1145PC22Q0056 Attachment 1 PWS.pdf

PERFORMANCE WORK STATEMENT (PWS)

FOR

TEACHING ENGLISH AS A FOREIGN LANGUAGE (TEFL)

CERTIFICATE ENDORSEMENT/ACCREDITATION

FOR

OVERSEAS PROGRAM AND TRAINING SUPPORT OFFICE (OPATS)

A. GENERAL INFORMATION

1. BACKGROUND: Before the 2020 evacuation due to COVID-19, education was one of Peace Corps’ largest sectors with over 3,000 Volunteers. Teaching English as a Foreign Language (TEFL) was the largest project area within the Education sector, with TEFL projects in as many as 30 countries. The majority of the training is conducted in each host country. Peace Corps often works in rural schools or with marginalized populations that are often not reached by other agencies. The TEFL Certificate program seeks to provide an externally recognized credential adding value to the work of TEFL Volunteers around the globe. Currently, the program is being implemented in 9 posts.

The goals of the TEFL Certificate Program are to:

• Build teaching capacity of host country English teachers

• Increase students’ achievement in English

• Enhance community engagement in school improvement and student learning

These goals are achieved through the TEFL Certificate Program by providing:

• TEFL Volunteers who meet global professional teaching standards

• TEFL Volunteers who feel engaged and confident in their teaching and satisfied with the technical training they have received

• Post TEFL staff that has the qualifications and ongoing professional development to maintain high quality TEFL programming and training

The TEFL Certificate program, which Peace Corps first introduced in 2014, gives Volunteers 120 hours of English language teacher training and two years of supervised teaching experience in a 30-month training continuum. The Peace Corps TEFL Certificate Program has developed a curriculum of English Language Teaching (ELT) training sessions, standards aligned to this curriculum, rubrics for assessing Volunteer learning, and a teaching observation tool Teaching Proficiency Index (TPI) that evaluates Volunteer teaching competency through observed classroom behaviors at three points during Volunteer service. The Peace Corps TEFL curriculum consists of approximately 75 training sessions and addresses the following teaching competencies1:

• General and English Teaching Knowledge and Skills (emphasizing student-centered teaching)

• Community Relations

• Classroom Management

• Curriculum, Lesson Planning, and Materials Design

• Assessment

• Teaching Practice and Observation

The Peace Corps TEFL Certificate, with its robust training and two years of supervised teaching experience, helps ensures that Returned Peace Corps Volunteers (RPCVs) who have earned the credential

1 These competencies are also referred to as standards.

1145PC22Q0056 Attachment 1: PWS will have professional credibility. That credibility is further ensured by an external validating institution that can attest to the Certificate’s continuing rigor.

2. SCOPE OF WORK: Peace Corps seeks to award a firm-fixed price (FFP) twelve (12) month contract with four (4) additional twelve (12) month option periods to provide insights and recommendations of a seasoned academic or professional partner (“contractor”) to attest to the degree to which the Peace Corps TEFL program meets the validation criteria of an effective TEFL teacher training program, to advise Peace Corps on how to maintain professional rigor, and to propose any changes necessary for high standards. Such external validation allows Peace Corps to award the TEFL Certificate to Volunteers who have earned it at the completion of service, and while the Certificate is issued by Peace Corps, the contractor’s validation appears on the Certificate that is awarded. The Peace Corps TEFL Certificate programming, training, and evaluation processes will be reviewed at intervals agreed upon by the contractor and Peace Corps to ensure that it continues to meet established standards.

An additional goal of this project is to build awareness among potential employers (such as university intensive English programs, private languages schools, a variety of English language teaching institutions in EFL contexts), and possibly provide partial satisfaction of U.S. K-12 licensure or teacher education program requirements (i.e., course credit or exemption from student teaching requirements) for graduate school or K-12 licensure Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) programs.

The contractor shall provide all resources necessary to accomplish the tasks and deliverables described under this Performance Work Statement (PWS). The contractor shall begin by evaluating the current training content (including the training standards) and teacher supervision framework; the continuum of training framework; and the learning assessments of the Pre-Service Training (PST) through a document review.

Based on this evaluation, the contractor shall make recommendations for slight changes with the goal of strengthening the TEFL training program. The contractor will also disseminate information about the certificate to academic institutions and language schools. This contract is projected to be an ongoing project beginning with the initial evaluation and continuing as additional Peace Corps posts adopt the TEFL curriculum. As explained above, in the first year of the contract the contractor will review, revise, and validate an agreed upon number of training sessions, the training continuum, the content and structure of the learning assessments, and any other elements of the training continuum determined to be relevant.

Assuming all four option periods are exercised, in the fourth option period, the contractor will once again review the training sessions, training continuum, and learning assessments. This full process will be carried to ensure that the program is still up to date and in alignment with academic/professional standards and practices. Throughout the period of performance, the contractor will review trainer credentials for new trainers at posts entering the TEFL Certificate training continuum for the first time, review and validate trainee performance on learning assessments, promote the TEFL Certificate, advise Peace Corps on relevant developments in the field, and beginning Summer of 2022 review Peace Corps Headquarters and Peace Corps country posts’ methods for producing, recording, and tracking Peace Corps TEFL Certificates awarded to RPCVs and how the Certificate has benefited them in terms of employment and/or academic advancement.

B. SCOPE OF WORK

1. PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE

The anticipated period of performance (PoP) will be FFP twelve (12) month contract with four (4) additional twelve (12) month option periods:

Base Year: 2022 – 2023 (12 months) Option Year 1: 2023 - 2024 (12 months) Option Year 2: 2024 - 2025 (12 months) Option Year 3: 2025 - 2026 (12 months) Option Year 4: 2026 - 2027 (12 months) Total PoP: 2022 – 2027 (Up to 60 months)

Timely submission of deliverables is essential to successfully completing this project. All contract deliverables shall be prepared and submitted according to content and schedule described in the SOW. All contract deliverables shall be submitted digitally to the Technical Point of Contact (TPOC).

2. YEAR ONE TASK:

a. Review Standards. In collaboration with Peace Corps, the contractor shall review the content and structure of the Peace Corps TEFL standards, recommending changes if needed.

b. TEFL Program Analysis Report. After reviewing the TEFL training continuum (training and supervision), an agreed upon number of training sessions, and the content of learning assessments, the contractor shall write a report detailing the strengths and weaknesses of the program and advise Peace Corps on any areas needing improvement.

c. End-of-Review Report. After working with Peace Corps to make any necessary changes to the TEFL program, the contractor shall write an end-of-review report validating the TEFL program structure.

d. Contractor Recertification Approval. For posts due for 3-year recertification evaluation (contractors approval based on data from Peace Corps’ process evaluation of those posts).

e. Promotional Plan for Certificate. The contractor shall develop and implement a plan in order to disseminate information about the TEFL Certificate program to academic institutions, language schools, and other appropriate institutions.

3. ANNUAL TASKS (Option Years One through Four)

a. Promotion. The contractor shall participate and assist Peace Corps in promotional efforts.

b. Trainer Credentials Review. After reviewing a spreadsheet listing TEFL trainer credentials for new posts entering the TEFL Certificate training continuum, the contractor shall inform Peace Corps of any trainers who do not meet the minimum qualifications (i.e., master’s degree or licensure in TESOL or a related field).

c. Volunteer Assessment/Evaluation. After reviewing Volunteer data on the program’s Learning Assessments and evaluations of teaching competency, the contractor shall submit a report of their findings. Annual evaluations of TEFL Volunteer learning will ensure that (a) post staff members are providing the content of the standard training sessions and (b) sufficient numbers of Volunteers are successfully meeting established standards on training assignments. In addition, the TEFL Certificate Evaluation Specialist will provide the contractor with Process Evaluation reports for all participating posts annually, which will provide additional information on posts’ maintenance of training and assessment standards and Volunteer evaluations of training process and content.

Providing advice on issues that come up with the certificate program or modifications we might suggest making to the program to ensure that responses are responsible and do not detract from the quality of the program.

d. Reporting on Current Research and Trends. At quarterly status meetings and/or annual contract renewal meeting, the contractor shall report to Peace Corps advising the organization of any relevant developments in the fields of TEFL and/or foreign language instruction. The report shall provide a list of recommended changes (if any) for Peace Corps based on this research.

e. Advice. The contractor shall provide advice on issues that come up with the certificate program or modifications we might suggest making to the program to ensure that responses are responsible and do not detract from the quality of the program.

4. Option Year Four (4)

a. Review Standards. In collaboration with Peace Corps, the contractor shall re-review the content and structure of the Peace Corps TEFL standards, recommending changes if needed.

b. End-of-Review Report. After working with Peace Corps to make any necessary changes to the TEFL program, the contractor shall write an end-of-contract review report validating the TEFL program structure.

5. TASK MILESTONES:

The following timeline is based on the contract being awarded in 2022:

Deliverable Estimated Due Date Review standards Within first 30 days of award TEFL Certificate Strategy analysis report

Within first 30 days of award

TEFL Certificate Program approval Within first120 days of award Promotional plan Within first 90 days of award Promotion Ongoing, beginning at contract award Trainer credentials review Major review within the first six months of the contract with new hire trainer credentials being reviewed as needed through each year

Review of Volunteer assessment results

Prior to the end each year

TEFL Certificate completion approval

Prior to the end of the first quarter of each year

Current research and trends updates Six months from the contract award and at the end of each contract year

6. REPORTING REQUIREMENTS

The Contractor shall develop and maintain a quality program to ensure services are performed in accordance with commonly accepted commercial practices, industry recommendations, this contract, and all federal, state, and local laws and regulations.

All task report requirements must be met in a timely manner. Any changes to the task reporting timelines must be requested to Contracting Officer (CO), Contracting Officer’s Representative (COR), and the Technical Point of Contact (TPOC) thirty days prior to agreed-upon deadlines. All required report should be submitted to the TPOC electronically at [TPOC and COR TBD at contract award].

Notice to offerors: All information and data related to this project that the contractor gathers or obtains shall be both protected from unauthorized release and considered the property of the government.

Press releases, marketing material, or any other printed or electronic documentation related to this project, must not be publicized without the written approval of the contracting officer.

C. GOVERNMENT RESPONSIBILITIES

a. At the initial meeting for the project, the Government will provide the Contractor with existing, project-relevant content materials in print or electronic format including, but not limited to: All available content resources related to the project.

b. The Government will neither supervise Contractor employees nor control the method by which the Contractor performs the required tasks. Under no circumstances shall the Government assign tasks to, or prepare work schedules for, individual Contractor employees. It shall be the responsibility of the Contractor to manage its employees and to guard against any actions that are of the nature of personal services, or give the perception of personal services. These services shall not be used to perform work of a policy/decision making or management nature, i.e., inherently Governmental functions.

All decisions relative to programs supported by the Contractor shall be the sole responsibility of the Government.

c. Contracting Officer’s Authority –The Contracting Officer (CO) is the only person authorized to make or approve any changes to any of the requirements of the Contract and, notwithstanding any provisions contained elsewhere in the Contract, the said authority remains solely in the Contracting Officer. In the event the Contractor makes unauthorized changes, the change will be considered to have been made without authority and no adjustment will be made in the contract terms and conditions, including price.

d. Contracting Officer’s Representative (COR) –The COR may be changed at any time by the Government without prior notice to the Contractor by a unilateral modification to the Agreement.

The responsibilities and limitations of the COR are as follows:

• The COR, or his/her designated alternate is also responsible for the final inspection and acceptance of all tasks and such other responsibilities as may be specified in the contract.

• The COR is not authorized to make any commitments or otherwise obligate the

Government or authorize any changes which affect the contract price, terms or conditions. Any Contractor request for changes shall be referred to the Contracting Officer directly. No such changes shall be made without the express written prior authorization of the Contracting Officer. The Contracting Officer may designate assistant or alternate COR(s) to act for the COR by naming such assistant/alternate(s) in writing and transmitting a copy of such designation to the Contractor.

e. Technical point of contact (TPOC) –The TPOC may be changed at any time by the

Government without prior notice to the Contractor by a unilateral modification to the Agreement.

The responsibilities and limitations of the TPOC are as follows:

• The TPOC is responsible for the technical aspects of the Contract and serves as technical liaison with the Contractor. The TPOC, or his/her designated alternate is also responsible for the final inspection and acceptance of all task and such other responsibilities as may be specified in the contract.

• The TPOC is not authorized to make any commitments or otherwise obligate the

Government or authorize any changes which affect the contract price, terms or conditions. Any Contractor request for changes shall be referred to the Contracting Officer directly. No such changes shall be made without the express written prior authorization of the Contracting Officer. The Contracting Officer may designate assistant or alternate TPOC(s) to act for the TPOC by naming such assistant/alternate(s) in writing and transmitting a copy of such designation to the Contractor.

f. The CO, COR, and TPOC are located at:

Peace Corps 1275 First St NE Washington, DC 20526

g. Government facilities – The contractor will not have access to Government facilities.

D. TRAVEL

The principal place of performance is at the vendor’s place of business. Accordingly, reimbursable travel and per diem for the contractor’s employees performing work under this contract is not authorized.

APPENDIX A

GLOSSARY OF KEY TERMS AND ACRONYMS

Advise – To provide suggestions on any modification to these training sessions that would improve content or enhance Volunteer learning

Learning Assessments – Tools for measuring TEFL Volunteers’ learning and professional growth

Promote – To disseminate information about the TEFL Certificate to key parties including language schools, universities, and other potential employers

Pre-Service Training (PST) – The in-country training that occurs before Volunteers begin their service at their assigned post

Review – To evaluate a representative number of training sessions (to be agreed upon by both parties) for quality of content according to current English language teaching research and as to whether the session design effectively conforms to recognized principles of language learning

Returned Peace Corps Volunteer (RPCV) – Volunteers who have completed their volunteer commitment

Standards – A description of the level of skill and knowledge Volunteers are expected to have by the end of their pre-service training and the end of their service. Each standard has several performance indicators that state specifically what Volunteers should know about and be able to do

Training Continuum Framework – The training plan of all training that Volunteers will receive, beginning with pre-departure training and including pre-service training, ongoing professional development throughout the first year of service, online communities of practice, and teacher observations at their Peace Corps site

Validate – To provide oral and written statements that the Peace Corps training continuum meets or exceeds industry standards

(Trainee) Input – A cohort of Volunteers assigned to a country for training and service

APPENDIX B

ESTIMATE OF HOURS/YEAR ASSOCIATED WITH KEY TASKS OF THE TEFL

CERTIFICATE PARTNER

Annual Tasks (Year One through Year 5)

Est. Hours Review trainer credentials for posts entering the TEFL Certificate training continuum for the first time 4

Review and validate trainee performance on Learning Assessment assignments (based on spreadsheet data of Volunteer scores provided by technical staff at post) 12

(Beginning of Contract Period) Contractor Recertification Approval of posts due for recertification evaluation (based on Peace Corps’ process evaluation of those posts). 10

Promote the TEFL Certificate 8 Advise Peace Corps on relevant developments in the field 14 Upon TEFL Volunteers’ Completion of Service, review and evaluate spreadsheet results of Volunteer overall results on Learning Assessment Assignments and Teaching Proficiency Index scores to justify the Peace Corps’ award of the TEFL Certificate

Quarterly status meetings and annual contract renewal meeting (online or face-to-face) 6

Total hours for annual tasks 66 hours (each Year)

Year One (ONLY) Additional Tasks

[For 1st year only] Certificate program familiarization 16 Review, advise, and validate content of an agreed upon number of Peace Corps training sessions 15

Review validity of training continuum (training + supervision) and advise Peace Corps as necessary 5

Review, advise, and validate standards, structure, and content of learning assessments 9 Review, advise, and validate additional elements of the training continuum that both Peace Corps and the partner agree to be relevant 6

Total hours for year 1 additional tasks 51 hours Total hours annual tasks 66 hours Total hours for 1st year 117 hours

Option Year Four (4) (ONLY) Additional Tasks

Review of Program Evolution over the base and all option years 16 Review, advise, and validate content of an agreed upon number of Peace Corps training sessions

Review validity of training continuum (training + supervision) and advise Peace Corps as necessary

Review, advise, and validate standards, structure, and content of learning assessments 9 Total hours for option year four (4) additional tasks 51 hours Total hours annual tasks 66 hours Total hours for option year four (4) 117 hours

Total potential hours for base year plus all option years

432 hours

APPENDIX C

PEACE CORPS TEFL CERTIFICATE TRAINING SESSIONS

PRE-DEPARTURE TRAINING LATE PST (continued) Lesson Planning Multi-Proficiency Level Classes Your First Lesson Content Based Instruction Methodology & Grammar Classroom Management: Interactions &

Teacher Success = Student Success Peer Observation & Debriefing EARLY PST Teaching Young Learners Language Awareness I Lesson Design Crossing Educational Cultures Orientation to Peer Observation and Debriefing Building Good School Relationships Correcting Student Errors / Giving Feedback How Languages are Learned Multilevel Classes (differentiated learning) Creating Dialogues Reading Skills and Strategies NNESTs & NESTs Working Together

Community Engagement: Needs & Task Analysis Functions & Notions Paragraph Writing Demystifying Grammar Reading Skills Communicative Grammar Teaching Assessment Approaches to Teaching EFL Process Writing Classroom Management Tips Composition: Genre, Audience and Purpose Co-Planning, Co-Teaching & Co-Adjusting Pronunciation—Stress Taking Charge of Your Class, Your Teaching Rubric Design Student-Centered Teaching Curriculum Design

MID PST Adapting & Modifying Lessons Feedback & Error Correct ion Teacher Communities of Practice in English Special Needs/Behavior Interventions ISTs (All Types) Listening: Introduction Language Awareness 2 Assessment Concepts Camps & Clubs (with Manual) Vocabulary Gender Equitable Practices Blended Pedagogies Learning Styles Reading Comprehension Pronunciation—Intonation Linking, Reduced

Critical Thinking Pronunciation—Vowels and Consonants Large Classes Limited Resources Materials Design Technology for Development Listening: 15 Activities Libraries Beginning Writing Test Prep & Anxiety Teacher Communities of Practice Using Monitoring & Evaluation Tools Classroom Assessment SELF DIRECTED LEARNING Speaking Applied Second Language Acquisition Designing Communicative Grammar Lessons Teachers

Grammar Activities

KEY To Be Developed Developed & Formally Revised

APPENDIX D

PEACE CORPS CURRENT TEFL POSTS

Europe, Mediterranean, and Asia (EMA)

Armenia Indonesia Thailand

Africa (AF) Benin Comoros Ethiopia Madagascar Rwanda Zambia

QUOTE SHEET

(Pricing based upon Appendix B and Task Milestones Section B.5)

CLIN 0001: Year One: Monthly cost $____________ X 12 = $_________________

CLIN 0002: Option Year One: Monthly cost $____________ X 12 = $_________________

CLIN 0003: Option Year Two: Monthly cost $____________ X 12 = $_________________

CLIN 0004: Option Year Three: Monthly cost $____________ X 12 = $_________________

CLIN 0005: Option Year Four: Monthly cost $____________ X 12 = $_________________

Up To 60 month Contract Value: $________________