2004 Summer Institutes at Iowa State University
Language, Culture, and Content Connections:
Mexico and the Zapotec Culture
In collaboration with two other centers, the Stone Center for Latin American Studies (Tulane University, New Orleans) and the Center for Latin American and Caribbean Studies (University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee), this institute will provide PK-12 Spanish teachers with experience developing content-related and culturally-rich thematic units, and will help them develop skills in teaching strategies, curriculum design, technology, and use of information sources on Mexico and the Zapotec culture.
July 12-22, 2004
Participants: experienced and practicing 1) PK-12 Spanish teachers; 2) methods professors at institutions of higher education who prepare pre-service and in-service teachers; and 3) supervisors of foreign language who provide professional development for teachers in their school or district.
Cost: All participants pay a registration fee of $100 upon acceptance that is non-refundable. Materials are provided for all participants. Five full scholarships (that include housing, meals, and transportation from the Des Moines airport) and fifteen partial scholarships are available. See cost breakdown and scholarship application forms at
Credits: optional 1 to 3 semester level graduate credits are available at $280/credit hour plus $37 computer fee (subject to change)
Institute Leaders: Mari Haas, Options for Language Education, Santa Fe, New Mexico; Ruth Borgman, Columbia University, New York; Julie Kline, Center for Latin American and Caribbean Studies, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee; and Valerie McGinley Marshall, Stone Center for Latin American Studies, Tulane University, New Orleans
This institute will offer daily Spanish immersion sessions on aspects of Mexican history and culture such as pre-Colombian origins, religion, astronomy, literature, and arts, geography and archeological sites, and the view of the environment, the conquest and colonization, and Magical Realism in works by contemporary Oaxacan authors and artists that allude to the pre-Colombian roots. Participants will experience Spanish model lessons from existing thematic units that exemplify teaching strategies and learning activities appropriate for language lessons, including pair and small group work, stimulation of higher order cognitive skills, and integration of cultural information. Participants will apply the knowledge and understandings gained by forming pairs or small groups to develop curriculum units that address language, content, and culture, and incorporate national student standards and aspects of the history and culture of Mexico. Teachers will be invited to complete and field-test their units in their own classrooms and to create action research projects to examine more closely the impact of the new materials and strategies on student learning. Informed by the field-testing and action research, teachers will be encouraged to revise and finalize their units for sharing at professional conferences or publication on their school or district’s website.
To apply, use the forms available at . Please note that a separate and complete application is necessary for each institute for which an individual is applying. Application deadline is April 30, 2004. Participants will be notified of their acceptance by mid-May 2004. All institutes will be held on the Iowa State University Campus, Ames, Iowa. Partial and full scholarships are available; to apply for a scholarship use the form on the website.
National K-12 Foreign Language Resource Center
N131 Lagomarcino Hall
Iowa State University
Ames, IA 50011
515-294-6699