Our work
TMA initiated its work in response to an invitation by Dominican educators who observed Canadian teachers using teaching and learning strategies they have never before experienced and that effectively engaged children.
TMA is dedicated to raising the level of education in the Dominican Republic by providing professional development to educators free of charge. By equipping and training teachers and administrators with high quality instructional strategies and best practices, students are more engaged and higher-level learning is occurring.
Unlike the rote system of teaching, TMA provides teaching strategies that are inclusive, collaborative, reflected critical thinking, multiple intelligences and are student centered.
TMA has a Program Committee, comprised of highly respected educators with proven leadership experience and assisted by an internationally renowned pedagogical consultant who possesses a Doctorate in Education. All serve as volunteers and they and the Canadian training teams self-fund their travel and accommodation.
TMA has established a respected program in four of the largest school districts in the Dominican Republic, providing professional development to more than 3,500 teachers, administrators and system leaders, impacting exponentially tens of thousands of students.
Agents of Change is the name Dominican mentors adopted when they began participating in TMA workshops. It was evident that to effect true system change, sustainable growth and local ownership were required. Students in the Dominican Republic have some of the lowest academic achievement levels across Latin America (UNESCO, 2009, PISA 2015). Teacher training, long neglected, is now recognized as essential to education improvement, as evidenced through research.
Government and non-profit education organizations in the Dominican Republic are highly collaborative with TMA in providing facilities for training at no cost. Professional learning communities are now established among Dominican mentors, in four regions of the country, who in turn extend their learning to their peers.
Valuing TMA’s leadership and witnessing clear improvements within the student population, Dominican educators are now asking us to intensify training and provide continuous education components throughout the year, including virtually. Thirty mentors are now ready for intensive training, some of whom will become trainers in evidence-based and high quality teaching and learning practices using the Peace learning Circles model (formerly Tribes) as the foundation.
