Taking place June 25-26, 2018, this two-day professional development workshop brought together award-winning journalists supported by the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting and digital educational resources created by Pulitzer Center and UChicago to address the assessment of news sources, integration of global news into diverse curricula, and application of journalism skills in the classroom to teach critical thinking, creativity and communication. The program included a combination of presentations and hands-on activities. Participants finished the program with the tools to incorporate new content into their classes, as well as connections to journalists working on these issues.

Some examples of world areas and topics explored during this workshop summer included: youth activism and political conflict in Iran; migration and left-behind children in rural China; economic and political conflicts in Venezuela; economic and global health issues in Russia, as well as the Rohingya crisis in Myanmar and Bangladesh.

Intended for elementary through community college educators (K–14), the Summer Institute for Educators was open to all interested parties with attendees earning up to 12 CPDUs by completing the Institute.

In providing this professional development opportunity for local educators, participants gained tools to:

  • Investigate the process of reporting global news—How do journalists navigate bias when reporting? How do we connect students to sources they can trust and that engage them?
  • Explore methods for integrating global journalism into their current curricula by connecting global news to students’ lived experiences
  • Reflect on how journalism skills can support literacy, writing, discussion and research skills and lead students in applying journalism skills to research topics that interest them  

Educators were asked to consider the following guiding questions before, during, and after the Institute:

  • How interested are my students in global issues?
  • Why is it important for students to investigate global issues?
  • What are the barriers to connecting students with global issues, and how do we overcome those barriers?
  • How are my students accessing the news?
  • How can my students positively contribute to the global media landscape as both consumers and producers of online content?

The 2018 Summer Institute for Educators was co-sponsored by the University of Chicago Center for East Asian Studies, Center for East European and Russian/Eurasian StudiesCenter for Latin American Studies, and Center for Middle Eastern Studies, and it is presented in partnership with the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting. It is made possible through generous support from the Title VI National Resource Center grants from the US Department of Education.

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