dec-jan

EXPLORING

10 CEA ADVISOR DECEMBER 2018–JANUARY 2019

TEACHERS TRAVEL THE WORLD

Bring back lessons from literature, business, music, and more

Sometimes the greatest lessons are born outside the classroom. The Fund for Teachers honors those seeds of learning by supporting educators’ efforts to develop new skills, gain knowledge, and find the confidence that impacts

and leadership, the fund helps educators enrich their practice, support student success, and

awarded $30 million in fellowship grants to nearly 8,000 of the nation’s educators. Fellows have traveled to 148 different countries on all seven continents. Fellowships are self-designed, as teachers are trusted to find unique experiences that will impact their classroom learning. This year, 147 Connecticut educators were granted fellowships through the fund and used those opportunities to travel the globe. Read a sampling of their experiences and what they’ve brought back to their classrooms. Nancy Wiecking and Kimberley Perschmann, both middle school teachers, teamed up to visit the Big Apple for a coveted professional development experience: the Teachers College Reading and Writing Project at Columbia University. Wiecking, who is working on her educational leadership degree at Central Connecticut State University, heard about the Fund for Teachers grant through a classmate who had traveled to Vietnam. “The only way we would have been able to spend two weeks attending this world-renowned institute in New York City would be with a grant,” Wiecking says. Since returning to school this fall, she and Perschmann are working to implement methods and revamp curriculum to include units of study and weave mini-lessons into their daily routine. “We reworked the layout of our classrooms to include a meeting space in order to pull students in close during our mini-lessons,” says Perschmann. The two teachers are also incorporating conferences with students, including individual conferences, small group sessions, and book clubs. After seeing the positive outcomes of her colleagues’ adventures with Fund for Teachers grants, Mary Jane Rodgers planned her own. The music teacher set out to study the roots of American string fiddling by visiting Ireland and Scotland. “My third- and fourth-grade string orchestras love to play fiddling music, which is rooted in Ireland and Scotland,” she says. “It was very inspiring not only to hear performances of Celtic music in traditional style but also to talk with the musicians and learn about the history and performance practices of their pieces on their instruments.” Rodgers explored Celtic music at festivals in the two countries. Bringing that experience back to

2019 Fund for Teachers grant applications are now available. The deadline is January 31. Visit fundforteachers.org . The NEA Foundation Global Learning Fellowship also provides global education opportunities for K-12 public school educators. Apply at neafoundation.org/ for-educators/ global-learning-fellowship by February 4. “We feel passionately that if we create lifelong readers in our students, they will be more prepared for high school and beyond, but more importantly, they will be more compassionate and empathetic people,” says Wiecking. “The institute gave us the confidence and knowledge we needed to bring our students to the next level.” Wiecking encourages her peers to pursue funding for their own goals. “There are so many untapped resources out there. Teachers tend to be altruistic, and we don’t expect a lot, so I think we tend to shy away from asking for things or receiving accolades. Yet we deserve to be rewarded for our hard work, especially if it’s in the form of an opportunity to enrich our teaching and provide students with better learning experiences.”

strengthen their schools and communities. Since 2001, the fund has

student achievement. One of the nation’s largest investors in teacher learning

Kate McCarney Mohegan Elementary School, Uncasville | Czech Republic

Nancy Wiecking and Kimberley Perschmann Northwestern Middle School, Winsted | New York City

Kate McCarney is the fifth Fund for Teachers fellow to emerge from Mohegan Elementary School in the past three years. The goal of her grant, which focused on literacy, was to make puppets—in particular, marionettes. “The Czech Republic has a rich history of puppetry, especially marionettes,” says McCarney. “After researching online, I found a seven-day workshop in Prague that taught the art of hand-carving marionettes.” In the workshop, McCarney designed and carved a “Super Reader” marionette that correlates with her school’s Teacher’s College Reading Program. “In kindergarten, students are introduced to their reading superpowers. My ‘Super Reader’ will visit the classroom and teach students about these powers. While in Prague, I also purchased different kinds of puppets, which I plan to use with my kindergarten students to retell stories as well as make up our own puppet shows. Part of our science curriculum focuses on animals, and I plan to have my students research an animal and then make a simple marionette of their animal. They will use their puppet to present their research findings.” McCarney says the lessons she came away with went beyond puppetry; they changed how she views and approaches struggling learners.

“Learning and schoolwork always came easily to me as a student. Learning to carve a marionette as part of my fellowship, however, was not something that was easy for me. Of the three participants, I was definitely the one who needed the most help and support. This was a role I wasn’t used to. My greatest personal accomplishment was being able to accept that even though I wasn’t the best student in the class, I could persevere and be proud of my accomplishments. I now have a better understanding and a greater appreciation of what it feels like to be a struggling student.” McCarney has learned the value of patience, especially when students are struggling to complete larger tasks. “I learned firsthand the benefit of breaking a task into smaller chunks and acknowledging the small accomplishments along the way. The use of repetition and practice was something that greatly helped me in my carving journey, and it is something I will incorporate into my students’ learning experiences. My fellowship taught me how to present information and concepts in a variety of ways, in particular the use of visual and hands- on learning. As a result, learning in my classroom will become more interactive and playful.” McCarney also learned resilience. “I want my students to know the value of making mistakes as well as the importance of the process, not just the product, of a learning experience. Being a struggling learner during the fellowship and having a teacher who believed in me and found a way for me to be successful has forever changed the way I want to teach.” She hopes other teachers will take advantage of similar fellowships. “Find something you are passionate about or a place you have always wanted to visit. Don’t get stuck on how you will incorporate student learning. There are lots of ways to do that. Dream big and embrace the possibilities. It can feel scary, but it is so worth it.”

Mary Jane Rodgers Redding Elementary School, Redding | Ireland and Scotland

background has expanded and helped me inspire my young string students to perform it more beautifully.” She adds, “My advice to other teachers is to pursue your passion wherever it takes you and share that with your students.”

her elementary school students, she plans to teach them stylistic interpretations that are indigenous to the genre. “My understanding of the interpretation of Celtic music and its

Mary Jane Rodgers visited Scotland and

Kate McCarney’s “Super Reader” marionette taught her more than the art of carving.

Ireland, where the music she teaches has its roots.