iSTEP

About the iSTEP Institute

Every year since 2010, the iSTEP Institute and Stanford University have welcomed teams of teacher educators based in universities and in K-12 schools from all over the world.

The primary purpose of the iSTEP Institute is to bring together these teams so that:

• They have the time, focus, and resources to share their understanding of the principles of consequential teacher education based on their personal experience and their own group discussions, the readings and resources provided, and discussions with Stanford University faculty.
• They have the opportunity to closely examine a robust program.
• They may plan enhancements for their own programs in the company of colleagues.

“The connections [between the content of the Institute and our institutional responsibilities] are direct. The ideas, principles and some of the tools will travel well–they already have. iSTEP gave us such a cross-cutting view of the STEP work that we simply have to claim the connections as we move forward.”
- Participant from South Africa

During the weeklong Institute, participants explore how the underlying principles of powerful teacher education are instantiated in the context of the program at Stanford University. In a very full, interesting and challenging week, these educators are involved in discussions with some of Stanford’s top faculty, engage with teacher candidates, tour K-12 schools to meet cooperating teachers and administrators, and learn from an experienced and helpful STEP staff. The Institute culminates with participating teams designing action plans that apply some of STEP’s principles to their local contexts. These action plans include timelines and accountability references to be shared with all participants on the final day of the Institute.  Apply to iSTEP here (if there is no live link here that means that the year's application process has not begun).  For more information about iSTEP, please contact: Dr. Laura Hill-Bonnet.