Faculty Upgrading
This Inter-Cultural Communicative Competence (IC3) exchange stretches the teaching and technological abilities of numerous high school and university instructors. Through workshops, virtually shared coursework, and advanced degree work, this project provides a pathway for participating faculty from developing countries to earn advanced degrees in Education, Conflict Transformation, Applied Community Change and Conservation, and other disciplines. Teachers of outstanding merit and graduate-level English language competency are invited to apply for a limited number of scholarship opportunities through this IC3 project.
Simultaneously, instructors in U.S. high schools and universities are welcome to participate in this project for two purposes. First, this IC3 project is a venue for blended learning pedagogy, which transforms the learning possibilities in U.S. classrooms. Second, these instructors are invited to participate in teaching workshops hosted by An Giang University (Vietnam) and Eastern Mennonite University (Virginia, United States), as an introduction to the applications of IC3 pedagogy and materials.
To date, five Vietnamese colleagues from An Giang University and one from Can Tho University have earned M.A. Education degrees with support from the Mennonite Central Committee, Eastern Mennonite University, the United Board of Christian Higher Education in Asia, and Future Generations. Two An Giang University faculty members, Nguyen Hoang Bich Ngoc and Tran Quoc Thang, just completed their M.A. degree work at Eastern Mennonite University in TESL and Curriculum & Instruction. Presently, Nguyen Tien Ngo is working on his Master's in Applied Community Change and Conservation through Future Generations (www.future.org) and Tran Anh Thong is studying toward the completion of his Master.s in Conflict Transformation at the Center for Justice and Peacebuilding at Eastern Mennonite University (www.emu.edu/cjp). Also, Eastern Mennonite University, the Imam Khomeini Education and Research Institute (Iran), and the University of Qom (Iran) are seeking to establish a faculty exchange so that the IC3 learning platform can extend to Iran, the Persian culture, and the Persian language.
Additionally, collaborating faculty from all points of this IC3 exchange are upgrading their pedagogical, information technology, and development capabilities as they collaborate in teaching virtual classes using these materials. In the 2005-2006 school year, professors from the Imam Khomeini Education and Research Institute (Iran), An Giang University (Vietnam), University of Qom (Iran), and Eastern Mennonite University (Virginia, United States) will implement and test these virtual learning objectives.
This June 2006, faculty members of Eastern Mennonite University and An Giang University will refine further IC3 concepts and tools, study Action and Applied Research methodology/design, and launch the fall term of using this IC3 learning platform.
