LGIHE staff participated in the Comparative and International Education Society (CIES) conference, the premier event for more than 3,000 international education researchers, analysts, practitioners, and students from over 1,000 universities and research institutes. This year’s conference was held virtually on account of COVID-19 restrictions from April 25 – May 2. Nonetheless, educational professionals were able to present their work to a wide audience.
During a panel discussion entitled Enhancing Teacher Critical Thinking Dispositions and Skills for Improving Learner Outcomes, researchers including Giacomazzi and his colleague Gillian Atuheire presented various experiences from Uganda on how teachers themselves are empowered to become critical thinkers and problem solvers. Without these skills, teachers won’t be able to pass on critical thinking competencies to students. The panelists were all part of the Regional Educational Learning Initiative (RELI), a collaboration which includes over 70 organizations working to bring inclusive learning to all children in East Africa. All panelists agreed that implementing the new lower school curriculum in Uganda represents a unique opportunity to shift teaching practices to more effective learner-centered approaches.
“We find that teachers are worried about the new curriculum,” said Joseph Lample, Executive Director of Kimanya Ngeyo Foundation for Science and Education, “When they take our trainings, they see how to apply and practice the new approaches in the classroom, and they become very enthusiastic.”