2006 Study of the United States Institutes for Foreign Secondary Educators

Summer Institutes will be hosted by the Institute for Training and Development, Amherst, MA, and the University of Illinois at Chicago. Because of the great demand for these programs, embassies are invited to submit no more than one [1] nominee who, if selected, will be placed in one of the two programs.

U.S. Embassy Tallinn deadline for nomination is on Monday, January 16, 2006.

Institute description: The study of the United States institutes for foreign secondary school educators are each intended to provide 30 multinational participants with opportunities to broaden the cultural and historical base of the courses they design and teach by enriching their knowledge of U.S. society, culture, values and institutions, past and present. Both programs will offer a broad overview of the United States in the context of American studies and its constituent disciplines through an integrated series of lectures, readings, interactive discussions, site visits, independent study opportunities and faculty-assisted curriculum research. The ultimate purpose of the programs is to improve the quality of teaching and enhance the development of curricula about the U.S. in educational institutions and school systems abroad.

Program one: the Institute for Training and Development (ITD)

a. ITD is a private non-profit organization based in Amherst, MA.

b. Tentative program dates: 25 June to 6 August. These dates are not yet firm.

c. The institute will include a four week academic seminar residency segment on the campus of Amherst College in New England and a two week integrated study tour to the east coast, the southwest [Utah]and the south [Washington D.C. and Virginia].

d. This program will provide participants with a deeper understanding of U.S. society and culture, past and present. It will be organized around a central theme or themes in U.S. civilization, and will have a strong contemporary component. Through a combination of traditional, multi-disciplinary, and interdisciplinary approaches, program content will be imaginatively integrated in order to elucidate the history and evolution of U.S. institutions and values, broadly defined. It will illuminate contemporary political, social, and economic debates in American society.

e. The academic program will have two major components: the first will be the study of the subject matter. The second will be the acquisition, critical analysis and production of materials that will be used by participants in teaching about the United States and for developing a curriculum at the secondary education level that may be used abroad at their home institutions.

Program two: the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC)

a. UIC is an independent, co-educational institution with a student body of 25,000 (graduate and undergraduate), and is ranked among the top 40 research institutions in the United States.

b. Tentative dates: 17 June to 30 July. These dates are not yet firm.

c. This program will provide participants with a deeper Understanding of U.S. society and culture, past and Present. It will be organized around a central theme or themes in U.S. civilization, and will have a strong contemporary component. Through a combination of traditional, multi-disciplinary, and interdisciplinary approaches, program content will be imaginatively integrated in order to elucidate the history and evolution of U.S. institutions and values, broadly defined. It will illuminate contemporary political, social, and economic debates in American society.

Other essential program information:

A. Program funding:
The organizers at U.S. State Department will cover all institute costs, including: program administration, international travel and allowances; domestic travel and ground transportation; book, cultural, mailing and incidental allowances; admissions, housing and subsistence for all candidates chosen competitively.

B. Housing and meal arrangements:
Generally each participant will have a private room for the residency portion of the institute and may be asked to share a room with one other person on the study tour. Up to three people may be asked to share a bathroom in residency. Usually housing is in college or university owned housing. Most meals are usually provided at campus facilities. However, all final details will be provided once they are definite.

C. Health insurance:
All participants will receive the department of State's insurance coverage of DOLS 50,000 with DOLS 25 deductible. Pre-existing conditions are not covered.

D. Program requirements and restrictions:
Participants are expected to attend the entire program, with the exception of late arrival or early departure necessitated by flight scheduling difficulties. Participants are also expected to attend all institute working sessions and non-optional organized activities, and to complete assigned readings. Family members and/or friends may not accompany participants on any part of the program [no exceptions]. Please note that teaching methodology and pedagogical techniques will not be addressed formally as part of the institute programs. Candidates should be made aware that each institute is very intensive and that there will be little time for personal pursuits unrelated to the program. While the equivalent of one day per week will be set aside for mentored curricular research and/or independent study, the institute should not be viewed as a research program. It is important that these requirements and restrictions be made clear to all candidates before nominations are submitted.

Candidate description and qualifications:

A. Candidates should be highly-motivated and experienced educators. They must have an interest in and an ability to include content about U.S. society, culture and institutions in their teaching and curriculum development activities. The ideal candidate will be a teacher trainer, a curriculum developer, a textbook writer, a ministry of education official with responsibility for secondary education and secondary teachers whose professional objectives are to enhance courses about the United States at secondary schools and teacher training facilities in their respective countries.

B. The secondary programs are primarily designed for those with little to no recent experience in the United States. The ideal candidate will be an experienced professional with little recent prior study experience in the U.S., whose home institution is seeking to introduce aspects of U.S. studies into the curriculum and update existing courses on the United States. Please note that due to the large number of nominations received for these programs, classroom teachers who are nominated should have responsibilities for teacher training and/or curriculum development beyond their immediate classroom in order to be competitive.

C. Candidates should be willing and able to fully take part in an intensive post-graduate level academic program and study tour. While more senior educators certainly are eligible, organizers encourage posts and commissions to give first consideration to younger, mid-career educators, and to persons who are likely to be comfortable with campus life (including campus-style accommodations) and an active program schedule.

Selection criteria

The following criteria will be used in selecting participants from among the nominations.
A. Current position:
As discussed above, candidates should be active teacher-trainers, textbook writers, curriculum developers, or Education Ministry officials who have, or may soon assume, responsibility for teaching and curriculum development in U.S. studies areas. Please note, as stated above, classroom teachers who are nominated should have responsibilities for teacher training and/or curriculum development beyond their immediate classroom in order to be competitive.

B. Justification by host institution/embassy:
Is the nominee a leader within his or her field who is in a unique position to have a significant and immediate impact on curricular development, or is the nominee a younger faculty member with exceptional promise whose participation is likely to result in a substantial benefit to their home institution in the longer run? Some brief background on the institution he or she represents, including [e.g.] student population served, place and standing within the overall education system, etc. should be included in the nomination.

In case of ministry officials one might ask: how will attending this institute relate to this candidate's specific professional responsibilities? How would the candidate's participation benefit the larger organization for which he/she works? Does the candidate's participation promise to help improve bilateral relations with the u.s. or pay dividends in other respects, and if so how?

In short, whether the nominee is a teacher trainer, a curriculum developer a text book writer or an official from an Education Ministry, the key question to be answered is "why does the nomination matter?"

The justification statement need not be especially elaborate or lengthy, however it should fully address these and other relevant issues.

C. Candidate's statement:
In order to get a better sense of potential grantees' motivations and goals, each candidate provide a short personal statement (between 1-3 typed pages, no more) indicating why he or she is interested in participating in the program and what he or she would hope to get out of the experience.

D. English language ability:
As the institutes are rigorous and demanding programs conducted in English, it is imperative that all candidates demonstrate English language fluency. Grantees will be expected to handle substantial reading assignments (25 to 50 pages per night common) and to be full and active participants in all seminar and panel discussions. English fluency is vital to a successful experience in the institute, both for your participants and for grantees from other countries. Nominating embassies are requested to furnish TOEFL or other test scores, where available, or to provide other assurances (e.g., based on personal interviews) that their nominees have the requisite English-language skills to take part successfully in the subject program.

E. Priority considerations:
Priority will be given to candidates who have firm plans to enhance, update or develop courses and/or educational materials with a U.S. studies focus or component; who have limited recent firsthand academic experience in the U.S.; and who have a special interest in the program subject areas as demonstrated through past teaching, accomplishments and professional duties.


Nomination form

Personal information

A. Nominee's full name as it appears on his/her passport.
Please be certain to clearly indicate which is the first, which is the middle and which the family [sur]name. Family [sur]name should be in quotation marks;

B. Date of birth [month/day/year];

C. City of birth;

D. Country of birth;

E. Country of residence;

F. Country of citizenship;

G. Home address, telephone and e-mail;

H. Gender;

I. Medical, physical, dietary or other personal
Considerations [please note: no physical examination is required to participate in this program];

Professional information

J. Current position and title;
K. Current institutional affiliation and complete address;
L. Work experience, including previous positions and titles;
M. Education, academic and professional training including degrees earned and fields of specialization;
N. Active professional memberships;
O. Short, repeat short list of relevant publications [no more than five-ten citations];
P. Previous travel and study or research experience in the U.S., including dates and an indication as to whether such travel was supported by U.S. government funds;
Q. Evidence of fluency in written and oral English [e.g., test score, personal interview, etc.];
R. Home institution's justification for participation of the candidate in subject summer institute [per para 9-b above]:

(1) current or projected extent of the U.S. studies content of the course[s] and materials being taught or developed by the candidate;

(2) likely relevance of the program to the professional responsibilities of the candidate;

(3) the potential impact of the candidate's participation on the development of the study of the U.S. at his/her home institution [in terms of enhanced teaching and curricula, etc.]; and,

(4) U.S.Embassy Tallinn will add the following: the relevance of the candidate's participation in the institute to post's long-term U.S. studies goals.

S. Short personal statement [no more than 3 double-spaced [pages] by candidate indicating why he or she is interested in participating and what he/she expects to get out of the program.

T. U.S. Embassy will add: Name, telephone, fax number and e-mail address of post action officer.