[5]The Elementary and Middle School Teacher Training and Curriculum Development Programs of the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs of the US Department of State, supported the advancement of a child-centered school environment in Armenia by providing training for in-service and pre-service teachers and school administrators.
The programs were designed based on comprehensive, child-centered education methodologies and served children, teachers, and parents. Over 10,000 education professionals received rigorous training in modern teaching methodologies, curriculum design, and educational leadership.
This project is now closed.
• Initiate instructional and curriculum reform in primary and secondary schools by training local specialists and teachers
• Address the training cycle of education professionals by improving pre-service teachers’ student-teaching practices
Curriculum Development: Local pools of education specialists were selected to examine U.S. methods of integrated curriculum development for primary and secondary schools. Together with U.S. education experts, Armenian participants developed integrated curriculum units for social sciences and language arts that were pilot-tested in select schools. Program alumni continue to train their peers in curriculum design, which has resulted in the creation of integrated curriculum in other areas such as math and science.
Teacher Training: Local pools of trainers were created to train in-service teachers in child-centered interactive teaching methodology. Teachers conducted student lessons that promoted multiple intelligences, cooperative learning, and creative thinking. By building the capacity of individual teachers, the programs’ bottom-up approach to educational reform resulted in a profound impact on the educational system in Armenia.
Improving Student-Teaching Practices in Primary and Secondary Schools: Select primary and secondary schools served as clinical schools where pre-service teachers from pedagogical institutions could observe and use child-centered teaching methodology. Pre-service teachers worked collaboratively with trained in-service teachers, actively aiding clinical faculty, co-teaching, developing lesson plans, and creating teacher portfolios before finally teaching on their own.
Over 10,000 in-service teachers from over 700 primary and secondary schools trained by a 65 member Teacher Trainers Corps
Over 100 clinical faculty from primary and secondary schools trained for mentoring pre-service teachers during their student teaching
Published 12 handbooks on primary and secondary school curriculum design and teacher training methodologies