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  • About Us 
    • Mission & Vision
    • Core Team
    • Careers
  • Our Work 
    • The PEN Approach
    • Our Theory of Change
    • PEN Teacher Roadmap
    • Hands-On Activities
    • Asynchronous Training
  • Projects 
    • Hands-On STEM Teacher Training
    • Exemplar Teacher Programme
    • GSTEP
    • Free manual distribution
  • Publications 
    • Annual Reports
    • Research
    • Blog
  • Support Us 
    • Become a PEN Pal
  • Contact Us
  • …  
    • Home
    • About Us 
      • Mission & Vision
      • Core Team
      • Careers
    • Our Work 
      • The PEN Approach
      • Our Theory of Change
      • PEN Teacher Roadmap
      • Hands-On Activities
      • Asynchronous Training
    • Projects 
      • Hands-On STEM Teacher Training
      • Exemplar Teacher Programme
      • GSTEP
      • Free manual distribution
    • Publications 
      • Annual Reports
      • Research
      • Blog
    • Support Us 
      • Become a PEN Pal
    • Contact Us
DONATE
  • Home
  • About Us 
    • Mission & Vision
    • Core Team
    • Careers
  • Our Work 
    • The PEN Approach
    • Our Theory of Change
    • PEN Teacher Roadmap
    • Hands-On Activities
    • Asynchronous Training
  • Projects 
    • Hands-On STEM Teacher Training
    • Exemplar Teacher Programme
    • GSTEP
    • Free manual distribution
  • Publications 
    • Annual Reports
    • Research
    • Blog
  • Support Us 
    • Become a PEN Pal
  • Contact Us
  • …  
    • Home
    • About Us 
      • Mission & Vision
      • Core Team
      • Careers
    • Our Work 
      • The PEN Approach
      • Our Theory of Change
      • PEN Teacher Roadmap
      • Hands-On Activities
      • Asynchronous Training
    • Projects 
      • Hands-On STEM Teacher Training
      • Exemplar Teacher Programme
      • GSTEP
      • Free manual distribution
    • Publications 
      • Annual Reports
      • Research
      • Blog
    • Support Us 
      • Become a PEN Pal
    • Contact Us
DONATE
  • About Us

    Practical Education Network (PEN) is a non-profit organisation that works with educational stakeholders to improve students learning outcomes by building teacher capacity. The teacher training program PEN provides is infused with MIT-style, learning-by-doing to enable hands-on Science and Mathematics lessons regardless of resource constraints.

     

    Hands-on, Minds-up!!!

    Our Vision

    An Africa sustainably transformed by generations of problem-solvers.

    Our Mission

    Enable every African child to learn by doing.

    Our Core Values

    Learning

    Integrity

    Generosity

    Humility

    Transparency

    The Problem

    "Around 250 million children are not learning basic skills, even though half of them have spent at least four years in school… Investing in teachers is key: in around a third of countries, less than 75% of primary school teachers are trained according to national standards."

    - UNESCO Global Monitoring Report 2013/14

     

    “Among grade 6 students in West and Central Africa in 2014, less than 45 percent reached the “sufficient” competency level for continuing studies in reading or mathematics—for example, the rest could not answer a math problem that required them to divide 130 by 26.”​

    - World Bank World Development Report 2018

    Our Solution

    We believe that if we train African STEM teachers in low-cost, practical pedagogies, then the STEM pipeline will be strengthened, because student attitudes and learning outcomes in science and mathematics will improve.

     

    Practical Education Network (PEN) improves learning outcomes by building teacher capacity. The teacher training program PEN provides is infused with MIT-style, learning-by-doing to enable hands-on science regardless of resource constraints. PEN offers a series of workshops where West African STEM teachers learn, design, and share hands-on activities which complement the national curriculum and are created from low-cost and locally available materials.

     

  • Learn about PEN's innovative cost-effective model

  • Media Stories

    Joy News interview with Kojo Yankson on the PEN Impact Research.

     

    PEN Teacher Roadmap: Odeefoo Oteng Korankye II stresses the importance of science education

  • BOARD OF DIRECTORS

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    Dr. Elsie Effah Kaufman

    Senior Lecturer,

    University of Ghana &

    NSMQ Quiz Mistress

    Dr Kaufmann is a strong advocate of STEM and leading voice and figure in STEM education in Ghana. She serves as the NSMQ Quiz Mistress and has led the growth of Biomedical Engineering in Ghana.

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    Dr. Gordon Adomdza

    Associate Professor,

    Ashesi University

    Dr Adomdza is an Associate Professor of Entrepreneurship at Ashesi University and has spearheaded a design thinking movement in Ghana. He leads PEN in testing business models and developing organizational growth strategies.

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    Dr. Heather Beem

    CEO & Founder

    Heather completed her PhD at MIT in Mechanical Engineering, where she co-founded MIT's D-Lab: Education class. She also teaches engineering at Ashesi University.

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    Saddik Mohammed

    District Science Coordinator, Weija-Gbawe District

    Saddik is the Chair of Curriculum for GAST, and he was previously awarded Best Science Teacher in Greater Accra Region. He brings a wealth of teacher training experience.

  • CORE TEAM

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    Heather Beem

    CEO & Founder

    Heather completed her PhD at MIT in Mechanical Engineering, where she co-founded MIT's D-Lab: Education class. She also teaches engineering at Ashesi University.

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    Joseph Quaye Amoo

    Operations Manager

    Quaye oversees the day to day running of PEN operations in STEM education. He is a passionate child and youth development activist.

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    Desmond Asamoah

    Partnerships & Resource Mobilisation Manager

    Desmond builds thriving collaborations with STEM stakeholders in Ghana and beyond. He holds an MA in Global Development and Social Justice from St. John’s University, New York.

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    Margaret Dzakpasu

    Finance & Admin. Manager

    Margaret holds an MBA in Finance from Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration (GIMPA), and a Bachelor's Degree in Education (B.Ed. Social Sciences) from University of Cape Coast. In the past, Margaret has had extensive experience working on USAID projects, from January 2003 to February 2018.

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    Fredrick Opoku

    Logistics Officer

    Fredrick manages PEN's logistics to ensure the smooth running of all operations. He is a Marine Science grad from University of Ghana.

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    Nancy Ewurum

    Communications & Marketing Officer

    Nancy brings PEN's work to life in the eyes of our stakeholders, communicating our work and impact widely.

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    Mawuena Asem Hanson

    Research, Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning Officer

    Mawuena monitors and evaluates all projects and interventions at PEN. Mawuena holds a masters degree in Global Health from Karolinska Institutet, Sweden and a BSc in Nutrition and Food Science from University of Ghana, Legon.

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    Settor Safo

    Multimedia Officer

    Settor is an experienced filmmaker with a demonstrated history of working in the television and advertising industry. With a background in Fine Arts in Film and Television production, he designs, creates and manages all multimedia assets at PEN in training, teaching and learning the PEN way.

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    Nana Araba Koomson

    Partnerships and Resource Mobilisation Officer

    Nana Araba handles partnerships and resources mobilization efforts at PEN. She holds an MSC in Marketing from London South Bank University.

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    Leonard Asare

    Curriculum and Training Officer

    Leonard holds an MPhil in Molecular Cell Biology and a BSc in Biochemistry, both from University of Ghana.
    He has had significant experience in teaching Science in the GES and Cambridge systems. Leonard is very enthusiastic about STEM education and research at all levels

Practical Education Network ©

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