Many young people in the Republic of Georgia graduate from secondary school without the science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) skills that employers demand in the 21st century economy.

The Training Educators for Excellence (TEE) Activity improves student skills and knowledge in STEM and English by preparing more than 14,000 teachers and school administrators to use teaching and school management practices that improve student learning.

• Training Educators for Excellence has reached more than 14,000 teachers and 2,000 principals with high-quality professional development training.
• In the first two years, teacher professional learning communities met more than 15,000 times to reflect and improve on use of student-centered methods for improved learning outcomes.
• The activity is providing the first educator training offered by the Georgian government in minority languages of Azerbaijani and Armenian.
• Qualitative research indicates that improved lesson plans, increased collaboration among teachers, and improved feedback mechanisms between administrators and teachers are the most significant school-level changes resulting from the activity.

• Equip students with the skills and knowledge in STEM to pursue higher education and high-skilled jobs.
• Prepare teachers and school administrators to use effective teaching and school management practices.
• Inspire young women to enter STEM fields by preparing educators to use teaching methods that are free of stereotypes and bias.

• Continuous professional development for secondary teachers: A two-year continuous professional development training cycle supports educators in gaining effective teaching strategies specific to the subject they teach. Post-training application exercises and subject-specific study group sessions reinforce lessons learned.
• Intensive training and support for school administrators: Principals and teachers build skills in effective school administration.  Quarterly meetings further encourage collaboration and reflective practice among school leaders.
• Lab use and safety training: The activity trains physics, chemistry, and biology teachers to safely lead science lessons using modern teaching methods. Teachers use inquiry-based learning, a student-centered teaching approach aimed at sparking curiosity.

TEE is funded by the Millennium Challenge Account – Georgia and is implemented by the Republic of Georgia’s Ministry of Education and Science through the National Center for Teacher Professional Development (TPDC) with technical support from IREX.