Instructional Leadership Training for Pakistani Teachers

Reported by Blake Marcus

 

The Center for International Education hosted faculty members Rebecca Woodland (right) and Becky Mazur at the first of the 2018 Spring Speaker Series.  Both recently returned from a 10-day trip to Islamabad, Pakistan where they worked with Pakistani teachers as part of the Instructional Leadership Institute for Pakistani Educators (ILIPE).  The Institute is a cultural exchange program funded by the U.S. State Department that provides training in learner-centered teaching methods for participants throughout Pakistan.

 

The ILIPE Program is dedicated to creating exchange opportunities for Pakistani teachers. Twenty teachers from Pakistan will visit UMass Amherst and the College of Education this summer for 5 weeks of professional development focused on instructional leadership. The cultural exchange program focuses heavily on student-centered learning and how to create learning environments to maximize educational goals and benefit students.

 

Woodland and Mazur shared photos and stories of their time in Pakistan (pictured left with Pakistani teachers), and engaged in dialogue with current students, alumni and faculty.  They discussed the difficulty of engaging students in student-centered education initiatives and the change they sought to achieve in Pakistani classrooms.

 

Dr. Woodland, along with Dr. Mike Hannahan, Director of the UMass Civic Initiative, are co-PIs of ILIPE.  As part of their most recent visit to Pakistan, Woodland and Hannahan were featured guests on Pakistan’s TV World Live, the nation’s morning talk show.   Watch the segment here.