December 6, 2021
|
Eddie Supratman, Assistant Professor of History and Religion, and ASU-Beebe Global Classroom Project Director, views one of the final video submissions in the Guided Global Classroom Project. |
This fall, ASU-Beebe students and faculty participated in a six-week collaborative group project with students and instructors in El Salvador regarding the Central American migration crisis.
The project, titled “Guided Global Classroom Group Project: Central American Migration Crisis-Factors Driving Migration from Central America,” examined and analyzed various factors driving the migration from Central America, such as history, education, economics, as well as sociological and psychological factors.
Eddie Supratman, Assistant Professor of History and Religion, was the project director for ASU-Beebe and in addition to Supratman, participating instructors and students included Dr. Jodi Whitehurst and freshmen English II course students; Korey Davis and sociology course students; Dr. Dava Brock and psychology course students; and Amber Bramlett and education course students.
Participants in the Global Classroom Group Project included 67 students from ASU-Beebe and 67 students from El Salvador, as well as five instructors from ASU-Beebe, five instructors from UNICAES in Santa Ana, El Salvador, and one instructor from Colegio Lamatepec in Santa Tecla, El Salvador.
The project focused on the increased flow and resulting border issues regarding Central American migrants within the last decade, in particular the migration from the northern triangular countries of Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador. Together with community and university collaboration, this project aimed to better understand the factors driving migration from Central America, the betterment of migrants, and the effect of increased migration on communities across the United States.
Students were given the opportunity to brainstorm and engage in constructive dialogues to address the migration crisis in Central America. Students from ASU-Beebe and El Salvador were paired in various groups and assigned a specific factor of the project. The Learning Management System (LMS) was used for collaboration and submission of online assignments. The project ended with final written reports and videos showcasing each group’s project and experience.