WKU News

The U.S. Department of State and the Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board are pleased to announce that Dr. Janet Tassell, a professor with the School of Teacher Education at Western Kentucky University in Bowling Green, KY, has received a Fulbright U.S. Scholar Program award to Czech Republic. Tassell will research/lecture at Charles University, Prague, and throughout the country, to learn about mathematics teaching approaches of faculty and staff at in Czech Republic universities, schools, and other entities. Through the Fulbright project, “Mindfulness Teaching Practices in Mathematics,” she will continue the work of a WKU internally grant-funded seminar-structured study (project co-director Dr. Natasha Gerstenschlager) working with teacher candidates to apply mindfulness practices in mathematics instruction, through a combined approach of improving math self-efficacy, strengthening a growth mindset, and lessening math anxiety. Tassell will establish a relationship from which to learn the country’s educational structure and to form potential student teaching placements for WKU’s teacher candidates in Czech Republic for part of their practicum/internship. 

As a Fulbright Scholar, Tassell will share knowledge and foster meaningful connections across communities in the United States and Czech Republic. Fulbrighters engage in cutting-edge research and expand their professional networks, often continuing research collaborations started abroad and laying the groundwork for forging future partnerships between institutions. Upon returning to their institutions, labs, and classrooms, in the United States, they share their stories and often become active supporters of international exchange, inviting foreign scholars to campus and encouraging colleagues and students to go abroad. As Fulbright Scholar alumni, their careers are enriched by joining a network of thousands of esteemed scholars, many of whom are leaders in their fields. Fulbright alumni include 60 Nobel Prize laureates, 88 Pulitzer Prize recipients, and 39 who have served as a head of state or government.

The Fulbright Program is the U.S. government’s flagship international educational exchange program and is supported by the people of the United States and partner countries around the world. The Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs is pleased to announce that 2021 marks the 75th Anniversary of the Fulbright Program. Celebrations throughout the year will highlight the impressive accomplishments and legacy of the program and its alumni over its first 75 years, both in the United States and around the world. A dedicated 75th Anniversary website - www.fulbright75.org - is being updated throughout 2021 to showcase anniversary events and to facilitate ongoing engagement.  

Since 1946, the Fulbright Program has provided more than 400,000 participants from over 160 countries the opportunity to study, teach and conduct research, exchange ideas, and contribute to finding solutions to shared international concerns. The primary source of funding for the Fulbright program is an annual appropriation by the U.S. Congress to the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs. Participating governments and host institutions, corporations, and foundations in foreign countries and in the United States also provide direct and indirect support.  

For further information about the Fulbright Program or the U.S. Department of State, please visit http://eca.state.gov/fulbright or contact the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs Press Office by telephone 202-632-6452 or e-mail ECA-Press@state.gov.

For more information about the School of Teacher Education, please to go wku.edu/ste.