The Ministry of Education of Panama together with SUMMA, the Laboratory for Research and Innovation in Education for Latin America and the Caribbean, held the meeting “PRISA Experience and Challenges: Pedagogical practices for the recovery of learning”, which aimed to expose the experience and results of the Comprehensive and Socio-Emotional Learning Recovery Program – PRISA-, as well as reflecting on the challenges facing the education system regarding learning recovery.
The event was attended by the Academic Vice Minister of Education of Panama, Dr. Ariel Rodriguez Gil; the General Deputy Director of Technical Teaching Education of the Ministry of Education of Panama, Victoria Tello; the director of SUMMA, Javier González, the Director of Strategic Development and Advocacy of SUMMA, Karla Fernandini; the Director of Innovative Policies and Practices of SUMMA, Dante Castillo-Canales; the PRISA coordinator at SUMMA, María José Martínez; and the SUMMA Teacher Training Coordinator, Andrea Lagos.
In addition, some 80 people attended, including supervisors, directors, teachers, representatives of civil society organizations, international organizations and different departments of the Ministry of Education of Panama.
Javier González, director of SUMMA, highlighted that “this meeting marks a key milestone for the national post-pandemic learning recovery program that we are promoting in Panama, in order to transform the pedagogical nucleus through the incorporation and strengthening of effective practices in improving learning, according to international evidence. The objective is not to ask teachers to do more, but to focus their efforts on those practices that have the greatest impact on learning”.
For his part, the Academic Vice Minister of Education, Ariel Rodríguez, stated that “after a pandemic with all the conditions and the system of vulnerability in which our students were left, these types of tools and alliances allow us to strengthen ourselves.”
During the meeting, a discussion panel was held on the challenges of teacher training and learning recovery, with the participation of Lizgay Giron, National Director of General Basic Education; Teofila Castillo, National Supervisor; Monica Vargas, OEI Education Specialist; and Noemí Castillo, Coordinator of Component 3 of the MECSE Program. In the panel, which was moderated by Dante Castillo-Canales from SUMMA, the impact of the online seminar “Effective pedagogical practices for the recovery and improvement of learning” was highlighted, which was developed earlier this year. The training was delivered through the ESTER platform and was aimed at teachers, as well as directors and supervisors from the regions of Chiriquí and the Ngäbe-Buglé Comarca of Nedrini. More than 500 people were enrolled in the seminary and 423 obtained their certificates.
“The keys to the success of this seminar have been the focus of the work in the territories and the collaboration of the actors of the school. In addition, the active accompaniment of the supervisors to the principals and teachers who participated was fundamental”, pointed out Andrea Lagos. She added that “obtaining an 80% certification rate is a remarkable and unusual achievement in online training, which paves the way for scaling this initiative and strengthening the capacities of the Ministry to support teacher training and accompaniment processes.” .
In addition, the four “Guides for the implementation of effective pedagogical practices in the school” were presented, which are part of the pedagogical tools of PRISA’s digital ecosystem. These documents provide tools for the institutional implementation of effective pedagogical practices: Reading Comprehension, Formative Feedback, Collaborative Learning and Socio-emotional Learning.
During the visit to Panama, a SUMMA team also held meetings with different key players in the program, such as regional supervisors who held the online seminar in February of this year. Likewise, a meeting was held with the Minister of Education, Maruja Gorday de Villalobos.
PRISA is an initiative jointly promoted by MEDUCA and SUMMA, which makes pedagogical tools available to the Panamanian educational system that contribute to improving the decisions of teachers and schools to advance in the recovery of learning. The program develops teacher training strategies, offers innovation proposals for schools, and provides pedagogical guidance to address learning gaps through effective pedagogical practices.
Download PRISA’s resources (available in Spanish)
