Techniques for Effective Teaching: A Sesame Workshop-IDP Foundation Partnership in Ghana

"Equipping a classroom with effective learning materials doesn't have to cost a lot. In fact, you can set up an amazing learning environment with exclusively free or low-cost items..."

One-third of Ghanaian adults are currently unable to read, and the literacy rate is 20% lower for women than for men (UNICEF, retrieved on August 10 2011). One of the factors contributing to these statistics is a shortage of well-trained teachers. To support the delivery of high-quality early childhood and primary education in low-resource schools in Ghana, Sesame Workshop, the non-profit educational organisation behind Sesame Street, in partnership with the IDP Foundation, Inc., introduced a teacher training programme in spring 2012 that uses education and entertainment to empower educators with practical strategies to help students learn.

The resources described here emerged from that programme, which is organised into theme-based training modules that showcase exemplary teaching practices for the West African classroom. The DVD is the centre of this suite of resources; everything in the freely downloadable teacher's guide is based on the video modules. There are 10 videos on the DVD; each is approximately 10 minutes long. (These videos are also available for free viewing on YouTube; click here to access them all). Each module is introduced and concluded with 2 Sesame Muppet characters, Kami and Zobi, supported by the Ghanaian actor Matilda Asante, and is hosted by one of two expert teachers who demonstrate exemplary teaching practices in different paedagogical areas. Created with input from local children's education experts, the videos provide guidance on topics such as time management, positive discipline, and child-centred approaches to learning.

Also available is a colourful, durable poster that shows a busy market and schoolyard scene with text along the bottom describing various learning activities to do with pupils. Teachers are encouraged to place this poster at their pupils' eye level (or put it on the floor and gather around it in a circle) to build counting skills, develop sorting and classification skills, help pupils engage in dramatic play, and build critical thinking skills.

Contents of the teacher's guide include:

• Welcome Letter to Teachers
• Using This Kit
• Making Your Own Instructional Materials
• Low-Cost and No-Cost Materials
• Activities for Anytime
• Time Management Tools
• Module 1: Teaching Fundamentals & Project Introduction
• Module 2: Developing a Child-Friendly Learning Space
• Module 3: Positive Discipline and Classroom Management
• Module 4: Teaching With Low-Cost Resources
• Module 5: Pupil-Centred Learning for English Literacy
• Module 6: Pupil-Centred Learning for Mathematics
• Module 7: Time Management
• Module 8: Practical Ways to Make the Classroom Creative and Fun
• Module 9: Differentiated Instruction
• Module 10: Evaluation and Assessment
• Glossary

In the teacher's guide, each of the 10 module entries includes 3 different sections: a summary section that reviews the important information seen in the video segment; a journal section that helps teachers reflect upon the ideas presented in the video segment; and a "how-to" section featuring ideas teachers can take into the classroom.

To spread the benefit to schools throughout the country, Sesame Workshop conducted 5 master training workshops across Ghana, supported by educators' guides, DVDs, and classroom materials that reinforce key messages.