Teaching Excellence and Achievement Program (TEA) - Eurasia/South Asia

Small Grants Project Summaries

TEA 2006-2008 Round 1

Marine Arakelyan
Armenia
“Multiple Tools of Assessment in Backward Design Model-based Thematic Units for EFL Teachers”
Ms. Marine Arakelyan will collaborate with Anahit Zohrabyan and Gohar Davtyan to implement an eight-day workshop for 12 teachers of English as a Foreign Language (EFL) from across Armenia. The workshops will focus on progressive methods of students’ assessment techniques such as rubrics that are used for backward design curriculum. The new assessment tools along with the teaching techniques will build on encouraging the students rather than using negative reinforcement.  The participating teachers will bring new resources and knowledge to their schools, thus affecting a greater number of Armenian EFL teachers.

Susanna Hakobyan
Armenia
“Information Technology as a Teaching Tool for Teaching-Learning Process”
Ms. Susanna Hakobyan and her colleagues in Gyumri school # 20 will organize six-day workshops for 60 English teachers in the Shirak region of Armenia. The first workshop will instruct the teachers in basic computer skills and methods of integrating technology into the teaching process. The second workshop will introduce new, interactive methods for teaching English to encourage student participation and to provide them with critical thinking skills. The workshops will address the isolation of many rural teachers in Armenia, encourage new ideas, and promote new teaching techniques.

Sevinj Afandi
Azerbaijan
“English Library and Resource Center”
Ms. Sevinj Afandi will establish an English language library at the School #4 in Qax, Azerbaijan, where she teaches English.  The library will provide students with much-needed resources to reach their full potential in their English studies; they will have the opportunity to visit the library during English classes and after school.  Ms. Afandi will invite five teachers from her school and five from surrounding areas to a training on conducting student-centered lessons by using the resources of the library. They will also learn about differentiated instruction methods and students learning styles.  The teachers will also be able to borrow the books and dictionaries in the library for use in their classes.  The improvement in English language resources will encourage enthusiasm from students and will allow teachers to maximize their effectiveness in the classroom. 

Sanihur Akter Rumi
Bangladesh
"Training on Interactive Methodology of Teaching English Subject in Secondary Schools"
Ms. Sanihur Akter Rumi, the Head Teacher of the Saturia Pilot Girls' High School, will implement a six-day workshop for 25 English teachers from 14 different rural schools across her region of Bangladesh.  The workshop will include both English language skill enhancement and an introduction to new, interactive teaching methods that Ms. Rumi learned during her time with the TEA Program in the USA.  The training is designed to improve the quality of English education in secondary school classrooms and provide students with critical thinking and cooperative learning skills.

Marianna Tatarashvili
Georgia
“Everything for the Benefit of Students and Teachers”
Ms. Marianna Tatarashvili will collaborate with Professor Delwyn Harnisch of the University of Nebraska, Lincoln to deliver a series of teacher training seminars in the cities of Tbilisi and Kutaisi.  The seminars will focus on innovative teaching methods such as the method of “Lesson Study” developed in Japan.  In addition to the workshops for 140 teachers, they will also meet with representatives of the Ministry of Education and English professors from various universities in order to affect the greatest number of educators.  Additionally, Ms. Tatarashvili will purchase English language books for the resource center in her school.

Marina Terterovi
Georgia
“Resource Center for Teachers and Students to Develop English Language Teaching and Learning Skills”
 Ms. Marina Terterovi will establish an English resource center at her school in which she will conduct a series of 15 workshops for 20 students and a separate series of 15 workshops for 20 teachers from surrounding schools.  The resource center will be equipped with dictionaries, books, and other English language materials and can be used in the future as a venue for events and lectures.  The workshops will include presentations by TEA Program alumni and guest speakers, and will focus on English learning, American studies, essay writing, and innovative teaching techniques such as cooperative learning and problem-based learning.  The resource center and its workshops will introduce teachers and students from around the region to cutting-edge teaching techniques and spark greater interest in English language learning.

Vera Krepysheva
Kazakhstan
“Innovations in Teaching English to Young Learners”
Ms. Vera Krepysheva and Ms. Natalia Kaipova, both TEA Program alumni, will collaborate to implement two training workshops for 20 teachers from rural schools across their region.  The workshops, which will last a total of three days, will focus on more interactive and communicative teaching methods and will include guest lectures, group discussions, and classroom observation.  In order to reach a greater number of teachers, each participant in the workshop will share their new knowledge and materials with at least two teachers from their own school upon their return.  The goal of the workshops is to overcome the challenge of isolation faced by many rural schools in Kazakhstan and to increase the effectiveness of English language teaching.

Tadzhidin Khaitov
Tajikistan
“English Language Resource Center”
Mr. Tadzhidin Khaitov will collaborate with Mr. Bahrom Alimov, another TEA alumnus, and Ms. Mary Johnston, a Wisconsin high school teacher, to establish the first English language resource library for teachers in the region of Khatlon in Tajikistan.  The English language resource library will include books on cutting edge teaching methods and theories, multi-media classroom resources, and literature and magazines for student use. They will also organize a teacher training day both to introduce the new library resources and to share the knowledge and skills they learned through the TEA Program while in the US. 

Anjela Nazarova
Turkmenistan
“Student Centered Learning Club”
Ms. Anjela Nazarova will begin a two-month long English language club for 20 fifth grade students in her region of Turkmenistan.  The once-a-week day camp, which will be held at the Dostlyk English Center, will give the students the resources and support they need to increase their enthusiasm and learning capacity for the subject.  Ms. Nazarova has enlisted the support of two American Peace Corps volunteers and two other local teachers to help with the club, and will purchase books and multimedia teaching tools for the classes.

Iryna Chepyha
Ukraine
“Creating a Supply of Education Materials for the District English Language Resource Centre Functioning in the Alumni School”
Ms. Iryna Chepyha will greatly enhance the English Language Resource Centre in her region of Chortkiv in the Ukraine by organizing seminars for teachers and acquiring a large number of learning materials for the library.  She will collaborate with teachers from local schools to conduct the workshops, which will cover topics such as teaching methods, extracurricular activities, and a guide to the new resources of the ELRC.  The materials to be purchased include over one hundred textbooks, novels, CDs and DVDs for English language and American studies.  The improvements at the ELRC will increase the teachers’ capacity for instruction and provide the students with greater resources.

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