Berks County Intermediate Unit Asian Studies Collaborative April 24, 2009 Confucius Institute University of Pittsburgh : Chinese In the Schools

What is the Confucius Institute? Quick Stats Organizational Structure Teacher Selection Training Monitoring Introduction

Confucius Institute at Pitt Mission Statement To promote the understanding of China and the Chinese language to the citizens of Pennsylvania for greater knowledge and a means with which to bridge the cultural gap between our two nations.

Confucius Institute Organization much like the Alliance Française or the Goethe Institutes. Government sponsored language and culture center established to promote a greater understanding of China CI’s World Wide: 326 in 81 countries (Oct. 2008) U.S.= 56; only one in Pennsylvania Run in conjunction with the Chinese Ministry of Education’s Office Foreign Language Affairs also known as Hanban Each institute has a Chinese partner to help oversee educational affairs, choose and place teachers, help to develop other cooperative programs (e.g. Pitt in Wuhan for undergraduate students). Pitt’s partner institute is Wuhan University, one of the top 5 university’s in China.

Confucius Institute at Pitt CI Pitt was established in May of 2007 and brought 2 Chinese language teachers to Pennsylvania that August. By Fall of: 2007: 2 teachers; 50 students 2008: 10 teachers; 1098 students (and growing) 2009: projected: 13 teachers, students in five counties. K-12 and 2 colleges.

Quick Stats Partner institution with Wuhan University Current number of volunteer teachers: 8 Satellite branches of CI-Pitt: 3 (primary satellite program at St. Vincent College in Latrobe) Number of schools with programs: 25 Number of Classes: 64 Number of Students in Western PA taking CI language and culture classes: 1098

Statistical Projection for 2009 Number of Teachers coming for 09: 13 Satellite Branches of CI: 4 Number of Schools with CI-Programs for fall 2009: 33 Number of Classes: 95 Number of Students in the State of Pennsylvania learning Chinese in CI-Pitt Programs: Number of Distance Education courses: 20

Organizational Structure

1. Board of Advisors CI-Pitt and Wuhan University University of Pittsburgh Mr. Albert Novak-Vice Chancellor for Institutional Advancement and Chair of CI-Pitt Board Dr. Donald Burke-Dean, Graduate School of Public Health Dr. Lawrence Feick-Director, University Center for International Studies Mr. Robert Littlefield-China American Trade Society Chairman, Emeritus Wuhan University Dr. Hailliang GU – President, Wuhan University & Chair of Wuhan University CI Board Dr. Shiju ZHAO – Associate Dean, School of Chinese Language and Culture Dr. Yongyi BI – Party Secretary and Associate Dean, School of Public Health Mr. Jiangbin LU – Director, International Office

Teacher Selection

Selection in Wuhan by WHU and Pitt WHU does initial interviewing of candidates. Last year 60 applicants for 8 positions. Pitt went to WHU to interview 20 finalists with WHU administration.

Selection Criteria English proficiency as demonstrated in the interview Educational background Willingness and enthusiasm Curiosity Interest in living in a foreign country Desire to teach Grades and classes taught or taken Other

Training

Each candidate required to come to Pitt by July Two week intensive, in-house pedagogical training Introduce concept of reciprocity and our expectations of them/ them of us Team building exercises Opportunity to work together to create lessons Teach in teams to the group by end of two week session Handbook and breakdown of responsibilities Candidates have 4 main administrative branches that oversee them: WHU; Pitt; Hanban; and School district (or university) in which they work (see managing) Handbook helps to delineate responsibilities Candidates must sign off on sheet saying they understand duties

Mentoring/Monitoring

Teachers are placed in schools and are overseen by mentor teacher, usually in the foreign language department or by school principal Each semester there are reviews by the district and end of year self- evaluations and district evaluations Students also submit evaluations (common in U.S. schools) Periodically CI-Pitt does in-class observations and oversees critical pedagogical issues Testing and scoring within schools vary; teachers must adhere to standards of their schools/districts and meet PA ACTFL standards set out by CI-Pitt Team building activities, cultural events and opportunities to socialize with one another a large part of the mentoring process. Teachers are encouraged to share “best practices” with one another Summer pedagogical training course also has sessions with exiting teachers overseeing workshops for incoming teachers

Managing

Volunteer teachers require special care that is different from full-time local hire for US school Satellite branches oversee day-to-day progress so that teachers are managed by districts rather than directly by CI-Pitt staff As noted above, volunteer teachers have four branches that oversee their work: WHU, Hanban, Pitt and district in which they work Handbook lays out distinct responsibilities Training in summer is critical to having responsibilities delineated and understood CI-Pitt tries to be consistent across the board but is flexible to various situations Goals of CI-Pitt clearly defined

Teachers

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Teachers Cont.

Teachers cont.

Thank You