September22, 2009

Purdue, Lafayette schools to host visiting teachers from 10 countries

Purdue's College of Education is one of four U.S. universities serving as hosts for TEA, a teacher-training program sponsored by the State Department's Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs.

The teachers coming to Purdue are from Argentina, Bangladesh, Colombia, Ghana, Haiti, India, Kazakhstan, Nicaragua, Ukraine and Uzbekistan.

The program includes a two-week internship at a local middle or high school. Participating schools are Jefferson High School and Tecumseh Junior High School in the Lafayette School Corp., and McCutcheon High School and Wea Ridge Middle School in the Tippecanoe School Corp.

The program, which also includes a customized group seminar in education, aims to:

* Broaden the visiting teachers' skills in teaching English as a foreign/second language and social studies;

* Introduce best practices in teaching methodologies, lesson planning and the use of technology in teaching;

* Increase the teachers' knowledge of the United States;

* Develop productive relationships and mutual understanding between American and international teachers and their students;

* Prepare participants to serve as teacher leaders, who are willing to apply and share their experience and skills with their peers and students.

 “The visiting teachers will leave here with ideas and methods they can share with fellow teachers on topics such as curriculum development, lesson planning, assessment and classroom management,” said Anatoli Rapoport, assistant professor of social studies education and organizer of the Purdue TEA program.

U.S. teachers will participate in reciprocal visits to TEA alumni schools overseas.

The College of Education also will host an end-of-program conference for all the TEA visiting teachers Nov. 5-8. Also participating in the program are George Mason University, University of North Dakota and University of Nebraska-Lincoln.

More information on the TEA program is available at www.irex.org/programs/tea/index.asp

Writer: Judith Barra Austin, 765-494-2432, jbaustin@purdue.edu  

Source: Anatoli Rapoport, 765-496-3029, rapoport@purdue.edu  

Purdue News Service: (765) 494-2096; purduenews@purdue.edu

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