New International School of Japan will be sponsoring a summer institute on professional development with Dr. Sandra J. Stone, Emilie Roger, and Brian Stone of the Multiage Institute at Northern Arizona University (NAU). The program runs every day from August 12 to 16, from 9am to 4pm, with one hour for lunch.
There are two course options: ECI 647 — Multiage Education & Early Childhood Curriculum and ECI 648 — Advanced Multiage Education. Both courses offer three optional university credits.
ECI 647 is an intensive version of the two-week National Multiage Institute summer course offered at NAU every summer. It provides historical and theoretical foundations of effective practice for children in a multiage setting, and practical ideas for designing and implementing the classroom.
ECI 648 is oriented to refining learning process strategies and portfolio assessment as well as broadening the use of centres, play, projects, and problem-based learning. The course incorporates maths and science into these strategies across mixed-age groupings from younger student groupings to older student groupings.
The courses cost ¥60,000, which is payable by August 1, with a discount for members of Tokyo Association of International Preschools.
The courses will be conducted in English; however, they include lots of hands-on activities and visual aids, which means that participants with intermediate to advanced proficiency in English will be able to benefit from them.
Dr. Sandra J. Stone is a professor at Northern Arizona University, and is the Founder of the Multiage Institute.
She is a former multiage teacher, author of Creating the Multiage Classroom, international multiage consultant, and conference speaker. Emilie Rodger is an Associate Professor at Northern Arizona University. She is a former multiage teacher, national consultant, and conference speaker. Brian Stone is a lecturer at Northern Arizona University, focusing on science and social studies for mixed-age learners. He is a former intermediate multiage teacher and national conference speaker.
Interested participants should see http://newis.ed.jp for more information. To learn about the Multiage Institute, see http://nau.edu/COE/About/Projects/National-Multiage-Institute.
