The University of Iowa, Division of World Languages, Literatures and Cultures Receives a Prestigious Grant

[Marina Kostina]

The University of Iowa’s Irina Kostina, Anna Kolesnikova and the U of I consultant Marina Kostina receive a $90,000 STARTALK grant for a Russian Teacher Preparation Program
January 31, 2013- Dr. Irina Kostina, Dr. Anna Kolesnikova, and Dr. Marina Kostina received a $90,000 grant for their program “Bridging the Gap through Standards and Technology: STARTALK for Teachers” that will provide unique professional training for teachers of Russian as a foreign language in the United States. This is the second award received by this team from STARTALK for the development of their teacher preparation program. In comparison with STARTALK 2012 grant the new program will concentrate on the unique issues of teaching Russian to heritage learners, and expand the previous training on technology and distance learning environment.
The main goals of the project are:
a. Creation of curriculum for heritage learners based on the analysis of the methodological issues of teaching this contingent of students.
b.       Training teachers on using educational technology for the development of learning objects for a virtual library.
c. Developing understanding of teaching in distance learning contexts and creating distance learning materials for heritage learners.
The grant is dedicated to the memory of Dr. James Pusack, a former Associate Professor and Chair at University of Iowa, Department of German, an influential language pedagogue and a pioneer in computer-assisted instruction of second language acquisition.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------
 Use your web browser to search the archives, control your subscription
  options, and more.  Visit and bookmark the SEELANGS Web Interface at:
                    http://seelangs.home.comcast.net/
-------------------------------------------------------------------------