Through its innovative teacher training program, the Inter-American Partnership for Education (IAPE) inspires and opens doors for Mexican public school students by building, preparing and supporting a network of leaders in English language teaching. IAPE is a partnership of Educando and Dartmouth College’s Rassias Center for World Languages and Cultures.

Programs

All IAPE programs offer unique pedagogical training and a virtual community for collaboration and ongoing support.

IAPE Inspiring English Teachers I

IAPE Inspiring English Teachers I cohorts are launched throughout periodically in close collaboration with public education authorities who provide financial and administrative support for the program. Each residential component consists of intensive English instruction, taught by certified Rassias® immersion instructors, integrated with practical training to integrate the Rassias philosophy and teaching techniques into one’s classroom practices. 

Each IAPE Inspiring English Teachers I session incorporates IAPE English Trainers Corps members as instructors. This builds a sustainable infrastructure for mentoring, networking, and ongoing peer support.

• 100 hour residential component delivered over eight days
• 75 hours of service to public education in Mexico with mentor support

The calendar of scheduled IAPE Inspiring English Teachers I sessions will be posted as it comes available.

IAPE Inspiring English Teachers II

IAPE Inspiring English Teachers II cohorts are launched periodically in close collaboration with public education authorities who provide financial and administrative support for the program. Each residential component includes training in the Rassias philosophy and technique as well as seminars by leading educators.

Each IAPE Inspiring English Teachers II session incorporates IAPE English Trainers Corps members as instructors. This builds a sustainable infrastructure for mentoring, networking, and ongoing peer support.

• 68 hour residential component delivered over six days
• 75 hours of service to public education in Mexico with mentor support

IAPE sessions are offered in close collaboration with local education authorities. If your state or institution is working with IAPE, you may obtain application information and instructions directly from your school authorities. All admissions decisions are made by the IAPE Selection Committee, which is comprised of representatives from Educando and Dartmouth College.

IAPE English Trainers Corps

The IAPE English Trainers Corps prepares the leaders in the IAPE network. These leaders train other teachers in IAPE programs and in their communities to create lasting and sustainable change.

Each cohort begins with a two-week residential component.  Participants travel together to the USA where they are housed in residence halls at Dartmouth College, an Ivy League institution located in Hanover, New Hampshire, USA. No two days are alike, but a typical day during the residential component includes seminars conducted by Dartmouth faculty and/or other leading  educators on such topics as language assessment, interdisciplinary instruction, mentoring, and working with children at risk as well as interactive sessions in the dynamic language teaching philosophy and techniques pioneered by world-renown language professor John A. Rassias (1925-2015). Cultural activities and excursions round out this component of the program.

The residential component is followed by a two-year service commitment. In the case of the IAPE English Trainers Corps, this commitment involves training, mentoring, and supporting other IAPE participants and non-IAPE participants alike. This training can take many forms including workshops, conference presentations and scholarly work including publications and theses.

• 130-hour residential component delivered over 14 days – the majority takes place at Dartmouth College (USA)
• 100 hours of service to public education in Mexico with mentor support

Timeline for 2020:* 

Information about future IAPE English Trainers Corps sessions will be posted here as they are scheduled.

*All dates are subject to change and all program offerings are dependent on available funds.

IAPE in action

The commitment and support of the IAPE community does not end – in fact, it begins – at the conclusion of the each IAPE session. The IAPE Virtual Learning Community provides all participants with a vehicle through which to communicate with their colleagues and IAPE program staff, to share and report best practices, and to support each other through the challenges of implementing new pedagogical practices.

I am definitely not the same teacher that I used to be. IAPE makes me feel I have the best job on earth. Despite the hard times our country is living through, I know in my heart that we can make a difference, right there, where the magic begins… in our classrooms! — Dina T. Technical Pedagogical Advisor, Inglés en Primaria, Guamúchil, Sinaloa   

IAPE features the Rassias® Method

The Rassias Method was developed by world-renowned language professor, John A. Rassias at Dartmouth College in the 1960s. The Rassias Method is a rigorous, interactive, and highly effective system for teaching languages that banishes inhibitions and fosters authentic communication. It is based on the premise that students speak to learn rather than learn to speak. The Rassias Method has trained more than 165,000 Peace Corps Volunteers in languages, as well as countless students and teachers throughout the world.

I went there to learn about a teaching method and I came back with a life lesson…You not only taught us a way of teaching but a way of caring.— María de Lourdes V., Universidad Tecnológica de Tlaxcala

Evaluation

In 2014, the Inter-American Development Bank published the results of a ground-breaking randomized control trial (RCT) evaluation of the IAPE Inspiring English Teachers program.

The independent evaluation sought to measure the effects of IAPE training on participants and their students. The study was conducted with the cooperation of the Mexican States of Puebla and Tlaxcala and involved 144 high school and middle school teachers and their students. RCTs are the most rigorous evaluation available and the authors found only three previous RCTs on the effects of in-service teacher training on student learning.

All three previous studies were conducted in the United States and none found measurable results. To the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study of its kind ever conducted in Latin America and the first to show measurable results.

Results of IDB Randomized Control

Highlights of the findings, collected an average of 30 weeks after teachers’ participation in IAPE training:

Teacher instruction is more dynamic

• Compared to the control group, IAPE-trained teachers spent less class time having students work in their notebooks while seated at their desks and more time engaging them in dynamic activities. They spoke more English in class, used didactic materials more and textbooks less, and demonstrated more confidence, command of class and stage presence while teaching.

Students are more engaged

• Students of IAPE teachers spent more class time listening and engaging in conversations in English, displayed more excitement for learning, and devoted more time to studying English outside of class.

Student learning outcomes are stronger

• After an average of 30 weeks of exposure, students of IAPE teachers had progressed 10 additional weeks in reading, speaking, and listening skills, compared to students of non-IAPE teachers.

Student expectations and beliefs

• Students of IAPE teachers reported higher expectations of having a job at age 30 and attending university.

⇒ READ MORE HERE

⇒ READ FULL REPORT HERE

Iape Program Profile

• Launched in: 2007
• Location: All 31 states in Mexico
• Participating schools: 5,162
• Trained teachers: 2,617
• Impacted students: 3,002,401

Program Sponsors

Educando is thankful for the generous support for IAPE, provided by numerous individuals and the following supporters:

• Bio-PAPPEL
• Claudio X. González Laporte
• Comunidad Coppel
• Cummins, Inc.
• Fundación Encuentra Tu Camino Amigo, A.C.
• Fundación ESRU
• Fundación GBM I.A.P.
• The Jack and Dorothy Byrne Foundation, Inc.
• Promotora Social México
• HSBC
• United States Embassy in Mexico