GLOBAL EDUCATION PROJECTS
The mission of the Mary Lou Fulton Teachers College is "to set a new standard for teaching, discovery and innovation," and our Center for Global Education (CGE) makes explicit this dedication to extending that work to a global audience. In so doing, the Teachers College is contributing to a key design feature of Arizona State University by scaling research and teaching initiatives for global impact, fostering international experiences, and building diverse partnerships.
The Center for Global Education cooperates with educational institutions at all levels (from basic to postsecondary education), and in both public and private sectors from countries across the world to develop impactful education interventions and to design effective, context-appropriate academic and professional development programs. These global partnerships are beneficial to the Teachers College, engaging faculty in a community of international scholars and providing students with firsthand, powerful experiences to foster their own global engagement.
The India Support for Teacher Education Program is a $4.3 million project funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) to engage 110 teacher educators from India in an innovative process of professional development.
I N DIA SU PPORT FOR TEACH E R E DUCATION PROG RAM The India Support for Teacher Education Program (In-STEP) is engaging 110 teacher educators from India in an inspiring process of professional development at Mary Lou Fulton Teachers College. Two cohorts of 55 participants each spend a three-month residency at ASU’s Tempe campus. Their experience includes intense study, mentored teaching and leadership development, engagement in research life at Teachers College, and immersion in ASU classrooms and Arizona’s diverse K-12 schools. Throughout the experience, participating teacher educators reflect on humane themes of gender equity, inclusion, constructivist instructional theory, and an inquiring and reflective perspective on one’s own teaching.
THE PROJECT AIMS FOR TWO PRIMARY OUTCOMES:
1. The Indian teacher educators will internalize and apply the practices and methodologies learned at ASU in their home institutions, where they will be adapted to Indian contexts and used to enhance the capabilities of India’s current and future teachers.
2. Through documentation of the project, India’s Ministry of Human Resource Development will acquire a model for enhancing the capacity of teacher educators that India can adapt and adopt as a means to transforming the nation’s schools.
The project is funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and administered in cooperation with India’s Ministry of Human Resource Development.
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MARY LOU FULTON TEACHERS COLLEGE
education.asu.edu I NTE R NATIONAL LEADE R S I N E DUCATION PROG RAM The International Leaders in Education Program (ILEP) brings outstanding secondary school teachers from around the globe to Mary Lou Fulton Teachers College to further develop expertise in their subject areas, enhance their teaching skills, and increase their knowledge about the United States. ILEP teachers participate in an academic program that includes coursework and intensive training in teaching methodologies, curriculum development, and the use of technology for education. The program also includes subject-specific strategies for teachers in the disciplines of math, science, social studies/civics, and English as a foreign or second language. The program is a full semester in duration (five months) and includes a field experience at a U.S. secondary school to actively immerse participants in the American classroom environment.
THE PROJECT HAS TWO PRIMARY GOALS:
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Provide in-service professional development to enhance teachers’ expertise in their teaching disciplines, and equip them with a deeper understanding of best practices in teaching methodologies, lesson planning, and the use of technology in education.
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Improve teaching in participating countries by preparing participants to serve as teacher leaders, equipped to apply and share their experience and skills with their colleagues and students upon returning home.
The International Leaders in Education Program is sponsored by the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs.
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N EXT G E N E RATION E DUCATION LEADE R SH I P PROJ ECT One of the greatest needs identified by the Ministry of Education and Higher Education in Palestine is the training of future leaders. Arizona State University’s Next Generation Education Leadership Program meets this challenge in a powerful way, by engaging practicing educator-leaders from a range of settings who want to transform and better their practice. The program will teach education leaders how to enhance learning opportunities for students of all ages in Palestine, and will thereby create a network of leaders capable of effecting change throughout the educational system. The project is fully aligned with the ministry’s five-year developmental plan and Palestine Teacher Education Strategy.
THE ONE-SEMESTER PROGRAM AT ASU INCLUDES THREE COMPONENTS: •
Education Leadership Seminars: Conducted by a “dream team” of leading scholars and practitioners from ASU, these seminars will provide exposure to and interaction with cutting-edge educational models, complementing and advancing action around the Palestine Teacher Education Strategy. The seminars will be adapted from existing Mary Lou Fulton Teachers College programs prepared for top educational leaders in the United States.
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Leader-Scholar Communities (LSC): Participating education leaders will receive training in the successful use of professional learning communities. Consisting of five to seven program participants and two faculty members, these groups will meet regularly during the session at ASU and via distance technologies after the course ends. Through LSCs, participants will support one another, under faculty guidance, in conceptualizing, implementing and studying change initiatives.
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Online Leadership and Action Portal: This virtual community tool will facilitate both seminar and projectfocused activities, at ASU and in Palestine.
The program aims to enable more thoughtful, intentional and informed leaders, willing and able to implement and study continuous improvement.
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MARY LOU FULTON TEACHERS COLLEGE
education.asu.edu STE M VIA SOLAR: I NTE RACTIVE SCI E NCE E DUCATION AN D SOLAR E N E RGY Perhaps no university in the world has greater capacity in both solar energy and science education than Arizona State University. ASU is working to address infrastructure and educational needs in Palestine in a single project, STEM via Solar: Interactive Science Education and Solar Energy. In the educational component of the project, ASU is developing a Palestinian-adapted interactive science curriculum that leverages solar systems installed in schools. Through exploring the systems that power their own schools, students will engage with scientific concepts of renewable energy, photovoltaics and energy efficiency. Curricula and materials cover renewable energy and electricity generation, efficiency, conservation, climate change, and environmental impacts of traditional energy sources. The project is also preparing hands-on activity guides, science kits, and demonstration solar electric systems. The handson, interactive teaching methods modeled in the renewable energy curriculum will encourage students to see themselves as scientists and engineers, actively involved in their own education, and will help their teachers to create an inquiry-based environment in the classroom. Finally, STEM via Solar will educate students, teachers and community members about the science and benefits of renewable energy technology, while providing electricity through solar installations to run school and community infrastructure.
PROJECT COMPONENTS INCLUDE: •
Clean Energy Interactive Curriculum Development: Create curricula and educational materials that encompass subjects ranging from renewable energy and electricity generation to efficiency, conservation, climate change and the environmental impact of traditional energy sources. Hands-on activity guides, science kits and demonstration solar electric systems will accompany the curriculum.
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In-service and Professional Development Teacher Training: Design and implement workshops for educators to introduce concepts of inquiry-based classrooms and interactive science curricula, with easyto-implement activity guides, science kits, lesson plans and project ideas, student handouts, and PowerPoint presentations.
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Community Outreach Platform: Develop and implement in schools and communities an awareness campaign about the benefits of renewable energy and energy efficiency applications, educating the new generation to lead progress toward more sustainable ways to produce and consume energy.
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Technical Training and Capacity Module: Develop a curriculum to support the knowledge and capacity of school and community infrastructure managers to maintain and operate solar and renewable energy technologies and components.
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SOUTH SU DAN E DUCATION FE LLOWS PROG RAM The South Sudan Education Fellows Program works to strengthen teacher pedagogy and advance student achievement in South Sudan. Teachers from South Sudan participate in a rigorous one-semester program of teacher preparation, and engage in in-service professional development explicitly connected to classroom practices that advance interactive learning strategies. This project also involves a partnership with ASU Online in the development of distance learning modules. The modules will continue to support the teachers’ professional development upon their return to South Sudan, and will support the professional development of an even larger cohort of teachers in the area.
FACU LTY PROJ ECTS A range of Mary Lou Fulton Teachers College faculty members are engaged in projects to advance Arizona State University’s global reach. These projects include:
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Special education in China
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Early childhood education in Turkey
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Sustainability education in Costa Rica
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Higher education in the Philippines
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Global teacher training
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