Lessons Learned from the International Leaders in Education Program (ILEP) at Saint Rose

1. Lessons Learned from the International Leaders in Education Program (ILEP) at Saint Rose Provisions Presentation Tuesday, October 15, 2013 Aja LaDuke, Teacher Education

2. What is ILEP? • Semester-long program sponsored by the U.S. Department of State and the IREX organization • 4 or 5 colleges and universities around the country host 14 to 16 secondary level teachers (of ESOL, Math, Science or Social Studies) from around the world • After arriving at their respective schools, Fellows will: • Participate in a customized academic seminar in which they complete a professional development module to use for training teacher colleagues at their home school • Participate in a weekly technology workshop course • Take two graduate courses in their discipline or other areas of interest on an audit basis • Complete 90 hours of field experience in a local secondary school • Participate in trips and various social and cultural events on campus and in the community

3. Planning the Seminar • Though aware of the customized nature of the course, we set out to prepare our syllabus in advance of the Fellows’ arrival, to meet IREX’s requirements as well as for ourselves as instructors. • Where we started : • Fellows’ language proficiency • IREX recommendations to be prepared for language proficiency variation among the Fellows • Our knowledge that the countries represented incorporate English into their schooling systems, at very least as a language choice for students - so some could have high levels of language and academic literacy in English , but not necessarily all • Later learned that our group was entirely English teachers

4. Planning the Seminar (cont.) • Content • Encouragement from IREX to balance theoretical and practical • Likened seminar to our graduate Curriculum and Instruction course work (lesson planning, unit planning, the use of lesson objectives and standards, etc.) • Focused more on pedagogy and instruction than the broader scope of schooling system in the U.S. • Technology • IREX reminders and our own acknowledgement of the differences in access to technology devices and programming in the various countries represented • Incorporated seminar course meetings to include a full overview of the Blackboard system, how to use the Hellman Library website as needed to work on their modules, etc. and review as necessary

5. Teaching the Seminar • Where we ended up: • Fellows’ language proficiency • Well-prepared in English language and literacy as needed to participate in graduate level work • Did not need as much support as expected, though would occasionally ask about a vocabulary word or the use of an American expression in a research article or book chapter • Craved more information about cultural norms in U.S. regarding conversations / “small talk” • For example: One Fellow learned the hard way that it is not O.K. to ask someone who they voted for

6. Teaching the Seminar (cont.) • Where we ended up: • Content • Fellows were beyond the level of planning lessons and choosing objectives and/or let us know that because of the structure of curriculum creation in their home country or region that it was not as useful to the Fellows as we may have thought • Needed to address these contextual differences (Terri’s presentation will build on this idea) • More interest in larger systemic differences between U.S. schools and those in their countries • Less interest in differences in instruction • More interest in empowering students, social / emotional learning, etc. • More interest in systemic issues that explained what they saw in field (race and socioeconomic class in U.S., etc.) • Technology • Less time needed for going over and reviewing technology like Blackboard, etc. • Adept in using it to find articles and conduct research • More interested in its use for motivating and engaging students • With many iterations of the syllabus!

7. Summing Up • The Fellows’ Final Module Titles: • Though all incorporated instruction, also had strong “big picture” frames • USING MULTIMEDIA FOR EFFECTIVE TEACHING AND LEARNING • MOTIVATING AND DEMOCRATIZING THE COMTEMPORARY CLASSROOM • INTEGRATING CHARACTER BUILDING INTO EDUCATION • Though ILEP is a unique program designed for adult professionals with teaching experience, some of the lessons learned can apply more generally.

8. Thoughts inspired by the ILEP Fellows or from the Fellows themselves • Remembering what we already know as educators – students can surprise us • They can be more prepared than we expect • They may have different needs or interests than those we initially anticipate, either as a group or individually • Continue to think about how we are making Saint Rose more internationalized through the work that we do with our domestic students academically and socially (Father Chris and Sister Sean will build on this also) • One Fellow from a large metropolitan city in Brazil asked about electricity • More opportunities for international students to interact with students, many Fellows felt that they built strong relationships with faculty, staff, and administrators but fewer with their fellow students • Current programs – Study Tours and Service Travel, International Orientation Leaders, initiatives in residence halls, etc. • For ILEP next semester - Friendship Families AND Peer Partners

9. Thank You!