S u m m e r 2 0 1 3
Teacher Exchange Program (TEX)
S u m m e r
2 0 1 3
Thank you for your interest in Invisible Children’s Teachers Exchange Program (TEX). In February 2007, Invisible Children launched the Schools for Schools (S4S) Program, which was created in an effort to contribute to the holistic rebuilding of secondary schools in northern Uganda. S4S not only works to construct and renovate school structures like classroom blocks and libraries, but also to improve learning environments - knowing that teachers and curriculum play a vital role in providing quality education. With this in mind, Invisible Children’s Teacher Exchange (TEX) program was created. The TEX examines teacher education, engages teachers in collaborative classroom explorations, facilitates cross-cultural dialogue and relationships, and develops strategies to engage a variety of learners, all through the lens of team teaching. This initiative is necessarily based on the time and efforts of volunteers from around the world.
Program Objectives: • To facilitate collaboration between international and Ugandan educators. • To generate critical thought as participants partner to explore the possibilities of student-centered education in unique contexts. • To enhance present educational models and create long - term learning opportunities that develop capacity for both teachers and students.
Program fee: This is a volunteer 6-week position, based in northern Uganda. Volunteers are responsible for fundraising on behalf of airfare (~$2,000) and their own $2,000 program cost, which includes: community housing, two meals per day (breakfast and dinner), all major ground transportation, white water rafting on the Nile River, and fees associated with the Teaching and Learning Conference in Gulu, Uganda. For questions, please contact: [email protected]
A P P L I CAT I O N R EQ U I R E M E N T S
:
In addition to submitting the online application, each applicant is required to answer the questions listed below. Answers should be no longer than three pages and should be submitted to: [email protected]. Until these answers are submitted, your application will be considered incomplete. 1. What are your expectations for traveling to an emerging nation, both personally and professionally? 2. What goals – both personal and professional - do you hope to accomplish by participating in this exchange? 3. Please describe any previous travel outside of your home country. Where did you go? Why did you go there? What did you draw from the experience? 4. Please describe any experience you have had working or interacting with someone from a different culture. What lessons did you learn?
PROGRAM TIMELINE:
THE SUMMER EXCHANGE TAKES PLACE OVER A PERIOD OF SIX WEEKS.
THESE WEEKS ARE BROKEN INTO TRAINING COMPONENTS: W e e K 1 / / T R A V E L & O R I E N T A T I O n : Initial travel to Uganda. Once in Gulu, educators will be immersed in exploration of the city and in workshops, led by the staff of Invisible Children. ORIENTATION WORKSHOPS WILL INCLUDE, BUT ARE NOT LIMITED TO:
1. 2. 3. 4. 5.
Cultural Exploration Invisible Children Uganda programs training Language Training Historical Foundations of the Ugandan School model History of Uganda and the LRA conflict
W e e k 2 // G E T T I N G S E T T L E D : The end of week one, and the beginning of second week of the initiative will involve a continuation of the workshop series and the initial introduction of school placements and, more importantly, team teachers. Typically one Ugandan teacher is paired with one international teacher that teaches within the same subject for the duration of the experience. The in-school experiences during this week will be focused on observation, relationship building (with teaching partners and students), and dialogue with the school community. All participating educators will have an opportunity to roundtable with one another at the end of this week, affording each school’s teachers the opportunity to ask questions of one another, cast vision for the remaining weeks, dialogue about specific needs/desires, and create a method of evaluation and documentation that will benefit all parties once the initiative has concluded.
W e e k s 3 - 6 // T e a m t e a c h i n g : The third week marks the continuation of the team-teaching that will be
manifest for the rest of the trip. Within this, teachers will work with one another and the student body on the given curriculum, exploring student-centered methodologies, while focusing on the material needed for the exams in August and November. Throughout the experience, educators will engage in support groups with one another. This collaboration enables teachers and administrators at different schools to brainstorm, develop strategies, relate work to the texts, create lessons together, and crystallize concepts, working toward holistic learning for both students and teachers. All participants will also attend Invisible Children’s seventh International Teaching and Learning Conference in Gulu, Uganda.
SUBJECTS: BELOW IS A LIST OF SUBJECTS INCLUDED IN THE TEACHER EXCHANGE:
GEOGRAPHY HISTORY RELIGIOUS STUDIES ENGLISH LITERATURE HOME ECONOMICS CHEMISTRY SOCIAL/ EMOTIONAL CURRICULUM
ART ECONOMICS FRENCH MATHEMATICS PHYSICS BIOLOGY HEALTH/FOOD AND NUTRITION
MUSIC AGRICULTURE WOODWORK/ METAL WORK PHYSICAL EDUCATION TECHNICAL DRAWING COMPUTER STUDIES COMMERCE/ BUSINESS/ ENTREPRENEURSHIP
“The Teacher Exchange is the hardest and the best thing that I have done in my life…It has shown me that the role
of a teacher is the same, regardless of where you are. It’s about touching lives and teaching and allowing students to learn, grow, go out in the world, and become productive members of society. And that’s as much the same in Gulu as it is in Las Vegas or any other part of the world.” Christina, Geography Teacher, TEX Summer 2011
“I worked on becoming a dynamic teacher by using examples that are relevant to my students, involving them in group work and trying as much as possible to do away with the chalk-and-talk method of teaching. This has made the learning process enjoyable for my students.” Richard, TEX Summer 2012 “We are all participating for the same purpose to grow as educators and to learn about a new
culture. I knew that I would get just as much out of the experience as my Ugandan co-teachers. I came back to the U.S. a better teacher, with more strategies and skills than when I arrived…Being a part of the program is a once in a lifetime opportunity for every teacher involved.” Pablo, World Studies Teacher, TEX Summer 2011
S u m m e r
2 0 1 3
Thank you for your interest in Invisible Children’s Teachers Exchange Program (TEX). In February 2007, Invisible Children launched the Schools for Schools (S4S) Program, which was created in an effort to contribute to the holistic rebuilding of secondary schools in northern Uganda. S4S not only works to construct and renovate school structures like classroom blocks and libraries, but also to improve learning environments - knowing that teachers and curriculum play a vital role in providing quality education. With this in mind, Invisible Children’s Teacher Exchange (TEX) program was created. The TEX examines teacher education, engages teachers in collaborative classroom explorations, facilitates cross-cultural dialogue and relationships, and develops strategies to engage a variety of learners, all through the lens of team teaching. This initiative is necessarily based on the time and efforts of volunteers from around the world.
Program Objectives: • To facilitate collaboration between international and Ugandan educators. • To generate critical thought as participants partner to explore the possibilities of student-centered education in unique contexts. • To enhance present educational models and create long - term learning opportunities that develop capacity for both teachers and students.
Program fee: This is a volunteer 6-week position, based in northern Uganda. Volunteers are responsible for fundraising on behalf of airfare (~$2,000) and their own $2,000 program cost, which includes: community housing, two meals per day (breakfast and dinner), all major ground transportation, white water rafting on the Nile River, and fees associated with the Teaching and Learning Conference in Gulu, Uganda. For questions, please contact: [email protected]
A P P L I CAT I O N R EQ U I R E M E N T S
:
In addition to submitting the online application, each applicant is required to answer the questions listed below. Answers should be no longer than three pages and should be submitted to: [email protected]. Until these answers are submitted, your application will be considered incomplete. 1. What are your expectations for traveling to an emerging nation, both personally and professionally? 2. What goals – both personal and professional - do you hope to accomplish by participating in this exchange? 3. Please describe any previous travel outside of your home country. Where did you go? Why did you go there? What did you draw from the experience? 4. Please describe any experience you have had working or interacting with someone from a different culture. What lessons did you learn?
PROGRAM TIMELINE:
THE SUMMER EXCHANGE TAKES PLACE OVER A PERIOD OF SIX WEEKS.
THESE WEEKS ARE BROKEN INTO TRAINING COMPONENTS: W e e K 1 / / T R A V E L & O R I E N T A T I O n : Initial travel to Uganda. Once in Gulu, educators will be immersed in exploration of the city and in workshops, led by the staff of Invisible Children. ORIENTATION WORKSHOPS WILL INCLUDE, BUT ARE NOT LIMITED TO:
1. 2. 3. 4. 5.
Cultural Exploration Invisible Children Uganda programs training Language Training Historical Foundations of the Ugandan School model History of Uganda and the LRA conflict
W e e k 2 // G E T T I N G S E T T L E D : The end of week one, and the beginning of second week of the initiative will involve a continuation of the workshop series and the initial introduction of school placements and, more importantly, team teachers. Typically one Ugandan teacher is paired with one international teacher that teaches within the same subject for the duration of the experience. The in-school experiences during this week will be focused on observation, relationship building (with teaching partners and students), and dialogue with the school community. All participating educators will have an opportunity to roundtable with one another at the end of this week, affording each school’s teachers the opportunity to ask questions of one another, cast vision for the remaining weeks, dialogue about specific needs/desires, and create a method of evaluation and documentation that will benefit all parties once the initiative has concluded.
W e e k s 3 - 6 // T e a m t e a c h i n g : The third week marks the continuation of the team-teaching that will be
manifest for the rest of the trip. Within this, teachers will work with one another and the student body on the given curriculum, exploring student-centered methodologies, while focusing on the material needed for the exams in August and November. Throughout the experience, educators will engage in support groups with one another. This collaboration enables teachers and administrators at different schools to brainstorm, develop strategies, relate work to the texts, create lessons together, and crystallize concepts, working toward holistic learning for both students and teachers. All participants will also attend Invisible Children’s seventh International Teaching and Learning Conference in Gulu, Uganda.
SUBJECTS: BELOW IS A LIST OF SUBJECTS INCLUDED IN THE TEACHER EXCHANGE:
GEOGRAPHY HISTORY RELIGIOUS STUDIES ENGLISH LITERATURE HOME ECONOMICS CHEMISTRY SOCIAL/ EMOTIONAL CURRICULUM
ART ECONOMICS FRENCH MATHEMATICS PHYSICS BIOLOGY HEALTH/FOOD AND NUTRITION
MUSIC AGRICULTURE WOODWORK/ METAL WORK PHYSICAL EDUCATION TECHNICAL DRAWING COMPUTER STUDIES COMMERCE/ BUSINESS/ ENTREPRENEURSHIP
“The Teacher Exchange is the hardest and the best thing that I have done in my life…It has shown me that the role
of a teacher is the same, regardless of where you are. It’s about touching lives and teaching and allowing students to learn, grow, go out in the world, and become productive members of society. And that’s as much the same in Gulu as it is in Las Vegas or any other part of the world.” Christina, Geography Teacher, TEX Summer 2011
“I worked on becoming a dynamic teacher by using examples that are relevant to my students, involving them in group work and trying as much as possible to do away with the chalk-and-talk method of teaching. This has made the learning process enjoyable for my students.” Richard, TEX Summer 2012 “We are all participating for the same purpose to grow as educators and to learn about a new
culture. I knew that I would get just as much out of the experience as my Ugandan co-teachers. I came back to the U.S. a better teacher, with more strategies and skills than when I arrived…Being a part of the program is a once in a lifetime opportunity for every teacher involved.” Pablo, World Studies Teacher, TEX Summer 2011
