| Faculty image | Faculty Name | Department | University/college |
|---|---|---|---|
 |
Marianela Rivera, PhD |
Teaching and Learning Sciences |
FGCU/College of Education |
 |
Marta Ramos, EdD |
Teaching and Learning Sciences |
FGCU/College of Education |
 |
Javier R. Arano, MFA |
Education, Cultural Heritage and Tourism Sciences |
University of Macerata (UniMC), Italy |
TITLE: Community as Text: Reading the communities in Southwest Florida and Italy with teacher candidates’ lenses
Teacher candidates (TCs) engaged in a Community-as-Text project to develop and demonstrate their knowledge regarding students, communities, languages, and education in specific communities and contexts. The intent of the project was to connect TCs to the communities and contexts of English learners through observation, synthesis, and reflection. TCs observed and considered key features of the context and the ways in which it connects (or can or should connect) to the teaching and learning of English learners. TCs ventured into communities and, in a photojournal, documented and analyzed relevant community priorities related to language, education, family, health, and environment to examine how these priorities can lead to experiences that can support English learners’ classroom learning. Then, they reflected on the ways in which this experience supported their development as educators. Through COIL, this project was expanded to a partnership with education students in Italy. Student teams explored communities in their home and then shared their projects with their international partners to better understand how communities reflect values and priorities, and ultimately impact education in international contexts. Collaboration with international partners required implementation of communication strategies, which teachers are expected to use with their English learners, in a motivating peer-supported discussion.
Resulting Scholarship:
Academic Presentation: In process – an examination of teacher candidates’ awareness of the link between communities, education, and students’ backgrounds which foster learners’ academic success, how participating in the Community as Text experience supports teacher candidates in their preparation for working with all students, and how participating in Community as Text with international partners helps develop an understanding of global communities in relation to education.
Student Learning Outcomes:
- Discuss how community values can be understood by looking closely at the built environment, the use of green space, and the street design;
- Recognize that all knowledge is partial and perspectival so learners should attempt to interpret what they experience from multiple, informed vantage points;
- Connect the community experience to larger questions about individual lives, education, community life, social institutions, and architectural and geographical contexts;
- Understand community patterns in relation to both the natural environment and the human organization of space as related to education;
- Consider how social institutions, such as schools, educational centers, community centers as well as businesses and consumer activity define a neighborhood and its inhabitants' lives;
- Find the global in the local;
- Understand how their own view of the world, their reactions to the world, and how their presence can affect context;
- Utilize technology to gain and transfer knowledge in a professional context; and
- Practice and master dialogues related to education with people from different countries and different language backgrounds.
Participating Countries: USA and Italy
Number of FGCU and Partner Institution Student Participants:
18 FGCU students
9 students from the University of Macerata
Discipline: English learner education
FGCU Course Code & Name: TSL 3080: Foundations of ESOL
Project Duration: 7 weeks
