Teachers in Reg 2 & 3 benefit from robotics training workshop

The first robotics training workshop for Grade Four teachers at pilot schools in Regions Two (Pomeroon-Supenaam) and Three (Essequibo Islands-West Demerara) commenced on Tuesday and concluded on Friday.
Held in the auditorium of the National Centre for Educational Resource Development (NCERD), this training saw the participation of teachers from 17 schools across the two regions.
This initiative falls under efforts to enhance the Education Ministry’s Literacy and Robotics Programme whereby a number of teachers from pilot schools countrywide are undergoing robotics training.
NCERD Robotics Programme Coordinator, Petal Kadir noted that the workshop is intended to build the capacity of teachers and enable them to become more familiarised with the robotics kit.
Participating teachers are expected to serve as resource guides in their respective schools once the training has been completed.
Another workshop will be held for teachers in Regions Four (Demerara-Mahaica), Five (Mahaica-Berbice) and Six (East Berbice-Corentyne) next week, once again at NCERD’s auditorium.
Meanwhile, workshops for Regions Nine (Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo) and 10 (Upper Demerara-Berbice) will be held in Lethem and Linden, respectively.
Through a collaboration between the National Department of Literacy and NCERD, the Literacy and Robotics Programme was launched in several schools earlier this year to improve literacy levels among learners countrywide.
This is in keeping with the Ministry’s mandate to ensure that every child is a fluent reader by Grade Four while advancing the use of technology.
Its three-tier approach provides an intensive fast-paced remedial intervention to fast-track the learners’ literacy skills as they begin at the basic level, move onto the intermediate level and culminate at the advanced level.
Within these levels, students exclusively learn reading, phonics, pronunciation and letter sounds, combined with a robotics component.
Thus far, the programme is being facilitated within Enterprise Primary School in Region Four along with Dem Amstel Primary School, Kawall Primary School, La Retraite Primary School and the Blankenburg Primary School in Region Three.