AKA Dhaka organises a PD session for teachers under the KIX project

On 25 May 2023, the Professional Development Centre (PDC) of the Aga Khan Academy Dhaka welcomed a group of government primary school teachers operating under the Knowledge and Innovation Exchange (KIX) project. The Teacher Professional Development (TPD) session was designed to equip early primary teachers with evidence-based pedagogical strategies for teaching foundational English literacy skills.

Two tools within the Learning Toolkit+ (LTK+) are being used in the KIX project – ABRACADABRA (A Balanced Reading Approach for Children Always Designed to Achieve Best Results for All) and READS (Repository of Ebooks And Digital Stories). The former is an interactive instructional software to teach foundational literacy skills, while the latter provides an organised catalogue of free digital stories. The TPD session emphasised exploring ABRACADABRA's alphabetic module and READS, evaluating existing LTK+ resources, tailor the "Alphabetics Training Programme" to meet the needs and context of teachers from Bangladesh.

Head of PDC and Outreach Md Musle Uddin Bhuiya led the TPD session by walking the teachers through the objectives, demonstrating the ABRACADABRA software and engaging the participants in group work. Later, the participants had a chance to investigate the module and its resources to become familiar with its main functions and activities.

“I have learnt a lot of theoretical concepts related to early grade language through this session,” said Assistant Teacher Masuda Parvin of Kurmitola Government Primary School, Dhaka. "It will enrich us and contribute to our daily teaching-learning process. We can develop ourselves irrespective of time and space as this module is available online and offline. Thank you, the Aga Khan Academy Dhaka, for introducing and sharing with us such cutting-edge technology.”

In his closing remarks, Mr Musle highlighted the gravity of embedding technology in education and prioritising the different ways students learn.

"Empowering teachers with innovative technology and pedagogical strategies is the key to unlocking the boundless potential of every learner, paving the way for a brighter future," Mr Musle said. "Hence, focusing on which way students learn better rather than completing the syllabus is more important."