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Japan Fulbright memorial Fund |
1. FMF Teachers Program
Every year since 1997, schoolteachers and administrators representing each of the fifty states and the District of Columbia visit Japan as participants on the Fulbright Memorial Fund Teacher Program. This international exchange program was established and is fully sponsored by the Government of Japan in order to express its gratitude for the Fulbright Program which has brought over 6,000 Japanese scholars to the United States. The Japan Fulbright Memorial Fund Teacher Program was established in 1997. It is administered by the Japan Fulbright Memorial Fund (JFMF) and the Japan-U.S. Educational Commission (JUSEC). The Institute of International Education is the contracting agency for recruitment and Teacher Program promotion in the United States.
Every year, 600 program participants are divided into three groups and each 200-member-group visits Japan for a few weeks in June, October or November. The Japan Fulbright Memorial Fund offers them not only a chance to have hands-on experiences in Japan, but to also gain experience that they can pass on to their students. At the same time, Japanese teachers are always excited to host the participants and are eager to exchange teaching ideas and even commiserate about mutual problems.
"My FMF Experience " by Bobbi Capwell LINK
2. FMF Master Teachers Program
The FMF launched the Master Teacher Program (MTP) to bring schools in the United States and Japan together in a collaborative exchange and education process. The MTP invites applications from past FMF participants from the two countries who organizeschool teams to join in the program.
The MTP follows an environment theme. All MTP members participate in the BUGS (Biodiversity Understand Global Systems) and Soil project. This involves collecting local insect and soil samples to establish a sense of biodiversity and its relation to regional differences and soil types. In addition, each school develops a pair project with its counterpart.
The MTP's activities begin in the spring with a week visit by the Japanese teams to their counterpart schools, followed by Internet and other communications. In summer, a representative of each American team visits Japan for several weeks. During this time, the partners finalize their pair project plans.
Starting in the fall, teachers and students in the U.S. and Japan work together on the pair projects using the Internet for collaboration. When they bring their projects to completion, they present their results in an international videoconference. Through these means, MTP aims to create a sustainable system of learning that combines exchange visits, off-line learning activities and Internet based communications.
MTP's bi-national teams collaborate on joint projects to learn about the earth systems, using information technology. For further information and an application form, please visit http://www.fulbrightmemorialfund.jp