EmpowerED: Enhancing English Education for Resilient Communities in Ukraine
Program Description: EmpowerED is a professional development program for secondary school English teachers in the Kyiv region. This 108-hour program is designed to enhance skills in blended learning, content and language integration, and trauma-informed teaching. The program is funded by the United States Department of State and delivered by the University of North Carolina Wilmington (UNCW) in partnership with the National Technical University of Ukraine “Igor Sikorsky Kyiv Polytechnic Institute” (Igor Sikorsky KPI).
The overall goals for this program are:
- To train Ukrainian EFL teachers in Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) methodology with an emphasis on science education.
- To improve participants’ knowledge in blended learning models.
- To train participants to implement trauma-informed teaching strategies and crisis-responsive lesson plans.
- To provide a working knowledge for participants to create a strategic plan and assessment components that address the needs of their communities.
Program Timeline:
January-April 2024: Online Training
Participants complete self-paced modules and attend live workshop sessionss with the trainers on weekends and/or after hours.
May-June 2024: Strategic Plan Development
Participants develop their plans for dissemination of best practices adapted to their local teaching context.
July-August 2024: Feedback
Trainers provide feedback on the participants’ plans of dissemination.
September-December 2024: Strategic Plan Implementation
Participants start putting their plans into action and sharing the lessons they have learned from the training with other EFL teachers at their schools.
January 2025: EmpowerED Conference
Participants visit KPI for a three-day conference during which they share their successes with the trainers and the rest of the participants.
Eligibility Requirements:
To be eligible for the EmpowerED program, applicants must meet the following criteria:
- Be a citizen and current resident of Ukraine.
- Be a secondary school teacher of English as a Foreign Language (EFL) in the Kyiv region.
- Work in a school that has been affected by the war or serves a significant number of internally displaced students.
- Be proficient in spoken and written English at the B2 level
- Be able to begin the program in January 2024 and commit to actively participating in the entire program.
- Have a computer with internet access.
Program Requirements for Participants:
Participants in the EmpowerED program will be required to:
- Complete a 4-month online training course with self-paced modules and weekly interactive workshops. Required time commitment for online training is 3-4 hours a week.
- Develop a plan for sharing best practices in their schools
- Train a minimum of 2 other EFL teachers at their schools
- Attend a 3-day in-person conference at the National Technical University of Ukraine “Igor Sikorsky Kyiv Polytechnic Institute” to share their successes with trainers and fellow participants.
Selection Process:
The first step is to complete an online application that includes questions about your personal information, eligibility, educational background, teaching experience, school information, and three short answer questions. Required attachments are a letter of support from your school director (can be in Ukrainian) and a copy of your passport. If you have taken any standardized English tests (TOEFL, IELTS, Duolingo, etc.), you are strongly encouraged to upload your results (unofficial scores are accepted). Application deadline is November 15th, 2023.
Finalists will be invited for a group interview with program organizers in December.
Program Information
Програма_Українською
If you have any questions feel free to write simkova.iryna@lll.kpi.ua