US Department of Education: The US Department of Education’s mission is to promote student achievement and preparation for global competitiveness by fostering educational excellence and ensuring equal access.

PSU’s Arts in Education Institute: Designed to provide teachers with a repertoire of arts-infused, multi-disciplinary activities, the Arts in Education Summer Institute enhances the opportunities for the success of all learners. Through hands-on workshops and discussions, participants will explore how the languages of visual art, drama, movement, music, and creative writing, can inspire students and open doors to understanding.

PSU’s Plymouth Writing Project: The Plymouth Writing Project believes that access to high quality educational experiences is a basic right of all learners and a cornerstone of equity. Through building an extensive network of teacher leaders, the Plymouth Writing Project seeks to promote exemplary instruction of writing in every classroom in the state.

Miss Sadia Shaukat (PELI, 2008) taught a course “Art and Craft” at B.Ed level and incorporated the concepts of Environmental Awareness and Education in this course. The purpose of this course was to raise the environmental awareness among prospective teachers. Especially during the teaching of this course prospective teachers were trained to make the environmental strategies through trash material.

They made board displaying their efforts for raising environmental awareness with concepts of reduce, reuse, and recycle. They participated in card making activity and made beautiful cards on SAVE ENVIRONMENT. They used aluminum tins for making trash bins.

In addition, B.Ed students prepared environmental strategies for their teaching practice. They also developed their session plans on environmental awareness, pollution hazards, climate change and its impact. They accepted as a challenge to raise environmental awareness and education in their teaching practice and divided their roles as a leader for SAVE ENVIRONMENT. They made different Crowns on the diverse themes of environment to show their environmentally responsible behavior as a leader in the teaching practice.

Every student had clear vision and mission for raising environmental awareness and education in their teaching practice. During teaching practice B.Ed prospective teachers had also decided to establish the environmental centers at school level. They have developed environmental awareness campaign for school students that how they can bring about a change in their school environment. They have designed some intervention strategies for protecting environment at school level:

• Plantation day
• Discussions on Environmentally Responsible behavior
• Development of story material (literature) on the importance of environment

I am optimistic about my prospective teachers’ leading efforts and roles being leaders for raising environmental awareness and education during their teaching practice.

Our sincere thanks to ITA (Idara-e-Taleem-o-Agahi) and PSU (Plymouth State University),  partner organizations, who made it possible for us to avail this wonderful learning opportunity of personal and professional growth. It was due to the tireless effort of Ms Baela Raza  and Ms Blake Allen, Directors of their respective organizations, that we as a group were able to travel with much ease.

We are equally grateful to Ms Beena Raza of ITA, for providing us valuable information during pre departure orientation sessions at Islamabad, Pakistan.

Our special thanks to Ms Blake Allen, for her constant support and encouragement during the course. Thankyou Ms Blake for making our trip a rich learning experience. The course was designed in such a manner that each and every day that we spent at New Hampshire was filled with  great learning opportunities.

Our heartfelt gratitude to all the faculty members for their unique styles of teaching, and making it possible for us to share our thoughts and learn from each other.

We will always remember people with whom we had the opportunity to discuss and share our thoughts on multiple issues. Our discussions enabled us to understand each others points of view, and to see the world from a broader perspective. 

We are grateful to all the friends who invited us to their homes and organizations on various occasions and hosted luncheon, dinner and Pizza party for us. No wonder each one of us has put on some extra weight as a result of the tasty food that we ate in those parties .

Our special thanks to our community advisers for their timely support in solving our problems.

Our thanks to the technology experts who guided us while developing our action plans with patience and smile. We are also thankful to our great photographer who captured our memories  and posted it on the website.

We appreciate the staff of Prospect Hall who always welcomed us with their smiling faces.

We are grateful to all the staff members of PSU, who provided us information during the orientation week to facilitate our smooth stay at PSU.

Our thanks to the organizers of the Plymouth Writing Project who provided us the opportunity to interact with the New Hampshire teachers and to share with each other our cultural values and traditions.

We will always remember our memorable visit to Washington D.C. We had the opportunity to visit the State Department to hold meetings with concerned authorities.

Our special thanks to our friends who invited us to concerts, and ofcourse the great opportunity to visit Arts in Education Institute.

Last but not the least, we are highly grateful to our friends, teachers of different schools of New Hampshire with whom we spend memorable time during classroom teaching and field trips. They were extremely helpful and cooperative. We can never forget the delicious and scrumptious lunch they prepared for us.

We would like to conclude on a note that our relationship does not end at the culmination of the programme, in fact it is the beginning of our everlasting friendship.

Pakistan Summer Institute for Teacher’s Training 2006.

Overview by Khawaja Tariq Shafi

After the devastating earthquake of October 2005, It was a great privilege for me and also for my companions that we got a chance cope with our trauma through Plymouth State’s 4 week Summer Institute , because many of us has had experienced losses of life as well as property.

The chance was given by ITA and PSU in assistance with the State Dept., Bureau of State Department of USA. Although it was a month based programmed but it changed our whole lives by seeking different techniques and by making social and educational contact with our American brethren.

It was a small but a very focused programmed which not only enhanced our subject knowledge but also created educational leadership and pedagogical skills of Pakistani teachers.

The PSU design team and faculty for this four week program offered enriching seminar for the professional development of Pakistani group.

A series of social gatherings were held to introduce participants to the members of PSU and other NH Community for educational and cultural experience.

We also organized a cultural night named “Jevey Pakistan Cultural Night 2006” in which diverse culture of Pakistan was successfully demonstrated before PSU staff and then family members. Gift ceremony was also one of the traditional events of Pakistani group.

During the stay we got a chance to visit, Niagara Falls, New York City and different states of the USA. These tours were recreational as well as educational. It was really a wonderful experience, along with indoor studies and outside trips as well. We gained a lot and improved our skills regarding new and learner centered teaching and learning in schools.

In short it is a beauty of diverse culture between Pakistan and USA

It can promote good with and cultural understanding between the two countries. I am grateful to ITA, SINP and PSU to have given me a chance to improve my knowledge. This is a kind of program which should be continued in the future.

I am also thankful to Baela Jamil, Beena Raza and Blake Allen and her husband John who really took care of us and also she is still appreciating my work.

Last but not least I am deeply indebted to my department in Azad Kashmir for nominating me for this prestigious training. The competition was tough as we had to go through a rigorous process of test and interviews. This was a lifetime opportunity as I had never been nominated for training outside the country. The fact that I was a senior subject specialist posted in a school from a very backward area in the Kashmir Valley. During the earthquake my school was totally destroyed and my 10-year-old son was an unfortunate victim studying in the same school. The PSU experience has given me the vision, courage and the motivation to overcome my personal tragedy. I left the USA with a very positive frame of mind and am now totally committed to bringing quality changes in the classrooms through training my other colleagues and giving feedback to the Dept. of Education.

Because of my selection for PSU’s Summer Institute my Dept. acknowledged the new pedagogical practices I acquired in a short span of time and as an incentive and recognition of my hard work I have been nominated for M.Ed (assessment and evaluation) Melbourne University, Australia for 2008.

Name: Fouzia Maqsood Butt

Year of award: 2004

Subject: Science

Keeping in view the significance of Continuous Professional Development of the teachers for the promotion of Quality Education, Idara-e-Taleem-o-Aagahi & ITA’s School Improvement Network Pakistan (SINP) has been seriously engaged in organizing capacity building training workshops for both Public and Private sectors for the seven years. Within this frame work of trainings, In 2004 I got an opportunity to attend 5 weeks teachers training program organized by Plymouth State University NH.USA in collaboration with SINP/ITA.

The main Focus of the training was on Secondary level Science, Mathematics, English Teaching with particular focus on leadership & Management and heritage studies.

After returning back from PSU I start implementing learning from course.

Trainings conducted from 2004-2007

Material Development:

After returning back from Plymouth State University I have developed following manual/modules for teachers/head teachers and for school councils.

1. School Leadership

• Manual on Schools Improvement through Effective Leadership
• Focal Teachers Training manual
• Manual on School leadership Development program
• Training Facilitation Skills

2. Teacher’s Training (Formal& Non Formal)

• Early Childhood Education
• Module on Classroom Management
• Module on Primary & Elementary Science Teaching for
  Punjab and AJK
• Module of Pre-Service Teachers Training Targeting Domestic Child Labor
• Module of Pre-Service Non formal Teachers Training
• Module on Use of Primary Teachers Training Kit
• Lesson plans of science from class 1-8^th

3. School Council/Community Mobilization

• Module on School Council training
• Role of school council in School development Planning

Achievements or recognition/awards

1. League for the Exchange of Commonwealth Teachers (LECT)
I got an opportunity to visit UK for 3 months scholarship (January 2006-April 2006) on Educational Leadership and management funded by Commonwealth (League for the exchange of commonwealth teachers2006. I was the only one candidate among 6 candidates selected from 52 commonwealth countries for this scholarship.

2. Certification through Punjab Education Foundation:

I also got an opportunity to gone though a process of certification through Punjab Education Foundation (PEF).Now I am certified master trainer for Science from Punjab Education Foundation.

Paradigm shift …

I am Farzana … Working with Idara Taleem-o-Aagahi since the last five years as a teacher trainer in the field of Health and environmental educational awareness among teachers, students and communities.

I was also working as a program manager or administrator at the teacher resource center of ITA (Idara Taleem-o-Aagahi) it was a great opportunity for me to be a part of the dynamic group going to be at PSU for their professional training.

We a group of twenty reached at Boston airport on 25^th of June 2006 and then to the beautiful valley of Plymouth where stands the beautiful campus of the Plymouth State University. We were welcomed by the cool weather and a drizzling rain. Program Director Blake Allen and Police Chief Clark received us at the Boston air port very warmly. From the next day we started our classes, had a tour of the library and all of the campus.

When we started having classes regularly I found the amazing methodology and teaching techniques working very well…Although I was aware of the terms of interactive teaching, participatory approach, and class room without walls … etc but there I saw the actual implementation and essence of these terms. The way of teaching was amazing in all the classes. The idea of environmental education integrated in the existing curriculum was very helpful for me … I have got a lot of guidance from professor Mary Ann McGarry the teacher for environmental education … We also have a visit to Sqwam Lake and had some experiments there to assess the purity of water in the lake. Along with this I also got the chance to participate in a 4 day exclusive training workshop on planning in management and human resources by Dr. Leo Corriveau. This training session was very valuable and thought provoking for me as it changed the whole paradigm of my thinking. And I came to know how to do planning and management in all fields of life and how important it is.

Besides all this we also had cheerful and unforgettable moments when we went to the visit of Niagara Falls… the scene was really amazing and in my opinion on of the most beautiful scenes of the world, and the visit to United Nations assembly was also very inspirational. We also had great times at Ben and Jerry’s, teddy bear factory, zero point, and empire state building.

Well this was the story how and what I have learnt there at PSU….. Now I would like to share the implementation and dissemination of the information and knowledge I have gained from there. After coming back I was totally a changed person I make up a network by creating links with different organizations working in my relative field.I worked with Parks and horticulture authority of Lahore and work with their collaboration to restore the historic garden of Mochi Gate Lahore which was going to be ruined and was being ignored by city district govt. An awareness walk for better environment for the community was also held with the help of the students. Health days are being celebrated in the schools on regular basis. Integration of environmental education through health lessons is also on its way. 70 heads and vice heads are also been trained in 4 workshops comprising of the knowledge I got at PSU. I also participated in the development of a teachers’ manual for the book JLOK (just like other kids) on inclusive education and its dissemination in all four provinces of Pakistan. I have also linked up with WWF and conducted training workshop for teachers on environmental education.In short I will say that the visit to USA was very helpful for me and it builds my skills and capacity to a great extent. Me, my organization, students and communities m involved with are being benefited by my experiences of PSU.