Our Process
Our approach to democratizing education is a multi-step process which empowers teachers by transforming their insights into impact.
We pay educators at each and every step they participate in.
Step 1: Discuss & Identify
We begin by organizing a space known as a “Town Hall” for teachers like you to lead thoughtful and constructive discussion regarding your shared priorities in your local contexts.
Goal: Facilitate a discussion around your concerns and identify an agenda of top priorities co-created by the teachers in attendance.
Result: A roadmap for developing teacher-driven solutions to the context-specific issues identified by you – which will be achieved in the next steps.
All educators who participate in a Town Hall are paid for their contributions.
Step 2: Collaborate & Create
Next, we facilitate teacher-led working groups called “Co-Creation Labs”, where you apply your expertise alongside guidance from TEAL to develop tangible solutions such as curricular resources or policy recommendations.
Goal: Collaborate with educators to create solutions to the problems you have identified.
Result: Tailor-made documents that address context-specific educational issues identified by educators which can be taken to policymakers and administrators.
All educators who participate in a Co-Creation Labs are paid for their contributions.
Step 3: Formulate & Implement
Then, we connect you with administrators and policymakers in "Roundtables" to implement strategies rooted in teacher expertise, either by reviewing current methods or promoting solutions that you have developed in Co-Creation Labs.
Goal: Formulate and implement new or amended strategies which prioritize the recommendations of practicing educators.
Result: Education solutions that are more realistic and effective due to the fact they are based on teachers' real experiences.
All educators who participate in Roundtables are paid for their contributions.
Step 4: Certify and Amplify
TEAL certifies resources that are co-created or approved by educators during “Roundtables” as reflecting the experience of active educators and TEAL’s core values.
Goal: Certify teacher co-created or approved resources and amplify them as preferred standard in pedagogy and education reform.
Result: Teacher-led solutions gain traction and are recognized as both indispensable and desirable in education reform.
All educators are paid for their participation in developing these solutions and are included in any licensing agreement which involves the TEAL co-created resource.
Structured Democratic Voice is the unique and revolutionary theory of change which underpins our process.
Learn More ABout
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Town Halls are platforms TEAL provides for teachers to have open and honest conversations about the concerns and perspectives they share in their local context. Each one is as unique as the teachers who participate in them.
TEAL’s role is not to prescribe a solution, but rather to facilitate the grassroots creation of solutions with educators borne of their experiences and expertise.
While other organizations may stop at this step, Town Halls are only the beginning of a collaborative process.
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Pre+Pro events are special town halls where local teachers and university staff come together to improve teachert raining programs by connecting future teachers (Pre) with experienced ones (Pro).
Experienced teachers share current knowledge about teaching, and future teachers bring new ideas.
These talks help shape teacher training programs and build trust and confidence between current and future teachers.
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Co-Creation Labs serve as a bridge between educators insights and an actionable solution. TEALs role is to support this process by providing examples of policy briefs, curricular materials, or expert advice to guide the creation of these solutions.
Each Lab is designed to meet the needs of each TEAL chapter.
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Roundtables are meetings which put TEAL members in the room with university faculty, policy makers, curriculum designers, or other stakeholders based on the desired solution – whether that’s the implementation of a new curriculum, change to preservice training, or a policy reform.
For reviewing existing approaches, we will implement a “stoplight review” method, where teachers highlight things to keep (green), change (yellow), and discard (red)
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TEAL offers three kinds of certifications.
1. “Teacher Co-Created”
A “Teacher Co-Created” certification for policy drafts, curricular materials, and other resources which result from teacher collaboration in co-creation labs. This certification will indicate that a resource was co-created by teachers – meaning that educators played a primary role in the development of a resource at each stage.
2. “Teacher Revised”
A “Teacher Revised” certification for policy texts, curricular materials, and other resources which are reviewed during roundtables. This certification will indicate that, while not initially created by teachers, a document has been reviewed, amended, and approved by teachers. The certifications permits governing bodies and corporate entities to indicate and promote that a specific text has been reviewed by teachers.
3. “TEAL Co-Creator”
A “TEAL Co-Creator” certification for TEAL members who participate in an initiative resulting in a “Teacher Co-Created” certified document. This certification will indicate that a teacher has contributed beyond standard membership by being an active co-creator in policy and curriculum.