BGSU education professor earns second Fulbright honor

U.S. Fulbright Specialist Program selects Angela Falter Thomas, Ph.D., an associate professor of education at BGSU, for a collaboration in the Czech Republic

During her tenure as a Fulbright Scholar Teacher in 2018-19, Bowling Green State University associate professor Angela Falter Thomas, Ph.D., found that the experience was so much more than one trip.

Falter Thomas spent an entire academic year at Palacky University in Olomouc, Czech Republic, where she taught 90 education majors in five courses to improve effectiveness in primary education. The experience led to lasting, continuing relationships throughout the country – including with her former students who are now teachers working in the field – and a sterling reputation for developing future educators that has led to additional recognition.

The Fulbright Specialist Program selected Falter Thomas to return to the Czech Republic, this time to the University of West Bohemia in Plzeň, which reached out to her two years ago about the possibility of a second collaboration that, in many ways, is a continuation of what she began with her first award.

“My first Fulbright truly changed my life,” Falter Thomas said. “It’s such a meaningful opportunity that built relationships I’ve sustained for years, so it really became about long-term collaboration and not a one-time opportunity.”

Though she returned to the U.S. after her academic year abroad, she kept in contact with many of her former Czech students, first on Zoom during the coronavirus pandemic, and then in multiple in-person visits during her breaks at BGSU.

In addition to molding the next generation of teachers in Bowling Green, Falter Thomas said the relationships she built in the Czech Republic have been among the most rewarding things she has experienced as a professor.

“I’ve returned many times at my own expense to see my former students who are now teachers, and when you get in their classrooms and see them utilize strategies and techniques that you taught them, it’s amazing,” she said. “That has really given me great global perspective.”

The College of Education and Human Development at BGSU has been regularly recognized as one of the top teacher-prep programs in the Midwest, and for Falter Thomas, developing future educators has not been limited to the U.S.

“I am honored to represent BGSU through this global work,” Falter Thomas said. “Collaborating with educators around the world strengthens our teacher preparation programs and brings new perspectives back to BG so our future teachers can better serve the children in their classrooms.”

International collaboration has been a hallmark for Falter Thomas, who has traveled to 61 countries and been a steward of BGSU all over the globe.

In addition to her first Fulbright trip to the Czech Republic, she spent a semester at Keele University in England, gave professional development sessions to teachers in Peru and led student study abroad trips to the United Kingdom and Costa Rica during her time at the University.

Falter Thomas said it was “very flattering” that word of her expertise traveled throughout the Czech Republic, leading to an invitation from a university on the other side of the country from her first visit.

She is currently in Plzeň for a three-week Fulbright Specialist project that began March 10.

Like her first visit, the collaboration is mutually beneficial, she said.

“They liked how I interacted with students and was able to engage students in large class sizes, and I always bring their perspectives back to my students at BGSU,” she said. “I think this new project will let me build upon that foundation, but partner with a new university on the opposite side of the Czech Republic.”

On her current visit, Falter Thomas is co-teaching five class sessions, giving a presentation and hosting a question-and-answer session for university faculty, presenting a lecture to the U.S. Embassy, guest speaking at the American Center in Plzeň and conducting a workshop for local teachers, which will focus on practical literacy and instructional strategies that teachers can use to strengthen reading and writing instruction in their classrooms.

Recognized with another Fulbright honor, Falter Thomas said she hopes to continue the spirit of collaboration that made her first visit so memorable.

“The Fulbright isn’t just about traveling abroad, it’s about building relationships,” Falter Thomas said. “Collaborations like these strengthen teachers on both sides of the ocean. I learn so much from them, and when we prepare better teachers anywhere, we’re preparing stronger futures for everyone.”