The African Studies Program is ready to assist you in adding global content and experiences to your classroom and curriculum that will engage your students while meeting Indiana State Standards. We work with you to develop curricular-related activities, create performances, find guest presenters, as can even assist with material support.
We also welcome supporting your after-school enrichment programs and student clubs with programs or performances offered by our graduate students in African Studies (see for example, Bridges: Children, Languages, World).
There is never any cost to request our services. To learn what we can do for you, please contact our outreach coordinator, associate director Tavy Aherne.
Do you wish to have a guest speaker from an African country visit your class? Would you like your students to learn a bit about children’s lives in another country? Be introduced to one of the many languages or diverse cultures on the continent? Are you wishing to include Africa content in lesson plans and are wondering where to begin? Whatever it is you wish to do, we can assist you in incorporating Africa in the Classroom!
Africa through the Arts
Are you wishing to have creative individuals engage with your students? Africa through the Arts brings African musicians and artists into your classroom. These are interactive performances. Your students can join in! African Studies partners with the Jacob School of Music’s outreach program, Tunaweza Kimuzikia, as well with the Lotus Educational Foundation to bring outstanding creatives from across the African continent and from the global African diaspora to you.
Bridges: Children, Languages, World
Bridges: Children, Languages, World offers exploratory language and culture classes to young learners in the greater Bloomington, Indiana, area. Because learning a language at an early age enhances overall linguistic ability, Bridges aims to ignite children’s interest in languages and cultures, so they’ll be inspired to study both with excitement and enthusiasm all their lives.
Bridges provides instruction to children in languages not typically offered in public schools. The program began with Arabic and Chinese instruction and has since expanded to include Dari, Hausa, Kyrgyz, Mongolian, Persian, Russian, Swahili, Zulu, and more. Classes are always free. They can be developed as after-school programs (such as our partnership with Clearcreek Elementary) but are also offered around Bloomington: at the public library, daycare centers, Boys & Girls Clubs, and neighborhood learning centers. They are always free and are open to the general public.
Bridges language programs are taught by IU students who are studying Less Commonly Taught Languages (LCTLs), in partnership with faculty from the IU’s Department of Literacy, Culture and Language Education at the School of Education. Everyone benefits: the student teachers acquire valuable teaching tools, and the kids learn a new language.
Teachers use the communicative method, which teaches new vocabulary via fun activities like games, stories, free play, crafts, and puppet shows.
The African Studies Program, in collaboration with the IU School of Education and other IU National Resource Centers, offers year-round teacher-training workshops as well as summer institutes. These professional development opportunities focus on incorporating Africa content into the curriculum, and professional growth/development points are awarded. In addition to serving K-12 teachers, we also collaborate with other IU area centers on thematic workshops for administrators and Higher Education faculty. Please contact our outreach coordinator, associate director Tavy Aherne, for more information.
Global Competencies for Career and Technical Education Programs
This virtual workshop is free for Career & Technical Education teachers from any U.S. state. It will explore the meaning of global competencies and how to align them with K-12 curriculum and Employability Skills Standards. Educational resources and strategies that easily adapt to classroom use will be shared and discussed. Teachers will have the opportunity to initiate a lesson plan. This workshop is supported by Indiana University’s federally designated National Resource Centers and is organized in collaboration with the Asia Society.
Time:
June 23, 2021, 10 AM - 5 PM ET (with a one-hour break).
Participants will receive:
Resources and classroom materials for teaching global competencies
Signed certificate of attendance for 6 hours of professional development
Global Competencies for Indiana Career and Technical Education Programs
This virtual workshop for Indiana Career & Technical Education teachers will explore the meaning of global competencies and how to align them with K-12 curriculum, Employability Skills Standards, and Next Level Programs of Study. Educational resources and strategies that easily adapt to classroom use will be shared and discussed. Participants are expected to attend both live workshop sessions and complete two educational modules on their own. Teachers will have the opportunity to develop a lesson plan. This workshop is supported by Indiana University’s federally designated National Resource Centers and is organized in collaboration with the Asia Society and Hoosier Hills Career Center.
Time:
Part 1: July 14, 2021, 9 AM - 1 PM ET.
Asynchronous learning (Two hours).
Part 2: July 21, 2021, 9 AM - 12 PM ET.
Participants will receive:
Resources and classroom materials for teaching global competencies
Signed certificate of attendance for 9 hours of professional growth points
$200 Stipend for completing all workshop sessions
Institute for K-8 Educators: The UN Sustainable Development Goals
In response to the coronavirus pandemic, this institute will be offered in two parts. Through this webinar, teachers will learn about the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals and how they can be used to create meaningful and high-impact global learning opportunities. Teachers will build knowledge and skills to infuse their classrooms with global content and perspectives, fostering student-led, project-based, and solutions-driven teaching and learning.
Part I: Sustainable Development Goals Webinar (April 5th, 2021, 4:30 PM)
Part II: Sustainable Development Goals Institute (May 3rd, 2021, 4:30 PM)
Participants will receive:
Introduction to UN Sustainable Development Goals.
Teaching and learning materials.
Professional Growth Points.
$100 stipend for every participant that completes a post-webinar reflection.
Possibility to pre-register for two-day Fall Institute.
For many educators in the United States, teaching during the COVID-19 pandemic was their first experience teaching in a crisis. Across the country, teachers rose to the occasion in a myriad of creative ways, yet often relied on trial and error to meet the complex challenges posed by providing high-quality education in an emergency. Many teachers felt alone in this work and lacked guidance on best practices; however, teachers around the world have been teaching in a range of crises for many years and we can learn from their experiences.
In this webinar series, K–12 educators in the United States heard from those who have been providing education in crisis for years. Educators from around the world shared their experiences, tools, and strategies for providing high-quality education in crisis settings. Replay the webinar video on Youtube.
Co-sponsored by:
Indiana University’s U.S. Department of Education designated National Resource Centers
Inter-agency Network for Education in Emergencies
Webinar 1: Teaching in Times of Crisis - Challenges and Opportunities (July 17, 2020, 10 am - 12 pm)
In this webinar, participants will gain a deeper understanding of the role that education plays in emergency settings and hear how educators around the world experienced and responded to the COVID-19 pandemic. Participants will be introduced to global guidelines that articulate the minimum level of educational quality and access in emergencies through to recovery.
Facilitated by Bente Sandal-Aase, Global Specialist, and Natalie Brackett, Standards and Practice Coordinator for the Inter-agency Network for Education in Emergencies
Presentations from:
Olena Statkevich, middle school English teacher in Kyiv, Ukraine
Hadeel Kazim, English teacher in Damascus, Syria
Kenzhegul Kadirova, middle and high school English teacher in Almaty, Kazakhstan
Bruna Inglese, Italy
Webinar 2: Supporting Teachers in a Crisis - Teacher Well-Being and Self Care (July 24, 2020, 10 am - 12 pm)
In crisis situations, teachers put extensive time and energy towards supporting their students’ learning and growth, while simultaneously struggling themselves with the daily realities of living through a crisis. While the stress of teaching is often exacerbated during a crisis, little attention is given to supporting teacher well-being. In this webinar, educators from around the world will share their experiences and strategies for supporting their own mental health and well-being during a crisis situation.
Facilitated by Danielle Falk, Teachers College, Columbia University
Presentations from:
Moisa Saidu, Sierra Leone and New York
Aguer Mayen, teacher in Kakuma Refugee Camp, Kenya
Shakira Pietri Burgos, teacher and educational leader, Puerto Rico, with support from Carmen Medina, Associate Professor at Indiana University
Webinar 3: Supporting Students in a Crisis - Psychosocial Support and Social Emotional Learning (July 31, 2020, 10 am - 12 pm)
The stress of the COVID-19 pandemic combined with extensive time out of school has negatively impacted the mental health and well-being of many children. In this webinar, participants will learn about the value of psychosocial support and social emotional learning (PSS-SEL) in a crisis situation and hear the experiences of educators who have provided PSS-SEL in a range of emergency settings. Speakers will focus on ways to provide PSS-SEL through distance learning and in health crises.
Facilitated by Rachel Smith, Project Manager, Psychosocial Support and Social Emotional Learning at the Inter-agency Network for Education in Emergencies
Presentations from:
Dr Wakil Bukar, Teacher Education Specialist, and Bem Tivkaa, Wellbeing Specialist with Save the Children/FHI360 in Nigeria
Rana Alsharif, Technical Education Coordinator with NRC in Jordan
Eeman Mazloum, Teacher for Plan International in Egypt
Webinar 4: Going Back to School: What it is Like to Teach in a Continuing COVID Crisis (August 6, 7 pm - 9 pm)
As fall quickly approaches, many uncertainties remain as educators prepare for their return to the classroom: What will it be like to teach in a socially distanced classroom? What sort of academic and emotional support will students need, and how can teachers ensure fairness in providing it? How will students feel about returning to school? In this webinar, participants will hear from three teachers who have returned to the classroom following a coronavirus shutdown.
Facilitated by Chris Henderson, co-chair of the Teaching in Crisis Context Collaborative
Presentations from:
Felicity Powell, secondary teacher in New Zealand
Kyungmin Lee, high school English teacher in South Korea
Zengxian Mo, middle school English teacher in Suzhou, China<
Nourit Ben David Erez, special education English teacher in Ashdod, Israel
Preparing Students for the Global Workforce: Global Competencies for Career and Technical Education Programs
Professional Development for K-12 Teachers was offered this summer through free virtual workshops. The workshops taught the meaning of global competencies, and how to align them with Indiana’s K-12 curriculum and Employability Skills Standards. Educational resources and strategies that easily adapt to classroom use were shared and discussed. Teachers have the opportunity to initiate a lesson plan. It was designed for educators in Indiana’s Career and Technical Education programs. This opportunity was provided by Indiana University’s federally designated National Resource Centers.
Option I: Virtual Workshop in partnership with Hoosier Hills Career Center
June 17th-18th, 2020. 9 am-12:30 pm. Free, with the possibility to receive a stipend.
Option II: Virtual Workshop in partnership with McKenzie Center for Innovation and Technology
July 1st, 2020. Full-Day. Free, with the possibility to receive a stipend.
Participants received:
Resources and classroom materials for teaching global competencies.
Global Indiana map.
Professional Growth Points.
$50 Stipend for participation and feedback.
This was a free two-day-long workshop led by Heather Singmaster, Director in the Center for Global Education at the Asia Society, where she oversees the Global Cities Education Network and works on integrating global competence into Career Technical Education (CTE) programs.
This workshop covered the topics of Career and Technical Education and Global Employability skills, and was designed to assist educators with integrating global competencies into Employability Skills, CTE programs, and other disciplinary units (such as Economics and Social Studies). There were a mix of activities including an introduction to global learning and global skillsets, instructional resources, module development, dialogue, group work, and curriculum development. This workshop provided participants with a $200 stipend, professional growth points, lunch, and mileage reimbursement.
This joint teacher workshop, “K-6 Internationalization Summer Institute: Fostering Global Readiness in our Students”, featured experts from across IU’s Hamilton Lugar School of Global and International Studies & School of Education. Objectives included infusing global perspectives into curricula that align with Indiana academic standards and learning about networks and resources that promote global learning. Partipants received training packets, classroom materials, and access to online resources.
Teaching resources
The African Studies Program also provides a variety of teaching resources for educators at all levels. These range from broader introductions on teaching about the continent, to faculty-created PowerPoint presentations, teacher-generated lesson plans, and links for further information. Please contact our outreach coordinator, Tavy Aherne, associate director for more information.
