The Classrooms for Change Online Professional Development Course was for teachers who wanted support in helping the adolescents in their classrooms to think critically about history, understand the impact of their choices today and choose to become Upstanders in the face of injustice.

Using Facing History and Ourselves curriculum-aligned case studies, as well as learning from the Bertha Centre’s Becoming a Changemaker programme, teachers were introduced to engaging classroom content and teaching methodologies that supported deep learning and courageous conversations around issues of race, belonging, gender and power. Through their respective work as educators, facilitators, researchers and storytellers, the Facilitation Team brought years of experience in supporting and developing teachers and young Changemakers.

August 2021 saw over 100 educators participate in the first Classrooms for Change online course. As a facilitation team we were delighted as the first iteration of this course was set to take place in 2020! It was delayed twice in favour of running it in person, but when it became apparent that the global pandemic restrictions would be sustained and unpredictable, the mode of delivery was reviewed; the curriculum was reworked to maximise engagement and a series of engagements around the best use of technology were had to ensure that the course offering honoured the time commitment of teachers in an already-demanding season. The beauty of transitioning online was that the teachers learning together were from South Africa, Nigeria, India and Mexico. Classrooms can be catalysts for positive change as young people reflect on the world, words and themselves to construct their identity, understand consequences and develop agency. This course provided methodologies for teachers to have the courageous conversations needed when moving through the curriculum, and in response to current affairs.

Read the Learning Brief here.

What did the participants say?

“It was great attending a workshop where I wasn’t being talked at for hours, but allowed to form part of the learning process”

“Really opening up perspectives on some difficult topics and offering great tools and modelling how to deal with and teach these topics.”

“Inspirational - from the content to the facilitation, to the interweaving of stories, practical tools, poetry, journalism, personal testimony and learning from others.”