Call for applications open for 2018 Negotiation Education Summer Institute. Join us August 6-9 to explore how we can use negotiation concepts and teaching methods to build students’ EL speaking skills. Application deadline: July 6.

PATHWAYS Institute for Negotiation Education, in partnership with the U.S. Embassy, is pleased to invite English language educators to apply for the 2018 Negotiation Education Summer Institute being planned for August 6-9 at the Hermon Field School of the Society for the Protection of Nature in Israel. The four-day retreat will be an immersive and interactive opportunity to learn interest-based negotiation theory and communication tools based on the “Harvard method” for principled negotiation and to explore issues particularly relevant for English language educators working to build students’ fluency in speaking.

We will be hosting guest expert Rachel Viscomi from the Harvard Negotiation & Mediation Clinical Program (see below for bio) and will work together to apply key ideas and tools of problem-solving negotiation toward helping students improve their English language speaking skills. Together we will discover and explore how concepts and teaching methods of negotiation – including role plays, fishbowls, experiential learning – can be applied in classrooms to motivate students to practice and develop their communication skills in meaningful and engaging ways while learning essential life skills. The program will provide a dynamic platform for connecting and building working relationships with other educators, for collaborative creativity, and for revitalizing our energy for the upcoming academic year.

The retreat will run from the late morning of August 6th until early afternoon of August 9th and will include evening activities. Participants will be provided a shared room and full board for four days and three nights. Staying together at the venue for the duration of the program, including overnight, is required – no exceptions.

For a glimpse into past years’ programs, see photos from last summer, and video and photos from 2016.

Dates: August 6 – 9, 2018

Eligibility: Motivated English language educators, including EL teachers and coordinators of high school and junior high school, EL inspectors and EL teaching college instructors. Participants of past Summer Institutes are not eligible to participate again.

Location: SPNI Hermon Field School

Transportation: Buses to and from the venue will be provided, with regional pick-up and drop-off points.

Cost: 375 NIS non-refundable registration fee for accepted participants.

Hishtalmut: We are applying for recognition of the retreat with a 30 hour Hishtalmut.

Application: Please submit your application by July 6.

 

Featured Guest Expert: Rachel Viscomi

Rachel A. Viscomi is an Assistant Clinical Professor at Harvard Law School and the Director of the Harvard Negotiation and Mediation Clinical Program (HNMCP). Her courses include Dispute Systems Design, the Lawyer as Facilitator Workshop, and Group Decision Making, Multiparty Negotiation and Teams. In her clinical work, she works to train law

students to become problem-solving lawyers, as they learn to support clients in rethinking the way they manage conflict within their organizations.

Before joining HNMCP in 2013, Rachel was a Principal at Vantage Partners, a Boston-based consulting firm that helps clients achieve business results by transforming the way they negotiate and manage their key relationships. In that capacity, Rachel designed and delivered learning experiences to help organizations and individuals rethink the way they deal with conflict and change the way they approach Negotiation, Communication, and Influence challenges. Rachel has worked closely with clients from a wide range of industries, including sales, pharmaceutical, energy, software, airlines and entertainment. She has also taught conflict resolution programs for UMass Boston’s Emerging Leaders Program, Amsterdam’s ADR Institute, The National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials, and others.

Prior to joining Vantage, Rachel practiced as a civil litigator with the law firm of Bingham McCutchen, LLP, where she assisted a wide variety of clients (including The New York Times Company, Northwestern Mutual Insurance Company, and MetLife Investment Services) in resolving complex commercial disputes.

Rachel is a graduate of Harvard Law School, and has served several times on the teaching team of both the Negotiation Workshop and the Harvard Negotiation Institute. During her time as a student, Rachel was an active member of the Harvard Mediation Program and a Hewlett Fellow for Negotiation, where her research focused on the Uniform Mediation Act.

Rachel earned her undergraduate degree from Columbia College, summa cum laude with departmental honors in Italian, and her Master of Arts, with highest honors, from Middlebury College. She studied in Italy at the Università di Bologna and the Università degli studi di Firenze.

Avi Goldstein

Avi is Founder and International Executive Director of PATHWAYS.