|
 |
THE HERITAGE INSTITUTE
COURSE PROPOSAL INFORMATION SHEET
|
WHO WE ARE & WHAT WE OFFER
For over 26 years, The Heritage Institute (THI) has been a leader in progressive continuing education programs for K-12 educators. Beginning in 1977 with a handful of field studies on the natural history of Washington state, THI currently offers courses in most subject areas and teaching methodologies across the K-12 curriculum. Our philosophy of Educating for Humanity provides the inspiration for our leading edge perspective on teaching and learning and for our vision of schools as enriching and productive learning environments for all children. Our goal is to provide teachers with the learning experiences and renewal programs to support them in making their classrooms places where students look forward to coming, perceive the joy in learning, and value education and those who provide it.
Our instructors are an inspiring group of over 160 professional educators, a majority of whom have significant experience as K-12 teachers and/or as teacher instructors. Many currently teach full or part-time, and some are retired. Other instructors include those with experience as counselors, outdoor educators, college professors, and other professions that serve educators and/or K-12 students.
Each year The Heritage Institute offers over 350 workshops, field studies, distance learning courses and travel study opportunities, all designed to provide teachers with quality courses that are inspiring and readily transferable to the classroom. Workshops and field studies are offered in the four Northwestern states of Washington, Oregon, Idaho and Montana while distance learning courses and travel study opportunities are open to all teachers in the US and around the world.
Through our external education program we provide clock hours and university quarter credits for workshops offered by teacher trainers and consultants who have the ability to market their own programs. Similarly, we provide clock hours and university education credit for school-based in-service programs through our Improve Student Learning program. For more information on these programs, contact Mike Seymour, via email at mike [at] hol.edu or via phone at 800/445-1305.
WHO WE SERVE
Each year over 3,600 public and private school teachers enroll in our courses. Besides taking courses to expand their teaching skills and perspectives on education, many teachers enroll in our courses to renew their teaching certificate and/or to advance on their district's salary schedule. While the majority of course participants are teachers, a number of parents, camp counselors, youth group organizers and others also take our courses.
THE HERITAGE INSTITUTE AND ANTIOCH UNIVERSITY SEATTLE
Most courses at The Heritage Institute are offered for Antioch University Seattle (AUS) university quarter credits (3 qtr. cr. = 2 semester cr.) and are acceptable in many states toward re-certification and within most school districts for salary advancement. THI and AUS are separately incorporated and have been affiliated by contractual agreement since 1987 under whose terms AUS reviews and certifies the appropriateness of course content and instructors. Instructors for THI are, therefore, not employees of AUS but of THI only. Antioch University is a national university founded in 1852, and is accredited by the North Central Association of Schools and Colleges.
INSTRUCTOR QUALIFICATIONS
The Heritage Institute is looking for instructors who share some or all of the following qualities:
- possess a Master's degree or higher (required);
- passionate about their work as teachers and teacher instructors;
- knowledgeable and enthusiastic about the subject or topic they wish to teach;
- connected to local people, organizations and other resources that would be useful to teachers;
- capable of supplementing THI's marketing by networking and promoting THI programs in their school and district;
- experienced in teacher education, classroom teaching or in working with school-aged children (though not always necessary);
- innovative in their thinking about education, and;
- capable of inspiring and supporting teachers to make learning enjoyable and fulfilling for their students.
INSTRUCTOR RESPONSIBILITIES
Workshops, Field Study and Travel Study Programs
Workshops and field studies are offered throughout Washington, Oregon, Idaho and Montana. The Heritage Institute office staff is responsible for all course logistics (i.e.: scheduling courses, finding sites for workshops, advertising courses in our catalog, coordinating the new course approval process with Antioch University, registering students,…) leaving instructors with the time and energy needed to develop and teach inspiring courses. At the end of the course, instructors are responsible for evaluating student assignments, completing grade reports and returning all necessary paperwork to THI in a timely manner. While a majority of our workshops are offered in the summer (June-August), a select group of courses is offered in fall/winter (September - February) and in spring (March-May). New courses are most frequently scheduled in the summer. Workshops typically run 10 hours/day for one or two days. Field study programs run anywhere from one to six days in length and travel study programs may run from a few days to several weeks.
Distance Learning Courses
Referred to as "guided independent study" courses (GIS), distance learning courses are offered year round with students entering at any time and having a year to complete the course. GIS instructors are responsible for creating a syllabus that details all assignments including information acquisition, learning application assignments, self-reflection paper and an integration paper. GIS instructors guide students through their learning process, answering questions and holding discussions with students via mail, email, fax, or phone. When a student completes a course, the instructor is responsible for evaluating student assignments, completing grade reports and returning all necessary paperwork to THI in a timely manner.
COURSE PROPOSAL PROCESS & DUE DATES
Course Proposal Process
Please use this seven-step process to propose a course:
1. Familiarize Yourself with The Heritage Institute and Our Course Offerings. Before proposing a new course, please familiarize yourself with The Heritage Institute by reading the About Us and Our Philosophy page of this web site as well as previewing the courses we offer. For descriptions of courses, please visit the courses page or, better yet, request a catalog. Be sure to review the courses we currently offer to make sure that we do not already offer a similar course in your region. On occasion there are courses we would like to continue to offer, but need a new instructor for. If interested, please inquire about such courses in writing.
2. Write and Submit a Brief Course Description and Resume. After reviewing our catalog, write and submit a brief description of the course you are proposing. The description should read like a catalog description and include brief comments on the rationale for the course, the course content, how the content will be covered, what the benefits to teachers and their students will be, and the grade levels the course is most appropriate for (max. of 1/2 - 1 page in length). You are encouraged to submit course proposals for topics you are truly interested in, enthusiastic about and have experience using in your classroom teaching. Send your course description, along with your resume and contact information, to Mike Seymour, via email at mike [at] hol.edu or via postal mail at: The Heritage Institute, PO Box 860, Clinton, WA, 98236. Our preference is for proposals to be submitted via email.
3. Discuss Your Idea for a New Course With the Curriculum Coordinator. If it is determined that there is a need for the course you have proposed, the Curriculum Coordinator will call you to discuss your proposal in detail.
4. Submit a Full Course Proposal. If your idea for a new course is accepted you will be asked to submit a full course proposal. A full course proposal includes a complete syllabus (course description, requirements for credit, outside assignment descriptions and due dates, required reading, assignment, instructor qualifications, bibliography, and detailed course outline) and several administrative forms. The full course proposal needs to be submitted by August 15th for the following spring/summer program. To prepare your fall course proposal, our office will send you a syllabus preparation packet.
5. Notification of Approval. Most courses that reach this stage of the proposal process will be accepted and published in our catalog. However, if the course proposal is poorly presented, we reserve the right to reject proposals at this point in the process.
6. Complete Syllabus Review and Revision. Your syllabus will be reviewed by The Heritage Institute and sent to Antioch University Seattle for their review and approval. Once reviewed, the syllabus will be returned to you for revisions. It is rare that a first draft of a syllabus is accepted as is.
7. THI to Publish Course Catalog. Once syllabi revisions have been completed satisfactorily, your course will be fully accepted and a description for it will be published in our catalog.
Preferred Due Dates for Proposals
The Heritage Institute publishes two catalogs each year. Our fall catalog includes courses that are offered between September 1st and February 28th and our spring/summer catalog includes courses offered between March 1st and August 31st. Please note the following suggested dates for the course proposal process.
|
Fall/Winter
Catalog |
Spr/Summer
Catalog |
| 1. Submit your initial course idea |
by 4/15 |
by 6/15 |
| 2. Send complete syllabus |
by 5/15 |
by 8/15 |
| 3. Catalog Publishing Date |
by 8/1 |
by 12/27 |
If you are reading this after any of these dates have passed, please feel free to contact the Curriculum Coordinator anyway. It is possible that we may have a special need for your course and will be willing to accept your proposal late. It is rare that new courses are offered in our fall catalog.
TOPICS AND REGIONS WHERE COURSES ARE NEEDED
While we would like to hear what your idea is for a new course, we are particularly interested in receiving proposals for the following topics and in the following regions:
Regions
We are looking for workshop instructors that live in or near the following areas:
Washington: Olympia, Yakima, Spokane
Oregon: Portland
Montana: Billings, Great Falls, Butte, Missoula
Workshop Topics
| Thematic/Integrated Instruction |
Authentic Assessment |
| Student-Directed Curriculum |
Teaching for Meaning |
| Standards-Based Curriculum Development |
ESL Instruction |
| Native American Culture and History |
Hands-On Science |
| Educating for Sustainability |
Health Education |
| Educating for Social Justice & Cultural Transformation |
Math Instruction |
| Environmental Education as an Integrating Theme |
Physical Education |
| Special Education Instruction and Mainstreaming |
Constructivist Learning |
| Developing Authentic Learning Communities |
Service-Learning |
| Models of Education Reform |
Teacher Renewal |
Field Studies Topics
If open to traveling at your own expense, instructors of field studies courses do not need to live in or near the region where their course will be held. Instructors are needed for any aspect of the following topics:
Natural and Human History of Washington, Idaho or Montana
History of Western Oregon
Natural History of Oregon (all areas)
TRAVEL STIPEND POLICY
First year instructors of workshops are generally asked to teach their course in the nearest city to them that we offer courses in. If the course is successful the first year, and if the instructor is interested in teaching the course in another region, a stipend will be paid, based on our policy. If traveling 100-miles or one way more for a workshop (field classes are not reimbursed for mileage), instructors are reimbursed for one and two day courses. Contact the Curriculum Coordinator for current rates.
CONTACT INFORMATION
To initiate the proposal process, or to obtain further information, please contact the Curriculum Coordinator, via email at curriculum [at] hol.edu or via phone at 360/341-3020.
Thanks much for your interest. We look forward to hearing from you!
| |
