The deadline to apply for the Fulbright Teacher Program is October 15, 2011. The Fulbright Teacher Exchange Program is an international professional development program that provides opportunities for K-12 teachers to participate in direct exchanges of positions with colleagues from other countries for a semester or a year. By living and working abroad, exchange teachers gain an understanding and appreciation of different educational systems and cultures, and enrich their schools and communities by providing students with new perspectives about the world in which they live. 

Fulbright exchanges result in continuing relationships between schools, some of which establish their own student and faculty exchanges and Internet links.  In other instances, exchanges benefit local communities by providing them with international resources that are not otherwise available. International collaborations such as these foster enduring relationships and continuously provide students with opportunities to increase their subject knowledge and understand its relevance in the greater context of the world. Participating teachers develop and share their expertise with colleagues abroad, and schools gain from the experience of having an international resource in their communities. 

Full-time U.S. teachers are eligible to apply for a year-long or semester-long direct exchange of teaching positions with a counterpart in another country teaching the same subject(s) at the same level. Fulbright program staff in the U.S. and abroad match U.S. and overseas candidates in the spring of each year. Then, Fulbright staff propose matched-exchanges that each candidate and each school administration must approve before the program takes place. For more information, see http://www.fulbrightteacherexchange.org/cte.cfm. 

Applications for the 2012-2013 Distinguished Fulbright Awards in Teaching are due by December 15, 2011. These awards are designed to recognize and encourage excellence in teaching in the U.S. and abroad. They select 24 highly talented U.S. and international teachers to receive a grant to study at a university, conduct research, teach classes and workshops, and develop a project pertaining to their field of educational inquiry during their semester overseas. 

Sponsored by the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, U.S. Department of State, the Distinguished Fulbright Awards in Teaching program recognizes and encourages excellence in teaching in the U.S. and abroad. The program sends highly accomplished primary and secondary teachers from the U.S. abroad and brings international teachers to the U.S for a three to six month long program. Participating countries in 2012-2013 are: Argentina, Finland, India, Israel, Mexico, Morocco, Singapore, South Africa, and the United Kingdom.

This highly prestigious program will provide U.S. award recipients with the opportunity to study in an overseas research center or university. International participants will gather at a single U.S. university college of education which will provide a broad range of education classes and faculty support. Participants can take advanced undergraduate or graduate level classes, conduct research, design and lead seminars for host country teachers and students, and engage in other teaching related activities. Grantees will propose an action-based research project at the time of application that should encourage cross-cultural dialogue, reflection, and support teaching activities. In conjunction with a host institution mentor, each grantee will design program activities that will enhance the action-based research project and contribute to its successful completion. Upon returning home, teachers will be expected to share the knowledge and experience gained on the program with teachers and students in their home schools and within their communities. 

Grantees will be expected to produce a final action-based research project at the end of the program, with the form and content of the project proposed by the applicant at the time of application; projects should encourage cross-cultural dialogue and support future teaching activities. Participants should be creative in developing program activities that will enhance their project and contribute to its successful implementation. Each international teacher will be encouraged to give presentations on their project activities, and to compile written reflections and photographic or other records of their U.S. experiences. 

Program costs such as tuition, room and board, and transportation are covered by the grant; participants will receive a maintenance allowance designed to assist with the costs of food and lodging during the program. Distinguished Teachers will also have the opportunity to apply for professional development funds to support development and research, or cover the expenses of attending a conference or workshop related to their fields of teaching expertise. Dependents may accompany program participants; all dependents' expenses, however, will be paid for by the grantee. See http://www.fulbrightteacherexchange.org/dteIndex.cfm

for information. 

Photo caption: Jeff Blair, 2009-10 U.S. Fulbright Distinguished Awards in Teaching participant at the Fezeka Senior Secondary School in Guguletu, South Africa 

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