Alumni Rising: Institute’s Cole honored by native Nigeria
On a recent trip to her homeland of Nigeria, Juliet Cole, associate director of the Institute for Learning Partnership, was presented with the “Recognition Award of Outstanding Daughter of the Soil” educational honor.
The award, given by the Supreme House Montessori School in Lagos, Nigeria, was presented to Cole in partnership with the Quality Assurance and Research Development Agency (QAARDAN) of Nigeria. The recognition spoke to appreciation for a “job well done for the immense contributions to the enormous growth of education in Nigeria.”
In her role as an ambassador of UW-Green Bay, Cole used the trip to strengthen the relationship between the University and educational entities in Nigeria, and promote UW-Green Bay’s Accomplished Educator Professional Development Certificate (PDC) Program.
Her travels also included a presentation at the Lagos State Government Ministry of Education International Educational Summit, held on May 22. This presentation promoted the PDC to educators as an effective and innovative program for promoting quality assurance in teaching and learning.
“I was pleasantly surprised and honored to receive this award,” said Cole. “Promoting the Institute’s PDC program was easy for me given that I’ve been immersed in the behind-the-scenes aspects of the program from its inception. It is a proven and innovative program that transforms educators into reflective practitioners who understand the art and science of teaching and know how to perform classroom action research. I wanted this for Nigerian educators to successfully prepare students for a competitive world.”
In May of 2013, prior to Cole’s trip, nine Nigerian educators and administrators visited UW-Green Bay and local schools to exchange teaching practices and explore school/University partnerships. As part of the weeklong itinerary, the Nigerian educators were invited to visit Green Bay West High School, the Wisconsin International School in De Pere, Red Smith and Heritage Elementary schools, Providence Academy, the Howard-Suamico School District and St. Norbert College.
Theresa Okafor is Director of QAARDAN, which trains teachers and encourages professional development through workshops and tours of schools located in the United Kingdom, France, Canada and the U.S. Okafor said the relationship between UW-Green Bay and QAARDAN will provide Nigerian schools with better teachers and, ultimately, better students.
“We’re open to learn from the expertise we’ve witnessed,” Okafor said. “We’ve seen the teachers and faculty are very resourceful and experienced, everything they have had to share is research-based, evidence-based teaching strategies.”
Read more about the visit by Nigerian educators to UW-Green Bay and local schools.
Cole is a bachelor’s (1975) and master’s degree (1980) graduate of UW-Green Bay.
