Improving Education Methods by Targeting Numeracy and Literacy Teaching

Many of Yemen’s teachers need to further enhance their skills and techniques to contribute to the development of children in Yemen. 

As part of its efforts to support the capacity building of the teachers in Yemen, UNICEF is supporting schools in Amanat Al Asimah, Sana'a, and Amran governorates in Yemen to organize workshops for elementary school teachers to expose them to the best practices and most updated training in the areas of numeracy and literacy.

Beyond basic arithmetic, calculations, and phonetics, the training includes how to facilitate silent, oral, and auditory reading. Perhaps most importantly, it offers them the resources they need to build the capacity of their entire academic community. Teachers come away with proven strategies they can use to increase student engagement, manage their classrooms, and share their knowledge with their peers. This critical intervention was made possible thanks to the generous contribution of the European Union.

Effective Teaching Styles

Esmail Ali, 50, has been a teacher for 19 years and leads literacy and numeracy workshops to help other educators acquire new skills.

He views it as his duty “to educate the next generation, so that they can reach their full potential” and he never hesitates to assist his colleagues with his knowledge and experience during his training sessions. “In fact, I always end my training with words of encouragement for other instructors to apply the skills they gained on the ground and to support their colleagues,” Esmail explains.

Behavioral Objectives

Attendee Ibrahim Mohammed, 48, teaches primary students in the district of Ma'ain.

For Ibrahim, “the main challenges students face are overcrowded classrooms, lack of desks, and limited number of textbooks. This training will help me and other teachers to overcome some of these challenges, especially managing classrooms, promoting active learning, and reconsidering the traditional dynamic between instructors and students.”  

Ibrahim’s colleague, Eshraq Anwar, has been a teacher for 22 years and was still able to benefit from the strategies she learned throughout the training course, “attending the training has enabled me to distinguish between different teaching methods, how to make lesson plans, set objectives, identify different learning styles, and to tailor activities to meet all of my students needs.” 

Young Trainees

With her 12-year experience, Arwa Ali also benefited from the workshops, including from “the strategies of silent and auditory reading, and silent acting; how to write words and pronounce letters correctly; as well as basic arithmetic and mathematics. Now, I have the skills required to help younger students and support my fellow teachers.”

At the end of the training, more than 400 teachers and school supervisors had expanded their literacy and numeracy teaching skills, which means that more than 18,000 children in Yemen should see an improvement of methods used in the classroom.