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A comprehensive approach to MTB-MLE: Aligning in-service and pre-service efforts

Mon, April 18, 6:00 to 7:30am CDT (6:00 to 7:30am CDT), Pajamas Sessions, VR 123

Group Submission Type: Formal Panel Session

Proposal

The USAID-funded Advancing Basic Education project (ABC+) supports innovative and research-based approaches to enhance instruction and learning outcomes in kindergarten to grade 3 in the Philippines. Some of the ABC+’s specific goals are to improve early literacy instructional practices, support the better transition of reading ability to Filipino and English, and improve social and emotional learning. To achieve these goals, ABC+ is implementing an integrated approach geared to enhance instruction and learning delivery. This approach includes investments in teacher professional development, support in early grade reading, and strengthening the capacity of teacher training institutions to deliver the curricula for pre-service education. The assumption is that teachers will be more effective in supporting MTB-MLE literacy instruction in the early grades if they master and apply effective instructional practices. In addition, higher education institutions will be better equipped to prepare pre-service teachers for early grades instruction and pilot instructional innovations.
The members of this panel will discuss the practices implemented to address the project’s goals, specifically those related to MTB-MLE, and how the ABC+ partners collaborated to align in-service and pre-service efforts to ensure a cohesive message for teachers-to-be and in-service teachers. In the last decade, we have seen a continuous effort to assess literacy levels worldwide, followed by development projects tasked to improve early grade reading by investing in basic education. Although most of the current USAID-funding for EGR programs focus on in-service teacher training and materials development (i.e., reading books, textbooks, teacher’s guides, etc.), there is a growing trend to integrate pre-service teacher development. From a development perspective, the impact of providing support for capacity building at the higher education level may seem low compared to providing in-service teacher training to thousands of teachers within a project’s life. However, the long-term impact of building the capacity of pre-service teacher training institutions to support professional development for a small number of pre-service teachers may be significant. Funding agencies have recognized that engaging teacher educators in best practices research, building their knowledge, skills, and attitudes to prepare better future basic education teachers may yield more sustainable results.
Researchers have acknowledged the importance of aligning pre-service and in-service education and training. Tekir and Akar (2019) stated that theory-laden pre-service education, disconnected from teachers’ daily practices, and potentially misaligned to current materials, policies, and standards might contribute to teachers’ low competence levels. Hardman et al. (2011) argued that programs should emphasize bringing together pre-service and in-service education and training to ensure coherence, consistency, and quality of training so that all children have access to teachers with minimal competencies. A suggested consideration is to align pre-service teacher education with professional standards for teachers and link the pre-service curricular content to the content of ongoing in-service training (Hardman et al., 2011; USAID, 2011). Reducing the conflicts between the pre-service training curriculum and school practices may simplify the transition from pre-service to in-service teacher and promote children’s academic success.

The advantage of Mother Tongue Based-Multilingual Education (MTB-MLE) is that children can learn skills (e.g., reading for comprehension) and concepts (e.g., the water cycle) in a familiar language. In a multilingual environment, teachers can provide a language-rich classroom that supports the development of literacy skills across languages, including listening, oral language and speaking, reading, and writing. However, the process of using Mother Tongue (MT) for instruction can be challenging for several reasons, such as (1) Children enter school with varying levels of linguistic and other related language competencies/skills in the language spoken in the home and community (the MT); (2) Within a language, there can be different dialects and writing systems; (3) The language of instruction (LOI) may not be the pupil’s MT and the pupil may have limited to no understanding in the LOI. (4) Teachers vary in their level of knowledge and fluency in speaking the MT and/or the LOI. (5) Within one classroom, pupils may speak different languages (e.g., Bikol, Hiligaynon, English, etc.) and (5) The availability of materials and resources in the MT may be limited. In the context of a multilingual educational environment and to support effective instruction of foundational skills at the primary education level, pre-service and in-service curricular alignment is critical.

The first panel will discuss how the in-service intervention team addressed the development of materials and capacity building in early literacy skills instructional strategies, focusing on the integration of MTB-MLE in the Philippines. The second panelist will talk about Florida State University’s role in supporting pre-service training institutions to respond to the policy implemented in the Philippines that requires teaching mother tongue (MT) as a subject and as the medium of instruction for kindergarten through Grade 3 (Bercasio et al., 2015). The third presentation will focus on how aligning pre-service modules with concurrent in-service teacher training and incorporating relevant primary learning materials affected the learning outcomes, experiences, and attitudes of pre-service students attending the two teacher education institutions that ABC+ is supporting.
The session will explore several cross-cutting questions: What are the critical challenges in aligning pre-service and in-service education and training, specifically that related to MTB-MLE? How were these challenges compounded by the increased use of virtual modalities for implementation? What benefits are arising as a result of the alignment efforts? These questions are relevant to a broad scope of CIES participants, who share the common goal of advancing knowledge about teaching and learning and spreading good instructional practices. The expected contribution is to promote an educational environment where orbits are aligned and children from diverse backgrounds, linguistic included, can learn.

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