Teacher development is a multifaceted, huge and ongoing process. In today’s fast changing world a teacher has to have knowledge, necessary tools and skills to be able to deliver knowledge in the best possible manner. While the foundational understanding of teaching and learning is imperative, at the same time, being able to analyse and reflect on one’s own performance and practices is also mandatory for a teacher’s overall development.
ERI’s Basic Teacher Development Programme (BTDP) prepares teachers to gain essential knowledge and skills to become an efficient teacher. Stretched over 10 months, BTDP has been designed for teachers of primary and secondary classes and focuses on developing ten major areas so that they continuously work on their own learning; systematically introducing life skills to their learners, and developing intrinsic motivation, they learn to overcome all the obstacles in delivering quality education. The ten modules of the programme are:

 MODULES

The BTD Programme comprises 10 well-designed modules arranged in a logical sequence like the chapters in a book where content of one leads to the next and by the end of the book they are able to join all the conceptual pieces for form a complete picture. Similarly, each module with its prime objectives and succeeding discussions and assessments helps form the complete picture.
Module 1

BTDP starts with ‘Tilling of the Soil’ that discusses the role and importance of teachers for any society and throws light on the effects of education on society. Since this the introductory module, all participants evaluate their own present concepts about teaching.

Module 2

‘Becoming an effective Teacher’ is the second module. Discussions on the qualities of an effective teacher and providing with the most authentic of all examples: Prophet Mohammed as the most effective teacher are part of this module. Setting up of personal goals at this stage is a good idea and this module requires participants to do so.

Module 3

‘Human Self’ presents the learning process visually and different areas and aspects of human personality. Since human brain is the centre of all cognitive and intellectual activity, a probe into psychological theories related to effective teaching and self-development is made.

Module 4

‘What is Education’ asks a lot of questions and allows participants to compare and contrast Islamic and secular concepts of education. Understanding the psychological perspective of education and visualising a coherent yet dynamic educational system are also part of this module.

Module 5

‘Skills, Concepts and Attitudes’ goes on defining and organising various learning and thinking skills and finds the relation between skills and concepts. It also identifies the right attitudes for effective learning.

Module 6

‘Classroom Organisation and Management’ deals with one major problem teachers of primary and secondary classes face and highlights the difference between organization and management. It familiarises teachers with various techniques to use available resources effectively and minimise wastage. Also, organising the class to ensure safety and wellbeing of learners; organising the class material and human resources for effective learning and learning strategies to engage learners so as to enhance learning also come into discussion.

Module 7

All learners can learn if they are taught how to learn is the main idea covered in module 7 ‘Learning to Learn’. It educates course participants to identify and use suitable learning strategies to learn information, numbers and new words.

Module 8

‘Lesson Planning’ being an integral part of each lesson, module 8 trains participants to write well thought objectives for a focused lesson. They examine prerequisites for teaching a concept and perform task analysis and assess their own teaching and learners’ learning using suitable tools of assessment.

Module 9

‘Effective Questioning’ ensures effective assessment of students’ learning. This module discusses the value and role of questioning in classroom instruction and using questions following the principles of effective questioning. It also requires them to design and ask different types of questions at different levels of thinking to elicit focused answers from learners.

Module 10

The last Module ‘On Child Psychology’ orients participants about the science and art of understanding a child’s psychology. Understanding of theories in child psychology and discussions help teachers learn a great deal about child behaviours in a systematic and objective manner.