Secretary of State John Kerry Highlights International Exchange Programs During his First Official Speech

In his first official speech at the University of Virginia on Wednesday, February 20th, Secretary of State John Kerry highlighted international exchanges and stated:

We value education, promoting programs like the Fulbright exchanges managed by the Department of State. They enable the most talented citizens to share their devotion to diplomacy and peace, their hopes, their friendships, and the belief that all of the Earth’s sons and daughters ought to have the opportunity to lift themselves up. Today these exchanges bring hundreds of thousands of students to America from other countries, and vice versa. In the last year alone, more than 10,000 citizens of foreign countries participated in the State Department’s academic, youth, professional and cultural exchange programs right here in Virginia. Virginians also studied abroad through State Department programs. Senator Fulbright, at whose hearings I had the privilege of testifying as a young veteran returning from Vietnam, he knew that the value of sharing our proudest values bore fruit in the long run, in the future. He said, “Having people who understand your thought,” he said, “is much greater security than another submarine.”

You can view his entire speech below and read the full text of his talk on the State Department website.

Book of Interest: Student Learning Abroad: What Our Students Are Learning, What They're Not, and What We Can Do About It

I'm long overdue in posting about a new (June 2012) and interesting book entitled Student Learning Abroad: What Our Students Are Learning, What They're Not, and What We Can Do About It (Stylus Publishing, LLC) that many IHEC Blog readers may find of interest.  This post is not a review but more of an informational post about the book.

This thought provoking book challenges international educators and study abroad stakeholders on how and what students are actually learning while studying abroad.  The Table of Contents and the link to learn more follows:

Editors by Michael Vande Berg, R. Michael Paige and Kris Hemming Lou


Table of Contents:
PREFACE
PART ONE: SETTING THE SCENE
1) Student Learning Abroad: Paradigms and Assumptions—Michael Vande Berg, R. Michael Paige, and Kris Hemming Lou
2) Intervening in Student Learning Abroad: Recent Research—R. Michael Paige and Michael Vande Berg

PART TWO: FOUNDATIONS OF TEACHING AND LEARNING
3) Using Experiential Theory to Promote Learning and Development in Programs of Education Abroad—Angela Passarelli and David Kolb
4) The Brain, Learning, and Study Abroad—James Zull
5) Paradigmatic Assumptions of Intercultural Learning—Milton Bennett
6) The Intercultural Development Inventory (IDI): A New Frontier in Assessment and Development of Intercultural Competence—Mitchell Hammer
7) What Happens When We Take Stage Development Theory Seriously?—Douglas Stuart
8) Anthropology, Intercultural Communication, and Study Abroad—Bruce La Brack and Laura Bathurst
9) The Psychology of Student Learning Abroad—Victor Savicki
10) Scholarship of Teaching and Learning in Support of Student-Centered Learning Abroad—Jennifer Meta Robinson

PART THREE: PROGRAM APPLICATIONS: INTERVENING IN STUDENT LEARNING
11) Shifting the Locus of Intercultural Learning: Intervening Prior to and After Student Learning Abroad—Laura Bathurst and Bruce La Brack
12) Maximizing Study Abroad—R. Michael Paige
13) Facilitating Intercultural Learning Abroad—Kris Lou and Gabriele Bosley
14) Developing a Global Learning and Living Community: A Case Study of Intercultural Experiences on The Scholar Ship—Adriana Medina-López-Portillo and Riikka Salonen
15) An Experiment in Developing Teaching and Learning: CIEE’s Seminar on Living and Learning Abroad—Michael Vande Berg, Meghan Quinn, and Catherine Menyhart
16) Beyond Immersion: The AUCP Experiment in Holistic Intervention—Lilli Engle and John Engle

CONCLUSION
17) Intervening for Student Learning Abroad: Key Insights—Kris Hemming Lou, R. Michael Paige, and Michael Vande Berg

You can learn more about and purchase Student Learning Abroad via the Stylus website.

I'll be adding Student Learning Abroad to my Bury Book International Education Library & Archive as soon as I obtain a copy!

Disclaimers:  I receive no compensation for posting about "Student Learning Abroad: What Our Students Are Learning, What They're Not, and What We Can Do About It" nor will I receive any compensation from sales of this resource.  Just posting because I think it is a valuable resource for the field.  Picture of book cover posted wtih editor approval.

will.i.am Announces Grant 100,000 Strong Foundation to Send Boyle Heights Students to China

Entertainer and philanthropist will.i.am last Thursday announced a major grant from the 100,000 Strong Foundation to his i.am.boyle heights center to create new opportunities for area students to learn Mandarin and study in China.

The $100,000 contribution is part of an ongoing effort by the 100,000 Strong Foundation - launched by former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton last month - to strengthen the US-China relationship by expanding and diversifying the number of Americans studying Mandarin and studying in China. will.i.amannounced the 100,000 Strong Foundation gift along with Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and students from the Boyle Heights neighborhood of LA at the i.am.angel Foundation's 2013 TRANS4M conference at the California Science Center.

"The partnership between i.am.boyle heights and the 100,000 Strong Foundation will give kids from my neighborhood the opportunity of a lifetime," will.i.am said. "Learning Mandarin and studying in China can be transformative. I am so grateful to the 100,000 Strong Foundation for helping open doors for these bright and talented young people."

Over the next two summers, the 100,000 Strong Foundation gift will send at least 10 students from Theodore Roosevelt High School to China through Americans Promoting Study Abroad (APSA). It will also help create an after-school Mandarin language program at the i.am.boyle heights center.

"We are thrilled to be working with will.i.am and the i.am.angel Foundation to create new opportunities for Boyle Heights students to learn Mandarin and study abroad," said Carola McGiffert, president of the 100,000 Strong Foundation. "The 100,000 Strong Foundation knows that the future of the US-China relationship rests with our students. They are the leaders of tomorrow who will solve our greatest global challenges."

Said Mayor Villaraigosa: "The city of LA is proud to be a partner of the 100,000 Strong Foundation and to help carry out its very important mission. And as a Boyle Heights native, today's announcement is particularly special. The opportunities created through 100,000 Strong and i.am.angel will arm these students with the cultural understanding, language skills and global experiences to chart our future."

The 100,000 Strong Foundation works with the Confucius Institute at the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA), which will provide Mandarin language and martial arts classes two days a week starting in September and will offer additional opportunities for Boyle Heights students to study in China under the Chinese government's Bridge Scholarship program.

Institute for Curriculum and Campus Internationalization (ICCI) 2013 at the Center for the Study of Global Change at Indiana University Bloomington

The responsibility of curriculum internationalization does not rest solely on the faculty nor on the administration; rather internationalization should be defined, reinforced, and supported through a dialogue among faculty, administrators, and staff who are responsible for fostering, encouraging, and implementing global learning and teaching on campuses.  If you are faculty, staff, or administrator from a public or private university, research or liberal arts institute, community college, HBCU, TCCU, HSI and any other, you will: Learn how to internationalize your curriculum and campus Understand comprehensive internationalization and the importance of collaboration and dialogue Identify innovative pedagogies, technologies, and best practices Explore the teaching and assessment of global learning objectives Examine strategic planning and measurements of institutional success Become a member of a network of international educators and administrators and much more ... All participants must join one of two tracks, for the entire institute, that best matches her or his objectives and interests [click track title for description]: Course Focus: Teaching and Learning Hilary Kahn, Track Leader George Rehrey, Instructional Consultant Campus Focus:  Institutional Strategies Gil Latz,Track Co-Leader Paaige Turner,Track Co-Leader

Pre-Institute Workshop (Optional) Sunday, May 19, 9:00am-12:30pm The Increasingly Comprehensive World of Academic Internationalization [Click workshop title above for description]

Pre-Institute Workshop Leader Susan Sutton, Senior Advisor for Internationalization at Bryn Mawr University in Pennsylvania after three decades at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis. Her philosophy of internationalization emphasizes international dialogue and collaboration.

ICCI 2013 Featured Speaker

Caryn McTighe Musil, Senior Fellow and Director of Civic Learning and Democracy at the Association of American Colleges and Universities. Until November 2012, she was the Senior Vice President of the Office of Diversity, Equity, and Global initiatives. She has special institutional expertise in curriculum transformation, faculty development, and assessment with extensive experience in integrating knowledge about global,  civic, and U.S. diversity within higher education.

Poster Session – New this year! A new addition to the ICCI program is a Poster Session, during which individuals or teams can share their course or campus best practices with all ICCI participants. If you would like to be a part of the Poster Session, come prepared to share materials and/or a PowerPoint on your laptop as fellow participants move from table to table. Learn more and register at http://globalinstitutes.indiana.edu/

IHEC Blog's Facebook Page Reaches 1,000 Followers

Earlier this week, IHEC Blog's Facebook page reached 1,000 Followers. Thanks to all who have come along for the ride and for those of you who have yet to join the fun you can certainly do so at https://www.facebook.com/IHECblog.