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In the Fall of 2003, a group of educators from Southeast Michigan
traveled to Nepal as Fulbright-Hays Seminars Abroad Fellows. They
participated in a series of seminars and field studies that introduced
them to and immersed them in Nepali culture. They also were linked
with Nepali teachers already engaged with Michigan teachers through
a water quality monitoring exchange and were able to visit those
teachers in their classrooms and observe students conducting water
quality monitoring in the Seti River.
The
proposal for the Fulbright-Hays Nepal Seminar Abroad Study Program
grew out of water quality monitoring programs for middle schools
sponsored by Michigan State University Extension. Extension Agent
Patrick Livingston, a former Peace Corps/Nepal volunteer, partnered
with Murari Suvedi, MSU Study Abroad Program Coordinator, to link
Michigan and Nepali schools in a program to share water quality
monitoring and cultural information. The success of that effort
led to the Fulbright-Hays proposal to bring Michigan teachers
to Nepal to interact with their teacher counterparts and to strengthen
international studies for students in both countries.
Michigan
teachers were recruited through Intermediate School Districts
in Macomb, Wayne, Oakland and Ingham counties. In addition to
their participation in cultural and environmental education activities
during the three-week study tour, the Michigan teachers committed
to contribute educational units that have become this Study Guide.
The Study Guide offers teachers a valuable resource to bring Nepal
to Michigan classrooms while meeting state standards and benchmarks.
Fulbright-Hays Seminar Abroad Objectives:
-To
provide SE Michigan school-teachers opportunities to engage in
the cultural, environmental, and educational systems of Nepal.
-To experientially connect SE Michigan school-teachers participating
in the Riverside Education Program to their sister schools in
Nepal.
-To develop a study guide and acquire multimedia educational material
to integrate international studies into the school curriculum
for Michigan teachers.
-To involve Michigan school-teachers and their students in an
effort to enhance and support education in Nepal.
Additional Background
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