LSP Language Conference

Little Nerd

A little recap to start. The LSP (Language Support Programme) is run jointly by the NDOE (National Dept of Education) and VSO and is the primary project on which I work, supporting lecturers in two teachers colleges in Port Moresby, PNGEI (Papua New Guinea Education Institute) and Bomana Sacred Heart Teachers College (SHTC). All the 13 teachers colleges in PNG have a volunteer attached if not in residence.

One of the outcomes of LSP is to hold a language conference every year. The first one was held at Holy Trinity teachers’ college in December 2012 before I arrived and the second has just been held in June, at Kabaleo teachers’ college, Kokopo, East New Britain.

It was a wonderful celebration of VSO facilitating and capacity building – two strategies that I must admit I have at times been dubious about although I agree with the approaches in principle I was not sure wether in reality they truly bore success.

At this conference ach teachers’ college had the responsibility of giving a presentation for 1hr 15 minutes on an aspect of speaking and listening. The responsibility of the volunteers was basically to make it happen. At the previous conference reading was the focus and all the presentations were made by VSO and other stakeholders. This was the first time the teachers’ colleges had the responsibility of giving the presentations themselves. Kabaleo teachers’ college had the added feat of hosting the conference which after losing our LSP team leader proved an exhausting task for the poor volunteers in East New Britain! (Who by the way did an amazing job!)

The vast majority of language lecturers had never before had the opportunity to present to an audience of over 100 people, including members of the department of education, college principals and university heads of department. They all did so confidently and knowledgeably, discussing aspects of language learning that a year ago were unknown to them. Due to the LSP the language lecturers were behaving like a team of professionals knowledgeable in their subject. I realise this may sound like an outrageous claim to make with hints of colonial, expatriate, patronising dribble. I will try and explain why it is not.

Opportunities for professional development in PNG are extremely rare. All language lecturers have degrees and most have masters qualifications from either PNG, Australian or New Zealand universities but very few have experience of teaching in primary schools and their knowledge is extremely theoretical. Hence their love of Blooms Taxonomy for example! The in-service training we take for granted in the UK is by and large nonexistent.

What the LSP has done is given the opportunity for language lecturers to get together to share experience, ideas and concerns. A wealth of teaching and learning strategies combined with many years of experience in primary school teaching in a variety of settings have been presented by VSO volunteers from across the English speaking countries of the world. There is a consistent approach in methodology as language lecturers have been brought together from all regions of PNG and when back in their colleges across the country continue to be drip fed, slowly but surely with the same messages by the volunteers. This access to current teaching and learning strategies combined with the theoretical knowledge and invaluable cultural understanding that the language lecturers already have has undoubtedly led to changes, all be it small changes, in practice.

All the VSO volunteers are chosen for their expertise in their field but perhaps the greatest impact they make is in providing the platform and giving the opportunities for the people who know the most about education in their country to make a difference.

Getting meetings together, providing morning tea, organising transport, making phone calls or providing the credit for phone calls to be made, sending and receiving emails on behalf of others, putting toner in the printer, writing up and distributing minutes and many other simple, taken for granted tasks in our world make an immense difference to the development and progression of ideas in this world. This is successful facilitation.

Capacity building I believe is very much a two way street. I most certainly would say that I have contributed to language lecturers in PNG having a greater capacity to teach student teachers in the last six months. I would also say that my capacity to operate effectively in PNG would be zero without the constant support of lecturers in my college who guide me through the maze of protocols and procedures necessary to make things happen. It is and has to be a partnership.

So in a roundabout way I have explained to myself and hopefully to other perhaps doubting souls how facilitation and capacity building do work. The LSP language conference provided the evidence needed for me to see this and accept that the incredible feeling of frustration all of us suffer from time to time is worth it.

I’m going on to give an example of how facilitation and capacity building worked (or didn’t!) at SHTC and PNGEI. If I’ve bored you to tears already now might be a good place to stop reading!

The plan for the facilitation/ capacity building process for lecturers at SHTC and PNGEI was:

Ø  Meeting 1: Both colleges together discuss areas of interest within the given themes and come up with a working title and research question for each presentation. Provide initial background materials for lecturers around the themes and ask them to come to the next meeting with an abstract draft.

Ø  Meeting 2: Question and review abstracts, rewriting where necessary, confirm understanding and agree. Establish outcomes ‘What do we want the participants to learn?’ (each college separately)

Ø  Meeting 3: Create a power point together: question, check for mutual understanding, write, confirm. Suggest activity ideas: teaching strategies, groupings, resources. Give a session outline scaffold. Hand over the writing process and support the writing of the writing of the session outline referring back the power point. (each college separately)

Ø  Meeting 4: Talk me through the presentation: who’s leading which activity/ check resources/ timings/ space (both colleges together)

Ø  Conference: each college presents their presentation whilst I control the power point and help with activity organisation.

Lessons learned from this process were that scaffolding and confirming understanding are essential. Explain everything, no assumptions should be made at any point. It is easy to forget that everyone you are speaking to is working in their second or in a lot of cases third language and on top of that the version of English they are working with is not necessarily UK English. I have always been a firm believer in the simpler the better; if you can’t explain it without academic jargon then you don’t really know what you are trying to say. However this is not a popular approach here where the more academic and ‘sophisticated’ the language is the more respect it will command; never mind if anyone understands or not.

As could easily be imagined things didn’t always go exactly to plan! But we did get there , the presentations went ahead, everyone felt empowered and good about themselves with an eye to next time we will…A change in perception has been made.

Relationships

One of the things I was perhaps least prepared for in my volunteer role was the emotional challenge of building relationships. I have worked with a diverse mixture of people in terms of culture, class, belief systems and personalities over the years and in many contrasting settings with a variety of roles and responsibilities, all be it largely within education but I have never struggled so much as I am doing here.

Being a volunteer is a very odd thing as I’m sure I’ve mentioned before. In some ways it can make life easier because you don’t have a paid job and therefore there is less pressure to achieve targets and meet deadlines. In other ways it makes life more difficult because you have no power and no rights to information within your work place; you can suggest ideas and offer your services but you have no control over ultimate decision making. There is also always an awareness that you are representing an organisation that has a responsibility to other stakeholders who need to report on the impact of their investment.

What has this got to do with relationship building? In a word, trust, if you want to make an impact you have to work with people, people will only work with you if they trust you and to gain trust you have to build working relationships.

An added bonus in living away from home is that outside of work relationship building is also crucial. Away from your usual support networks, to stay sane you need your wantok. This can be equated to being on a reality TV show: Volunteer big brother house maybe? Being selective about whom you share your life with is not an option your hand is dealt and each player must negotiate a way to play, there are of course many hands and undefined rules which add spice to life.

I have had a week of emotional challenge, as one might have guessed reading this! It was my intention to illustrate what I am talking about with a week in the life of me and my working relationships; however I’ve decided it would be inappropriate as it concerns the lives of others.

Suffice to say that this week in my relentless attempt to build a working relationship with the team manager at work I have been ignored, offered buai, asked to present at a funders (AusAid) meeting, left standing in the street with a colleagues’ possessions in my arms, publicly apologised to, praised for working on so many projects and had demands to see my contract as I’m not performing my duties. How’s your week been? Ups and downs and round and round, I think I can make it to Friday happy hour and Monday the carousel begins again.

In my not so private life there has also been a hefty tide of turbulent wantok relationships ebbing and flowing around me following the arrival of a new intake of volunteers living below which I will not discuss for obvious reasons.

Em tasol

End of rant & love to the world

National Haus Krai just me 'umble thoughts

National Haus Krai PNG: a liklik samting

I feel that I want to say something about the national haus krai for domestic violence but I’m not quite sure what it is I want to say. An organisation called Women Arise organised a haus krai across 19 provinces in PNG and internationally in the US, UK, Australia and other countries across the world. A haus krai is essentially a wake and the idea was to mourn for the many, many PNG women and children who have suffered and died from domestic violence and speak out against this brutal oppression which is sadly common place and accepted as a way of life across the country.

It has been said that this is a PNG problem that must be resolved through cultural evolution which can only come from within; the many cultures that make up PNG must develop to a point where domestic violence is eradicated because there is no longer a desire or need for members of the society to treat each other in this way.

As an outsider I can understand this view point and agree that real changes in cultural practice are responsive to a perceived need or for communal advancement in some way however I felt compelled to take part in this day of awareness for the following reasons:

·         I live here and this will be my home, my community for the next 2 years

·         Violence in PNG dramatically affects my quality of life

·         I have a voice

·         I am a woman

Unnecessary justifications maybe but made all the same I went to the John Guise Stadium in Port Moresby last night to take part in a vigil of speeches, prayer and song. It was a religious event and I am not a religious person but if having god on your side helps then so be it. ‘The church’ as an institution has the necessary networks, resources and perhaps most importantly influence to make things happen.

I was moved by the sense of solidarity and purpose and inspired by the openness of speech. One after another stories were told of brutal violence witnessed. The stories were not new to anyone and have been well reported by the media, some even around the world, but they were brought home. People were not thinking what a terrible thing… or those poor people… or even blaming the Highlanders. There was a deafening silence of people truly reflecting, overcoming the shame that is often felt by Papua New Guineans and accepting individually that yes this was their problem; not a clan, tribe, province, government or even church, they had to do something about this.

This is just a fleeting moment and life in PNG today is the same as it was yesterday but from little things… and this is my liklik contribution.

Something a bit different eh!

Thanks for reading

Read PNG April

Read PNG

Travelling again has boosted the spirits and I again feel that I might be making a bit of progress with my relationship with PNG and understanding what I’m doing here. Over the fence to PNGEI sits the Curriculum Development and Assessment Department (CDAD) of the Department of Education. It is on the same site as PNGEI and literally only separated by a fence but the gates in the fence are symbolically welded shut: communication between the two institutions is effectively zero.

CDAD is however the home of a World Bank multi-donor funded project called Read PNG. This project is co lead by an ex VSO volunteer with whom I have now worked on two different workshops alongside a colleague from PNGEI in the role of capacity building as well as facilitating.

Read PNG have carried out comprehensive research into reading levels at elementary and lower primary level in the Madang province of PNG through an EGRA (Early Grade Reading Assessment) study. From the findings of this study a reading scheme of work was written comprising of a teachers manual with scripted lessons and built in assessment tasks and a student reader with decodable texts and short stories. I became involved with planning and facilitating a weeks training on using the scripted lessons and assessments for 60 primary school teachers from 15 Madang schools.

The principal aim of the training model was to ensure that teacher’s felt confident to use the scripted lessons in the classroom. For the trial to be successful we wanted to be sure that teacher’s understood the need to stick to the script without expanding or improvising (not easy for any teacher as we all like to feel autonomous in our own classrooms). Having sufficient knowledge of phonics and phonemic awareness and being able to use this on a practical level was also vital for the teachers. Therefore for the first two days facilitator led sessions were dominant. We modeled teaching scripted lessons, taught sessions on basic phonics and phonemic awareness, taught and modeled strategies for using both the decodable texts and the stories in the student readers and held practical sessions on games to develop phonic skills. The next three days were given to practice and this in my opinion was where the training model was most successful. Teachers had the opportunity to micro teach parts of lessons within their groups and receive feedback and support from their colleagues before eventually each getting the chance to teach a complete lesson and receive one to one feedback from one of the facilitators.

In measuring the overall success of the training we will see how effective the lessons were in practice when the teachers return for the second weeks training in mid June. By then they will have delivered the first six weeks of lessons and the children will have undertaken the first end of unit assessment.

Another aim of the training week from a VSO point of view was the capacity building aspect for the language lecturers. Counterparts accompanied both my VSO colleague and me in both the planning and training stages. This gave them the opportunity to develop their expertise and skills in language training and also gave us invaluable knowledge with reference to the realities of the classroom and the politics of schools.

For me it was a great week on all fronts, topped off by all the teachers and ourselves being taken on a cruise around the islands off the coast of Madang at the end of the last day. A positive end sits long in the memory, I look forward to part two!

PNGEI Update

At one with the Banyan in Brisbane botanical gardens

Last time I write was in a post research experience euphoric state. Engulfed by a roller coaster of emotions since then I struggle to cling on to the steep learning curve of understanding  and dealing with my role with VSO and with PNGEI (Papua New Guinea Education Institute).

In my first blog on PNGEI I identified a number of issues with the CET (Certificate in Elementary Education) distance mode programme and questioned the capacity of the elementary team to conduct a review of  all elementary teacher training programmes. In terms of a progress report all I can say is one step forward, two steps back. Every time I feel we make a real breakthrough as a team and one small step is processed, planned for and on the verge of being acted upon, a proverbial spanner will come wielding its way towards us and lodge itself very firmly in the works.

The spanner is more often than not delivered under the umbrella term of 'protocol'; a marvellous term that can carry a multitude of meanings. I have known it used as an excuse, a threat, a barrier and a necessity. Sometimes the same piece of paper can represent all four depending on whose asking.

In the case of the project I am currently attempting to support, for every activity outlined in the project proposal a terms of reference document must be produced. This must be presented, agreed and signed by a hierarchical line of people four weeks before the activity can begin in order for money to be released. Due to the frequency of blackouts, the limitations of Internet connections and the lack of funds to employ an admin team, this will be achieved (or not) by the project team leader walking from one building to another with the piece of paper. Often the person required to sign the paper is not in their office and the trip is wasted. Frequently there will be a problem with the wording of the document and it must be redrafted. There are also times when the order of protocol is mistaken and individuals are offended and refusal to sign until appropriate behaviour has resumed and sufficient apologies have been received. As you can see there are many pot holes to be surmounted and success is no easy feat.

This is the first donor funded project to be given to PNGEI to lead and the Director and the Elementary Manager are under significant pressure to succeed in actioning activities and spending the money within  a timescale in order to maintain in-house control. As the only Institute in PNG training elementary teachers they quite rightly want to have some say in the future of elementary teacher training. This project gives them that voice and they want to shout it loud.

I am a volunteer. I am funded to build the capacity of teacher trainer language lecturers and review the current teacher trainer language programmes. I am a facilitator and a consultant. I share my expertise when appropriate and wanted.

VSO is a well established NGO in PNG. VSO have given education expertise in the form of a volunteer and research training to the elementary team at PNGEI. VSO have committed to giving two more short term volunteers: a researcher and a strategic planner. VSO can also offer a well organised admin team in a well resourced programme office who understand the necessary protocols and can proceed at speed when needed.

The challenge is this. In order to receive two more volunteers the Director of PNGEI must ask for them.  For the VSO education programme office to manage the logistics of the project the Director and the Project Manager must agree for the management of the money to be signed over to VSO. In the eyes of PNGEI both these actions signify a loss of control, particularly over the money and a loss of ownership over the project as a whole.

Whether or not PNGEI ask for the support of VSO is there decision. My initial reaction from my experience in my culture is that it's what you might call a 'no brainer', but then this is not my culture, my institute nor my future. I am here to offer the options, nothing more, nothing less the decision making is up to the experts.

The fog lifts for a while then drops again, the mud thickens and thins, the roller coaster rises and falls.

As usual these are just the ramblings of the crazy white meri not to be attributed to anyone else.

Until next time

Magical Simbu

SMS Story project research in Simbu province

I know I have lead a very fortunate life in many ways but last week was a passage in time that revitalised my faith in the human race and left me at one with myself in a way that I have not been for some time. The untouchable warmth I have inside will not be stolen away easily.

Simbu province is situated in the magical mountains of PNG where belief in spirits and sorcery is strong and clan feuds and retribution justice are common place. The people are physically strong and mentally determined and life is mainly lived at subsistence level. Fertile soil and a temperate climate ensure there is no shortage of food and rich coffee to challenge the world’s best grows freely.

It was in this environment that I arrived in Kundiawa with the SMS Story research team; team leader Marshall, research assistants Elaine and Willie, Simbu elementary education standards officer Mary and driver John Jericho. Originally I was using the opportunity of a VSO project going into the Highlands to visit rural Elementary schools as a chance to see the schools and talk to the Elementary teacher trainers who work in the field; however after the story writer on the project became sick I became more involved in the project itself.  The aim of the project is to see if children’s reading levels can be improved by using mobile phones to deliver language lessons to teachers. Each day for two terms teachers in active schools in the project will receive two text messages: one will be a story and the other a lesson plan.

Our mission was to establish a baseline by testing the reading ability of a sample of children in both active and control schools and to introduce the project to the teachers explaining the process and modelling how to use the text messages in the active schools.

It soon became clear that I would be best employed interviewing and training the teachers. The children were fascinated by me and did one of three things; giggled hysterically, stared in disbelief or crowded round me so close I could hardly move. Not really effective responses for an accurate reading performance. The reading assessments were left to the PNG researchers.

In every school the first thing we did was held a meeting with the parents and teachers. This was led by Mary the Standards Officer who introduced the four of us as the boss man, the white woman, the young one and the rasta man: completely accurate descriptions but not necessarily ones I would have used!

I was blown away by the parents in all the schools and these meetings were a truly humbling experience. Most families in the rural areas of the province live a challenging life at subsistence level and yet they totally understand and are committed to the education of their children as the way forward for their community. We were welcomed with excitement and gratitude in all schools and the way this was expressed was through food!

(There are many photos to this post but unfortunately they will have to wait for a better internet connection, it cost me K20 to upload one!)

Hek na solda skru na lek!

North Goroka Primary School (no teacher today!)

Het na solda skru na lek, skru na lek

Het na solda skru na lek, skru na lek na

Ai nay au na nus na maus

Het na solda skru na lek, skru na lek

Guess the rhyme!

I have now had my first experience of reading to children (200 of them!) at Buk bilong pikinini (Children’s books) a successful NGO in PNG that works with pre-school children and their parents on early/basic literacy. It is a superb organisation mainly run by local people and entirely dependent on donations which appear to be forthcoming from local foreign businesses wanting to do their social/cultural bit. They have a lending library of children’s books and the librarians read to the children and teach them rhymes as well as holding basic literacy classes for parents. The libraries in Port Moresby are generally set up on the outskirts of town in the settlement areas and serve a large community who otherwise would have no access to books.

I've also had my first experience of PNG elementary and primary schools. The demonstration schools at PNGEI; named as such because they are used by the Institute for demonstration lessons observed by teacher training students.

After discussion with the Head Teacher of the Elementary school the first thing that hits me is that teachers progress through good classroom practice being recognised by inspectors. This includes progressing to Head Teacher which can only be done by being recognised externally as an excellent classroom practitioner. The Head Teacher in this elementary school still had a year 2 class of 60 children. The Head Teacher cannot choose the staff they want for their school, when a vacancy arises a new teacher is sent by the teacher education division and by the same token a teacher cannot apply for a promotion they must be seen by an inspector and recommended. This is a problem as there are very few inspectors and schools are not inspected very often therefore progression is difficult.

It appears that the situation is bagarup! Student teachers can’t get qualified and existing teachers can’t progress due to an unmanageable monitoring and evaluation system.

In the meantime at PNGEI I continue to try and find niches where I can try to make a difference. Other volunteers on the Language Support Programme have developed an English diagnostic test which I have adapted a little for our residential elementary students. It is based on the year 6 SATs tests for reading, spelling and writing.

Implementing the tests in itself proved to be a challenge! Language classes are from 8:00 – 10:00 a.m. The bus usually collects me from my flat at about 7:50. It is a 10 minute journey so I will be late. No problem because the other language lecturer lives on campus so she will be there to entertain the class until I get there. The first day Eddy our driver is later than usual and I get to work at 8:15. I go straight to the classes (two of us are covering 3 classes). The students are all there busy working but the other lecturer is nowhere to be seen. I find out she never arrives before 8:40 because she waits for the school bus to pick her son up and take him to school. She hadn't mentioned this before. As I have to go between 3 classes to get them started we only get through the reading comprehension test in a two hour session.

The next day I am prepared for an 8:30 start and with two of us we should be able to get through spelling and writing. Wrong again. Eddy has been drinking all night and so his bus keys have been taken from him and he’s been ordered to sleep it off (we finally discover this at the end of the day after hearing many other explanations, PNG nationals do not like to be the bearers of bad news!). Therefore we were not collected until I rang a colleague to see if anyone was collecting us. I arrive at work at 9:00 a.m. We manage to get through the writing test; the spelling will have to wait for another day!

Just a small example of how something that appears so simple can so easily prove otherwise!

Onward and upward, hey ho!