The Teacher Development Programme

The orientation and training of teachers to implement the new Outcomes-Based Curriculum is widely acknowledged to have been entirely ineffective, leaving them struggling through a lack of experience, inadequate training and often with a poor knowledge of their subjects. The Teacher Development Programme (TDP) was established by ASSET to provide the knowledge, skills, values and attitudes that are needed to implement Outcomes-Based Education effectively and to give educators the time and space to interpret the new curriculum in a practical way. The programme did this through deepening subject knowledge and developing pedagogical skills.

All courses designed to:

• help educators cope with changes in the new curriculum
• enhance depth and breadth of knowledge
• enhance teaching and learning skills
• build on the strengths of educators and increase confidence.

In 2004 99 teachers attended courses from 18 primary schools and 11 secondary schools. ASSET has reached an agreement with the Cape Technikon and the University of the Western Cape that the TDP Mathematics and Language courses will be recognised as partial accreditation for the Advanced Certificate of Education.

The TDP courses were very enlightening and went a long way towards demystifying the whole concept of Outcomes-Based Education (OBE)... the onus is now on me to use some creativity, coupled with the various stages of learner development to make Maths both challenging and enjoyable... Comment on Maths teacher development sessions.