THE WHY

To help teachers gain expertise & enthusiasm in fulfilling their changing, more complex roles, for learners to flourish

THE HOW

Nurturing teacher identity, agency, and excellence through practice-based professional learning, within a community of education change-makers

THE WHAT

COURSES & WORKSHOPS 

• Strengthening Core Teaching Practices
• Shifting from professional development to  professional learning 
• Developing teacher agency by planning Personalized PD pathways, pegged to teaching standards & CPD-accredited
• Building personal digital Action Portfolios and earning microcredentials by bridging theory and practice in their own settings

ACTIVITIES TO BUILD THE ATC TEACHER COMMUNITY/TRIBE

TRAINING, RESEARCH, & CONSULTANCY 

• Core Teaching Practices
• Practice-based Professional Learning
• Innovations in curriculum,  pedagogy, & assessment

HISTORY

The Ateneo Teacher Center was created in 1984 to support the Education Department in providing ongoing professional development opportunities to basic education teachers.  The ATC offered innovative programs in a modular format using interactive and experiential methodologies which could also be partly self-instructional.  The summer modules, with a whole-day format for one week, drew teachers not only from Metro Manila but from provinces and cities far away.  During the regular semesters, modules were scheduled all day on 4-5 Saturdays.  Both formats were offered for possible graduate credits. The ATC offered both on-campus and off-campus versions of these courses.

From 1985 to 1992, the ATC offered basic education public and private school teachers opportunities to hone their teaching skills for two weeks each summer in five Jesuit schools – Ateneo de Davao University, Ateneo de Naga University, Ateneo de Zamboanga University, Xavier University, and Sacred Heart School for Boys.  This initiative was funded by the Philippine Province of the Society of Jesus, the ADMU Board of Trustees, and the Fund for Assistance to Private Education (FAPE), the ATC undertook a Summer Outreach Program for eight years.

From 1997 to 2000, the ATC in cooperation with the Insular Life Foundation conducted a Teacher Retraining Outreach Program in Science and Mathematics for elementary school teachers.  The two-week workshops were held at the Ateneo de Davao University, Ateneo de Naga University, and Sacred Heart School for Boys.

Since 2000, the ATC has been continuing to offer professional development opportunities every summer. In 2017, the Ateneo Teacher Center was accredited by the Professional Regulation Commission as a provider of Continuing Professional Development (CPD) units which they need to renew their professional licenses.

RECENT ACTIVITIES

In 2017, launched its Turo Guro summer program. Turo Guro offered a wide array of courses accredited by the Professional Regulation Commission as Continuing Professional Development units. From 2017-2019, it catered to 1884 participants, of which 107 were public school teachers who were subsidized by the Rosario Bustos Atencio Scholarship Fund for Public School Teachers and the Vicente Tiu Lim Teacher Education Endowment Fund. 

Although Turo Guro workshops were not offered in 2020 and 2021 due to the lockdown, ATC assisted public school teachers in the sudden transition to remote learning through Radyo Turo Guro, lively conversations about education matters airing every weeknight for 30 minutes via DZRJ Radyo Bandido radio, FB, and YouTube. Radyo Turo Guro aired from August 2020 to June 2021. To support the engagement of the community of educators who were following the Radyo Turo Guro broadcasts, the TRIBE FB community (Teachers Redefining and Innovating for Better Education) community was launched. 

In 2021, the ATC continues to provide teacher training and consultancy services in collaboration with other organizations and institutions, the latest of which were 3 training workshop series organized by the Madaris Volunteer Program of the (CEAP and Ateneo de Davao University) for Islamic school teachers from madaris in the BARMM region. Another ATC outreach in 2021 was a series of workshops for the Math, Araling Panlipunan, and Values Education teachers of San Fernando City Division Office of the Department of Education.