Requirements and guidelines

Download the full US Department of Education guidelines and requirements:

Project guidelines:

prj-guidelines.pdf (72kB)

As part of your Fulbright-Hays experience, you are required to complete a curriculum project which is relevant to your teaching or administrative responsibilities.

The topic of your project is up to you, though in general should include the contemporary as well as historical context, be interactive, contain key questions to be answered, and should avoid invidious comparisons or cultural stereotypes. Some suggestions to help you refine your thinking are included below.

The scope of your project will be limited by the time restraints of the programme, so it should not be considered to be a fully-fledged research project. The idea is to facilitate long-term benefits of the seminar by creating a tool that is applicable in US classrooms.

Your project should be understood to be a focussing agent for the seminar. It serves to filter and define the vast quantity of information presented during the programme into a useful tool. Your project will also be used to expand the impact of the seminars. The finished work becomes available through application in the your classroom and in other institutions, schools and communities, and through presentations at professional associations.

Completed curriculum projects will be posted on this website to serve both as an example for future Seminars Abroad program applicants as well as a reference tool for other American educators.

Beginning a project

2002 participant Kari Heistad has outlined the questions she considers when starting a new curriculum project:

• What grade level do you want to target?
• What topics are pertinent to that grade level?
• What are the applicable standards (national, state, local) that are pertinent to that topic and grade?
• What topics are currently catching the attention of your students?
• What are you natural passions? Can you build on these for a topic?
• How technology savvy are you? (i.e. what resources you will need and can you use technology in presenting them?)
• How will you incorporate (or not) the use of technology into the curriculum? Will students need to use computers, internet, video, photography, etc. in completing the curriculum?
• What are engaging and creative ways to present the material?
  (I always try to go wild with ideas and and then tame it down later)
• What ultimately do you want to get out of developing this curriculum?
• What ultimately do you want your students to get out of it?

How to structure your project

Regardless of the final topic, you should format your project document as follows:

• Cover sheet: title of curriculum project
• Table of contents
• One page summary of the unit/project
• Grade level
• Key (essential) questions/queries
• Background notes
• Standards
• Objectives
• Materials
• Strategies
• Assessment (evaluation)
• Follow-up activities
• Additional resources
• References

This structure will enable others to easily use your project in their curriculum activities.

Submitting your project

When

Projects must be completed and sent to Fulbright New Zealand by Wed, 17 November 2004. This is in line with the Department of Education requirement that participant projects be completed within 90 calendar days of completion of the Fulbright-Hays Seminars to New Zealand.

Where

Projects must be submitted both as a hard copy and electronically (Word or PDF file) to the following:

US Department of Education
Fulbright-Hays Seminars Abroad Program
US Department of Education
1990 K Street N.W., 6th Floor
Washington, DC 20006-8521
ATTN: Michelle Guilfoil

Michelle.Guilfoil@ed.gov

AND

Fulbright New Zealand
PO Box 3465
Wellington, New Zealand 6015
ATTN: Laurie Wright

laurie@fulbright.org.nz

NZ Education System

The About New Zealand section has educational resources and information on the New Zealand education system.

Next:	2004 project summaries