Dates: July 24-August 3, 2005
Location: Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa

Overview
The focus of this institute was on enhancing the skills of PK-12 foreign language teachers and the skills of teacher educators who work with pre-service and in-service teacher development. Topics addressed in the institute included: designing and teaching curricula that are content-related, cognitively challenging, culturally rich, and which spiral and articulate across levels of instruction; effective classroom teaching strategies; development of literacy; standards in foreign language education; assessment strategies; and national trends.
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Japanese Children's Class
To facilitate understanding of similarities and differences between younger and older learners, participants observed a daily 60-minute Japanese demonstration class for young children taught by Jessica Haxhi, Milken Award recipient. Following the class, participants dialogued with the demonstration class teacher and institute leaders about their observations.
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Institute Leaders: Carol Ann Dahlberg , Concordia College, Moorhead, Minnesota and Helena Curtain, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee; Japanese Demonstration Class Teacher, Jessica Haxhi, Maloney Magnet School, Waterbury, Connecticut.

Institute Participants: Experienced and practicing: 1) PK-12 foreign language teachers of all languages; 2) methods professors at institutions of higher education who prepare pre-service and in-service teachers; and 3) supervisors of foreign language who provide professional development for teachers in their school or district.