At Riverview High School in Mesa, Arizona, teams of educators use technology to scale deeper and personalized learning for multi-age cohorts of students. Twenty minutes away, the 3rd-grade team at Stevenson Elementary School leverages inquiry learning approaches to ignite students’ curiosity and build their agency. Further south, a 10-person educator team at ASU Preparatory Academy–Polytechnic’s Spark Institute deepens and personalizes learning for 7th and 8th graders through problem-based approaches and collaborative learning structures.

Fifty years after graduating from ASU’s Mary Lou Fulton Teachers College, her time at the college is still fresh in Elizabeth Foyt’s mind. “I’m still in contact with my roommate — we both live in Las Vegas and meet up occasionally,” says Foyt, adding, “I really believe that my education at ASU is the foundation of my successful life.” 

Education systems in many countries struggle to provide enough teachers in the right places to meet growing demand and serve all learners. Often, the poorest, most disadvantaged areas have the least qualified, least supported teachers and larger class sizes. Emerging evidence suggests that supporting teachers and learners with a multidisciplinary, team-based approach can be an effective way to improve student learning and to foster inclusion.

Mary Lou Fulton Teachers College at Arizona State University was forced to move its annual Early Childhood Conference online this year due to COVID-19 restrictions. The result for the Feb. 20 conference was nearly double the attendance figure of 2020, and a substantial global representation among participants, including attendees from India, Mexico, Peru, Saudi Arabia, Argentina, Turkey, Thailand and Egypt.

Subscribe to