PAQUED Quarterly Report July 1 – September 30, 2011

The project received funding from USAID in 2009 and was officially named Projet d'Amélioration de la Qualité de l'Education. The project's performance during the reporting period (July - September 2011) focused on several key activities, including the development of Interactive Radio Instruction (IRI) programs for grades 3 and 4, the organization of a teachers' professional development institute, and the broadcasting of community radio programs. The French Professional Development Institute (PDI) was a major milestone for the project, with over 27,000 teachers participating in a 10-day training program in August 2011. The institute was organized in 892 neighborhood clusters, with each cluster consisting of 2 to 5 schools. The training emphasized the teaching and learning of French as a second language, using pedagogical strategies appropriate for both teachers and students. Preliminary results showed a 28% average gain in teachers' skills, with the greatest improvement in Orientale Province. The project encountered several logistical and pedagogical challenges, including transportation issues, distribution of materials, and the school calendar. However, the technical team re-organized the neighborhood clusters to improve the quality of the institute and other cluster-based activities. The project also began developing the Math Professional Development Institute, planned for July/August of Year 3. The project used the services of School to School, a US-based consulting firm, to conceive pre- and post-tests to gauge teachers' skills before and after the institute. Preliminary analyses indicated very encouraging results, with substantial average gains of 28%. The project will submit a complete report on pre- and post-test results as well as final statistics on participation levels as soon as these are available. The project also re-launched self-directed learning modules 1 and 2 during the French Professional Development Institute, which are designed to help teachers develop skills for self-directed learning, develop French language (and mathematics) competencies, and provide a model of effective teaching practices for teachers to use in their classrooms. The project anticipates reporting results on the use of these self-directed teacher-learning modules in the coming months. The team of scriptwriters completed the 200 literacy and numeracy support IRI programs for grades 3 and 4, which provide 2h30 per week and per grade of specific support to literacy and numeracy. The programs are accompanied by a teacher resource guide that helps prepare teachers to effectively use each program. Field-testing of the programs continued, with 180 programs having been field-tested and finalized at the studio-level. The first 45 programs (per grade) were loaded onto the Lifeplayer radios in August, and the accompanying teachers guide, story cards, and introductory program guide are being distributed in October in time for the broadcast for the 2011/12 school year.