This is to solicit candidate nominations for summer 2020 Study of the U.S. Institutes for Secondary Educators.
Applications must be sent to Gibrielma@state.gov with “SUSI Secondary School Educators (Administrator OR Teacher)” and your name in the subject line, no later than January 5, 2020. Applications may be found here.
PROGRAM OVERVIEW:
The Study of the U.S. Institutes (SUSI) for Secondary Educators are intensive post-graduate level academic programs with integrated study tours whose purpose is to provide foreign secondary school educators and administrators the opportunity to deepen their understanding of U.S. society, culture, values, and institutions. The ultimate goal of the Institutes is to strengthen curricula and to enhance the quality of teaching about the United States in secondary schools and other academic institutions abroad. Prospective applicants are encouraged to visit the website page to obtain general information about the Institutes. The address is: http://exchanges.state.gov/susi.
The SUSIs for Secondary Educators will take place over the course of five weeks beginning in late May/early June 2020. One Institute for Secondary Educators will focus on classroom teachers and another one will focus on administrators including teacher trainers, curriculum developers, textbook writers, and ministry of education officials, among others. Each Institute will include a four-week academic residency component and a one-week integrated study tour.
PROGRAM DESCRIPTION:
The Study of the U.S. Institutes for Secondary Educators will provide experienced secondary school educators (including teachers, administrators, teacher trainers, curriculum developers, textbook writers, ministry of education officials, and others) with a deeper understanding of U.S. society, education, and culture – past and present. The focus of the Institutes will be on providing content and materials for participants to develop high school level curricula about the United States.
Study of the U.S. Institutes for Secondary Educators is of two Institutes:
- One Institute is tailored for secondary school teachers; which focuses on content and materials about the United States rather than teaching methods and pedagogy.
- The second Institute is tailored for experienced administrators including teacher trainers, curriculum developers, textbook writers, ministry of education officials, and others.
Through a combination of traditional, multi-disciplinary, and interdisciplinary approaches, program content will examine the history and evolution of U.S. institutions and values, broadly defined. The programs will also serve to illuminate contemporary political, social, and economic debates in American society. The four-week academic residencies will take place at U.S. universities and colleges campuses and will consist of a balanced series of lectures, panels, seminar discussions, readings, workshops, site visits, meetings with practitioners in the field, and cultural activities. One-week study tours to a different region of the United States will complement the academic residencies. One goal of the study tours is to showcase the cultural, geographic, and ethnic diversity of the United States. The program features curriculum based on the study of how America’s foundations and historical development have shaped and continue to inform U.S. politics, economics, and society. A key cultural component of the program involves community service activities, which will provide participants with a first-hand experience of how volunteerism plays a vital role in U.S. civil society. The program will offer multiple opportunities for follow-on engagement through alumni webinars, grant-funded follow-on projects, social media, and an alumni workshop at the end of the three-year award period in 2021.
