Program Goals

Pre-Departure Orientation
Sunday, November 12, 2006
San Francisco, California

Goals, Program Objectives, and Focus Areas

Goal: Launch the JFMF study visit with an appropriate focus on program goals, objectives, and focus areas.

Summary of JFMF Teacher Program Objectives:
1. Increase understanding between the people of Japan and the United States of America;
2. Enrich first through twelfth grade curricula by presenting teachers with the opportunity to integrate international perspectives and methodologies and relate actual experiences from the JFMF Teacher Program;
3. Encourage more Americans to appreciate the people, culture, and educational system of Japan;
4. Expand international professional development opportunities for American primary and secondary educators.

Orientation Focus Areas:
The pre-departure orientation will focus on:
1. Enhancing appreciation of the study visit. This will be achieved by exposure to Japanese institutions, systems, and society by presenting elements of the three-week plan and providing an opportunity for participant questions.
2. Developing an awareness of key elements of the Japanese educational system, including teaching approaches, values in education, customs, and other topics of interest to teaching professionals.
3. Reviewing requirements for follow-on plans by discussing strategies that have worked in the past and the materials (tangible and informational) participants should anticipate collecting and recording during the study visit.