May 24, 2019

Right now TIEs is running a fundraiser to continue our intercultural co-teaching programs, but how can you know if your money is being put to good use? Every year, TIEs conducts exit interviews with our participating teachers. Based on these interviews, we’ve been able to assess our top 5 impacts since we started our Nepal program in 2016:

1. THE STATION METHOD

In 2017, American participant Monica introduced a teaching method in Nepal that became the new hot new thing: the Station Method. Divide the class into multiple groups and give each group a different task (i.e. writing, drawing, speaking, etc.). The groups rotate from one station to the next. It’s a great way to engage multiple learning styles. In a 2018 interview, Nepali teacher Subhadra said she still used this method every day, and that she even taught it to other teachers at the school.

2. CURRICULUM MASH-UP

In 2018, our partner school wanted to upgrade their English language curriculum, so TIEs assembled a team of Nepali and American educators to meet regularly for 2 weeks. We pulled items from Nepal’s Department of Education and the Common Core Standards from the USA. The end result: a mash-up that combines the best of both worlds. It’s a unique list of standards for grades K-8 that our partner school can use to guide it’s English language program. The Nepali school principal, Abha, said that the school would continue this work by doing the same thing with their other subjects.

3. OPEN-DOOR POLICY

In 2017, American teacher Amy and Nepali principal Abha collaborated on a project called “Observe Me”. The idea was to foster an open-door culture at the school. Teachers visited each other’s classrooms during their off periods, observed each other teaching, and learned about each other’s methods. In 2018, Abha said that they still used this policy at the school: 4 times a year, each teacher has an opportunity to observe another teacher (often someone who teaches a different subject) to gain new methods and perspectives.

4. KWL CHARTS

Remember these from when you were in school? Before a lesson, you write what you know (K) and what you want to know (W) about the topic. After the lesson, you write what you learned (L). TIEs introduced this method to our partner school in a 2017 workshop. In our 2018 interviews, multiple Nepali teachers reported still using these. One teacher, Teena, said if you visit her class, you can see her KWL chart on the wall!

5. MORE EFFICIENT PLANNING

Teachers around the world complain that they don’t get enough time to plan their lessons. In 2018, TIEs introduced a method of planning in which you write out an entire week of lessons at one time. The Nepali staff had been writing lesson plans on a daily basis, which can be very time-consuming. In our 2018 interviews, multiple Nepali teachers reported that they would switch to the week-long planning method.

We’re excited to see what new ideas our TIEs participants will come up next, but we need your help! Visit StartSomeGood.com/ties2019 between now and June 12th to support our 2019 fundraising campaign. Your support enables us to continue the work that we do.

Thanks for being a part of the TIEs community!