News – Page 2 – Teachers Institute of Philadelphia

Cynthia Sung’s CurveQuad Breakthrough November 30, 2023 – Posted in: Uncategorized

TIP Seminar Leader Cynthia Sung continues to make waves in the field of robotics with her latest research project, a centimeter-scale quadruped featuring a curved-crease origami design, as highlighted in Penn Today. Sung is currently a Gabel Family Term Assistant Professor at the University of Pennsylvania’s School of Engineering and Applied Science’s Mechanical Engineering and Applied Mechanics (MEAM) Department. Sung also serves as a member of Penn’s General Robotics, Automation, Sensing and Perception (GRASP) lab.…

Seminar Leader Deven Patel on Diwali’s Symbolism of Hope – Posted in: Uncategorized

University Advisory Board Co-chair and seminar leader Deven Patel was recently featured in a Penn Today article regarding Diwali and Hanukkah, holidays celebrated in November and December, respectively. Patel discussed how these holidays, celebrated with festivals of light both literally and figuratively, remind everyone that even in the darkest times, people can always find light and hope. Patel highlights Diwali’s transcendent nature beyond religious boundaries and emphasizes how the lighting of lamps serves as both an…

Superintendent Watlington Joins TIP Team at Yale November 8, 2023 – Posted in: Uncategorized

The Nineteenth Annual Conference of TIP’s parent program, the Yale National Initiative, was held on November 3-4, 2023. Since 2004, Yale has hosted this conference for schools and university colleagues from around the United States to collaborate and disseminate the Teachers Institute Approach. During the conference, National Fellows had the opportunity to present curriculum units they prepared during the intensive sessions a Yale University. Attendees representing TIP this year included National Fellows Lisa Yau, Tyriese…

Teacher Chloe Glynn Appointed National Steering Representative – Posted in: Uncategorized

TIP fellow and teacher representative Chloe Glynn began her service as the National Steering Committee Representative at the 19th Annual Conference of the Yale National Initiative this past week. Glynn is currently a biology and environmental science teacher at Horace Furness High School. At the conference, Glynn spoke about the unit she wrote in her national seminar as part of a panel of teachers from around the country. The unit, “On the Boarder of Life:…

2024 Spring Seminar: The Past, Present, and Future of Latinx Studies October 23, 2023 – Posted in: Uncategorized

As our society becomes more interconnected and culturally diverse, the need to gain a deeper understanding of the history of Latinx communities becomes increasingly important. The upcoming spring 2024 TIP seminar titled “The Past, Present, and Future of Latinx Studies” taught by Professor Rebeca L. Hey-Colón will give participants valuable insights into the rich history of Latinx heritage and its ever-evolving presence in the United States. Hey-Colón is an Assistant Professor at Temple University in the…

2024 Spring Seminar: The Soviet Century – Posted in: Uncategorized

With the war in Ukraine ongoing, teachers and students are in need of a deeper understanding of that conflict’s historical origins. The spring 2024 TIP seminar “Soviet Century: Russia, Socialism, and the Modern World” fills that need. Penn Associate Professor of History Benjamin Nathans, who specializes in Imperial Russia and the Soviet Union, modern European Jewish history, and the history of human rights, will lead the seminar. The course will posit the idea of a…

2024 Spring Seminar: Asian Meditation Traditions October 19, 2023 – Posted in: Uncategorized

The idea of “meditation” and “mindfulness” has become increasingly popular in the contemporary world and has evolved into a globally adopted practice. However, people are often unfamiliar with the ancient and modern traditions that shape and inform what some call today’s “contemplative sciences.” Deven Patel, an Associate Professor of South Asia Studies at the University of Pennsylvania, will help participants understand the early roots of meditation in the upcoming spring 2024 TIP seminar titled “Asian…

2024 Spring Seminar: Children’s Literature and the Immigrant Experience – Posted in: Uncategorized

In a world marked by mass migration due to war and climate change, it is important for educators to learn to navigate the diversity in their classrooms. The upcoming spring 2024 TIP seminar titled “Children’s Literature and the Immigrant Experience” led by Professor Gerald Campano who teachers Literacy, Culture and International Education at University of Pennsylvania’s Graduate School of Education, does just that. Throughout the seminar, Campano will help participants investigate migration and human mobility…

Penn Conference Supports Educators in Troubled Times October 3, 2023 – Posted in: Uncategorized

On Saturday, Oct. 14, The Philadelphia Writing Project (PhilWP), the Teachers Institute of Philadelphia (TIP), the Penn Museum, and the Penn GSE Mid-Career Doctoral and the Reading/Writing/Literacy Programs convened Creating Brave Spaces in Schools and Communities: A Celebration of Writing and Literacy. The event took place 8:15am-4pm at the Penn Museum, 3260 South Street, Philadelphia PA 19104. Throughout the day, teachers, administrators and scholars shared curriculum ideas and practices intended to promote truth-telling and preserve…

Philly Teachers Participate in Yale Summer Intensive July 16, 2023 – Posted in: Uncategorized

Four School District of Philadelphia teachers joined their colleagues from around the country at the Yale National Initiative’s summer intensive program in New Haven. These Teachers Institute of Philadelphia fellows distinguished themselves by participating in a special round of seminars at led by Yale professors and writing curriculum units on the topic they studied. Like the seminars they take in Philadelphia, the Yale seminars require them to undertake in-depth study and adapt the content they…

TIP Professor Highlights Role of Women in Antislavery Movement June 22, 2023 – Posted in: Uncategorized

A new book by recent TIP seminar leader Kathleen Brown shows that women—and especially Black women—led the way in the abolition of slavery. Brown’s book Undoing Slavery: Bodies, Race and Rights in the Age of Abolition corrects the conventional view that abolitionists were mostly White and motivated by their religious beliefs. The book points to the contributions of Black, female activists who drew attention to the physical harm inflicted on women as part of the…

TIP Fellow Awarded Science Grants May 25, 2023 – Posted in: Uncategorized

In the world of science education, exceptional teachers like Eual Phillips inspire the next generation of scientific minds. An educator at Hill-Freedman World Academy, Eual has been recognized for his outstanding contributions with a series of prestigious grants in 2023. As a teacher of 10th and 12th-grade chemistry and environmental science, Eual joined the Teachers Institute of Philadelphia (TIP) as a fellow in 2016 in the seminar “The Evolving Universe.” In this seminar, he produced…

TIP Fellows Visit Seventh Ward, Site of W. E. B. Du Bois’ Famed Study April 26, 2023 – Posted in: Uncategorized

As part of her TIP seminar, Penn Professor Amy Hillier led her fellows on a walking tour of Philadelphia’s Seventh Ward. The area, which covers the blocks between Spruce and South Street from 6th to 23rd Street was once home to thousands of African Americans, many of whom migrated from the South in search of better opportunities in the North. The tour focused on the research of distinguished sociologist, historian, and civil rights activist, W.E.B.…

TIP Presents at the American Educational Research Association (AERA) Meeting in Chicago April 19, 2023 – Posted in: Uncategorized

Teachers Institute of Philadelphia presented curriculum development work as part of a symposium at the American Educational Research Association (AERA) Annual Meeting on Saturday, April 14. The annual event, which took place in Chicago this year, showcases groundbreaking studies across a wide range of areas of educational research. TIP was part of a group of Teachers Institutes from around the country that organized a symposium entitled “Teachers as Co-Constructors of Truth, Knowledge, and Curriculum: Exploring…

TIP Unit Explores the Identities of Latin Americans of Asian Descent March 30, 2023 – Posted in: Uncategorized

Alisha Davis, an educator at Constitution High School and TIP fellow, is using her passion for teaching to explore the experiences of Latin Americans of Asian descent and challenge her students’ beliefs about belonging and identity. Davis teaches AP U.S. Government and Politics and World History to grades 10-12. In spring 2022, Davis joined the Teachers Institute of Philadelphia (TIP) as a fellow in the seminar “Asian Americans in U.S. Schools.” Through the program, she…

Science Education Advocate: Chloe Glynn – Posted in: Uncategorized

Chloe Glynn, a biology and environmental science teacher at Horace Furness High School and TIP fellow, was honored with a $10,000 Pittcon Science Week Grant in 2023 that will be used for the expansion of student projects in solar and wind energy solutions. Pittcon, an abbreviation for the Pittsburgh Conference on Analytic Chemistry and Applied Spectroscopy, has been generously contributing 90% of their annual conference fees towards supporting science education initiatives for almost 75 years,…

Seminar Leader Howarth on the Ohio Train Derailment March 16, 2023 – Posted in: Uncategorized

TIP seminar leader and University Advisory Council (UAC) member Marilyn Howarth was recently quoted in Vox on the effects of the train derailment in Ohio. Earlier this month, 100,000 gallons of dangerous chemicals spilled into the air and water of East Palestine, Ohio after a Norfolk Southern train was derailed. Today, as residents of East Palestine return home, they are raising concerns about the long-term effects of the disaster. Some individuals have already reported smelling…

Units Posted from Fall Curriculum Lab March 1, 2023 – Posted in: Uncategorized

The curriculum units for the 2022 Fall Curriculum Lab seminars are now posted under 2022 Curriculum Units. The 2022 Fall Curriculum Lab seminars were Global Environmental Challenges and Potential Solutions; Social Justice, Monuments, Museums, and Heritage; and What Makes Something a Number. Global Environmental Challenges and Potential Solutions, taught by Earth and Environmental Science Professor, Reto Giere, covered several topics around our environmental footprint and ways to lower our consumption of resources in pursuit of…

Seminar Leader Reto Gieré Featured in Penn Today for Research on Charcoal November 17, 2022 – Posted in: Uncategorized

Reto Gieré, fall 2022 seminar leader, was just featured in Penn Today for his research on the charcoal supply chain and how it can be made more sustainable. At TIP, Gieré, Professor in the Department of Earth and Environmental Science, taught a seminar titled “Global Environmental Challenges and Potential Solutions.” In this course, participants analyzed current global waste streams and ways they can help diminish environmental and climate impacts of daily life, agriculture, manufacturing, and…

The Celebration of Writing and Literacy 2022 October 27, 2022 – Posted in: Uncategorized

On Saturday, October 15th, the Teachers Institute of Philadelphia in conjunction with The Philadelphia Writing Project and the Penn Museum, hosted the annual Celebration of Writing and Literacy focusing on teacher research and knowledge. This year’s theme was Teaching Environmental Justice, where educators in all disciplines explored how they can teach their students the effects of climate change and environmental contamination and ways to take action on these issues. Keynote speaker, Michael Mann, Presidential Distinguished…