ADDING DIVERSITY TO YOUR SCHOOL HOSTING AN INTERN

ADDING DIVERSITY TO YOUR SCHOOL: HOSTING AN INTERN FROM ANOTHER CULTURE EDLD 655 Analysis of Teaching and Learning Li-Hsien Yang University of Oregon Program Design Introduction An Internship Program for Chinese and Japanese Students Studying in the U. S. Implement Courses The Program includes three important elements The main purpose of OIIP is to fill the gap and at the same time helping interns immerse themselves in U. S. classroom setting and receive direct guidance from teachers here and direct interaction with students. Program Goals People now are part of the global citizen, it is critical and essential to know and realize this. By having interns in local schools in Oregon not only help the students in school know more about other culture but at the same time helping those interns to have cross-culture experiences. According to the research done by professor Young at 1993, cross-cultures experiences raise students’ consciousnesses regarding global dynamics. （Bryan, S. L. , & Sprague, M. M. , 1997) At the same time, currently due to education budget cut in Oregon, numerous of schools are facing difficulties in the aspects of ratio between students and teachers, school hours cut and language courses are the first thing on the list to be canceled. Meanwhile, students in Asia are very interested in education system in the U. S. , also helping to have the opportunity to be involved. Instead of observation only in Asia, interns will have chances to observe class, assist master teacher and eventually teach. Goals: • Understand the different education systems between Asia and the States. While students are doing interns at POSTER TEMPLATE BY: www. Poster. Presentations. com Approaches Weekly meeting/ class is to help interns for the purpose of becoming better teachers in the future. There is an afternoon meeting every Thursday to talk about interns’ performance, observation, host families life and any other culture questions. OIIP is currently expanding by having more students from China and Taiwan who are highly interested in. In order to place students in the schools, the program needs to invite more local K 12 schools to host students. Besides, there are two courses offered for interns: Language Pedagogy and Comparative Education. Interns read materials regarding language teaching and U. S. education system. Interns can associate what they read to internship work. Oregon International Internship Program (OIIP) is a currently a program for university students from China, Japan and Taiwan to do internship in K-12 environments in Eugene and Springfield. Currently the rapid growth of Confucius Institution (CI) and seven Chinese Flagship Program in the States. There are demands for Mandarin Chinese teachers in various states. However, there are concerns from education experts in the States regarding directly hired teachers from Mandarin Speaking places to K 12 schools. Concerns for Chinese instructors are: • Language Proficiency • Teaching Approaches • Unfamiliar U. S. education system • Lack of understanding for U. S. students’ personality and learning characters. University of Oregon Here are some possible approaches to attract schools: In addition, there are guest speakers from various departments to give lectures. For instance, lectures about Chinese linguistics, how to incorporate arts into language classes…etc. Designs: In order to reach the goal, each student will have be assigned to an intern school and a master teacher for the length of program time (5 months). Interns will also have to work on a language projects according to the needs analysis they did at their intern school. Procedures: There are three stages for the interns in the program: Stage 1: Observation and Assist on the side Stage 2: Preparation for the class • In order to get familiar with the environment, observation is essential. Also, by assisting teachers in the classroom; interns are able to have closer interaction with students in the class. • Well preparation for the class is one of the key points to become a good teacher. As a result, knowing how teachers here in the States prepare for the class and assist the teachers can give interns better ideas about preparation work. • Interns will assist teachers for Stage 3: classes and also depends on Teach the schools, interns will have class/ After opportunity to establish an School Club. after school program. Finally, classes on how to apply graduate schools. For example: personal statement, scholarship Chinese Club Examples resources…etc. Sep Program Reflection: End of January (Go over interns’ feedback and prepare for new group of students) Program Recruitment: February~ Mid March Recruit new group of students from China, Taiwan and Japan. Contact local schools for hosting intern students Invite residents for being host families for the program. Interviews: April Interview students who are interested in participating the program via Skype in both English and Chinese Interview potential host families • A short video clip that is done by the program including: Interns’ speeches regarding their experiences in host families, intern schools, self-reflection at the farewell party. Interviews with master teachers and principals Interviews with host families Program Evaluation • Promoting OIIP via community meetings At the end of the program, interns will do • Posting OIIP information to Principals’ WIKI page evaluation for the OIIP itself. The evaluation form consists both yes/no questions and openended questions. All the interns mentioned OIIP met their expectations and had comments about : “ I like the chance to get closer to K-12 education in America, I think this makes the program unique. ” Sep | Jan “ I love to be part of the school-family” “ The internship in elementary school is a valuable part of my life” Oc t | Ja n “The involvement with host family and teachers in school is way beyond my imagination” Chinese Club in Mc. Cornack Elementary School, Eugene Timeline Program Length: September ~ Mid January • Visit school principals Paperwork and Visa Interview: May~June Paperwork for students to come to the U. S. Interns have to make appointment to get visa and book airplane tickets. Assign Host family and Intern schools: July Culture Workshop for Host families: End Aug Share culture tips for host families to understand Chinese culture more. Most interns had great and positive experiences References during their time here in the States. Bryan, S. L. , & Sprague, M. M. (1997). The Effect of Overseas Internships on Early Teaching Experiences. Clearing House, 70, 4, 199 -201. Fryer, T. B. , & Day, J. T. (1993). Foreign Language Curricular Needs of Students Preparing for an Internship Abroad. Modern Language Journal, 77, 3, 277 -288. Ursula, F. , June, A. , Cary, L. , W, M. C. , & Joseph, M. ( 2005). facilitating student learning through study abroad and international projects: merging content and pedagogy in computer science education. Acm Sigcse Bulletin, 37, 4, 139 -151. Contact Information and Acknowledgements For further information, please contact Kathleen Scalise, kscalise@uoregon. edu. Li-Hsien Yang, lihsien@uoregon. edu