THA to repurpose Teachers' Professional Development Centre

There are plans to repurpose the Teachers' Professional Development Centre at Mardon House, John Dial to help teachers adjust to the reality of teaching during a pandemic.

Secretary of Education, Innovation and Energy Kelvin Charles said the facility was designed to ensure that the island’s teachers are provided with contemporary professional training and insights into the best practices for the delivery of the curriculum.

At the post Executive Council media briefing in Scarborough last Wednesday, Charles said given that the education system is now moving into, “at best a blended situation or at worst online totally,” there would be different expectations.

Charles said the centre would strategically focus on the new normal and its requirements.

He said a repurposed Teachers Professional Centre would "continue to provide professional information and support to teachers from Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) to secondary schools; conduct current research on new trends in education especially online teaching and learning; prepare online resources that teachers would be able to access; provide IT support to those teachers; provide guidance and support to parents and other stakeholders as these relate to home-based learning; encourage interactions with principals and teachers to provide customised learning strategies especially in mathematics, language arts and reading for all levels of the primary schools.”

The centre, opened in April 2018, initially focused on building teachers to enhance the quality of delivery of education as well as providing assistance and support on ideas and strategies for teaching and learning.