Seward Incorporated

Greg Sales (CEO, Seward Inc.) will present at the 54th Annual Conference of the Comparative and International Educational Society (CIES) conference (www.cies2010.msu.edu), taking place March 1-5, 2010 in Chicago, Illinois. Sales’ presentation is about modifying pre-service teacher education in Oman to reflect student-centered learning methods. The presentation reflects the conference theme of “Reimagining Education.” Conference participants will examine the interaction of education with governance at a large and regional scale and its effects at the micro levels on schools, classrooms, teachers, and pupils.

Sales’ session will describe the process of developing a student-centered pre-service teacher training pilot program for the Oman Ministry of Education (MOE) and Sultan Qaboos University. The program integrates more structured active learning methods. His presentation will also explain the goal of the pilot project—to change the faculty’s approach so that they model appropriate classroom methods and expose students to resources that help them understand the instructional advantages of a student-centered approach.

The MOE partnered with the Middle East Partnership Initiative (MEPI) to pilot a number of programs. The pilot Sales led was embraced by teachers and students and is gradually being expanded through an in-service teacher training program.

Greg Sales has been designing and developing technology-based training for more than 30 years. He has applied his e-Learning expertise for a variety of clients including Fortune 500 companies, government agencies, and universities. In addition to recommending customized training solutions, Greg provides consultation on the development of comprehensive e-Learning strategies to organizations seeking to improve training productivity while reducing costs. Prior to founding Seward Inc., Greg was a professor of instructional design and technology and program chair at the University of Minnesota.
 

UNICEF Macedonia is partnering with Seward Incorporated and the Minnesota International Development Education Consortium (MIDEC) to assess the overall inclusiveness of education in Macedonia. Inclusive policy and practices allow for students of diverse backgrounds and abilities to obtain the benefits of national education systems. MIDEC is an affiliation of three organizations: Miske Witt and Associates, Seward Incorporated, and the University of Minnesota’s College of Education and Human Development. Dr. Christopher Johnstone from the University of Minnesota is leading the MIDEC team in conducting the study. Seward is managing the MIDEC team members working on the project.  

The study takes a systems-level view of Macedonian education. This view of policy and practices will provide a better understanding of the level of inclusiveness, the challenges Macedonia faces in implementing inclusive education, and possible interventions for overcoming these challenges. The study investigators will try to better understand: enrollment and completion (addresses acceptance of students); achievement (addresses pedagogy); system-wide inclusivity; and teacher preparation and training for inclusive education. The final report will outline recommendations for capacity-building and infrastructure to support inclusive education in Macedonia, as well as recommendations for improved delivery of child-centered pedagogy in Macedonian schools. Since 2000, Seward Incorporated has been actively involved in international education projects on five continents. These projects have involved inclusive education, in-service teacher professional development, pre-service teacher training, curriculum development, and educational technology. Most recently, Dr. Johnstone and Seward worked together on a successful national reform study related to inclusive education assessment and program development in the Latin America/Caribbean region.

About MIDEC

The Minnesota International Development Education Consortium (MIDEC) is an affiliation of three organizations: Miske Witt and Associates, Seward Incorporated, and the University of Minnesota’s College of Education and Human Development. Using the resources of two private consulting firms and one major public university, MIDEC consortium members have successfully implemented change in all corner of the world and at all levels of education.

Seward to Develop Online Algebra and Chemistry Courses 

Courses based on content developed by the University of the South Pacific