Photo of Christ the Redeemer statue overlooking the city of Rio de Janeiro in Brazil by from
Through a collaboration with the Brazilian Jesuit Network, the Lynch School of Education and Human Development recently conducted a series of fully subscribed online professional development modules for teachers and faculty at universities throughout South America鈥檚 largest country.
The Lynch School partnered with Rede Jesu铆ta de Educa莽茫o B谩sica (Jesuit Basic Education Network)聽and the Instituto para Inova莽茫o em Educa莽茫o at the Universidade do Vale do Rio dos Sinos (Institute for Innovation in Education 鈥� Unisinos University), to offer a webinar and asynchronous mini-course in English and Portuguese to support the professional development of teachers and faculty at Jesuit schools throughout Brazil, which ran from May 1-31.
The webinar, titled 鈥淭he Mindful Teacher,鈥� which drew over 250 participants, was led by the Lynch School鈥檚 Duganne Faculty Fellow and Professor Dennis Shirley, and moderated by Professor Gustavo Severo de Borba of Unisinos University, a 31,380-student Jesuit college located in S茫o Leopoldo.
Dennis Shirley
The four professional development modules, titled 鈥淭he Intercultural Teacher,鈥� addressed themes of interculturality in the classroom through the topics of global citizenship, racial identity, bilingualism, and literacy. Each was guided by a Lynch School professor, including: 鈥淕lobal Citizenship, Social Justice, and Educational Change: Igniting the Transformative Power of Jesuit Pedagogy鈥� led by Shirley; 鈥淪upporting Students鈥� Racial Identity and Critical Consciousness Development for Thriving and Transforming the World,鈥� taught by Associate Professor Scott Seider and Simmons University Associate Professor of Education and Social Work Daren Graves; 鈥淯nderstanding Bilingualism to Expand Instruction,鈥� led by Professor C. Patrick Proctor; and 鈥淟iteracy Instruction to Support Writing Development,鈥� directed by Professor Emeritus Maria Estela Brisk.聽 Teachers from 17 schools participated in the program.
鈥淚nterculturality is a lifestyle; it鈥檚 a way of being,鈥� said Shirley. 鈥淚t鈥檚 an expression of curiosity and openness to different cultures, and an acknowledgment of historical wrongs that legacies like colonialism and racism have perpetrated, and it鈥檚 also a commitment to a future of human solidarity, equity, and freedom. We鈥檙e working on developing similar collaborations with institutions around the world. Educators in the United States can learn so much from our international colleagues, and I鈥檇 like to think that the reverse is also true.鈥�
Kaitlyn Solano, programs administrator for the Lynch School鈥檚 Office of Strategic Initiatives and External Relations, who managed the logistical issues necessary to bring the course to fruition, noted:聽 鈥淥ur role in the Lynch School鈥檚 Professional and Continuing Education Office is to match our faculty鈥檚 research and academic expertise with the specific needs of an organization. All of our programs are designed to be as accessible as possible, and in this case, we provided a customized offering to teachers and faculty across Brazil.鈥澛�
Phil Gloudemans | University Communications | July 2021