Impact

“Education Without Backpacks” launches a free program for schools and their math teachers “Better in Maths with Khan Academy”, which will be held in 2021/2022 school year.

The purpose of the program is to explore the impact of the platform Khan Academy on students and teachers in Bulgaria. We will select schools and 6th and 9th grade math teachers from all over the country and with their help we will present clear evidence of the platform’s impact here in Bulgaria (impact on learning and teaching processes, on the attitudes of students and teachers, effects on children’s educational outcomes etc.).

Advantages of the program:

• Individual teachers and entire schools will be able to easily track students’ progress on daily basis – based on accurate data and validated tools.
• We will support you by introducing significant practices to improve the performance of an entire class or school.
• We will train you to work with the tools of Khan Academy and the practices related with it;
• You will have our support throughout the entire 2021/2022 school year, including on other topics related to the use of digital tools and resources in school/class.
• We will include you in the new Bulgarian community of teachers-ambassadors of Khan Academy – with access to special trainings, mentoring, meetings and organized exchange of teaching practices, covering topics such as student engagement, work with parents, information from similar communities in other countries, etc.
• Small rewards for teachers and students provided by the organizers and their partners;
• We will pay additional attention to schools participating with several math teachers by providing consultations about the processes of digitalization and by introducing new practices using different digital platforms;
• Special attention in the communication channels of the organizers, featuring the project in the media.

Eligibility:

• Entire schools or individual teachers teaching mathematics in 6th and/or 9th grade.
• Teachers willing to include in their math teaching practices for 6th and/or 9th grade regular and active work with Khan Academy – assigning to students practice questions, tests, new video lessons or articles for homework/independent work, playing video lessons and working on different math skills in the classroom, encouraging students to participate in online competitions to boost engagement and motivation, etc.
• Readiness to participate for the entire 2021/2022 school year
• Willingness to occasionally fill in questionnaires with feedback about the work and to assist with filling in such questionnaires by students, with the support of the organizers.

Slots to participate in the program are limited. Those wishing to join will go through a selection process. The selection process will aim to provide balance with regards to the regional diversity of the participants.

The program is supported by the Ministry of Education and Science. Text of the support letter.

The program “Better in Maths with Khan Academy” is being implemented within the project “Educating Bulgarian Children with Khan Academy 3”, with the financial support of the America for Bulgaria Foundation.

The Institute for Research in Education is the selected external and independent contractor, that prepares the methodology for the research, the tools for its implementation and their validation, as well as the collection, analysis and conclusions of the research.

Teachers rate 5 and 6 (on a scale of 1-6) their overall satisfaction with the trainings “Tools for attractive education” and “Workshop for innovative educational practices” conducted by the association.

Here is some of the feedback we received:

“The trainings are extremely useful and interesting.”

“I intend to use most of the suggested practices in my school.”

“I like that I get individual help and support in working with different tools throughout the training.”

“I am glad to have the opportunity to share experiences with other colleagues and make acquaintances.”

“They offer a lot of practices.”

“I can immediately “implement” new tricks.”

“It’s important that we discuss and look for solutions to the issues they had and adjust the program.”

“The training is practical.”

“I’m leaving with new ideas.”