Francesca Forzani

Francesca Forzani is the Deputy Director of TeachingWorks, an initiative within the University of Michigan's School of Education. She has led efforts to redesign teacher education programs and study reforms in educator training over the past seven years. Her research emphasizes identifying essential instructional practices for new teachers and implementing practice-focused reforms in teacher education.

Education:

• BA in English, Smith College
• Master's in Public Policy, University of Michigan
• PhD in Education Policy, University of Michigan

Research Focus: Forzani explores the development of a shared language for analyzing and teaching instructional practice, as well as resources to enhance practice-based teacher training. She has worked with Teach for America and Teach First to design teacher training programs.

Grants & Projects:

• Curriculum Literacy Assessment Pilot for Texas Teacher Candidates (2023–2025)
• Supporting Teachers During/Post-Pandemic (2020–2022)
• Teacher Educator Certification in California (2020–2022)
• Minnesota Teacher Education Fellowship (2018–2023)

Labs/Teams: Central to her work is TeachingWorks, which addresses core teaching practices and pathways for learning and implementing them.