Pacific Alliance Project in Peru – One of my long-term professional development goals has been to gain a better understanding about NSCC International’s role through active involvement in a project in which I could put my developing Spanish Language skills to use. I expressed my interest to NSCC International, and just so happened that the Pacific Alliance Project was in the works with educational institutions in Chile and Peru at that time. 

As this project rolled-out over the past year or so, I worked with a team of colleagues to develop and deliver presentations about teaching and learning at NSCC to visiting delegations from technical institutes in Chile and Peru. Then, in December of 2019, the opportunity arose to be part of the team going to Arequipa, Peru to take part in the teacher education part of the project. 

My task for this recent project mission was to develop and facilitate workshops on Universal Design and Lesson Planning … BOPPPS is now in Peru! Although these are familiar concepts and practices for all NSCC faculty, my personal challenge was to present this information in the Spanish language while incorporating principles of cultural competence in my interactions with faculty from Arequipa. Our workshop participants in Arequipa were teachers who are dedicated to their students and to continuous improvement. It was an honour to be able to share our best practices and to learn and grow professionally with them.

Charlene Marshall

Faculty, School of Access, Education and Language

NSCC Strait Area Campus