On 27th July, 2024, we were pleased to hold a session, remotely, with Dr. Xiaoyan Liang, Lead Education Specialist, World Bank. Dr. Liang is an international education professional with experience across many continents and author of the influential “How Shanghai Does It” report. This was the first in a series of talks which will be organized by VMFT over the next few months on improving school education quality and to bring insights from other countries that are relevant for Kerala and India.
The offline session that was held at the VMFT hall, Trivandrum, saw a huge turnout of teachers, mentors
and students. Simultaneously, there were attendees who joined online from around the country as well.
The session was organised to turn the spotlight on the Teacher Research Group system in China that has been adapted to Tanzania and other countries. Due to the high performance of Chinese students on
international student assessments, there is considerable interest in this system.
Teacher Research Group (TRG) system is a collaborative framework designed to foster professional
development among educators through inquiry-based learning and reflective practice. It involves a
group of teachers coming together regularly to explore specific educational questions, challenges, or
innovations within their classrooms or schools. A typical TRG activity involves study and preparation of
lesson plans, classroom observation, and collective reflection. TRG creates a learning community, where
teachers can develop their subject or discipline knowledge and improve pedagogical skills.
The primary goal is to improve teaching practices and student learning outcomes. The group focuses ona specific research question or theme, which could relate to curriculum development, teaching strategies, classroom management, or student engagement.
Dr. Liang in her presentation, started with explaining the crux of TRG and its many benefits. China
adopted TRG in the 1950s as the most important platform for teacher professional development and
permeation of good teaching practices. TRG is a mainstream mechanism and all schools provide time
and budget for its related activities. Teachers are considered as lifelong learners, researchers and role
models who are given the responsibility of shaping the future citizens of the country. Chinese teachers
teach only about 15 hours in class every week; the rest of the working week is spent on the TRG
activities, preparing lesson plans and continuous assessment, visiting students’ homes and so on. As per the OECD TALIS survey of 2018, teaching was the first career choice for 87% of teachers in Shanghai. 93% of teachers in the city cite the opportunity to influence children or contribute to society as a major motivation factor.
This passion and dedication has led to a significant turnaround in terms of Gross Enrollment Ratio (GER), with 99% in preschool, primary, and junior secondary and 96% in secondary. Additionally, Shanghai has emerged on top in the global Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA). Teaching is already a highly regarded profession in China and there are efforts to improve its attractiveness to youth. There are teacher professional standards and certifications to raise the quality, free teacher education bachelor programmes for students willing to serve in rural areas for 6 years minimum, and a strong online network established to aid teachers in rural areas. Cultural respect for teachers, coupled with strong career development chances, has made teaching a viable profession in the country.
Dr. Liang took us through how TRG was implemented in Tanzania and the results were promising. The
TRG workshop was divided into Study, Plan, Teach, & Reflect. The entire workshop was an experiment in the power of collaboration and encouraged teachers to work in unison and break away from the
traditional way of working in silos. TRG focuses on helping teachers improve their subject knowledge
and teaching methods, while simultaneously ensuring that students learn from the best.
The eye-opening and insightful session by Dr. Liang was followed by questions from our enthusiastic
participants who are keen on adopting TRG’s core principles. For a country like India, with the largest
youth population in the world, 66% below the age of 35, employment is a big driving factor. A system
like TRG can have long-lasting and monumental changes to the system and the teaching career as a
whole. Something for all of us to think about and work towards.
#ShanghaiTeachers #TeacherResearchGroup #TRG #Teaching #EducationReform