Virtual exchange program equips educators with innovative global curriculum

Dr. Mary Risner and Carrie Martins (MALAS 2023) facilitate training initiative for K-16 educators to develop collaborative international learning experiences online

BY CARRIE MARTINS

During Summer 2021, the Center for Latin American Studies offered a five-week training on designing a virtual exchange (VE) for educators from throughout Florida and Latin America. This program was funded by a USDOE Title VI grant and offered in collaboration with the Florida Consortium for International Education (FCIE) and Volusia County Sister Cities. In total, there were 13 U.S.- based participants and 10 participants from institutions in Mexico, Colombia, and Bolivia. These educators teach at levels ranging from middle school to graduate school, and most of the college-level U.S. participants work at community colleges.

The diverse backgrounds of the training participants made for rich discussion and a range of creative ideas on different aspects of VE. The subjects they were incorporating VE into included teacher education, nursing, Spanish, social studies, aerospace engineering, business, and biology. Some of the VE topics they chose included conducting an international job search and interviewing, defining the concept of liberty in different countries from a contemporary and historical lens, and exploring international solutions to the challenges set forth in the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals.

Marcela Murillo (Santa Fe College)

Some participants completed the VE projects they designed during the training in Fall 2021, while others will be carrying out their projects in Spring 2022. Additionally, several groups presented on their VE projects at the 21st Annual FCIE Conference in October. For example, Dr. Marcela Murillo from Santa Fe College and Iver Ajata from the Universidad Mayor de San Andres in Bolivia were in the middle of their VE at the time and had already expanded upon some of their assignments due to the enthusiasm demonstrated by their students to interact and learn from each other. Another participant, Dr. Lisa Martino from the University of Central Florida, also reported very positive responses from the students in her Career and Technical Education VE project, and was hoping to expand on her design for a future semester.

Building upon the momentum from last summer’s VE training, Dr. Mary Risner and her collaborators have been awarded funding from the Longview Foundation to offer the training again in Summer 2022 with enhancements and revisions based on lessons learned from the first iteration. Additionally, Dr. Risner and her co-facilitator from the training, Carrie Martins, will be presenting on the training and its outcomes alongside several of the training participants at the LASA 2022 Congress in May 2022. ◆