TO REGISTER FOR THIS COURSE, PLEASE FILL OUT THE APPLICATION FORM.

Course Specifics

Date:  August 18, 2011
Time:  9:00 am – 4:00 pm
Location:  Multicultural Resource Center, Washington Secondary Magnet, 1495 Rice St., St. Paul, MN 55117
Other:  A lesson plan with a one-page reflection and six additional hours of training is also be required. Several trainings through The Advocates and the Multicultural Resource Center will be availalbe to fill these hours.

Course Description

The Human Rights Education Summer Institute will focus on what the Universal Declaration of Human Rights teaches us about content, pedagogy, and our learning environment. Participants will receive an introduction to human rights; the research-based rationale for incorporating human rights education (HRE); the basic framework of HRE, best practices and resources for implementation; in-depth information on human rights topics, such as the achievement gap, immigration, bullying, and gender stereotyping; and ideas for service learning projects.

In addition to the six-hour Summer Institute, participants seeking the graduate-level credit through Hamline University will attend six additional hours of HRE training throughout the semester. Participants can choose from the available trainings, which will include more in-depth information than that presented at the Summer Institute. The list of available trainings is currently scheduled to include the following workshops: Immigration for Educators; Conflict Resolution in the Classroom; Teaching Human Rights; Challenge the Media (on gender stereotypes and the sexualization of young girls in mainstream media); Bullying and Human Rights; Service Learning and Human Rights Education.

In order to complete the course, participants will write a lesson plan with a one-page reflective introduction on why they chose this topic and how they anticipate it will affect their students and/or the learning environment. The lesson plan should have applicability to their own work and reflect knowledge of HRE gained through the Summer Institute and additional trainings. Participants will have the opportunity to share these lesson plans with other teachers in the same content area by posting them on The Advocates’ website.

HRE provides a framework through which teachers can build safe and inviting classrooms that value diversity and respect for others, promote intercultural learning, and empower students towards more active citizenship. The HRE trainings that make up this course will provide tools and techniques on how to integrate HRE methods into the classroom. Presenters demonstrate lessons, discuss best practices, and provide resources to enable educators to integrate human rights concepts, issues, and principles into their existing coursework. At the end of the course, participants will have acquired the knowledge, skills, and values of HRE, with the broad goal of building a universal human rights culture. HRE develops an understanding of everyone’s common responsibility to make human rights a reality in each community and gives students practical skills to uphold their own rights and defend those of others.


Course Assignments

1)    Each student will be required to attend a total of 12 hours of training (6 hours at the HRE Summer Institute, and 6 additional hours throughout the semester).

2)    Each student will be required to create and submit a lesson plan with a reflective introduction on why they chose this topic and how they anticipate it will affect their students and/or the learning environment. The lesson plan should have applicability to their own work and incorporate lessons learned in the Human Rights Education Summer Institute and subsequent trainings. The lesson will be specific to grade level and subject area and will identify which learning styles they are reaching through their activities. Each lesson will address at least one clearly defined human rights-related issue and the specific article(s) of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) or Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) will be identified. Participants will have the opportunity to share these lesson plans with other teachers in the same content area by posting them on The Advocates’ website.

Course Evaluation

Each student will receive a letter grade (A-F), based on her/his performance. In addition to participation in 12 hours of training (including the HRE Summer Institute), grades will be determined based on the following lesson plan criteria:

• Includes a quality, one-page reflective introduction;
• Specifically incorporates at least one article of the UDHR into activities;
• Designates a targeted age range with developmentally appropriate content;
• Incorporates at least two human rights methodologies (e.g., student-centered learning) in activities;
• Identifies different learning styles reached through activities;
• Lays out clear learning objectives and assessments that relate to human rights knowledge, skills, and values;
• Presents students with opportunities to take action on an issue (e.g., through a service learning project);
• Fits into the existing curriculum for the educator’s classroom/school; and
• Identifies state standards met through activities.
   

Course Expectations

Students must assume responsibility for their own learning and success. It is expected that you will use this experience to pursue your own questions and interests, and that you will take an active or inquiry approach rather than a passive one in your learning. Please “mine” the seminar for experiences and knowledge that suit your individual needs and purposes. You are encouraged to develop collaborative relationships with your colleagues in the seminar to further bolster your learning opportunities. 
 

Academic Integrity

Code of Professional Ethics and Collaboration:  It is expected that students think of themselves as professionals and collaborative members of this learning community.  Self-responsibility, positive attitude, collaborative disposition, and respect for the learners, parents, peers, and professors with whom students interact during this course are expected and highly valued.

Students with Special Needs:  Within the first week of class, students with special needs must provide the instructor with written documentation that outlines their specific, individual needs.  Following receipt of this documentation, the instructor will schedule a conference to discuss appropriate accommodations for students with special needs.  Selected university support systems may be recommended by the instructor.

Attendance:  Regular attendance is essential, as is promptness.  Please inform the instructor, in advance, of any anticipated absences, and accept responsibility for getting notes and handouts from other members of the learning community. 

Seminar Participation:  The benefits that students derive from a seminar are directly proportionate to the amount of time, energy, work, and involvement invested in the seminar.  Please come to the seminar prepared to make a positive contribution.

Sexual Harassment:
University policy prohibits sexual harassment.  Complaints should be reported to the Office of Student Affairs. According to the Equal Employment Opportunities Commission (EEOC), sexual harassment is defined in the following manner: unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, and other verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature; constitute sexual harassment when:

Ø Submission to such conduct is made either explicitly or implicitly a term or condition of an individual’s employment of academic advancement;

Ø Submission to or rejection of such conduct by an individual is used a the basis for academic or employment decisions affecting the individual; and

Ø Such conduct has the purpose or effect of unreasonably interfering with an individual’s work or academic performance or creating an intimidating, hostile environment. 

Diversity:
This course develops proficiencies for working with K-12 students from diverse backgrounds and with exceptionalities to ensure that all students have the opportunity to learn by assisting the student in developing the necessary knowledge, skills and dispositions listed above.

Religious Holidays:
The university makes every reasonable effort to allow students to observe religious holidays without academic penalty while recognizing that accommodations should not create an undue interference with the student’s participation in a course. Absence from classes or examinations for religious reasons does not relieve students from responsibility for any part of the course work required during the period of absence. Students who expect to miss classes as a consequence of their religious observance shall be provided with an opportunity to pursue a reasonable alternative to complete such academic responsibilities and requirements.

TO REGISTER FOR THIS COURSE, PLEASE FILL OUT THE APPLICATION FORM.