Essential concepts, tools, and practices  (Page 2/14)

Course 4: Culture for Understanding - Understanding Our Students

In this course, you'll explore your own cultural competence in the classroom; apply multiculturalism to problem-solving;receive training on service learning; and discuss how to create and sustain connections with classrooms around the world.

Course 5: Educating for Civil Societies - Teaching as Research and Action

This course is a culminating experience with two outcomes: 1) The creation of an electronic Teaching Portfolio(E-Portfolio) that showcases your work from the Certificate of Teaching Mastery; and 2) A Service Project - a professional gift to your communitythat applies what you have learned in the previous four courses to address a local, national, or global need in one of the following areas:

• Early Childhood Education
• Literacy and Numeracy for Adult Learners
• Environmental Education
• Education through the Arts
• Girls' Education
• Conflict Mediation
• Special Education
• Community Teaching and Learning Centers

Assignment 1: meeting your mentor

Mentors are teachers from around the world chosen by Teachers Without Borders for their expertise and sense of hospitality.They are here to help you - to be your guide and companion on this journey through the Certificate of Teaching Mastery. You share ideas andassignments with your Mentor, and s/he gives you support, feedback, and guidance.

As a way of greeting your Mentor, please answer the following two questions and send your responses to your Mentor:

• Hospitality - the actions of making others feel welcome - is an important part of almost all cultures. Tell your mentor how it is in yourculture that newcomers are made to feel welcome. Describe in as much detail as possible what is said, what actions are taken.
• Tell your mentor a story about a teacher who inspired you.
• To do this assignment, click on the Word icon below. When it appears, press "Save" so that you can work on this assignment "off-line." (Youcan type right on the assignment template. Be sure to save your assignment on a disk or your computer hard drive.)

Assignment 1: Meeting Your Mentor

Personal file storage

How to use your personal file storage

To add your completed "Assignment 1" file to your Personal File Storage area, follow the directions in the document below.After you have added the file to Your Personal File Storage, follow the instructions on how to "Submit a File for Your Mentor to Review" contained inthe same document. (You'll notice that this document tells you how to add, delete, replace, submit files and how to read your Mentor's feedback andrespond.) To access this document, click on the Word icon below:

Personal File Storage Instructions

Save the above document to your personal disk or hard drive. You may also wish to print out a copy of this document, as you will needto refer to it anytime you are using your Personal File Storage. If you do not have access to a printer, you can always click on the Word icon above and whenthe document comes up, minimize it on your screen, and "toggle" or go between the document and the Personal File Storage area.