Nikysha (Nikki) Gilliam, a student in SOE’s Doctorate in Educational Leadership for Social Justice program, is headed to Senegal this month as part of the prestigious Fulbright Teachers for Global Classrooms fellowship program.
An English and U.S. history teacher at Audubon Middle School in Los Angeles, Gilliam is one of approximately 76 educators who are traveling abroad in 2018-19 through the Fulbright program, the flagship international educational exchange program sponsored by the U.S. government to build relations with people in other countries that will contribute to solving global challenges. Recipients of Fulbright grants are selected on the basis of academic and professional achievement, as well as demonstrated leadership potential. The program is funded by the U.S. Congress and U.S. Department of State, and operates in more than 160 countries.
Gilliam and approximately a dozen other Fulbright fellows will head to Senegal April 14. During their 16-day stay, they will spend a week meeting with educators and visiting schools in major cities such as Dakar, Senegal’s capital, as well as in rural communities. For the second week, each fellow will be placed at a school site with a host teacher, where they will observe classrooms and teach students.
While abroad, each Fulbright fellow is expected to investigate a key question. Gilliam’s question is on how the student voice is incorporated. “In my classroom, I try to give a lot of space for students to give me feedback on the lessons and allow their responses to take us in certain directions, which heightens the level of engagement,” Gilliam says. “I am interested in seeing how that plays out in a different culture.”
Gilliam has already completed a semester of online professional development as part of the Fulbright Teachers for Global Classrooms program, during which she and the other Fulbright fellows were challenged to understand what it means for students and teachers to be globally competent, then planned and implemented lessons around the concept. The fellows then gathered at a symposium to discuss what they had learned and prepare for their international field experience.
“More than anything, I’m excited to gain an international perspective,” Gilliam says. “Learning about best practices, what instruction looks like and how respect for education is nurtured in a different country on the other side of the world is an incredible opportunity that I can’t wait to experience.”
