The Institute for Teacher Education and Continuing Professional Development (ITECPD), has begun the training of teachers on the new teacher education curriculum for basic and senior high schools.

The new curriculum is expected to expose teacher trainees to more practical ways of teaching before they get to the classroom to start professional teaching.

Speaking at the training workshop for teachers of partner schools from the southern sector of the country at Winneba, Director of the Institute, Prof. Dandy George Dampson indicated it had become imperative for teachers to practicalise their teaching contrary to the abstract theoretical teaching in the old system.

He revealed that the essence of the training is to equip teachers that are already on the field with the requisite skills and knowledge to enable them act as counselors for the teacher trainees during their internships.

These teachers, he explained will serve as mentors for the student-teachers from the University of Education, Winneba, before their lecturers go to the schools to supervise them.

He indicated the overall aim is to affect teaching and learning outcomes that are crucially needed for the development of the children.

“As professional counselors (Teachers that are already on the field), these teachers we are training would become the mentees for the student-teachers before their lecturers go and supervise them. So, it is important to arm them with requisite skills,” he explained.

The schools support teaching covered under the new curriculum, according to Prof Dampson equips the student-teachers with practical experiences right from level 100 to level 400, a departure from the old system that only catered for internships.

According to him, a reflective analysis of the new curriculum reveals two key components that the institute is concerned about: the students' internship programme and students' support teaching.

For the institute, their focus is now the redefinition of the internship program to suit the needs and aspirations of all stakeholders.

“We teach mostly them (the teacher trainees) theories and they go there from the university and everything is new to them. This time, they need to have more practical approach and we would support them together with their lecturers and the teachers on the field,” he stated.

The participants (teachers) were drawn from the partnership schools of UEW, schools that students from the UEW are sent to for internships and teaching practice.