TWI FOR THE CHILDREN
EDUCATIONAL WORKSHOP
 FOR 
TEACHERS IN KOSOVO

October 1 - 3, 2005

This page provides information on  the October 2005 Educational Seminars  presented by the "Center for Promotion of Education" in Ferizaj, Kosovo with financial support from "TWI for the Children, Inc." The Seminar/Workshops  were presented in three cities in Kosovo by Ms. Bonnie Miller from London, England. The purpose of these seminars was to "train the trainers" and take instruction to the educators in the Balkans. 

 

  INFORMATION ON THE  ORGANIZATION HOSTING THE SEMINARS:

 

The hosting agency (responsible for management and implementation of the seminar ):

QPEA -- Centre for Promotion of Education,
Ferizaj, Kosovo
Phone: +377 44 166 471
Fax: +381 290 21 600
ramushl@hotmail.com

 

 

AIMS OF THE PROJECT

 The  aim of the seminar was to educate teachers to create a safe, stimulating and pro-social atmosphere for the entire school and  to provide support for children in need. Targeted children include children of war and adversity, children with learning and emotional problems, and their peers in the school system.

 

The seminar will provide teachers with methods and skills for:

-  Creating a school environment that fosters learning relevant skills for the future and encourages the intellectual and psychosocial growth of each child.  

-  Identifying and providing support to children in need through interpersonal contacts with the child, learning assistance, teaching methods, etc.

 -   Working with parents  

 

  PHILOSOPHY OF THE WORKSHOP

 

The seminar sought to improve the psychosocial functioning of the school, to create a safe, supportive and motivating environment for all students, and to provide, in the frame of the school, some basic educational and psychosocial assistance to children with special needs. The goal is to protect and promote children's well-being in the school environment in general and to contribute to the social reconstruction and development of the country by creating a good quality of functioning of the   the primary school, involving all children aged 7 to 15.

 

Being aware that not many traumatized children and children with learning problems will avail themselves of mental health services, the intention of the seminar is to equip teachers with some skills for helping children with special needs appropriate for use in the school setting.

 

The seminar for teachers will be participative and interactive and use the same kinds of multi-modal teaching techniques that are proposed for the teachers to use with their students.

 

PARTICIPANTS 

 

The following seminars were presented:

 

Despite the nationwide teachers’ strike announced the day before, 134 teachers from Gjilan and surrounding areas, including Presevo, Serbia, attended the full-day seminar (10:00 to 17:15) by Bonnie Miller, sponsored by QPEA and financed by a grant from the US Office in Kosovo and TWI for the Children, Inc. 

The topics presented included:

·        Children as individuals with different temperaments, experiences, talents and learning styles

·        Connecting with children—attitudes and communication

·        Classroom climate

·        Relevance of educational topics

·        Teaching methods to increase interest and motivation—active learning

·        Emotional intelligence

·        Learning Disabilities and Attention Deficit Disorder

·        How to help children with unique learning needs

·        Cooperation with parents

 

    The workshop, which offered teachers the opportunity to share ideas with each other, was enthusiastically received by the teachers, most of whom were from elementary schools.   Participants  had the opportunity to do hands-on activities and to participate in question-and-answer sessions and discussions. 

 

    Teachers who attended the seminar were aware of the understanding that they would act as trainers to share what they learned in the seminar with their colleagues.  At the end of the seminar, they shared with each other ways that they would communicate this information to their fellow teachers and how they would change their teaching methods to make them more interesting, relevant, and helpful to all children, especially those with learning and attention problems.

 

    To facilitate this process, all participants were given the following materials written by Bonnie Miller and translated  into the Albanian language:

 

Connecting with Children in the Classroom

Learning Disabilities and Attention Deficit Disorder

Emotional Intelligence

Teacher-Parent Partnership

    October 2:  Ferizaj, Kosovo  (65 school principals and Ministry of Education officials attended)

 

Despite the nationwide teachers’ strike, 65 school directors from Ferizaj regional district attended the full-day seminar (9:00 to 16:00) by Bonnie Miller, sponsored by QPEA and financed by a grant from the US Office in Kosovo and TWI, a US NGO that helps children. 

 

The topics presented included:

·        Different learning styles of students

·        School climate and child participation

·        Goals of education and what is important to teach in the schools

·        New educational methods, especially active and interactive learning

·        Learning Disabilities and Attention Deficit Disorder

·        How to help children with unique learning needs

·        Expanding the role of parents in the school

 

The following materials, by Bonnie Miller in Albanian language, were presented to all participants to take back to their schools:

 

·        “Connecting with Children in the Classroom:  Manual for Teachers”

·        “Communicating with Children: Manual for Parents”

·        “I Can Learn” – DVD on Learning Disabilities and Attention Deficit Disorder 

·        “I Can Learn” –accompanying guidebook for teachers

·        CD-ROM with power point presentations on:

Connecting with Children in the Classroom

Learning Disabilities and Attention Deficit Disorder

Emotional Intelligence

Teacher-Parent Partnership

 

Most of the afternoon session was spent in small groups, with the directors cooperatively and energetically discussing their ideas for improving school climate, involving parents in the school, modernizing teaching methods, and supporting their teachers to help children with learning and attention problems.  Ample time was allotted for presenting their suggestions to the larger group.

 


 

 

  

BENEFICIARIES AND PARTICIPANTS

 

  Direct beneficiaries:  360 present and future educators in Kosovo

  Indirect beneficiaries:

 

CONSULTANT / INSTRUCTOR:

Ms Bonnie Miller ( Athens , Greece , and London , UK ) Sponsored by TWI for the Children, Inc.

 

 

SEMINAR METHODOLOGY

 

- Short lectures, power point presentations, video presentations

- Discussion, group work

- Evaluation of seminar

 

SEMINAR CONTENT

 

The main topics treated in the seminar :

 

 

    BACKGROUND/JUSTIFICATION

In Kosovo, a decade of discrimination, ethnic conflicts, violence, destruction, and forced dislocation produced a huge number of traumatized persons, among them many children. The capacity of parenting was affected by losses, war horrors, and the exile of hundreds of thousands of people.  Social systems and humanitarian services were destroyed. The post-conflict situation has not yet resulted in the expected improvement.  Poverty, unemployment, and other social problems continue to be evident. Depression and the feeling of hopelessness often accompany these processes.  Services and social structure continue to be very slow in reconstruction; they are often dysfunctional and corrupted.

 

In the region there is a severe shortage of mental health professionals who could help children with psychosocial and learning disorders.  Only a small number of children affected by war, poverty, and emotional and learning problems receive mental health services or specialized educational services because the population is not socialized to seeking professional help. Sometimes it is even considered as shameful to visit a psychologist or psychiatrist because of the social stigma of psychological problems or the parents’ fear of being blamed for not effectively fulfilling their parenting role. In addition, people lack money to pay for travel costs and often they are so overwhelmed by existential problems that children’s mental health difficulties are not a top priority.  For these reasons, teachers need to fill in to address the psychosocial and learning needs of children.  In addition, they can provide support to parents to help their children in areas of learning, self-esteem, and social relationships.

 

TWI for the Children, Inc. was extremely pleased to help fund this important seminar series in Kosovo.

 

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Return to Success 2005 Page.

Updated: 12/20/2005