ELPA 4060 is a required upper level course for teacher education candidates in the College of Education and Human Development. This semester (Spring 2022) the course is being co-taught by Dr. Kathryn Fishman-Weaver and Sarah W. Walters. The course explores legal and ethical practices in schools. Mizzou Academy has played an important role in the course this semester with faculty guests sharing best practices in blended/online instruction and connected teaching. In recent weeks, scholars have focused on global contexts including learning from current and former partner Mizzou Academy teachers. 

One ELPA 4060 student group wanted to take their learning in global and intercultural competencies further by visiting and guest teaching in the middle and high school classes at Mizzou Academy partner school, Colégio Magno in São Paulo, SP.  Below are short overviews from these exciting visits. 

Mizzou Academy has engaged in several similar projects over the years and is an important site for supporting teacher candidates with opportunities in global and digital competencies.

Cross Cultural Connections—Middle School Education

Tim Gibson, a teacher at Colégio Magno, invited the ELPA teacher candidates to join his Grade 8 class. The Magno students asked interview style questions to teacher candidate, Colin Bernskoetter, and Ph.D candidate, Sarah Walters. 

The students were curious about access to public education and issues of equity. As a group, they made insightful connections, and compared and contrasted the countries, cultures, and education systems. Differences in school lunch was a particularly enthusiastic topic. The middle school students told Colin and Sarah that the U.S. custom of 25 minutes for lunch is simply not enough time for that important meal. 

Colin, who is studying math education, shared a variety of approaches to math instruction in the U.S. After the visit, he told the ELPA class that he was surprised and inspired by the Magno students’ mastery of the English language, the passion for their country of Brazil, the significant impact of U.S. culture throughout the conversation, and the insightful questions the middle school students brought to this special class. As he looks to his future classroom, Colin hopes to give his students opportunities such as this one to connect with math classes in a global context.

Television News Broadcast Preparation: A Cultural Exchange with Grade 10 Students

Ms. Sabrina Bohlen, a high school teacher Colégio Magno, invited the ELPA preservice teachers to join her speech classes. The students were preparing for an assignment in television news broadcast.

The ELPA 4060 class visited two of Ms. Bohlen’s classes to assist with this lesson. First was another visit from Colin and Sarah.  Students quickly warmed up and asked rapid-fire questions about everything from TV shows and news coverage, to holiday traditions and popular vacation locations. One conversation about shopping at Target had both Colin and Sarah smiling brightly.

Reflecting on the experience, Colin discussed the value of getting outside his comfort zone, a practice important to developing cultural competence. Both Sarah and Colin shared that they were humbled by the fact that many of the students at Magno had visited the U.S. with their families, while neither of them had yet visited the beautiful country of Brazil. Sarah shared, “Fortunately, the students were ready with tips and guidance about when and where to visit when we can!”

The next day, pre-service teachers, Jessica Nabat and Brandon Marshall, visited another of Ms. Bohlen’s classes with Dr. Kathryn Fishman-Weaver. 

The high school students were prepared with excellent critical thinking questions. Through the conversation, the Mizzou Ed students learned more about postsecondary practices in Brazil and the Magno students learned more about postsecondary practices in the United States. The conversation covered a lot of ground including global issues and school policies. Long after the class session, both Brandon and Jessica continued to talk through one student’s layered question on academic integrity and school policies.

Following the visit, Ms. Bohlen shared, “I just wanted to thank you for taking the time to visit our classroom today. Our students really enjoyed it, and after we signed off, they were asking me all kinds of questions about Mizzou, college life, and life in the US as a whole! I wish we could have stayed on longer; however, I had a Debate class to run to! I hope we can do this again, everyone was very excited!”

Cooking Lesson with Grade 6

Jessica Nabat, Brandon Marshall, and Kathryn Fishman-Weaver returned to Magno the next day, joined by Naya Boyd, a senior in the ELPA program. During this visit, school coordinator, Luiza Dutra took the group on a zoom tour of the school. Following the tour, the ELPA scholars were able to observe a cooking lesson with Grade 6 students. 

The lesson was part of a unit on the importance of culture in the Mizzou Academy CoTeach program.  The middle school students were making pão de queijo, an extremely popular Brazilian cheese bread. Pão de queijo has roots from the Indigenous and African communities in Brazil, particularly those in the southeastern state of Minas Gerais. The dish is now a Brazilian staple that can be served at any meal and is particularly popular at breakfast. 
During the visit, Grade 6 students stopped by the camera to wave enthusiastically, tell the ELPA students what ingredients they were adding to the dough, exclaim about how excited they were to have guests from the United States, and even to share some excellent dance moves. This class was led by Ms. Verena Daroque, a teacher in the Mizzou Global Scholars program.

Conclusion

This experience offered a unique opportunity for teacher candidates to participate in blended/online instruction and connected teaching in a global context. Throughout the visits, all were immersed in a joyful exchange of culture and connection. 

Sarah Walters shared, “As we often find when we embark on global learning endeavors, all the students and teachers involved in this experience were delighted to engage in reciprocal and relational learning. Many connections were made through smiles and waves through the camera, in addition to the deeply insightful questions about education and culture the students discussed.” 

These visits extended important themes from the ELPA 4060 class including: the importance of community based pedagogical spaces,  developing global competencies, and seeking epistemologies (or the knowing/learning/teaching) that exist beyond traditional classroom walls.