There is a growing MSU resource for educators who want to internationalize their teaching. The Partnership to Prepare Global & International Educators (P-GLIE) is an interdisciplinary, collaborative project that is developing partnerships across the campus and the educational community to promote international teaching and curriculum at MSU and in Michigan schools.

This project provides resources to encourage and support international teaching, said Kristin Janka Millar, co-director of the P-GLIE project. The goal is to make connections and to infuse international content and perspective across all subjects. Millar is a doctoral student in curriculum, teaching, and educational policy, as well as undergraduate coordinator in the Center for Latin American and Caribbean Studies.

One of the ways P-GLIE is accomplishing its mission is with the Global & International Curriculum Resource Collection (GICRC) in the International Center Library, which is located in the Delia Koo International Academic Center. Millar said the GICRC currently holds more than 300 resources for educators and students including DVDs, maps, books, and other materials. She expects more resources to be added to the library over the summer.

The resources collection provides curriculum to support and encourage global and international teaching in teacher education courses at MSU, Millar said. It is a centralized resource available to MSU students, faculty, staff, and K-12 teachers. GICRC resources were chosen by teacher education faculty/instructors and students, area and thematic center staff in International Studies and Programs (ISP), members of LATTICE (Linking All Types of teachers to International and Cross-Cultural Education), and local K-12 teachers.

In addition to the library resources project, P-GLIE sponsors a seminar series. During the 2006-2007 academic year, there were eight seminars that featured a variety of MSU faculty, teacher education graduate students, and ISP staff, including Peter Briggs (Office for International Students and Scholars), Inge Steglitz (Office of Study Abroad), Marilyn McCullough (Asian Studies Center), and John Metzler (African Studies Center).

The P-GLIE project also works with six courses for pre-service teachers in the College of Education. This project builds on an initiative started in 2004 between the College of Education and ISP area studies centers to internationalize Teacher Education 250, a required course in the teacher preparation program. Next year, the P-GLIE project will focus on 400-level courses (math, literacy, science, and social studies) in the elementary teacher preparation program.

Developing partnerships is another major facet of P-GLIE. According to Millar, P-GLIE works with MSU departments and colleges, the Ingham Intermediate School District, LATTICE, and the East Lansing Library to create a network of educators committed to using global and international content in their curricula.

The P-GLIE listserv and Web site (www.educ.msu.edu/teachglobal) support the project and help educators learn about the international teaching resources available to them.

P-GLIE is entering its second year in the Department of Teacher Education in the College of Education. It is funded primarily by a Professional Development Network grant from the Department of Teacher Education with support from MSU Libraries and International Studies and Programs, in particular, the African Studies Center, Asian Studies Center, Center for Advanced Study of International Development, Women and International Development Program, and Center for Latin American and Caribbean Studies. Two recent partners include the College of Arts and Letters and Ingham Intermediate School District. Continuation of the project for next year was also made possible by a recently awarded grant from the Longview Foundation.

-Kristin V. Johnson, ISP news intern