Research - Case Studies
Ethiopia Teacher Professional Development:
Children's Home Society and Family Services
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia • 24-28 August 2009

Specific Results Thinking Schools Model is Moving Towards
The Thinking Schools Professional Development Model goals are creating a sustainable Trainer of Trainers model and educator network that is incorporated throughout all learning communities. If the Thinking Schools Model is to be feasible and sustainable, it is important to develop leadership and models of excellence within Ethiopia. To support accelerated growth with the trainers and teachers involved with Thinking Schools, social community networks will be an integral element of the learning process among teachers and education leaders. Methods and available technologies will be important components of the ongoing Thinking Schools Professional Development. The timing coincides with a shift of how Ethiopia views education, approaches education, and has an opportunity to influence the future of education. Specifically the model is moving towards:

  • a trainer of trainers model;
  • providing life long thinking methods that are focused on the human thinking capacity;
  • a network of educators sharing best practices;
  • using collaborative technologies to build a social networking model;
  • creating training methods and tools built on research and supportive of Ethiopian culture;
  • equity with urban and rural schools (see the work of Nikolaj Grundtvig with the Folk Schools Movement in Denmark and the Brazilian educator Paolo Freire);
  • providing support for teacher action research of their practices.

The CHSFS Ethiopia schools and staff, physical facilities and professional video crew are well positioned to create a thriving high quality model laboratory school. This model would initially include the CHSFS schools, and ultimately expand to other participating schools and regions including the state (public) schools. The latter, incorporating state schools, was noted as very feasible by the UNESCO Institute of Capacity Building director Awol Endis who participated in the week long Thinking Schools professional development in August.

Specific details on the model include:
Trainer of Trainers Model
The Trainer of Trainers (TOT) model incorporates a combination of competency-based and mastery learning methods applied through a defined trainer pathway, in which a Trainer of Trainer is ultimately able not only to train peers, but to design and develop curricula for training programs. The Trainer of Trainer model creates a feasible pathway of developing a sustainable Thinking Schools model. The training employs competency-based learning, a learning-by-doing training approach that focuses more on successful performance of demonstrating the knowledge, skills, and attitudes needed for quality pedagogy according to defined standards — than on simple acquisition of knowledge.

Life Long Thinking Methods
The learning methods learned in school should be part of the student’s tools for learning throughout life. Being a life long learner begins in school to enhance social inclusion, active citizenship and personal development. The Thinking Schools Model embraces ‘tools’ that support thinking skills for life long learners in school, throughout school, and in life after school.

Network of Educators Sharing Best Practices
If the Thinking Schools Model is to be successful, the teachers participating with the professional development will benefit from creating a network of communication. This supports sharing models of excellence, solving problems, achieving goals, exchanging knowledge, and developing collaborations.

Collaborative Technologies to Build a Social Networking Model
The participants will implement ‘technologies’ that support communication and a social network amongst educators. At the August professional development with teachers from Addis Ababa and very rural communities, approximately one third had an email account (all from Addis Ababa) and ALL teachers had a mobile phone. With participating teachers, a network would be developed using tools already in place while exploring technologies presently emerging in Ethiopia. Partnerships with mobile phone and other technology concerns will be explored.

Supportive of Ethiopian Culture
For the Thinking Schools Professional Development model to be feasible and sustainable, it must embrace the culture of Ethiopia as part of the thinking process.

Equity with Urban and Rural (Countryside) Schools
The work of Nikolaj Grundtvig with the Folk Schools Movement in Denmark and the Brazilian educator Paolo Freire are examples of bringing quality education to populations previously unable to access high quality learning and thinking methods. A focus with Thinking Schools is having educators and students facilitate thinking within their world and discover how to participate in the transformation of their world.

Teacher Action Research Microgrants
Teachers would be supported with microgrants to support their study and understanding of their teaching practices. The Action Research Microgrants will be modeled from the concept of Microcredit. The Nobel Peace Prize winner Muhammad Yunus is a Bangladeshi banker and economist who developed the concept of microcredit for entrepreneurs too poor to qualify for traditional bank loans in emerging economies.  

The Microgrants would be awarded to schools and educators within schools that are integrating Thinking Schools methods within their learning community. Individuals as well as teams and whole schools would submit proposals. Proposals should focus on how to use Thinking Schools methods and approaches for formative and/or summative assessment of students’ thinking and/or content learning. Research investigating how to assess thinking in these areas would be supported with microgrants: cognitive skills development, dispositions of thinking, problem solving and content learning within and across disciplines, metacognition, and critical thinking.

The Case Study sections are accessible in the links below and in the upper left column menu on each page of the Ethiopia CHSFS Case Study.

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