“…before the refreshment school site visit training and class demonstration lesson we did in two of the real classrooms of our school, I thought that Thinking Maps were only selectively used with some contents but now I realize the fact that thinking maps can be used with all kinds of contents…”
Hayelom Elementary School Teacher at the most recent school site professional development
By Dagim Melese and Atsede Teshayou
Photos and Video by Atsede Tsehayou and Dagim Melese
Hayelom Elementary School was paid a site visit by Thinking Schools Ethiopia (TSE) trainers. The site visits was aimed to support whole school implantation of thinking maps for facilitating students thinking and learning in all the subjects taught . The site visit began with professional development (morning session in which the TSE model was reviewed and a refreshment training on thinking maps was conducted).
TSE trainers appreciated and were encouraged by the collaborative spirits, the level of seriousness and purposefulness with which the teachers were engaged, and their reflectiveness and feedback on the training.
Hayelom Elementary School is one of the 37 laboratory schools TSE is providing support for. The teachers have been using the maps and now intensifying its use in class rooms with flexibility and creativity for sharing experience of model of excellence with the other schools in the project.
Below are the pictures taken during the site visit at the school;
Thinking Schools Ethiopia – Tigray is a collaboration of Tigray Development Association and Thinking Foundation for 37 model schools in 12 Woredas located in all 7 zonal administrations with funding administered by Initiative Africa for a Girl’s Empowerment Whole School Change grant from Sida (Swedish Development Agency) that began as a grass roots project by Robert Seth Price along with lead country trainers Atsede Tsehayou and Dagim Melese. Read the chapter on Ethiopia in the Corwin Press book Pathways to Thinking Schools.
