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Group photo of all the 2023 Fulbright Distinguished Teachers standing on the steps of LeChase Hall

Fulbright Distinguished Teachers

Research project

Quick facts

Director/PI: Hairong Shang-Butler, PI and Program Director

Collaborators: Dr. Walter Cooper Academy, East High School, Council Rock Primary School, Twelve Corners Middle School, Roth Middle School, Rush Henrietta High School

Funding: The U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Educational & Cultural Affairs

Overview

The Fulbright Distinguished Awards in Teaching Program for International Teachers (Fulbright DAI), sponsored by the U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Educational & Cultural Affairs, brings international primary and secondary teachers to the United States for a semester-long program to pursue individual or group projects, take courses for professional development at a U.S. host university, and observe and share their expertise with U.S. colleagues.  

The Warner School of Education, is serving as host institution for this program in 2023, bringing 17 Fulbright Teachers from 12 countries to Rochester, New York.

The Fulbright Program is the flagship international educational exchange program sponsored by the U.S. government and is designed to increase mutual understanding between the people of the United States and the people of other countries.

2023 Fulbright Teachers Final Research Presentations

2023 Teachers

Alioune Samba

Home country: Senegal
Years teaching: 8
Teaching discipline(s): English for non-native speakers
Teaching level: Secondary School Teacher
Research topic: Teaching and testing the communicative competence in remote areas.
Final presentation and products

Alpa Nigam

Home country: India
Years teaching: 15
Teaching discipline(s): English for non-native speakers & Hindi & Science & Social Studies & Art & Music & Indigenous textile designing
Teaching level: Primary School Teacher
Research topic: Developing various tools and contents for Inclusion in teaching learning process so that every child facing learning difficulties may learn. 
The Times of India published an article, “Govt. teacher, a Fulbright fellow, creates a tool for dyslexic children" about her work.
Final presentation and products

Aphrodite Bechayda headshotAphrodite Bechayda

Home country: Philippines
Years teaching: 14
Teaching discipline(s): English for non-native speakers
Teaching level: Secondary School Teacher
Research topic: I would like to explore or study how American educators conduct reading remediation for high school students to develop their reading habits and improve their reading comprehension.
Final presentation and products

Elizabeth Mejia Vargas

Home country: Mexico
Years teaching: 9
Teaching discipline(s): English for non-native speakers & Social Studies: Ethics and Philosophy
Teaching level: Secondary School Teacher
Research topic: Teaching skills and technology
Final presentation, products and video

Fatima Bellihi

Home country: Morocco 
Years teaching: 20 
Teaching discipline(s): French/Arabic * English for non-native speakers & Mathematics: Algebra, Geometry, Calculus, Statistics &  Science: Chemistry, Physics, Earth Science, Biology, Technology & Soft Skills 
Teaching level: Primary School Teacher 
Research topic: I am interested in the study of the benefit drawn from the collective intelligence of a virtual educational community and on the impacts it would have on Learnence (self-education) which is a possible process to optimize the educator's continuing education and professional practices in the Moroccan context. 
Final presentation

Gabriela Barbosa Kalifi

Home country: Brazil
Years teaching: 18
Teaching discipline(s): English: English for non-native speakers
Teaching level: Secondary School Teacher
Research topic: Reading Club: Raising students’ interest and motivation in reading, so that they can become more aware of their role in the community they live and in society.
Final presentation, products and video

Heidi Niskanen

Home country: Finland
Years teaching: 17
Teaching discipline(s): English for non-native speakers & Swedish
Teaching level: Secondary School Teacher
Research topic: Re-centering teaching: motivating students with effective teaching methods. I would like to study motivation and the joy of learning taking also into account the effectiveness of different teaching methods. I want to support my students to take responsibility and the ownership of their individual learning processes.
Final presentation, products and video

Khaoula Goumni

Home country: Morocco
Years teaching: 7
Teaching discipline(s): Computer Science
Teaching level: Secondary School Teacher
Research topic: Since the lack of financial resources and orientation play a big role in students' lack of ambition, the knowledge and soft skills I will learn in this program, especially about orientation, will help me guide my students about available opportunities to pursue their careers, and encourage them to be more ambitious and persist to achieve what they want.
Final presentation and products

Mohammad Imran Khan Mewati

Home country: India
Years teaching: 22
Teaching discipline(s): Mathematics: Algebra, Geometry, Statistics & English for non-native speakers & Science: Chemistry, Physics, Biology
Teaching level: Primary School Teacher
Research topic: Development of an Android App to ensure equal reach to educational content. Read his article "My Journey as a Fulbright Scholar," which was published in Medium
Final presentation and products

Patricia Agarukire

Home country: Uganda
Years teaching: 20
Teaching discipline(s): English literature, grammar, language, and counseling
Teaching level: Secondary School Teacher
Research topic: I would like to explore different mechanisms and tools to help teachers and students overcome the different effects of the Covid 19 Pandemic i.e cultural, social, physical, financial challenges and confusion in schools by both the teachers, learners, parents and authority behind the education system in my country by creating support systems that will improve education integration to create holistic citizens of our nation.
Final presentation and products

Rio Suhardi

Home country: Indonesia
Years teaching: 6
Teaching discipline(s): Mathematics: Algebra, Geometry, Calculus, Statistics
Teaching level: Secondary School Teacher
Research topic: Armed with the results of research that I did at my school, when given the opportunity to join the Fulbright DAI program, I wanted to study more about STEAM learning and patterns of improving students' computational thinking skills. This aims to answer some of the obstacles that I experienced when implementing STEAM with a pattern of improving students' computational thinking skills.
Final presentation and products

Roey Perlstein Dvir

Home country: Israel
Years teaching: 14
Teaching discipline(s): Social Studies: History, Civics
Teaching level: Secondary School Teacher
Research topic: How can school empower students to take ownership for their studies, becoming critical consumers of knowledge and active citizens in a democracy?
Final presentation and products

Ruby Ann Camposano

Home country: Philippines
Years teaching: 17
Teaching discipline(s): English for native speakers
Teaching level: Primary School Teacher
Research topic: I would like to engage more on how to promote mental health to our young learners and how to help children experiencing personal difficulties brought about by poverty and family problems.
Final presentation and products

Sangita Acharjee

Home country: Bangladesh
Years teaching: 14
Teaching discipline(s): English for non-native speakers & Science: Physics, Earth Science
Teaching level: Primary School Teacher
Research topic: Larger Class Management with high care for students: Supporting students from different age and with different standards with diverse abilities.
Final presentation and video

Silvia Dos Santos Carvalho

Home country: Brazil
Years teaching: 12
Teaching discipline(s): English for non-native speakers
Teaching level: Secondary School Teacher
Research topic: Be smart online
Final presentation, products and video
 

Yogyantoro Headshot

Yogyantoro

Home country: Indonesia
Years teaching: 10
Teaching discipline(s):  English for non-native speakers & Entrepreneurship 
Teaching level: Secondary School Teacher
Research topic: I will raise the issue of education for all or inclusive education which provides wider access for all students to attend school, even those with special needs and marginalized can attend public or regular schools. 
The Budapest International Research and Critics Institute-Journal published his final project, “Developing entrance ticket and exit card as formative assessment for promoting learner autonomy of struggling students.” 
Final presentation, products and video

Zandile Ponego Motlhatso 

Home country: Botswana
Years teaching: 13
Teaching discipline(s): Science: Biology & Special Education
Teaching level: Secondary School Teacher
Research topic: Adaptations, accommodations and modifications for learners with special education needs in Secondary mainstream classrooms.
Final presentation and products