Mentoring Teachers through Zonal Workshops

In February, facilitators Dora and Marc Stroobosscher, together with CCAP school leaders Boniface (Hoya), Florence (Mphamba), and Victoria (Boyole) worked with a total 30 Early Adopters and 4 Head Teachers to review and strengthen the integration of Biblical worldview with the Zambian curriculum. These sessions enabled participants for leading future sessions with teacher colleagues and supporting school communities with Teaching for Transformation and Throughlines across daily teaching and learning.

Participants gathered together in groups of 8-9 at four different locations across four zones of CCAP schools. The agenda followed a similar schedule at each location:

• Openings Devotions
• Early Adopters from different schools shared their reflections about the past year. Working in small groups, participants responded to three questions: What went well? What were the challenges? What solutions can you arrive at? This input generated good dialogue for learning from each other.
• Participants next examined the Early Adopter Monitoring Tool that had been presented to the Head Teachers in April 2014 but had not been implemented. Using this tool for self-reflection builds Early Adopters awareness of possibilities and expectations for their role.
• Subsequent sessions involved observing and critiquing sample Teaching for Transformation lessons taught by two Early Adopters; working with the Zambia Christian Schools Curriculum Design Tool and reviewing completed units written in 2014; and finally, developing an Early Adopter Action Plan for 2015.

All in all, these Walking Together Zonal Workshops provided facilitators, local school leaders, and Early Adopters a good amount of time to reflect on the challenges and the progress with integrating a Biblical worldview through Teaching for Transformation during 2014. Furthermore, the sessions provided Early Adopters a safe forum for sharing their joys and successes and also opportunities to express their frustrations and challenges. The sessions provided on-site mentoring for teacher-leaders as they demonstrated integrating God’s story and Biblical Throughlines in their teaching and curriculum. Working together to arrive at manageable solutions, the Early Adopters were renewed in their energy and passion, to look forward to being back in their schools  and to work even harder at transforming learning, teaching, classrooms and communities.