Teacher Trainings

Introduces Grade 6-12 teachers to Islam in the Middle East, Southeast Asia, and the U.S. Midwest. Experts in the field, as well as members of Michigan’s Muslim community, will lead the workshop and discussion. Learn more »

This program builds a community of Grade 6-12 educators who together will enrich and revitalize their teaching. Throughout the school year, the cohort of teachers will participate in expert-led activities. Learn more »

This workshop will introduce Grade 5-12 teachers to the complex issues of Middle Eastern migration to and religions in Latin America, helping participants to contextualize these issues within both regions’ history and current events. Learn more »

Thematic day-long workshops for local K-12 teachers to learn about important topics on the Middle East and North Africa and to integrate new content into their curriculum. SCECH credit available.

The International Institute and the School of Education collaborate to host annual curriculum development workshops featuring historians and literary experts offering case studies in world history and literature. For more information, visit the World History and Literature Initiative page »

CMENAS and other International Institute Area Studies Centers at the University of Michigan are proud supporters of the MIIIE, a consortium of two-year colleges primarily located in the Midwest region. The MIIIE is dedicated to improving international studies and foreign language training at each member campus. CMENAS is a co-sponsor of the MIIIE’s annual August curriculum development workshops.

For more information on MIIIE’s projects and upcoming curriculum development workshops, visit: miiie.org

This collaborative project between the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, and the University of Puerto Rico, Río Piedras, is funded by the US Department of Education’s Title VI. It is geared towards creating spaces for discussions of new research and curriculum development projects among professors, graduate and undergraduate students, and school teachers from Puerto Rico.

As part of the effort to create sustainable links with institutions serving underrepresented populations, the CMENAS and the other International Institute area studies centers at the University of Michigan built a partnership with the Colleges of Education, Humanities, and Social Sciences at the University of Puerto Rico. There are no Title VI National Resources Centers on the island of Puerto Rico; there are also no Hispanic serving institutions in the State of Michigan. Thanks to deep existing ties between our institutions we are able to expand access to the area studies and language resources at UM to the faculty and students at the UPR, to in-service teachers in the region around UPR, and to their K-12 students.

Constitution 2 Classroom: A First Amendment Professional Development Program
This professional development program is hosted by the Religious Freedom Center at the Freedom Forum Institute and is 100% online and “focused on the practical application of religious studies in the classroom.” Modules are available for subjects of “Islamic Traditions,” “Teaching about Religious Identity,” and more.

Global Exploration for Educators Organization
This non-profit organization specializes in offering “interesting and affordable” travel adventures for K-12 educators, with the goal of providing educators with “greater global perspectives” and “richer experiences for those they lead in the classroom.”

National Council for Social Studies (NCSS) Summer Religious Studies Institute
The NCSS Institute is an annual event that helps K-12 educators “meet instructional goals” and “broaden professional competence” in teaching religion in the classroom. Registration includes 15 professional development hours.

Global Read Webinar Series Spring 2019
Reading Across Cultures: Social-Justice Books for the Grade 7-12 Classroom, January-May 2019
Once a month, the World Area Book Awards will sponsor a 60-minute webinar on an award-winning book from the Middle East, Southeast Asia, and other regions of the globe. Each webinar will feature a presentation and discussion by an award-winning author on how to incorporate multi-cultural literature into the classroom. If participating in all five webinar sessions, participants will receive certificates of completion.

Religious Worlds of New York: Teaching the Everyday Life of American Religious Diversit
This summer institute by the Interfaith Center of New York and the Union Theological Seminary, supported by the National Endowment for the Humanities, helps K-12 teachers learn how to “teach about the everyday lives of American religious communities.” Stipends are available, and the program includes graduate and continuing education credits. Applications are usually due at the beginning of March.