Global influence: Israeli educators learn from UofL's CEHD example

The College of Education and Human Development recently took part in some collegial interaction with educators from Israel. On April 12, a group of Israeli teachers met with CEHD’s John Finch at Portland Elementary School, one of the university’s Signature Partnership schools. Finch, who works with the department of early childhood and elementary education and is a supervisor of methods and student teachers at Portland, gave the teachers a tour of the school, answered questions and provided information on the UofL-Portland partnership. The Israeli educators were curious to learn more about public education in the United States and asked questions about curriculum, instructional methods, and assessment. “Israel models its education system after that of the United States. We are about two years behind what you do here, including accountability,” reported one of the visiting teachers. Finch has conducted research on multicultural education and diversity in schools and he volunteered to host the teacher visit in collaboration with administrators at Portland.