“Boussole”, a Tool for Improving Teacher Supervision and Quality of Teaching

• In Event: Improving teacher education programs: Insights for better preparing future teachers

Proposal

Presentation on MCC funded Cote D’Ivoire Skills for Employability and Productivity Project
Theme: “Boussole”, a Tool for Improving Teacher Supervision and Quality of Teaching


The Skills for Employability and Productivity project in Cote d’Ivoire is a 6-year (2019-25), $155 million project funded by the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) whose aim is to improve access, quality and equity in the sub sectors of middle School and Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET)so that young Ivorians are better prepared for the job market. The Middle School activity includes the following sub-activities:
• Construction of rural middle Schools or “Colleges des Proximite” and two Teacher Training Colleges (ENS);
• Community Mobilization to prepare and organize parents and community leaders in villages which will send students to these rural middle schools, a process that set communities as agents of change;
• Revision of the Pre-Service Teacher Training Program to improve quality of training and provide dual subject training for new middle school teachers;
• Introduction of a new tool and process for the supervision and support of new and existing middle school teachers;
• Establishment and support to an Inter-ministerial unit (CIFE) to improve coordination of training, recruitment and deployment of teachers;
• Development and set up of a new Education Management and Information System (EMIS)
• Support to the Ministry of Education’s Directorate of Programs (DVSP) to implement national and international student assessments and develop their capacity for subsequent regular organization or participation in such assessments focused on French, Math and Science

Our presentation will provide a brief introduction by describing the more promising innovations that the Ministère de l'Éducation Nationale et de l'Alphabétisation (MENA) and Ministère de l’Enseignement Supérieur et de la Recherche Scientifique (MESRS) have introduced through a strategy of tri-partite cocreation between the two Ministries, the Millennium Challenge Account Cote d’Ivoire or MCA-CI which is the Government of Cote d’Ivoire’s project implementation entity, and international or local technical partners. The focus of our presentation will be on a tool and process to support pre- and in-service teacher training and supervision called “Boussole” (Compass in English) developed with the technical support of Catalyseur de Developpement (C2D) and World Education (WEI).

The “Revision of the pre-service training curricula for bivalent secondary teachers in Côte d'Ivoire” is a 3 year long sub activity which aims at assisting the MENA in devising a more efficient and cost effective strategy for deploying teachers so that Cote d’Ivoire can improve the quality of classroom instruction in a manner which will increase the access for greater numbers of Ivorian students, particularly in rural schools, in a more cost effective way for the government of the Cote D’Ivoire. The curriculum was revised across all subjects with a particular lens for improving gender sensitive and child centered pedagogy, as well as having a specific focus on improving French, Math and life skills.

The project assisted the sole teacher college or École Normale Supérieure (ENS) of Abidjan, under the supervision of the MESRS, in reviewing and updating the curricula for pre-service training of college teachers. In addition, the project worked with the ENS and different departments of MENA in reviewing assessment tools of teaching practices. Throughout the pilot review of the evaluation process of the ENS student teachers and the MENA’s in-service teachers, several bottlenecks were revealed. While the supervision and inspections were being done by each party, the data obtained were not making their way to decision makers in a meaningful manner. The sheer size and volume of the data collected through the supervision and inspection tools demonstrated the limits of the analog paper-based methodology. This principal bottleneck led the project to develop a solution called Boussole. Boussole is a digital platform for collecting and analysing data from supervision-inspection grids of pre-service and in-service teaching practices. It is designed to be fully configurable and adapt to all types of devices to ensure its utility in even the most remote educational institutions in Côte d’Ivoire.

Through the platform, supervision and inspection processes can be completed in the field directly and synchronized with the database. With each data point codified, once in the database, the information can be disaggregated and compiled into easily digestible reports and figures. The particularity of the co-construction approach and the use of technology have enabled dialogue to take place within traditionally closed parallel systems. The creation of a centralized database help to suppress isolation that existed between various departments of the MENA and the ENS. A relationship of trust was established to share the problems experienced by student teachers through their internship in public middle schools, as well as by practicing teachers. Sharing a central database with data collected by structures having different functions has fostered collaboration and increased the accuracy of information as it can now be cross verified.

The classic evaluation methods were reviewed at the same time, so that the assessments of practices could become more formative, including self-assessment, and a means of professionalization and thus of career development. By improving pre-service and in-service trainings, the hypothesis underpinned better management of teachers' human resources and positive career planning prospects, as well as a sense of empowerment for teachers, which could then be reflected in their practice with students. The observed strikes and protests within the education system and the growing expectations of parents and guardians are at the heart of a political drive to improve educational services. With the strengths of each structure pooled, a consensus was reached to develop together a solution facilitating the sharing of information for a better quality of educational services.

This presentation will expound on this participatory approach, influenced by recent movements within the educational community and civil society, leading to the co-construction of an inter-structural and inter-ministerial digital solution that provides decisionmakers with real time, accurate and easily digestible data that enable them to make data driven decisions for the benefit of teachers' professional development and student achievement.

Author

• Kouame Germain KPRIE, MCA-Côte d'Ivoire