Romania took hold of my heart in 2015 and since then has consumed my mind and soul. As with any genuine commitment, my relationship with this beautiful, complex country has grown and deepened over time as I have learned of its many tragedies, as well as its many triumphs. I have surrendered myself to Romania. [...] As I continue my Romanian journey, I marvel over the resiliency and fortitude of the people. I am fortunate to have developed close relationships, familial in many ways, with many Romanians. And I am eternally grateful to have been granted a Fulbright and honored to become part of this amazing community.
Media Literacy & Critical Thinking Workshop for EFL Teachers – September 2-3
On September 2 & 3, the Romanian-U.S. Fulbright Commission organized a two-day training workshop aiming to provide current secondary-level English teachers with know-how and tools to integrate media literacy and critical thinking in their classrooms. The event took place at the National Library of Romania and brought together 43 middle and high school teachers from around the country.
The workshop, titled “Teaching Excellence: Promoting Media Literacy and Critical Thinking in the English Class,” opened with welcome addresses by Mr. Sandeep Paul, Information Officer at the U.S. Embassy in Romania, Dr. Rodica Cherciu, Inspector General with the Ministry of Education, and Prof. Mircea Dumitru, Executive Director of the Fulbright Commission, who underlined the timeliness and relevance of the workshop in an age when facts are easily being turned into fiction, as well as the need to focus on early education to increase a long-term societal resilience to disinformation.
A most engaging presentation was delivered by our keynote speaker Dr. Anca Nedelcu, Vicedean at the Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, University of Bucharest, who talked about the myth of digital natives and the need for media and information literacy, leading to pertinent observations and enthusiastic post-panel discussions.
The presentations, lectures, and interactive workshops that followed were coordinated by our Fulbright Teaching Excellence and Achievement (Fulbright TEA) Program alumnae Iuliana Dode, Elvira Kiss, Corina Mitrulescu, Corina Moise-Poenaru, and Nadina Nicolici. They shared, in turn, their own take on best practices and creative teaching methodologies for integrating media literacy and critical thinking in the EFL classroom, showcasing various tools for nurturing critical reflection skills among middle and high school students. By tackling themes like fake news, propaganda, misinformation, and disinformation and focusing on a variety of innovative teaching methods and strategies to help students separate fact from fiction, build critical thinking skills, and overcome information overload, the sessions coordinated by the Fulbright TEA alumnae provided the most fruitful ground for discussion.
To further engage the interest of Romanian teachers, Ms. Cornelia Vlaicu, Cultural Affairs Assistant, U.S. Embassy, shared valuable information on training opportunities for teachers of English, including specialization courses and online classes. Ms. Monica Drăgan, Director of the Information Resource Center (IRC), spoke about the many events that IRC and American Corners around the country regularly organize to promote American culture, further providing the participants with an impressive list of resources and suggestions for database access.
The workshop concluded with a presentation delivered by the educational advisers of the Romanian-U.S. Fulbright Commission, outlining various opportunities for future cooperation with high school teachers.
We would like to thank the State Department’s Teacher Exchange Branch, the U.S. Embassy in Bucharest, the Ministry of National Education, the National Library of Romania, and the American Corner in Bucharest for all their support, but we would also like to express our gratitude to all of our speakers and participants for their presence and contribution to the workshop.
More photos are available on the Commission’s Facebook Page.