OPERATIONALIZATION OF THE SCHOOL BASED TEACHER SUPPORT SYSTEM (SBTSS)

1. Background

The School Based Teacher Support System (SBTSS) under the Secondary Education Quality Improvement Project (SEQIP) is a school-based teacher support system for Science, Mathematics and English (SME) teachers that will be implemented in both primary and secondary schools in targeted counties. It is envisaged that in the second year of the project Phase 1 of the SBTSS will become operational in 2,000 primary schools and 500 secondary schools. This School based teacher support is envisaged as assistance given to teachers to improve their pedagogical and content knowledge.

To start off, the SBTSS SME teachers from sample schools in target counties were trained on inquiry-based learning using 5E instructional models and how to leverage virtual platforms for peer support in a face to face training in February 2019. TSC in conjunction with CEMASTEA and University of Nairobi (UoN) launched SBTSS at Machakos Girls High School 20^th February 2020.

It was envisaged that the teachers will receive support from Cluster Resource Team (CRT) composed of TSC Sub county Directors and Curriculum Support officers (CSO) mainly through school visits during which these members of the cluster resource team would make lesson observations and help the teachers.  The CRT is expected to work in consultation with TSC SEQIP coordination committee for logistical support, CEMASTEA faculty for support in Science and Mathematics and University of Nairobi (UoN) for support in English. Teachers are also expected to receive face to face support and virtual support from peers. 

COVID-19 pandemic has made face to face meetings practically not possible since all schools were closed in March, 2020 and have not yet been reopened. Use of virtual platforms is, therefore, being explored for teacher support to ensure that teachers continue to apply knowledge and skills gained during the training to conduct virtual lessons for their learners.   To facilitate this, the TSC SCDs and the CSOs are supposed to be trained on virtual delivery modes, content, lesson observation and peer support.  The virtual learning skills and competencies will enable them to not only monitor the teaching process through lesson observations but also offer the required support online.

2. Training and operationalization of SBTSS 

This section explains how the training of TSC-SCD and CSO will be conducted. It further explains the distribution of tasks and responsibilities of the actors involved during the training. 

The training materials have been adapted from the Teachers Guides used to train the teachers with relevant additions.

• Training of TSC-SCD and CSO (CRT)

The Cluster Resource team will be exposed to the content of the training that teachers were trained on and expected to implement in schools. Trainers will also impart knowledge and skills about the tools and methods to be used to provide virtual support to teachers. These materials will be provided by the training institutions; Teachers Service Commission, CEMASTEA and UoN subject Experts/Technologists. 

2.1.1 Content

The content of the training will include; Teacher Professional Development (TPD), Introduction to SEQIP and School Based Teacher Support Design, Effective teaching and learning strategies in Mathematics, Science and English (MSE) including strategies for facilitating online teaching or how to harness technology for transformative pedagogy, Monitoring tools and reporting, virtual teaching and virtual lesson observation and virtual peer support.

2.1.2 Mode of Delivery

At this stage and for this target group, Google Meet, Google Classroom, Zoom, and Skype conferences and screen sharing programs will be used. Short live presentations will be done using these platforms. Google Classroom will be used to share reference materials and assignments.  There will be one (1) hour synchronous session per week/Webinar and independent study the rest of the week through Google classroom.  This however can be adjusted according to lessons learned. In the end both trainers and each TSC-SCD and CSO will be expected to be at the same level of knowledge and the TSC-SCD and CSO should be able to offer virtual teacher support within his/her area of responsibility.

2.1.3 Activities

1. Enrollment of Participants
2. Participants will be grouped by Counties with a number forming a cohort
3. Subject Experts/Technologists/Cohort coordinators will commence enrolling participants on 24^th August, 2020
4. Duration and Content of Training

The online training will run for four weeks

• Week 1 (31^st August to 4^th September):

Levelling Expectations; Objectives and Guidelines; Welcome; How to Navigate Google Classroom; Netiquette; and Online Safety,

• Week 2 (7^th to 11^th September):

Overview of Teacher Professional Development (TPD) and Alternative mode of curriculum delivery; Teacher Performance Appraisal and Development (TPAD); Highlights of the School Based Teacher Support System (SBTSS) design; SBTSS baseline survey findings: Issues and possible strategies to address the challenges; Creating and using Google Classroom

• Week 3 (14^th to 18^th September)

Effective teaching and learning strategies: Brief introduction to Inquiry Based Learning (IBL) and 5E Instructional model; Finalizing Google Classrooms and Way forward

• Week 4 (21^st to 25^th September)

Providing virtual support to teachers

• Virtual teacher support by TSC-SCD and CSO (CRT)

This will involve identification of the teachers, formulation of guidelines, formation of google classrooms by teachers and actual virtual support. Teachers will be supported to implement online/virtual lessons for their learners using Google Meet and Google Classroom. The responsibility for training teachers on creating and using the classroom will rest on the Cluster Resource Team

Mode of Delivery

TSC-SCD and CSO will use Google Meet, Google Docs, WhatsApp groups and Google Classroom to offer support. They will also give feedback to TSC, CEMASTEA and UON using online platform. TSC, CEMASTEA and UoN subject experts/Technologists will only monitor and support the counties they trained as in a smart cascade. CRTs will be distributed by Sub-Counties and they will be encouraged to use their laptops/devices to manage the online training.

Activities

1. Enrollment of Participants
2. Teachers will be grouped by Subject and Counties
3. CRT will commence enrolling teachers on 21^st September, 2020
4. Duration and Content of Training

Teachers will require some training on Google classroom. They also need strategies for collaboratively engaging learners at a distance. The online training will run for three weeks

• Week 1 (28^th September to 2^nd October)

 Welcome; How to Navigate Google Classroom; Netiquette; and Online Safety, Navigating the Google classroom

• Week 2 (5^th to 9^th October)

Creating and using Google Classroom

• Week 3 (12th October onwards)

Enrolment of learners and commencement of virtual teaching will take place from 12^th October 2020 onwards. The CRT will also commence virtual teacher support.

• Virtual Teaching

Teachers will need to prepare their teaching and learning materials and pre-load them onto the Google Classroom Learning Management System. Some students may not have textbooks and so teachers have to do more to get ready to facilitate online teaching and to consider the three types of learners: those with High-Tech; Low-Tech and No-Tech. They need strategies for collaboratively engaging learners at a distance. Heads of schools will assist the teachers through parents to form Google Classrooms.

3. The CEMASTEA/UoN SBTSS online system on the website links
   

The CEMASTEA/UoN SBTSS online system on the website links https://repository.cemastea.ac.ke and  https://www.uonsbtssenglish.org respectively provides a platform for Teachers to interact and get support on teaching Science, Mathematics while accessing learning materials

Click Here to access SBTSS Materials .