Our Courses

COURSE OFFERINGS:

INNOVATION AND ENTREPRENEURSHIP PROGRAM: C2I2

Through participation in our “Innovation and Entrepreneurship” program –  China-Chicago Innovation Incubator (C2I2) participants (working in teams) will (a) create workable solutions to identifiable and nettlesome problems, or (b) conjure ideas for new products, or (c) generate possibilities for a new business. The China-Chicago Innovation Incubator employs techniques used both by the world’s leading design firm, IDEO, and Yale Law School’s, Professor Ian Ayres. If you’d like to take a stab at being the next Mark Zuckerberg (founder of Facebook) or Sergey Brin (co-founder of Google) or Kevin Systrom (co-founder of Instagram), the C2I2 would be a great place to start.

During our China-Chicago Innovation Incubator, participants may have the opportunity to work with experts – advertising and marketing specialists, engineers, business owners – in an effort to bring innovations closer to market.

Our Incubator’s success hinges on the passion and curiosity of its participants.  Reading, thinking, and creativity are necessary ingredients for, and iron-clad expectations of, C2I2 members.

Instructor: John Belcaster

Mr. Belcaster has earned international, national, and state recognition for the learning experiences created in his classrooms. Among other awards, Mr. Belcaster is a two-time recipient of the Yale University Educator Award, which “recognizes outstanding educators from around the world”; a two-time winner of the University of Chicago Outstanding Teacher Award for “excellence in teaching and mentorship”; the recipient of the Stanford University Educator award for “teaching excellence”; and the MIT Educator award for “exceptional influence in the life of students.”  He holds a Golden Apple Teacher of Distinction Award.  He has also been named a national Bezos Educator Scholar (one of only 12 educators nationwide annually).  Last year he received Northwestern University’s Distinguished Secondary Educator Award, one of only five nationwide.

Mr. John Belcaster taught the 2013 global program successfully. You may check the 2013 video clip.

ADDITIONAL FIELD TRIPS (SUBJECT TO CHANGE):

• IDEO
• Guest Speakers
• Red Frog Event office visit
• Groupon office visit
• Northwestern University – Segal Design Institute
• Barack Obama and John Belcaster: photos, film clips, and anecdotes
  
  

HOW COMPUTERS “THINK”

This course is designed for students who have a desire to explore how a computer is able to “think” and who are interested in advanced topics in computer science and electrical engineering. Many students miss the forest for the trees with standard CS curricula, and this course aims to restore the big picture. The course objective is to integrate key notions from algorithms, computer architecture, operating systems, compilers, and software engineering in one unified framework. This will be done constructively, by building (in a simulator) a general-purpose computer system from the ground up. In the process, we will explore many ideas and techniques used in the design of modern hardware and software systems, and discuss major trade-offs and future trends. Throughout this journey, you will gain many cross-sectional views of the computing field, from the bare-bone details of switching circuits to the high level abstractions of the many digital computing systems we interact with every day. This course is based on the “Elements of Computing Systems” course developed by Shimon Schocken (Harvard University).

MR. SOLIN’S AWARDS AND ADDITIONAL BACKGROUND INCLUDE:

• Visiting Lecturer, University of Illinois at Chicago
• Instructor, Northwestern University Center for Talent Development

• Recipient and co-organizer of Chicago CS4HS grant for local CS education conference

• Co-Founder and Board Member of nation’s largest Computer Science Teacher Association’s Chapter in Chicago

• Scholarship recipient to attend Grace Hopper Celebration of Women in Computing Conference

• University of Chicago Outstanding High School Teacher Award

• Claes Nobel Educator of Distinction Award

• Golden Apple Award Nominee

• M.Ed. Educational Leadership, American College of Education

• B.S. Computer Science, Ohio State University

CREATIVE COMMUNICATION: CHAT

Students will develop communication “action” skills in the China-Chicago Action Team (CHAT) such as writing, public speaking, and presentation design that will improve their college readiness and propel them into a career in global business.  Our creative objectives include: 1) learning to trim writing so that it is more persuasive; 2) presenting more creatively using technology; 3) using video equipment to create visuals, d.j. equipment to produce beats and mixes, and computer editing programs to create broadcasts and podcasts to improve public speaking skills; and 4) creating blogs and an online newsletter to emphasize a positive social media presence.

Projects will be hands-on and will include creating a 30-second elevator speech, using the Minto Pyramid Principle effectively based on the Harvard Business School Model, creating music mixes with a professional d.j., broadcasts and radio segments to improve speaking and listening skills, writing concisely and persuasively online in collaboration, and engaging in field trips to media outlets such as the the Chicago Sun-Times, a public relations firm, and a radio station. These collaborative communication skills will help students develop longtime global connections with their peers from different backgrounds and prepare them for college and the business world.

ADDITIONAL FIELD TRIPS (SUBJECT TO CHANGE):

• United Center
• Chicago Sun-Times
• Chicago radio stations with d.j.
• Public relations firms
• Northwestern University, Medill School of Broadcast Journalism

Instructor: Michelle Mowery

Michelle Mowery has been an educator in university and high school settings for 23 years after a career in journalism and communication. She earned an A.B. and an A.M. in English Literature with departmental and special honors from the University of Chicago and later earned an M.Ed. in Curriculum and Instruction with special honors from Loyola University.

Early in her career, she worked as a journalist for several newspapers with a weekly column, as a writer for the St. James Press, where she published The International Directory of Company Histories, as a Publicity Director for a non-profit agency, and as a weekly cable television show host. Finally, she worked as a grant writer, planner, and administrator for the United States Environmental Protection Agency in Washington, D.C. and Chicago before beginning her teaching career.

As a teacher, she was a Lecturer in English at St. Xavier University, North Park University, and Loyola University Chicago where she taught writing and literature classes for 13 years. She then served as English Department Chair at two local high schools before joining Walter Payton College Prep High School as an English and journalism teacher and Senior Events Coordinator.

Ms. Mowery’s awards and additional background include:

• Instructor of Journalism and Literature at Northwestern University’s Center for Talent Development summer program
• Master Teacher with National Board Certification
• Mentor for the Chicago Public Schools program for National Board Certification
• Founder of Safe Humane Chicago Youth Leaders, an anti-violence program that instructs students about the connection between violence to animals and violence to humans
• Excellence in Service award from Chicago Public Schools for a service-learning project
• Special Service Award from the Chicago Police Department for an anti-violence program
• Most Notable Teacher award from St. Xavier University for over 10 years of service in teaching and curriculum development in the Adult Education Program
• Scholastic Press Association awards for student publications, Paw Print and PNN
• Youth Narrating Our World grant for student journalism program from McCormick Foundation
• Illinois Media Awards grant for student journalism program
• Speaker at Tech Talk 2014