[New post] ‘Real-life experience that can’t be replaced’: Teachers from Europe and Asia learn about media literacy at UNC
Anne Delaney posted: "Nina Tsoneva [cq comment="cq Name/spelling" ]has waited 20 years for this professional development opportunity in the U.S. and a chance to learn more about teaching. Tsoneva, a 52-year-old English teacher in Kubrat, Bulgaria, is one of 22 sixth- thr" Greeley Tribune
Nina Tsoneva has waited 20 years for this professional development opportunity in the U.S. and a chance to learn more about teaching.
Tsoneva, a 52-year-old English teacher in Kubrat, Bulgaria, is one of 22 sixth- through 12th-grade teachers from 17 countries spending six weeks at the University of Northern Colorado as part of a teacher exchange program funded by the U.S. State Department.
The teachers at UNC this fall are learning about media literacy as part of the Fulbright Teaching Excellence and Achievement Program for professional development and learning. The majority of the participating teachers teach English in their home countries. One teaches social studies and another teaches science.
Tsoneva has been teaching for 28 years. She applied for the program once before and was rejected. In Bulgaria, the program was previously only available to university educators.
"This was important for a number of reasons," Tsoneva said. "I wanted to set an example for my daughter and my students. When you have a dream and work hard, nothing is impossible. It's a unique opportunity for me to practice English with native speakers."
Teacher Petr Kucera from Pisek of the Czech Republic listens during a class at the University of Northern Colorado on Thursday Sept. 28, 2023. The media literacy class for approximately 22 secondary education teachers from 17 countries visiting UNC for about 6 weeks this fall while participating in a Fulbright International Teacher Exchange program for professional development.(Jim Rydbom/Staff Photographer)
Tsoneva also said the media literacy training will allow her to "bridge the gap" with her students, who might have more knowledge of social media and help her keep pace with technology.
"The pace is fast," she said. "These ever-changing requirements."
Other cohorts within the Fulbright program study general education, and that has been the focus for other teachers who've come to UNC in similar exchanges in the past, according to education professor Madeline Milian, a director for the program this year.
UNC is the host university of this cohort, and it's the only college or university in Colorado overseeing the $235,000 state department grant to facilitate the program.
"We're trying to teach them the differences and similarities between the American education system and their home country," Milian said. "At the end of the program, they'll go back to their countries and have a better understanding with technology and how to use it in a way to educate their students."
The teachers visiting UNC are from European and Central Asian countries such as Slovakia, North Macedonia, Ukraine, Hungary, Romania, Czech Republic, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Serbia and Azerbaijan. They arrived in early September and will leave in late October.
Olga Baron, the executive director of UNC's Office of Global Engagement, is working with Milian to oversee the program.
"The teacher participants, they have phenomenal energy," Baron said. "They absorb anything offered to them like a sponge."
The visiting teachers are staying in Lawrenson Hall on campus. They are matched or paired with local families — like a host family, but they don't stay full time. Tsoneva with her family recently saw what the Colorado outdoors has to offer: herds of antelope and prairie dogs.
They were scheduled this weekend for a trip to Rocky Mountain National Park.
The teachers take four classes taught by UNC doctoral students four days a week: Introduction to Technology, Media Literacy, Principles of Teaching and Teaching Methodology and Teaching English as a Foreign Language. Media literacy is addressed in each course.
Media literacy is defined as an ability to access, analyze, evaluate, create and act through various of forms of media; the ability to analyze the reliability of information, claims and sources presented in various forms of media; and the practice of digital citizenship including norms of appropriate and responsible behavior and discourse when engaging with media and the prevention of cyberbullying, Milian said.
In the teachers' media literacy course late last week, instructor Erin Wachter talked about a concept called the Mandela effect. The effect is a phenomenon in which a large group wrongly believes something happened when it did not.
The Mandela effect occurs because memory is unreliable and the internet contributes to the lack of accurate recall, Wachter said.
As an exercise, Wachter showed the teachers several images or logos and asked them to decide which was right. The images Wachter selected included Waldo from the "Where's Waldo?" books, the Monopoly man and the Fruit of the Loom logo.
Wachter asked the students if the Monopoly man wears a monocle, and there was much debate over a seemingly simple question. It's a question, though, that has confounded the internet.
"He does. He doesn't," Uzbekistan teacher Marziya Juraeva said.
Wachter asked the class how this might apply to their students if the teachers themselves were struggling with common logos and characters.
"How do we find out?" she asked.
University of Northern Colorado instructor Erin Wachter talks during a media literacy class for approximately 22 secondary education teachers from 17 countries visiting UNC for about 6 weeks this fall while participating in a Fulbright International Teacher Exchange program for professional development. (Jim Rydbom/Staff Photographer)
The teachers spend Tuesdays in one of six Greeley-Evans School District 6 schools observing language arts and social studies classes where media literacy is covered. The visiting teachers will also give presentations to the District 6 students, Milian said.
Tsoneva and Juraeva are observing English literature classes at Greeley Central High School. Juraeva, 29, teaches English to students who are 14-18 years old in Namangan, a city of about 551,000 in eastern Uzbekistan.
Juraeva's reasons for applying to the program continue to evolve. As with Tsoneva, Juraeva wants to improve her teaching skills and bring those back to her students.
She wants to help her students create and receive media meaningfully, and to show them what media can be beneficial.
"They need teaching and to know how to decode the message," Juraeva said.
Juraeva commented on the diversity of Greeley Central, and she noted inclusivity with students with disabilities or students requiring extra assistance being in class with students who do not have a disability. That would not happen in Uzbekistan, she said.
"Students with physical disabilities come to class, and they don't react," Juraeva said of Greeley Central. "It was so normal. It for me was a little bit of a culture shock."
Marziya Juraeva from Namangan, Uzbekistan studies with 22 secondary teachers from 17 countries spending six weeks at the University of Northern Colorado this fall as part of a teacher exchange program funded by the U.S. Department of State. (Jim Rydbom/Staff Photographer)
Petr Kucera said after COVID-19, he realized he needed a new professional challenge. Kucera, 42, is from the city of Pisek in the Czech Republic. There are 13 regions in the Czech Republic. Pisek has a population of about 31,000, and it's the largest city in the South Bohemian Region, which borders Austria and Germany.
Kucera, who's been teaching for 15 years, is teaching English and history — world history, European history and Czech history. Kucera has a specialization in the history of English-speaking countries, Great Britain and the U.S.
"We have colleagues from all over the world, and we get to know different education systems," Kucera said.
In the Czech Republic, there is a greater familiarity with British English than American English, Kucera said. American English, though, seeps into the culture in the Czech Republic through expressions and lifestyle features.
Kucera is observing at Frontier Academy. The charter school is similar to his school in Pisek, which specializes in preparation for university. He also plans to observe biology and math classes.
While Kucera is participating in the program, he has a replacement teacher working with his students in Pisek. They're studying features of American culture, and Kucera will contribute to the lessons when he returns.
Teacher Nina Tsoneva from Kubrat, Bulgaria listens during a media literacy class at the University of Northern Colorado McKee Hall on Tuesday Sept. 28, 2023.(Jim Rydbom/Staff Photographer)
This is his first time in the U.S. When his students asked him about the U.S. in the past, he could explain only what he knew from reading. Now, he has a slice of first-hand knowledge.
"This is real-life experience that can't be replaced," he said. "This is something that will make us better teachers."
Tsoneva and Juraeva are also visiting the U.S. for the first time.
The application process for the teachers was about 18 months long and included an application, interviews and a standardized test to measure the English language proficiency of non-native speakers. The applicants also had to provide a medical history.
The International Research and Exchanges Board, a Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit focused on global development and education, administers the Fulbright Teacher Exchanges. The Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs within the state department oversees Fulbright program operations all over the world to build relationships between people in the U.S. and people in other countries through academic exchanges.
"It's a lot of work, but it's the work of my life, definitely," Tsoneva said.
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