VVOB in partnership with the Ministry of Education, through Rwanda Basic Education Board (REB), the University of Rwanda College of Education (UR-CE), and the National Examination and School Inspection Authority (NESA) is implementing Learning through Assessment and Data (LEAD) - Umusingi w’uburezi bunoze programme from 2022 to 2026.
Building on the results of VVOB’s Leading Teaching and Learning Together (LTLT) programme implemented from 2017 to 2021, the LEAD programme supports newly assigned school leaders and strengthen the use of data in school leadership to address repetition, drop-out, and equity gaps in learning outcomes while being supported by sector and district officials.
Through LEAD programme, a continuous professional development (CPD) Diploma programme in Effective School Leadership designed with emphasis on effective use of data will be delivered to approximately 800 school leaders. At the same time, a CPD Certificate programme in Educational Mentorship and Coaching programme will be offered to 650 school-based mentors to equip them with effective tools and skills to facilitate professional development activities in schools. Additionally, about 160 sector and district education officials will also be trained in Educational Mentorship and Coaching, to effectively coach and support school leaders in their respective sectors and districts.
The two CPD programmes will be offered in four cohorts starting from 30th April 2023, and will be running in blended learning mode: combining self-directed e-learning with active in-person sessions.
Onboarding participants for online learning
To prepare participants for blended learning, they first participate in a blended learning onboarding course to acquire digital literacy skills necessary for blended learning, and become familiar with the online learning environment (Moodle Learning Management System or LMS) which they will use to participate in the online CPD courses.
The training covers the following sections:
- Basic hardware and software
- Blended learning orientation
- Learning online on Moodle
- Microsoft Word
- Microsoft Excel
- Microsoft PowerPoint
- Introduction to Internet
Participants in the first cohort (240 school-based mentors and over 250 school leaders) from 10 districts have been attending the onboarding course through face-to-face and online sessions since March 2023.
“I can now create an email address on my own” – Frederic
Frederic Ndahiriwe leads Kabira Primary School in Burera district since last year. When he attended the blended learning onboarding training in March 2023, he realised that he was lacking a lot as far as computer literacy is concerned.
“I realised the need for an email address for the first time in 2021 when I was applying for a job. And I had to ask someone else to create it for me. In addition, I would look for help whenever I needed to send an email or download an email attachment. I didn’t know how to create a table nor a graph in Excel! I had never used PowerPoint, but I can now prepare a nice presentation using PowerPoint! I now use my email address. I know how to create an email address and learnt how to reset a password when needed. I can search teaching resources on internet and can follow an online training, just to name a few!”
From pen and chalk to keyboard!
Ellen White Nyirahakizimana (pictured: in orange shirt) is a teacher at Ecole Primaire Islamique in Rwamagana district. She completed two face-to-face sessions and participated in online activities of the onboarding course. She explains how the training has improved her computer skills: “I rarely used a computer. As a teacher, my day-to-day tools have been a pen and chalk. The only thing I would do on a computer is to fill in data such as students’ marks in Excel templates designed by my colleagues. I would struggle inserting cells, rows or deleting them! I liked the training and I found it very useful. My computer literacy skills have greatly improved due to this training. I will be able to follow blended professional development programmes confidently,” Ms Nyirahakizimana said.
Solution to school leaders’ issues
Anitha Dusabe has been the headteacher of G.S Saint Kizito Kizenga, a Nine Year Basic Education (9BYE) school in Gisagara district, for one year now. Before becoming headteacher, Ms Dusabe was a primary school teacher for nine years. She had limited skills in using a computer and internet, but she started feeling the need to improve her computer skills when she became headteacher. “I realised that most of the work of headteachers is done on a computer”, she said.
Ms Dusabe had created an email address with the help of a colleague in 2018, but she did not know how to use it until she attended this onboarding training.
“I would share my username and password with one of the teachers to login to my email. I knew the teacher would access some confidential documents including exams, but I had no choice! I can’t describe how this training was more than a solution to me! I can now use my email address on my own and do many more things on my computer, as a result of the training”.
The LEAD programme will be implemented in 650 primary schools in all 30 districts of Rwanda.
Through the LEAD programme, VVOB together with partners will:
- Deliver the continuous professional development (CPD) diploma in Effective School Leadership for newly recruited school leaders
- Deliver the CPD certificate for school-based mentors, sector education inspectors, district education officials in Educational Mentorship and Coaching
- Institutionalise CPD programmes and professional learning communities (PLC) through school leadership professional development policies
- Establish planning, monitoring, and evaluation mechanisms for delivery of CPD programmes at central, district and sector levels
Learn more about LEAD programme.
Learn more about the achievements and impact of our previous programme called Leading, Learning and Teaching Together (LTLT), implemented from 2017 to 2022. The LTLT programme aimed to strengthen the competences of key actors in education through improved continuous professional development (CPD) support systems. This programme was implemented in partnership with the Rwanda Basic Education Board (REB) and the University of Rwanda College of Education (UR-CE), with support from the Mastercard Foundation’s Leaders in Teaching initiative, the Belgian Government and the ELMA foundation.
