GIS marks 10th TIME conference, champions improved teaching practices

The Ghana International School (GIS) has marked the 10th anniversary of its TIME Educators’ Conference, an initiative aimed at strengthening teaching practices and improving learning outcomes.

Held on Saturday, October 10, 2026, at the GIS Secondary School campus in Cantonments, Accra, the conference was organised under the theme, “10 Years of Impact: Transforming Education, One Teacher at a TIME.”

TIME stands for Transform, Inspire, Motivate and Educate. The initiative brings educators together to share practical teaching methods, exchange ideas and strengthen their professional skills.

Delivering the keynote address, founding dean of the University of Ghana’s School of Education and Leadership, Professor Jonathan Fletcher, highlighted improvements in teaching standards over the past decade.

“In 2017, when we developed National Teachers’ Standards, at that time I could not say that more than 10% of teachers could actually teach to those standards. At least 68% of our teachers can do that,” he said.

Professor Fletcher credited the conference with helping to spread improved teaching practices across the country.

“The idea of TIME is a great thing… the way teaching is done in this school is being propagated and so gradually teachers in this institution are actually infecting, as it were, teachers in this country,” he said.

On the growing use of artificial intelligence (AI), Professor Fletcher described it as a valuable tool for teaching and learning but stressed the need for ethical use and academic integrity.

He said educators must ensure that learners understand work produced with AI rather than simply presenting it as their own.

The Principal and Head of School at GIS, Nadia O. Bruce-Müller, said the conference began in October 2016 as an in-house initiative designed to give teachers an opportunity to learn from one another.

She explained that the initiative was created partly because not every teacher could travel abroad to attend professional development conferences.

The conference started with about 30 presenters from GIS but has since grown to attract more than 1,000 participants and nearly 100 presenters, including educators from other parts of Ghana and abroad. This year’s programme also featured two senior student presenters.

Mrs Bruce-Müller said the changing needs of learners and developments in education make continuous professional development essential.

“Our students are changing; the educational landscape ecosystem is changing. We can’t do it the same way we used to do it,” she said.

She explained that the theme, “Transforming Education, One Teacher at a TIME,” reflects the belief that every teacher can take at least one practical lesson from the conference back to the classroom and use it to improve learning.

GIS also provides about 100 to 200 free registrations or sponsored places for teachers from public and private schools to participate in the annual conference.

The 10th edition reaffirmed the conference’s focus on lifelong learning, collaboration and the adoption of effective teaching methods to meet the changing demands of education.

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DISCLAIMER: The Views, Comments, Opinions, Contributions and Statements made by Readers and Contributors on this platform do not necessarily represent the views or policy of Multimedia Group Limited.