Teachers helping teachers: Lessons from Egypt

This week I have been working in Cairo, Egypt on a research and teaching project involving teachers teaching other teachers (that is a mouthful!). This is often referred to as "peer coaching" and involves teachers working in pairs to  provide input and feedback to each other about a focused area of improvement. For example, some of the teachers I am working with this week have asked for feedback on how they differentiate lessons to support students with special education needs and how they can better facilitate group work. I am working at a private school with about 1,000 middle-class Egyptian students.

Courtyard at the school.

I have provided two presentations to 60 teachers on how peer coaching can be done and how it can support their instructional effectiveness. The rest of my time is being spent on a "train the trainer" model involving a core group of teachers as they teach and provide feedback to each other. I am working specifically with four pairs of teachers (two in kindergarten, two in elementary school, two in middle school, and two in high school).

High school students and teacher who has a peer coach in the class observing the lesson.

I am also incorporating a research study into the work I am doing so that I can report on the experience. The research project will include collecting examples of the kinds of feedback that teachers provide to each other, identifying key aspects of teaching improvement, and interviewing teachers about their perceptions of the experience. I will return again in April to collect more data and to see what kinds of changes have occurred, both in the peer coaching approach and in their actual teaching methods.

The final aspect of work I am doing is soliciting input into professional development sessions that I am facilitating (and which other Laurier faculty will provide) in February as part of our expanded Educator and Leadership Institute. The work that we have done in Haiti, and recently in Nepal, will inform what ELI looks like in Egypt. Obviously, each context is different but there are some foundational aspects to ELI that are the same wherever we work; one of these is that our professional development sessions are determined in cooperation with our on-the-ground partners. We have had some excellent discussions about what that means for our February training.

I thoroughly enjoy this type of research and teaching experience because it has a real impact on actual teaching practices. It also keeps me mindful of those things which connect teachers globally, primarily, making a difference in the lives of students.