Zambian lecturers visit Ireland as part of ZITEP

In October, St Patrick’s College along with the other colleges of education played host to nine visitors from Colleges of Education in Zambia as part of the Zambia/Ireland Teacher Education Partnership.  During the two weeks that they spent in Ireland, the Zambian lecturers attended workshops with Irish counterparts, observed lectures and visited primary schools. 

The aim of this visit was in part to develop all participants’ understanding of the education system in their partner country.  An additional aim was for both visiting and host lecturers to produce a 12-month workplan identifying activities and outcomes for their particular study area.   Thanks to the open and engaged attitude that both sets of lecturers brought to each session, the two aims were successfully met and all the workplans can be found on the ZITEP intranet where lecturers are beginning to engage in the first planned online activity. 

The Zambian group greatly enjoyed their time in Ireland and were particularly struck by the warm welcome they received and the quality of teaching and learning taking place in our colleges.  They have carried many ideas back with them and have already started adapting some of these for use in their own classrooms.  Many thanks to all who were involved in this visit.  If you are a lecturer in one of the participating colleges and would like to participate in ZITEP either through the online site or in an exchange visit please contact Mary Kerr on 01-8842348 or at mary.kerr@spd.dcu.ie.  

 

 

Last Updated: Tuesday November 10 2009