2018
Curso: Formação Compartilhada de Professores no Brasil: UFPR - Otterbein
The 80-hour course entitled Shared Teacher Training in Brazil: UFPR – Otterbein, held from November 2017 to July 2018, gave English language teachers and undergraduates the opportunity to learn about and put into practice new theoretical and methodological perspectives for English language teaching, relying on the experience of interacting with US teachers in critical literacy projects collaboratively planned and applied in primary education schools. Those enrolled in the course participated actively in the readings, discussions, and reflections on tasks proposed in each face-to-face module and the introductory workshops. They also worked in teams and shared the results of the projects developed in a final oral presentation and in the group’s drive so that they could be applied by their colleagues in their workplaces.
Check below the modules and the school projects developed in the course and implemented in English language classes at public schools in Curitiba and the region.
Projetos Escolares de Letramento Crítico Desenvolvidos ao Longo do Curso
Black Lives Matter
War Narratives
Demystifying Stereotypes
School: CEEBJA São José dos Pinhais
Teachers: Alessandro Iglesias (history teacher), Elza and Francis (English teachers).
This project was developed with 20 high school students between May 23 and June 15. Its content involved comparing the history of black populations in the United States and Brazil, through texts.
School: Escola Municipal Juliana Amaral Di’Lenna
Teachers: Itamara Peters, Glaucia Sanches, Renata Pavoni, Joeverson Barbosa, Crislaine Franco and Rebeca Schmitt.
The goal of this project was to explore the consequences of war. The idea to address the topic came from the students’ own interest, who were curious about the current situation in Syria.
A detailed description of this project can be found in the article PETERS, I. Literacy project: language learning with personal accounts of the war. 2019 – click below and check it out!
Schools: Colégio Estadual José Guimarães, Colégio Estadual do Paraná and Colégio Estadual Natalia Reginato.
Teachers: Brandi Craven, Luciana di Franchi, Rosana Rodrigues and Rosiane Rodrigues.
Through discussions and reading of texts, the project promoted the development of a critical sense in the students, both in relation to Brazilian and American stereotypes. Furthermore, the students were encouraged to feel empowered and proud of their own cultures.
It's okay to be different
Brazilian vs North American Lifestyle
Happiness the perfect body
Schools: Escola Papa João XXIII and Escola Albert Schweitzer.
Teachers: Camila Weber, Clarice Raimundo, Patricia Macedo and Rosiane Rodrigues.
This intervention in the schools began with a questionnaire to encourage self-reflection on the themes of bullying, self-esteem, self-acceptance and social skills. Some video materials were presented, such as the movie “It’s OK to be different”, which was the base material for the production of the written activity. In addition, there was a conversation with a Mexican exchange student, along with the participation of Professor Angela Rietschlin from Ohio. These two participants provided highly relevant materials for reflection on culture and differences. At the end of the project, the 6th graders (190 students from each school) presented a video production, inspired by the reasons that make them unique.
Schools: Escola Estadual Divina Pastora and Escola Primária Dona Carola.
This project aimed to expand the students’ vocabulary repertoire by exposing them to interviews with teenagers from the United States. In addition, they had the opportunity to practice the language by interacting with Ohio teachers and participating in an interactive activity with a board game, developed in the classroom. As a final assignment, the students developed a presentation comparing the differences between the cultures of the two countries.
School: Escola Estadual Tancredo de Almeida Neves.
Teachers: Antonio, Edilaine da Cruz, Elaine C. da Cruz.
The trends presented by social networks tend to exert a strong influence on people, especially teenagers. Pictures of “perfect” bodies and representations of an idealized life influence viewers to feel pressured to pursue an unrealistic standard. Given this context, the project aimed to awaken the understanding that the search for happiness is not related to the pursuit of such parameters. Likewise, the children were instructed on how to be critical of the content presented by the networks.
North American Civil Rights Movement
Schools: Escola Emilio de Menezes and Escola Professora Isabel Lopes Santos Souza.
Teachers: Ana Flávia Davies, Givanete, and Samantha.
This project, which aimed to promote language development, was intertwined with a vast historical content. The trajectory of Brazilian and North American slavery were compared, with the goal of creating a critical sense about the legacy of these events today.
Public Schools where the projects were developed:
Ceebja São José dos Pinhais
Escola Municipal Juliana Amaral Di’Lenna
Colégio Estadual José Guimarães
Colégio Estadual do Paraná
Colégio Estadual Natalia Reginato
Colégio Papa João XXIII
Colégio Albert Schweitzer
Colégio Estadual Divina Pastora
Escola Estadual Dona Carola
Colégio Estadual Tancredo de Almeida Neves
Colégio Emilio de Menezes
Colégio Professora Isabel Lopes Santos Souza
Event: Using Picture Books in the English Classroom:
The workshop Using Picture Books in the English Classroom, given on June 14, 2018 by American teachers Angela Rietschlin, Cheryl Agranoff, and Rebecca Schmitt, aimed to promote reflection and theoretical-practical discussion about the teaching-learning of the English language through playful and visual pedagogical materials in the promotion of written and/or oral production and comprehension in English.
Nowadays, we often talk about multimodality in teaching, but we still do not know how to explore such multimodal resources in teaching. Thus, we intend to discuss how the visual aspects of teaching materials can help the development of language learning in contextualized communicative spaces. It is also worth mentioning that its target audience was mostly English teachers, therefore, an exchange of didactic and pedagogical experiences between the lecturers, American teachers from the State of Ohio, and the participants was promoted, providing an overview of the teaching of English as a foreign language in the United States and an intercultural dialogue to discuss the reality and methodologies of teaching in Brazil.
Cheryl Agranoff
Angela Rietschlin
Rebecca Schmitt
Course: Teachers Across Borders: shared training of Otterbein and NAP-UFPR teachers
The course Teachers across Borders: shared training of Otterbein and NAP-UFPR teachers, held between June 11 and 16, 2018, targeted US exchange teachers and offered 50 hours of academic, pedagogical and intercultural activities, which included:
- Study of Portuguese as a Foreign Language, through CELIN (Center of Languages and Interculturalism at UFPR);
- Discussions and exchange of experiences about teacher training programs at universities, through NAP (Pedagogical Advising Center);
- Guided visits to teaching and extension Programs and Projects in the area of teacher training for teaching English and Portuguese as a foreign language at UFPR (NAP, IsF, IFA, PBMIH and PLE);
- Experiences, practices and co-teaching in English language classes in elementary and high school classes in public schools in the city of Curitiba and metropolitan region;
- Face-to-face meetings at UFPR for collaborative planning of English language literacy projects, which were experienced in public schools together with Basic Education teachers and undergraduate students from UFPR;
- Cultural Academic events at UFPR.
Course: Portuguese as an Additional Language (PLA) for working with migrant students in multilingual and multicultural contexts
The 50-hour course, offered between November 2017 and July 2018, entitled Portuguese as an Additional Language (PLA) for working with migrant students in multilingual and multicultural contexts, provided the opportunity for the continuing education of teachers (from different school subjects who work in the municipal public school system) to work with Portuguese as an additional language, given the growing demand of migrant students present in our city. Moreover, it contributed to the initial training of teachers from the Language and Education undergraduate courses in Letters – Portuguese and Pedagogy, and post-graduate students in Letters and Education from the Federal University of Paraná and the State University of Ponta Grossa. The participants took part in theoretical reflections and practical activities, given by UFPR and UEPG teachers, UFPR and UEPG post-graduate students, and invited teachers from other institutions. However, the course also involved teaching practice activities, such as planning and conducting classes through projects and games, carried out with classes of migrant students who study in the municipal school system, and who were guided to participate in the school tutoring classes.
Event: Reflecting pedagogical praxis in an experience of intercultural teacher education
The workshop Reflecting pedagogical praxis in an intercultural teacher education experience was held on December 8, 2018 as a space for critical and theoretical-practical reflection on concepts related to the teaching and learning of English, such as language, literacies and multilingualism, learning and interculturality, based on the sharing of experiences lived by the group of teachers during the teacher training exchange at Otterbein University (Ohio- USA). It was given by a group of 6 exchange teachers, composed by 4 English teachers from the public basic education system, by an undergraduate student from UFPR and by a UFPR professor from the Department of Modern Foreign Languages (DELEM) who presented to the participants some of the experiences lived during their stay in Westerville (Ohio) and in the activities proposed by Otterbein University, relating them to theoretical and practical discussions associated with the teaching and learning of the English language and to inter/cultural issues.
Event: Speaking and listening activities in the English classroom
The workshop Speaking and listening activities in the English classroom given by the American exchange teachers Samantha Birri, Brandi Craven and Lisa Baehr had as its main purpose to promote discussions about the development of communication skills and listening comprehension in the English language prioritizing contextualized communicative teaching, besides providing the opportunity to exchange didactic and pedagogical experiences between the teachers – American teachers from the state of Ohio – and the participants. It also provided an overview of the teaching of English as a foreign language in the United States and an intercultural dialogue to discuss the reality and methodologies of teaching in Brazil.
Event: Text Complexity and promoting reading comprehension in the English classroom: top 5 strategies
The workshop Text Complexity and promoting reading comprehension in the English classroom: top 5 strategies was given on June 15, 2018 by Prof. Dr. Kristin Bourdage. The main goal of the workshop was to present literacy practices for foreign language learners, focusing on strategies for working with English-language text comprehension, and to provide an opportunity to exchange didactic-pedagogical experiences between the workshop instructor – teacher at Otterbein University (Ohio-USA), and the participants. It also provided an overview of the teaching of English as a foreign language in the United States and an intercultural dialogue to discuss the reality and methodologies of teaching in Brazil.
Teacher Education Exchange
The 2018 UFPR- Otterbein Teacher Education Exchange promoted the exchange of experiences and pedagogical practices among the teachers who attended the courses offered by the Department of Education at Otterbein University in the area of Literacy and, at the same time, promote personal, professional and intellectual growth through exposure to knowledge and cultural experiences that stimulate interest in intercultural and international learning and teaching. Four public school teachers, one English language student from Celin-UFPR, and the coordinating/supervising teacher from UFPR participated in a trip to Westerville, Ohio-USA.
In the teacher training exchange in Curitiba there were 7 teachers from elementary schools in the Olentangy school district, and 1 coordinating/supervising teacher from Otterbein University.
The experiences lived by the Brazilian teachers in Ohio-USA – 2018 exchange included:
- Learning Experiences;
- Literacy Course (Otterbein);
- Reading clinic observation;
- Workshops;
- Teaching Experiences;
- Tutoring children in a summer program for ESL students in Columbus;
- Cultural Experiences;
- Visits to schools, immigrant welcoming organizations, school management institutions;
- Social and environmental projects.
The US teachers who made the exchange to Curitiba in 2018 acquired:
- International learning experiences;
- Critical Literacy projects in partner public schools;
- Participation in face-to-face meetings of the course Shared Teacher Education in Brazil: UFPR – Otterbein;
- Teaching Experiences;
They participated in the following activities:
- Working as co-teachers in Critical Literacy projects in public schools and as teachers in educational workshops;
- Experience reports at the final meeting of the exchange;
- Cultural Experiences;
- Visits to other UFPR projects (PBMIH and CELIN), to the Hospital Pequeno Príncipe
- Train trip to Morretes;
- June fest (Feast of St John) for the end of the exchange and participation in the Café Cultural event (FIVU-UFPR project).
