It was just a year ago that NSCC was selected to implement a three-year project in partnership with TA Marryshow Community College (TAMCC) in Grenada.  The selection was based on a competitive bid process that involved many Canadian colleges.  The purpose of the project is to build capacity at TAMCC that will enable this college to develop a new two-year diploma program in cultural and creative studies.  Funding for this project is provided by the Government of Canada under the CARICOM Education for Employment (C-EFE) Program while ACCC is managing all 16 projects under this regional program.

As part of this interesting project, a team from NSCC facilitated two CCEDP courses in Grenada for faculty members and department heads at TAMCC.  During the first week (January 6 – 10/14) of this mission Dave Freckelton, Claudine Lowry, Maria Desjardins and Zoran Kondali delivered the “Facilitating Adult Learning” course to a group of 27 participants including one representative of HEART Trust GARMEX from Jamaica.

During the second week (January 13 – 17/14) of the mission, Taralee Hammond and Maria Desjardins delivered the “Assessing and Evaluating Adult Learning” course to a group of 24 participants.  Both courses were co-facilitated by a group of TAMCC administrators and faculty members who successfully completed these two courses in July 2013 at the NSCC Truro Campus.  Marlene Finlay, Michael Noel, Lisa Charles and Andrea McDonald did an outstanding job in assuming increasingly active facilitation roles.  It was a great experience to witness and contribute to this amazing capacity-building transformation during these two weeks in Grenada.  TAMCC can be proud of its new champions for learner-centered teaching.

Both courses have received outstanding feedback from all participants.  Following are some of the testimonials from course participants:

“I got exposed to a new method of lesson planning (BOPPPS) and find it to be quite effective and will go a long way in enhancing the teaching – learning process.”

“This training enables me to find new and creative ways to get students more involved in the learning process.”

“Great course and enjoyed every moment of it.”

“I am better prepared to deliver my courses to students with a clear goal in mind; I am feeling as a true professional teacher now!”

“Having participated in the program, I have the confidence in my ability to transfer the skills and knowledge acquired to my students at work/TAMCC.”

We look forward to working with our colleagues from Grenada on future project activities.

Zoran Kondali

NSCC International

Nova Scotia Community College