The implementation of the SIRP modules is managed by Class Act Educational Services, which has tailored a mentorship and colloquium programme to co-create and share knowledge of reading pedagogy in Sesotho and IsiZulu with interested academics at 11 South African universities.
Structure and Aims
The SIRP mentorship programme focuses on learning about what teacher educators know, and co-creating a programme of knowledge development in the field of reading pedagogy in either Sesotho or IsiZulu.
- Mentorship occurs over intensive two-day breakaway sessions structured according to key focus areas in the SIRP modules.
- Virtual regional colloquia offer spaces for reflection and further engagement on issues in teaching reading emerging from mentorship, and are also open to attend for anyone interested in the topic.
- Coach mentors work with teacher educators throughout the year to support their integration of SIRP materials in their teaching, with the aim of improving how student teachers teach reading at early grade levels.
The implementation programme supports the operationalisation of the main SIRP objectives:
- To enhance quality and capacity in the teaching of reading for BEd Foundation and Intermediate Phases at target universities;
- To offer a novel course in reading pedagogy for lecturers and students that is both useful and accessible;
- To support the institutionalisation of strengthened curricula for teaching reading in the B.Ed FP and IP programmes;
- And in the long term, to ensure that NQTs from participant programmes are better equipped to teach reading in the target languages and phases.
