ITECPD and T-TEL Prepare Year-Four Professional Development Manual for CoE
The Institute for Teacher Education and Continuing Professional Development (ITECPD) of the University of Education, Winneba (UEW) in conjunction with a Ghanaian not-for-profit organisation, Transforming Teaching, Education and Learning (T-TEL) is formulating a year-four Professional Development (PD) manual for affiliate UEW Colleges of Education (CoE).
The development of the PD manual, underway at the Coconut Groove Beach Resort at Elmina in the Central Region of Ghana, intends to ensure effective implementation of the key principles and practices of the Bachelor of Education (B.Ed.) curriculum.
The writing workshop also aims to provide the professional development opportunity for CoE tutors to ensure that the B.Ed. courses are taught well and to exemplify how to implement the essential elements of the B.Ed. programme including subject content and pedagogy, age level specialisms, interactive approaches to teaching, Gender Equality and Social Inclusion (GESI) responsiveness, Basic School Curriculum, ICT and 21st-century skills.
The five-day workshop affords participants the forum to discuss, share experiences, provide guidance, correct mistakes made and put in place a pragmatic manual for the year-four PD sessions.
The Director of ITECPD, Prof. Dandy George Dampson, at the opening of the five-day workshop, expressed gratitude to everyone present for taking part in all the manual writings organised so far. “You have really demonstrated professionalism which cannot be compromised. I also want to express my heartfelt thanks to the T-TEL team for their continuous support demonstrated over the years in reviewing and developing the Ghanaian curriculum.”
Prof. Dampson pinpointed some challenges encountered during the writing and implementation of previous manuals. He, therefore, implored the tutors to be active participants in the implementation process by dialoguing, critiquing and helping each other to sharpen, refresh, develop and upgrade their skills and knowledge in writing the year-four PD manual.
He acknowledged the successes chalked by everyone. He, however, entreated participants not to be deterred by a few errors ITECPD captured in some of the manuals already written.
The first Vice-Chancellor of UEW, Prof. Jophus Anamuah-Mensah, revealed that there was another innovative curriculum that would be developed for the Senior High Schools very soon. “We are redefining our secondary education system and we want to ensure that our educational system at every level conforms with the 21st-century skills.”
Prof. Anamuah-Mensah urged participants to continue to exhibit confidence in spearheading a new direction of education in the country. “Let us commit ourselves to it, let us remember that we are leaving something for generations to come. What will upcoming generations say about us? I think we need to leave something for them so that they can also take it and move a step forward. Then, gradually we will see Ghana achieving tremendous heights.”
Key Advisor at T-TEL, Prof. Jonathan Fletcher, made a thorough presentation on “goals, purpose, outcomes and timelines for PD writing and delivery, course manual check, completing the PD template and using the PD Check List”.
