Established in 2008 and trains teachers to work in underprivileged schools, the program benefits all individuals involved in the initiative, according to Sarabeth Berman, director of United States recruiting and university relations.
"We address the pressing need for human resources in China's low-income rural schools while laying a foundation for systemic change," she said.
Although the American fellows are primarily trained to teach English classes, many also teach other subjects such as music and theater, according to John Shi '12, the CEI's former lead campus ambassador at the College.
"It's a full immersion project and you will be fully supported with a salary," Shi wrote in an e-mail to The Dartmouth. "It's a very fluidly built program. But, you will be teaching a class of upwards of 60-70 students."
All students with a college degree are eligible to apply for the fellowship, according to Shi. The initiative's application process for the 2011 fellowship concluded last November. Although the applicants were already notified of their acceptance to the program, the final 2011 fellows will not be announced until spring after applicants have committed to the program. The number of fellows accepted this year is not yet available, according to Berman.
Former fellow Vincent Ng '03 helped established the Dartmouth branch of the CEI in 2008, according to Shi.
Selected fellows who live in dormitories on the schools' campuses and usually spend eight to 10 hours teaching in the classroom on weekdays participate in a summer training session before leaving for China. During this time, American fellows are paired with Chinese graduate students in the program to learn basic teaching skills. The training helps fellows understand the "cultural divide" and offers advice on how to adjust to Chinese culture, Shi said.
Students discuss classroom techniques drawn from teaching theories developed by Teach for America, a partner of the initiative, during training, according to current fellow Hallie Treadway '10. After the first week, all fellows are placed in teams of two American and two Chinese fellows. While teaching English in a summer practice camp, the fellows practice strategies to effectively implement their lessons, Treadway said.
Treadway who graduated with a double major in English and Chinese language and literature is currently in China teaching English to a class of 56 seventh graders who speak the Bai language and Mandarin Chinese. For these students, English is a third or fourth language, Treadway said in an e-mail to The Dartmouth.
"The American fellows were given Chinese training that focused specifically on classroom phrases and situations that we might encounter on the job: how to deal with an uncooperative student or teammate, how to work effectively with local teachers, etc.," she said in the e-mail.
Terrance Bei '13, one of two current CEI ambassadors at the College, said the training for CEI prepares students for their endeavors in China.
"Students that qualify [to be an ambassador] are then trained on Skype," Bei said. "You learn more about CEI and you're trained to identify good potential teachers."
Building an effective working relationship with all students is one of the challenges of the internship, according to Treadway. Although local teachers encourage her to focus her attention on students in the top and middle of the class, Treadway said "that to remove all attention from the bottom students would be to fail the CEI mission."
In its first year, the CEI selected 20 fellows 10 American and 10 Chinese students. The program plans to train 150 fellows next year and to increase its presence on American campuses to increase interest in the program, according to Berman.
The CEI currently employs 65 ambassadors on 22 United States campuses, according to Berman. Ambassadors are typically responsible for reaching out to seniors at their schools to encourage them to apply to the fellowship, Shi said.
Former fellows have pursued diverse careers and graduate studies, often outside of education, according to Shi. In previous years, the CEI has partnered with companies like Goldman Sachs to promote "post-project opportunities," Shi said.
Treadway said that upon completing the internship, China will continue to be her "primary focus," though she said she is unsure whether she will look at it through an academic or business lens. Treadway will complete the program in 2012.
