It was a hot and dusty day in Thiaday, a rural town in Senegal, when the Missionary Educators (MEs) met for another training session at the PEPE-Dorcas unit. Excitedly, many came from different places to the meeting, which is always filled with long greetings expressing how important each individual is in this context.
In a festive atmosphere, the MEs were warmly welcomed to a devotional followed by breakfast. The challenge of this meeting was for the MEs to give a lesson on the predetermined area of knowledge. Everyone else participated attentively and took notes every step of the way. After the lesson, the ME conducted a self-assessment, followed by the national and regional coordinator leading the self- and peer-assessment session.
This training was another capacity building opportunity for the MEs to learn together, clarify doubts, learn new pedagogical practices, learn how to manage lessons and successfully fulfill their educational mission.
PEPE in Senegal has followed the guidelines of the national education inspectorate working with children in the form of explicit teaching. I admit that this is a new path, but our MEs have made great progress and we are already seeing positive results in terms of mastering this teaching structure.
This was not only a work trip, but also a moment of fraternity and encouragement, followed by a delicious lunch prepared by the PEPE Dorcas team.
Continuing this race for knowledge, we deepened the elaboration of the lesson plan using the structure of explicit teaching. Doubts were dispelled and so we concluded this period with practical group work culminating in the development of a lesson plan. Even the hot wind and tiredness after a whole week of work could not discourage the MEs, who completed this task excellently.
This training time was valuable and very encouraging for all of us, both participants and facilitators, as together we recognised our gaps and also celebrated our successes. And at the next training session in May 2024, we will be looking at the topic of Pedagogical Games and their use in the teaching-learning process. Join us on this journey!
Ricardo Santos – General Director of PEPE International
Translated by Victor Baptista
