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With the introduction of the internet, it immediately became evident that everything would eventually be transformed. Sure enough, today it has taken over most activities, and the education industry is no exception. Now, information is just a click away, and acquiring knowledge has become instantaneous. “It used to be that to learn and ‘be educated’ one had to go to school to learn from the teacher and textbooks. That reason for formal schooling and teachers as dispensers of knowledge no longer exists,” explains Emily Feistritzer, founder of TEACH-NOW.
In the continually-evolving digital age, TEACH-NOW was established as a response to the need for teachers to be able to transition to different roles in the fast-moving virtual world. The team created a teacher preparation program focused on training tomorrow’s teachers for tomorrow’s learning world. They researched and curated custom-built programs that provided cutting-edge instructional methods. In 2013, the program was piloted with 10 teacher candidates from eight countries. Today, thousands of teachers from over 150 countries have gone through the program and obtained a valued license to teach.
Emily was keen to find the gap between educators and the changing mode of education. With the introduction of TEACH-NOW, the gap has been considerably filled. She was highly inspired by her mother and grandmother, who raised her to believe that she could do anything she wanted to, and that education was the key to success. By leveraging her education and experience, she ventured into entrepreneurship. She admires Warren Buffet’s entrepreneurial journey, “He founded an enterprise, believed in it and never left it,” she says. Following her role model’s footsteps, she is leading TEACH-NOW and preparing educators for the future of education.
After over three decades of research into alternative routes to teacher certification, it came to light that there was a real need in the market for a program like TEACH-NOW that allowed teachers around the world with a passion for teaching to prepare and learn through a practical program that would help them gain a teaching license. The team ran TEACH-NOW’s first program cohort in March 2013 with a handful of candidates, and gathered their feedback. This feedback was used to shape direction, and led to other enhancements and developments that the team made to its proprietary learning platform. Emily adds, “The program has strived to be practical, relevant, and continuously improved on an ongoing basis to meet the learning needs of our teacher candidates around the world.”
TEACH-NOW’s online learning solution still retains the value of human interaction and focuses on collaborative learning. The unique aspect of the program is that its collaborative learning model includes a focus on learning with technology, making it interactive and easy to use. In addition, this model allows candidates around the world to learn from each other. The inclusion of such diversity brings a richer learning experience than the traditional university learning environment.
All the programs offered by TEACH-NOW are practical and relevant to day-to-day teaching, in which candidates can apply what they learned in the program almost immediately in their classrooms. “This value proposition of experiential learning, combined with the fact that they end up with a state government-issued teaching license or a Master’s in Education degree makes all our programs extremely attractive to teacher and school leader candidates around the world,” says Emily. TEACH-NOW offers Master’s Degrees, which have become enormously popular.
TEACH-NOW prioritizes collaboration at all levels. Candidates work with one other in their cohorts; instructors collaborate with each other in their professional learning groups; and the staff collaborates to solve problems and brainstorm ideas. Emily encourages collaboration, and says it is necessary to be successful at TEACH-NOW, no matter what role an individual plays— learner, teacher, or administrator. One cannot force brainstorming; it needs to emerge organically through the process of collaboration. Emily says that when the whole team is driven towards problem-solving, an idea can come from anywhere, and the team dedicates itself to seeing it to fruition.
Emily nurtures a culture in which every member is treated as an important contributor. No one is asked to maintain a timesheet or clock hours. Each individual is goal-oriented, which does not necessarily fit the 9-5 routine. The team members are encouraged to maintain a healthy work-life balance to allow them to be more productive. Everyone works to help candidates successfully complete their selected program and achieve their professional goals.
The team of TEACH-NOW has the experience to be nimble and responsive to the needs of the day. They adapt to circumstances, and use challenges to create more opportunities. During the COVID-19 crisis, TEACH-NOW was swift in addressing the needs of candidates on a global scale, training them to transition to online learning. With its operations already mostly digital, social distancing and lockdowns did not slow its work.
On the contrary, enrollment grew as people found themselves under quarantine, lockdown, and other isolating situations. Students’ online classes were sometimes their only human connection. TEACH-NOW also responded to teachers who were finding it difficult to adapt to the new normal by curating free professional development programs that taught them how to adjust to online teaching, or teaching in a hybrid environment.
“The response was instantaneous and teachers were grateful for this service. We had over 2,000 teachers enroll in our professional development offerings over the summer of 2020,” Emily says. TEACH-NOW continues to offer free courses for teachers on a global scale and is helping them to learn and grow professionally.
The silver lining of the pandemic was that it helped to shift the paradigm for education permanently. Now learning can take place anywhere, and at any time. “The revolution is already here,” Emily says. “Education is never going to be the same again. TEACH-NOW has been a trailblazer in finding a new way of learning that will be a common practice for all educational institutions.”
