By Larissa Martins, LSI Communications Assistant

The Learning Systems Institute (LSI) at Florida State University is in its fourth year of leading the Transforming Teacher Education (TTE) activity in Zambia, sponsored by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID).

This multifaceted activity is already yielding transformative results, with teacher educators striving to improve their teaching best practices with the aim of creating a chain reaction that strengthens Zambia’s entire education system.

One of the opportunities extended by the program is a semester-long residency at FSU for select Zambian teacher educators. This past fall, LSI hosted Senior Lecturers Namushi Situtu and Sandra Mulesu.

Situtu and Mulesu delved into the academic environment at FSU, dedicating themselves to expanding their knowledge and excelling in four graduate-level courses. When asked about their key takeaways, Mulesu answered, “The biggest takeaway is the different way of presenting information to the students, such as the different methodologies, and the hands-on aspect of teaching.”

“Another addition is the aspect of helping the learners have more of an interest in reading,” said Situtu. “We noticed in all the classes we had, before the next lesson, there are readings we are given. Everyone is supposed to go through the readings and ask questions based on them. I think that is a strategy we will extend to our students to help their reading skills.”

Mulesu and Situtu explained how prior to TTE, there was no formal training for those who were promoted to teacher educators in Zambia. TTE is addressing this issue, providing support for teacher educators, so they can properly nurture upcoming primary and secondary school teachers.

“The teacher education program has helped all of us back home because TTE has provided and walked us through the materials. They’ve trained us on how to teach that material and helped us with different methodologies,” said Mulesu, “When others come on board, they will be able to observe from us because they’ve now set a standard on how we can best deliver this material and we are integrating the information across all the colleges of education.”

Situtu stated, “Transforming Teacher Education has really helped, especially with the aspect of inclusivity because all the lecturers are being trained in teaching literacy and languages. TTE makes sure everyone gets firsthand information. The cooperation of this program with us as fellows is another milestone.”

Mulesu and Situtu are excited to return to the classroom to put their newly acquired skills into practice. Situtu noted, “The learner-centeredness is something we are taking home with us. Learners being involved from the start of the lesson up to the end is really important and enhances their understanding.”

Mulesu highlighted, “We intend to share this knowledge of differentiated instruction with our fellow lecturers in our continuous professional development so that we see how best we can attend to the needs of different students and their levels of understanding materials.”

Mulesu and Situtu believe in the power of leading by example and are committed to equipping future teachers with the tools necessary for their students to succeed. Situtu expanded on her approach as a teacher educator and stated, “As we are teaching, our focus should be to help learners develop fully so that wherever they go, they can also contribute to the development of communities.”

Sandra Mulesu and Namushi Situtu emphasized the large-scale effects TTE is making on Zambia’s education. “We anticipate having better teachers with better methodologies for teaching literacy and language,” said Mulesu, “The impact cannot be underestimated for this activity.”

LSI has been at the forefront of developing innovative solutions that bridge theory and practice in education. For over 50 years, LSI has delivered systems that measurably improve the learning and performance of organizations and individuals here in Florida and globally. To learn more about LSI, please visit LSI.FSU.edu.