Georgia | English Language through Civic Education | 23 Dec 2014

On December 23, 2014, Berdia Natsvlishvili, PH International‘s Georgia Country Director and Nana Ioseliani-Meissner, PH’s English Language Programs Manager, were invited to the Georgian Ministry of Education and Science to share information and expertise concerning the classroom observation component of the ELCE program. Among the participants attending the meeting were: Tamar Sanikidze, Minister of Education and Science; Lia Gigiauri, Deputy Minister of Education and Science on General Education; Giorgi Sharvashidze, Deputy Minister of Education and Science on High Education; Natia Jokhadze, Head of National Curriculum Department; Giorgi Machabeli, Director of Teachers’ Professional Development Center; Natia Abuladze, Deputy Director of Teachers’ Professional Development Center; Nino Udzialauri, General Education project representative from Millennium Challenge Account – Georgia; Nino Kutateladze, General Education specialist from World Bank; Medea Kakachia, Education Specialist, Office of Health and Education, USAID; Nancy Parks, Chief of Party, Georgia Primary Education Project (G-PriEd) funded by USAID and implemented by Chemonics, and Ketevan Chachkhiani, Deputy Chief of Party, G-PriEd.

PH team briefly introduced the structure, past successes, and new strategies of the ELCE-II program to the audience, after which the Classroom Observation Component of the ELCE program became the main focus of discussion. The Minister of Education and Science was especially interested and impressed by the ELCE-II database in PH International’s Virtual Office (VO), through which it is possible to track the progress of all the English language teachers that have participated in the program to date. The audience asked questions about the number and frequency of classroom observations per teacher-training cycle, techniques, and forms used during classroom observations, challenges encountered and success stories.

After the PH International presentation, the G-PriEd Project also presented on their classroom observation experience and models.

To conclude the meeting, the Minister of Education and Science of Georgia thanked the participants and expressed her hope for continued, fruitful cooperation and information exchanges as the MES continues to work on a new Teacher Certification and Professional Development Scheme. According to the MES, the classroom observation component will be a part of the new scheme and the Ministry will draw on the experience and best practices of various international and national actors in the field when deciding on the final model.