Jacksonville, AL – As originally reported by Brett Buckner with JSU’s media department, Dr. Candice Byers, assistant professor in Jacksonville State University’s College of Education and Professional Studies, has been selected as a Longview Foundation Global Teacher Education (GTE) Fellow, a national professional development program focused on integrating global learning into teacher preparation programs.
The yearlong virtual fellowship brings together higher education faculty from across the country to explore strategies for incorporating global perspectives into teacher education. Hosted by the Longview Foundation, the program supports educators as they revise courses, develop global learning outcomes and strengthen cultural competence among future teachers.
“I was very excited to be chosen as a fellow and ready to get started,” Byers said.
As part of the fellowship, Byers will work with a national cohort of educators while redesigning one of her courses to include global learning concepts.
“We work over the year through webinars to enrich our knowledge of global learning and perspectives,” she said. “I also have been assigned a mentor to help guide me through the process of bringing global learning into my coursework.”
The fellowship began in June and includes webinars and collaborative discussions on topics such as multicultural literature and incorporating both local and global perspectives into course planning.
“We have already started our webinars,” Byers said. “So far, I have been able to have great discussions on a variety of topics, from multicultural literature to thinking both locally and globally when planning for my courses.”
Byers teaches undergraduate and graduate courses in Jacksonville State’s Secondary Education Program, where she serves as English Language Arts program chair. She also coordinates senior practicum field experiences and teaches courses in content literacy, teaching writing, teaching literature, literacy theory and English Language Arts methods. In addition, she supervises pre-service teachers during student teaching.
Dr. Nilufer Guler, associate dean of the College of Education and Professional Studies, said Byers is committed to preparing future educators through inclusive teaching practices.
“She is dedicated to preparing teacher candidates to engage students using global perspectives and inclusive, culturally responsive approaches,” Guler said. “She sees global education as essential to empowering future educators to create meaningful connections across cultures and communities.”
Through the fellowship, Byers plans to revise her Teaching Literature course to provide students with a broader global perspective that they can later apply in their own classrooms.
“Already I have begun to see not just my Teaching Literature course through a new lens, but I have also started to see ways I can improve upon my other courses as well,” she said. “My hope is that as I continue to learn through this fellowship opportunity, I will be able to positively impact my own students through the additions and changes I make to the courses I teach.”
Guler previously participated in the Longview Foundation Global Teacher Education Fellowship during the 2018-19 academic year and said the experience expanded her professional network and created opportunities for collaboration with educators nationwide.
“This experience significantly expanded my professional network and gave me opportunities to collaborate with colleagues from across the nation and around the world,” Guler said. “Together, we applied for grants, wrote papers, presented at conferences, exchanged teaching ideas, and even published a book.”
She described the fellowship as one of the most valuable professional development experiences of her career and said it offers participants opportunities to strengthen both research and instructional practices through collaboration and ongoing professional development.
The fellowship application process included questions about Byers’ goals as an educator, her research and service, and her efforts to promote global learning. Applicants also described their growth as global learners, outlined goals for the fellowship and submitted a recommendation from their department head. Applications were reviewed by a panel of teacher education experts.
“All of this information was reviewed by a panel of reviewers with expertise in teacher education,” Byers said, “and I was recommended as one of the top candidates.”
