Professional Development by the Middle East Studies Center (MESC)
The Middle East Studies Center (MESC) engages, informs and trains teachers at every level in specific pedagogy and substantive knowledge for changing students' thinking about the Middle East. This includes pedagogy for cultural awareness development pedagogy, social justice consciousness, and related skills and understanding for discussing issues pertaining to the area in an informed and sensitive manner. The reason we focus on teachers, whether P-12 or at the collegiate level, is that they provide a multiplying effect for impact as they teach many students over the years. Professional development opportunities and resources for classroom teachers include:
- Summer institutes and other courses,
- Short-term workshops,
- Year-long lecture series, and
- Trips to the Middle East or field trips in the U.S
- Online discussions with global education scholars in the US and Turkey
- Other Training Opportunities
Teachers can start there or through membership in national professional organizations, such as the Middle East Outreach Council. We train individuals who are already professional teachers or who simply wish to share knowledge about the Middle East in the classroom. Regardless of the track one chooses, this training program provides pedagogy and firm grounding for teaching about the Middle East, particularly in regard to communication. Transformative academic knowledge is emphasized (Banks,1996) at every level of our training program, with the goal of challenging stereotypes and increasing understanding and awareness of aspects that are "below the surface." This includes elements of "deep culture" such as beliefs and values, but it also includes economics and social divisions.