Fiji Achievement Report July 2013

GVI Staff and Volunteers Bring their Experience to Professional Development Sessions
Throughout the school term the teachers at Ratu Meli Memorial School participate in regular Professional Development sessions. These sessions are led by alternating members of the teaching staff and are designed to bring new teaching ideas and skills to the table. When setting the objectives for 2013 GVI identified the potential of these Professional Development sessions as a platform for sharing the diverse skills and experience of our volunteer team, in order to share best practice and review successful tuition methods at RMMS. During this academic year, representatives of the GVI Education team have participated in regular Professional Development sessions and have been given the opportunity to lead two such lessons. The first of these sessions was designed to introduce contemporary teaching techniques that are used in TEFL style teaching. The main focus of the session was to introduce the concept of taskbased learning, putting an emphasis on group work and problem solving as a vehicle to improve students language abilities. This is a technique which has been successfully implemented in volunteer-led English workshops at RMMS and has proven to be very engaging for the students, while moving away from the more traditional lesson style which relies heavily on the blackboard. The teachers were introduced to the concept of task-based learning and the framework for planning this type of lesson. In order to put this into context the teachers were then given a task of their own. Working in groups, the teachers were asked to create a presentation aimed at securing funding for a new NGO, which encouraged the discussion of ideas and the use of problem-solving skills. To conclude the session, the group discussed how the subject matter could be changed to suit their respective class students. The teachers were in agreement that such a technique could be adapted to suit their curriculum and encourage student participation. The most recent session that GVI were involved with focused on developing the IT skills of the school staff team. During computer lessons with the students, the teachers had been expressing their desire to learn more about using Microsoft Office to help them with their tasks at school. Having canvassed the opinions of the teachers, it was clear that Microsoft Excel was a program that the teachers wanted to know more about. In a ninety minute lesson delivered a GVI volunteer, the teachers were introduced to a range of basic Excel skills and discussed how the program could be best utilized in school.
Figure 1: GVI volunteer Carol guides teachers through the many uses of Microsoft Excel.

With this training, simple administrative tasks can now be done more easily, allowing the teachers to spend more time in the classroom with the students who need them. The teachers intend on using the program for several things: keeping track of donations, inventories of supplies, tracking exam results to name but a few. Furthermore, the teachers expressed their desire to use future professional development session to continue improving their computer skills. Education Project Leader Owen Doel said, Utilizing professional development sessions as a way to share ideas is an achievable objective which brings us together as a team and encourages discussion and interest. We look forward to participating in more sessions in the coming months. Our continued involvement in Professional Development sessions is an important priority for us at the school. A vital part of our ongoing relationship with RMMS is to share ideas and skills, working together with the staff team to make long term improvements to the quality of education provided by Ratu Meli School.

For more information on our Fiji Education programs please visit: http://www.gvi.co.uk/programs/volunteer-children-fiji GVI Fiji