How can I improve my practice?

This is the guiding question which the 19 participants in the first workshop in the Technical Vocational Teacher Development program ask them selves. Monday February 16th they started on a journey of collaborative efforts of systematic improvement of their professional practice.

Each of the participants have created their own blog on which they intend to share accounts of their professional practice and their experiences regarding their efforts of improvements. The improvements planned by the participants cover different areas of teaching practice, as communications, drawing of technical models, community mobilization, demining, business skills, data collection, basic English grammar, surgical nursing, methodology of self improvement, introduction to carpentry tools to mention a few.


During the spring of 2009 the intention is that the Technical Vocational Teacher Development program will contribute to the establishment of a Southern Sudanese Technical Vocational blogsphere. This part of the program is partly inspired by the work of Jack Whitehead with Living Educational Theory at the University of Bath in England.

The Technical Vocational Teacher Development program offered by Akershus University College and Upper Nile University is a part of the NOK 65 million NUCOOP program for capacity building in Sudan partly financed by the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs via The Norwegian Center for International Cooperation in Higher Education (SIU). SIU is a public Norwegian agency that promotes international cooperation in education and research.

Connected to the Internet via Norway

It is pretty strange, but highly effective to be located in Afrca and connecting to the Internet via sattelite and a Norwegian ISP. Thursday February 19th the Teacher Development program workshop in Yei had the pleassure of visiting NPA Mine Action in Sudan at their compound in Yei and enjoying their hospitallity and their excellent Internet connection.

Working with capacity building and creating a sphere of documentation of vocational practices and knowledge troughout Southern Sudan, other countries in East Africa and Norway is dependant upon a reasonable access to the Internet.

The Vocational Teacher Development learning groups in Yei

Five learning groups were established during the workshop of the The Vocational Teacher Development program in Yei.

The teachers are supporting each other while collaborating. In their learning group dialogs they are sharing experiences and brain storming. This enables them to improve their creation of knowledege as a team and as individuals.

Fraser, Lagu, Agreement and Steven are in learning group one.





Otim, Clara and George are in learning group two.





Moses, Agnes, Anthony and Amule are in learning group no three.





Nsubuga, Batli, Kenyi and Nasra are in learning group four.





Abraham, Atimaku Justo and Atom are in learning group five.

We learn through interaction with each other

Nasra, Atom, Nsubuga and Abraham in an eager discussion about the communication model and how a common interest in a specific subject matter might help to energize a dialog.

The Learning Group Dialog once again was said to be the most important activity for learning. The participants of the Teacher Development program taking place at Yei Vocational Training Center were quite clear – the Learning Group Dialog made them really to learn.

This is the feedback from many workshops and it is probably the truth regarding learning in class too.

The overall question for the program is:”How can I improve my practice?” Improvement involves change, and change often hurts for someone.

How can I improve my practice?

This is the major question which is framing the one week workshop for 19 instructors from the Vocational Training Centre, Mine Action, Agricultural Training Centre, Medical Training School as well as SPLM. The workshop started Monday February 16th and it took place at Yei Vocational Training Centre.

The workshop was officially opened by Paterno Legge. He is now working as the Investment and Development Advisor to the Governor of Central Equatoria. Paterno Legge has for years been an important part of NPA in Southern Sudan.

In his opening speech Paterno Legge, the Investment and Development Advisor to the Governor of Central Equatoria highlighted the importance of the focus on capacity building in Southern Sudan. “We have been at war for more than twenty years and in this period the people of Southern Sudan did not have access to education. Even during the war the Norwegian people were here together with us supporting us and they still continue to support us, now focusing on capacity building.”

The capacity building program in Technical Vocational Pedagogy in Yei was initiated by Ms Linda Thu at Norwegian People’s Aid in Juba. The capacity building is a part of the NUCOOP program focusing on supporting Higher Education in Southern Sudan.

The workshop is the first of its kind held in Southern Sudan. It is the first part of a full one year program offered as a part time program over two years in Technical Vocational Pedagogy. The program is offered by Akershus University College from Norway in collaboration with Upper Nile University in Malakal.

Practical Pedagogical Development Work (PED)

In May 2008 the deans of UNU during a meeting in Khartoum did declare their interest in having a capacity building programme for the faculties enabling them to implement the principles of vocational pedagogy based upon experiential learning at UNU.

As a response Akershus University College is offering such a capacity building programme in Practical Pedagogical Development Work (PED) to the faculties of UNU.

The overall aim of the study programme in PED is to enable each participant to build his or her capacity in student centered teaching to facilitate experiential learning for the students.

The studies in PED are to be integrated into each of the participants teaching practice. The PED will utilize ICT and Internet as active means of facilitation and documentation throughout the whole programme. Each student has to know the basics of how to use a digital camera and to have access to, and know how to use a PC and Internet during the two year programme.

The medium of instruction and documentation is the English language.