Webinar – Teaching the U.S. Elections 2020
Offered by
For students of Munich University (and others)
The U.S. Embassy Berlin and the U.S. Consulates General in Germany, our principal project partners Leuphana University Lüneburg and LIFE e.V., together with a number of local and state partners will conduct the U.S. Embassy School Election Project 2020 in the fall. This seminar will introduce potential participants and future teachers to cutting-edge pedagogical approaches and educational technologies. It will include input from an American expert on the U.S. elections.
Due to concerns about the coronavirus and in order to enable a wider audience to participate in this discussion, we invite you to join us via webinar. Please register to join the conversation and take part in the Q&A with the faculty. After registering, you will receive a confirmation e-mail containing information about joining the webinar.
Date: June 22, 2020
Time: 14:15-15:45
Language: English
Program moderated by Dr. Martina Kohl, U.S. Embassy (tbc)
Teaching the U.S. Elections 2020 –Social Media in Times of Limited Campaigning
Dr. Terri Towner, Associate Professor of Political Science at Oakland University in Rochester, Michigan
Teach About US – Innovative Ways of Teaching English: The Election Project 2020
Joannis Kaliampos, Program Manager, Teach About US
Leuphana University Lüneburg
Project goals
The U.S. Embassy School Election Project is designed to promote a better understanding of the U.S. presidential election process. The project links numerous schools in Germany with partner schools in the United States. Many teachers and students in Germany work with their American counterparts and through the Meet US program to research the political viewpoints in their particular adopted state. Students not only learn about the foundation of American democracy, they build one-on-one relationships with the people who form it.
The U.S. Embassy School Election Project was awarded the renowned Hans-Eberhard-Piepho Prize for Ideas in Communicative Language Teaching in 2013.
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Dr. Terri Towner
Associate Professor of Political Science at Oakland University in Rochester, Michigan
Dr. Towner’s research interests include examining how new media sources, particularly Web 2.0 sources, influence attitudes toward politics. She is currently engaged in several research projects involving President Trump’s use of Twitter, Instagram, political memes, and more.
In 2007, Dr. Towner received her Ph.D. in Political Science from Purdue University. She studies American Politics, specializing in public opinion, elections, voting behavior, and quantitative methodology. Presently, her specific research lines include investigating the role of race in politics, attitudes toward war, the influence of new media on political attitudes and the pedagogical value of social networks. She has authored several articles and book chapters on subjects ranging from the permanent campaign to the role of new media. Dr. Towner teaches a wide variety of courses at Oakland University, including Introduction to American Politics, Public Opinion, Elections and Voting Behavior, Research Methods and Statistics, and Politics and the Internet. The latter course is a new offering that examines issues involving privacy, e-government, blog power and social media in campaigning. The course draws on cutting-edge research in multiple disciplines, including political science, communications, psychology, and computer technology. Towner faculty page
Joannis Kaliampos
Researcher in Teaching English as a Foreign Language (TEFL), Leuphana University Lüneburg
Joannis Kaliampos is the educational project manager and teacher trainer for the project Teach About USwhich includes the award-winning U.S. Embassy School Election Project (Hans Eberhard Piepho Prize2013) and Going Green – Education for Sustainability project (“Ausgezeichnete Orte – Land der Ideen” 2015). He received a Staatsexamen degree in English and History (Gymnasium) from Justus Liebig University Gießen. He has held teaching positions at a secondary school (Lahntalschule Lahnau), in the German program of the University of Arkansas – Fort Smith (Fulbright scholarship), and as writing consultant for international students (Justus Liebig University Gießen). Joannis Kaliampos is currently completing a PhD on learner task perceptions in blended learning EFL projects.