Category: Uncategorized

By Dagim Melese
Thinking Schools Ethiopia Lead Country Trainer
Professional Development conducted in Wukro, Tigray, Ethiopia on the 12-15 October 2015

The training in Aksum was also successfully carried out with the ToT Trainers playing leading roles. About 250 participants took part in the training . The ToT Trainers led community building exercises, modeled each of the activities to their groups, and enabled effective communication between TSI and TSE trainers and all the teachers. Reflective discussions on the meaning of Personal Frames of Reference, Context Circles, and exercising the use of Thinking Maps were important elements of the training. Collaborative Learning strategies were being used with questioning techniques along with exercising the use of thinking maps for general contents and academic relevant themes. Planning steps of whole school implementation of thinking maps and teachers’ comments on Student guides (guides meant for exercising use of Thinking Maps for students in all the schools )took place at the ends of the training in Aksum.

A two days whole staff training was undertaken for over 320 teacher educators under the leadership role of the Trainer of Trainers (ToT). The ToT trainers played key role in effectively transferring via modeling the essential components of the training to ALL educators from Wukro. After the two days training teachers from 2 primary and 1 secondary schools from each Wereda came up with their plan (in a Flow Map) of whole school implementation of Thinking Maps in their respective schools. Worth mentioning it is, here,  that the training hall chosen at Wukro site contributed a lot to the success of the overall training. The training was in the auditorium within a Catholic School located in Wukro. It was superb in space, excellent in sound, and sufficient quality chairs and tables for the large group.

Thinking Design:
Models and Methods for Patient Centered & Student Centered Practices
For Healthcare Professionals, Educators & Students
10 October 2015 • Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

Introductory Training for St Paul’s Hospital &  St. Pauls Millennium Medical College
Attendees included provost, vice provost and all key heads of departments
The St. Paul’s Medical College and Hospital professional development was a full day participant centered training with a focus on implementing Thinking Design throughout the hospital and medical college with a goal of a patient centered approach (hospital) and student centered learning (medical college).

Introduction and Background
Thinking Design is a systems approach that uses practical research based methods to assure a healthy organization that supports and grows effective communication with and between leadership and the whole organization. It uses tools that smartly communicate ideas within and outside organization to create collaborations. It honors and understands the abilities and gifts of all members of an organization.

Thinking Design training uses the Thinking Design research based methods that include:

• Visual Tools (Thinking Maps) – the use of visual tools to map out ideas;
• Questioning for Inquiry – high quality use of questions and shared inquiry;
• Collaborative Networking – collaborative thinking; collegial coaching & community building methods;
• Developing Dispositions – characteristics, dispositions, habits of mind;
• Designing a Thinking Environment — how the physical space is organized & resources are used.

Thinking Design methods are lifelong skills used for problem solving individually and collaboratively in the whole organization including leaders, professional and staff members.

To live fulfilling lives, people will need to develop the knowledge, skills and dispositions required to shape the lives they can imagine for themselves and their families. The thinking tools are instrumental in knowing oneself, connecting with others, and exploring pathways of successful collaborations supporting a healthy and success organization.

Thinking Designs Guide
The Thinking Design training is participant-centered learning with hands-on application using content that is relevant to the participants. The key pathway of the training is “Thinking Maps” which is a cognitive visual mapping language providing a concrete foundation to organize one’s thinking, understand each other’s thinking and each other’s perspectives (frame of reference). This maximizes an organization’s capacity to think, understand, and perform effectively to succeed individually as well as collaboratively.

Training Methodology: Thinking Maps® (Visual Tools)
Thinking Maps are consistent visual patterns linked directly to eight specific thought processes. By visualizing our thinking, we create concrete images of abstract thoughts. These patterns help the whole organization reach higher levels of critical and creative thinking individually and collaboratively. Thinking Maps establish a consistent language for thinking and problem solving.
Download the Thinking Designs Guide

October 2015 Thinking Schools Ethiopia:  Tigray Trainings
Thinking Schools stage 2 professional development will continue this month with Growing Thinking Schools. The trainers include Robert Seth Price (Thinking Schools International Global Trainer), Atsede Tsehayou & Dagim Melese (Thinking Schools Ethiopia – TSE) and coordinated by Tesfay Nassr Mohammed (Tigray Development Association – TDA):

• 12-15 October 2015: there will be professional development with 72 Trainer of Trainers for the 36 model laboratory schools. The schools represent 12 Woredas with 2 primary and 1 secondary school from each Woreda. Previously 8 teachers and schools leaders from the 36 model laboratory schools (288 educators) received 2 days of Growing Thinking Schools training. The Trainer of Trainers coming from this group will include one woman and one man teacher from each school. The funding from Sida administered by Initiative Africa is for whole school change with a focus on empowerment and equality for girls. This training and others listed here will be in Wukro, Tigray. The Training will be facilitated by Robert Seth Price (Thinking Schools International – TSI), Atsede Tsehayou & Dagim Melese (Thinking Schools Ethiopia – TSE) and coordinated by Tesfay Nassr Mohammed (Tigray Development Association – TDA).

• 

  16-17 October 2015:   professional development with ALL teachers from ALL model laboratory schools in the Wukro region. The Trainer of Trainers will collaborate with the global TSI trainer, the TSE trainers, and the TDA project coordinator. There will be 450 teachers participating with the 2 day training.

• 19-20 October 2015:  professional development with ALL teachers from ALL model laboratory schools in the Shire region. The Trainer of Trainers will collaborate with the global TSI trainer, the TSE trainers, and the TDA project coordinator. There will be 250 teachers participating with the 2 day training.
• 22-23 October 2015:  professional development with ALL teachers from ALL model laboratory schools in the Aksum region. The Trainer of Trainers will collaborate with the global TSI trainer, the TSE trainers, and the TDA project coordinator. There will be 250 teachers participating with the 2 day training.

Thinking Schools Ethiopia:  Tigray is a collaboration of:

• Tigray Education Bureau (TEB) and Tigray Development Association (TDA)
  &
• Thinking Schools International (TSI) and Thinking Foundation (TF)
  &
• Swedish International Cooperation Agency funding with Initiative Africa administering

The Thinking Schools whole school, whole system change model focuses on foundational pedagogical teaching practices that are life long thinking and problem solving methods (see below in this posting and throughout earlier postings).

The Thinking Schools Ethiopia project in Tigray continues with Stage 2 Trainings this month, October 2015, in three Tigray locations in Ethiopia.

The Thinking Schools Ethiopia: Tigray project:

• Connecting through social media
  social media brings key people together (TDA communications director Weldeslasie Reta
  and TSI global trainer Robert Seth Price  which then connected TDA executive director Dr. Taddele Hagos with Robert). Three weeks after the initial contact a training took place in Mekelle, Tigray, Ethiopia.
• Introduction to Growing Thinking Schools Training

  

  In 2014 the Tigray Education Bureau team is trained by TSI Global Trainer Robert Seth Price and his TSE colleagues Atsede Tsehayou and Dagim Melese in a 2 day Growing Thinking Schools Inside Out training held in Mekelle. Robert, Atsede and Dagim have collaborated for 5 years including trainings with thousands of educators in SNNPRS, Addis Ababa and Tigray.

• Stage 1
  In April 2015 thirty six (36) model laboratory schools are selected from 12 Woredas with 2 primary and 1 secondary schools from each Woreda. Each school selects eight key educators to participate in a 2 day Growing Thinking Schools trainings held in Shire, Aksum and Wukro. Aksum and Mekelle university professors also participated.
• Stage 2
  October 2015:  two Trainer of Trainers from each of the 36

  

  model laboratory schools (one woman teacher and one man teacher to be consistent with the focus of whole school change including girl/woman empowerment for a total of 72 Trainer of Trainers) will receive 4 days of intensive training to build on their initial 2 days of training in April. Then they will collaborate with the TSI and TSE trainers to train ALL the teachers from all 36 model laboratory schools in three trainings which are two days each in Wukro, Aksum and Shire.

• Stage 3, Stage 4, Sustaining
  Future stages include:
  —regular site visits from TSE lead trainers to support the school site Trainer of Trainers;
  —use of video to create a library of ‘models of excellence’ to share locally and regionally;
  —collaboration with Mekelle and Aksum Universities for accreditation and action research (see www.thinkingfoundation.org);
  —scaling the model to all schools in each Woreda and throughout the region

Quality change in education benefits from:

• a quality education model that focuses on foundational pedagogical processes
• understanding the brain seeks patterns and the importance of collaborating with models of excellence
• focusing on building the ‘foundations’ first
• knowing and understanding change is a movement. A movement of change fast enough for the whole to see and implement.
• a movement is the whole village collaborating, together in the best interests of the children, of family, the health care of the whole community.

Key acronyms:

• TDA – Tigray Development Association
• TEB – Tigray Education Bureau
• TSI – Thinking Schools International
• TSE – Thinking Schools Ethiopia
• TF – Thinking Foundation

The Tigray model:

• social media brings key people together (TDA communications director and TSI global trainer -> TDA executive director and TSI global trainer)
• training for the whole team of 80+ Tigray education experts from the regions education bureau. The training is facilitated by the TSI trainer and 2 lead TSE trainers.
• selecting 36 laboratory model schools representing 12 Woredas which are typically collected together into zones, which form a region. Each Woreda will have 2 primary and 1 secondary laboratory schools. The regions key universities, Mekelle and Aksum will be active participants. The trainings of the schools is divided into 3 cluster areas:  Shire, Aksum, Wukro.
• training for the leadership teams comprised of 8 people from each school including principals and key teacher leaders
• training of 2 trainer of trainers from each school. The funding (from SIDA and administered through Initiative Africa) from this project focuses on whole school change and girl empowerment as a focus of the change. There will be one woman and one man teacher from each school as the trainer of trainers. The complete teaching and leadership staffs will be trained together in collaboration with the ‘trainer of trainers’.

The Thinking Schools approach is a whole school transformational design that requires minimal materials for implementation and use. What is needed are school leaders, teachers, students and parents immersed in understanding the methods of Thinking Schools Ethiopia pathways for thinking. Thinking Schools Ethiopia focuses on key methods and pathways that aim at the professional development of teachers to improve the quality of their pedagogy and decision-making. This mindset and practice successfully brings a student centered quality thinking education with the whole school environment through the use of:

• Thinking Maps
  use of visual tools to organize ones thinking (students, teachers, leaders) with visual tools that are a visual verbal collaborative process of seeing each other’s thinking
• Reflective Questioning
  high quality questioning, listening and discussion skills
• Collaborative Learning
  collaborative learning for students; collegial coaching for teachers; community building for the whole school
• Thinking Environments
  how are space (structure and the educators presence) and materials (local and recycled) used with intentionality
• Dispositions
  a mind that is reflective about internal dispositions and actions, while remaining open to other ways in which people are thinking and acting

Thinking Schools Ethiopia is a whole school systems approach based on building capacity inside out with the aim of developing a foundation that is reflective, sustainable, collaborative and replicable. TSE is part of a greater global collaboration that supports multi-directional development. Multi-directional development is a belief system and model where all participants recognize their own capacity for aiding the others globally: ideas and innovation originate within and across ALL places globally. The Thinking Schools Ethiopia training uses research based thinking methods that are lifelong skills for use with problem solving in school, life and work.

If you would like to know more or are interested in attending a training please contact:

• Robert Seth Price (TSI Global Trainer)
  website:  www.eggplant.org
  email:  robert@eggplant.org
  Viber:  +1 323.397.0630
  Skype:  robertsethprice
• Atsede Tsehyou (TSE Country Trainer)
  Addis Ababa, Ethiopia 0912192667
• Dagim Melese (TSE Country Trainer)
  Addis Ababa, Ethiopia 0912102276

Thinking Design Training on the 10 October 2015:

Models and Methods for Patient Centered & Student Centered Practices 

For Healthcare Professionals, Medical Educators and Medical Students

St Paul’s Hospital and St. Paul’s Millennium Medical College
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
October 10, 2015 • Saturday:  Training for Key Decision Makers and Leaders including key hospital administrators, hospital doctors, hospital professional staff, hospital support staff, medical college faculty and students.

Robert Seth Price and Seble Hailu (more information below) will be co-facilitating the training.

Connecting Healthcare and Education:
Thinking Schools and Thinking Design = Life Long Problem Solving Skills
The connection is simple. Life long thinking skills support problem solving all areas of life including with the key areas of health, education, shelter and community. Thinking Design and Thinking Schools Ethiopia methodologies are life long practical problem solving skills. As important with a child’s mindful development as with making thoughtful decisions in healthcare.

“No one is born fully-formed: it is through self-experience
in the world that we become what we are.” 
― Paulo Freire

Introduction and Background
Thinking Design is a systems approach that uses practical research based methods to assure a healthy organization that supports and grows effective communication with and between leadership and the whole organization.  It uses tools that thoughtfully and effectively communicate ideas within and outside organization to create collaborations. It honors and understands the abilities and gifts of all members of an organization.

Thinking Design training uses the Thinking Design research based methods that include:

• Visual Tools (Thinking Maps):  the use of visual tools to map out ideas;
• Questioning for Inquiry:  high quality use of questions and shared inquiry;
• Collaborative Networking:  collaborative thinking; collegial coaching and
  community building methods;
• Developing Dispositions:  characteristics, dispositions, habits of mind;
• Designing a Thinking Environment:  how the physical space, human interaction
  and resources are organized, integrated and used.

To live fulfilling lives, people will need to develop the knowledge, skills and dispositions required to shape the lives they can imagine for themselves and their families. The thinking tools are instrumental in knowing oneself, connecting with others, and exploring pathways of successful collaborations supporting a healthy and success organization. Thinking Design methods are lifelong thinking and learning skills used for problem solving individually and collaboratively in the whole organization including leaders, professional and staff members.

Thinking: The Most Important Human Resource
for Life Long Visioning, Problem Solving, and Decision Making

The training has multiple sequential stages:
Hands-on training for learning, practice for mastery, and   mastery.

Learning Outcomes
The Thinking Design approach is recommended for the whole organization including the organizations leadership, teaching faculty, professional staff, support staff, students, and volunteers. The Thinking Design model are life long tools and skills for communication, understanding each other’s perspecitve, problem solving and a quality collaborative learning environment. The Thinking Design approach is concurrently student centered (medical college) and patient centered (hospital professional and support staff) that promotes active thinkers and problem solvers.

Training Outcomes
The Thinking Designs trainers will build understanding, mastery and capacity within the hospital and medical college with the methods of thinking. This will include:

• personal mastery
• building a shared vision
• team learning
• developing mental models
• creating a systems thinking organization

The outcomes will be assessed by The Five Areas for Reflection and Fifteen Criteria Thinking Organizations Assessment Process.

To learn more about the training please contact either of the co-trainers below and/or read the training guide. Download the training guide PDF.

Consultants

Robert Seth Price has extensive experience with whole organization (NGOs, universities, foundations) and school change through a transformational design process. Simply, how can we collaboratively and thoughtfully affect learning outcomes as a process for our whole community, our vision, and individually. His work with a participant learner centered systems approach includes collaborations in the USA and globally, including with Thinking Foundation, Thinking Schools International and Thinking Schools Ethiopia. Further information on Robert can be found at his website www.eggplant.org
email:  robert@eggplant.org
Skype:  robertsethprice
Viber: +1 323.397.0630
USA Mobile:  323.397.0630

Seble Hailu has worked in government, private, non –government and UN organizations in different managerial positions leading project and program management for nearly twenty years throughout Ethiopia. In addition, she has extensive experiences in training and consultancy, in management, HIV/AIDS, psychology, counseling, education and community mobilization related fields.
More about Seble Hailu
email:  seble.hailu@gmail.com
Ethiopia Phone:  0911-6060055

by Dagim Melese – TSE Co-Lead Country Trainer
Thinking Schools Ethiopia (TSE), part of Eminence Social Entrepreneurs, facilitated a two days instructional leadership training for educational leadership team of Wachamo and Heto Secondary and College preparatory schools on July 6 and 7, 2015 in Hossana. The training is part of the different phases of an ongoing transformational change processes employed for developing Thinking Schools. The participants of the training included school directors, department heads, key lead teachers, LIAE (Love In Action Ethiopia) experts, local education bureau experts, and experts working in the area of gender and family planning issues. A total of 97 people took part in the training. The purpose of the training was to introduce educational leaders to the thinking school model for reflective evaluation of its relevance, instrumentality, and adaptability in the contextual realities of Wachamo and Heto Secondary and College preparatory schools.

Two other purposes of the training are: enabling administrative /leadership support for systematic implementation of the techniques and tools at all grade levels and across all disciplines and building capacity within the schools and ensuring sustainability of the practices using the techniques which is key for achieving the teachers , instructional leaders, and students outcomes of having thinking schools developed . The training was highly interactive, collaborative, and participatory. Day one was devoted for allowing participants explore essentially constituting elements of the TSE model : Community building exercises, Personal Frames of References, exploring the context of Wachamo and Heto schools, and Five Pathways for Thinking . Day two was all about Thinking Maps, modeling the use of Thinking Maps introduction, practicing the use of thinking maps using general topics and later using subject specific themes . Examples of models of direct instruction of thinking skills were also shown. The two days training finally was completed with participants’ reflection of the overall training.

The training will continue in late August , 2015 just before the New Academic Year with whole staff training at the schools sites. The photos were some of the still pictures taken during the training.

Cheffie Primary School is one of the ten model Thinking Schools in the Addis Ababa Education Bureau which is the government school system for Addis Ababa of 300+ schools. The Cheffie leadership team comprised of 8 teachers and school leaders initially received training in June 2014. They have been receiving school site visits by lead Thinking Schools Ethiopia trainers Atsede Tsehayou and Dagim Melese. The vice principal Getinet Gebremichael has been coordinating the whole staff implementation of Thinking Maps and other aspects of the Thinking Schools Ethiopia model. The video and still photos provide a glimpse of the whole school change currently happening at Cheffie. The video taken on the 24 April 2015 includes visits to several classrooms and an interview with Vice Principal Getinet.

 

Abyiot Primary School
by Dagim Melese – Thinking Schools Ethiopia lead trainer
Abyiot Primary school is one of the 10 Addis Ababa Education Bureau (AAEB) model Thinking Schools in Addis Ababa. Some of the educators of Abyiot were participants of the cluster trainings given in March, 2015. The teachers have been implementing many of the Thinking Schools techniques and tools they learned at the second phase of the training –whole staff training at school site .
The school now plans to take a refreshment and consolidative training just before the coming September and integrating Thinking Maps in all lesson plans. It is also prepared to systematically implement Thinking Maps at all grade levels and across all disciplines /subjects in the coming New Academic Year. The still pictures share the introduction of Thinking Maps for  5^TH Grade students.

 

 

 

A training for Thinking Design facilitated by Robert Price in collaboration with Seble Hailu, and coordinated by Aha Psychological Services was held at the Bole Ambassador Hotel on the 25 April 2015. Participants were from the mental health field, NGOs, education, and universities.

Thinking Design is a systems approach that uses practical research based methods to assure a healthy organization that supports and grows effective communication with and between leadership and the whole organization.  It uses tools that smartly communicate ideas within and outside organization to create collaborations.  It honors and understands the abilities and gifts of all members of an organization.

Thinking Design training uses the Thinking Design research based methods that include:

• Visual Tools (Thinking Maps) – the use of visual tools to map out ideas;
• Questioning for Inquiry – high quality questioning and shared inquiry;
• Collaborative Networking – collaborative thinking; collegial coaching & community building methods;
• Developing Dispositions – characteristics, dispositions, habits of mind;
• Designing a Thinking Environment — how the physical space is organized & resources are used.

Thinking Design methods are lifelong skills used for problem solving individually and collaboratively in the whole organization including leaders, professional and staff members.

To live fulfilling lives, people will need to develop the knowledge, skills and dispositions required to shape the lives they can imagine for themselves and their families. The thinking tools are instrumental in knowing oneself, connecting with others, and exploring pathways of successful collaborations supporting a healthy and success organization.

The training has multiple sequential stages: Introduction for learning, practice for mastery and mastery.

 

The Ethiopia Education Strategy Center hosted a one day training for representatives from all Ethiopian Universities on Thinking Schools International / Ethiopia concepts, principles and practices. The participant centered training was facilitated by Robert Price (Thinking Schools International Global Trainer) and Dagim Melese (Thinking Schools Ethiopia co-lead country trainer). The Ethiopia Education Strategy Center reports to the Ministry of Education with recommendations of innovative quality education practices. The one day workshop included a hands-on participant centered training on the Growing Thinking Schools Inside Out practices, looking at a balance of theory with practical methods (e.g. Thinking Maps visual language, inquiry, dispositions, collaborative learning) and also looked into the Thinking Schools Accreditation Process (TSAP). The training was held at the Ghion Hotel in Addis Ababa on the 23 April 2015.

Download a copy of the TSAP process. Also go to www.thinkingfoundation.org for further information.

 

Stage 1 Leadership Teams for Wukro Cluster Model Schools
The Stage 1 trainings for Leadership Teams (8 principals and lead teachers from each school) of the 36 model schools held training in Wukro Tigray Ethiopia on the 20-21 April 2015. The trainings were facilitated by Thinking Schools Ethiopia Lead Trainer Dagim Melese and Thinking Schools International Global Trainer Robert Price. The Thinking Schools Tigray project director Tesfay Nassr Mohammed coordinated and collaborated on the training. The 18 schools in the Wukro and Mekelle regions are part of the 36 model schools with the Tigray project. There are 12 Woredas participating with 2 primary and 1 secondary schools from each of the Woredas for a total of 36 model schools.
read more about the Wukro region

 

Photo Below:  Commonalities community building exercise
at the 18-19 April 2015 Thinking Schools Ethiopia training in Axum.

Axum, Tigray, Ethiopia — read more about Axum
which is the original capital of the Kingdom of Aksum,
and is one of the oldest continuously inhabited places in Africa.

Commonalities community building exercise
at the 18-19 April 2015 Thinking Schools Ethiopia training in Axum.

Stage 1 Leadership Teams for Axum Cluster Model Schools
The Stage 1 trainings for Leadership Teams (8 principals and lead teachers from each school) of the 36 model schools held training in Axum Tigray Ethiopia on the 20-21 April 2015. The trainings were facilitated by Thinking Schools Ethiopia Lead Trainer Dagim Melese and Thinking Schools International Global Trainer Robert Price. The Thinking Schools Tigray project director Tesfay Nassr Mohammed coordinated and collaborated on the training. The 9 schools in the Axum region are part of the 36 model schools with the Tigray project. There are 12 Woredas participating with 2 primary and 1 secondary schools from each of the Woredas for a total of 36 model schools.

 

Thinking Schools Shire Tigray Ethiopia Read more about Shire

Stage 1 Leadership Teams for Shire Cluster Model Schools
The Stage 1 trainings for Leadership Teams (8 principals and lead teachers from each school) of the 36 model schools began in Shire Tigray Ethiopia on the 14-15 April 2015. The trainings were facilitated by Thinking Schools Ethiopia Lead Trainers Atsede Tsehayou and Dagim Melese, and Thinking Schools International Global Trainer Robert Price. The 9 schools in Shire are part of the 36 model schools with the Tigray project. There are 12 Woredas participating with 2 primary and 1 secondary schools from each of the Woredas for a total of 36 model schools.

The schedule of the trainings is:

Group	Zone	Number of Woreda  in the group	Number of schools	Number of participants
One /Shire	West	1	3	21
	North West	2	6	42
Total		3	9	63
Two/Aksum	Central	3	9	63
Total		4	9	63
Three/ Wukro	Eastern	2	6	42
	South West	1	3	21
	Mekelle	1	3	21
	South	2	6	42
Total		6	18	126
cluster supervisor				12
cluster supervisor				36
Total participants				262

 

Stage 2 Whole Schools
Trainings will be whole school trainings facilitated by the leadership teams and a Thinking Schools Ethiopia lead trainer.

Stage 3 Site Visits
This will be followed by regular site visits by Thinking Schools Ethiopia trainers to facilitate professional development and model best practices with demonstration lessons with students.

Video for Reflective Practices, Models of Excellence, Action Research
Video will also be used to capture models of excellence by teachers to share between the 36 model schools.

Trainer of Trainers
Thinking Schools Ethiopia trainers will be trained from Tigray Education Bureau, model schools and Tigray Development Association to assure ongoing growth and the sustainability of Thinking Schools Ethiopia in collaboration with TDA.

Universities and Accreditation
Universities will provide accreditation of Thinking Schools as a reflective practice while building a body of action research to learn and grow the Thinking Schools model. In the Tigray region Mekelle and Aksum Universities will be collaborative partners.
download the pdf file

Read the Proposal for the collaboration with Tigray Development Association, Thinking Schools Ethiopia, Thinking Schools International and Initiative Africa (administering the grant).
download the pdf file

Read the Thinking Schools Accreditation Process.
download the pdf file

       

 
Reflections from the participants on video — in Tigrinya – English translation coming soon…
 

Project Sensitization Workshop for Growing Thinking Schools Ethiopia from the Inside Out 

A Love in Action –  Initiative Africa (IA) – Eminence Social Entrepreneurs (ESE) Collaboration for Growing Thinking Schools Ethiopia in SNNPRS.
by Dagim Melese — C0-Lead Thinking Schools Ethiopia trainer 

Love in Action Ethiopia (LIAE) conducted a day long project sensitization workshop on Saturday, April 3, 2015, in SNNPR (Southern Nations, Nationalities and Peoples Region).  The project is entitled Empowering Women Building Communities through Growing Thinking Schools from the Inside Out in 2 (two) Secondary and College Preparatory schools: Wachamo and Heto Secondary and College Preparatory Schools.  The purpose of the workshop is to consult with key stakeholders on issues of effective implementation of the project program so as to see the adaptability, relevance, use value and instrumentality of the program for the school improvement needs of the education system in the region. The stakeholders included City Education Bureau leadership and experts, Development Activities Coordination Bureau, Finance and Economic development Directorate, School Directors, Model Teachers , Experts from Women Affairs Bureau,  PTA(Parent- Teachers Association), Project Managers and Project Director of Love in Action Ethiopia.

Brief explanation on the project’s  rationale and goal, and discussion on the underlying concepts of the TSE model and among the participants about the problems of high school girls,  issues associated with the project( project’s life -span, project’s budget,  project’s target groups, areas and levels of intervention in the education system ( How is the problem going to be addresses ? Via what strategy?  At what level of education is the intervention going to take place? ) took place. Key questions from the participants were asked as regards the issues and they were responded to by the project director.

The following were some of the comments, questions and experiences shared.

1. Bearing in mind that it is not easy to bring about desirable change in attitudes, we should be ready to work collaboratively, interdependently, orchestrating expertise and facilitating united efforts.
2. In the light of our realization and contention about the relevance and usefulness of the project we should have started the intervention from foundational grades (PrK , First Cycle Primary Schools )
3. We should strategize  ways to make the project all – inclusive : involve parents, people in leadership, students , teachers , PTA , etc ( all stakeholders).
4. The project is key in terms adding supplementary value.
5. Female students should be assessed for differentiated interventions.There has to be developed a mechanism of documenting female students profiles.
6. Schools organizational capacity needs to be supported (there has to be a school psychologist for Guidance and Counseling service in the schools for example ).
7. Working on facilitating teachers’ expertise is key and foresighted for benefiting the community in a sustainable manner
8. Why is the project short lasting? Why limited budget while the program you have is of high priority
9. The capacity building aspect of the program should address all teachers  and instructional leaders
10. How is the project going to address the socio-economic problems of girls ? Livelihood needs of the female students ?

In accord with the project implementation plan both Wachamo and Heto Schools are planned to receive educational professional training using the Thinking Schools Approach in three(3) different phases –  Instructional leadership team training ,  whole staff training at school site , and ongoing scaffolding support at school sites

Sensitization Workshop for Growing Thinking Schools from the Inside Out Project

A TDA (Tigray Development Association) – Eminence Social Entrepreneurs – Initiative Africa Collaboration for Growing Thinking Schools in the Tigray Region.
by Dagim Melese – Thinking Schools Ethiopia Lead Trainer for Eminence Social Entrepreneurs

Tigray Development Association (TDA) conducted a project sensitization workshop on Saturday, 26 March 2015, in Tigray Regional Administration.  The project is entitled Growing Thinking Schools from the Inside Out in 36 schools representing each Tigray region’s zonal administrations.  The purpose of the workshop is to consult with key stakeholders on issues of effective implementation of the project program so as to see the adaptability, relevance, and instrumentality of the program for the school improvement needs of the education system in the region. The stakeholders included University Lecturers, Dean of Pedagogical sciences, Wereda Supervisors, Project Director, Education quality assurance specialists, Leadership of TDA and Tigray region education bureau.  Brief explanation on alignment of the Thinking School model with school improvement program GEQIP of MOE (Ministry of Education), the project’s goal, and discussion on the underlying concepts of the TSE model preceded a prominent event of the day long workshop: discussions among the participants about criteria for selection of the schools and ways of assessing the fruits of the intervention program.
download the pdf file of the project proposal / overview

Various pragmatic issues were raised and deliberated upon among the participants during the discussion.  There were also thoughts surfaced from different frames of references from the different stakeholders.  The decision on the choice of the schools to be included in the pilot project was sought to be made from the combination of reasoning derived from different and contending vantage points. The following were some of the perspectives entertained in discussion;

1. Accessible schools – the schools should be accessible: those to and from which are laid down adequate infrastructures hence are easy to work with, follow up, reinforce, and to work on feedbacks.
2. Schools Previous performance –   the camps included those that preferred a combination of best performing schools and weakly running schools which is thought to shed light to changes due to intervention in comparison. The other camp contends that there are already other similar intervention programs working in same zonal administration and there are also schools that had not benefited from previous intervention programs. Therefore, we should benefit the poorly functioning schools without adequately met infrastructures.
3. Cycles/Levels of Education – This refers to the question; which level of education is the intervention appropriate? Is it in the first cycle primary education? or Junior secondary cycle ? or Secondary and College preparatory cycle ?

These were the issues the participants consulted with each other and deliberated upon. The discussions were intensely interactive, reflective, and critical from different perspectives.  Group facilitators were observed to be satisfying to their group members. The discussion finally wrapped up with integrative, inclusive and accommodative statements as regards the issues of the discussion.

Key questions that were developed by the participants in the workshop include:

• What is expected from the project?
• How can lessons learned be expanded?
• How should each partner execute their roles?
• What kind of schools should participate in the project?
• What is expected from the project intervention?

Stage 1 Leadership Teams
The next step is the upcoming trainings for Leadership Teams (8 principals and lead teachers from each school) of the 36 model schools. The trainings will be facilitated by Thinking Schools Ethiopia Lead Trainers Atsede Tsehayou and Dagim Melese, and Thinking Schools International Global Trainer Robert Price. The trainings will be held from the 12-21 April in 3 locations: Shire, Aksum and Wukro. The schedule of the trainings is:

Group	Zone	Number of Woreda  in the group	Number of schools	Number of participants
One /Shire	West	1	3	21
	North West	2	6	42
Total		3	9	63
Two/Aksum	Central	3	9	63
Total		4	9	63
Three/ Wukro	Eastern	2	6	42
	South West	1	3	21
	Mekelle	1	3	21
	South	2	6	42
Total		6	18	126
cluster supervisor				12
cluster supervisor				36
Total participants				262

 

Stage 2 Whole Schools
Trainings will be whole school trainings facilitated by the leadership teams and a Thinking Schools Ethiopia lead trainer.

Stage 3 Site Visits
This will be followed by regular site visits by Thinking Schools Ethiopia trainers to facilitate professional development and model best practices with demonstration lessons with students.

Video for Reflective Practices, Models of Excellence, Action Research
Video will also be used to capture models of excellence by teachers to share between the 36 model schools.

Trainer of Trainers
Thinking Schools Ethiopia trainers will be trained from Tigray Education Bureau, model schools and Tigray Development Association to assure ongoing growth and the sustainability of Thinking Schools Ethiopia in collaboration with TDA.

Universities and Accreditation
Universities will provide accreditation of Thinking Schools as a reflective practice while building a body of action research to learn and grow the Thinking Schools model. In the Tigray region Mekelle and Aksum Universities will be collaborative partners.
download the pdf file

Read the Proposal for the collaboration with Tigray Development Association, Thinking Schools Ethiopia, Thinking Schools International and Initiative Africa (administering the grant).
download the pdf file

Read the Thinking Schools Accreditation Process.
download the pdf file

       

 

Meri Primary School, an Addis Ababa Education Bureau model Thinking School is currently receiving a two day whole school training (5 & 6 March 2015 • 26-06-2007 Ethiopian calendar) on Growing Thinking Schools From the Inside Out. The Growing Thinking Schools From the Inside Out is a Transformational Professional Development for schools thinking models, processes, skills, strategies and tools for transforming the whole school environment. The whole school training is part of the Thinking Schools Ethiopia professional development process

1. AAEB experts receive two day Growing Thinking Schools From the Inside Out training
2. School leadership teams of 8 school leaders and teachers from each model school receive two day Growing Thinking Schools From the Inside Out training
3. Whole school receives two day Growing Thinking Schools From the Inside Out training
4. Regular site visits to each of the model schools including on-site professional development and demonstration lessons with students
5. Ongoing use of video for reflective teaching practices

Meri Primary school is a governmental school found in Addis Ababa, the capital city of Ethiopia. They are part of the ten model thinking schools in the AAEB school district. The AAEB includes over 300 schools with the majority having over 1000 students with an average class size of approximately 50 students. Thinking Schools Ethiopia is part of Eminence Social Entrepreneurs in Ethiopia and globally part of Thinking Schools International.

The Thinking Schools approach is a whole school transformational design that requires minimal materials for implementation and use. What is needed are school leaders, teachers, students and parents immersed in understanding the methods of Thinking Schools Ethiopia pathways for thinking. Thinking Schools Ethiopia focuses on key methods and pathways that aim at the professional development of teachers to improve the quality of their pedagogy and decision-making. This mindset and practice successfully brings a student centered quality thinking education with the whole school environment through the use of:

• Thinking Maps
  use of visual tools to organize ones thinking (students, teachers, leaders) with visual tools that are a visual verbal collaborative process of seeing each other’s thinking
• Reflective Questioning
  high quality questioning, listening and discussion skills
• Collaborative Learning
  collaborative learning for students; collegial coaching for teachers; community building for the whole school
• Dispositions
  a mind that is reflective about internal dispositions and actions, while remaining open to other ways in which people are thinking and acting

Thinking Schools Ethiopia is a whole school systems approach based on building capacity inside out with the aim of developing a foundation that is reflective, sustainable, collaborative and replicable. TSE is part of a greater global collaboration that supports multi-directional development. Multi-directional development is a belief system and model where all participants recognize their own capacity for aiding the others globally: ideas and innovation originate within and across ALL places globally. The Thinking Schools Ethiopia training uses research based thinking methods that are lifelong skills for use with problem solving in school, life and work.

Video is in Amharic with English subtitles. If you don’t see the subtitles click on the cc icon to activate the subtitles.
Ato Dilamo Ottore, Head of Addis Ababa Education Bureau, giving a short speech about the importance of the Thinking Schools Ethiopia program that is being implemented in Ethiopia by Eminence Social Entrepreneurs. His speech was given before the 10 school leadership teams (8 principal and teacher leaders from each school) at the Thinking Schools Ethiopia training in June 2014.

 

Thinking Schools Ethiopia (TSE) will begin  model school collaborations with Tigray government schools in March. The initial training will be a sensitization workshop to ensure that the Thinking school frameworks and specific interventions are well understood by all partners and smoothly executed so as to bring the desired changes in attitudes, practices, and education systems and structures around the issues. The initiative is for whole school change with the Thinking Schools model. The initiative is funded with a focus on empowering girl students at primary and secondary levels (and women teachers) in the process. The project is funded through Initiative Africa. Previously the Tigray Education Bureau experts were trained (photo). The TSE project is being coordinated in the northern Tigray region by the Tigray Development Association and the Tigray Education Bureau. The Trainer of Trainer model will include training facilitators from the Education Bureau, Mekelle University and Aksum University.

Stage one will begin in April with schools leadership teams from the 36 model schools representing 12 Woredas. This will include both primary and secondary schools from each Woreda to provide a foundation to scale the project to all schools. The initial training is a 2 day Growing Thinking Schools Inside Out training. The training is about student centered thinking methods and is participant centered with the educators receiving hands-on training. The trainers include TSE trainers from Eminence Social Entrepreneurs and a global trainer from Thinking Schools International and the Thinking Foundation.

Stage two training will provide whole school training for each of the model schools. This will then be supported with ongoing site visits by TSE trained trainers.

 

Bole preparatory school is one of the highest ranking and largest staff sizes of schools in the 300+ government schools system of Addis Ababa Education Bureau. As part of the selected 10 pilot schools, it is also one of the pioneer preparatory schools in the city that took a Thinking Schools Ethiopia training by classifying its staff in two groups.

In accord with this understanding a one and half day training, for the first group, was conducted to more than 80 participants of which school teachers, department heads, director and two deputy directors of the school were part of the training.pioneer preparatory schools in the city that took a thinking schools Ethiopia training by classifying its staff in two groups.

Day one, community building exercises, and personal frame of reference has been introduced followed by a brief introduction to the Growing thinking schools inside out guide. The trainees were deeply engaged in discussions and entertain different views while they were working with the five dimensions to thinking (Cognitive process, Enquiry methods, Dispositions, Learning Modalities and creativity).

Day two of the training was an introduction to visual tools particularly the use of the 8 thinking maps. Participants   were exposed to see the use of the maps and were also extensively exercised and see the potential of these maps to implement in an actual classroom circumstance.

The overall reflection of the participants was great of our expectation. The school director was highly inspired and wants to conduct training for the second group as soon as possible.

This was a step in the process of implementing a whole school transformational process of creating models of Thinking Schools in the Addis Ababa Education System. It is remembered that the instructional leadership team of Bola high School took part in the first phase of the training conduted in June, 2014. The training was interactive, particpatory, and reflective. The goal of the training was to adequately introduce the educators with Visual Tools:Thinking Processes Maps , and facilitate the exercise of use of thinking maps as tools for conducting actual class room lessons by teachers in all departments /academic streams. Following are still pictures taken from the training.

Atsede Tsehayou and Dagim Melese – Thinking Schools Ethiopia Facilitators – Eminence Social Entrepreneurs

Astede Tsehayou and Dagim Melese
Eminence Social Entrepreneurs / Thinking Schools Ethiopia Facilitators
Thinking School Ethiopia, part of Eminence Social Entrepreneurs, conducted a  two days training on Growing Thinking  School from the Inside Out model for the whole staff of Cheffe Primary School on December 6 and 7 , 2014. All educators, about 69 in number, from all departments (Language, Physical Sciences, Social Sciences, and Arts) and self-contained teachers of the school took part in the training. The training constituted part of a second phase of a whole school transformational change process planned to be executed, through concerted efforts of Addis Ababa Education Bureau (AAEB) and Eminence Social Entrepreneurs, with the aim of creating 10 models of the “thinking school” approach in Yeka and Bole sub cities of the city of Addis Ababa.

The hands on, intensely collaborative training which was intermittently mixed with community building exercises (exercises that refresh, energize, stir the mind, and build a sense community and togetherness) was observed to be engaging, yielding and productive.  The participants were essentially the real actors in the training. Indeed, the thinking school model is particularly unique relative to other educational professional development models in that it demonstrates its defining motto that states “we walk the talk”.  The other important element of the training sessions was the call for participants’ observations to think about what is being done in each of the steps in progress which was meaningful for both the trainees and training facilitators as it elucidates upon the impact that is being felt.

The first day training (On Saturday, Dec.6, 2014) engaged the trainees to consolidate upon  the goal of Cheffie Primary School by helping them  reflectively see what  the school does so as to draw on its vision, goals, its achievements , and useful practices in a journey towards growing a thinking school. Moreover, the educators were also given opportunities to explore and converse on path ways of thinking that included topics on cognitive processes, learning modalities, dispositions, creativity, and enquiry methods.  Subsequent on the highly interactive discussions on the issues related to the aforementioned topics took place a brief introduction of Thinking Processes Maps which are visual-verbal tools graphically representing fundamental cognitive processes.

The following day (Sunday, Dec.7, 2014) was devoted for intensive exercises on the use of visual tools particularly on the use of Thinking Maps. Brief introduction on the eight (8) Thinking Maps, the universal cognitive processes they represent and their respective uses was followed by modeling of their actual use by TSE facilitators: Astede Tsehayou and Dagim Melese . Trainees were later given opportunities to apply the use of Thinking Maps in their subject area specializations being in collaborative learning groups. Representatives of each group were finally asked to present the works of their groups for the whole group so as to create learning and thinking environment in which observations, different ways of thinking (perspectives), conversations, discussions and synthesis of ideas occur.  Finally, participants were asked to reflect on the overall two days training.

Atsede Tsehayou – Thinking Schools Ethiopia Country Trainer 

As part of the steps with the Thinking Schools Ethiopia model, On-Site School Visits are made to each school.  A site visit to Cheffie Primary School, one of the ten Addis Ababa Education Bureau model Thinking Schools occurred on Thursday, December 17, 2014. Community building exercises were practiced by their physical education teacher and students as well during our visit.

 community building

The objective of the site visit was to introduce both the verbal and hand symbols of thinking maps to all students of Cheffee on one hand and to give explanation of the use of each maps on the other hand.

Grade 8 students observed and examined that thinking maps show clarity and simplicity in terms of communicating and understanding conceptual contents.

Grade 7 and 8 Students were using and sketching Thinking Maps in their exercise books and tried to connect the hands symbol of Thinking Maps with their meaning and importance .

        

Pre k students were also able to use their thinking abilities and participate with their teacher on the use of the maps.

        

The overall observation and reflection of my visit to the school was exciting and surprising because of all the fabulous movements and discussions happened within three days after the whole staff (70+ teachers and school leaders) training of Cheffie Primary School. The whole staff training was the two day initial Growing Thinking Schools Inside Out training on Thinking Schools including using visual tools (Thinking Maps).