GES launches innovative APP for teachers

Ghana Education Service (GES) on Thursday launched an innovative Teacher Survey App in Accra, which intends to improve learning outcomes for students and focus more attention on teachers.

Dr Kwabena Bempah Tando, Deputy Director-General of GES said, as part of the activities to mark Continuous Professional Day (CPD), GES in partnership with Ghana Society for Education Technology (GSET) unveiled the “TeacherTapp” to provide information for teachers and improve their work.

He said the Mobile Survey App would ask teachers three questions and provide information on how others have responded to the questions and provide each teacher with a short piece of professional development reading to help teachers reflect and improve their classroom practice.

Dr Tando said in 2019, Ghana was selected and awarded a grant from the International Development Fund in United Kingdom to run a feasibility study of the “TeacherTapp” due to the well- developed educational system.

He said the app was going to serve three fundamental goals which include: providing every Ghanaian teacher free access to world-class professional development materials and resources so they can become world-class practitioners.

Also, the App would provide additional avenues for Ghanaian teachers to connect with each other and give them a greater sense of community by learning from the experiences of their colleagues across the country.

He said the App would provide GES and other agencies including policymakers and Non-Governmental Organisations real time data on teaching and learning which would inform their decision making to improve the schools and learning outcomes.

The Deputy Director General said using the “TeacherTapp” was intended to build a successful and sustainable dataset on teaching in Ghana, adding that it would be done hand in hand with their teachers by working in collaboration with all their key agencies.

Dr Tando said by working together incremental strides would be made in providing quality education to students as well as make substantial gains in their quest to achieve Sustainable Development Goal Four.

He encouraged both GES and private school teachers across the country to download “TeacherTapp” and use the readings to inform professional discussions at Professional Learning Community (PLC) meetings and also build teaching portfolios whilst earning points towards continuous professional development units.

Dr Sam Awuku, Board President of GSET, said technology could drive educational improvement and that users should be mindful of the technology they adopt.

Dr Awuku said “TeacherTapp” would enable teachers have access to safe resources and expressed his contentment to collaborate with GES to support the agenda to transform education and improve the learning field of every child.

“Teachers who are not members of GSET should sign up to the App and so as to benefit from this development and initiative”, he said.