Educational Outreach/Teacher Training Program || Mission

Mission

CLAIS Outreach is part of The Programs in International Educational Resources (PIER) of The MacMillan Center, which draws upon Yale University’s extensive resources to develop and implement programs, services, and resources designed to advance understanding of international and world regional issues through outreach to education, business, media, and the public.

Our mission is to enhance and promote an open and critical understanding of the socio-economic, political and cultural changes and continuities that define Latin American societies. From a multidisciplinary perspective, our purpose is to engage the interests, knowledge and practices of educators who teach about Latin America at all levels with those of researchers, policy-makers and grass-roots activists, who are also pursuing a deeper understanding of the diverse societies and identities of Latin America within local, regional and worldwide developments. It is important to learn about other cultures, especially Latin American cultures, in order to enhance our understanding of historical developments through multiple forms of education, guided by universal principles of social tolerance, social equity, and respect for human dignity and human rights. An education that promotes intercultural dialogue and understanding is based on an appreciation and reaffirmation of diversity and cultural identities, and can prevent conflicts through non-violent means as individuals create and embrace social changes amid contexts of social cohesion. These educational goals aim to improve the ways in which societies can collaborate with each other towards a more equitable and sustainable socio-economic development and, thus, to the improvement of the quality of life of all. Achieving this goal, international education, and specifically education about Latin America, will enable students of all ages to critically address and participate in dialogues and decision-making aimed at better defining the dynamics and changes brought by an era of globalization, new technological and economic developments, transnational arrangements, and vast and rapid information and migration patterns that have resulted in new multi-cultural social realities. In short, learning about Latin America and other world regions will allow today’s youth to be better equipped with the tools and skills needed in order to be active and productive global citizens.  

Objectives

“To teach is not to transfer knowledge, but to create the possibilities for its own production or construction” (Paulo Freire, Pedagogía de la Autonomía, 1996). Educators participating in our various programs will develop and strengthen their content knowledge of Latin America in ways that will allow them to critically appropriate, reflect and construct for educational purposes, information, resources and knowledge about this region (Shulman, 1986; Freire, 1996). By enhancing their content knowledge and building on their own educational experience, educators should also be enabled to propose and examine pedagogical approaches that further develop their curriculum (Shulman, 1986; UNESCO, 2004): that is, what is learned and what is taught in a subject (context); how it is delivered (teaching-learning methods/styles); how it is assessed; and the resources and instructional materials used (e.g., books) - therefore, mediating and recreating content knowledge about Latin America in ways that are accessible, interesting, and challenging to diverse student populations.

Programs

CLAIS Outreach runs a variety of programs for educators, media, and business, as well as other programs for students and the Yale and New Haven communities. Programs include, but are not limited to, workshops for educators, intensive summer institutes, international field studies, film screenings, and presentations at schools. Programs include:

Professional Development Workshops
Professional Development Workshops take place evenings and weekends and cover a range of topics and themes. Please check CLAIS Events (please link “Events” to Events heading within site).

School Programs
CLAIS Outreach is involved in a variety of school programs with students. For more information or to discuss CLAIS Outreach in your school, please contact the CLAIS Outreach Director.

PIER Resources & Curriculum Development/Instructional Materials
Primary and Secondary Education. Appointments can be made with the Outreach Director for technical assistance concerning the use of resources as curriculum material.

For information on any of the above, please contact:
Elena Gibbons Serapiglia
Outreach Director
Email: Elena.Serapiglia@yale.edu
Office Phone: (203) 432-5605

Programs in International Educational Resources (PIER)
To learn about outreach for more world areas, including an educational lending library, please visit:
www.yale.edu/macmillan/pier

Sponsored by the U.S. Department of Education through a Title VI National Resource Center Grant.