Sponsored by the Bureau of Education and Cultural Affairs within the U.S. Department of State, the program recognizes and encourages excellence in teaching in the United States and abroad.
It is part of the overall Fulbright Program, which promotes mutual understanding among people of the U.S. and other countries.
The Global Teacher Programs Division of the Institute of International Education awarded $224,036 to the Center for International Education, Development and Research at the IU School of Education its first time running the program.
The Fulbright grant awarded to IU was the only one given in the U.S. this year.
Fiona Jeffries, an English teacher from Kapiti Coast, Wellington, New Zealand, has been teaching for 24 years. Currently, she teaches at Paraparaumu College.
IDS How has your experience been as a Fulbright Distinguished Teacher?
Jeffries I feel incredibly privileged and honored to be on the Fulbright Distinguished Teacher Program. Through this program, I got to experience Washington, D.C., and visit many of the Smithsonian museums and monuments.
I felt like I had arrived on the set of “House of Cards.” The Fulbright Program gave me a chance to meet many U.S. Fulbright teachers in D.C., and it was a great opportunity for me to share ideas with those teachers going to New Zealand and to learn about the U.S. education system.
Bloomington is such a great place to be, and Indiana University has made all of us feel so welcome.
Dr. Patty Kubow and her team from the Center for International Education, Development and Research have made our integration process into the U.S. so smooth, even down to taking us to Target to get our apartments set up. How many professors would do that?
I am really enjoying the two classes I am auditing at IU, one on content area literacy and the other on critical thinking, creativity and collaboration.
Although I have been teaching for a long time, there is always a lot to learn or to re-confirm.
I also enjoy the seminars we have each Friday with Dr. Keith Barton and Hope Rias where we learn about the U.S. and the development of education in the U.S. It is also great getting into local schools.
I am based at Bloomington High School North but have made visits to Bloomington Graduation School and University Elementary. The teachers have been so generous in their welcome and with their time.
The great thing about this program is getting a global perspective. We all live in our insular little worlds, and it is great to be part of something bigger and learning about what education is like in other places.
I am also learning from my Finnish, Indian, Singaporean and Moroccan colleagues. Not only am I learning about education in their countries, I am learning to adapt to different cultures.
In fact, I have gained a new family by living in an apartment with an Indian and a Moroccan teacher. Obviously we are culturally different. We also eat different foods, but we have come to regard each other as family.
We even take it global when we drink tea. Each afternoon we either have black English tea, Moroccan mint tea or Indian Chai spicy tea. It changes daily.
IDS How does living in Indiana differ from New Zealand?
Jeffries Living here in Bloomington is quite different from my home because there is no sea. I went to Lake Lemon several weekends ago, and it was the largest body of water I had seen in two months.
That is one thing I miss. It gave me a nostalgic feeling for home. Every morning in New Zealand, I would walk with my husband and my dog on the beach.
On warm evenings after work, we would go and swim in the sea. Living on the Kapiti Coast, and New Zealand being an island nation, you are never far from the sea.
I asked some students in Bloomington if they had been to the sea, and many had not.
Indiana has many things that do remind me of New Zealand, however.
Wide open spaces, lots of greenery, small back country roads ... and people say “Thank you” to the driver when they get off the bus. We are known for that in Wellington, and it is nice to know it happens here, too.
IDS What is your favorite part of Bloomington?
Jeffries I love the South Lounge at IMU. I go there to read, and I have even been known to fall asleep there once.
I am definitely not the only person who has fallen asleep there. Sometimes you can hear music playing off at a distance, not enough to invade your space, but a peaceful background music.
Once it was jazz and I thought life couldn’t get much better. I also love the Indiana University buildings. I feel like I’m at Hogwarts.
I have taken so many photos of buildings. I really like the architecture and the fact that many are built out of limestone. They seem old and wise and project an image of academia.
They, too, are pondering and taking time to have considered thought on many issues.
I also love the fact that Bloomington has a Worldwide Friendship group. I have been connected with a wonderful couple, Janet Stavropoulos and Michael Molenda, who have shown my colleague and me around many of the local sights and have got us out and about to neighboring towns.
IDS How do American students differ from the ones you are accustomed to teaching?
Jeffries For a start, one way they are different is that I get so many comments from students that they like my accent.
One even said to me, “I could listen to you talk all day.” I would definitely not get that from my students.
Talking all day would give me zoned-out students. It’s funny how something that is different seems exotic. I tell the students here in Bloomington, “If you came to New Zealand, everyone would love your accent.” One replied, “Do we have an accent?”
Another difference that I notice is that many students chew gum in class. That wouldn’t happen in my school.
If students are spotted chewing gum they are asked to put it in the bin. A final difference is that the majority of high schools in New Zealand have a uniform policy, so students all wear the same clothes.
In the Wellington region, there are only two high schools without a uniform.
Apart from that, there are many similarities: the battle to get the ear buds out and put phones away when something is meant to be focused on; the students’ friendliness, openness and willingness to chat and ask questions; the difference in ability levels within a class.
IDS What is the focus of your research project? Why does it interest you, and what is the ultimate goal you hope to accomplish from your findings?
Jeffries My research project is on how digital tools can be used to help literacy development for struggling learners.
I wonder if by using digital technology, we can engage students more in the learning process and keep them hooked into learning.
I am particularly interested in students in grades 8 and 9 who have already had years of education, yet still find reading and writing difficult.
Even though in New Zealand we are known as having an excellent reading program, we still have students who slip through the cracks. I am also interested in the education of boys, as girls in New Zealand tend to outperform the boys.
I have noticed that many boys play computer games, and when they fail at a level of a game, they don’t just give up and say, “I’m useless at that, I’m not going to bother anymore.”
What do they do? They go back and do it again. They come up with strategies to get better.
They get ideas from friends, they download cheats, they get to the next level and then the next level.
I hope my research will lead me to the types of digital technology tools that are used in the U.S. that not only engage students in learning but also have a positive effect on their academic outcome.
