Training Effective Afghan Teachers

All of us at Creating Hope International (CHI) and the Afghan Institute of Learning (AIL) want to thank our donors for supporting our teacher training programs. Through the first six months this year, we trained 973 teachers, 80% of whom were female. As of June, we have hosted 68 workshops and seminars for teachers to hone their skills, with many more taking place in the coming months. Teachers are being trained in techniques that help students learn more and think critically, but are also getting training in topics that make them better-rounded as educators in general. Attending workshops in leadership, human rights, ethics, security, even topics in effectively educating adults, our teachers are learning new and innovative ways to bring education to their students.

In April, AIL held a week-long technique seminar for about 50 teachers in a relatively remote area outside of Kabul. This particular technique seminar covered a wide range of topics, from how to teach math to how to create tests for students that stimulate critical thinking. Overall, the seminar was very well received and we received a lot of feedback from the teachers. One of the participants had this to say about the seminar:

“First of all I want to thank the AIL trainers for conducting a seminar in this remote area and teaching us the methods which are necessary for teachers. We want to thank them especially for preparing the lesson plan. Their methods of teaching ‘group work’ and ‘practical work’ were interesting. The teachers who are newly hired really benefit from the ideas of the experienced teachers.”

Another teacher expressed his pleasure with the outcome of the seminar:

“We feel big changes in our teaching style, especially in our methodology of instruction.”

We have a large number of workshops being scheduled for the next 12 months, including training seminars in techniques and specialization. A relatively new program that we are helping to pioneer is the use of mobile phones to teach Afghan women and children how to read and write. Fifteen teachers have already been trained in Herat and AIL is planning to train another group in Kabul. Again, we want to thank you all so much for your support!