The Pudumai Palli Project: Developing Innovative Schools in Chennai (P3DISC) is implemented by British Council in partnership with the Corporation of Chennai. This project, funded by the MacArthur Foundation, aims to improve the livelihood prospects of students, particularly girls in Chennai today. In the long-term, it aims to ensure that secondary level students (especially girls), studying in Corporation high schools and higher secondary schools, stay in school longer and acquire the 21st century skills required to enhance their employability prospects; and to build a sustainable system to support in-service teacher education, continuing professional development and the ongoing support for teacher and student learning.
Following an assessment that included a computer based language test that look place in October and November 2015, 22 Master Trainers were identified from a pool of secondary school teachers. This enthusiastic group of experienced teachers attended a five days intensive course on the ‘Essentials of Teacher Training’. The training programme was designed to enhance their training skills and enable them to cascade the training to 120 secondary school teachers. Key areas covered under the training included training skills, understanding how to motivate teachers, working in teams and the principles of teacher training.
Interacting with the Master Trainers, Mei-kwei Barker, Director, British Council South India, said: “I am delighted to see how enthusiastic the Master Trainers are to learn and enhance their training skills. As a teacher myself, I completely understand the challenges that they face in today’s fast paced and ever changing world. There are high expectations for teachers to be effective in the classroom and to do this, teachers need to invest time and energy in their own professional development to be more effective in the classroom. The British Council is very pleased to contribute to this process in partnership with the Corporation of Chennai and the MacArthur Foundation.”
Following this training, the Master Trainers will cascade to 120 teachers of Corporation high schools and higher secondary schools. This will commence in the new academic year. Also included in the line of activities for the new academic year are the setting up of student clubs, trainings for club leaders and head teachers.
About the project:
The P3DISC project aims to improve the livelihood prospects of students, particularly girls, in socio-economically marginalized urban communities in Chennai. The impact of this project is based on five fundamental and interlinked strands of activities, aimed at improving the livelihood prospects of students, particularly girls in socio-economically marginalized urban communities by equipping them with English and 21st century skills. This goal will be pursued by:
1. Enhancing the leadership and change management skills of Head Teachers to help them to create an enabling environment which will support the development of 21st century skills among students, the integration of teachers’ continuing professional development (CPD) into school development plans, as well as teacher clubs and student clubs.
2. Building the capacity of a cohort of Teacher Educators to support teachers as they implement the changes in pedagogy, through the development of peer-facilitated teacher clubs – mirroring the establishment of student-led clubs.
3. Encouraging teachers to adopt teaching methods that support the development of 21st century skills among students, including through the use of collaborative tasks and by promoting ICT classroom integration as well as independence and responsibility among students.
4. Providing girls with opportunities to lead the student-led clubs to build their leadership skills and confidence and develop strong female role models for the benefit of both boys and girls.
5. Providing disadvantaged girls and boys in secondary schools with opportunities and resources to develop English, ICT and 21st century skills through improved learning opportunities both in the classroom and in student-led clubs.
The objective is to build a sustainable system to support in-service teacher education, continuing professional development and the ongoing support for teacher and student learning. This system will also provide a replicable model for urban school systems in India.
The direct beneficiaries of the project include - 560 peer leaders of student clubs – 80% girls, 14,000 students in 70 schools over 3 years, 120 teachers, 22 Master Trainers, 70 head teachers.
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We work in more than 100 countries and our 7,000 staff – including 2,000 teachers – work with thousands of professionals and policy makers and millions of young people every year by teaching English, sharing the arts and delivering education and society programmes. The British Council is recognised across India for its network of 9 libraries and cultural centres. We offer a range of specialised projects in arts, education, exams, English language and society to audiences across India and more than 100,000 members. We also provide access to English language training and learning for both students and teachers, offer UK qualifications in India and enable opportunities to study in the UK.
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