Having spent a half century as a teacher, teacher educator, and a host of entrepreneurial (innovative) leadership roles involving research and reporting on the preparation and certification of teachers, our founder, Dr. Emily Feistritzer, decided that somebody needed to start over with the way teachers are prepared – go back to the drawing board, act like there had never been a teacher preparation program and create one that would prepare tomorrow's teachers for tomorrow's students in tomorrow's learning world. We wanted to create a process that would "equip, enable and empower teachers to go into any learning environment anywhere in the world and be able to diagnose the learning situation and then be able to design and implement learning experiences to ensure that each student learned , grew and developed." We wanted teachers to be "resource-rich problem-solvers" for the rest of their lives.
The innovative online TEACH-NOW® Teacher Preparation Certificate Program was initiated under the National Center for Education Information (also founded by Dr. Feistritzer in 1979) with seed money from New Schools Venture Fund in November 2011. In February 2013, the 9‐month, 8‐module teacher preparation program was approved by the District of Columbia Office of the State Superintendent of Education (OSSE) to lead to a full, regular, 4‐year renewable teaching license, which is recognized through reciprocity in most states.
On March 18, 2013, we piloted the first cohort of 10 candidates in eight countries in a custom-built 9-month all online activities-based, collaborative learning platform. Since then, we've added Master's in Education degree programs and professional development courses, and we are now eyeing expansion into doctoral programs and other colleges or training institutes, all on our software platform that is all online activities-based, collaborative learning delivered in cohorts of 10-15. Since our inaugural cohort in March 2013, we have enrolled nearly 6,000 candidates in 135 countries. We have astronomical completion and satisfaction rates.
The goal for our flagship teacher preparation program is to equip, enable, and empower teachers to go into any learning environment anywhere in the world and diagnose where each learner is coming from. Then, our graduates are able to design and implement learning experiences to ensure that every student learns, grows, and develops.
LEARNING OUTCOMES
Candidates who complete the TEACH-NOW® Teacher Preparation Certificate Program should be able to:
- Diagnose students' learning capacities
- Design learning experiences that enable each student to achieve success
- Use new research on learners and learning to create innovative and effective teaching methods
- Recognize the changing role of a teacher from dispenser of knowledge to manager, coach, leader, and facilitator of learning
- Select and use next-generation tools and technologies for teaching and learning
- Use an active, collaborative learning model in the classroom
- Manage the challenges of the environment in which formal education occurs
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