Teaching Core Practices in Teacher Education

16 December 2022 ─ SEAMEO STEM-ED has launched the first “Strengthening Teacher Education Program (STEP)” virtual workshop focusing on “Teaching Core Practices in Teacher Education” in which distinguished scholars from the University of Pennsylvania shared core practices and ways to prepare quality teachers.

In October, SEAMEO STEM-ED partnered with the National Higher Education Science Research and Innovation Policy Council (NXPO); The Teachers’ Council of Thailand (Kuruspa); and Chevron Enjoy Science to undertake pre-service education to achieve a three-year goal of producing a new generation of better-equipped competent teachers.

Prof. Dr. Pam Grossman, Dean of the Graduate School of Education (GSE) and the George and Diane Weiss Professor of Education at the University of Pennsylvania, who is also a distinguished scholar in practice-based teacher education and core practices of teaching in teacher preparation and professional development.

In the virtual workshop, three distinguished education development experts from the University of Pennsylvania, Prof. Dr. Pam Grossman, who is Dean of the Graduate School of Education (GSE); Caroline Ebby, a Senior Researcher at the Consortium for Policy Research in Education (CPRE); and Tess Bernhard, a PhD student with a prospect in science educators development ─ gave a presentation on the fundamentals of core-practices, and practice-based teacher education ─ also, preparing participants from Thai universities to conduct method cores in their classes.

In addition, SEAMEO STEM-ED Centre Director Dr. Kritsachai Somsaman affirmed the importance of the STEP initiative, emphasizing how SEAMEO STEM-ED constantly seeks to develop the capacity of educational personnel and policymakers, educators, and lecturers.

He also implied the outcomes of the STEP initiative are expected to be applied at the national policy level to regulate the quality of future teachers.

Participants in this workshop included educators from Bansomdejchaopraya Rajabhat University, Buriram Rajabhat University, Chaiyaphum Rajabhat University, Fatoni University, Mahasarakham University, Nakhon Ratchasima Rajabhat University, Nakhon Sawan Rajabhat University, Phuket Rajabhat University, Surindra Rajabhat University, Surat Thani Rajabhat University, Thaksin University, and Ubon Ratchathani Rajabhat University.

About the speakers:

Prof. Dr. Pam Grossman is the Dean of the Graduate School of Education and the George and Diane Weiss Professor of Education at the University of Pennsylvania, who is a distinguished scholar that came to Penn from Stanford University’s School of Education, where she was the Nomellini-Olivier Professor of Education. Prof. Grossman’s research focuses on the preparation of teachers and other professionals and issues of instructional quality, particularly in English Language Arts. In addition, her most recent work focuses on practice-based teacher education and the role of core practices of teaching in teacher preparation and professional development.

Prof. Grossman was elected to the National Academy of Education in 2009 and to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2017. She currently serves as the Chair of the Board for the Spencer Foundation and as the Vice-President of the National Academy of Education.

Caroline Ebby is a mathematics teacher educator at the Graduate School of Education and Senior Researcher at the Consortium for Policy Research in Education (CPRE) at the University of Pennsylvania. Dr. Ebby's work focuses on teacher professional development, research-practice partnerships, and using research to inform and continually improve mathematics instructional practice.

Tess Bernhard is a Ph.D. student at the University of Pennsylvania’s Graduate School of Education in the Teaching, Learning, and Teacher Education program. She currently works as a science teacher educator and formerly worked as a high school biology teacher. Her research examines how education technology shapes teachers’ student-centered STEM instruction in the U.S.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Article on STEP Initiative: https://bit.ly/3TUM2yv