Center for Learning in Practice Takes Action for Teachers of Refugees
Global Online Conversation Aims to Improve Teaching-of-Teachers Around the World
Rensselaerville, N.Y. – Registration is open for Action for Teachers of Refugees, a global online convening to be held March 14 through 16 at learning.careyinstitute.org. Registration in the worldwide text-based conversation is free, but space is limited. It is anticipated that hundreds of learning practitioners and leaders from around the world will participate.
Action for Teachers of Refugees is hosted by the Center for Learning in Practice at the Carey Institute for Global Good and co-sponsored by Teachers College, Columbia University and the Teachers in Crisis Contexts Working Group. The event will collect and analyze crowdsourced insights from practitioners around the world, with emphasis on teachers and teachers-of-teachers of pre-K to college age students who work in refugee host and destination countries.
“Every child in the world has a right to education. We have seen, all too often, the devastating impact of displacement, whether by conflict or natural disaster, on children and their education,” said Carey Institute President and CEO, Gareth Crawford. “With 1 in 200 children in the world a refugee, this is something we cannot ignore. The economic consequences of interruption to education are horrendous. We cannot afford to have another lost generation. The Teachers of Refugees initiative at the Center for Learning in Practice will ensure that these men and women have an online community for continued discussion and exchange in their effort to give a brighter future to marginalized children.”
The event directly responds to the UN Sustainable Development Agenda’s fourth goal to ensure inclusive and quality education for all and promote lifelong learning. Action for Teachers of Refugees aims to increase the supply of qualified teachers by adopting the recommendations of the International Network for Education in Emergencies (INEE) which include: developing, applying, measuring and institutionalizing standards for teacher professional development; creating professional development opportunities that promote teacher collaboration; and providing teachers with ongoing support, and using information and communication technology (ICT) to provide access to content, professional development and professional learning communities.
“The world will be short 69 million teachers by 2030 and the teacher professional development currently available is not yielding the impact on quality teaching that is universally desired. We have to figure out not just what to teach, but how to teach-the-teachers of refugees,” said Center for Learning in Practice Director, Dr. Diana Woolis. “Teacher prep has to look very different than it does today. For example, it will need to be personalized, standards driven, use micro-learning strategies and be practice-based, not just content-based.” Quoting Diana Laurillard, professor of Learning With Digital Technologies at UCL Institute of Education in London, Woolis says, “teaching is not rocket science. It is much harder than that.”
“We have to work hard, fast and smart to avert the impending crisis,” explains Woolis. “The Center for Learning in Practice hopes to accelerate learning to do just that.”
Action for Teachers of Refugees will focus on the opportunities at the intersection of sustainable processes and effective methods for teachers of professional learning. There are multiple methods of engagement including the rapid, brief sharing of evidence-based practices known as peer-sourcing, discussion forums and a practice lab.
Teachers, learning designers, technologists, principals, content experts, providers, standards and assessment developers, analysts, researchers and more from every time zone are invited to engage in facilitated conversations. Guest discussion hosts include the center’s advisory council as well as representatives from organizations including United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), International Rescue Committee (IRC), USAID, UNICEF and more. Participants are welcome to join the conversation at any time throughout the event.
Register and learn more by creating a user account at learning.careyinstitute.org.
The Carey Institute for Global Good is a not-for-profit organization founded in 2012 by Wm. Polk Carey and is dedicated to making the world better by contributing to a strong, educated and just society. Through its programs, the Institute strives to bring together innovative and dynamic people from around the world to address the most pressing issues of the day.
###