USAID | Aprender a Ler (ApaL) Contract No. AID-656-C-12-00001
FY 2015
3rd Quarterly Progress Report: Apr-Jun 2015
Submitted by World Education, Inc.
July 30th, 2015 Contract No. AID-656-C-12-00001 FY 2015 Q3 Progress Report This publication was produced for review by the United States Agency for International DevelopmentPage | .1
Acronyms & Key Terms
ApaL USAID | Aprender a Ler (Learn to Read) APAL/IE USAID | Aprender a Ler Impact Evaluator AWP Annual Work Plan CLIN Contract Line Item Number COP Chief of Party DIPLAC Direcção de Planificação e Cooperação (Directorate for Planning and Cooperation) DNEP Direcção Nacional de Enseno Primario (National Directorate of Primary Education) DNFP Direcção Nacional de Formação de Professores (National Directorate for Teacher Training) DNQ Direcção Nacional de Qualidade (National Directorate for Quality) DPEC Direcção Provincial de Educação e Cultura (Provincial Directorate of Education and Culture) FY Fiscal Year ICP Institutional Capacity Plan (also Plano de Capacitação Institutional or PCI) IEG Impact Evaluation Group IFP Instituto de Formação de Professores (Teacher Training Institute) IGA Institutional Gap Analysis INDE Instituto Nacional de Desenvolvimento de Educação (Curriculum Development Institute) IR Intermediate Result LEI Local education institution LT Lead Trainer (selected Master Teacher or Pedagogical Director) LOC Letter of Commitment (in lieu of MOU agreements at provincial level) MEP Monitoring and Evaluation Plan MINEDH Ministry of Education PCG Provincial Coordination Group PD Pedagogical Director QR Quarterly Report RPG Reading Planning Group (located at district level) RRP Reading Reinforcement Program SD School Director SDEJT Serviço Distrital de Educação, Juventude e Tecnologia (District Education, Youth and Technical Services) SLP Scripted Lesson Plan SMT School Management Tool SOW Scope of Work STTA Short-Term Technical Support TLA Teaching and Learning Aid (for reading instruction) TOR Terms of Reference UP Universidade Pedagógica de Moçambique (Pedagogical University of Mozambique) USAID United States Agency for International Development WEI World Education Inc. ZIP Zonas de Influência Pedagógica (School Clusters)
Contract No. AID-656-C-12-00001 FY 2015 Q3 Progress Report Page | 2
TABLE OF CONTENTS
1. General Project Information...... 5 1.1 Project Duration: 3 years with additional Option Period ...... 5 1.2 Start Date: July 18, 2012 ...... 5 1.3 Life of project funding: $19,464,644.00 ...... 5 1.4 Geographic Focus: Nampula and Zambézia provinces ...... 5 2. Project Objectives ...... 5 Key Expected Results ...... 6 3. Summary of the Reporting Period ...... 6 3.1 Period Highlights ...... 6 3.2 Key Challenges this Quarter: ...... 8 3.3 Summary of STTA during this Quarter: ...... 9 4. Project Performance Indicators ...... 9 5. Activities this Quarter ...... 25 Task A: OVERALL PROJECT MANAGEMENT ...... 25 A.1: Project Management ...... 25 A.2: USAID Reporting ...... 26 A.3: Short-Term Technical Assistance ...... 26 TASK B: INSTITUTIONAL CAPACITY BUILDING ...... 27 B.1: Stakeholder Engagement ...... 27 B.2: Capacity Building Training ...... 30 B.3: Capacity Building Learning-by-doing ...... 33 B.4: Capacity Building Assessment ...... 34 TASK C: READING REINFORCEMENT PROGRAM (RRP) ...... 35 C.1: Develop and Implement Teacher Training and Coaching Model ...... 35 C.2: Increase Availability of Teaching and Learning Materials to Teachers and Students 39 C.3: Raise Awareness about the importance of Reading Instruction ...... 39 TASK D: SCHOOL DIRECTOR TRAINING & COACHING (SDTC) PROGRAM ...... 42 D.1: Develop and Implement School Director Training and Coaching Model ...... 44 TASK E: MONITORING & EVALUATION ...... 49 E.1: Impact & Evaluation ...... 49 6. Major Implementation Issue ...... 53 7. Key Activities Planned for Next Quarter ...... 53 8. Collaboration with Other Donor Projects ...... 57 9. Administrative Update ...... 57 10. Success Stories and Photos ...... 57 11. Financial Information ...... 57
Contract No. AID-656-C-12-00001 FY 2015 Q3 Progress Report Page | 3
List of Annexes: Annex A: FY15Q3 Quarterly Financial Report Annex B: Success Story: Vodacom M-Pesa Mobile Payment System Annex C: Success Story: Development of Leveled Books and Integrated Activities
Contract No. AID-656-C-12-00001 FY 2015 Q3 Progress Report Page | 4
FY 2015 3rd Quarterly Progress Report: Apr-Jun 2015 1. General Project Information
1.1 Project Duration: 3 years with additional Option Period
1.2 Start Date: July 18, 2012
1.3 Life of project funding: $19,464,644.00
1.4 Geographic Focus: Nampula and Zambézia provinces
2. Project Objectives
The overall goal of the USAID | Aprender a Ler (ApaL) – Learn to Read – project is to improve reading outcomes of students in grades 2 and 3 in over 1,000 urban and rural target schools in the Zambézia and Nampula provinces. The ultimate measure of project success is “more children reading” in Zambézia and Nampula, in keeping with the overall goal of the project and USAID’s Education Strategy.
To achieve this goal, USAID|ApaL provides key training, coaching, and technical assistance to improve the quality of basic education services, with a specific emphasis on improving early grade reading outcomes. Training and technical assistance will be limited to the provinces of Zambézia and Nampula.
Project goals are closely aligned with the efforts of the Mozambican authorities to improve quality of education as stated in the Strategic Plan for Education 2012-2016. One of the key goals, as indicated in the contract and accompanying documents, is to build the capacity of Local Education Institutions (LEI) to implement and manage USAID|ApaL activities. A key indicator of project sustainability will be the ability of these local stakeholders to assume responsibility for activities. USAID|ApaL will work towards full handover of responsibility based on the demonstrated ability of LEIs to take this on. The project is, therefore, implemented using participatory and learning-by-doing approaches, based on WEI’s extensive experience, to strengthen the technical and organizational skills of LEIs in line with established structures and processes to ensure the sustainability. Handover will occur assuming capacity building, as planned, is successful and local education institutions demonstrate that they are able to deliver and manage the activities per USAID regulations.
Contract No. AID-656-C-12-00001 FY 2015 Q3 Progress Report Page | 5
Key Expected Results Project activities will focus on two Intermediate Results (IRs):
IR1. Improved QUALITY of reading instruction in grades 2-3 in targeted schools Sub IR 1.1: Improved In-Service Teacher Training & Coaching Sub IR 1.2: Increased Availability of Learning Materials for Students & Teachers in Grades 2-3
IR2. Increased QUANTITY of reading instruction in grades 2-3 in targeted schools Sub IR 2.1: Strengthened School Management
To achieve these goals, USAID|ApaL will: • Train over 2,700 teachers in early grade reading instruction and continuous learning assessment in reading and over 590 school directors in school management to increase classroom reading time; • Develop high-quality reading and instructional materials for students and teachers; and • Develop and adapt summative and formative assessment instruments to measure improvements in reading ability, instruction quality, and school management skills.
3. Summary of the Reporting Period 3.1 Period Highlights Dia de Leitura: On April 18th of this quarter, all 538 schools organized Dia de Leitura events following the successful model established last year. In each province, one school was selected to organize an even bigger event where the project invited guests from the central government, provincial leaders, and partners in education and development work. Directors of IFP, SDEJT, DPEC, and the Pedagogical University (UP) were also invited to participate as well as national and provincial media, newspaper, TV, and radio. This year the project organized the events so that trainers from UP, IFP, expert facilitators, project staff, and SDEJT staff could also visit other schools further into the district. In Nampula province, 1 Student from EPC Mulio in Murrupula during reading a total of 59 schools had been visited. This included competition. 28 schools in Nampula City, 16 in Monapo, and 15 in Murrupula. During each of these visits, the visiting person acted as a representative of the project. They participated in the opening ceremony with a speech and helped out during the distribution of the prizes. The provincial event in Murrupula was attended by the director of DNFP, Sr. Feliciano Mahalambe and the director of INDE, Samaria Tovela. Dana Beegun and Antonio Francisco of USAID were also present.
Contract No. AID-656-C-12-00001 FY 2015 Q3 Progress Report Page | 6
Training of Trainers workshop: In May of this quarter, a second round of TOT workshops were held to prepare a cohort Early Grade Reading and School Management trainers. A total of 109 trainers were trained from IFPs, UP, and schools from last year. In effort to improve the sustainability of program interventions, USAID|ApaL is identifying from among the group of trainers as well as from SDEJT, those who have demonstrated the most skill and commitment in order to give them a larger role in the trainings. As the program expands the need for quality supervision in the districts becomes greater. Rather than hiring additional technical staff, the project is identifying those most capable of conducting quality supervision and giving them additional one- on-one training and a greater role during TOT workshops and district-level trainings. This approach was started this quarter and 2 Reading Coach from last year's cohort taking a leadership role during the TOT training in Nampula. will be expanded upon in the next quarter.
Training of Reading Coaches and Lead Trainers: A second round of trainings for reading coaches and lead trainers took place from May 11 to May 16 in all six program districts. Led by a pool of expert trainers from IFP, UP, and experienced Reading coaches from last year, a total of 643 reading coaches and 231 lead trainers were trained.
As in the January training, general sessions were conducted in a big group while practice and feedback sessions were organized in smaller groups of around 20 reading coaches. An important feature of this training was the inclusion of the sharing and feedback sessions on different activities that coaches had implemented in the previous months. In smaller groups, successes and challenges were presented and discussed with support from the trainers. Several reading coaches had recorded photos and videos of the Dia de Leitura event in their schools and presented them to the others. The feedback from this event seemed to be unanimously positive and participation from parents and students was lauded. Many schools and local authorities had contributed with prizes and other necessary resources.
School Director and ZIP Coordinator Trainings: A second round of trainings for School Directors and ZIP Coordinators were organized May 11 to 15 in all six program districts. The training was designed to address challenges encountered during three months (February- April) of practice and reinforce the five practices of effective school directors (school leadership, communication skills, giving and receiving feedback using school management tools, and building community participation in education), through providing SDs with the knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSAs) to accomplish their mission of maximizing instructional time and 3SDEJT technical officer supporting participants during the ZIP Coordinator training in May.
Contract No. AID-656-C-12-00001 FY 2015 Q3 Progress Report Page | 7
improving the quality of reading. The SD training was related to: time management (as one of the important skills to be an effective school manager), communication skills (introduction of 5 routines, delegation of tasks, using data for decision-making), problem solving, practicing feedback, gender equitable teaching practices, and building community involvement. The ZIP Coordinator training sessions are structured around three key areas: 1) coaching skills such as giving constructive feedback and supporting SDs to solve challenges in their schools; 2) facilitation of INSET sessions; and 3) reinforcement of the five practices of effective school directors (school leadership, communication skills, giving and receiving feedback using school management tools, and building community participation in education). In total 528 school directors and 100 ZIP Coordinators were trained.
Reading and School Management INSET: A total of five reading and three school management INSET sessions were held this quarter. Attendance remains high for both at over 80%. SDEJT and USAID|ApaL staff members conduct supervision and provide support in all districts. Following the INSET, DOs and SDEJT officers conducting supervision hold a meeting in the district to review successes and challenges and discuss issues requiring follow up.
Rapid School Assessment and results presentations: Rapid School Oral Reading Fluency Assessments were carried out in all districts this quarter. USAID|ApaL trained 3rd Grade words/min SDEJT and DPEC officers to plan, collect 10.0 data in schools, clean, analyze, and present
results. Two officers from MINEDH 8.0 7.7 participated in the supervision of the data 6.0 7.2 collection efforts. This was the first time that SDEJT officers were trained to 4.0 5.0
conduct data cleaning and analysis. This WORDS/MIN 4.0 2.0 effort was highly successful with each district presenting their own results to the 0.0 remaining district staff and ZIP Zambezia Nampula Coordinators. SDEJT officers also March June presented the results at the provincial level to DPEC. Gains were seen in nearly 4 Oral reading fluency for 3rd grade for both rounds of Rapid all indicators and show greater progress Assessment – improvements were seen in both provinces. than compared to a similar time last year.
3.2 Key Challenges this Quarter:
Addressing Quantity of Instruction: RSA data showed increases in teacher and student absenteeism and lateness. The trend observed last year of higher levels of absenteeism appears to be continuing this year as well. Student absentee rates were over 50% for both provinces. Explanations involving Dia de Criançia and cold weather were often given. The program will continue to make efforts to influence this through regular, public sharing of data on attendance and punctuality. One strategy employed was to encourage SDs to officially mark teachers as absent and send this information on-time to the districts in order that teacher be held accountable through salary deductions as stipulated in official policy. It was observed that many directors had begun to take up this practice, but that there had been limited follow-
Contract No. AID-656-C-12-00001 FY 2015 Q3 Progress Report Page | 8
through on the part of the districts. According to the districts this is due in part to multiple systems for processing salaries some of which make it difficult to mark absences and deduct salary.
School Management trainers from IFP Marrere unavailable: Trainers from IFP Marrere were not available to support the district-level SD trainings in May due to a schedule conflict. USAID|ApaL Institutional Capacity Building team worked closely with the IFP to plan and confirm availability of the trainers, however a last-minute plan to hold a separate training that would involve the trainers took priority. This demonstrates the on-going challenge of working with the IFPs which have many competing demands. To overcome the challenge, after consultations with DPEC and SDEJT, several SDEJT officers who had demonstrated skill and commitment were selected to make up the gap. This proved successful. The program has had a positive experience using Reading Coaches and School Directors who have had a year of experience with the program as trainers. This should be expanded upon next year to help address this on-going challenge.
School-level reporting with smartphones: Problems with credit and reception make it difficult for teachers to send the data regularly. In order to address this, the project has ensured that school directors can submit this information to the ZIP coordinator in paper form.
3.3 Summary of STTA during this Quarter: Dates STTA
5/23 – 5/31 Dr. Marcia Davidson, Senior Literacy Specialist, traveled to Maputo to support the May 25-29 workshop to develop leveled reading books. The workshop involved MINEDH staff and included field testing for new items.
4. Project Performance Indicators
Q3 Year To INDICATOR FY 3 Target Actual Date
Statistically significant annual (1) 2nd and 3rd Grade Reading Scores of the Early Grade Reading increase (at .05) in NA NA Assessment (EGRA) EGRA domain- based scores from baseline.
Data on reading scores will be measured with the EGRA instrument in September 2015. During June of this quarter, a Rapid School Assessment (RSA) was conducted and included a fluency assessment for 2nd and 3rd grade students. This assessment is conducted in the same way as the oral reading fluency sub-task on the EGRA, but uses a different text. The result measured is oral reading fluency in correct words read per minute. These data were collected during June 8 – 12 in all districts except Mocuba, which had an additional 3 days to complete collection. The results are presented below by district and disaggregated by grade and sex.
Contract No. AID-656-C-12-00001 FY 2015 Q3 Progress Report Page | 9
Q3 Year To INDICATOR FY 3 Target Actual Date
Oral Reading Fluency (correct words read per minute) District 2nd Grade 3rd Grade Boys Girls Boys Girls Mocuba 4.7 3.9 7.7 6.0 Nicoadala 3.0 2.5 7.9 3.7 Quelimane 4.3 4.3 9.1 8.7 Average Zambézia Province 4.2 3.6 8.1 6.1 Nampula City 3.2 3.3 6.5 5.2 Monapo 4.0 2.6 9.8 4.6 Murrupula 6.6 3.5 12.5 5.7 Average Nampula Province 5.0 3.1 10.6 5.2 Overall Average 4.6 3.4 9.3 5.6
While still low overall, the results are high compared to data collected in March for both 2nd and 3rd Grade, but also higher than what was seen at the same time last year (June 2014 RSA) which found average fluency levels of approximately 6 cwpm in the 3rd grade. It should be noted that the text used in the RSA is considerably easier to read than that used for EGRA. Also, to be noted is significantly stronger results in Murrupula than Quelimane and Nampula City where, traditionally, Portuguese is much more widely spoken. Reading Coaches will discuss the results during training in August to provide explanation for the differences. The general trend observed last year of boys outperforming girls in oral reading fluency is seen to continue in these data as well.
(2) Composite indicator of quality instruction in classes *target set as proportion of teachers using 70% or more of quality 70% NA NA instructional practices identified in classroom observation tool
This will be reported in FY15Q4 based on classroom observations conducted during the EGRA/SMA data collection. Data related to this indicator were collected as part of the RSA which includes a classroom observation of either 2nd or 3rd grade. This structured observation is based on the seven components of the scripted lesson plans. The instrument consists of a series of instructional practices which the SDEJT technical officers must observe during the 45-minute lesson. The score is computed based on the percentage of practices observed. A total of 28 practices were broken into 8 domains:
• Preparation: 4 items • Revision: 3 items • Phonemic awareness: 2 items • Phonics: 4 items • Fluency: 6 items • Comprehension: 4 items
Contract No. AID-656-C-12-00001 FY 2015 Q3 Progress Report Page | 10
Q3 Year To INDICATOR FY 3 Target Actual Date
• Writing exercise: 3 items • Homework: 2 items
The table below presents the average results by district and province for each domain on the rapid assessment classroom observation tool. Some observations can be made based on these data:
1. These observations were made after teachers had participated in 10 of 17 INSET sessions planned for the year. During the quarter significant improvement were noted across nearly all the domains. The last row in the table below shows the results from last quarter as a comparison. Nearly all indicators are at or just below the 70% target.
2. The domain on homework consisted of two items: 1) did the teacher assign homework; and 2) did the teacher distribute decodable books as homework. Since the scripted lesson plans do not always indicate that decodable books be distributed for this purpose, a score of 50% indicates that teachers assigned homework not in the form of a decodable book, but rather an alternative activity. This will be reinforced again in the August training.
Percentage of maximum score on classroom observation instrument
District Phonics Fluency Writing Revision Phonemic Phonemic Awareness Homework Preparation Comprehension Monapo 85% 71% 79% 66% 62% 63% 77% 66% Murrupula 81% 62% 81% 77% 60% 72% 83% 63% Nampula 89% 62% 79% 66% 56% 63% 81% 74% Nampula 85% 65% 80% 70% 60% 66% 80% 68% Province Mocuba 86% 67% 77% 76% 74% 68% 64% 38% Nicoadala 89% 71% 77% 68% 73% 69% 75% 48% Quelimane 85% 80% 81% 70% 75% 74% 79% 48% Zambezia 87% 73% 78% 71% 74% 70% 73% 45% Province Overall 86% 69% 79% 70% 67% 68% 77% 56% Q2 Results 76% 60% 73% 62% 48% 59% 66% 47%
Contract No. AID-656-C-12-00001 FY 2015 Q3 Progress Report Page | 11
Q3 Year To INDICATOR FY 3 Target Actual Date
(3) # of in-service teachers trained in reading instruction 1,484 1,600 1,505
As part of the Reading Reinforcement Program, a total of 5 INSET sessions were planned for 2nd and 3rd grade teachers. These were held on April 11 & 25, May 23, and June 6 & 20. To count under this indicator a teacher must have attended 75% of the sessions (4 of 5 sessions). Note that the indicator target was set based on the projected number of teachers and an assumption that not all would reach the threshold of 75% attendance. Given that attendance has been very high compared to last year, this target has been easily surpassed.
In the quarter of the 2,002 2nd and 3rd grade teachers in the 538 program schools, a total of 1,600 attended at least 75% of the planned sessions. This gives a success rate of 80%. Last year, for the same reporting period, the success rate was 71%. The improvement is attributed to a number of factors including greater involvement and responsibility of ZIP Coordinators in the management of INSET, improved involvement and supervision of SDEJT technical officers, and extensive communication and mobilization efforts by USAID|ApaL program staff.
The table below summarizes the results by district, grade, and sex. Note that the last quarterly report requires an update due to many teachers being transferred in the districts. This resulted an over-counting of the number of teachers targeted. The corrected totals for the last quarter are included in the last row of the table.
Number of teachers with Province District greater than 75% attendance rate at INSET Possible Rate M F Total Nampula 52 231 283 374 76%
Monapo 182 44 226 277 82% Nampula Murrupula 141 59 200 213 94% Province 375 334 709 864 82% Quelimane 69 176 245 314 78% Nicoadala 60 42 102 223 46% Zambezia Mocuba 317 227 544 601 91% Province 446 445 891 1138 78% Totals Q3 821 779 1600 2002 80% Totals Q2 (updated) 873 758 1631 2002 81%
(4) # of in-service teachers coached in reading instruction 1,484 990 382
Reading coaches are trained to conduct monthly classroom observations of all 2nd and 3rd grade teachers as part of their role of providing in-school pedagogical support. Reading coaches are trained to use a classroom observation tool during the coaching sessions and then track data using the Reading Coach task register to record the date of the observations for each teacher throughout the year. USAID|ApaL verifies the level of coaching through two different mechanisms:
Contract No. AID-656-C-12-00001 FY 2015 Q3 Progress Report Page | 12
Q3 Year To INDICATOR FY 3 Target Actual Date
• Verification during Rapid School Assessment • Collection of coaching reports sent by schools to district officers by the end of each trimester
To count under this indicator, we use the coaching reports collected by the district officers as this provides information on each individual teacher, while the other two mechanisms provide only summary information (i.e. percentage of teachers receiving at two coaching visit in the month). The table below gives a summary of the number of teachers receiving at least two coaching visit during the quarter by district, grade, and sex.
Number of Teachers Coached Rate Province District 2nd Grade 3rd Grade Total Possible H M H M HM HM HM Nampula 25 102 13 101 241 374 64% Monapo 29 8 23 6 66 277 24% Nampula Murrupula 60 20 42 20 142 213 67% Province 114 130 78 127 449 864 52% Quelimane 10 47 9 53 119 314 38% Nicoadala 31 25 32 24 112 223 50% Zambezia Mocuba 97 73 86 54 310 601 52% Province 138 145 127 131 541 1,138 48% Totals 252 275 205 258 990 2,002 49%
The overall rate across the two provinces was low during the quarter, specifically in Monapo and Quelimane districts. However the rate has increased compared to the previous quarter (41% overall).
During RSA conducted in June, low rates were also observed. In Nampula, an average of 48% and in Zambézia an average of 52% of 2nd and 3rd grade teachers had received coaching visits in the prior month. However, these rates show a significant improvement compared to RSA conducted in March Nampula14%, and in Zambézia an average of 17% of 2nd and 3rd grade teachers had received coaching visits. This could be attributed to major discussions during trainings in May where Lead Trainers were encouraged to improve and conduct more coaching visits. Note that the year-to-date indicator performance is lower due to a slow start to implementation of coaching in the previous quarter.
(5) # of teacher training packages distributed 240 231 227
Teacher training packages were distributed during the Lead Trainer (LT) training conducted in May. Note that most materials were distributed in January. These materials are specific to leading the INSET sessions and include.
• Classroom support instrument (previous called classroom observation instrument) • INSET facilitation guide (for new LTs) • Training supplies (scissors, flip chart paper, markers, colored paper, chalk, notepads, pens, tape, and
Contract No. AID-656-C-12-00001 FY 2015 Q3 Progress Report Page | 13
Q3 Year To INDICATOR FY 3 Target Actual Date
bostik) – one pack distributed to ZIP level based on number of teachers.
All ZIPs and LTs received these materials. The table below provides the summary data by district and sex. Note that the possible number of LTs targeted was based on the calculation of two LTs per 25 teachers per ZIP. For example, a ZIP with 20 teachers would be assigned two LTs, while a ZIP with 35 teachers would be allocated four LTs, etc. Lead Trainers Receiving
Province District Materials Possible Rate
M F Total
Nampula 19 11 30 30 100%
Nampula Monapo 27 3 30 30 100% Murrupula 30 4 34 34 100% Nampula 76 18 94 94 100% Quelimane 19 13 32 32 100% Zambezia Nicoadala 27 5 32 32 100% Mocuba 58 15 73 74 99% Zambezia 104 33 137 138 99% Totals 180 51 231 232 100%
Note that the target was based on the initial projection of teachers per ZIP with a target of 2 facilitators per 25 teachers. Given that many of the ZIPs are very small, the number of facilitators actually required (232) is slightly lower than the target (240).
(6) # of coaching packages distributed 615 643 643
Coaching packages were distributed to Reading Coaches during the May training. These materials support coaches in providing in-school pedagogical support to teachers. Most material was distributed in January, the follow was distributed as additional support:
• Classroom Coaching Form (previous called classroom observation form)
All Reading Coaches received these materials. The table below summarizes the results.
Note that New Reading Coaches that were selected during the LT training also received the materials to use during INSET Sessions. Note that some schools sent more participants than requested, hence the slightly higher number than targeted. Also not that coaches who had not received material in the January training received later from the DO or at the ZIP.
Contract No. AID-656-C-12-00001 FY 2015 Q3 Progress Report Page | 14
Q3 Year To INDICATOR FY 3 Target Actual Date
Reading Coaches Receiving Province District Materials Rate M F Total Possible Nampula 26 26 52 52 100% Nampula Monapo 98 12 110 105 105% Murrupula 75 24 99 96 103% Nampula 199 62 261 253 103% Quelimane 50 36 86 88 98% Zambezia Nicoadala 67 16 83 82 101% Mocuba 174 39 213 207 103% Zambezia 291 91 382 377 101% Totals 490 153 643 630 102%
(7) # Selected PDs and/or Master Teachers trained as LTs 240 231 227
Based on feedback from SDEJT technical officers conducting INSET supervision, some LTs were identified lacking sufficient capacity to facilitate INSET sessions. These LTs were replaced by selecting from the group of Reading Coaches who demonstrated skill and commitment during the Reading Coach training. LTs were selected by SDEJT and program staff to attend an additional 2-day training to prepare them to lead INSET sessions at the ZIP level. To count under this indicator, LTs had to attend both days of training. The table below summarizes participation in the two-day district-level training. Note that the year-to-date value is lower due to the fact that new LTs did not attend the initial LT training in January.
Lead Trainers Participating in Province District 2-day Training Rate M F Total Possible Nampula 19 11 30 30 100% Nampula Monapo 27 3 30 30 100% Murrupula 30 4 34 34 100% Nampula 76 18 94 94 100% Quelimane 19 13 32 32 100% Zambezia Nicoadala 27 5 32 32 100% Mocuba 58 15 73 74 99% Zambezia 104 33 137 138 99% Totals 180 51 231 232 100%
Contract No. AID-656-C-12-00001 FY 2015 Q3 Progress Report Page | 15
Q3 Year To INDICATOR FY 3 Target Actual Date
(8) # PDs trained in coaching techniques and Classroom 630 643 484 Observation
Reading Coaches (pedagogical directors, cycle leaders, and in some cases 2nd and 3rd grade teachers) participated in a 4-day training in May organized in each of the six program districts. Each of the 538 program schools has at least one Reading Coach. In cases where a school has more than six 2nd and 3rd grade teachers, cycle leaders from the school are also trained to ensure adequate support in each school. The table below summarizes participation in the training. In order to be counted under the indicator, participants had to attend at least three of the four sessions. Note that the year-to-date value is lower due to cases of PDs being transferred or replaced due to inability to attend INSET sessions.
Province District Reading Coaches Attending Possible Rate 4-day Training
M F Total
Nampula Nampula 26 26 52 52 100%
Monapo 98 12 110 105 105% Murrupula 75 24 99 96 103% Nampula 199 62 261 253 103% Zambezia Quelimane 50 36 86 89 97% Nicoadala 67 16 83 85 98% Mocuba 174 39 213 188 113% Zambezia 291 91 382 377 106% Totals 490 153 643 630 105%
(9) # of radio programs developed and used (note that the programs are developed in year one and then the same 15 6 9 programs are used in subsequent years)
A total of 15 radio programs were developed and broadcast last year. This year, the same programs are broadcast through agreements signed with 7 radios. In quarter 2, 3 programs were broadcasted this quarter, a total of 6 programs were planned for broadcast according to the schedule outlined under IR1 below. All 4 programs were broadcast as confirmed through a broadcast tracking sheet maintained at the radio. To date, 9 programs are broadcasted. USAID|ApaL staff made periodic spot checks by tuning in at the scheduled broadcast time.
(10) # of early grade reading instructional materials distributed 538 NA 538 to schools (target is number of schools receiving materials)
No early grade reading instructional materials were distributed during the quarter. Materials were distributed to 538 program schools in the beginning of Quarter two. Each school received the following:
• Teacher Manual for 2nd and 3rd grade teachers
Contract No. AID-656-C-12-00001 FY 2015 Q3 Progress Report Page | 16
Q3 Year To INDICATOR FY 3 Target Actual Date
• Set of 18 Read Aloud books (2 copies of each title per teacher) • Set of 18 Decodable books (copies sufficient for each 2nd and 3rd grade student to have access) • Alphabet banner with keyword cards (1 for each 2nd and 3rd grade teacher)
In quarter 3, the project did not distribute materials as all required materials were distributed at the beginning of quarter 2. During the RSA USAID|ApaL staff and SDEJT officers observed a RRP lesson and noted the usage of materials (teacher manual, decodable books, read aloud books, alphabet chart, key word cards, flash cards, and letter pocket). Supervisors counted for each material observed for a maximum score 7. Since not all materials are used every day (e.g. read alouds are on the last two days of the week), a score of 5 was considered good. All six program districts had an average score of 5.
(11) Teacher Absentee Rate *target is set as proportion of full treatment schools with a total absentee 60% 54% 59% rate below 15% in grades 2 and 3
Teacher absentee rates are observed during RSA data collection. In current quarter the RSA was conducted in June. Data collection teams made unannounced visits to program schools and observed how many 2nd and 3rd grade teachers were present in relation to the number expect at the time. The table below summarizes the observations by district and sex.
% Teachers Absent Province District Male Female All Monapo 21% 16% 18% Nampula Murrupura 15% 30% 22% Nampula-Cidade 34% 26% 30% Average Nampula Province 23% 24% 24% Mocuba 23% 32% 28% Zambezia Nicoadala 27% 30% 29% Quelimane 20% 13% 16% Average Zambezia Province 23% 25% 24% Overall Average 23% 25% 24%
To compute the performance for this indicator, we examine the proportion of schools having an overall absentee rate lower than 15% averaged over two RSA visits and the EGRA/SMA visit. This translates effectively into requiring schools with fewer than six teachers total to have 100% attendance while schools larger than this could still count under this indicator with one teacher absent (e.g. 6 of 7 teachers present translates into a 14% absentee rate while 5 of 6 present translates into a 17% absentee rate). The results are summarized below.
% of schools with absentee rate below District Q2 Q3 Mocuba 63% 48%
Contract No. AID-656-C-12-00001 FY 2015 Q3 Progress Report Page | 17
Q3 Year To INDICATOR FY 3 Target Actual Date
Nicoadala 54% 47% Quelimane 67% 60% Average Zambezia Province 62% 50% Nampula 60% 40% Monapo 67% 60% Murrupula 63% 63% Average Nampula Province 64% 59% Overall Average 63% 54%
The table shows that fewer schools had “low” levels of absenteeism this quarter compared to last. The trend that absenteeism increases over the school year was observed last year and appears to continue here. This is also seen in the student absentee rate below.
10% annual decrease with (12) Student Absentee Rate 51% 42% respect to baseline (56%)
Student absentee rates are observed during the RSA data collection. One 2nd grade and one 3rd grade classroom are randomly selected. In these classrooms, the number of students is compared to the number enrolled to determine the absentee rate. The data below show the overall student absentee rates by district, sex, and grade. The following observations can be made from these data: • Absentee rates were high in quarter 3 (51% for all grades/districts) compared to quarter 2 (32% for all grades/districts) however the rates continued to be lower compared to the baseline value of 56%. • There is no strong, systematic variation in absentee rates between boys and girl, nor between 2nd and 3rd grade. Absentee rates do appear slightly higher in Zambézia for boys and girls in both grades. • As was the case last year, schools point to the holiday Dia de Criança (Day of the Child) on June 1st for which there is a misconception that it marks the end of the school year. To address this more efforts to raise awareness of community members on the importance of keeping children in school through the end of the year should be undertaken. This shall be considered in planning for the next year of implementation.
nd rd Province District 2 Grade 3 Grade Boys Girls All Boys Girls All All Monapo 56% 54% 55% 53% 52% 52% 54% Nampula Murrupura 54% 51% 52% 50% 43% 47% 50% Nampula-City 52% 43% 48% 41% 42% 42% 45% Average Nampula Province 54% 50% 52% 48% 46% 47% 49% Mocuba 61% 60% 60% 57% 58% 57% 59% Zambezia Nicoadala 60% 59% 60% 57% 60% 59% 59% Quelimane 41% 44% 43% 42% 43% 42% 43%
Contract No. AID-656-C-12-00001 FY 2015 Q3 Progress Report Page | 18
Q3 Year To INDICATOR FY 3 Target Actual Date
Average Zambezia Province 54% 54% 54% 52% 54% 53% 53% Overall Average 54% 52% 53% 50% 50% 50% 51%
(13) Duration of school shift *reporting on this indicator is given as the percentage of schools starting with 60% 31% 36% no more than a 15 minute delay.
During the RSA data collection, teams arrive in schools prior to the start of the school to observe whether classes started on time. The time at which teachers enter the classroom to begin instruction is compared to the official start time to determine the number of minutes of delay to the start of the school day. The observations are summarized below.
Percentage of Schools Distrito Average Minutes Late with less than 15 Minutes Start to School Day Late Start to School Day Mocuba 35 21% Nicoadala 27 38% Quelimane 20 33% Average Nampula Province 82 28% Nampula 11 44% Monapo 45 45% Murrupula 21 23% Average Nampula Province 77 35% Overall Average 159 31%
The target for this indicator was 60%, but only 31% schools managed to have start delays less than 15 minutes, 10% fewer schools than reported in the previous quarter. Many directors attributed the delays to students’ late arrival at schools and few students turning for classes especially in the month of June. June is children’s month and June 1 all students are sent out on a day break to celebrate the day, it was observed that following the break, many students stop coming to school and those that come always arrive rate. It is expected that repeated presentation of this data during the RSA district-level presentation and during the June trainings will help schools improve on this indicator by the next quarter.
(14) % of school directors monitoring teacher/student 80% 72% 72% attendance and teacher punctuality
During the RSA, data collection teams review the use of school management tools by school directors. Management tools include teacher attendance and punctuality register, student attendance register, teacher INSET attendance registers, TLA management tools, monthly school reports, etc. Data collection teams observe each
Contract No. AID-656-C-12-00001 FY 2015 Q3 Progress Report Page | 19
Q3 Year To INDICATOR FY 3 Target Actual Date instrument to verify if it has been updated and filled out accurately (e.g. daily or monthly). To be counted under this indicator, SDs must have correctly used the teacher attendance and punctuality register AND the student attendance register. These same shall have been updated up through the day of the RSA visit to be considered here. The results are summarized by district in the table below. As seen from the data below, many SDs (78%) reported to have started using school management tools for tracking attendance and punctuality compared to 47% SDs that were reported to using in the previous quarters. The improvement is attributed to RSA results discussions during School Management training in May this quarter and also following School Support visits conducted by SDEJT together with ZIP coordinators, the team visited SDs that reported not using SM tools. The number of SDs using school management tools is expected to increasing in the next quarter, following the school management training in August where SDs will discuss the RSA results.
% of SDs monitoring District teacher/student attendance and teacher punctuality Mocuba 66% Nicoadala 69% Quelimane 67% Zambezia Province 67% Nampula 88% Monapo 74% Murrupula 81% Nampula Province 78% Overall 72%
(15) # of in-service school directors trained in school 538 528 446 management to support the reading component
This quarter, School Directors attended a three-day workshop on improved school management. The training was held at the district level simultaneously in all six program districts. To count under this indicator, SDs had to attend at least two of the three days of training to make the 75% threshold. The participation is summarized in the table below. The year-to-date target requires SD attendance at six of the seven days of training.
As can be seen, participation was high across all districts, reaching above 90%.
Contract No. AID-656-C-12-00001 FY 2015 Q3 Progress Report Page | 20
Q3 Year To INDICATOR FY 3 Target Actual Date
School Directors Attending Province District 3-day Workshop Rate M F Total Target Nampula 18 7 25 25 100% Nampula Monapo 86 6 92 100 92% Murrupula 86 5 91 93 98% Nampula Province 190 18 208 218 95% Quelimane 48 12 60 60 100% Zambezia Nicoadala 64 10 74 74 100% Mocuba 166 20 186 186 100% Zambezia Province 278 42 320 320 100% Overall 468 60 528 538 98%
(16) # of in-service school directors coached in school 436 328 328 management to support the reading component
Coaching visits are a monthly obligatory activity by ZIP coordinators instituted by MINEDH, The project supports the activity by building capacity for all coordinators and provide a transport allowance to enable their mobility. The target for this indicator (436) is set by the total number of schools (538) minus the number of ZIPs (102). More coaching visits were carried out this quarter compared to Q2 in all districts except Murrupula (49%) The data is summarized in the table below.
SDs Receiving Coaching Visits by ZIP Province District Coordinators M F Total Target Rate Nampula 12 3 15 16 94% Nampula Monapo 73 2 75 85 88% Murrupula 33 4 37 76 49% Nampula Province 118 9 127 177 72% Quelimane 23 9 32 48 67% Zambezia Nicoadala 44 6 50 59 85% Mocuba 113 6 119 152 78% Zambezia Province 180 21 201 259 77% Overall 298 30 328 436 75%
Contract No. AID-656-C-12-00001 FY 2015 Q3 Progress Report Page | 21
Q3 Year To INDICATOR FY 3 Target Actual Date
(17) # of school directors attending improved school 538 469 463 management meetings at school cluster level
A total of three improved school management meetings held in the quarters. Despite some directors participating in Reading INSET to expand their understanding of RRP, this indicator only counts participation in School Management meetings. The table summarizes indicator performance for the quarter. Note that to be counted under this indicator SDs had to attend at all three INSET sessions to reach the 75% threshold. Overall attendance was high with over 80% of all directors attending all sessions.
SDs Attending School Management INSET Province District M F Total Possible Rate Nampula 16 7 23 25 92% Nampula Monapo 93 4 97 100 97% Murrupula 83 9 92 93 99% Nampula Province 192 20 212 218 97% Quelimane 40 11 51 60 85% Zambezia Nicoadala 53 8 61 74 82% Mocuba 123 22 145 186 78% Zambezia Province 216 41 257 320 80% Totals 408 61 469 538 87%
(18) # of ZIP Coordinators trained in school management to support the reading component, coaching and meeting 102 100 92 facilitation
ZIP Coordinators participated in a two-day training in order to prepare them for their role as peer coach and school management INSET facilitator. To count under this indicator, ZIP Coordinators had to participate in both days of the training. Two ZIP Coordinators did not participate in the training because they fell ill during the training and were admitted at the hospital. In these cases, follow-up visits were made by USAID|ApaL staff to ensure that all received some level of orientation. The table below summarizes participation in the training.
Contract No. AID-656-C-12-00001 FY 2015 Q3 Progress Report Page | 22
Q3 Year To INDICATOR FY 3 Target Actual Date
ZIP Coordinators - Trained Province District Rate H M Total Target Nampula 8 1 9 9 100% Nampula Monapo 14 0 14 15 93% Murrupula City 16 1 17 17 100% Nampula Province 38 2 40 41 98% Quelimane 11 1 12 12 100% Zambezia Nicoadala 12 3 15 15 100% Mocuba 28 5 33 34 97% Zambezia Province 51 9 60 61 98% Totals 89 11 100 102 98%
(19) # of school management materials distributed 538 538 538
Most school management materials were distributed to all school directors during the January trainings and during follow up visits in schools and ZIPs. The following materials were distributed:
• Additional copies of school management tools • Copies of RSA results
All SDs received materials. In cases where SDs were not present at the training, the ZIP Coordinators were made responsible to deliver the materials to the SD during the next INSET.
(20) Number of LEI staff qualified to lead technical delivery of program components as determined by technical capacity 78 109 109 assessments
Prior to the training of Reading Coaches, LTs, and SDs a training of trainers (TOT) workshop was held at the provincial level to prepare a group of Early Grade Reading and School Management Trainers. The objective of the workshop was to prepare these trainers to lead the district-level RRP and STDC workshops. Throughout the training, USAID|ApaL administered daily assessments, observed participation, and held discussions with SDEJT to ensure that the trainers were technically competent to lead the trainings. The table below summarizes information on number of trainees and number selected as qualified to lead technical delivery of RRP and SDTC program.
Contract No. AID-656-C-12-00001 FY 2015 Q3 Progress Report Page | 23
Q3 Year To INDICATOR FY 3 Target Actual Date
School Management Institution Trained Selected M F Total M F Total IFP 11 6 17 11 6 17 UP 9 4 13 9 4 13 School Directors from 2014 Schools 12 2 14 12 2 14 Sub-Total – School Management 32 12 44 32 12 44
Reading IFP 2 9 11 2 9 11 UP 4 10 14 4 10 14 Reading Coaches from 2014 Schools 13 27 40 13 27 40 Sub-Total - Reading 19 46 65 19 46 65 Total LEI trainers (Reading and Management) 38 76 109 36 76 109
(21) ROA assessment scores obtained from SDEJT 6 6 6 *reported as number of districts reaching target ROA score of 0.6 (max 1.0)
Rapid Organization Assessment (ROA) is conducted with districts to reflect upon organizational and technical capacity to lead the implementation of core USAID|ApaL activities. As part of the Institutional Capacity Building strategy, SDEJT staff take a large role in the planning, implementation, and monitoring of USAID|ApaL activities as a way of preparing them to independently implement activities such as INSET or RSA in the future. The ROA is conducted as a meeting with SDEJT focal points from various departments within SDEJT including General Education, Planning, Administration, Finance, and Human Resources. During the meeting, an assessment is made in two areas: 1) Existing Organizational Capacity; and 2) Implementation Practice. In the current quarter the focus was on reviewing implementation practices, an analysis was conducted to examine to what extent SDEJT is leading USAID|ApaL components of INSET and Rapid School Assessment. The final score is compared to the maximum possible score to assign a percentage. The target for the indicator is given as the number of districts reaching at least 60% of the maximum score. During the quarter, all 6 program districts reached a score above 60%. The table below gives a summary of the ROA score by district. Note that these scores improved significantly on the Rapid Assessment due to the lead role that SDEJT took this past quarter.
Contract No. AID-656-C-12-00001 FY 2015 Q3 Progress Report Page | 24
Q3 Year To INDICATOR FY 3 Target Actual Date
District ROA Score
Nampula City 1.0 Monapo 0.9 Murrupula 0.8 Quelimane 0.9 Nicoadala 0.9 Mocuba 0.9
(22) # of District Planning Groups (DPG) formed and 6 6 6 functioning
District planning groups are composed of the core group SDEJT technical officers involved in the implementation of USAID|ApaL activities. Each district has assigned technical officers to correspond to either reading or school management activities with both groups participating in trainings, INSET, and RSA. These groups meet on a regular basis with USAID|ApaL District Officers and participate in the quarterly meetings to review RSA results and create plans for School Support Visits. More details are given below under capacity building.
(23) # of Provincial Coordination Groups (PCG) formed and 2 2 2 functioning
In each province, focal points for reading and school management have been identified and participate in all program activities, as well as quarterly meetings at the district and provincial levels. More details are given below under capacity building.
5. Activities this Quarter
Task A: OVERALL PROJECT MANAGEMENT Key Successes: • USAID|ApaL has introduced the use of M-pesa as a payment modality for INSET and INSET supervision. This substantially reduces the need to have program staff travel to and from program headquarters with cash to implement training activities. • A quarterly staff planning meet was held in Zambézia to prepare for the quarter and the May trainings. Key Challenges: • Nampula Provincial Institutional Capacity Building Coordinator Joaquim Vilanculos resigned in order to pursue full-studies. Joaquim was with the program from the early days and was a valuable resource. The program quickly recruited to fill this gap and hired Celina Aiuba, formerly Education Program Coordinator for FDC. Celina has stepped in and quickly integrated into the team. A.1: Project Management
Contract No. AID-656-C-12-00001 FY 2015 Q3 Progress Report Page | 25
A.1.2: Quarterly Planning Meetings Quarterly staff planning meeting A meeting was held April 21-22 in Zambézia with all USAID|ApaL program staff to conduct quarterly planning. These meetings covered activities for the coming months with a focus on preparations for May trainings for the Reading Reinforcement Program (RRP) and School Director Training and Coaching Program (SDTC).
A.1.3: Regular Staff Meetings Weekly and monthly staff meetings in each province USAID|ApaL has weekly staff meetings, as well as meetings with only the technical team. The administration and logistics staff also meet separately as a team. This occurs in both provinces, and communication between Zambézia staff, the technical teams, and senior management occurs daily. The standing project meetings are as follows:
. Monday-9:00am, all staff meeting in both provinces . Monday-9:30am, senior technical team meetings . Monday-9:30am, COF and Admin/Finance meeting . Monday-11:30am, COP and Provincial Coordinator Zambézia weekly meeting via Skype . Tuesday-4:30pm, COP and WEI meeting via skype . USAID COR and COP have a weekly phone.
A.2: USAID Reporting A.2.2: Quarterly Progress Reports (QPRs) April 30: FY15Q2 QPR Submitted to USAID Report submitted as per schedule. A.2.3: Quarterly Financial Reports (SF 425) April 30: FY15Q2 QFR Submitted to USAID Report submitted as per schedule. A.2.7: USAID Quarterly Review Meetings FY15Q2 review meetings (Maputo) In May of this quarter, USAID|ApaL COP David Noyes and Senior Reading Expert Willem Van de Waal traveled to Maputo for quarterly review meetings with USAID and MINEDH. The following meetings were held: • May 21/22: meetings with USAID education team (Julia Richards, Dana Beegun, Antonio Francisco) for quarterly review, program overview, plan for US Ambassador Griffiths’ visit to Nampula, and to discuss strategy for meeting with MINEDH national directors. • May 21: meeting with MINEDH national directors Antuia Soverano (DNEP), Samaria Tovela (INDE), and Feliciano Mahalambe (DNFP). USAID|ApaL requested the meeting in order to discuss feedback from MINEDH on the need to align RRP strategies with existing MINEDH reading instruction methodology. USAID and ApaL agreed that all efforts would be made to improve alignment. This will be done in the next quarter during materials development and revision. DNEP staff also gave an update on revisions and development of the National Reading Strategy and Action Plan.
A.3: Short-Term Technical Assistance A.3.1: Anticipated International STTA Travel RRP STTA Travel
Contract No. AID-656-C-12-00001 FY 2015 Q3 Progress Report Page | 26
Literacy Expert Dr. Marcia Davidson provided STTA for the RRP May 23-31. Marcia provided support to the USAID|ApaL reading team to develop and implement a workshop to develop leveled books. The workshop was held in Maputo, May 25-29, and was successful in involving MINEDH staff from provincial and national levels to develop a set of 10 books with four levels. See IR 1 description below for more details on the development and plans for these materials.
TASK B: INSTITUTIONAL CAPACITY BUILDING Key Successes: • This quarter SDEJT technical officers from each district took a major role in the implementation of Rapid School Assessments. This included planning, data collection, data analysis, and results presentation in districts and at the provincial level. • USAID|ApaL provided technical input to MINEDH on the revision of district supervision policy and data collection instruments. The data collection instruments are directly based on the Rapid School Assessment and will be rolled out nationally. • MINEDH staff from DNEP, DNFP, and INDE collaborated with IFP trainers and reading coaches from Nampula and Zambézia to develop a set of 12 levelled books. • A cohort of early grade reading and school management trainers led the training of Reading Coaches, Lead Trainers (INSET facilitators), School Directors, and ZIP Coordinators. USAID|ApaL provided training this quarter that allowed these trainers to deliver high quality training in the districts. • US Ambassador Douglas Griffiths visited EPC Murrapaniua 2 to observe an RRP lesson and observe the work being done to improve school management. At the conclusion of the visit a 2nd grade student read a message of welcome and thanks for the ambassador’s visit. Key Challenges: • Some quarterly meetings with DPEC and SDEJT in Zambézia had to be rescheduled due to a visit of President Filipe Nyusi. • A follow-up meeting with INDE director Samaria Tovela was postponed due to agenda conflicts for INDE. B.1: Stakeholder Engagement B.1.2: MINEDH National Task Force Meetings Q3 MINEDH National Task Force meetings (combined with quarterly USAID review) USAID|ApaL staff were in Maputo in May for meetings with MINEDH and USAID. The following meetings were held:
• May 21: The USAID Education Team, USAID|ApaL COP, and USAID|ApaL Senior Reading Expert, met with MINEDH national directors Antuia Soverano (DNEP), Samaria Tovela (INDE), and Feliciano Mahalambe (DNFP). USAID|ApaL requested the meeting in order to discuss feedback from MINEDH on the need to align RRP strategies with existing MINEDH reading instruction methodology. All parties agreed that efforts would be made to improve alignment. This will be done in the next quarter during materials development and revision. DNEP staff also gave an update on revisions and development of the National Reading Strategy and Action Plan. • May 22: USAID|ApaL COP met with DNGGQ (Direcção Nacional de Gestão e Garantia de Qualidade) national director Abel Assis and technical officers from his department to discuss their plans for revision of the national policy on district supervision, development of a district supervision manual, and the development data collection tools and protocols for district supervision. Two
Contract No. AID-656-C-12-00001 FY 2015 Q3 Progress Report Page | 27
technical officers from DNGGQ (Graciano Safo and Justino Manjate) had participated in the past two Rapid School Assessments and this experience is being used to inform the development of the policy, manual, and instruments. The draft instruments and several of the supervision protocols are taken directly from the tools developed by USAID|ApaL. • May 23: USAID|ApaL COP participated in the first day of a three-day meeting organized by DNGGQ with support from GIZ to finalize the district supervision manual, data collection tools and protocols for district supervision. Experience in the implementation of Rapid School Assessment was shared in a group discussion with approximately 20 participants.
B.1.4: District Program Management Group (PMG) Quarterly Meetings PMG Quarterly Meetings in each district (NPL/ZBZ) In each district, several meetings are held each quarter. USAID|ApaL District Officers (DOs) hold regular planning meetings with SDEJT technical officers involved in the implementation and monitoring of USAID|ApaL activities. The DOs work with SDEJT technical officers to plan the supervision of reading and school management INSET sessions and hold review meetings to discuss challenges observed during the INSET and ways forward. The DOs share a report from these meetings with the program technical team to help inform any additional support needed from the program.
Meetings were also held in June in each district to present the results of the Rapid School Assessment. This quarter two SDEJT technical officers from each district were trained to carry out the RSA data analysis and prepare the district and provincial-level presentation of results. This process, until now, had been led entirely by USAID|ApaL. This was a key success of the quarter and helped improve the dynamic of the results presentation meeting since the same results were being presented by district staff, rather than by USAID|ApaL staff. The table below provides a summary of the dates and participants. Note that the Quelimane meeting was delayed until July 2nd due to a visit to Zambézia by President Nyusi.
Attendance Province District Date Institution M F Total DPEC 0 0 0 Nampula June 22nd SDEJT 5 3 8 Coord. ZIP 6 3 9 DPEC 0 1 1 Nampula Monapo June 24th SDEJT 14 4 18 Coord. ZIP 15 0 15 DPEC 1 0 1 Murrupula June 26th SDEJT 7 5 12 Coord. ZIP 14 1 15 Total 62 17 79 DPEC 1 0 1 Quelimane July 2nd SDEJT 5 3 8 Zambézia Coord. ZIP 10 2 12 Nicoadala June 24th DPEC 0 0 0
Contract No. AID-656-C-12-00001 FY 2015 Q3 Progress Report Page | 28
SDEJT 6 2 8 Coord. ZIP 8 0 8 DPEC 1 0 1 Mocuba June 22nd SDEJT 9 4 13 Coord. ZIP 18 3 21 Total 58 14 72
B.1.5: Provincial Coordination Group Quarterly Meetings PCG Quarterly Meetings (NPL/ZBZ) Several meetings were held with DPEC in both provinces this quarter following the district-level Rapid School Assessment results presentations. The SDEJT technical officers who carried out the RSA data analysis and presentation in their districts also presented the results to the DPEC pedagogical department. The approach of having SDEJT present the results was also successful at the provincial level. Also present in the meeting were DPEC technical officers who participated in the RSA data collection. These officers also contributed during the discussion. In both the district and provincial-level meetings, a major topic was the high levels of absenteeism and lateness in the schools. The group agreed that schools and districts need to take administrative measures to hold teachers accountable for not showing up and/or showing up late. The table below summarizes the participation in these meetings. Note that the DPEC Zambézia meeting was moved to July due to the visit of President Nyusi.
Attendance Province Date Institution M F Total Nampula June 29th DPEC 18 9 27
Zambézia July 3rd DPEC 10 3 13 Total 28 12 40
B.1.6: Follow-up Meetings with LEI Stakeholders LEI Stakeholder meetings as needed to follow up on implementation and ensure advance planning Several meetings were held with local education partners during the quarter.
• April 14 – Meeting in Nampula with local coordinator of the USAID Eu Leio program to share program information. • April 15 – Meeting with Zambezia provincial government. The purpose of this was to plan the annual meeting related to accountability between civil society and the government. • April – Several planning meetings with SDEJT and schools for the planning of Dia de Leitura. • May 15 – Meeting with Pedagogical University in Quelimane to discuss the need for sharing Annual Plans. The result of this meeting was that plans would be shared for the sake of better programming and utilization of existing staff at UP. • May 19 – Follow up meeting with national representatives from the USAID Eu Leio program to further share program information.
Contract No. AID-656-C-12-00001 FY 2015 Q3 Progress Report Page | 29
• May 21 – Participation in the meeting of the Provincial Forum (Observatório Provincia). The meeting was chaired by the provincial governor, and aimed to check on the functioning of the Economic and Social Plan of the Government. • May 22 – Participation in a provincial-level meeting with civil society organizations held in official government offices. The purpose of the meeting was to assess the activities carried out by civil society organizations during 2014 and understand progress on plans for 2015. • May 29 – Meeting with DPEC, IBIS and USAID|ApaL in Zambézia. This meeting was held at DPEC facilities within their primary education department. The impetus for the meeting was to analyze the coordination mechanisms which exist for school-level interventions. As a result of this meeting, DPEC agreed that they need to provide clear guidance to their partners – via geographical mapping – as to where interventions are required so that they can avoid duplicating efforts in the same communities. • June 12 – Meeting with the administrator of Murrupula district to share observations from the RSA data collection. The MINEDH department head from DNGGQ was also present and discussed the need to address the high rates of student and teacher absenteeism in the district. The administrator also participated in one school visit as part of the RSA. She later was present at the RSA results presentation in the district. • June 16 – Meeting with the head of Human Resources at the SDEJT offices in Quelimane. The purpose of the meeting was to assess the degree of involvement of SDEJT technicians in the Rapid School Assessment. MINEDH technical officer from DNGGQ was also present. • June 16 – USAID|ApaL staff participated in a meeting called by DPEC in Nampula with all education partners in order to discuss what is needed to improve the quality of education in the province. Participants included NGOs implementing education programs in the province, members of school councils, and SDEJT and DPEC technical officers. The meeting was chaired by Nampula Provincial Education Director and Nampula District Director. Several school council members brought up the positive work being done in the schools by the USAID|ApaL program. The Provincial Director congratulated USAID|ApaL for the work it is doing to improve reading outcomes. Participants agreed that DPEC must take on similar strategies to reach all schools. • June 23 – Meeting with the Mocuba district Director of Education. Recommendations were made to the director to follow up on the high rates of student absenteeism. Participants also articulated the need for greater coordination with the communities on this issue.
B.2: Capacity Building Training B.2.1: RRP TOT RRP TOT (NPL/ZBZ) From May 6 to 8, a Training of Trainers (ToT) took place in both provinces to prepare a pool of IFP trainers, UP teachers, and Expert Facilitators (Reading coaches from last year) to organize the district trainings. A central piece of this training was the sharing of experiences from the previous training in January. The M&E component gave a summary of the evaluation forms completed by participants and the trainers reflected on which things to improve. This resulted in some changes in trainer allocation per district based on feedback from SDEJT, who monitored the quality of the trainings in January.
With an eye on the upcoming trainings later in May, trainers were preparing for the Reading coach training from May 11-14 as well as the LT training from May 15-16. SDEJT staff presented findings of the RSA from March and trainers reflected on the outcomes and how they could provide support to the Reading coaches from schools that were scoring relatively low on some indicators.
Contract No. AID-656-C-12-00001 FY 2015 Q3 Progress Report Page | 30
As in the Reading coach training, a new Classroom Observation Form was being introduced. This form is more focused on providing coaching and less on registering observations. It also more directly follows the 7 steps in a lesson and indicates which teaching routines are the most crucial to observe. Practice with the new form took place through video case studies and discussions afterwards.
All trainers received a training manual with scripted daily plans that they should use during the trainings. In the ToT, trainers divided the parts of the training and prepared a section which they were assigned to present. This, among other things, included demonstrating the appropriate TLAs to be used during the different training sessions.
B.2.2: SDTC TOT SDTC TOT (NPL/ZBZ) A TOT workshop from May 5 to 8 was organized to prepare a pool of IFP trainers, UP teachers, and skilled school directors from last year to deliver the May School Director and ZIP Coordinator trainings. The first two days focused on preparation of the school director training. The training included a review of previous Rapid School Assessment data and discussions around how to improve the indicators where performance was observed to be poor. The last two days focused on the ZIP Coordinator training and covered preparations for School Management INSET sessions and carrying out ZIP Coordinator coaching visits.
Unfortunately, during May 13 trainings IFP Marrere trainers did not attend ToT due to a scheduling conflict (i.e. they were facilitating a school management training for SDs and Pedagogical Directors from other districts in the province not covered by ApaL). In order to cover the gap of trainers, after consultation with DPEC, the best district technical officers and other IFP trainers were used to facilitate the SM district training for school directors. All participants were assessed daily to verify their level of expertise as it pertains to the school management contents. The final score for each one was then considered when they were put into district teams to go facilitate school management training for school directors.
B.2.3: Management Capacity Building Training SDEJT management training based on ROA Based on previous ROAs implemented in the districts, it was observed that USAID|ApaL was significantly leading all aspects of the implementation of the Rapid School Assessment – in particular, the data analysis and results presentations. To address this, two technical officers from each district were trained on data cleaning and analysis of RSA data using Excel. The three day training was carried out in a practical manner, using the recently collected RSA data. The SDEJT officers expressed satisfaction at being involved in the entire process from planning the initial data collection during the RSA training, conducting the data collection and data entry via smartphone, carrying out the data analysis, and finally delivering the presentations at both 4 SDEJT and DPEC staff during RSA data cleaning district and provincial levels. At this point, the six and analysis in Nampula. districts have demonstrated abilities to plan and implement the RSA with minimal support from USAID|ApaL.
Contract No. AID-656-C-12-00001 FY 2015 Q3 Progress Report Page | 31
B.2.4: INSET Management & Monitoring Training May: INSET Management Training (NPL/ZBZ) During the RRP and SDTC TOT workshops INSET monitoring training was provided for DPEC, SDEJT, and RRP and SDTC trainers (from IFP, UP, and select schools from last year). Each INSET has a coaching observation form that guides INSET supervisors on what kind of feedback to give in certain cases where the INSET facilitator may have troubles. This, along with the INSET manual, supports supervisors to conduct effective supervision.
Additional INSET management training was provided during the ZIP Coordinator training. This training, which targeted ZIP Coordinators focused on correct financial procedures for INSET financial management, including payment of INSET food and transport allowance via M-pesa (see Annex B).
Quarterly to monthly INSET monitoring debrief and refresher In the week following INSET, DOs in each district hold a meeting with SDEJT staff who conducted INSET supervision. To facilitate this process, DOs use an INSET report sheet developed last quarter that covers the following aspects: • Overall organization of the INSET session • Attendance and punctuality at the session • Level of participation • Technical issues encountered during the session • Successes and challenges • Issues for follow-up B.2.5: School Support & Monitoring Training School Support Training (NPL/ZBZ) School support visits are planned in the month following the Rapid School Assessment. During the results presentation in each district, SDEJT and ZIP Coordinators are oriented on developing an action plan to visit schools to provide more extensive support based on the results of the RSA. As much as possible the school support visits are carried out jointly by the SDEJT technical officer and the ZIP Coordinator. These visits will take place in July of next quarter.
District offices have expressed significant satisfaction with the support visits and RSA. Given budget constraints this year due to a delay in approval of operational budgets, most districts have not conducted regular supervision visits to schools. In 5 SDEJT officers and ZIP Coordinator most cases RSA and School Support visits have been the only planning school support visits in Murrupula. supervision support that schools have received from the districts. B.2.6: Rapid School Assessment RSA II Training (NPL/ZBZ) Rapid School Assessment training was carried out simultaneously in both provinces June 2-5. The first day of the training provided a general overview followed by a half-day of planning for the data collection. The second day was detailed review of the instrument with classroom simulation of fluency assessment and classroom observation practice using video of RRP lessons. The final two days were practice in schools from 2014 implementation. The data collection then began in the week following the training.
Contract No. AID-656-C-12-00001 FY 2015 Q3 Progress Report Page | 32
In an effort to increase the involvement of DPEC, RSA June Training Participation several DPEC technical officers from the Province Institution N Participants pedagogical department were also invited to the training. This was a very positive development and SDEJT Mocuba 17 has helped to increase the engagement of DPEC. SDEJT Nicoadala 12 DPEC technical officers spoke out strongly during Zambézia SDEJT Quelimane 11 the provincial-level results presentation on the DPEC Zambézia 7 need for all stakeholders to take greater action to improve upon the challenges observed. The table Sub.Total 47 below provides a summary of participation in the SDEJT Monapo 19 training. SDEJT Murrupula 19 As mentioned above, immediately following the Nampula SDEJT Nampula 8 RSA data collection an additional 3 days of training DPEC Nampula 9 were provided to two SDEJT officers from each Sub.Total 55 district to enable them to analyze and present the RSA data in the district and at the provincial level. Total Trained 102 B.3: Capacity Building Learning-by-doing B.3.1: RRP Training Facilitation Co-facilitation of Reading Coach training (NPL/ZBZ) Co-facilitation of Lead Trainer training (NPL/ZBZ) Training of Reading Coaches and Lead Trainers were led by trainers from IFP, UP, and schools from last year. As described above, these trainers were trained during TOT workshops that prepared them to lead the trainings at the district level. These trainings were supervised by DPEC, SDEJT, and USAID|ApaL staff to ensure quality. These trainings are further described below under IR 1. B.3.2: SDTC Training Facilitation Co-facilitation of SD training (NPL/ZBZ) Training of School Directors and ZIP Coordinators were led by trainers from IFP, UP, and schools from last year. As described above, these trainers were trained during TOT workshops that prepared them to lead the trainings at the district level. These trainings were supervised by DPEC, SDEJT, and USAID|ApaL staff to ensure quality. These trainings are further described below under IR 2. B.3.3: INSET Management and Monitoring INSET monitoring/support facilitation (NPL/ZBZ) LEI staff conducts INSET Monitoring As noted above, SDEJT technical officers conducted monitoring and support for each of the 5 reading and 3 school management INSETs. USAID|ApaL staff members also conduct regular INSET monitoring and verify that the SDEJT officers are actively supervising the sessions. In cases where SDEJT supervisors were observed to be not actively involved, feedback was given during training sessions and follow-up meeting with DOs. Overall the SDEJT supervision seems to play an important role in ensuring high attendance at INSET.
Contract No. AID-656-C-12-00001 FY 2015 Q3 Progress Report Page | 33
B.3.4: Quarterly RSA Implementation & Results Presentation RSA monitoring/support facilitation (NPL/ZBZ) RSA results presented in each district See above in several sections.
B.3.5: School-level Support & Monitoring SDEJT conduct school support visits Following the RSA presentation last quarter school support visits were planned to take place in April of this quarter. These visits used the results of the RSA and were carried out jointly by SDEJT officers and ZIP Coordinators. The School Support Guide was distributed to all to help inform these visits. This guide outlines all aspects of USAID|ApaL implementation in the schools and provides recommendations for what type of feedback can be taken in cases where challenges were observed.
B.4: Capacity Building Assessment B.4.1: Rapid Organizational Assessment (ROA) ROAs in all 6 districts (NPL/ZBZ) Rapid Organization Assessment (ROA) is conducted with districts to reflect upon organizational and technical capacity to lead the implementation of core USAID|ApaL activities. As part of the Institutional Capacity Building strategy, SDEJT staff take a large role in the planning, implementation, and monitoring of USAID|ApaL activities as a way of preparing them to independently implement activities such as INSET or RSA in the future. The ROA is conducted as a meeting with SDEJT focal points from various departments within SDEJT including General Education, Planning, Administration, Finance, and Human Resources. During the meeting, an assessment is made in two areas: 1) Existing Organizational Capacity; and 2) Implementation Practice. In the current quarter the focus was on reviewing implementation practices, an analysis was conducted to examine to what extent SDEJT is leading USAID|ApaL components of INSET and Rapid School Assessment. The final score is compared to the maximum possible score to assign a percentage. The target for the indicator is given as the number of districts reaching at least 60% of the maximum score. During the quarter, all 6 program districts reached a score above 60%. This was a significant improvement due to SDJET taking a lead role on the implementation of Rapid School Assessment this past quarter. B.4.2: Financial Capacity Statement Scope of financial capacity assessment agreed with USAID SDEJT financial capacity assessment data collection USAID|ApaL COP and COF consulted with World Education staff in Zimbabwe on an outline for the scope of this activity. The World Education program team in Zimbabwe has extensive experience with this type of assessment and may be called on to provide technical support once the scope is agreed upon with USAID. Given the high level of involvement of SDEJT in activities this quarter, this activity is being pushed to the next quarter. In the next quarterly review meeting with USAID the scope shall be discussed.
B.4.3: Technical Capacity Assessments Technical capacity assessments with LEI staff As described above, technical capacity assessments are carried out during the TOT workshops to ensure that trainers are prepared to deliver the trainings for the RRP and SDTC program. Overall the TOT workshops have been successful in preparing the LEI staff to deliver these trainings with a high level of quality.
Contract No. AID-656-C-12-00001 FY 2015 Q3 Progress Report Page | 34
TASK C: READING REINFORCEMENT PROGRAM (RRP) Key Successes: • ToT for expert trainers conducted to facilitate trainings at the district level for Reading coaches and Lead Trainers. • Dia de Leitura helping to build momentum around the importance of reading in the communities and schools. It is an event which fosters cooperation between parents and schools to achieve an improved level of reading. • Strong monitoring and coaching system during INSET trainings as well as improved reporting on the quality of INSETs in the technical meetings with SDEJT.
Key Challenges: • Use of smartphones to report on classroom observations. Problems with credit and reception make it difficult for teachers to send the data regularly. In order to address this, the project has ensured that school directors can submit this information to the ZIP coordinator in paper form.
C.1: Develop and Implement Teacher Training and Coaching Model C.1.2: Train Reading Coaches May 11-14: Reading Coach Training (NPL/ZBZ) A second district training for reading coaches took place from May 11 to May 14. Led by a pool of expert trainers from IFP, UP, and experienced Reading coaches from last year, a total of 231 reading coaches have been trained.
As in the January training, general sessions were conducted in a big group while practice and feedback sessions were organized in smaller groups of around 20 Reading coaches.
An important feature of this training was the inclusion of the sharing and feedback sessions on different activities that coaches had implemented in the previous months. In smaller groups, successes and challenges were presented and discussed with support from the trainers. Several Reading coaches had recorded photos and videos of the Dia de Leitura event in their schools and presented them to the others. The feedback from this event seemed to be unanimously positive and participation from parents and students was lauded. Many schools and local authorities had contributed with prizes and other necessary resources.
Another important activity was the presentation and analysis of the Rapid School Assessment (RSA) data from March that was discussed within the different ZIPs. Guided by SDEJT and trainers, the Reading coaches were asked to analyze strengths as well as which indicators can be improved upon. Afterwards they presented a plan of action with specific activities they could initiate in their own schools.
Based on school visits, the project reinforced some essential teaching routines during the training. Reading coaches have to ensure that the decoding activity with 5-10 words from previous lessons takes place in the RRP lesson. The project observed that teachers do not teach enough decoding activities with words, but instead only decode with the new letters being taught. It is essential that a lot of guided practice in segmenting and blending of words takes place with different children, especially the ones that have been assessed during the monthly spelling test and identified as needing extra support.
Another routine that needed reinforcement was the use of flashcards. While teachers use the flashcard during revision activities with the whole class, they often do not sufficiently practice with individual children.
Contract No. AID-656-C-12-00001 FY 2015 Q3 Progress Report Page | 35
The second day of the training was used to address absenteeism issues among teachers and students. International research on absenteeism in Africa, and more specifically in Mozambique, was presented.1 School Management Tools were then introduced to complement the focus on the issue. While the tools are to be completed by the school director, the pedagogical director (DAP) also has an important role in providing the data for different forms that should be shared during monthly meetings and ultimately fed into the monthly register. Reading coaches practiced analyzing some of the forms that were completed as part of a case study and then went through the process of submitting data for the monthly register by smartphone or on paper via the ZIP coordinator.
A last important feature of the training was the introduction of a new Classroom Coaching Form that replaces the old Classroom Observation Form. While the observation form followed the initial teaching strategy, the new forms are much more focused on actual coaching during the classroom visit and not on only registering observations. The Classroom Coaching Form follows the 7 steps of the lesson and highlights the most critical teaching and learning routines that should be included in the lesson. Reading coaches were instructed that they should provide coaching whenever one of the indicators was registered as negative. This was practiced in the training through video. A pre-recorded lesson was shown, and in small groups the Reading coaches were asked to discuss the findings and how they would provide coaching in that moment. Afterwards, this was practiced in small group work as well.
The last day of the training was focused on revision of topics and the practice of teaching and coaching strategies. Just before SDEJT and DPEC closed the training, a new set of tools for the reading coaches was distributed to be used during classroom coaching.
C.1.3: Teacher Coaching in Schools Reading Coaches conduct teacher coaching monthly in schools After the follow up training in May, a new focus was put on active coaching during classroom visits with the improved coaching form. In the training the project also discussed organizational changes to be made in schools to facilitate coaching. Many of the schools in which the project is working are small and the Reading coach often teaches full time as well. During the training a discussion was held on how to organize teaching hours with support from School Management to allow Reading coaches to coach. This could be done by reorganizing the schedule or by getting help from the school director who can fill in for the Reading coach by teaching his/her class when coaching is scheduled.
After the training, Reading coaches reported that while they were trying to coach, time management issues still existed. Further discussion with SDEJT and DPEC has to take place to find practical solutions for this issue. MINEDH has the ambition of using DAP and cycle coordinators for pedagogical support and therefore should be included in discussions on how to address these issues.
Another lesson learned is that Reading coaches have difficulties with sending a summary of the monthly classroom coaching by smartphone. Due to lack of credit or reception in the district, they were not able to send it digitally and resorted to sending the paper version to the ZIP coordinator. This complicates monitoring by the project.
Despite these difficulties, the project is delighted to see a significant increase in the number of classroom visits as observed through the Rapid School Assessment.
1 SDI research report, March 2015, www.Sdindicators.org
Contract No. AID-656-C-12-00001 FY 2015 Q3 Progress Report Page | 36
C.1.4: Train Lead Trainers May 15-16: Lead Trainer training (NPL/ZBZ) Based on observations made during JP visits by SDEJT, DPEC and expert facilitators, recommendations were made to improve the quality of the INSET sessions. Most of the recommendations were based on participation of the Lead Trainers. Some Lead Trainers had been absent regularly while others were not technically skilled enough to be leading the INSET sessions. While all reported that coaching conversations had taken place with these Lead Trainers, there had been no improvement during the first 6 INSET sessions.
During the last day of the Reading coach training, on May 14, a final selection of Lead Trainers was announced, with some changes based on the aforementioned qualifications. These chosen Lead Trainers participated in the May 15-16 training.
Aside from the sharing and feedback sessions, there had been a lot of practice with the use of the learning and teaching material. This included, but was not limited to, the use of lettercards to make words and word cards to make simple sentences. This training took place in small groups. Trainers followed the content of the upcoming INSET trainings from June, July, and August in the Lead Trainer manual. While doing so, they demonstrated specific activities such as the explanation of the 5 routines of the school director slated for June 6, practice with the fluency assessment on June 20, and other relevant topics. Following this demonstration, the Lead Trainers were expected to prepare the activity and demonstrate within their groups.
After these various activities, the trainers reinforced some improvements for the upcoming months. One of the observations was that some ZIPs were combining training by creating a big group consisting of 2 or more ZIPS. This is best practice because there are two trainers per ZIP and they should be working in small groups to allow the maximum amount of personalized training.
Another practice that required improvement was the use of self-made teaching tools. After the training, the project distributed an increased amount of paper and markers to be used by the teachers in the INSET. Thereafter, all teaching material created in the INSETs is expected to be taken back to schools to be used in teaching the RRP. This does not always take place as some Lead Trainers retained all materials made in their INSET sessions. After guidance had been communicated on this in the training, ApaL is expecting this to improve in the next months.
C.1.5: In-Service Teacher Training INSET (NPL/ZBZ) INSET training has taken place as scheduled. Below is an overview of INSET dates and a summary of the content of the training.
May 23 • Scope and sequence for upcoming weeks • Practice of more complicated letter sounds • Quantity of learning; report on absenteeism in schools June 6 • Scope and sequence for upcoming weeks • Demonstrating/modeling lessons by Reading coaches using the new Classroom Coaching Form • 5 routines for school director to improve management June 20 • Scope and sequence for upcoming weeks
Contract No. AID-656-C-12-00001 FY 2015 Q3 Progress Report Page | 37
• Fluency assessment week 20; process of assessment and registration with help of reading coach • Read alouds and vocabulary exercises July 4 • Scope and sequence for upcoming weeks • Radio programs to be broadcasted during the second half of the year • Remedial teaching for students who score below average on spelling tests • Rapid School Assessment Data 2 July 18 • Scope and sequence for upcoming weeks • Analyze results from the fluency assessment and follow up in classroom teaching • Activities for teaching review and homework activities August 1 • Scope and sequence for upcoming weeks • Self-made teaching and learning aids; flashcards & word cards to make sentences • Follow up on use of decodable books
During the INSET sessions, coaching visits will take place by SDEJT and DPEC. For this they will be using coaching forms distributed by the project that indicate which activities are crucial and how they should provide coaching when needed.
An essential new feature to be implemented during the upcoming quarter is the INSET report. After the INSET session, technicians from SDEJT and DPEC will meet with the District Officer (DO) to identify successes and challenges. This will be organized for Reading and School Management INSETs. The use of a guideline (i.e. INSET report) will help the DO to organize a constructive meeting and plan where next INSET visits need to take place to follow up on challenges observed. DOs will then report to the technical reading officers by sending the INSET report to them. Technical reading officers have the ability to follow up and give guidance when a larger group of ZIPs report difficulties in a specific area.
C.1.6: Training Support with Mobile Tech Classroom observation data collected monthly by Reading Coaches Roughly 30 copies of the Classroom Coaching Forms have been distributed to each Reading coach. During the training, renewed attention was given to the management of these forms. The Reading coach should be keeping the coaching forms signed by the observed teacher in a binder and bringing them to the school director during the monthly report session. As mentioned earlier, it is not always possible to send this data to the project by smartphone due to credit or reception problems. When uploading is not possible, the data from the classroom observation should be noted on the paper version of the register and handed in to the ZIP coordinator by the school director.
Project staff are pleased to see that during the previous quarter many more Reading coaches were able to organize classroom coaching and register the results. This was confirmed by the Rapid School Assessment and is a great indicator that the value of these classroom observations is acknowledged by Reading coaches and schools.
SMS reminders sent As always, the project sent SMS reminders with motivational messages and information on Reading and School Management interventions. A good example of this includes the messages sent to ZIPs to congratulate high performing schools based on the results of the RSA in March. Other SMS messages
Contract No. AID-656-C-12-00001 FY 2015 Q3 Progress Report Page | 38
had to do with the use of TLAs in schools or follow up messages for Lead Trainers after the May training. A total of 4,439 messages have been sent to Reading coaches and LT´s
C.2: Increase Availability of Teaching and Learning Materials to Teachers and Students C.2.2: Develop, Print, & Distribute Teaching & Learning Aids (TLAs) May 25-29, a workshop was held in Maputo with a group of experts to develop a set of leveled books (see Annex C). Expert teachers from both provinces attended, as well as a group of MINEDH; department of Primary Education and department of Teacher Training, INDE and Eduardo Mondlane University.
Led by the ApaL Senior Reading Expert and Dr. Marcia Davidson, the workshop started with a training on the purpose and design of leveled books. After this, a review of the available reading material in USAID|ApaL was conducted and a selection of read alouds was modified into three levels according to benchmarks set by the group.
These benchmarks related to predictability, text length, difficulty of content, and illustrations. After the leveling process, a field test with the material was done with children from grade 2 and 3 to evaluate if the levels were set correctly.
After field testing, the group concluded that the lowest level was still too difficult for beginner 2nd grade students. Consequently, a 6 INDE partner conducting field test with new set of books was developed by the group that was deemed the pilot books. suitable for this level.
After the workshop, the participants expressed their enthusiasm in the practical character of the workshop as well as the final product; 12 books divided into 4 levels. All MINEDH and INDE partners will review the material when a pilot set of books is printed in August 2015. They will also disseminate the material within MINEDH because leveled books are not bound to a method or project and can therefore be easily used in any situation where there is a need for good quality Early Grade Reading material.
Illustrations for the books have been finalized and a proof for printing is to be delivered in the beginning of August, after which the project is expected to pilot the books in the district of Nampula. This piloting is necessary to measure whether the levels are indeed set correctly. Any changes can be made accordingly and the books will then be ready to be used on a wider scale. 7 Leveled Book 1
C.3: Raise Awareness about the importance of Reading Instruction C.3.1: Radio Broadcasts Radio programs broadcasted
Contract No. AID-656-C-12-00001 FY 2015 Q3 Progress Report Page | 39
Provincial radio stations and community radios are broadcasting the radio programs as scheduled. While the president of the school council was asked to monitor the frequency of broadcasting, the most reliable information comes from the radio stations who are submitting monthly reports to the project. During Dia de Leitura, all parents had been informed about the existence of the radio programs and each school received 3 posters to put up in the school to communicate the frequency used and the broadcast schedule.
The link with the read aloud books had also been made during Dia de Leitura events and listeners of the program were reminded to borrow the material from the school to use at home.
8 Radio poster for Mocuba district. C.3.2: Dia de Leitura April 18: Dia de Leitura in all schools After the initial success of the 2014 Dia de Leitura event, the project had increased efforts to organize Dia de Leitura in all schools during 2015 as well. Preparations had already started in 2014 with the design and procurement of boxes to be used for management of books and teaching material. In addition, t-shirts and prizes were prepared to be distributed during the actual event.
Based on the results of the RSA, one school per district was chosen by SDEJT and DPEC to organize a central event. An overview of schools which were selected can be found below:
Schools Selected for Central Dia de Leitura Event Zambézia Province Nampula Province School District School District EPC Munhonha Nicoadala EPC Mulio Murrupula EPC de Janeiro Quelimane EPC de Napala Monapo EPC de CFM Mocuba EPC Capueira Nampula
Chosen schools were then visited by project staff and SDEJT to determine whether the school was able to organize a district event. All schools selected were enthusiastic to do so and were given support to organize different aspects of the day.Each school organized a stage where pupils and teachers could demonstrate their skills and an area for guests to sit and watch. All schools invited local officials from the government, education offices, and village chiefs or elders. These attendees played an important role in the day’s activities, but even more so in promoting the importance of learning how to read. An important moment in the day came when the 9 INDE Director, Governor of Murrupula, and USAID governor of Mocuba offered prizes to be included representative handed out prizes to participants of the in the event and many guests expressed their reading competition.
Contract No. AID-656-C-12-00001 FY 2015 Q3 Progress Report Page | 40
admiration for the children who performed during the reading competition.
In each province, one school was selected to organize an even bigger event where the project invited guests from the central government, provincial leaders, and partners in education and development work. Directors of IFP, SDEJT, DPEC, and the Pedagogical University (UP) were also invited to participate as well as national and provincial media, newspaper, TV, and radio.
Final preparations for the events took place in the week before April 18, but all schools had already been preparing for some time. Guided by the INSET training, teachers had organized a reading competition at the class level and selected the best readers to participate in the main event on April 18. A total of 12 participants, 6 boys and 6 girls, would be chosen to demonstrate their reading skills.
Each school received a box with material to support the event. Materials included t-shirts to be given as prizes to the children as well as for teachers, school management, and the president of the school council. The box also included posters to inform parents about the radio programs and some decodable books to be used as prizes during the classroom competition.
This year the project organized the events so that trainers from UP, IFP, expert facilitators, project staff, and SDEJT staff could also visit other schools further into the district. In Nampula province, a total of 59 schools had been visited. This included 28 schools in Nampula City, 16 in Monapo, and 15 in Murrupula. During each of these visits, the visiting person acted as a representative of the project. They participated in the opening ceremony with a speech and helped out during the distribution of the prizes. The provincial event in Murrupula was attended by the director of DNFP, Sr. Feliciano Mahalambe and the directora of INDE, Samaria Tuvela. 10 Dramatization of the read aloud. Representatives of USAID were also present.
In Zambézia a total of 62 schools had been visited, including 31 in Mocuba, 19 in Nicoadala, and 12 in Quelemane. The central event in Nicoadala was attended by provincial and district officials and leaders.
Out of all the Dia de Leitura activities, the Reading Competition sparked the most interest. Children from grade 2 and 3 had prepared different stories to read aloud, and after each child read, a loud applause was given. It was encouraging to see the support given by teachers and parents to their children. Afterwards, all children were given prizes that included a t-shirt and other gifts prepared by the different schools.
Another important moment of the day was the introduction of the reading material to the parents. This was accompanied by instructions by the director and Reading coach as to how parents and community members could assist in the process of learning how to read by borrowing the decodable books and read alouds to practice at home. This was also the time allotted to inform parents on the frequency and broadcast schedule of radio programs.
Contract No. AID-656-C-12-00001 FY 2015 Q3 Progress Report Page | 41
Another highlight was the dramatization by students of one of the read alouds. All schools had prepared a short play which caused a lot of laughter. In Murrupula, the invited guests watched ´The party for the animals with horns,´ where children were dressed up as the different animals.
After this, all parents were invited to participate in an ApaL lesson together with their children. Teachers had prepared a lesson they would normally give to demonstrate the teaching strategy. For many parents, this was their first time visiting a classroom, and sometimes even the first time to visit a school.
Aside from the positive participation during the day, it was most encouraging to hear the feedback from all involved afterwards. Many educators were surprised to see how many parents and community members were participating.
Many parents indeed were impressed by the overall level of reading by the children; especially their own children. One 11 Reading out loud during the reading mother in Murrupula cheered after her boy had read, ran competition. forward, and lifted him up to show how proud she was.
Local media reported on the impact of the project and the importance of the Aprender a Ler project as well. As mentioned before, during the May training many reading coaches showed videos and photos of what proved to be a good event with a positive impact.
TASK D: SCHOOL DIRECTOR TRAINING & COACHING (SDTC) PROGRAM Key Successes: • Use of SMTs and School Management Routines - School directors, during the January training, had been trained on how to use a set of school management tools (SMTs) to track: 1) teacher attendance and punctuality in school; 2) teacher participation in INSETs; 3) student absenteeism; and additional tools including monthly summaries, TLA inventory, and TLA usage registers. They had been also trained in the implementation of the 5 school management routines. These are 1) efficient school assembly; 2) maintaining a regular school bell schedule; 3) management routines for students of absent teachers; 4) TLA usage routines; and 5) use of school management tools (SMTs). During Rapid School Assessment (RSA) data collection after the May training, it had been noted that some SDs start the school day promptly, even if not all teachers and students are present. By doing this, SDs send the message to those who arrive late that school has started without them.
It has also been noted during school monitoring visits that some SDs have started to properly use data for analysis and decision-making. The data are used to give feedback, for example, to teachers who are often absent. SDs are encouraged to post data such as attendance or coaching schedules in clearly visible places for teachers to see. This is a good way to increase awareness about the challenges of increasing quantity of instruction. Posting the data publicly puts additional pressure on teachers to improve their performance.
The schools have a clearly established time each day for the reading reinforcement lesson. During this time a member of the school management team should ensure that teachers are using materials in the classroom (i.e. the letter wall charts, lesson plans, decodable books, the flashcards box, and read aloud books for the lesson). In school monitoring visits, it has been seen that in most of the
Contract No. AID-656-C-12-00001 FY 2015 Q3 Progress Report Page | 42
schools the TLAs are used and stored in safe but accessible place and the decodable books are organized by title/class.
Although SDs have been reminded of the reason why it is important to regularly collect the data - to give feedback based on data and to track improvements in performance - some SDs are having trouble accurately filling out the form. For this reason, SDs were given support on how to fill the tools out correctly during the May training. Whenever this was done, an ApaL staff member noted it.
• ZIP Coordinator Coaching Visits - Between SD INSET sessions, ZIP Coordinators are supported by the project to carry out monthly visits to each school in the ZIP through one-on-one peer coaching sessions. During the coaching visit, ZIP Coordinators should discuss many of the same issues discussed in this support visit. The ZIP Coordinator should help the SDs of his/her ZIP to improve performance in reading and school management. When possible, the ZIP Coordinator should meet with all school staff to give feedback on any performance issues noted in the rapid assessments or school management tools.
ApaL prepares ZIP Coordinators for this role with additional training and support to enable them to fulfill their roles and responsibilities as coaches and to exhibit good practices. In addition, ApaL provides a transportation allowance (covering necessary costs) for ZIP Coordinators for regular school visits. Despite this support, these visits during the last quarter (Q2) did not happen on a regular basis in the Zambézia province, mainly due to floods and the inaccessibility of roads. This quarter (Q3) ZIP Coordinators significantly improved their level of coaching.
In the last ZIP Coordinators’ training in May, in order to strengthen ZIP Coordinators’ skills and abilities to coach SDs, they were trained on simplified checklists that go along with the school support guide as a tool for a coaching visit, they solved problems, and also did exercises with simulated coaching sessions.
• Recording of Videos to show school management best practices and success stories - During FYQ3 different videos were recorded to show school management best practices and share success stories. Four short videos showing effective assembly routines (a large school with many students; a school with few students present at the assembly; a small rural school; and one school with poor assembly routines) were recorded. One of the main purposes of this component is to increase instructional time. Effective SDs motivate teachers and students to follow routines to manage time efficiently by setting consistent behavioral expectations. From the start of the school day, an effective assembly routine communicates the importance of teaching time. It is important to show SDs how to perform an effective assembly regardless of the specific context of each school by following a few tips.
One of the videos shows how to have an effective assembly in a school with many students (over 3,000). The biggest challenge in this context is the time students take to dismiss from the assembly and to get in the classroom. It may happen that to better manage this activity the SD decides that the assembly should be carried out via grades and classes, in a place a little further away from the administrative office, or even long before classes start.
Two shorter videos showing the school bell time routine were also recorded. The effective school bell time routine can potentially have a large impact on schools. SDs who consider this a high priority communicate the importance of instructional time.
Contract No. AID-656-C-12-00001 FY 2015 Q3 Progress Report Page | 43
Another one of the videos shows routines and best practices to help deal with the students of absent teachers. The school should have a clear plan/strategy and teaching activities prepared to avoid any lost instructional time, even for when teachers are absent or late.
Lastly, a 10 minute video was produced on how to conduct a 5 hour SM INSET session.
Key Challenges: • Quantity of Instruction - Student and teacher absenteeism, duration of school shifts, and the average minutes late to start the school day are some of the challenges encountered. In some schools, RSA results showed quantity of instruction in this quarter decreased due to a late start to the school day. Unfortunately, the reasons for this trend remain unclear. ApaL and SDEJT officers often, during school visits, noted that classes still start late in relation to the official starting time. Although some improvement has been noted, there is not always an efficient use of instructional time. For example, students and teachers still arrive late to school. In rural areas, teachers often do not live in the village and prefer to live in the city and commute to the school. Teachers then arrive late and cite many common transport problems as an excuse for tardiness. In addition, especially after the holidays at the end of each school term, teachers tend to not return to work promptly. Student attendance depends on teachers’ attendance. If students note that their teacher is absent twice in a row, on the third day they will probably not go to the school.
Every time an ApaL staff member noted this, feedback was provided and SDs were given support on how to confront the challenge. For example, ApaL staff members suggested to SDs that, during the break period, the SD or delegated member of the school management team should be present to observe the behavior of students and ensure that they return to the classroom promptly when the bell rings.
In the case of classes starting late, due to lack of punctuality from teachers and students, ApaL staff recommended to SDs that the school day start independently of how many students or teachers have arrived. Starting the concentration at the same time every day is a clear message from the SD on the importance of instructional time. People should change their behavior to match the routines of the school.
• Limited availability of IFP Marrere trainers(Nampula province) to facilitate the SD District training - Unfortunately, during May 13 trainings IFP Marrere trainers did not attend ToT due to a scheduling conflict (i.e. they were facilitating a school management training for SDs and Pedagogical Directors from other districts in the province not covered by ApaL). In order to cover the gap of trainers, after consultation with DPEC, the best district technical officers and other IFP trainers were used to facilitate the SM district training for school directors. All participants were assessed daily to verify their level of expertise as it pertains to the school management contents. The final score for each one was then considered when they were put into district teams to go facilitate school management training for school directors.
D.1: Develop and Implement School Director Training and Coaching Model D.1.2: Train School Directors SD Training (NPL/ZBZ) School Director Training 2, “The practice of behavioral change”, took place in all six districts in both provinces simultaneously on May 11-13. The sessions were designed to address challenges encountered during three months (January-March) of practice and reinforce the five practices of effective school
Contract No. AID-656-C-12-00001 FY 2015 Q3 Progress Report Page | 44 directors (school leadership, communication skills, giving and receiving feedback using school management tools, and building community participation in education), through providing SDs with the knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSAs) to accomplish their mission of maximizing instructional time and improving the quality of reading. The content delivered over 3 days in the May training was related to: time management (as one of the important skills to be an effective school manager), communication skills (introduction of 5 routines, delegation of tasks, using data for decision-making), problem solving, practicing feedback, gender equitable teaching practices, and building community involvement.
In both provinces, the SDs attendance rate was above 80% and they actively participated in group discussions, activities, and exercises. The 12 School Director giving feedback outline of the training is presented in the table below: to late students
Session Session Description Day One
Session 1: • SDs will identify some successes and challenges over the past four months. Welcoming and • SDs will review goals of the training and the ApaL project and School Directors’ roles General Overview in supporting the Reading Reinforcement Program (RRP).
• SDs will differentiate between effectiveness and efficiency in time management by using at least two techniques for greater effectiveness in time management. Session 2: • SDs will differentiate between the terms ‘importance’ and ‘urgency’ by ranking Improving Time common SD activities in the time management matrix. Management • SDs will apply time management lessons to the development of a monthly school calendar. Session 3: • SDs will identify at least four benefits of school-based routines that help increase Building student instruction time. Communication • SDs will explain how routines and best practices for managing time can increase Skills: Establishing instruction time and attendance. Routines Session 4: • SDs, with the most important daily tasks, identify to whom the tasks are delegated Building when the responsible person is not present. Communication • The SDs should learn to be able to communicate well in advance when the task will Skills: Delegation of be delegated and must identify what kind of instructions the person will need to Tasks accomplish the task. Day Two Day Two Logistics • Facilitators will discuss feedback from day one and provide logistics information for and Feedback day two. • SDs will identify and list the successes and challenges they have experienced while Session 5: using the School Management Tools (SMTs) to collect data. Data for Decision- • SDs will analyze the data that they collected and then set new target goals to make Making incremental improvements to the overall performance of their schools. Session 6: • SDs will identify solutions to common challenges and how to engage communities to Community support reading. Involvement • SDs will prepare for a community meeting to mobilize support for reading improvement.
Contract No. AID-656-C-12-00001 FY 2015 Q3 Progress Report Page | 45
Session Session Description • SDs will create an outline of their Dia da Leitura plans and share them with the group. Session 7: Building Leadership • SDs will differentiate between a person’s interests versus their position, and describe Skills: Listening for how they relate to minimizing conflict. Common Ground Day Three Day Three • SDs will discuss feedback from day two and provide logistics information for day Logistics and three. Feedback Session 8: • SDs will identify the difference between direct and indirect communication and Practicing analyze the benefits of using either forms of communication in a given situation. Feedback • SDs will explain how separating their reaction to a person’s attitude or actions can help them provide more effective feedback. Session 9: • SDs will analyze a scenario where gender bias impacted the educational opportunities Gender Equitable for girls. They will also describe three possible actions they can take to support Practices in teachers and their schools to ensure gender equality in the classroom. Education • Identify and explain what classroom-based activities can help create a more gender friendly environment. Session 10: Classroom • SDs understand the lesson plan and the lesson structure. They know which steps Observation of reading reinforcement lessons should follow and which form the Pedagogical Reading Director should fill in during the classroom observation. Reinforcement Program Session 11: • SDs will list one thing they learned in each session. Training Wrap-Up • SDs will fill out the training evaluation form. and Evaluation
This training was centered on case studies and problems to solve. The purpose of the case study was to allow the SDs to work together to practice responding to challenges similar to those that they will face in their daily work. As a method of learning, the case study both allows SDs to practice facing situations they come across in their work. Yet it also compels SDs to work together through active participation and cooperative discussions to overcome a challenge.
In another session, Rapid School Assessment data results, disaggregated by sex to demonstrate the differences in boys’ and girls’ reading outcomes, were presented. The data showed that girls are still reading at a much lower level than boys. SDs have a key role in addressing this challenge to ensure that both girls and boys improve their reading scores and learn to read fluently. SDs should understand that factors outside the school environment may be responsible for differences in performance between boys and girls. Therefore, SDs should constantly review data on attendance and reading performance (e.g. ApaL Rapid Assessments, written assessments carried out on a monthly basis in every 2nd and 3rd grade class, fluency assessments conducted twice per year by 2nd and 3rd grade teachers, etc.) to determine if there are differences between boys’ and girls’ performances. When they observe patterns demonstrating that girls are not performing as well as boys, SDs can identify external challenges that may be responsible in order to begin a process of community engagement with the support of the school council to address these issues.
Contract No. AID-656-C-12-00001 FY 2015 Q3 Progress Report Page | 46
The use of “5 school management routines” to help improve quality and quantity of instruction were reinforced. During this session images were shown and videos were taken from different schools to show routines and best practices for managing time. This helps to increase not only instruction time, but also attendance. Creating routines and following them consistently also shows good leadership.
The training was facilitated by trainers. In each class of no more than 35 SDs, 2 trainers were present. The team of trainers was composed of IFP trainers, teachers from the Pedagogical University, and some of the best SDs from last year. All SD participants were assessed daily to verify the level of assimilation of school management contents. The first activity on the following day was to correct the test. In this way, the trainers reinforced the contents delivered the day before by clarifying doubts.
D.1.3: Train ZIP Coordinators ZIP Coordinator Training (NPL/ZBZ) Within the existing framework of MINEDH, ZIP Coordinators provide support to the schools in the ZIP cluster. ZIP Coordinators are called upon to facilitate Saturday SD INSET sessions at the ZIP level.
The primary goal of a Peer Coach is to provide support to SDs to implement practices in their schools that improve the quality and increase the quantity of instruction in their schools, ultimately leading to improved reading skills for children. To prepare ZIP Coordinators for this role, they receive additional training and support to enable them to fulfill their roles and responsibilities as coaches.
The ZIP Coordinator training sessions are structured around three key areas: 1) coaching skills such as giving constructive feedback and supporting SDs to solve challenges in their schools; 2) facilitation of INSET sessions; and 3) reinforcement of the five practices of effective school directors (school leadership, communication skills, giving and receiving feedback using school management tools, and building community participation in education).
During Q3, the second ZIP Coordinator Training took place on May 13th and 14th, titled, ““Motivating and building confidence of School Directors” with sessions designed to address challenges encountered during three months of practice and to reinforce ZIP Coordinator coaching skills.
The ZIP Coordinator facilitated three sessions (INSET 6: Giving and Receiving Feedback, on April 25; INSET 7: Gender, on May 23; and INSET 8: Leadership: Time Saving Routines, on June 20). They used the knowledge, skills, and tools that he/she has gained through the USAID|ApaL project Peer Coaching training. Specifically, the ZIP Coordinator is responsible for the following aspects with regard to Saturday SD INSET sessions: mobilize SDs and teachers to attend INSET sessions; facilitate meetings and build rapport among SDs so they feel free to discuss common challenges and jointly identify solutions; and manage and report on funds for SDs and teacher INSET sessions.
ApaL technical officers, SDEJT officers, and IFP school management trainers visited SD INSET sessions to provide additional support and monitor the implementation and impact of the Peer Coaching program in the schools.
D.1.4: School Director Coaching Visits Between SD INSET sessions, ZIP Coordinators are supported by the project to carry out monthly visits to each school in the ZIP through one-on-one peer coaching sessions. During the coaching visit, ZIP Coordinators should discuss many of the same issues discussed across all school support visits. The ZIP Coordinator should help the SDs of his/her ZIP to improve performance in reading and school
Contract No. AID-656-C-12-00001 FY 2015 Q3 Progress Report Page | 47
management. When possible, the ZIP Coordinator should meet with all school staff to give feedback on any performance issues noted in the rapid assessments or school management tools.
These visits during the last quarter did not happen on a regular basis in Zambezia province, mainly due to floods and inaccessibility of roads. In Q3 the frequency of coaching visits improved substantially.
D.1.5: School Director INSET The SD INSET serves to reinforce the core school management and leadership skills covered during the 13 ApaL Senior Staff providing feedback to a SD SD provincial-level trainings. To ensure that these and teacher. behaviors are solidified through practice, each month SDs meet at the ZIP-level SD INSET session to review practices, talk about challenges they’ve faced, and discuss solutions that they have either come up with on their own or have been proposed in the group.
In this quarter, three INSET sessions took place: INSET 6: Giving and Receiving Feedback, on April 25; INSET 7: Gender, on May 23; and INSET 8: Leadership: Time Saving Routines, on June 20. The ZIP Coordinator facilitated three sessions using the knowledge, skills, and tools that he or she has gained through the ApaL project Peer Coaching training.
SD attendance during the INSET sessions remain constant during the last quarter, although there are significant differences between ZIPs. Strong leadership from a ZIP Coordinator is perceived as an important indicator for participation.
SD attendance during INSET sessions District 25/04/2015 23/05/2015 20/06/2015 Average Target Rate Nampula 22 23 19 21 25 85% Monapo 95 95 98 96 100 96% Murrupula 84 86 83 84 93 91% Nampula Province 201 204 200 202 218 93% Quelimane 52 15 51 39 60 66% Nicoadala 61 32 58 45 68 66% Mocuba 141 108 132 127 186 68% Zambezia Province 254 155 241 211 314 67% Overall 455 359 441 413 532 78%
ApaL has provided ZIP Coordinators with scripted plans for the INSET sessions to guide them in training on essential topics that align with the SD training given. The scripted plans include active group discussions and homework activities for the SDs to do during the following month’s INSET. For the INSETs thereafter, homework is reviewed and experiences are shared.
Contract No. AID-656-C-12-00001 FY 2015 Q3 Progress Report Page | 48
SDEJT officers and IFP school management trainers participated in SD INSET sessions to provide additional support and monitor the implementation and impact of the Peer Coaching program in the schools. During this time, ApaL technical officers visited multiple sessions to monitor quality and to coach when needed. Supervisors participating in INSET sessions complete an "INSET Monitoring Data Sheet". The purpose of this record is, on the one hand, to ensure the contents of each INSET session are covered and transmitted according to the desired quality. On the other hand, it guides the supervisors for checking logistics and topics. This form should be used only as a guide. In the case that supervisors find that a topic or an indicator is not covered, or the information is not correctly passed on, the supervisors should intervene promptly and communicate the message reported on the sheet for each indicator.
At the end of each INSET session, the supervisor who monitored the session requests that the ZIP Coordinator sign the completed document to be submitted to (the) District Officer (DO). Finally, after each INSET session, district technical officers should meet and review the "INSET Assessment Report Sheet". This document is completed by the Apal District Officer and contains information on the following indicators: logistics, attendance, and punctuality; active participation; content delivered, modeling and coaching, and findings and recommendations showing at least 3 positives aspects and 3 aspects that need to be strengthened.
TASK E: MONITORING & EVALUATION Key Successes: • A second of Rapid School Assessments were carried out in all six program districts. In total 513 of 538 schools were visited (95%). Of which 54 were found to be non-functional on the day of visit. Data collection was completed in 5 working days in all districts except in Mocuba and Murrupula which lasted 8 and 6 days respectively. The majority of indicators show strong improvement compared to the last round of assessment. • USAID|ApaL trained 16 SDEJT officers on how to conduct data analysis; 6 in Nampula province and 10 in Zambezia province. The Technical Officers analyzed all Rapid School Assessment data and presented the results in their respective districts, as well as for DPEC. This was in order to ensure that SDEJT has their own capacity and resources able to continue with the activities when the project phases out. Data cleaning and analysis were conducted immediately after data collection on June 15-19.
Key Challenges: • SDs and DAPs still seem to have trouble recording and sending information on levels of coaching in the school despite receiving training in January and May specific to this. While there was improvement compared to the previous quarter, this will be reinforced again in the August trainings. • While the RSA was successful in visiting 95% of schools, 25 schools (mostly in Mocuba) were not visited due to unavailability of SDEJT officers for the entire period. In large districts such as Mocuba RSA is difficult to complete in a short time period due to insufficient number of technical officers. In addition to the 25 schools not visited, 54 were non-functional and no data could be collected. This is a major issue stressed in district and provincial-level presentations.
E.1: Impact & Evaluation N/A Planning for the IE data collection will begin next quarter.
Contract No. AID-656-C-12-00001 FY 2015 Q3 Progress Report Page | 49
E.2: EGRA/SMA in Scale-up Schools N/A Planning for EGRA will begin next quarter. E.3: Rapid School Assessment (RSA) E.3.1: RSA Data Collection E.3.2: RAT Data Analysis and Results Presentation RSA II data collection and analysis (NPL/ZBZ) RSA data collection was conducted June 8 -12 with in all districts but Mocuba. The district had 3 more additional days June 15 – 17 than the rest due to high number of schools. The district has 15 SDEJT to cover a total of 186 schools which is not sufficient. In total 513 of 538 target schools were visited (95%). Of which 54 were non-functional on the day of visit. A total of 109 SDEJT and DPEC technical officers were trained in RSA to collect data. The teams were joined by two technical officers from MINEDH during data to supervise the exercise.
Data cleaning and analysis followed immediately after collection. Two SDEJT from each district in the planning department were selected to lead the cleaning process with training and support from the USAID|ApaL M&E Team. Data was downloaded from the Magpi platform and reviewed for completeness and internal consistency. The exercise captivated discussion among SDEJT as for the first time they had a chance to understand simple errors they themselves committed during collection, the exercise also reduced time it took the M&E team to clean and analyze the data. It took SDEJT three days to finish data cleaning and prepare respective district presentation
RSA 1 results presentation (NPL/ZBZ) The RSA presentations were made in each district beginning at district level the DPEC starting June 22 – July 6. The process was delayed in Zambezia, President of the Republic was visiting some districts and schools in the province and some of DPEC and SDEJT were involved in the activity. During the presentation a review of the data collection methodology and field work is made for SDEJT, DPEC, and ZIP Coordinators in attendance. This is followed by distribution of results for the district organized in an easy to follow dashboard format. The results are organized by indicator for each school and ZIP. See the annex for an example from Quelimane district. A total of five indicators were used related to implementation of RRP: • Oral Reading Fluency in correct words per minute (CWPM) based on timed reading of a simple text from a sample of five 2nd and five 3rd grade students in visited schools. • Percentage of teachers coached as verified by documentation in the classroom observation visits • Classroom observation score given as a percentage of classroom practices observed during a 45- minute RRP lesson. • TLA usage score based on the total number of distinct TLAs observed in the classroom during the classroom observation (teacher manual, decodable books, read-aloud books, alphabet chart, key word cards, letter/word cards, letter/word chart (“quadro de pregas”). Since not all of these are used in every class, a score of 5 is considered acceptable.
The table below gives the summary by district for each indicator.
Contract No. AID-656-C-12-00001 FY 2015 Q3 Progress Report Page | 50
Reading Indicators
District Oral Reading Oral Reading % of Classroom Use of TLAs Fluency 2nd grade Fluency 3rd teachers observation (maximum (cwpm) grade (cwpm) coached score score 7)
Mocuba 4.3 7.1 56% 71% 5 Nicoadala 2.8 5.8 48% 72% 5 Quelimane 4.2 8.8 67% 68% 5 Zambezia 3.8 7.2 0.6 70% 5 Province Nampula City 3.3 5.8 53% 71% 5
Monapo 3.3 7.5 53% 72% 5 Murrupula 5.0 9.8 59% 75% 5 Nampula 3.9 7.7 55% 73% 5 Province
A total of 10 indicators are used to assess implementation of the SDTC program in schools: • SD or PD present – indicates if at any time the SD or PD were present in the school; • SD or PD arrived prior shift – indicates if the SD or PD arrived prior to the start of the school shift; • Use of school bell – indicates of the school effectively used the school bell to mark the start of the day and the intervals between class periods; • School Assembly – indicates if the school began the day with morning assembly, one of the recommended daily routines; • Average late start – the average minutes late by which the school began classes on day of visit; • % teachers absent – percentage of 2nd and 3rd grade teachers not present on the day of visit; • % teachers late – indicates the percentage of the teachers who arrived late with respect to the total number present; • % students absent – percentage of students absent relative to the number enrolled and randomly selected 2nd and 3rd grade classes; • SMT use score – percentage of school management tools observed in use (up-to-date) on day of visit; • TLA management score – percentage of recommended practices with respect to TLA management observed on the day of visit.
The results for these indicators are summarized in the table below:
Contract No. AID-656-C-12-00001 FY 2015 Q3 Progress Report Page | 51
School Management Indicators
Distrito
Score prior shift prior teachers late SMT use score % School Assembly SDPD or arrived TLA management Average late start Use of school bell ofUse school % teachers absent % students absent SD SD PD present or
Mocuba 93% 71% 76% 52% 36 27% 17% 61% 57% 65% Nicoadala 89% 69% 72% 48% 33 30% 31% 59% 61% 58% Quelimane 82% 54% 81% 38% 36 19% 22% 48% 65% 75% Zambezia 88% 65% 76% 46% 35 26% 24% 56% 61% 66% Provinnce Nampula City 100% 88% 100% 88% 22 26% 25% 45% 69% 70%
Monapo 92% 77% 86% 89% 19 21% 12% 55% 71% 73% Murrupula 90% 79% 89% 65% 40 17% 7% 52% 73% 82% Nampula 94% 81% 92% 80% 27 21% 15% 51% 71% 75% Province
E.4: Output & Outcome Monitoring E.4.1: M&E Plan Last quarter an updated MEP with targets for FY15 were submitted with the quarterly report. USAID|ApaL is awaiting feedback from USAID on the targets.
E.4.2: INSET Monitoring Quarterly to monthly INSET monitoring debriefs (NPL/ZBZ) LEI RRP INSET monitoring (NPL/ZBZ) INSET monitoring debrief sessions are conducted following each INSET session and SDEJT meet together with ApaL DOs to review the previous INSET. During the quarter, a total of 10 debrief sessions were conducted - 5 in each province. After every meeting, the DO prepares a brief report to share with SDEJT Directors and the ApaL Technical team to provide feedback where necessary.
LEI SD INSET monitoring (NPL/ZBZ) INSET monitoring debrief sessions are conducted following each INSET session and SDEJT meet together with ApaL DOs to review the previous INSET. During the quarter, a total of 6 debrief sessions were conducted - 3 in each province. After every meeting, the DO prepares a brief report to share with SDEJT Directors and ApaL Technical team to provide feedback where necessary.
E.4.3: Quarterly Indicator Reporting Indicator data analysis & reporting (NPL/ZBZ) At the end of the quarter the M&E provincial officer from Zambézia travels to Nampula to join the rest of the M&E team to conduct analysis and prepare the quarterly progress reports. This was carried out in April of this quarter.
Contract No. AID-656-C-12-00001 FY 2015 Q3 Progress Report Page | 52
E.4.4: Quarterly Internal Data Quality Assessment (DQA) Quarterly Internal DQA (NPL/ZBZ) During the quarterly data analysis, the M&E team conducts an internal review of data sources and data collection processes to ensure that performance data meet standards of validity, integrity, precision, reliability, and timeliness. In cases were gaps are identified, actions are undertaken to address them to ensure a high quality of performance data.
E.4.5: Intervention Effectiveness & Follow-up Studies Final EGRA/SMA follow-up report submitted. Dissemination events during following National Task Force Meetings Based on previous discussions with USAID, it was agreed that intervention effectiveness studies would be conducted in partnership with a local university as a means of further strengthening partnerships with local education institutions. Based on previously expressed interest, USAID|ApaL is working with the Catholic University of Mozambique (UCM) in Nampula to develop the scope of these studies. One will focus on the impact of the USAID|ApaL radio program and another with be an EGRA follow-up study. The radio study will take place next quarter due to limited availability of UCM researchers in the previous periods. Given the delay in implementing the study it was decided that this would be conducted following the September 2015 data collection. This will provide more timely and relevant information and can be presented as a supplement to reports that will be produced this year.
6. Major Implementation Issue
No major implementation issues were encountered this quarter.
7. Key Activities Planned for Next Quarter
TASK A: OVERALL PROJECT MANAGEMENT A.1: Project Management A.1.1: Annual Work Plan • N/A Review Meeting A.1.2: Quarterly Planning • Quarterly staff planning meeting Meetings A.1.3: Regular Staff Meetings • Weekly and monthly staff meetings in each province A.1.4: Equipment Disposition • N/A A.1.5: Local Hire Staff • N/A Severance A.1.6: Key Personnel • N/A Severance A.1.7 Closing Project Offices • N/A A.2: USAID Reporting A.2.1: Annual Work Plan • N/A A.2.2: Quarterly Progress • July 30: FY15Q3 QPR Submitted to USAID Reports
Contract No. AID-656-C-12-00001 FY 2015 Q3 Progress Report Page | 53
A.2.3: Quarterly Financial • July 30: FY15Q3 QFR Submitted to USAID Reports (SF 425) A.2.4: Annual Summary • N/A Report (ASR) A.2.5: Project Final Report • N/A A.2.6: Annual Project Review • N/A (APR) A.2.7: USAID Quarterly • July 2-3: FY15Q3 review meetings (Maputo) Review Meetings A.3: Short-Term Technical Assistance A.3.1: Anticipated • July TBD: ICB STTA travel for financial capacity assessment International STTA Travel • M&E STTA travel for qualitative data collection
TASK B: INSTITUTIONAL CAPACITY BUILDING B.1: Stakeholder Engagement
B.1.1: Institutional Capacity • N/A Building Plan (ICP) & Roadmap for Transfer B.1.2: MINED National Task • July 2-3: Q4 MINED National Task Force meetings (Maputo) Force Meetings B.1.3: Participatory Annual • N/A Planning/ Review Process B.1.4: District Program • See below, EGRA/SMA Joint Planning Workshops Management Group (PMG) Quarterly Meetings B.1.5: Provincial Coordination • See below, EGRA/SMA Joint Planning Workshops Group Quarterly Meetings B.1.6: Follow-up Meetings • TBD: LEI Stakeholder meetings as needed to follow-up on with LEI Stakeholders implementation and ensure advance planning B.2: Capacity Building Training B.2.1: RRP TOT • Aug 12-13: RRP TOT (NPL/ZBZ) B.2.2: SDTC TOT • Aug 12-13: SDTC TOT(NPL/ZBZ) B.2.3: Management Capacity • Aug TBD: SDEJT management training based on ROA (NPL/ZBZ) Building Training B.2.4: INSET Management • TBD: Quarterly to Monthly INSET monitoring debrief & refresher and Monitoring Training B.2.5: School Support & • N/A Monitoring Training B.2.6: Rapid School • N/A Assessment Training B.2.7: EGRA/SMA TOT • Jul 27-29: EGRA/SMA Joint Planning Workshops (NPL/ZBZ) • Aug 31-Sep 4: EGRA/SMA TOT B.3: Capacity Building Learning-by-doing B.3.1:RRP Training • Aug 17-19: Co-facilitation of Reading Coach training (ZBZ) Facilitation • Aug 18-20: Co-facilitation of Reading Coach training (NPL)
Contract No. AID-656-C-12-00001 FY 2015 Q3 Progress Report Page | 54
• Aug 21: Co-facilitation of Lead Trainer training (NPL)
B.3.2: SDTC Training • Aug 24-26: Co-facilitation of SD training (NPL/ZBZ) Facilitation B.3.3: INSET Management & • INSET planning, financial oversight, and reporting gradually transferred Monitoring to SDEJT based on ROA • LEI staff conducts INSET monitoring B.3.4:Quarterly RAT • N/A Implementation & Results Presentation B.3.5: School-level Support & • School support planning, financial oversight, and reporting gradually Monitoring transferred to SDEJT based on ROA • Jul TBD: SDEJT conduct school support visits B.4: Capacity Building Assessment
B.4.1: Rapid Organizational • N/A Assessment (ROA) B.4.2: Financial Capacity • Jul TBD: SDEJT financial capacity assessment data collection Assessment • Sep 30: Draft financial capacity assessment report submitted to USAID B.4.3: Technical Capacity • Aug 13: Technical capacity assessments with LEI staff Assessments
TASK C: READING REINFORCEMENT PROGRAM (RRP) C.1: Develop and Implement Teacher Training and Coaching Model C.1.1: Develop, Print, & • N/A Distribute Reading Instruction Training & Coaching Materials C.1.2: Train Reading Coaches • Aug 17-19: Reading Coach training (ZBZ) • Aug 18-20 Reading Coach training (NPL) C.1.3: Teacher Coaching in • Reading Coaches conduct teacher coaching monthly in schools Schools C.1.4: Train Lead Trainers • Aug 20: Lead Trainer training (ZBZ) • Aug 21: Lead Trainers training (NPL) C.1.5: In-Service Teacher • Jul 4: INSET 9 (NPL/ZBZ) Training (INSET) • Jul 18: INSET 10 (NPL/ZBZ) • Aug 1: INSET 11 (NPL/ZBZ) • Sep 5: INSET 12 (NPL/ZBZ) • Sep 19: INSET 13 (NPL/ZBZ) C.1.6: Training Support with • Classroom observation data collected monthly by Reading Coaches Mobile Tech • SMS reminders sent C.2: Increase Availability of Teaching and Learning Materials to Teachers and Students
C.2.1: Develop, Print, & • N/A Distribute Scripted Lesson
Contract No. AID-656-C-12-00001 FY 2015 Q3 Progress Report Page | 55
Plans C.2.2: Develop, Print, & • N/A Distribute Teaching & Learning Aids (TLAs) C.3: Raise Awareness about the importance of Reading Instruction C.3.1: Radio Broadcasts • Radio programs broadcasted C.3.2: Dia de Leitura • N/A
TASK D: SCHOOL DIRECTOR TRAINING & COACHING (SCTC) PROGRAM D.1: Develop and Implement School Director Training and Coaching Model D.1.1: Develop & Print School • N/A Management Training Materials D.1.2: Train School Directors • Aug 24-26: SD training (NPL/ZBZ)
D.1.3: Train ZIP Coordinators • Aug 17-18: ZIP Coordinator training (ZBZ) • Aug 19-20: ZIP Coordinator Training (NPL) D.1.4: School Director • ZIP Coordinators complete monthly SD coaching visits Coaching Visits • ApaL staff review Coaching Records
D.1.5: School Director INSET • Jul 18: SD INSET 6 • Aug 1: SD INSET 7 • Sep 5: SD INSET 8 D.2: Develop & Distribute School Management Aids D.2.1: Develop, Print, & • N/A Distribute School Management Tools (SMTs)
TASK E: MONITORING & EVALUATION E.1: Impact & Evaluation E.1.1: EGRA/SMA Enumerator • Aug 31-Sep 4: EGRA/SMA supervisor training Training • Sep 8-15: EGRA/SMA enumerator training (NPL/ZBZ) E.1.2: EGRA/SMA Data • Sep 16- Oct 9: EGRA/SMA data collection Collection E.1.3: EGRA/SMA Data • NA analysis/results dissemination E.2: EGRA/SMA in Scale-up Schools E.2.1: EGRA/SMA Enumerator • Aug 31- Sep 4: EGRA/SMA supervisor training Training • Sep 8- 15: EGRA/SMA enumerator training (NPL/ZBZ) E.2.2: EGRA/SMA Data • Sep 16-Oct 9: EGRA/SMA data collection Collection E.3: Rapid School Assessment (RSA) E.3.1: RSA Data Collection • N/A E.3.2: RSA Data Analysis & • N/A Results Presentation E.4: Output & Outcome Monitoring
Contract No. AID-656-C-12-00001 FY 2015 Q3 Progress Report Page | 56
E.4.1: M&E Plan • N/A E.4.2: INSET Monitoring • Quarterly to monthly INSET monitoring debriefs (NPL/ZBZ) • Jul 4; Jul 18; Aug 1; Sep 5; Sep 19: LEI RRP INSET monitoring (NPL/ZBZ) • Jul 18; Aug 1; Sep 5: LEI SD INSET monitoring (NPL/ZBZ) E.4.3: Quarterly Indicator • Indicator data analysis & reporting (NPL/ZBZ) Reporting E.4.4: Quarterly Internal Data • Quarterly Internal DQA (NPL/ZBZ) Quality Assessment (DQA) E.4.5: Intervention • Sep 30: Final study reports submitted to USAID Effectiveness & Follow-up Studies
8. Collaboration with Other Donor Projects See above in Institutional Capacity Building section. 9. Administrative Update All relative information was reported under Task A: Aprender a Ler Project Management.
10. Success Stories and Photos See attached Annex B and Annex C
11. Financial Information
Summary Financial Report: (for full details, please see attached financial report as Annex A)
Current Period Total Expenditure: $1,930,209.21
Following Period Expected Expenditure: $2,074,714.62
Contract No. AID-656-C-12-00001 FY 2015 Q3 Progress Report Page | 57
Success Story: Vodacom M-Pesa Mobile Payment System
Background The USAID|ApaL program employs a decentralized approach for bi-weekly teacher training and monthly School Director coaching throughout the year. This system, incorporated into MINEDH professional development structures already in place, allows for the ApaL program to reach much greater numbers of students with its Early Grade Reading interventions. Sessions, also referred to as INSETS, are held at the ZIP-level (Zones of Pedagogical Influence) within large districts, in many cases quite far from the provincial capitals of Nampula (Nampula) and Quelimane (Zambézia). This can provide many logistical challenges for payments related to per diem and transport for participants.
As with all aspects of implementation, USAID|ApaL staff is constantly looking for innovative ways to streamline processes and add efficiency to ongoing activities. In this case, the program has engaged in a Public-Private Partnership with mobile communications company Vodacom, who graciously provided USAID|ApaL beneficiaries with phones and SIM cards to get the idea off the ground. Vodacom’s mobile payment system, M-Pesa, has now been incorporated into USAID|ApaL’s payment process and has greatly reduced the risks associated with cash distributions originating in the capital cities.
Why M-Pesa? Before using the M-Pesa system, USAID|ApaL staff located in each district – District Officers – were required to come to the capital in the days leading up to the training, request funds from the office, wait in long bank lines for withdrawals, and spend extensive time on the commute back to their districts to distribute payments.
As of the training which took place on May 23rd, payments are sent via mobile payment directly to coordinators who facilitate the ZIP-level trainings. Training participant attendance is verified through lists maintained by the ZIP Coordinator, submitted to the District Officers, and finally communicated to the Finance Team who initiates the payments through a Vodacom online site.
After receiving the payment confirmation on their mobile phones, ZIP Coordinators can withdraw funds through a Vodacom payment agent or bank and distribute to their training participants. Not only has this eliminated risks with cash deliveries by going more directly to the participants, but it has also served as a great timesaver for District Officers each week.
Challenges & Lessons Learned A key challenge in relying on a system of mobile payments is the lack of comprehensive network coverage in all USAID|ApaL target areas in Mozambique. A default on timely payments for per diem and transport increases the challenges associated with ensuring full participation in trainings and other activities. To combat this, the project provided the GPS coordinates of schools to Vodacom, who has worked to increase coverage in target districts.
Another lesson learned has come through piloting the ways in which payments are distributed. In some ZIPs, payments were sent directly to participants (teachers, School Directors, etc.), while in others the ZIP Coordinators were charged with arranging payments for participants. Through this diverse experimental process, USAID|ApaL and Vodacom are evaluating the safest and most efficient ways for delivering payments in each district.
Feedback District Officers, whose work has benefited greatly from a more streamlined payment process, have given very positive feedback for M-Pesa. They experience the advantages of the time saved and the reduction of risk with transporting large sums of money out to remote areas. Teachers, who had been receiving payments directly as a pilot in a few ZIPs, and ZIP Coordinators, are also happy with the phones they have received from Vodacom.
Expansion While the M-Pesa payment method has, as of yet, only been used for INSET sessions for School Directors and teachers, USAID|ApaL will continue to explore its utility in other areas of project implementation.
Annex C: Success Story Development of Leveled Books and Integrated Activities
Beginning with Decodable Books In 2014, the USAID|Aprender a Ler (USAID|ApaL) program saw the need for teachers to shift from teaching individual letters to actual reading. In response to this need, USAID|ApaL developed 18 books so that children can begin reading cohesive words, sentences, and eventually pages that they are able to decode based on the phonics they have learned in lessons. Not only did the books use strategic letter combinations to facilitate the process of learning to read, but they were also made to be attractive to Mozambican children – with illustrated pages and
relevant, localized stories.
Why Develop Leveled Books? While the incorporation of the decodable books provided an important opportunity for students to improve their reading abilities, USAID|ApaL saw that the books could have an even greater impact if a leveled structure were added to the books so that students can build on their skills as they progress. The advantage of having books range from very simple to gradually becoming more complex is that the children can avoid frustration, while still finding books that are challenging and interesting, as their reading level increases. These leveled books could then be incorporated into lesson plans and additional extracurricular activities such as reading clubs, competitions, and radio programs.
Leveled Books Workshop USAID|ApaL began to plan how best to develop these books, and the conclusion was to hold a 5-day workshop with a group of experts and come out with a product to pilot. Between May 25-29, the workshop brought together partners from the Ministry of Education and Human Development (MINEDH), the Curriculum Development Institute (INDE), and Eduardo Mondlane University in Maputo along with illustrators, expert local teachers, and school directors.
ApaL’s Senior Reading Expert and Dr. Marcia Davidson led the sessions that began with the purpose and design, and then moved on to the development of the leveled books. The group set three level benchmarks related to predictability, text length, and difficulty of the content and illustrations. Material was developed for the three levels and then field tested to evaluate whether the levels matched grade 2 and 3 reading abilities. This process concluded that the lowest level was still too difficult for a beginner 2nd grade student, and so a more basic level was developed.
In total, 4 levels with 12 books were developed by the end of the workshop. Level 1 is the easiest, while level 4 is more complex. The purpose of these books is to create the opportunity for children to enjoy reading interesting, contextualized stories. These stories contain more complex vocabulary and story lines than decodable books and can be used to develop comprehension skills, learn the structure of narrative or expository text, and develop fluency skills. In the back of each book, there is a section of comprehension questions that children can answer to continue the focus on reading comprehension skills.
A list of books and their titles can be found below:
Level 1 Level 2 Level 3 Level 4
1. O gato e o rato 5. O jogo de neca 9. Concurso de dança 11. As árvores (The cat and the (The game of (Dance contest) (The birds) rat) neca) 10. A festa dos animais 12. A Ema vai á Escola 2. A bola do Lino 6. Eu pinto com chifres (Ema goes to (Lino’s ball) (I paint) (The party of school) 3. O meu pai 7. O futebol animals with (My father) (The football) horns) 4. O João e a Maria 8. As vozes dos (John and Maria) animais (The voices of animals)
Next Steps A pilot set of the books will be printed in August 2015 for all MINEDH and INDE partners to review the materials. They will also disseminate the material within MINEDH because leveled books are not bound to a method or project and can therefore be easily used in any situation where there is a need for good quality Early Grade Reading material.
The illustrations for the books have been finalized and a proof print is to be delivered in the beginning of August, after which the project will pilot the books in the district of Nampula. This piloting is necessary to measure whether the levels are indeed set correctly.
USAID|ApaL and its partners are enthusiastic about this addition to the materials made available to children in Mozambique and the impact it will have on their reading.