This presentation features the instructional design of a blended learning online course on formative assessment developed at the request of the Philippine Department of Education (DepEd), under the USAID/Philippines All Children Reading task order. In 2020, DepEd, through the National Educators Academy of the Philippines (NEAP), issued a policy aimed at strengthening the quality of TPD. The policy calls for several transformations, including the use of a wider range of learning modalities, such as job-based learning and teacher communities of practice; the adoption of a wider range of delivery platforms, such as online and blended learning; and the immediate application of TPD lessons in classrooms. The adoption of the policy has been slow and there are few exemplars of approved courses that meet these requirements. The challenge was to design a learning experience for teachers that not only exemplified these requirements but was also flexible enough to adapt to the myriad school contexts in the Philippines and was ready to be taken to scale by regional DepEd offices―without donor support―before the closeout of USAID funding for this activity.

This report describes findings and lessons learned from an online teacher training course in the Philippines. "Becoming a Learning Detective" is a 5-day online course that focuses on the design and use of formative assessment to improve literacy and numeracy outcomes in Kindergarten to Grade 3 (K–3) classrooms. The emphasis is on classroom-based assessment strategies that are embedded within daily teaching and learning experiences, involving an active partnership between teacher and students. The course brings together asynchronous and synchronous elements, as well as whole group, small group, and individual learning experiences. The course was implemented for the first time among a small cohort of participants across 17 regions in the Philippines. Findings and recommendations of this initial training are being applied toward strengthening the course prior to offering it at a larger scale in the Philippines.

Access to books is key to learning to read and sustaining a love of reading. Yet many low- and middle-income countries struggle to provide their students with reading materials of sufficient quality and quantity. In this paper, we seek to capture the practices RTI has developed and refined since 2008, particularly in response to the challenges inherent in contexts with high linguistic diversity and low operational capacity for producing and distributing instructional materials. These practices constitute our approach to developing and producing instructional materials for early grade literacy. We also touch upon effective planning for printing and distribution procurement, but we do not consider the printing and distribution processes in depth in this paper. We expect this volume will be useful for donors, policymakers, and practitioners interested in improving access to cost-effective, high-quality teaching and learning materials for the early grades.

This concept paper is targeted at Ministries of Education in developing countries, without an existing policy for Open Educational Resources (OERs), that are considering open licensing of early reading materials developed, in whole or in part, with USAID funding. The purpose of the paper is to: a) provide further background on the rationale for open licensing; b) explain what open licensing is and how Creative Commons licenses operate; and c) answer ministries’ most pressing questions about the implications of open licensing.

This is Part 4 of a four-part comprehensive evaluation of the public textbook procurement system in Morocco. This final section of the Strengthening the Textbook Production Chain in Morocco series addresses the issue of how to ensure a long-term, sustainable system of textbook financing for all students in government schools. It also explores options available to the Ministry of Education of Morocco, based on examples from countries that have responded to the same challenges.

This is Part 3 of a four-part comprehensive evaluation of the public textbook procurement system in Morocco. It is an overview of the challenges and opportunities of school-based digital teaching and learning, intended to provide a framework for policymakers in Morocco who are considering further investments in information and communication technology (ICT) for learning in government schools. Specifically, it addresses the area of digital textbooks. The overview poses questions that policymakers should ask and provides examples of how other countries have responded to such questions.

This is Part 2 of a four-part comprehensive evaluation of the public textbook procurement system in Morocco. It documents the Ministry of Education's textbook procurement system processes and presents the results of a survey of supplemental early reading materials in Arabic available in the Moroccan market. It also offers recommendations on how to increase the use of supplemental reading materials in the classroom.

This document focuses on the instructional materials for early reading in Hausa developed under Nigeria RARA. It documents the process through which the materials were conceptualized. The intention is to provide guidance to similar projects implemented by donors, ministries of education, non-government organizations (NGOs), and private publishers. The lessons documented are most applicable in contexts in which existing materials do not adequately support early reading instruction or are very scarce. While Nigeria RARA materials are exemplars of a research-based approach to materials development, they are pilot versions. Similar initiatives are encouraged to build upon this model and make improvements of their own.

Over the past decade, RTI International has pursued the goal of quality, inclusive, differentiated early grade literacy instruction in nearly 30 early grade reading or early grade literacy programs in low- and middle-income (LMI) countries. Across our diverse portfolio, we have supported Ministries of Education (Ministries) in diverse contexts in their development and implementation of research-based early grade literacy programs and have learned important lessons based on our experience working with Ministries to design, develop, and implement early grade literacy programs. This paper describes the core elements that we have found to improve early grade literacy instruction and learner outcomes: the approach to teaching (Teach), the availability of quality, relevant learner materials (Text), the effective use of instructional time (Time), the use of formative assessment to guide instruction (Test), and provision of instruction in the most effective language (Tongue). This paper focuses on the acquisition of literacy in alphabetic and alphasyllabic languages in the early primary years (most typically, academic levels 1 through 3) and the kinds of exposures, instruction, and support learners need to become fully literate. These are the elements of a literacy program that can be taught, that should be present in teaching and learning materials and in teacher trainings, and that relate specifically to what happens in a classroom.

information on the available supply of early grade reading (EGR) materials. The approach included the development of a questionnaire and a protocol for data collection. The survey results will serve primarily to inform the Global Reading Repository by providing a detailed description of the current supply of EGR materials in African languages. This document specifically summarizes the findings from Early Grade Reading Materials Survey conducted in Zambia. (Part of the DERP program).