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As a student pursuing a degree in art education at the University of North Georgia (Õý°ÄÃÅÁùºÏ²Ê¿ª½±½á¹û), Bridgette Donnaud was enrolled in "Exploring Learning and Teaching," a required course in the College of Education, that mandated 30 hours of observation of classrooms and teachers. The Loganville, Georgia, native grabbed a unique opportunity presented by Dr. James Badger, course professor, to fulfill the requirement and begin a journey she had not considered.  

The 2024 English Language Conference, coordinated by Badger and colleagues from Õý°ÄÃÅÁùºÏ²Ê¿ª½±½á¹û, Georgia State University, and two representatives from the U.S. Embassy in Amman, Jordan, provided Donnaud with the required number of hours and insight into teaching.

"One of the options to fulfill the 30 hours was meeting weekly with Jordanian educators who teach English educators," Donnaud said. "It was specifically designed to help them learn English a little bit better. I was talking to teachers, learning from their experiences in classroom management skills, and how to make students excited for class, the baseline teacher aspect of it."

The experience, Donnaud believes, will help her when she has her own classroom although she’s not sure of her grade level preference.

"If I choose elementary students, it's their first time touching art materials. It's a very new and wonderful thing. You get to see them create. Kids have these amazing minds, and they're so creative, which I got to hear about in these meetings," Donnaud said. "When it comes to high school, they're honing those skills. They know what they want to do. You can give them a little more leeway instead of having to guide what they're doing. It’s two different experiences, but I think I'm probably going to lean more toward high school because I also want to teach art history."

Donnaud said the teachers she engaged were of all grades and worked in schools that received various levels of funding. The veteran educators also showed various ways to incorporate technology, implement aspects of news into the classroom and how to inspire students and motivate teachers.

"It was a really great experience, and I really bonded with a lot of the teachers over there," Donnaud said. "Making connections is also super important. I learned a lot of great classroom skills."

Building community was another aspect that impressed Donnaud.

"I was probably the youngest native English speaker there, and I was a little bit nervous at first because I didn't know I didn't know how many people were going to be there, if they spoke English fluently or if it was broken English," she said. "But after a few meetings, I felt very comfortable. The Jordanian teachers were super accepting and super friendly. I've built a nice relationship and friendship with a lot of educators I'd never even met before."

The conference is part of a federal grant from the U.S. State Department to deliver a professional development program to Jordanian English educators to positively impact Jordanian students' English language development. Faculty from Õý°ÄÃÅÁùºÏ²Ê¿ª½±½á¹û and GSU have delivered the program to more than 100 English teachers through online courses, weekly class conversations, two-day workshops, seminars, and conferences delivered in Jordan each May since 2022, Badger said.