Fostering teachers’ professional development through TAGs

What does the project include? 

Starting in April 2024, this project is being implemented in three Vietnamese provinces: Quang Ninh, Tuyen Quang, and Thai Nguyen. It involves researchers from the University of Glasgow and Thai Nguyen University of Education, 65 teacher-facilitators, around 600 lower secondary teachers, and three local museums. The project aims to foster creativity, pedagogical innovation, and transform English classrooms through arts-based materials and methods. It builds on the Teacher Activity Groups (TAGs) professional development model piloted in 2022-2023, addressing challenges such as student engagement, teacher preparation time, and enthusiasm for new teaching approaches.

What is the impact to date? 

In August 2024, a training programme equipped teacher-facilitators with foundational theories and practices. Facilitators embraced collaboration and are actively building strong teacher networks within their Teacher Activity Groups (TAGs). Throughout the project period, facilitators led monthly TAG sessions, supported by monthly training from University of Glasgow trainers. Together, teachers explore multilingual and arts-based approaches to English teaching.

An activity pack has been developed, combining materials created by researchers, facilitators, teachers, and the three partner museums: Quang Ninh Museum, Cultural Museum of Viet Nam’s Ethnic Minority Groups, and Tuyen Quang Museum. This collaboration emphasises the value of museum-based experiential learning as an effective way to enrich language programmes with community and locally rooted resources.

The project has boosted student motivation, listening skills, and confidence in using English. It also promotes inclusive, culturally rich learning environments and supports sustainable education through community-centred museum activities.

What the teachers say?  

“This TAG programme has been incredibly valuable, as we have learned a lot that will benefit our teaching in the future! We also hope that in the coming journey, we will continue to receive enthusiastic support in all future activities from the teachers in the Faculty of Foreign Languages and the students, to change the way we learn and approach English in the new era!” – Le Thi Vi Sa, teacher from Thai Nguyen province.

Want to learn more? 

• Watch the record of project dissemination event on British Council TeachingEnglish website
• Visit TEMA's dedicated Facebook page to learn more and access resources from the project.

What does the project include? 

International House London (IHL) and Hanoi Pedagogical University 2 (HPU2) are jointly delivering Phase 2 of the Teacher Activity Groups (TAGs) professional development programme aimed at enhancing the practices of Vietnamese English teachers. 

The project trained 61 key teachers from two Departments of Education (DoETs) in Yen Bai [now in Lao Cai] and Nghe An to become TAG leaders. In July and August 2024, these key teachers attended sessions with experts from Vietnam and the UK to strengthen their training skills. From October 2024, they started leading professional development TAGs in their respective DoETs.

What is the impact to date? 

A key innovation of the TAGs model is that positive teaching practices will not always be derived from the trainers, but established through teacher trainees’ exploration, experimentation and reflection. Furthermore, training content is tailored to the specific needs of each DoET. After a pre-training survey, 61 key teachers completed a five-day online orientation to become TAG leaders. Over one year, these TAG leaders facilitated local TAG sessions with ongoing support from IHL and HPU2 trainers.

Pre-training and post-training surveys and reflective narratives show teachers felt well-prepared for their new facilitator roles, successfully implementing school-based CPD that responded to local teaching needs. The project fostered on professional identity growth through cross-cultural exchange, expanding knowledge, attitudes, and networks.  

However, creating impact on colleague teachers required significantly more time than influencing students, with persistent challenges including time constraints from heavy workloads, varying readiness for leadership roles, and technical infrastructure barriers. The cascading TAG model successfully created sustainable, locally-responsive professional development while revealing critical implementation challenges requiring systematic institutional support for scalable impact.

What the teachers say?  

'We are from different schools in our province, so we have learnt a lot from each other during the TAG sessions. We're eager to continue our discussions to enhance our teaching practices. Thank you so much for your unwavering support and encouragement’ – a participating teacher from Yen Bai.

Want to learn more? 

• Read more about the project here. 

What does the project include? 

The project is a cross-country collaboration between teacher educators from the UK and Viet Nam in supporting 135 English language teachers in Huế and Bến Tre [now in Vinh Long] to work in Teacher Activity Groups (TAGs). Grounded in the core reflection approach to teachers and British Council’s Continuing Professional Development (CPD) framework (see link below), the project aims to build teachers’ capacity as TAG facilitators through a set of eight competencies and encourage teachers to reflect on their professional and personal strengths. 

Building on the success of Phase 1 in 2023, the second phase focuses on enhancing English teachers’ ability to support, learn from, and grow with each other. By leveraging their strengths and engaging in continuous self-reflection, teachers are better equipped to overcome professional challenges.

What is the impact to date? 

By the end of its first stage, the project has trained 135 key teachers in facilitation skills, enabling them to lead professional development sessions and establish a skilled network of educators. Starting in September 2025, the second stage of Phase 2 will further support these key teachers in facilitating peer learning while also enhancing the professional growth and confidence of English teachers involved in the TAGs during this phase.

Expected outcomes include the establishment of a strong network of key teachers in Hue and (former) Ben Tre provinces, equipping 135 teachers across primary, secondary, and high schools with facilitation skills, and enhancing the professional development of 600 English language teachers engaged in the project.

While challenges, such as varied levels of teacher participation and engagement in TAG facilitator sessions, and differences in teachers’ awareness of and readiness for the facilitator role have arisen, ongoing discussions with provincial DOETs and teachers have aimed to address these issues. The TAG facilitator competency framework developed is expected to become a valuable guide for Departments of Education and Training (DoETs) in developing sustainable facilitation skills beyond the project’s duration. 

What do key stakeholders say?

‘The most important contribution of the TAG project is to bring together teachers from different places and levels to form Communities of Practice. All teachers participating in the project are now aware of the necessity of an online community where new updates are shared, new knowledge and skills are learned, and new colleagues are introduced. More importantly, they are effectively guided to reflect on the value of being an English teacher, to connect with their feelings and appreciation, and to move forward in establishing their own professional identity rather than depending on external forces to sustain their everyday teaching routines.’ – Mr. Mai Anh Ngoc, Head of Secondary Education Department, Hue DOET.

Want to learn more? 

• Sharing from Phan Thi Mai Thuy, a teacher at Hue DoET
• Read more about British Council's CPD frameworks for teachers and teacher educators.