A packed classroom of twenty teachers on a Saturday, off the grid in Tanzania, sharing solutions to massive class sizes. A pair of students chatting over a tablet in the remote rainforest of Costa Rica, exploring mathematical equations. A teacher and her instructional coach dissecting classroom data in rural Colorado, discovering solutions for every student.
Across the world, TeachUNITED teachers and students are changing the formula of old education: A teacher lecturing from the front of the room. As an international nonprofit with a passion for igniting teacher agency with tangible resources, TeachUNITED currently serves rural and last mile communities in Costa Rica, Tanzania, and the United States. A devoted champion for students and teachers, TeachUNITED spearheads Sustainable Development Goal 4, targeting what every child needs to be successful at school: an incredible teacher.
Committed teachers can be found all over the world. But each day, many of those teachers face classrooms of 50 or more students coupled with lack of support, few resources, and limited opportunities for professional development.
TeachUNITED’s approach is multifaceted. First, connect teachers with personalized professional development, instructional coaching, and technology infrastructure to powerfully transform teaching and learning in underserved classrooms. Then, through peer networks, open doors for teachers to exchange methods, ideas, and solutions across the world. Rural teachers often feel a sense of isolation due to their location, and lack of access to opportunities and resources. Peer-to-peer exchange encourages community across borders and cultures, generating connection.
“TeachUNITED was the seed that really started school-wide change. There was this positive ripple effect that has been incredibly impactful,” said Jason Taylor, principal of Prairie Valley Middle School in Busch, Colorado, USA.
As teachers begin implementing personalized instruction, instructors rely less on traditional lecture methods that leave students behind. Rather than being trapped at the chalkboard, teachers can craft powerful student experiences that honor unique learning needs, rather than teaching to the middle. Instead, students can explore individual learning goals through apps, activities, or stations. Students who are academically behind close gaps faster now that their individual needs are identified through data driven instruction.
"At Bajos de Chilamate school, we are very proud of having such high-quality material for our students. Students have benefited very much, particularly in Math,” teacher Magda Matarrita said. “[Students] feel motivated and eager to use the tablets which are a very innovative resource. As educators, the technology drives us to look for new teaching strategies."
That same drive serves the coaching and collaboration cycles to foster risk taking in the classroom.
TeachUNITED educators are implementing new methods of instruction, and it’s paying off. Lydia Mungure, Head of Banjika Secondary School in Arusha, Tanzania, was amazed at the shift of instructional practice with her teachers.
"After working with TeachUNITED, teachers talk less,” Lydia said, noticing that teachers moved away from lecture methods and toward individual learning instruction. “[The teachers] are free from chalk dust. The lesson is more interesting and engaging for both teachers and students.”
Approximately five teachers from each partner school join a regional TeachUNITED cohort of teachers. Currently, about 100 teachers from the three countries are growing their teaching practice with TeachUNITED’s support. Teacher training and professional development is supported by local instructional coaches. The most powerful part of this model is that TeachUNITED teachers become leaders in their school communities, and create change from within.
“The three teachers who worked with TeachUNITED were the tip of the iceberg for us,” Principal Taylor said. “Once other teachers started seeing what they were doing, then they became ambassadors for the rest of the school to move in that same direction. It was grassroots, it was an organic change.”
Energizing teacher-agency, TeachUNITED partners create student-centered goals. While TeachUNITED focuses on teachers, our educators focus on student achievement. Together, this systematic approach opens the door to what every student has a right to: a quality education.
"I want to give kids across Tanzania access to equal opportunity and an education which promotes justice," senior coach Eligi Tairo said.
A former classroom teacher, Tairo has seen his own teaching practice transformed and is now a local leader and champion for education. Coaches like Tairo create personal and long lasting partnerships with teachers, schools, and students. Instructional transformation is focused on 21st century technology integration and blended and personalized learning. Through coaching cycles and the practice of data driven instruction, teachers experience change along with their students.
“Most girls will get married and have children when they are young,” said 15-year-old Nimbris S., a student at Orkeeswa Secondary School. Nimbris and TeachUNITED are rewriting the future together, and proving that where you are born doesn’t dictate how far you’ll go. “I like this program for teaching us, and we learn about other possibilities,” Nimbris said. “I am thinking about becoming a nurse.”
DISCLAIMER:
The views expressed in this article are the author's own and do not necessarily reflect those of the SDG Philanthropy Platform. The SDG Philanthropy Platform is a global initiative that connects philanthropy with knowledge and networks that can deepen collaboration, leverage resources and sustain impact, driving SDG delivery within national development planning. It is led by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors (RPA), and supported by the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation, Ford Foundation, Oak Foundation, Brach Family Charitable Foundation, and many others.