World Education is supporting remote professional development activities for teachers and school directors via WhatsApp throughout the state of emergency declared in Mozambique. Working as a partner with Creative Associates on the USAID | Mozambique “Vamos Ler! (Let’s Read!)” project, the program has raised awareness of the importance of increased support to at-home reading activities in ongoing learning prior to school closures. A digital platform that enables social distancing was the only way to continue engaging teachers and building their capacity to support the bilingual education program when schools eventually re-open. Vamos Ler! has since adapted existing program professional development materials for sharing via WhatsApp in the form of video, audio, and discussion materials, which are introduced biweekly. As the lead on the M&E component, World Education is working to ensure that teachers receive airtime, that pre- and post-tests are conducted with participants, and the results analyzed and presented so that the program can better identify areas for improving content delivery and engagement.
While COVID-19 has proved to be a significant ongoing challenge for education in Mozambique, the program continues to improve efforts to use technology and data to engage teachers, school directors, and ministry officials. In addition to building communities of practice for educators, these platforms have also allowed for conducting quick surveys to gather feedback on professional development approaches. These recommendations can be then immediately incorporated into the cycle, which delivers new content every two weeks.
