Spring 2010 Teacher Trainings

We are really excited to kick off the 2010 transformative teacher training component of DCPEACE. The goal of the teacher trainings is to provide the staff of partner schools with the skills to incorporate conflict resolution and peace education activities within their larger mandated curriculum. Teacher trainings sessions are 2-4 hours and take place on designated DCPS Professional Development Days. Topics covered in the trainings include conflict resolution techniques, classroom management, student discipline, and pedagogies of peace education. Trainings are attended by teachers and City Year Corps Members.

The series of professional development trainings began on September 18 with a half day session for all staff at Malcolm X.  The topics included an introduction to brain based learning and diverse learning styles, as well as an introduction to the DCPEACE program.  This was followed by a half-day training on October 30 and a two-hour training on January 15 for all staff and City Year volunteers.  UPEACE/US also piloted two small group trainings on stress management and theater techniques.  We are currently coordinating two more all-staff trainings and are working on a smaller teacher training workshop on using yoga in the classroom.

Complementing the teacher trainings is the mentoring program. This program provides teachers with the opportunity to work together in grade level teams and collaborate with a conflict resolution expert to customize activities and exercises from the professional development trainings. These learning teams meet once a month to design lesson plans, share feedback and modifications to DCPEACE curricula, and identify best practices in implementing conflict resolution techniques and peace education pedagogy in the classroom. UPEACE/US hopes that facilitating peer learning teams dedicated to integrating peace education and conflict resolution into school curricula will deepen the impact of DCPEACE and make the program’s results sustainable.