Reflections:

In the letter after my first trip to Morocco, I explained how much I enjoyed the experience abroad and how it helped enlarge my world through the relationships built there. Professionally, I grew through connections and the by the design of global education curricula. My lesson plan took many weeks to produce, but the end result was a plan I'm very proud of (see lesson plan on the Teach: A lesson plan example  page. In the past, when I taught the lesson on school, the students considered it the most boring lesson they had. With the globally minded focus, the plan became much more interesting. My students said that they enjoyed learning about other school classrooms in the world, and that it gave them something to write about instead of the typical "in first period, I have...then I have lunch....etc.

I also learned a lot from the eleven other teachers in my cohort. They are all amazing educators with great ideas and big work ethic. It is encouraging to work with those from around the country with similar hopes and dreams for education that I have.

From the second experience, my professional growth was different. I designed, assessed, and instructed a course for university students and gave presentations to diverse groups of adults. Additionally, I lived abroad without some of the supports that I relied on in the past. I grew in confidence and in my language communication abilities.