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Haiti Outreach Important to Country’s Future
Dr. Terri Bucci, associate professor of Educational Teaching & Learning, continues to encourage her OSU-M colleagues to assist with important educational outreach efforts in Haiti. Visiting three times per year for 10-day stints, they work with teachers and students in rudimentary classroom settings and also teach intensive teaching courses at partner universities in Haiti: Universite’ Caraibe and Notre Dame d’Haiti, both in Port-au-Prince.
On a recent trip, Bucci was joined by Cheryl Canada, director of the Mid Ohio Writing Project who has been there seven times, and Mary Joyce, lecturer in French and Spanish, and Steven Joyce, associate professor of German. The Joyces, who were joining the outreach team for the first time, were not sure what to expect. They learned very quickly upon their arrival that the country is in poor shape with potential violence at any time.
Their typical day involved traveling in caged transportation and then teaching in schools with no running water or electricity. Their mission to facilitate professional development sessions meant that teachers and students sat in the most uncomfortable of settings for up to six hours each day.
“With a large, mostly illiterate population living in abject poverty, the scope of problems, including learning, is staggering,” said Steven Joyce. “In addition, most of the people speak Creole, a derivative of French, but do not write it, and language instruction is in French.”
The Joyces found the teachers to be very receptive to the new methods being presented to them. “We suggested and demonstrated more analytical listening skills and picture sequences to engage students versus their traditional rote memory and copying activities,” said Mary Joyce. “Most of the teachers were willing to try these new ways of teaching, but found it difficult since the average class size is 60 students.
“With all of the problems, we came away feeling very appreciated,” she added. “When the people are so grateful, it makes you want to go back and do more to help them.”
Study Abroad Program Heads to South Africa
Dr. Barbara Lehman, OSU-M professor of teaching and learning, will lead a class of M.Ed. students to Cape Town, South Africa, in June to immerse them in cross-cultural experiences through children’s literature and study. The students will be introduced to historical and cultural contexts of South African education through speakers, children’s literature, tours of historical sites, and school visits.
Lehman was a Fulbright Senior Scholar in Cape Town in 2004-2005, where she taught and conducted research at the Cape Peninsula University of Technology.
Faculty Members Chosen as Year’s Outstanding Teachers
Dr. Jeane F. Copenhaver-Johnson, assistant professor of integrated teaching and learning, was selected outstanding teacher based on overall teaching ability.
Copenhaver-Johnson holds a Ph.D. in Instruction and Curriculum from the University of Florida in Gainesville, Florida. She joined OSU Mansfield in September of 1998. This is the second time she has been selected for the award.
Dr. Michael Dzanko, visiting assistant professor of English, was chosen as the outstanding adjunct instructor. He holds a Ph.D. in English from the University of Aberdeen and joined OSU Mansfield in October 2007.