At the 2nd Learning Session of the We Learn early years English teaching programme, teachers, English-speaking professionals, management teams and community directors met to analyse what had been achieved and to plan for the second semester.
Some of the objectives of the 2nd Learning Session of the Improvement Network of the We Learn programme carried out by Fundación Educacional Oportunidad were to share experiences between communes, teachers and directors of 14 basic schools in Paihuano and Vicuña in the Elqui Valley, as well as to analyse the results obtained in the first semester.
There were more than 30 attendees, including teachers, management teams, community teams and English-speaking professionals who shared a day of work on the teaching of English from the early years, exchanging experiences and learning, analysing achievements and planning for the second half of the year.
Cynthia Aránguiz, from the Juan Torres Martínez school in the Diaguitas district of Vicuña, valued the initiative because "each time I leave with a backpack full of ideas that I can apply in different classes. The best result is that the children have grown fond of the subject and now see it as an important tool for their future.
The activity was attended by the Provincial Head of Education Ianina Erazo, who highlighted the Learning Session stating that "I think that this meeting and the network is an excellent opportunity for continuous improvement in the teaching of this language. For us as a government, the teaching of English is of paramount importance and the work of the Foundation through this programme is in line with our educational objectives".
Since 2011, the Foundation has been working with the Continuous Improvement Methodology in the Metropolitan and VI regions, which involves collaborative work between the schools that are part of the programme and the implementation of improvement cycles to test ideas (Plan, Do, Study and Adjust). In 2017, this methodology was incorporated into the We Learn programme.
In this line of work of continuous improvement, collaboration and the exchange of experiences and learning between teachers and principals is fundamental, with the Learning Sessions being the ideal instance for this to happen. "It is very valuable for the management teams and for the teachers, as the collaborative work allows them to analyse and look for strategies to improve the teaching of English in the valley," said teacher Miguel Ángel Domínguez, from the Jerónimo Godoy Villanueva school in the town of Pisco Elqui in Paihuano.
The We Learn programme of Fundación Educacional Oportunidad focuses on the professional development of teachers and principals with a view to improving the quality of English teaching from an early age and has been accompanying the educational communities of the Elqui Valley for more than 12 years. Peter Morse, member of the board of the Fundación Educacional Oportunidad, highlighted the motivation of the teachers and management teams in the programme. "I see that they have a very positive attitude, how they create their own ideas and use the tools provided by the Foundation to improve their work day by day. It has been a very useful and enjoyable day," said the director.
This is the second of three annual sessions of the continuous improvement work of the We Learn programme in the Elqui Valley, which this year also added the teaching of this language to the 1st and 2nd year students of the Mistraliano secondary school in Paihuano and the Edmundo Vidal Cárdenas school in Vicuña, through Access, a programme that is carried out in conjunction with the US Embassy and with the support of English-speaking professionals from Beyond English.
