Teacher Travel Abroad
Hemispheres actively promotes opportunities for K-12 educators to travel abroad to build their own background knowledge and gain invaluable experience overseas.
Fulbright-Hays Seminars Abroad and Group Projects Abroad
Since 2004, Hemispheres's component Centers have worked with the Fulbright-Hays
educator programs in the U.S. Department of Education. Two programs
bring U.S. educators abroad for short-term summer study programs and
related projects.
Fulbright-Hays Seminars Abroad (SA) provide short-term study and travel seminars abroad for U.S. educators in the social sciences and humanities for the purpose of improving their understanding and knowledge of the peoples and cultures of other countries. The University of Texas has organized the pre-departure orientation for numerous SA programs: Argentina-Peru, Bulgaria, Turkey-Cyprus in 2004; Ecuador in 2005; Brazil in 2007; India-Sri Lanka, Morocco, and Mexico-Peru in 2008; and Mexico and Turkey in 2009.
For more information on programs and how to apply for a Seminar Abroad, please visit Fulbright-Hays Seminars Abroad Bilateral Projects.
Fulbright-Hays Group Projects Abroad (GPA) provide grants to educational institutions to support overseas projects in training, research, and curriculum development in modern foreign languages and area studies for teachers, students, and faculty engaged in a common endeavor. Four seminars and curriculum development projects have been organized by Hemispheres's component Centers through the GPA program: LLILAS Outreach coordinated seminars: Brazil in 2004 and Mexico in 2006, and CMES outreach coordinated seminars in Turkey in 1990 and Egypt in 2005. Please visit again to learn more about future Fulbright opportunities.
Short-Term Teacher Travel
Fulbright-Hays programs require a minimum of 28 days of travel, which
can be a substantial investment of time both for participants and
organizers. To meet the demand of educators who still want a quality
experience abroad but cannot invest a month abroad, Hemispheres's
centers are exploring possibilities for shorter programs abroad that
combine an academic approach with a short, intense travel experience.
The CMES outreach program, in partnership with the Institute of Interfaith Dialog, organized a ten-day study tour of Turkey, "Bridge Across Civilizations," in the summer of 2009. This program will be repeated on an annual or biennial basis.
CMES is also planning a similar program in Egypt for spring break 2010. Consult the Teacher Travel Abroad section of the CMES Outreach Web site for announcements of upcoming programs and more information.
Other Teacher Travel Opportunities
The following programs are not sponsored by Hemispheres, but provide opportunities for teachers to travel abroad on a regular basis. For more information, please visit the Web site of each program.
Global Exploration for Educators Organization (GEEO)
Global
Exploration for Educators Organization (GEEO) is a non-profit
organization that helps and encourages educators to travel abroad. GEEO
hopes to make America more outward-looking by helping teachers travel
and then giving them an effective way to share these experiences in
their classrooms.
Korean Studies Workshop for American Educators
The Korean Studies Workshop for American Educators provides U.S.
educators with fully-funded study visits to Korea. Sponsored entirely by the
Korea Foundation, the workshop is designed to enhance mutual
understanding between the people of Korea and the United States by
inviting certain U.S. educators to visit Korea and then share their
experiences with fellow Americans upon their return.
National Geographic Student Expeditions
Designed
for high school students, these active, hands-on expeditions combine
education and adventure with "on assignment" projects that allow
students to focus on a particular area of interest—photography,
writing, culture, or conservation. With dynamic group leaders and a
visiting National Geographic expert, students will spend three weeks
exploring fascinating places like Costa Rica, Peru, Tanzania, China,
India, Belize, or Spain.
The Teaching Excellence and Achievement Program (TEA), a program of the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs of the U.S. Department of State, provides secondary-school teachers from Europe, Eurasia, South Asia, Sub-Saharan Africa, and the Western Hemisphere with unique opportunities to develop expertise in their subject areas, enhance their teaching skills, and increase their knowledge about the United States. U.S. secondary teachers have the opportunity to take part in a two- week reciprocal visit to a participating TEA country where they will be hosted by a TEA fellow. The US teachers’ program overseas combines opportunities to work with their foreign peers and learn about the host culture – lessons that they can use to promote mutual understanding in their US classroom. Applications are usually due in late October for the following spring and summer.
Transatlantic Outreach Program (TOP) Study Tours
The
Transatlantic Outreach Program (TOP) sends Social Studies educators to
Germany every summer on all-expense-paid two-week study tours, exposing
them the government and education systems, large and small businesses,
and various examples of culture. Upon completion of the study tour,
educators return to the United States to write a unit of learning as
well as conduct two in-service training workshops.
The Toyota International Teacher Program
Now in its tenth year, the Toyota International Teacher Program has funded almost 600
teachers on international professional development study visits to Costa Rica, the Galapagos
Islands, and Japan.
