“Teaching the world”

A Geography Teacher Summer Institute

Summer 2008

A program presented by the SEMGEC (Southeast Massachusetts Global Center)

 TENTATIVE PROGRAM

10 days:  Wednesday June 25 – July 10th 2008 

A 10-day intensive professional development program for teachers:

To be held at Bridgewater State College, daily 9:00am-3:00pm

                       Wed 25, Thu 26, Fri 27

                       Mon 30, Tue 1, Wed 2,

                       Mon 7, Tue 8, Wed 9, Thu 10

20 teachers ;  $200 stipends per teacher

3 graduate credits  through Bridgewater State College

               GEOG.580: The regional approach in geographic analysis.

Institute goals:

The primary goal of this institute is to train a corps of teachers who then possess both the content knowledge of the many world’s regions and the teaching skills that will enable them to introduce new and creative teaching approaches in their own classrooms, and who also have the confidence and the necessary training required to present these ideas to other teachers within their school systems. Twenty selected teachers will receive an  intensive immersion into applied global education so that they can develop materials and insights to better teach about our inter-connected and changing world.

An especially important outcome of this program will be the creation of a group of skilled geography Teacher Consultants (T.C.s) whose task is then to create multiplier effects by training other teachers in the methods of geographic and global education.

Theme: The regionalism and global integration in the classroom  

            The Massachusetts state curriculum framework for social studies has as one of its goals the development of a student awareness of our diverse world and especially of the ways in which the United States is connected to other parts of the world. It is essential that we know our national and international contexts and the many social, cultural, and economic processes that created it so that we are better prepared for the changes and fluxes that society faces everyday.

            The purpose of this proposed summer institute is to extend and deepen our understanding of places and their connections so that teachers can more fully appreciate the diverse landscapes of our world and develop strategies to enhance their teaching about our planet. 

Participant requirements:

• Attend all sessions and contribute to discussions
• Submit three original lesson plans
• Complete all assignments
• Each teacher participant will present their lesson plans at teacher workshops during the following school year
• All participants will be eligible for selection in the post-institute evaluation process and they will make their students available for assessment.

Project content

The ten-day institute will focus on the most current methods in global education, using simulations, case studies, and directed reading and it will provide participants with the models of best practices in global education so that they can be motivated to produce at an exceptionally high level.

Participants will us the GIS lab at Bridgewater State College in order to develop a fluency in using GIS in their teaching. This will involve both ArcView 9.2 and ArcWeb.

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