Congratulations to Sandhya Shah, TEA 2007 fellow from India who received an award from the Mumbai Mahanagar Palika (Mumbai Municipal Corporation), on International Women's Day, 2009, for her special achievements in the field of education!

Congratulations to Olena Bushtruk, TEA 2007 fellow from Ukraine, who placed first in the Schorsky district for the
"Teacher of the Year" contest in 2009!

Astra Shekenbaeva (pictured right) has presented a teacher workshop at home. In the photo, she is discussing strategies that she learned from TEA.

Upon returning home to India, Arundhati Ray, TEA 2008, recently provided her impressions of her experience during the TEA program at UAHuntsville:

"This is a brief account of my experiences that I had at the EURASIA SOUTH ASIA  TEA PROGRAM held in USA between 22nd September and 9th November.  Here I must appreciate the well thought out training program that provided me with an exposure to a different system of classroom teaching– which is aimed at developing the habit of critical thinking  among students. It was not only about teaching methods but also about bonding with  people from diverse cultures. In the orientation program at Washington DC we met other participants from11different countries, with whom we spent the rest of the program as a family. This was quite an experience and I was surprised to find how much we as teachers had in common. The session on multicultural diversity there was useful for the rest of the program. From the sixty participants, twenty including myself were chosen for training at University of Huntsville, Alabama. The stay there was incredible—the city had an essence of its own ,the authorities at UAH very warm and friendly. The lectures on Problem Based Learning and Backward Design Lesson Plan, Standards and Benchmarks of Curriculum, Assessment Methods in the U.S, Classroom Management ,Multicultural Issues that impact the classroom and Portfolio Development have been an enriching experience.I also learnt how to integrate Technology into Education. Group activities gave me ample scope to work in tandem with participants of other countries. One of the highlights of the stay was getting to know about U.S. Election System and going to visit the Election booth on 4th November’08.The classroom exposure during my internship at Buckhorn High School provided me with the opportunity to understand how the theories are being translated into practice. In addition, I got to know American High School students, teach Economics,  team teach with my mentor teacher and talk to students about my country and culture..Visit to the Alabama Constitution Village.U.S.
Space and Rocket  Center,Rock City Gardens, Civil Rights Memorial Museum at Montgomery attending a football match interactions with my host family are wonderful memories.

On the whole it was an incredible autumn for me-not only seeing how the leaves change their colors but also learning new things in a well-structured setup. Here the co-operation of UAH authorities is worth mentioning. The program has left me with an open mind and a wealth of information which would help me further the cause of education in my country."

ARUNDHATI RAY

 

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