On being nimble, efficient, and flexible: A model of professional learning for educators that our government could learn from

This year’s Educator and Leadership Institute has nearly doubled in size from last year’s. We have more than 350 teachers and principals in attendance from more than 50 schools from across Haiti.

Our location for the week: College Notre Dame

Lunch Line!

One of the foundational aspects of ELI is a commitment by the participants to attend for three years. Our goal is to provide deep learning over the three years and to be able to “check in” with the participants each year so we can assess the implementation of strategies and techniques they have learned in ELI. We have heard story-after-story this year of changed practices. Amazing! Having participants commit to three years also provides an opportunity for us to identify “champions” who will serve as the future instructors and assistants for ELI. Our goal is to “work ourselves out of a job” and these Haitian leaders will be mentored by the Canadian participants with the intent of taking over much of the instructional work of the program.

Active Learning

We are also conducting an in-depth research project with 14 participants to carefully examine their experiences. These case studies will provide us with rich data to inform our future professional development courses. As well, we anticipate that the case studies will illustrate the “impact on practice” that the ELI has had on the teachers.

We continue to offer courses in math, science, critical literacy, special education, early learning, and leadership. Those who attended last year are placed in a class with others who attended last year to build on the knowledge they developed. New participants are in separate classes so they can develop foundational knowledge. The class sizes range from 20 participants to the largest which has 60 (with two Canadian teachers).

Group Work

It has been an amazing week. Each year that I am in Haiti with a team, I think, “this is the best team I have ever had in Haiti” … and then the next year comes along and I’m once again of the belief that THIS team is the best ever. It is incredible to have had such strong teams over the years and again this year.

Engagement!

My one disappointment has been the lack of Canadian government interest in our work. We have had high level conversations with Canadian officials at the embassy in Port au Prince over the years and they always express strong interest but have yet to actually observe and participate in ELI. I am amazed that such a “high-benefit” for “low-cost” project is not a high priority for our government. I remember a wise Haitian-Canadian once telling me to not spend too much energy on nurturing government relations because they rarely materialize into partnerships. It’s a bit of a sad statement of the way governments and bureaucracies work … but also a good reminder of the real value of working “on-the-ground” in very nimble, efficient, and flexible ways.