The Research for Effective Education Programming – Africa (REEP–A) Task Order, awarded in September 2016, is a five-year project within the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Africa Bureau. The primary objective of REEP–A is to generate and effectively disseminate Africa regional and country-specific education data, analysis, and research to inform the prioritization of needs and education investment decisions. One research focus under REEP–A is to explore how teachers’ language proficiency and literacy in the language of instruction (LOI) influence students’ learning outcomes. It is hypothesized that the teachers’ level of language proficiency and literacy in the LOI can either facilitate student learning, if high; or impede learning, if low. However, limited data are available on how teacher language and literacy skill levels precisely relate to student outcomes. Exploring this relationship requires having a valid and reliable tool to measure teachers’ language and literacy skills. USAID therefore commissioned the development of the Teacher Language and Literacy Assessment (TLLA) to assess teachers’ language proficiency and literacy in the required LOI. The TLLA, adaptable to any language, consists of subtasks assessing speaking, listening, reading, and writing, as well as vocabulary and grammar, in the language(s) used for teaching and learning at the primary school level in a given context. It is envisioned that policymakers, researchers, and other education stakeholders can use the TLLA to collect data on teachers’ linguistic assets and gaps in the languages that their role requires them to use. These data could be useful for identifying factors contributing to student learning outcomes, informing teacher training and professional development needs, designing teacher deployment policies, and evaluating the impact of interventions aimed at improving teachers’ or students’ language and literacy skills. The aim of this report is to present the new tool and disseminate the initial findings around its technical adequacy. The international community has directed considerable effort to assessing and understanding the impact of language on students’ literacy and language skills, and the TLLA is a complementary tool that shows promise for understanding teachers’ language assets and needs.

The purpose of this session is to articulate a research framework that centers teachers’ voices when trying to understand how teachers use curriculum materials in the classroom. Operating in the context of highly structured lesson plans, the approach identifies ways in which teachers exercise their professional discretion to modify the lesson and frames conversations to elaborate the motivations driving the teachers’ choices. The approach has been iteratively refined across three studies; taken together, the studies provide evidence for the value of listening to teachers and being responsive to their voices during implementation. The research framework uses the lens of modifications, or changes to the intended lesson plan implemented within one class period. Modifications can be large or small, additive or subtractive. For example, in a lesson with a section for independent student practice, a large modification might be skipping the practice section entirely. Or, during a lesson focused on blending of initial sounds using 3 example words, a small modification might be extending the exercise by adding extra words. Researchers observe the lesson, noting any modifications; after the lesson, the researchers select some of the modifications and ask the teachers why they made the choices they did. Analyses of teachers’ explanations highlight the importance of understanding why teachers make the choices they do. For example, a teacher who skipped the independent practice section because they don’t think their students are ready to do the skill on their own suggests that the teacher is exercising agency and using her knowledge of her students to inform her decision-making. Insights such as this one can guide decisions on projects. It may be that while the intention of the teacher was guided by knowledge of students, the end result is not desirable from the project’s point of view. Understanding why the teacher made this choice provides implementers with better and targeted ways to address choices that impact the overall goals of the project. In this presentation, we draw on data from an exploratory case study to understand use of new mathematics materials in Liberia, a more in-depth case conducted in Malawi on teacher use of reading materials, and finally, a systematic study examining how reading teachers use materials across four Sub-Saharan African countries. We use each case to highlight both an aspect of the research framework and instances of modifications to project implementation driven by teachers’ voices. By focusing on teacher voices, we disrupt the deficit notion that teachers are “resistant” to change, or do not “understand” new pedagogies. Instead, we aim to value teacher voices and integrate their insight into implementation programs. By doing this, we not only raise the likelihood of successful use of new materials and pedagogies, but we also develop more responsive pedagogy that better matches existing classroom cultures.

This tool kit is a reference guide. It includes information on the following: • Ideas to start a remedial program, • Assessment guidelines and tools, and • Suggested remedial activities.

This manual will support the pedagogical leaders to acquire coaching competences mainly focusing on listening skills, questioning techniques, giving technical advice and constructive feedback.

Primary 4 Teacher's Guide Luganda

Primary 3 Teacher's Guide Luganda

Primary 2 Teacher's Guide Luganda

Primary 1 Teacher's Guide - Luganda

In March 2020, the government of Uganda closed all schools and other educational institutions to mitigate the wide spread of COVID-19. This exposed significant risk especially to rural areas where there is limited access to reading materials or virtual learning platforms to continue learning. Ministry of Education and Sports’ (MoES) Preparedness and Response Plan for COVID-19 (April 2020) outlined measures of continuing learning through radio, take home packages and digital learning. MoES also decided to provide psychosocial support to minimize the adverse effects of COVID-19 on pupils, teachers and the education system at large, through support from USAID/Uganda Literacy Achievement and Retention Activity (LARA).The project planned to support MoES to enhance capacity of Primary Teachers college tutors and administrators to cascade psychosocial support training to head teachers and teachers in 43 districts. The objective of the training was to i) equip participants with knowledge and skills on psychosocial support, ii) identify psychosocial needs and discuss appropriate interventions and iii) apply psychosocial support intervention skills. The Facilitator guide provides information which will help reduce COVID-19 related stress, anxiety and prepare teachers for school reopening. In addition, teachers will be able to protect and provide counselling to pupils.

There are two sets of monitoring and support supervision (MSS) tools that the project has been using throughout the implementation period. These are; (i) the Lesson Observation Tools; and (ii) the Head teacher/CCT Coaching Tool. The lesson observation tools are used by the support supervision actors (e.g., school inspectors, CCTs, head teachers and project staff) during support supervision visits to schools. Specifically, the tools gather monitoring data on the uptake of EGR instructional methods by teachers to understand what teachers are doing well and areas where they need support. LARA developed a lesson observation tool for every grade (P1 – P4). Each tool has a section to assess the teacher’s preparedness for the lesson they are going to teach; a check list to assess the teacher’s instructional practices during the lesson; and the post observation section where the support supervision actor summarizes what the teacher did well and areas that the teacher needs to improve. The lesson observation tool for each grade is accompanied by a learner check which is administered to a sample of 4-6 learners per grade. The purpose of a learner check is to quickly show the classroom teacher and or head teacher the reading abilities of the learners present in the observed EGR lesson. The learner checks are designed from the content of the previous weeks and the teacher is able to gauge and determine the areas to prioritize when carrying out revision or remedial sessions. The Head teacher/CCT Coaching Tool is used by the zonal head teachers and CCTs to support head teachers so that they can in turn effectively support teachers in their schools. The zonal head teachers and CCTs observe and support head teachers to provide effective instructional support to teachers. The tool has a pre-observation section which assesses how the head teacher is prepared to support the teacher in class; a lesson observation section used by the zonal head teachers and CCTs to evaluate the actions of the head teacher while in the class observing the lesson; and post observation section to appraise how the head teacher conducts the post observation discussion with the teacher.