Openness in Teacher Education: Continuing the Conversation Beyond PCF11
At the #PCF11BW in Gaborone, Botswana, educators and education leaders from nine countries came together for a pre-conference workshop on openness in teacher education to advance collaboration under COL’s Network for Open Teacher Education in Sub-Saharan Africa (NOTES) project.
The workshop, also attended by the Minister for Training and Tertiary Education of Barbados, Hon. Sandra V. Husbands, explored the transformative potential of openness and co-creation in teacher education.
Participants engaged with the OER Teacher Education Framework, refining its six domains to guide teacher educators and teachers in integrating Open Educational Resources (OER) in teacher preparation and practice, especially in the era of Generative AI.
Key outcomes included:
- Commitment by participants to scale up OER co-creation and embed open practices in curricula and policy.
- Stronger institutional and cross-country partnerships through the NOTES network, including commitment to a shared research agenda on openness in teacher education.
- Refinement of the OER Teacher Education Framework, ensuring it is agile and adaptable to diverse contexts.
- Identification of capacity-building priorities, including digital literacy, cybersecurity, and responsible use of AI.
- Opportunities for cross-continental engagement for knowledge and policy exchange in the evolving network of practice.
The workshop reaffirmed COL’s commitment to advancing open, agile, and collaborative approaches to teacher development across the Commonwealth, which has also highlighted by Education Ministers in Collective Action 4 of the Gaborone Statement: “Teachers as skilled agents of change”.
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Inclusive Education in Action: Unlocking Inclusive Learning Everywhere
Join the Commonwealth of Learning (COL) for the next Empowering Women & Girls webinar, featuring Inclusive Education Canada, to explore practical approaches to:
- Creating accessible and inclusive learning environments
- Removing barriers to participation and achievement
- Building systems that embrace and celebrate learner diversity
Date & Time:
Tuesday, November 18, 2025
Time: 7:00 AM (Vancouver) PST
Register via Zoom: us06web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_xfQVG0C7R_2OYqBe4EPH7g
Together, let’s make inclusion an everyday reality.
COL4D's Empowering Women & Girls
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Happy 44th Independence Day, Dominica!
Dominica is strengthening its education system and expanding opportunities for learners nationwide. The country continues to strengthen its role in open and distance learning, including with partnerships that COL has developed with the Ministry of Education, Human Resource Planning, Vocational Training and National Excellence and the Climate Resilience Execution Agency of Dominica (CREAD).
Recent highlights include:
- Online platform developed for disaster management.
- The Centre where Adolescents Learn to Love and Serve, Dominica developed an institutional open and distance learning (ODL) strategy and action plan.
Dominica’s path forward is one of building inclusive higher education systems, expanding technology-enabled learning, and ensuring that open education bridges digital divides while fostering equal opportunities for all.
Ministry of Education, HR Planning, Vocational Training & Nat'l Excellence
Climate Resilience Execution Agency for Dominica
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