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The Teaching Specialization Program (Programa de Especialização Docente – PED Brasil) is a lato sensu postgraduate course in teaching mathematics or natural sciences (STEM) for elementary, middle and high school teachers. The program is an initiative of the Lemann Center for Educational Entrepreneurship and Innovation in Brazil. The Stanford University Graduate School of Education houses the Lemann Center, and the program is developed in partnership with Instituto Canoa, a Brazilian not-for-profit organization located in São Paulo. The program is offered by higher education institutions in partnership with departments of education in cities and states throughout Brazil.
THE PROGRAM
PED Brasil is a professional development program for school teachers working in elementary, middle and high school classrooms. It is the result of an intense collaboration between Brazilian higher education institutions and international research centers. Currently, it comprises a network of 27 universities across 20 Brazilian states.
CURRICULUM
The PED Brasil curriculum is composed of two highly integrated and connected dimensions: academic and clinical. These dimensions are articulated over ten courses and a mentoring program.
PED NETWORK
The PED Network is a community of instructors from higher education institutions certified to offer PED Brasil. This community collaboratively deepens PED implementation via a structure of network committees.
PROGRAM
NUMBERS
More than 500,000 students in Brazil have already benefited from innovative practices in the teaching of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, adopted by more than 800 teachers who have already graduated or are attending PED Brasil in many states. These educators had access to the program thanks to a partnership with an ever-expanding network of Brazilian universities. The PED Network currently boasts more than 500 faculty from 27 public and private institutions located in 20 states across the country.
Report for 2020
News on the implementation of PED
Launch of PED at Vale do Acaraú State University
On June 19th, Vale do Acaraú State University (UVA) launched 2 new cohorts of its Specialization programs in Teaching and Education in Mathematics and Sciences in Sobral, Ceará.
The programs are offered to teachers of Mathematics and Natural Sciences in partnership with three municipalities: Santana do Acaraú/CE, Massapê/CE, and Sobral/CE.
The initiative also receives financial support from the Ceará Foundation for the Support of Scientific and Technological Development (FUNCAP).
1st Training Week of the 2024 PED Brasil Cohort
The 1st Training Week for the 2024 PED Brasil cohort took place in São Paulo/SP from June 9th to 15th, bringing together over 70 faculty members from 14 Higher Education Institutions that are part of the PED Network.
The event also marked the entry of four new universities into the network: State University of Pará, State University of Rio Grande do Norte, Federal University of Campina Grande, and Federal University of Roraima.
The training agenda featured sessions on key topics for the program’s curriculum, including the structure of PED, classroom management and organization, building equitable classrooms, assessment for equity, the importance and practice of identifying students’ strengths, and educational mentoring. There were also focused discussions on teaching mathematics and sciences in equitable classrooms.
Additionally, the in-person event included the participation of five international guests: Rachel Lotan (Stanford University), Lisa Jilk (director of a teacher training program in collaboration with U.S. school districts), Pia Wong (Sacramento State University), Tatiana Hochgreb-Haegele (Stanford University), and Fernando Carnaúba (Stanford University).
Beginning of PED at UNA
On May 11th, UNA (part of the Ânima group) began a new PED cohort for 30 Mathematics teachers in the city of Contagem/MG.
The program is taking place at UNA campus and is offered in partnership with the Brazilian Sustainable Development Bank (BNDES), the Instituto Sonho Grande, and the Minas Gerais State Department of Education.
Beginning of PED at UFRJ
On April 6, the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ) began offering the first class of PED Brasil to Science teachers.
The program is taking place on UFRJ campus, on Saturdays, and includes teachers from Elementary and Middle School.
Beginning of PED at SESI-SP School of Educacion
On March 23, the SESI-SP School of Education began offering a new PED class.
This is the third PED class offered by the institution, which already had teachers who graduated from the program in 2017 and 2019.
The program is taking place in the city of São Paulo and has 40 mathematics teachers enrolled, 30 from the SESI network itself and 10 from public schools.
Third Training Week- PED 2023
Between March 10th and 16h, we hosted the third and final training week for the PED Brasil cohort of 2023. This training program was attended by more than 90 faculty members from 14 higher education institutions that are part of the PED Network.
The agenda for the training included sessions that discussed: assessment for equity, teaching science and mathematics in equitable classrooms, portfolio construction, education and democracy, group work in heterogeneous classrooms, the racism in the classroom, mentoring, skill builders for cooperation and institutional action plans.
This cohort is now integrated into the PED Network and will go on to offer the specialization program in their respective institutions and cities.
Federal University of Western Pará (UFOPA)
In 2023, we celebrated the entry of a new higher education institution into the PED Network: the Federal University of Western Pará (UFOPA), located in Santarém/PA.
UFOPA’s entry into the PED Network marks the expansion of the program in the North region of the country, which already has the participation of the Federal University of Amazonas (UFAM).
With the support of the Brazilian Sustainable Development Bank (BNDES), UFOPA intends to offer PED for Science and Mathematics teachers in the coming years.
