Addis Ababa Education Bureau
Model Whole School Trainings
Meri Primary School

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.

 

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