Secondary Education Curriculum Development and Improvement Specialist

Terms of Reference Secondary education curriculum development and improvement specialist

1. Programme Background New Generation Schools (NGS) is an innovative public-philanthropic partnership, supporting public schools to deliver high-quality education across the country. Established in 2011, the NGS Cambodia (NGSC) initiative has achieved immediate success and been placed at the forefront of the Cambodian government’s recent educational reforms. With thousands of kids already involved, NGSC is set to expand to 50 schools with two in every province.

As a core partner in NGSC, the Franks Family Foundation (FFF) is now establishing a programme in Laos in agreement with the Lao Ministry of Education and Sports (MoES). The FFF is a UK-based foundation working to make the world more educated, healthy and meritocratic, and has years of experience delivering successful education and health projects across South East Asia.

The NGS Laos (NGSL) aims to achieve high standards of excellent teaching, facilities and governance so that Lao students can access the education they need to thrive in the modern economy. Our charter school model involves NGS independently managing existing public schools that join the NGS programme. NGS schools expand on the national curriculum to also teach key skills in ICT, English language and STEM subjects. NGSL will turn public schools into true centers of excellence.

We are looking for a talented, passionate secondary education specialist to evaluate, develop and improve secondary school curriculum and pedagogy and lead the teacher training to ensure that the teaching and learning quality of NGSL is innovative and meets the 21st century education standard.

2. Objectives and Expected results NGSL is currently seeking an education specialist consultant to review and evaluate the existing curriculum and teaching practices of the secondary level (Grade 9 to Grade 12) at Nongduang School in Vientiane Capital. The objective of this work is a). to improve the existing curriculum and teaching practice, b). to train and improve capacity of teachers b). to ensure the effective learning experience of students, d). to identify key areas of improvement in teaching and learning to ensure that education provided by Nongduang school meet 21st century education standard. The main objective is for the NGSL to achieve its goals of becoming an Educational Center of Excellence in Laos.

The education specialist consultant will work with the NGSL team and teachers to review and evaluate the current curriculum and pedagogy. After the review and evaluation, the education consultant is expected to write a report that will consist of findings and suggestions for the curriculum and pedagogy improvement of each subject taught in grade 6 to grade 12. This report will also include the training manual to train teachers in each subject to use innovative and interactive ways of teaching and learning to meet the 21st century education standard. The consultant is expected to provide an intensive training to teachers after completing the report and the training manuals. The report and training manuals and guidelines should be produced in both Lao and English.

3. Main Tasks • Conduct technical review and content analysis of existing textbooks and workbooks by subject of each grade level (Grade 6 – Grade 12) to identify educational objectives • Identify key areas for improvement in the existing curriculum and pedagogy of each grade level • Develop spreadsheets of additional educational materials that will complement the improved curriculum and the pedagogy or educational materials list needed for each subject • Develop a report contain of findings and recommendations • Develop teaching and training manuals for teacher by subjects • Develop lesson plan template and guideline and train the teachers how to effectively plan their lesson • All reports, manuals, guidelines and templates should be produced in both English and Lao. • Conduct training sessions for teachers by subject on how to use improved curriculum, teaching practices and additional educational materials according to the manual