Train The Trainer

Learn the MindLeaps methodology and Help At-Risk Youth Around the World and in the USA

MindLeaps is an NGO working in East and West Africa, the Balkans, and the U.S.A. to empower vulnerable youth through a dance-based program. The program develops cognitive skills and improves social-emotional learning to help youth perform better in school and make positive life decisions. In 2022, MindLeaps has program operations in Rwanda, Guinea, Uganda, Mauritania, North Macedonia, and Brooklyn, New York.

MindLeaps instructors teach all MindLeaps curricula and follow a specific pedagogical approach to improve emotional well-being and child development. MindLeaps instructors also track and record changes in cognitive skills and social emotional learning through a software-based monitoring and evaluation system called Tracker. MindLeaps Train The Trainer program teaches you MindLeaps curricula and methodology enabling you to incorporate the lessons in your teaching.

 

What you will learn in the MindLeaps Train The Trainer program:

Our skilled instructors will guide you through a rigorous and focused series of daily classes. During the training you will: 

  • Learn and study the MindLeaps foundations curriculum, including physical movements, anatomical terms, and mental development objectives
  • Learn and practice the pedagogical approach used to work with at-risk children and youth with an emphasis on the contexts of post-conflict and developing countries
  • Intensively use Tracker, the data collection tablet and online software system demonstrating changes in learning skills, to inform teaching practices and decisions regarding child development
  • Interact with MindLeaps international instructors to share case studies of work with street children, at-risk youth, and refugees

As a result of completing the trainings you will:

  • Be able to use a movement-based curriculum to improve child development
  • Be able to assess the changes in cognitive and social emotional learning skills in students

 

Who is eligible to apply:

  • Dancers, athletes or people with extensive movement experience
  • English or French language proficiency
  • Full-time availability for the dates of training
  • Interest and passion for working with vulnerable youth

 

What you can expect:

  • Rigorous 6-8 hour days that combine intensive dance movement with classroom work
  • Interactive teaching with the expectation of active participation
  • Theoretical and practical classes including time dedicated to your application of concepts learned
  • A diverse environment and mixture of languages to facilitate the practice of cultural adjustments
  • Dedicated time to learning about the countries where MindLeaps works

MindLeaps pilot program with Children of Promise in Brooklyn, NY

“I have been teaching dance for 16 years, and the MindLeaps Train The Trainers program is by far the most rewarding thing I have ever done. You get to work with students dealing with some of the most difficult life situations, yet they come to class some of the happiest, hard-working people you will ever meet. It has been a humbling experience.”

Deanna Cormier
Attended 2019 Training
Dance Professor, St. Lawrence College

Applications for the June training will open in January

Upcoming Trainings
June 2023