K-12 APPLICATION OVERVIEW
Fulbright-Hays Group Projects Abroad Program
The University of Detroit Mercy
African Contributions and Contemporary Issues in Northeast
Brazil: A Curriculum Development Project Integrating Social
Sciences and the Arts – 2016 Program
K-12 APPLICATIONS DUE: DECEMBER 1, 2015
WHO CAN APPLY?
K-12 educators in area public, private, or charter schools: (Up to 7 will be selected)
Up to seven K-12 full-time educators who teach social sciences (history, social studies, political
science, economics) and/or the arts (performing, visual, and/or language arts) will be selected to
participate in this project. Selected participants will collaborate with UDM faculty and staff to
develop curriculum enhancement projects that focus on African Contributions and Contemporary
Issues in Brazil.
Interested candidates are required to submit an application.
See APPLICATION &
GUIDELINES for details.
PRIORITY CANDIDATES: For the purpose of the UDM GPA Program to Brazil,
priority consideration will be given to full-time K-12 educators in low-income school
districts, primarily located in Detroit and/or area public, private or charter schools. To
be eligible for this program, teachers must be employed in a full-time teaching position
at the time of application. Two additional quality points will be awarded to applicants
located in priority districts including, but not limited to, Detroit, Highland Park, and
Hamtramck.
ALL OTHER CANDIDATES: K-12 teachers in other school districts located in
Michigan and throughout the United States are encouraged to apply and may be
selected to participate in this opportunity.
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ALL APPLICANTS ARE REQUIRED TO FOLLOW INSTRUCTIONS PROVIDED
ON THE APPLICATION & GUIDELINES PAGE, which is located in a separate link.
Eligible GPA Participants
In addition to meeting the criteria above, an individual will be eligible to participate in a GPA
project if s/he is:
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A citizen, national or permanent resident of the United States; and

Currently employed full-time in a U.S. school system, institution of higher education, Local
Education Agency or State Education Agency (not applicable to students); and at least one of
the following:
o A teacher in an elementary or secondary school (please see note below);
o A faculty member who teaches modern foreign languages or areas students;
o An experienced education administrator responsible for planning, conducting, or
supervising programs in modern foreign languages or area studies at the elementary,
secondary, or postsecondary levels;
o A graduate student, a junior, or a senior in an institution of higher education who is a
prospective teacher in the areas of social sciences, humanities, and foreign languages.
The student should meet the provisions set by his or her local and state education
agencies.
o An individual who has previously participated in another Fulbright-Hays GPA or
Short-term Program Abroad is eligible 2 years after completing their last GPA.
(Note: All GPA participants must be educators, students, pre-service teachers, or
administrators who fulfill the criteria above and the selection criteria set by their respective
group projects, and are currently teaching, studying, and/or administering in the eligible fields
of humanities, social sciences, foreign languages, and/or area studies. Area studies is defined
as a program of comprehensive study of the aspects of a society or societies, including the
study of their geography, history, culture, economy, politics, international relations, or
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languages. Project participants may also be working in interdisciplinary areas such as
business, health, social work, math, science, counseling, engineering, the environment, and
technology. If an educator or student is working in a variety of subject areas, s/he must spend
the majority of his/her time working with eligible subject areas, as described. In the case of the
UDM Brazil GPA, candidates’ primary subject areas must be in social sciences or the arts, as
described in the first paragraph of this document.)
WHAT ARE THE PARTICIPANT EXPECTATIONS?
Curriculum Project
EACH participant on a Fulbright-Hays Group Projects Abroad (GPA) Program is expected to
submit a curriculum project as the result of attendance in the program. For the purpose of the
UDM GPA in Brazil, the curriculum project will consist of an e-Portfolio that contains 1) a unit
plan or series of lesson plans related to the experience, and 2) an accompanying curriculum
visual presentation or audio-visual project that can be used for multiple outreach purposes. All
projects are due within 2 months of returning from Brazil (final date TBA). All projects must be
implemented the semesters immediately following program completion. Outreach presentations
at the school and district levels must occur within 1 year of returning from Brazil. Additional
presentations at the state and national levels may occur within 2 years of program completion.
Participant cost-share:
The UDM Group Project Abroad to Brazil award will fund a majority of participant costs while
in Brazil, including some travel expenses to and from Brazil. However, participant cost-sharing
is encouraged by Fulbright-Hays and, for the purpose of the UDM GPA is set at $1,500 USD per
participant—not including incidental expenses such as (but not limited to) passport and visa fees,
laundry, phone, and some meals not covered by the grant. This amount is non-negotiable.
1 month commitment in Brazil
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In additional to attending all pre-departure coursework in language and cultural studies at UDM
and online, participants are required to commit to 28 days to 1 full month in Brazil. Projected
dates are end of June to end of July 2016.
Restrictions on Non-Participants
In accordance with the Fulbright-Hays Group Projects Abroad regulations: Spouses, other family
members, and friends, who have not been selected to participate in this project are NOT
permitted to join the group at any point during the program.
PROGRAM OVERVIEW AND PURPOSE
Objectives of the project
Goal: To give participants multiple perspectives of the African American experience
through scholarly research and dialogue in Northeast Brazil to inform learning, build and
enhance resources, and internationalize their curricula in meaningful and measurable ways.
Objectives:
1. To build curricular collaborations and enhance scholarly exchange between K-12 and
university teachers and administrators that enhance area studies; help participants
internationalize their school programs and curricula; and develop and implement
curriculum projects, lesson plans, resources, and materials that inform teaching and
learning.
2. To enhance collaboration between world languages and other disciplines and to
cultivate Brazilian Portuguese language and intercultural competence in ways that
align with the ACTFL 2013 World Readiness Standards for Learning Languages that
emphasize the interplay between linguistic and cultural competency and assess
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learning via the three modes of communication (interpersonal, interpretive, and
presentational).
3. To gain intercultural competence by investigating cultural products, practices, and
perspectives through the 5Cs (culture, community, collaboration, comparisons, and
communication), cultivating culturally informed pedagogy.
4. To leverage technology to record experiences and to develop and store curriculum
projects. E-Portfolios will be used to gather research materials easily and to store,
manage, access, and retrieve information that can be readily integrated into the
curriculum; to track progress; store notes; and house documents, photos, and other
resources and materials that will generate lesson plans and curriculum projects that
can be used now and readily adapted for future purposes.
5. To generate and disseminate research and scholarly products that speak to a wide
audience of students and educators (locally, regionally, and nationally) using a variety
of platforms, mediums, and technologies.
The most direct effect of the project will be on the classroom teaching of participants
who will integrate their learning experiences into their own teaching practices. Participants in
this GPA will be expected to present at professional conferences and hold workshops in their
schools, districts, and communities. Curriculum projects will not only link appropriate content
standards but will also strengthen assessments of student learning in these areas.
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PROGRAM REQUIREMENTS:
Participants will be required to complete a comprehensive, carefully planned program that will
form the basic groundwork to better appreciate and comprehend Brazil’s multi-faceted race
relations, African heritage, and history. This learning experience will be a process that entails
three phases: pre-departure, in-country, and return-programming.
Pre-departure phase: The pre-departure phase includes Portuguese language instruction
and culture and country seminars. These activities will occur face-to-face on the UDM campus,
as well as online using the Blackboard Discussion Board. All participants are required to
undergo training using e-Portfolios; all are responsible for researching relevant articles and
information on Brazil that will form the basis of a collective annotated bibliography; all will
post, share, and participate in the scheduled Discussion Board sessions; all will create
preliminary documents (outlines, graphic organizers, etc.) to aid in their curriculum projects.
In-country phase: All participants are expected to participate fully in daily programming
in Brazil, including attending Portuguese language instruction, cultural and educational seminars,
site visits, workshops, cultural experiences, and weekly workshops dedicated to debriefing and
reflecting on experiences, synthesizing research and resources, project planning, and e-Portfolio
management.
Return phase: The return phase includes follow-up, project completion, peer review, and
dissemination. UDM will link lessons to its Fulbright page and the IFLE site where teachers can
continue their educational experiences by uploading new lessons, exchanging ideas for
classroom and curriculum development, and disseminating those plans.
Projects & Dissemination Plan: All participants are required to produce a curriculum
project on The African American Experience in Brazil related to or analyzing its products,
practices, and perspectives. Participants can research one area of the African continuities that
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enhances content area instruction. Each plan or project must include appropriate authentic
assessments; each group member will design at least two original assessments. These items will
be published on our website, and will be stored in their e-Portfolios for easy retrieval.
Curriculum projects and unit plans will be published on UDM, school, community and
department of state websites. GPA peers will review projects prior to posting.
WHY BRAZIL?
One cannot talk about Brazil without acknowledging the African influence in the Northeast cities
of Salvador, Bahia, and São Luis, Maranhão. Yet, tensions exist between regional racial pride and
social inequality throughout the country. Brazil shares a similar history of enslavement of
African peoples with the United States. However, slavery continued in Brazil several decades
after it is was abolished in the United States. In 1888, an estimated four million slaves were
imported to Brazil from Sub-Saharan, West, and Central Africa compared to the United States,
which imported approximately 500,000. Brazil is a cultural mélange of these groups with lasting
African legacies and traditions; however, many in the United States have little knowledge about
the slave trade in Brazil or of the African influence on contemporary society. The “African
American experience” is so often contextualized to the United States, and Latin and South
America are left out of the conversation. By studying the arts, social science, and history of
Brazil, U.S. educators will grasp the complexity of slavery from a more global perspective and
will better understand its implications on our two societies. Comparisons can be made where our
two countries converge in experiencing racial discrimination and where we diverge in our
approaches to confronting and eradicating inequality.
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The overarching goal of this GPA is to provide a 4-week collaborative learning
experience in Brazil that gives participants multiple perspectives of the African American
experience through scholarly research and dialogue in Northeast Brazil that aimed to inform
learning, build and enhance resources, and internationalize curricula in meaningful and
measurable ways.
To achieve this goal, participants will investigate cultural products, practices, and
perspectives of African identity; recognize the interdependence of cultures through exposure to
art, culture, and religious traditions, and through visits to educational institutions and social
organizations.
WHAT IS THE APPLICATION PROCESS
See APPLICATION AND GUIDELINES link for more details.
Applicants will be evaluated on ALL of the following areas.
1) Curriculum Vitae (10 points) – not to exceed 3 pages.
2) International/intercultural
experience
and/or
goals:
Information
about
intercultural competence, past travel experiences (or ability and willingness to travel
if they have not traveled outside of the United States) (10 points) – not to exceed 2
pages.
3) Project plan and implementation: A statement of particular area(s) of interest, a
proposed plan of interest and use of the experience in classroom instruction, rationale
for how their project and lessons will relate to specific content area(s), and a plan and
timeline for dissemination and implementation of lesson(s). (35 points) Not to exceed
4 pages.
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4) Demonstrated need: A statement on their need for participation in this project, their
school or district need for this experience, a rationale for how the experience will tie
into their professional and institutional goals. (35 points) Not to exceed 4 pages.
5) Reference from a current supervisor: Letter of support from a supervisor regarding
candidate’s interpersonal skills, ability to work with others, and their feelings on how
the candidate would represent their school and the United States as a citizen. (10
points). LETTER FROM SUPERVISOR SHOULD BE SENT BY SUPERVISOR to
UDM GPA Project Lara Wasner at wasnerle@udmercy.edu referencing candidate’s
name in the subject line.
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K-12 APPLICATIONS FOR THE UDM GPA TO BRAZIL ARE DUE
ON OR BEFORE DECEMBER 1, 2015.
A PANEL OF EXPERTS WILL REVIEW APPLICATIONS IMMEDIATE
FOLLOWING DUE DATE.
AWARDS WILL BE ANNOUNCED TO SELECTED CANDIDATES BY
JANUARY 15, 2016. AWARDEES MUST ACCEPT THEIR AWARDS IN
WRITING AND PAY ½ OF THEIR $1,500 PARTICIPANT COST-SHARE by
February 1, 2016.
GO TO APPLICATION & GUIDELINES link for submission information.
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