[EDLING:990] Teacher-to-Teacher Training Corps

[Francis M Hult]

U.S. Department of Education Accepting Applications For Teacher-to-Teacher Training Corps

The U.S. Department of Education recently announced the formation of the 
Teacher-to-Teacher Training Corps. The corps will consist of effective teachers and 
practitioners who will provide on-site technical assistance and regional workshops for 
teachers and districts over the next 12 months. This team is an expansion of the 
Teacher-to-Teacher Workshops that have been offered in cities across the nation for the 
past two summers. 

The Department is looking for teachers and school leaders who are using scientifically 
based research strategies and have data to demonstrate effectiveness. Trainers will share 
the research underlying these practices and their experience with implementing them in 
classrooms and schools. The goal of the Teacher-to-Teacher Training Corps is to support 
district level professional development efforts by providing demonstrations by expert 
teachers and administrators of ways to improve academic performance through increased 
content knowledge and improved pedagogical skill. Participants should leave sessions with 
ready-to-use strategies and an understanding of why and when those strategies are 
effective. 

Members of the Teacher-to-Teacher Training Corps will be eligible to participate in 
workshops for teachers during 2005 and 2006. They will also be eligible to make 
presentations at the Department's summer workshops in 2006 and work with interested 
districts in ways that align with and support continuing district efforts during the 
school year and summer. Sessions in each site will be aligned to districts' academic goals 
and student data. It may be that a district's needs are best met with monthly in-service 
for its literacy coaches. It may be that a district wants the corps to work with secondary 
math teachers on several districtwide in-service days. Or, it may be that a district wants 
a series of Saturday offerings for its science teachers. 

The members of the corps will also support participants through e-mail mentoring, 
e-Learning presentations, webcasts and follow-up visits, some of which have already begun 
with the Teacher-to-Teacher workshop providers.

To apply for this corps, teachers and school leaders must submit a complete proposal, 
which should include a PowerPoint presentation and handouts. Those selected for the corps 
may be asked to modify the presentation content or format for particular audiences 
(teachers, administrators or trainers) and district goals. Applications are due by Oct. 
10, 2005.

For those who are selected, the U.S. Department of Education will provide travel, 
accommodations, and a $1,000 honorarium for planning, preparation and participation for 
each training event. Members of the corps will have the flexibility to determine the level 
of their participation in workshops scheduled around the country during 2005 and 2006.

Guidelines
The Department is looking for presenters who weave content and pedagogy together. 
Presentations in the content areas of reading, writing, mathematics, science, arts, 
history, civics and foreign language are of particular interest. 
The Department is interested in research-based classroom strategies that help teachers to 
differentiate instruction, to teach successfully in inclusive or mainstream classrooms, to 
work well with English-language learners, to use technology to help meet standards, to use 
data to increase student achievement, and to take advantage of learning strategies that 
improve student behavior. Sessions on pedagogy must be embedded in a content area; they 
should not be stand-alone presentations. 
The Department is also interested in sessions on school leadership, professional learning 
communities, analysis of student work, teacher evaluation strategies, strategic planning, 
assessment and the use of data. 
Each presentation should include relevant research. 
Each presentation should include evidence that the work has made a difference in student 
achievement. 
Each presentation should be interactive and use principles of adult learning. 
Each presentation should be 90 minutes long; however, presenters may be asked to adapt it 
to fit the needs of a district. 
Those who work directly with students must be highly qualified according to their state’s 
definition in order to participate. Proof of this must be included in the application.
 
All presentations will be reviewed by the U.S. Department of Education.

To apply, please visit: http://www.teacherquality.us/TeacherToTeacher/CallForTrainers.asp

The Teacher-to-Teacher Training Corps project is part of the U.S. Department of 
Education’s Teacher-to-Teacher Initiative, which includes teacher and principal 
roundtables, teacher workshops and conferences, regular e-mail updates, and a 
free-of-charge, online professional development tool.  More information is available 
online at: www.ed.gov/teacherinitiative.