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iEARN & Delaware State Educators
Professional Development Cluster:
Bringing the World to Delaware classrooms
ìWhile I could easily
talk about the teachersí and studentsí education in international
education and technology, iEARN brought something more to our stateís
participants. Our teachers speak of being energized and excited with
this new dimension in their curriculum. They tell of students moving
beyond the required work and doing even more to expand their learning.
They share their enthusiasm for international projects and sharing and
many are already planning on how to incorporate iEARN projects into
their classrooms next year. Participation in these projects has deeply
affected everyone involved.î
- Wendy R. Modzelewski,
Delaware Department of Education, Delaware Center for Educational Technology
In September 2003 iEARN-USA was invited to join the Delaware Department
of Education initiative ì K-20 International Education Initiatives
(Delaware K-20 IEI)î The innovative and ambitious program had
both long and short-term goals for reaching teachers across the state
to integrate technology into their classrooms
As part of the Cluster K-12 teachers engage their students in creative
and manageable standards-based projects and integrate new technology
skills into their teaching. The experience has enlightened teachers and
students, many of whom continue to participate in iEARN and maintain
on-going professional friendships.
Cluster Design
After a series of planning sessions the ìInternational Educational
Cluster: Bringing the World to Delaware classroomsî was formed.
Interested teachers submit an initial questionnaire and attend a face
to face workshop
The one-year program requires teachers to develop a portfolio to
demonstrate how technology and global education can be integrated into
their classroom. The portfolio is divided into two
sections. After completion, teachers present their final project
an the annual Delaware State Education Technology Conference.
Portfolio A: Participation in an iEARN online course
Selected teachers are enrolled in a nine-week online professional
development course. Their tangible outcome is a detailed lesson
plan that includes activities, assessment tools, a timetable, and
resources for a collaborative project. During the course teachers
have to test the project in their classroom. This gives them the
opportunity to make revisions so that the finish the course with a
project they can get started on. Portfolio A is submitted to
Delaware Coordinators and includes participants assignments and journal
entries from the course.
Portfolio B: Integration of second project and evaluation
The final portfolio report requires participants to provide an
implementation plan, goals, objectives and samples of student work and
a post-project survey (this demonstrates that students had actively
participated by sharing and discussing international perspectives
around the a standards-based curriculum)
For the current Cluster information visit http://www.dcet.k12.de.us/instructional/IEcluster05/index.html
Mentor Program
Once teachers successfully complete the course they are invited to
mentor in-coming Cluster participants. A selected group provide a
support system to mentor new teachers and they start to explore ways to
internationalise their classrooms.
Mentor reflection
"I was in the first iEARN professional development cluster in DE and
learned a tremendous amount about technology and international
education. I collaborated with teachers in the state, as well as
with facilitators and students around the world. I have
implemented two projects in my class over the past two years: Get to
Know Others and Breaking Stereotypes...which have allowed me to teach
my students how to create and attach power points, microsoft word
documents, and digital photos to the iEARN forums. I allow my
elective class to use the mobile labs once per week to collaborate. I
was even fortunate enough to reap the benefits of scholarship money
offered by the International Council of Delaware and the Deleware
department of Education to travel to several conferences. I
attended the 2004 iEARN conference in Kosice, Slovkia....the 2004
BRIDGE conference in Amman, Jordan.....the 2005 Master Trainer Seminar
in NY City...and the 2005 iEARN conference in Dakar, Senegal.....all of
which were life changing experiences for my students and me (I was able
to take severla students abroad with me!!)....I have become a more
tolerant and appreciative person becuase of my involvement with
iEARN...I have become more educated about cultural norms and
taboos....and I have sparked an interest to pursue more world travel
opportunities!!!! "
- Holly Briel, Social Studies Teacher. Student ages 15-18
Sample Cluster Portfolios
Michelle Conway: Creative Writing/Language Arts online course. Students ages 12-13
Jody Kelly: Teaching of Foreign and Second Languages online course. Students ages 14-17
Lea Wainwright: Teaching of Foreign and Second Languages online course. Students ages 14-18
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