Appalachian State University has hosted 21 international educators for the past six weeks in a program designed to improve their teaching skills in science and English, the university said in a press release Oct. 5.
ASU hosts discipline-specific workshops for the Teaching Excellence and Achievement Fellows for the first four weeks. After that, they spend two weeks teaching in regional schools with an American teaching partner.
Maria Anastasiou, executive director of the Office of International Education and Development at ASU, said in the press release the visiting educators have a large impact on the campus and the community.
“They contribute to global learning by meeting with hundreds of Appalachian students and local school children during their six weeks here,” she said.
Anastasiou said the initial reasoning behind the program was ASU’s emphasis on global learning and global opportunities.
“We want to share the global experiences and give global opportunities to our students. This is why our teachers were in different classes on campus – sharing their cultures, their educational systems, what life is like in their countries – but also in our communities,” she said. “So, we wanted a program like this that would connect with the communities.”
Anastasiou said the program encouraged visiting teachers to stay connected with those they worked with during their time in America, exchanging ideas and techniques for improvement and bringing a global perspective to isolated areas.
