Development and Implementation of the Education for Sustainability in Galapagos Program

• In Event: 25.082 - Fairmont Royal York Roundtable Session Three
  In Roundtable Session: 25.082-10 - Education for Sustainability: A Public-Private Partnership for Transforming Education in the Galapagos

Abstract

Objectives and Purposes
This paper describes the development of the program through extensive visioning and data collection. In addition, we review the implementation of the program components.

Development
Ecuador's Ministry of Education (MinEduc), Fundación Scalesia (FS), and Galapagos Conservancy (GC) have partnered to design and implement an intensive, 5-year teacher professional development program to strengthen K-12 education for all 7,500 students in Galapagos. In 2010, during a weeklong multi-sector visioning workshop, FS, GC, the MinEduc and members of the Galapagos education community began to discuss ways to work together to strengthen education in the Islands. In 2014, following intensive listening sessions with Galapagos teachers, school directors, students, parents, and community leaders, four areas were identified as critical to school effectiveness and transformation and became the focal areas for the project. These areas were: 1) Educational leadership focused on continuous school improvement, 2) Intensive teacher professional development for all Galapagos educators; 3) Connection of classroom learning to the unique realities of Galapagos; and 4) Local NGO capacity to support school improvement over time.

Implementation
Implementation began in the spring of 2016. Annually, the project delivers 150 hours of professional development, designed by subject area and grade level, to all 375 K-12 teachers in Galapagos. Training is accredited by the MinEduc and counts towards professional development requirements for teacher advancement (330 hours over two years).

During Phase 1 (April 2016-March 2018), program activities included:

● Biannual Teacher Institutes focused on improving instruction in math, science, language arts, social studies and English language by helping teachers to better utilize the Ecuadorian curriculum and evidence-based instructional practices related to student-centered learning.
● Year-long coaching for teachers, provided by three Galapagos-based instructional coaches, that follows the directives of the Ecuadorian curriculum and teacher performance standards.
● Facilitated learning communities among teachers of each subject, both within and among schools.
● Educational leadership training to help directors foster a culture of continuous improvement in their schools and to train a cadre of teacher-mentors prepared to support the professional growth of their peers.
● Rigorous monitoring and evaluation conducted jointly by the Center on Research and Evaluation (CORE-Southern Methodist University) and Grupo Faro (an Ecuadorian NGO).

During the second phase of the project, which began in April 2018, we are continuing similar activities, but greater emphasis is being placed on involving local educators in the design and delivery of the professional development. Also, added attention will be given to helping teachers integrate specific sustainability issues in the classroom (described in depth in another paper in this session).

The partnership
A key aspect of the program is its partnership approach. Program design and implementation has involved a highly-collaborative process with each partner (MinEduc, FS and GC) playing different yet complementary roles. The MinEduc sets priorities and parameters of the program, approves strategies and training teams, awards credit to participating educators and provides financial and logistics support. The FS contracts and supervises full-time staff and coordinates program implementation. GC develops and supports the international network of advisors and raises funds for project implementation.

Author

• Richard Knab, Galapagos Conservancy