Teach For India’s vision for training is directly related to its overall mission and theory of change. Drawing from these two integral components, the guiding principles of Teach For India’s training program are:
- Maximizing teacher effectiveness to effect significant, measurable academic and non-academic student achievement gains.
- Developing leadership capabilities in Fellows that will enable them to effect long term systemic change.
Summer Institute – Pre-Classroom Training
Before the school year begins, Teach For India brings all of its Fellows together for a residential, full-time, 5 week training institute, where Fellows begin to develop the foundational tools and mindsets needed to be excellent teachers and leaders. The summer institute gives Fellows the opportunity to build personal and professional relationships with others in the program, that have diverse academic and professional backgrounds but a common history of success and a unifying commitment to ending educational inequity.
Summer institute focuses on developing within Fellows a theoretical understanding of the frameworks of teaching, and specific instructional techniques needed to teach English, Mathematics, Science and Social Studies. In addition, Fellows receive instructional guidance from experienced practitioners and are exposed to networking opportunities with leaders from a variety of sectors.
In order to expose Fellows to the more practical components of teaching, institute also includes a summer school program for primary school students. Fellows work in collaborative unties to teach English and Mathematics to students. Fellows are responsible for setting big goals for students and achieving those goals within the four weeks of summer school.
Significant time is spent at Institute immersing Fellows in activities centered around Teach For India’s core values, and pushing them to think deeply about the Theory of the Problem of educational inquity.
Institute takes place at a University campus in Pune, Maharashtra.
In Service Training
Fellows will undergo continuous in-service training for the duration of the Fellowship. The focus of these targeted trainings is:
- To reinforce and build on the foundational Institute training.
- To develop leadership skills through interactions with leaders from the social and corporate sectors.
- To train Fellows to develop and implement a sustainable community/school leadership project that will eliminate one significant barrier to educational equity in the communities in which they work.
- To provide opportunities for Fellows to explore their greatest value add to the mission post the Fellowship.
Leader’s Forum
The purpose of the Leaders Forum is to enhance Fellows’ educational and leadership abilities throughout the two year program. The Teach For India Leadership Forum will provide an opportunity for current Fellows and alumni to engage with prominent corporate, government, social, and education leaders who will share their insights and their experiences with leadership.
Fellows have had the opportunity to engage with leaders such as:
- Aamir Khan (Actor)
- Hillary Clinton
- Dr. Mashelkar (President, National Innovation Foundation and Indian National Science Academy)
- Dr. Abdul Kalam (ex-President, India)
- Steven Farr (Chief Knowledge Officer, Teach For America)
- Subroto Bagchi
- Nandita Das (Actor)
- Anu Aga (Former Executive Chairperson, Thermax Group and Director, Thermax Social Initiatives)
- Ashish Dhawan (Founder, ChrysCapital and Central Square Foundation)
- Wendy Kopp (Founder, Teach For America)
- Arun Kapur (Founder, Vasant Valley School)
- Craig (Superintendant, American School of Mumbai)
- Kiran Sethi (Founder, Riverside School)
- Aditya Natraj (Founder, Kaivalaya and the Gandhi Fellowship)
- Anand and Roopal Shah (Founders, Indicorps)
- Nachiket Mor (President ICICI Foundation for Inclusive Growth)
- Rahul Bose (Actor and Founder, The Foundation)
- Dr. J P Narayan (Social Activist)
- Geet Sethi (World Billiards Champion)
