EDU306 Handouts by VUBuddy

Foreword

Teacher education in Pakistan is leaping into the future. This updated Scheme of Studies is the latest milestone in a journey that began in earnest in 2006 with the development of a National Curriculum, which was later augmented by the 2008 National Professional Standards for Teachers in Pakistan and the 2010 Curriculum of Education Scheme of Studies. With these foundations in place, the Higher Education Commission (HEC) and the USAID Teacher Education Project engaged faculty across the nation to develop detailed syllabi and course guides for the four-year B.Ed. (Hons) Elementary and the two-year Associate Degree in Education (ADE).

The syllabi and course guides have been reviewed by the National Curriculum Review Committee (NCRC ) and the syllabi are approved as the updated Scheme of Studies for the ADE and B.Ed. (Hons) Elementary programmes.

As an educator, I am especially inspired by the creativity and engagement of this updated Scheme of Studies. It offers the potential for a seismic change in how we educate our teachers and ultimately our country’s youngsters. Colleges and universities that use programmes like these provide their students with the universally valuable tools of critical thinking, hands-on learning, and collaborative study.

I am grateful to all who have contributed to this exciting process; in particular the faculty and staff from universities, colleges, and provincial institutions who gave freely of their time and expertise for the purpose of preparing teachers with the knowledge, skills, and dispositions required for nurturing students in elementary grades. Their contributions to improving the quality of basic education in Pakistan are incalculable. I would also like to thank the distinguished NCRC members, who helped further enrich the curricula by their recommendations. The generous support received from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) enabled HEC to draw on technical assistance and subject-matter expertise of the scholars at Education Development Center, Inc., and Teachers College, Columbia University. Together, this partnership has produced a vitally important resource for Pakistan.

How this course guide was developed

As part of nation-wide reforms to improve the quality of teacher education, the Higher Education Commission (HEC) with technical assistance from the USAID Teacher Education Project engaged faculty across the nation to develop detailed syllabi and course guides for the four-year B.Ed. (Hons) Elementary and two-year Associate Degree in Education (ADE).

The process of designing the syllabi and course guides began with a curriculum design workshop (one workshop for each subject) with faculty from universities and colleges and officials from provincial teacher education apex institutions. With guidance from national and international subject experts, they reviewed the HEC scheme of studies, organized course content across the semester, developed detailed unit descriptions and prepared the course syllabi. Although the course syllabi are designed primarily for Student Teachers, they are useful resource for teacher educators too.

In addition, participants in the workshops developed elements of a course guide. The course guide is designed for faculty teaching the B.Ed. (Hons) Elementary and the ADE. It provides suggestions for how to teach the content of each course and identifies potential resource materials. In designing both the syllabi and the course guides, faculty and subject experts were guided by the National Professional Standards for Teachers in Pakistan 2009 and the National Curriculum 2006. The subject experts for each course completed the initial drafts of syllabi and course guides. Faculty and Student Teachers started using drafts of syllabi and course guides and they provided their feedback and suggestions for improvement. Final drafts were reviewed and approved by the National Curriculum Review Committee (NCRC). The following faculty were involved in designing this course guide: Manzoor Hussain, GCET (M) Rawalakot, AJK; Muhammad Qasim Dal, GCET (M) Mirpur Khas; Abdul Majeed Khan Niazi, University of AJK; Saddar-ud-Din, GCE (M) Quetta; Naqibullah Khan, GCE Gilgit; Muhammad Ali Arif, RITE (M) Haripur; Dr. Wazim Khan, IER University of Peshawar; Shaheen Pasha, University of Education, Lahore; Furrukh Munir, IER University of the Punjab, Lahore; Muqaddas Butt, FJWU, Rawalpindi; Abus Sami, GCET Shahpur Sadar, Sargodha; Uzma Murad Panhwar, University of Sindh, Hyderabad; Rozina Khan, GECE (W) Hussainabad, Karachi; Sardar Manzoor, GCET Kot Addu; Tahir A. Ahmed, GCET Bahawalpur; Sarah Akhlaq; Bilal Hussain, GCET Muzaffargah.

Subject expert guiding course design: Dr. Shabnam Sohail, consultant

Date of NCRC review: 3 March 2012

NCRC Reviewers: Dr. Bernadette Dean, Principal St. Josephs College, Karachi; Dr. Mumtaz Akhtar, Director IER, University of the Punjab, Lahore.