THE PROGRAM

delivers tools and methods to foster resilient and ethical young leaders. Five workshop modules progressively engage teachers and educators in discussion, introspection and experimentation, and provide the opportunity to integrate the development of cognitive skills, social-emotional understanding and ethical purpose, empowering educators to make a profound and lasting impact on their students.

The program aims to develop in teachers and educators ethics and values-based leadership, catalyzing resilient and ethical leadership among young people: elementary and middle school aged children, and young adults in high school and university.

THE EXPERIENCE

Transformative Teachers offers a unique forum for teachers and educators to join together and foster community by engaging in interactive workshops. Upon completion of the program, the experience continues through gatherings and online dialogs while our transformative apps support continued growth through reflective thinking and awareness.

DESIGNED FOR GLOBAL REACH 

The Transformative Teachers program is currently offered in various regions throughout the United States, as well as Mexico, Colombia, and India.

The Center helps design, develop and disseminate innovative tools for learning. These tools include the integration of games and apps that focus on building ethical decision-making skills and moral literacy, such as Quandary and MITRA, into the classroom. During the workshop, we look at support materials available on the web and discuss extension ideas such as teacher-and-player-created scenarios and player-feedback reviews. Through a constructive analysis of the concepts and design of the games and apps, we ask: Why choose the dilemmas that are featured? Why was it set in such context? What roles do incentives and scoring play? How can we encourage further discussion and reflection? And, what ethical theories underpin these technological playing systems tools?

By providing teachers with technological playing systems the workshop encourages teachers to promote ethical thinking within different environments and contexts –both fictional and non-fictional. The goal is to provide an engaging experience for students to strengthen foundational skills and character virtues – including perspective-taking, decision-making, and critical thinking. Moreover, helping them to recognize and engage ethical and emotional situations in their daily lives.

Additionally The Center has created Transformative Teachers Collection on PBS Learning Media, a web resource constantly being updated with new teaching exercises and activity videos.

“This is the kind of education, the kind of conversation that is incredibly important: to listen to what is really important in life about values, about human characteristics… This day has been amazing to getting back to what is really important in the core of being human, connecting with others, growing passion within everybody, no matter what their age.”

Kelly Connelly, Elementary School Teacher, Natick, Massachusetts

To learn more about  the TT program contact us at info@thecenter.mit.edu