The Kenyan government requested Innovam to advise 11 local vocational schools and to provide the accompanying training for its teachers. The goal was to generally improve the quality of classes and the attained learning results for the vocational subjects. Besides the problems associated with laying out the classrooms that were to be used, there was also a need for training the teachers themselves, with a focus on the didactic skills and substantive technical knowledge.
How
In formulating its advice for the set-up of the classrooms to be used, Innovam took good stock of the local possibilities and impossibilities. The final advice was focused on the objective that besides proper practical education, there would also be a possibility to participate in the associated examinations. Innovam sent its experienced practical trainers to Kenya where the most feasible approach was studied and discussed locally. Innovam subsequently welcomed a delegation of Kenyan teachers to the Netherlands and gave them intensive training. This group of teachers formed the project’s leaders and played an important part in the later knowledge transfer to the other teachers in Kenya. After this intensive training period in the Netherlands, the Innovam trainer coached these teachers on the job for another year to ensure the sustainability of the implemented improvements.
The result
The practical classrooms of the 11 schools involved have been rearranged. The teachers use the latest and proven techniques. Local conditions in Kenya have also been taken into account. The level of knowledge and skills of the teachers has also been improved and brought up to date based on the applicable state of the art. The group of teachers who received training from Innovam in the Netherlands have furthermore played an important part in the further distribution and implementation of changes for similar schools in Kenya.
