and equity and, equity refers to access to professional development for teachers.

Watch the day 4 highlights video.

Dr. Froumin emphasized in his address the importance of educational outcomes in educational assessment, highlighting that often the discussions focus on the assessment process and assessment techniques, while insufficient attention is paid to what should be assessed. Based on the human capital theory, Dr. Froumin presented a framework for educational outcomes, in which he highlighted the particular importance of assessing not only traditional subject-based competencies but also universal competencies and soft skills. He also gave examples of countries that implement universal competencies in their educational programs and outlined the importance of simplifying the constructs describing educational content and developing new assessment tools in the future.

The keynote address was followed by five thematic sessions and the closing session.

The first session on educating educators for the future was chaired by Duishonkul Shamatov (Nazarbayev University). Gulmira Qanay (Kazakh National Women’s Teacher Training University) presented on ‘Exploring the development of teacher leadership in schools in Kazakhstan’. Nazira Dusheeva (Kyrgyz Academy of Education) and Tamo Chattopadhay (American University of Central Asia) spoke about some approaches and models in quality management of teaching/learning. Rusudan Chanturia (Coalition Education for All Georgia) talked about teachers’ professional development in Georgia. Lastly, Murzalinova Alma Zhakimovna (Orleu) presented on teaching and evaluating successful teachers for educational leadership.

The next session on 21st century teaching and learning was chaired by Elizabeth Cassity (ACER). The session kicked off with a presentation on a monitoring report on the situation with inclusive evaluation in Central and Eastern Europe, the Caucasus, and Central Asia by Ulviyya Mikayilova (ADA University). Ian Teo (ACER) then presented on the integration of 21st century skills in education systems. Bahodur Mengliev (OOO Gayur) spoke about advanced training of teachers based on the competence-based approach of teaching in secondary schools of the Republic of Tajikistan. Lastly, Anzhelika Chepelenko (Ukrainian Engineering and Pedagogical Academy) presented on the prospects of the market of educational services.

The third session on developing teacher competence was chaired by Arushi Terway (NORRAG). Oluwaseyi Olubunmi Sodiya (Khazar University) presented on the impact of workplace professional development training for in-service teachers’ performance. Zhanna Sagitova (L.N. Gumilyov Eurasian National University) then presented on training of teaching staff based on practice-oriented learning. Finally, Mukhambetjanova Saule Talapedenovna (Orleu) presented on the fundamentals of the formation of digital competence of teachers in the conditions of the system of advanced training of educational workers.

The following session on reflection on the context for effective learning was chaired by Ulviyya Mikailova (ADA University). First Natalia Morari (Tiraspol State University) presented on the specificity of student research activity in the humanist disciplines. Then Natalia Orekhova (Nazarbayev Intellectual Schools) and Bigazina Perizat (Nazarbayev Intellectual Schools) spoke about “natural science” as a component of the pedagogical conditions for the formation of research skills. Following this, Oscar Díaz Botía (International Security and Development Center) spoke about food for education and child nutrition in Kyrgyzstan. Lastly, Bakhtiyor Buriev (Institute of Education Development of the Academy of Education of Tajikistan) talked about the ways to improve the quality of teaching mathematics.

The final session, chaired by Ryan Allen (Chapman University), was on the topic of developing and improving instruction quality. Irina Karimova (Institute of Education Development of the Academy of Education of Tajikistan) presented on language development in the context of a multilingual setting in Tajikistan. Next, Aysel Beydullayeva (ADA University) spoke about teacher awareness on various instructional design models. Following this, laha Rasulova (The Institute of Education of Azerbaijan Republic) presented on the relation of instruction quality and reading comprehension ability at preschool age. Lastly, Aytan Suleymanova (ADA University) presented on gender based problems and possible solutions in the context of classroom management.

Lastly, in the closing session, Professor Gita Steiner-Khamsi spoke about the success of the four-day conference and reflected on the hope of the team that a new field develops wherein “researchers, government officials, civil society, and teacher associations join hands to figure out what works, what should happen, what did not work, and what should be discontinued”. She also thanked everyone who participated in the conference and made it a success. José Luís Canêlhas (KIX EAP Hub Manager) and Julia Levin (KIX EAP Hub Knowledge Lead) also thanked all participants and spoke about next steps.

Learn more about the first day of EPIC by exploring the following resources:

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