Practice School

A laboratory for developing, testing, and demonstrating effective pedagogy

Our Practice School in Siem Reap serves 500 students learning English daily across demonstration classrooms. More than a teaching facility, it functions as a development laboratory where we refine approaches before scaling nationally, a demonstration site for education stakeholders, and a source of continuous learning about effective methodology in authentic Cambodian conditions.

Development Laboratory

The Practice School provides controlled conditions for testing new approaches before we commit to national rollout. When we develop new training content, adapt methodology for different contexts, or integrate new techniques, we trial them first in our own classrooms.

This allows us to:

• Test new approaches with real students before training teachers to use them
• Identify implementation challenges in controlled conditions
• Refine materials based on classroom evidence
• Build trainer expertise through direct teaching experience

Every approach we train teachers to use has been tested and refined in our Practice School first. This grounds our training in practical reality rather than theoretical ideals.

Demonstration Site

Education officials, partner organisations, and visiting delegations observe our classrooms to see TPA methodology in action. These visits provide:

• Evidence of what effective student-centred learning looks like in Cambodian classrooms
• Opportunities for stakeholders to ask questions and discuss methodology
• Concrete examples that inform policy discussions and partnership development
• Validation of approaches before committing to broader implementation

Seeing methodology demonstrated with Cambodian students in authentic conditions is more persuasive than any presentation or training manual.

Teacher Development Resource

The Practice School supports our training programmes directly:

• EPPS participants observe demonstration lessons as part of their training
• Trainee coaches practise observation and feedback skills
• New trainers develop their facilitation abilities
• Programme graduates return for refresher observations

This creates a bridge between training workshops and classroom reality, helping teachers visualise what effective practice looks like before implementing it themselves.

Continuous Learning

Teaching 500 students daily generates continuous insights about what works, what doesn’t, and why. Our trainers teach regularly in Practice School classrooms, maintaining direct connection to classroom realities. This ensures our training remains grounded in practical experience rather than becoming disconnected from the challenges teachers face.

Lessons learned in the Practice School feed directly into programme development, keeping our methodology current and practically relevant.

Student Impact

Beyond its role in programme development, the Practice School provides quality English education to children in Siem Reap who might otherwise lack access. Students benefit from experienced teachers using evidence-based methodology, whilst their learning provides the authentic context that makes our teacher development work possible.