Sponsored by the Bureau of Education and Cultural Affairs of the U.S. Department of State, the Fulbright Distinguished Awards in Teaching 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 for its first time running the program. The Fulbright grant awarded to IU was the only one awarded in the U.S. this year.
Sutapa Mukund is currently the head of biology and coordinator of the Gifted Education Programme at Papatoetoe High School in Auckland, New Zealand. Her teaching tenure of 28 years has allowed her to study various curricula from India, Oman and New Zealand.
IDS What has your experience been like as a Fulbright Distinguished Teacher?
Mukund I think it has been a real experience in terms of experiencing the real America. When I visited the United States five years ago, I was one of the typical million tourists with tinted glasses that saw Las Vegas, Los Angeles, New York, Washington D.C. and other major cities with loads of pictures to take home.
Now, as an educator, I see the USA through a different lens. I see 50 different states through a kaleidoscope of educational differences and yet so many similarities in terms of both content and delivery of lessons in a secondary classroom. I see the national and state standards, the traditional methods in teaching and the most innovative ones. It has been an eye opener in so many ways.
To be honest, I am so glad that I have had my tenure at IU rather than being placed in a big city like New York or Chicago. The placement of the Fulbright teachers strategically in a Midwestern city has made me feel and experience the real America and USA’s warmth, its people, its schools and more importantly, its kids who are the future of this country. I am glad that I have been able to feel the real hospitality of the Americans to the utmost in my classes, the bus rides, the roadside and supermarkets like Kroger, Target or Walmart. I have loved the IU campus, the CIEDR staff, Dr. (Patricia) Kubow and her team and the teachers of my classes at IU .
IDS How does living in the United States and Indiana differ from New Zealand?
Mukund Driving into Indiana reminded me of New Zealand. My first impression was that it is so clean and green like home, but there are less people, low pollution and everyone is absolutely friendly, definitely more friendly than most other places in the USA and other metropolitan cities of the world and just like home. I mean, which person today would jump off their bicycle and offer to take a group photograph so that all people could be included when you are at the IU campus?
Surprisingly, I had bumped into an American couple at breakfast in South Africa in April 2014 on a wildlife safari and casually mentioned that I was going to Bloomington for my Fulbright project. Coincidentally, the couple was from Bloomington and went on and on about how wonderful the place was. At that time, I brushed off their comments, thinking that they were exaggerating a wee bit until I actually got here.
IDS So it’s safe to say you enjoy your time in Bloomington.
Mukund I have loved walking through the campus especially via Sample Gates. The campus is so green and has some amazing buildings. As I am a theatre and performing arts buff, I have thoroughly enjoyed the MAC performances from the Jacobs School of Music. I think I have booked tickets to all the operas, ballets and some plays that are on until the day I leave. It has also been enjoyable to visit the Tibetan Monastery and appreciate the serenity and uniqueness of having the Dalai Lama visit Bloomington.
IDS How do American students differ from the ones you are accustomed to teaching?
Mukund I think students are essentially students in any part of the world. Looking back at my own student life, I was no different to the students I see in class in the USA or in any other country. To be honest, I have been absolutely impressed with the excellent manners of the high school students at Bloomington North High School, extreme confidence of elementary and high school students at the New Tech Schools in Columbus, Ind., and friendly nature of the students at Jones Prep College in Chicago. My students back home are equally friendly and, at the end of the day, students are what they are based on the positive relationship that a teacher builds with their kids. I have thoroughly enjoyed talking to students and gleaning a lot of information from them through our learning conversations.
IDS What is the focus of your research project?
Mukund My capstone project is titled “Making Learning REAL: Retaining and Engaging All Learners in Secondary Science Classrooms.” I have been observing a variety of classes and looking at strategies that I can take back to my home country. The projects and teaching that I have seen in some classes have been very close to my heart as I have found some really passionate and caring teachers. These teachers are always engaging students through a wide range of activities and problem-based learning projects.
The major findings all lead to a common thread, which indicates two important things: engaging the students and the other being building positive relationships with students. The classroom is moving from traditional teaching to a forum where students can collaborate with each other and be motivated to be involved in cooperative learning using skills, and the role of the teacher is being a facilitator rather than imparting didactic knowledge through lectures.
I am hoping to go back to New Zealand and imbibing these ideas into thematic units of work. The Fulbright award has indeed been a wonderful and exhilarating experience as I have not only learned from the USA teachers but also the other teachers from Singapore, India, Finland and Morocco who are part of my group here in Bloomington.
