Amendment 01 - Solicitation Number: 72062021R00001 - LEARN to Read Activity Attachment J.17 - Classroom Observation Report of Imo and Oyo States Northern Education Initiative Plus Imo and Oyo States Classroom Obervation Report March 4-13 2020 Northern Education Initiative Plus 38 Mike Akhigbe Street Jabi, Abuja, Nigeria Northern Education Initiative Plus 38 Mike Akhigbe Street Jabi, Abuja, Nigeria Report of the Oyo State & Imo State Classroom Observations (4-13, March 2020) Contents 1. Context .......................................................................................................................................... 4 2. Objectives and Methodology ......................................................................................................... 4 3. Limitations ...................................................................................................................................... 9 4. Discussion of Findings .................................................................................................................. 10 5. Summary of Findings .................................................................................................................... 19 6. Recommendations ....................................................................................................................... 21 7. Annexes ........................................................................................................................................ 22 Northern Education Initiative Plus 38 Mike Akhigbe Street Jabi, Abuja, Nigeria 1. Context Under the World Bank’s Better Education Service Delivery for All (BESDA) program, the USAID-funded project, Northern Education Initiative Plus (NEI Plus), has supported the adoption of Hausa and English early grade reading Teaching and Learning Materials (TLMs) in seven additional states. Upon hearing of our work through BESDA Best Practice events, officials in some states where primary grade instruction is in Igbo and Yoruba have asked USAID/NEI Plus for help developing Igbo and Yoruba early grade reading materials. Starting in January 2020, NEI Plus, in close collaboration with key federal and state-level partners, is developing Early Grade Reading (EGR) teaching and learning materials in the Igbo and Yoruba languages for Primary 1 (P1) to Primary 3 (P3). The two reading programs, Ka Agụ! Let’s Read! in Igbo, Jẹ ká ka! Let’s Read! in Yoruba, will build on international research and lessons learned from the implementation of the existing Initiative’s early grade reading programs; to develop grade and culturally appropriate TLMs. The teacher guides will provide teachers with a research-based scope and sequence for teaching and assessing key reading skills at each of the three grade levels (P1, P2, and P3). They will contain scripted lessons for teaching and assessing evidence-based reading instructional strategies, including how to use teacher read-aloud materials and leveled texts to support the development of pupils’ reading skills. The structure of a lesson will emphasize a focus on explicit instruction, scaffolded learning, and guided practice. The guides will also model gender-sensitive pedagogies. Ka Agụ! Jẹ ká ka! pupil books and teacher guides will reflect evidence-based practices for early grade reading. The books will align with the national curriculum, including culturally relevant illustrations for each reading passage; build on prior knowledge and reading skills, including writing exercises; be gender-inclusive, and promote reading and writing at home. 2. Objectives and Methodology The purpose of this study was to observe EGR teaching and learning practices in Igbo and Yoruba in Primary 1-3 grades in a sample of rural and urban schools in Oyo (Yoruba) and Imo (Igbo) states. This study used several lines of inquiry, including a detailed observation form to observe the actions of teachers and students, as well as the content being covered and the materials, being used in the classroom. Focus Group Discussion(FGD) was conducted with school staff and pupils after the observations to discuss teachers’ beliefs and practice Northern Education Initiative Plus 38 Mike Akhigbe Street Jabi, Abuja, Nigeria towards EGR, the language of instruction, assessment, the school timetable, the school environment and pupils’ opinion about their lessons. Classroom lesson observation which involved arriving early before the lesson begins, sitting at the back of the class, observing what the teacher is doing and what the pupils are doing without interrupting the lesson, taking notes and a brief interview with the teacher at the end of the lesson. Also Focus Group Discussions took place with all the teachers observed following a structured list of questions. During the FGD, all teachers had equal opportunity and time to respond to questions, a recording of this discussion was captured and notes were taken. Urban and rural schools were selected, rural schools included very remote schools. P1-3 teachers were used for this study. Pupils included an equal number of boys and girls. On arrival, brief meetings were held with Executive Secretaries of each LGEA and consent for teachers and pupils and schools to be visited approved. We assured schools and staff that all information will remain confidential. Also, consent of schools, teachers and pupils was duely obtained. 2.1. Classroom Observation and Teacher/Pupil Focus Group Discussions Classroom Observation and Focus Group Discussion instruments were developed and revised with input from the NEI Plus reading and M&E teams (see Annex for the classroom observation tool and the guiding questions for the focus groups). The classroom observation forms were designed to capture whether teachers implemented key pre-lesson (teacher preparedness) and early grade reading teaching strategies, to observe the use of the language of instruction/textbooks and the availability and suitability of pupil’s books, including the language of the textbook. The classroom observation tool focuses on five key areas: 1. teacher preparedness/learning materials; 2. EGR teaching techniques; 3. pupils’ participation and engagement; 4. formative assessment(level of ongoing assessment in the classroom), staying on task/classroom environment; and 5. language of instruction. The same items were observed for lessons each teacher taught. The questioning guides for the FGDs were designed to elicit feedback from teachers about their experiences teaching reading, the language of instruction, and their interactions with pupils in the classroom. The questioning guides for pupils were designed to learn what languages pupils like to read and learning materials available. Pupil FGD questions were to be read out only in Igbo/Yoruba, while teacher FGD guides included the reading of the question in English, followed directly by the questions in Igbo/Yoruba. Teachers were encouraged to speak whichever language they preferred, to make sure that they were Northern Education Initiative Plus 38 Mike Akhigbe Street Jabi, Abuja, Nigeria comfortable and able to express themselves. P3 pupils had their FGD separately while P1, P2 had theirs together at the same time. This is to encourage pupils to speak freely. The classroom observation team sat with pupils to do FGDs after the classroom observations. Three people conducted the teacher and pupil FGDs, with one person being the moderator and another person the assistant moderator. The assistant moderator’s role was to take notes and make an audio/video recording for later review. In a few instances, the team made a video recording of the teacher/pupil FGD. The audio videos recorded were to be used to collate and review the classroom observation report ensuring all information is adequately captured. Following the FGDs, the Monitoring and Evaluation(M&E) staff and reading team wrote up summary notes from each FGD. In Oyo State, the staff was undergoing staff verification1 exercise thus the NEIPlus team was only able to hold one FGD with pupils, conducted in 1 urban school, with 9 pupils (6 girls and 3 boys) from P1-3. In Imo State, pupils were selected from classes observed in two schools (one urban/one rural). P1-2 pupils had the same FGD at the same time, a total of 10 pupils, 5 P1 and 5 P2 (equal number of boys and girls). 2.2. Schools’ selection and respondents In selecting schools for the observation, the intent was to have equal representation of urban and rural schools. Given constraints on time and other resources, it was necessary to select schools with reasonable proximity to each other in the urban and rural areas , to allow the observation team to visit two schools each day. State Universal Basic Education Boards(SUBEBs) provided names of schools that were visited. The most remote schools were visited in rural areas selected by the each states’ education officials for the exercise. Teachers observed in P1-3 were respondents in the FGD and pupils were randomly selected (equal number of boys and girls) in classes observed for the FGD. In Imo State, more rural schools were visited, because, we had an extension of time. Table 1: Data Collection Schedule Oyo State Activity Imo State Activity March 3, 2020 Travel to Oyo State March 8, 2020 Travel to Imo State 1 The verification exercise is a regular feature in the state ministry of education carried out somtimes monthly/every three months verify and ascertain staff still in service and on duty posts performing their duties diligently Northern Education Initiative Plus 38