Teacher Education, Redefined

Backwards Design Institute for Teacher Educators

If you are responsible for designing a course inside a teacher education program—or even an entire program—you should join us for the Backwards Design Institute for Teacher Educators. In this focused, one-and-a-half-day event, we will apply the tenets of backwards design to teacher education to explore the following question: 

How do we as teacher educators develop a clear, shared vision of what teacher candidates will learn to do in our programs and how do we use that vision to shape our courses? 

At the heart of any well-designed teacher education program, no matter the format, is this shared understanding. It’s not enough to set general goals. Instead, our programs must reflect the complex nature of teaching practice itself, and unpack difficult areas of work—such as teaching reading to first graders or algebra to eighth graders—into learnable pieces. Only once these explicit goals exist can teacher educators design instructional activities, courses, and entire programs that are purposefully crafted to support teacher candidates to learn them as efficiently as possible. Unpacking practice and defining “right-sized” goals is difficult. Too many programs outline vague aims, making truly powerful teacher education nearly impossible. 

In the Backwards Design Institute, we will use a series of design tasks to work on:
  • Unpacking teaching practice for the purpose of teaching it to novices. 
  • Identifying the clear, explicit goals that drive teacher candidates’ learning. 
  • Creating practical, scaffolded field tasks that reflect those detailed goals. 
A woman teaches a class of adults.

TeachingWorks has led the field in the work of specifying teaching practice for more than a decade. In the Institute, expert facilitators will provide provocative tasks, examples, and support. Participants should come ready to think hard about what teacher candidates need to learn, and learn to do, in order to teach, and can build on work already begun or start fresh.  

DESIGNED FOR:
  • Teacher educators: course instructors, mentor teachers, field supervisors 
  • Instructors in teacher apprenticeships and teacher residencies 
  • Leaders of teacher apprenticeships and teacher residencies 
  • Directors of teacher education programs 
  • Deans of schools and colleges of education who want to roll up their sleeves and work on teacher education 

 

 

WHAT TO EXPECT:
  • Examples of how other fields of professional education have unpacked practice for the purpose of novice learning 
  • Examples of decomposed teaching practices
  • An explanation of how the work of specifying teaching practice and developing related learning goals for teacher candidates can facilitate the crafting of effective instructional activities and assessments in teacher education programs 
  • Engaging tasks in which participants will unpack the teaching practices that are the focus of their course or program, and receive immediate feedback 
  • Opportunities to analyze high-quality instructional materials in use in districts served by participants’ programs, and to identify learning goals for teacher candidates based in part on those materials 
  • Opportunities to discuss challenges in specifying teaching practice and designing effective teacher education programs with colleagues working across states, communities, and program formats 

 

 

LEAVE THE INSTITUTE WITH:
  • Tools and Strategies for Making Teaching Learnable: Learn concrete steps for unpacking teaching into learnable parts. 
  • Field tasks: Create or improve at least two scaffolded field tasks (or the equivalent) that you or your colleagues can use in your own teacher education program. 
  • A Certificate: Walk away with a digital, printable document that certifies you as a graduate of the Backwards Design for Teacher Educators and identifies the dates during which you participated. 
Download the Flyer
Connect with us to learn more about attending the Backwards Design Institute
Select an option
What brought you to TeachingWorks today:
How did you learn about the Backwards Design Institute?
July 30–31, 2026 
Enroll by July 16, 2026 

Cost: $350

Register
Meet Your Facilitators
Francesca Forzani
Francesca Forzani
Deputy Director
Heather Beasley
Heather Beasley
Research & Design Specialist, Mathematics
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

The Institute blends informative, facilitator-led sessions with opportunities for participants to examine and discuss examples, try out strategies, and collaborate with others. 

A laptop or tablet is required to access digital resources. No other supplies are required. 

Anyone interested in teacher education—doing it, designing it, or supporting it—is welcome. But the Institute is most appropriate for teacher educators who actually design courses or programs. Participants should be interested in carefully unpacking teaching practice for the purpose of teaching it to others. We welcome teacher educators from all kinds of programs, including residencies and apprenticeships. There are no pre-requisites, though participants with some background in practice-based teacher education will be able to draw productively on their existing understanding.  

TeachingWorks reserves the right to cancel in-person, virtual, or hybrid training or workshops before the start. TeachingWorks staff will notify participants of cancellation via e-mail. Participants will be eligible for a full refund of their registration fee. TeachingWorks will not be held responsible for any expenses incurred due to the cancellation of an event, training, or workshop. 

For a full refund (100%), participants must submit a written request to cancel or withdraw 30 days prior to the first day of the event (in-person or virtual). Fifty percent (50%) will be refunded for requests received 15 days prior. No refunds will be issued for requests received within seven (7) business days of the first day of the event or failure to submit the required documentation required for participation.