Tags
Automobiles, Construction, Department of Technical Education and Training, Diploma in Technology and Education, District Career Guidance Centres, DTET, Electronic Technology, English, NVQ, Production Technology, Tertiary and Vocational Education Commission, Youth Corps
but something ere the end,
Some work of noble note, may yet be done
I feel quite shattered as I write this, for the last week has been quite hectic. We had an extra meeting of the Tertiary and Vocational Education Commission on Wednesday, at which we presented a number of ground breaking papers. Most important were the curricula for the Diploma in Technology and Education, which will be delivered at a number of Technical Colleges and Colleges of Technology from next year.
We will be working in five areas, namely Automobiles, Production Technology, Construction, Electric and Electronic Technology and Airconditioning and Refrigeration. The course is open to those who took up Technology subjects at Advanced Level, but here they will study in depth the practical applications of the knowledge they acquired. They will also develop soft skills, and in particular English communication skills. And most important they will be introduced to interactive teaching skills, with much emphasis on group discussions, on reflecting on experience, on sharing and assessing ideas.
We had much experience of this at the workshop we had conducted the previous weekend for teachers on the English and Education course that will commence next year at ten colleges round the country. The original plan had been to confine this to five colleges, but it seems there is much demand from students, who have been enthused by the active approach to teaching adopted by many of the teachers at this College. The NVQ Level 4 course we started in Galle a couple of months back had for instance nearly a 1000 applicants, but we were able to take in fewer than 200, and that was stretching it. If the present initiative works well, we will soon have overcome the decades long problem of enough English teachers for the country – and indeed the problem of teachers of Technology, given that the Technology stream was started without attention to teacher supply.
We had our lively and committed German consultant to introduce the new pedagogy curriculum, since it will be the English teachers who have to handle this for the Technology and Education students as well as the English and Education students. It was fascinating to see the way in which the teachers reacted, including the older ones who were encouragingly enthusiastic. The new Asst Director in charge of English at the Department of Technical Education and Training seemed to have made an excellent selection, though I have noted that there are other good teachers too, and by next year we should be able to run the course in many more centres. Continue reading