Transformative Teaching Around the World

"This book, edited by Curtis Bonk and Meina Zhu, brings together 44 stellar contributors from around the world to enlighten, challenge and educate us. . . . There are scattered gems, insights, challenges and simply interesting observations. And the book is reader friendly and the chapters are short but chock full of anecdotes and stories and each author is engaging in his or her own manner. Curtis Bonk in his own inimitable style has drawn together a great bunch of scholars and has worked with Meina Zhu to bring us a refreshing gold mine of stories to enchant and entertain. This is an enjoyable yet entertaining and educative text."
—Michael F. Shaughnessy, Education Views

"Sci-fi author Brandon Sanderson wrote, ‘The purpose of a storyteller is not to tell you how to think, but to give you questions to think upon.’ That is exactly what each of the wonderful storytellers who contributed to this important book do. As a former Fulbright Scholar (Peru 1979-80), it was especially gratifying to read so many inspirational stories from fellow Fulbrighters. Curtis J. Bonk and Meina Zhu co-edited this volume with the overall goal of making a positive impact on teachers and learners. There is no doubt that it will do just that."
—Thomas C. Reeves, Professor Emeritus of Learning, Design, and Technology at The University of Georgia, USA

"I wish I had had this book years ago. By bringing together the experience and guidance of award-winning teachers and educational technology specialists from all over the world, this book yields a cache of knowledge-with-wisdom and helps make our journey of teaching and learning more enjoyable and successful. Transformative Teaching Around the World is a must-read for both enthusiasts and skeptics of innovative teaching with technologies regardless of their cultural and contextual differences."
—Insung Jung, Professor in the Education & Psychology Program at International Christian University, Japan

"What is impact? Measuring impact in education is never easy, as it takes time to capture the impact and articulate a causal relationship. Stories are often used to demonstrate personal lived experiences of change as evidence of impact, and this book presents such stories in plenty. They relate experiences of innovation, grit, and resilience across national boundaries and provide food for thought and reflection. This book is a testament to the popularity of its source—R546: Instructional Strategies for Thinking, Collaboration and Motivation, a university course taught by Professor Curtis J. Bonk that has attracted teacher education students from Africa, Asia-Pacific, Europe, as well as North and South America—and the number of minds it has ignited to promote innovative teaching practices. Once in a blue moon, teachers can demonstrate such huge impact of their teachings. By collating their stories, the editors have taken a further step forward to spread the impact beyond those who benefitted from their classes."
—Sanjaya Mishra, Education Specialist of eLearning at Commonwealth of Learning

"As a former Fulbright-Hays Group Projects Abroad Program recipient who traveled internationally with pre- and in-service teachers from the U.S., I can attest to the importance and timeliness of this enlightening book. These stories of other like-minded educators overcoming various challenges while continually moving forward are truly inspiring. Curtis J. Bonk, a preeminent and visionary author on global education and emergent technologies for learning, and his colleague Meina Zhu have done an extraordinary job sharing genuine transformative teaching examples that can add value for other educators considering similar endeavors. Rarely does an academic book so accurately and compellingly tell the story of what’s involved in the process of transformative teaching and learning within a global context."
—Heejung An, Professor in the College of Education at William Paterson University of New Jersey, USA, and editor of Handbook of Research on Efficacy and Implementation of Study Abroad Programs for P-12 Teachers"This book reaffirms that individuals with ideas and passion can change perceptions and practices. Timely and relevant, it provides global educational and historical perspectives through personal stories and shared experiences across a range of countries and educational situations. With a focus on the application of technology to learning and teaching, it is pertinent reading for both pre-service and in-service teachers. There is something very powerful about storytelling, and I applaud how the reflection questions for each story prompt the reader to think more deeply and share their own personal stories. Innovation starts with one idea, and this book provides hundreds of ideas (not to mention contact information for the contributors) such as augmented reality-based curriculum, online collaboration, cultural adaptations of technology use, active and personalised learning objectives, to list but a few. This book leverages the power of storytelling, going above and beyond mere instructional design, to share gems of inspiration that we can all learn from. In today's educational climate, it is a powerful contribution to and catalyst for improving learning and teaching globally."
—Julie Lindsay, Senior Education Technology Advisor at the University of Southern Queensland, Australia, Director of Learning Confluence Pty Ltd, and Founder and CEO of Flat Connections

"The world’s most successful schools encourage students to set goals that are meaningful to them, draw on their own passions and interests, focus on knowledge domains (not subjects and courses), and develop the skills to become lifelong learners. Transformative Teaching around the World: Stories of Cultural Impact, Technology Integration, and Innovative Pedagogy shares the experiences of Fulbright teachers from twenty-two countries who transformed their classrooms to do exactly this. The teachers, from every discipline and across every type of learning environment—from schools and virtual classrooms and gaming worlds to prisons, farms, and cityscapes—describe the leaps they took in their professional lives to establish learning environments that sparkle with motivation and innovation. This book is a rich addition both to the literature about school transformation and to the editors’ previous work documenting practices that teachers can use in learner-centered and technology-enriched classrooms. Transformative Teaching Around the World is valuable not only for teachers but for school leaders and policymakers who must lead the charge for policy change to make these examples the norm in schools in the U.S. and globally."
—Susan Patrick, CEO of the Aurora Institute

"Few events in our lifetimes are as transformative as doctoral studies—getting married and having baby come close. For most, it will be a significant watershed moment, a turning point for new beginnings and perhaps new lives. Such is the impact of that kind of sustained effort which Curtis Bonk and Meina Zhu have so successfully captured in this book with the lived experiences of a selection of their graduate students. These are stories of the trials and tribulations, joys and triumphs—not only of their graduate study experiences, but of how they themselves are transforming the lives of others throughout the world. Such is the impact of these indefatigable and indomitable educators on their students. Their enthusiasm for what they do is infectious. This is a book you will want to read slowly and savor. Enjoy!"
—Som Naidu, Executive Editor of Distance Education and Principal Associate at Technology, Education and Design Associates

"Transformative Teaching Around the World is a compendium of compelling stories told by innovative practitioners from across the globe. These are firsthand accounts of the motivational, creative, and joyful practices that characterize the technologies, collaborations, and cultural exchanges of twenty-first-century education excellence. Bonk and Zhu have curated a very comprehensive sampling of short field narratives of educators speaking in their own voices. A reaffirming and worthwhile read."
—Tom Reynolds, Professor in the Sanford College of Education at National University, USA

"Transformative Teaching Around the World, edited by Curtis J. Bonk and Meina Zhu, was born from a fortuitous and far-sighted program in which dozens of talented teachers from around the world spent four months at Indiana University’s School of Education as Fulbright Distinguished Teachers. They learned from the courses they took, the faculty and students with whom they connected, and the school visits they made. They took back more student-centered and innovative approaches to teaching and learning. Now, in this book, they reflect their learnings back to us. They emphasize the importance of tailoring teaching to each individual, addressing social and emotional learning, and employing technologies as diverse as Zoom, social media, and augmented reality. And they describe the benefits of creating collaborative exchanges among educators from different countries and cultures. This book comes at a pivotal time when the world is facing unprecedented crises. Climate change, COVID-19, and political extremism demand that the next generation of students advance their societies in ways that their predecessors have not. These authors—and this Fulbright program—offer hope for the future and should lead us to support more of them."
—Milton Chen, Senior Fellow at the George Lucas Educational Foundation

"Transformative Teaching Around the World reads like a recommendation from the United Nations. In reality, this excellent book is the endeavor of two faculty members, Professors Curtis J. Bonk and Meina Zhu, in collaboration with many Fulbright-winning teachers. Successful educational practices in one country often cannot be replicated in other countries, and teachers must often creatively adapt instructional theories for their own environments. Transformative Teaching Around the World includes forty-one exciting stories that exemplify this form of creative adaption. More than ever, in this new era of education, learning depends on learners’ own self-directed learning competencies. This book reveals how instructors and students can change their roles in today’s changing learning environments. I trust that the wisdom from these stories will support how you think of your own educational practices and creative possibilities. Read this book!"
—Okhwa Lee, Professor in the Department of Education at Chungbuk National University, Republic of Korea

"The value of any book on technology and innovation in K-12 and higher education is in its application of personal storytelling into the real and complex world of a classroom. Curtis J. Bonk and Meina Zhu have assembled powerful and truly useful stories by experts from around the world—innovative classroom teachers themselves, who share what has worked in their educational practices. This is an excellent resource to which teachers can come back time and again for practical examples to enhance their teaching and learning."
—Edwin H. Gragert, Co-Founder of Global Woods Consulting and Interim Executive Director of iEARN-USA

"Instead of going to the theorists for a portrait of education at its best, Curtis J. Bonk and Meina Zhu have made a radical choice: they’ve gone to the teachers. This exceptional collection of classroom stories brings together the voices of forty-one outstanding educators from twenty-two countries, many of whom have been honored with Fulbright teacher scholarships or other educational recognitions. Whether reflecting on their own educational journeys, exploring teaching with technology, sharing their innovations, global educational adventures, and active learning strategies, or reflecting on the ongoing lessons of the COVID-19 pandemic, these contributors offer the authenticity and honesty that can only come from lived experience. Each story offers a window into the challenges of teaching and learning in a distinct educational and cultural context, and each ends with reflection questions designed to spark growth for the reader, as well. Bonk and Zhu have gathered an important array of narratives, and any educator’s thinking and pedagogical practices will be expanded by reading them."
—Jennifer D. Klein, CEO of Principled Learning Strategies and author of The Global Education Guidebook: Humanizing K-12 Classrooms Worldwide Through Equitable Partnerships"Transformative Teaching Around the World explores how innovative and courageous teachers can be regardless of the challenges they face in the classroom, but especially in response to a worldwide pandemic. Each classroom described in the book has its own unique story, but they come together as a series of transformative teaching narratives that both preservice and in-service teachers can learn from and be inspired by. I was amazed at the level of diversity that these stories represented."
—Joan Kang Shin, Associate Professor of Education and Academic Coordinator of the Teaching Culturally & Linguistically Diverse & Exceptional Learners program at George Mason University, USA

"Transformative Teaching Around the World is a refreshing and critical new look at education. Curt and Meina offer a perspective into the changing world of education, both in how we impact it and in how it impacts us. A must-read!"
—Marshall Goldsmith, author of Triggers, Mojo, and What Got You Here Won’t Get You There"Bonk and Zhu have assembled a collection of essays by world class individuals from twenty-two countries who have gone beyond the limits of what they thought was possible for their students. Their passion for teaching and learning fills these pages, and they convey their struggles and creativity as they pursue innovative teaching practices. Each essay concludes with a set of challenging and thought-provoking questions that would stimulate both the collaborations within teaching and learning communities as well as the imaginations of university students who aspire to teach. Bonk and Zhu have captured the vast diversity of teaching in the real world. Their narratives are insightful and powerful."
—Jack A. Cummings, Professor Emeritus of School Psychology at Indiana University, USA

"This book is Bonk at his brilliant best, and, with Zhu as a notable co-editor, it is supercharged for success. Embrace our new era of the online world, yet note that a handy volume still plays its part."
—Brian J. Ford, Fellow of Cardiff University, UK, President Emeritus of the Cambridge Society f