“A helpful training for English teachers from Diber Bulqiza, Burreli and Klosi,” remarked teacher Yllka Kapxhiu. Those place names may not resonate for most of us, but for those who know Albania the point was clear: English Language Fellow Jolene McConnell had accomplished her goal, taking English-language teacher training to every corner of Albania.
Jolene, working with Institute for Educational Development (IZHA) representative Ludmilla Stefani, completed the last in a series of workshops that have taken her to each of the thirteen educational districts in Albania. The topics of these workshops have included differentiated learning, learning styles, and student-centered classrooms. Best of all, there will be two additional rounds of workshops for each of these thirteen districts in 2018. Thanks to the cooperation from Albania’s top education officials, teachers who complete the nine hours of workshops and their online components will receive an educational credit from the Ministry of Education.
This is the first time Albania has been able to hold workshops for teachers throughout the country in this way. Teachers in outlying areas typically get fewer opportunities for professional development, so this was a unique chance for many of them to attend a workshop of any kind, let alone one facilitated by an international expert.
