Community Teacher Training (CTT) programme
The CTT programme equips people on the move with the skills they need to teach their communities effectively.
Context
In 2020, nationwide lockdowns required that many education-oriented NGOs halt in-person activities. Demand for English lessons substantially outweighed supply and NGOs struggled to respond. In camps across Greece, self-organised groups of residents responded by expanding their own teaching initiatives.
Many individuals, the majority of whom had never taught before, took on the role of teacher. The CTT programme was developed in direct response to this, and has been designed and refined in constant collaboration with teachers and trainers.
This self-organised community-led model offers an alternative approach that creates a more sustainable and empowering learning environment for people on the move through the pandemic and beyond.
The programme
The CTT programme aims to support and improve the quality of teaching initiatives currently delivered, and consists of a structured programme of remote workshops specially designed for this context and led by experienced teacher trainers.
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The approach taken in the training is flexible and designed to meet the specific needs of the trainee teachers. Over the course of between 3 to 12 weeks, workshops take place weekly via Zoom with the technological and facilitative support of a local partner organisation. Materials covered typically include core classroom competencies, structuring a lesson, and activities for the classroom, among other topics.
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After the programme's end, the Mentorship Programme is introduced. Each of the trainees is offered the opportunity to have an individual mentor - a qualified teacher with experience in this context - to support them with their progress along the programme, their teaching, and their professional goals.
Flexibility in course content, structure, and length, is at the heart of the programme; each week, trainees will be asked what they would like to cover, so that trainers can tailor their material to trainee needs.
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Finally, certificates of completion are awarded, so trainees have evidence of their participation and can present this to future employees.
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Outcomes
Community teachers have the confidence and skills they need to provide structured and accessible classes to their communities.
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Students are provided with high quality teaching and the opportunity to develop their language skills in a supportive environment.
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Community teachers have stronger long term employability prospects.
Since 2021 there have been...
11
iterations of the programme, in locations across Greece
200+
pupils ultimately benefiting so far
46
community teachers trained
After completing the programme...
88%
of teachers reported that they always know how to use questions and activities in their lessons
62%
of teachers reported that they always know how to get students to answer questions in class
62%
of teachers reported that they always use a lesson plan
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75%
reported that they could help another teacher with their lessons
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Moving forward
We would like to bring the CTT programme to new locations!
If you are part of a community teaching initiative or an organisation that works with community teachers and would like to partner with us, please reach out to ctt@refugeeEd.com.
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