ScholarWorks@UMass Amherst

Duration: 2007-2009
Sponsor: The World Bank Trust Fund, PO #7145279
Amount: $430,000

From January 2008 through May 2009, CIE worked in Senegal and The Gambia focusing on the role of multi-grade classrooms in addressing the challenge of providing primary education in rural areas. The project was directed by Jacqi Mosselson, PI, and Gretchen Rossman, Co-PI. The project was funded by a World Bank Trust Fund.

The LIRE Project was designed to increase access to primary schools in low-density population areas in Senegal and The Gambia. Between July and December 2008, LIRE carried out three training workshops with teachers and inspectors from the 20 demonstration schools located in Senegal and The Gambia. The UMass LIRE team included graduate students Alicia Fitzpatrick, Paul Frisoli, Sarah Kahando, Rebecca Paulson and Karla Sarr.

Workshops focused on the following topics: using local resources in schools; integrating the community into the classroom; assessing student progress through continuous assessment processes; micro-teaching; classroom management and arrangement; developing self-instructional materials; development of weekly and daily multi-grade lesson plans; and adapting the curriculum for multi-grade settings.

Teacher guides and training manuals for each country were developed, pilot-tested, and modified. These are available in both French and English in this folder. These have been widely shared, after final review by the Technical Working Groups and Advisory Committees in both countries.

Materials in this folder should be cited as follows:

This document was prepared with support from The World Bank Trust Fund, PO #7145279. No official endorsement should be inferred.