Teaching in Action – Tanzania

Lesley Bartlett and Frances Vavrus

Working with Professor Frances Vavrus and three of her students at the University of Minnesota, Professor Lesley Bartlett and several Teachers College graduate students have since 2007 partnered with faculty from Mwenge University College of Education (MWUCE) to expand content-area reading and writing in secondary schools inthe Kilimanjaro region of Tanzania.

Funded by AfricAid, the “Teaching in Action” (TIA) annual professional development seminar encourages the use of student-centered, participatory teaching techniques in order to foster critical thinking skills in secondary schools. TIA works with secondary school teachers from across the country and in a wide range of subjects. The program has been developed to prepare participants to serve as model teachers with expertise in participatory, student-centered teaching methods.