Our Pilot
Earlier in 2014, Accelerating Education Initiative (AEI) – a project of CharityHelp International (CHI) – launched a pilot coaching program that matches coaches around the world with students in Afghanistan to support their education and growth.
Students from CHI’s partner, AFCECO, hold a one hour Google Hangout with coaches located different parts of the world including the US. These calls are coordinated by a volunteer based in Kabul, Afghanistan, and are technically facilitated by one of Think Renewables’ (TR) Knowledge Delivery Systems. We are excited by the positive experiences the students and coaches have had so far, and are looking forward to expanding the program to more student groups, coaches, and educational institutions. Check out the story of our coach Feriba meeting her students for the first time below!
Our Pilot In Action
August 28, 2014
Today, Feriba, one of our coaches based in Morocco, held her first coaching session via Google Hangout with six students in Kabul, Afghanistan who have access to a Knowledge Delivery System through CHI’s partner, AFCECO. The session began with a warm introduction, each of the students describing where they are from, their age, and their professional aspirations. One student would like to become a musician, another aspires to become a doctor, and a third student expressed that she will one day be a diplomat.
Feriba asked the students in Persian what they are struggling the most with in school right now. The students agreed that human biology is a challenging topic. Paul Stevers, Chairman of CHI and helping out with the technology end of the coaching sessions, immediately pulled up a video from the Khan Academy eLibrary and shared his screen with Feriba and the students through Google Hangout.
“Is this what you’re studying?” asked Feriba about the video.
The students replied with a synchronous “yes!” and they agreed that in preparation for the next weeks of coaching, they would focus on jointly selecting Khan Academy videos from World Possible’s offline and online RACHEL eLibrary that would help the girls better understand human biology principles.
One of the students asked, “Maybe for the rest of today we can talk about mathematics?”
“Sure! That sounds great,” said Feriba. Paul again immediately pulled up a relevant video from World Possible’s online RACHEL eLibrary, shared his screen, and Feriba and the students began working through questions they had on sines and cosines for the last 30 minutes of the session.
Feriba laughed. “I think they know all this better than I do! They know all the mathematical terms in Dari, and I only know them in English. I’m learning too!”
The students laughed. The coaching session ended with enthusiastic goodbyes and excitement for next week’s session on human biology!
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Today’s coaching session was an exciting experience for everyone involved as coach and students got to know each other, had the chance to speak by Google Hangout together for the first time, and they explored some of the eLibrary content they have access to. As our coaches and students begin to meet regularly, they’re starting to work out what about the sessions works for them and what doesn’t. We’re glad to have the chance to watch coaches and students alike learning together and from each other!
We’re looking forward to following up with Feriba and the students next week, and to hearing how the first human biology coaching session goes. Stay tuned for more stories from our coaches, students and coordinators, and be sure to check out our video about AEI’s work here!