Department chair and history teacher Lisa-Brit Wahlberg P’23 received a Fulbright U.S. Scholar Program award in Teaching to Norway for the 2023-2024 academic year from the U.S. Department of State and the Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board. Lisa-Brit is currently in Norway to provide training workshops to Norwegian high school students and teachers on educational tips related to “going gradeless” using competency-based pedagogies, incorporating brain science into course curricula, and influential women in American History.
Lisa-Brit is among over 800 U.S. citizens who will teach or conduct research abroad for the coming 2023-2024 academic year through the Fulbright U.S. Scholar Program. 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 home countries, institutions, labs, and classrooms, 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.
We connected with Lisa-Brit to have a conversation and learn more about this prestigious award, recognition and opportunity.
What made you decide to apply for a Fulbright Scholarship?
In the classroom, I teach students about diplomacy and the various ways in which this tool manifests on the world stage. The Fulbright Scholarship provides a valuable diplomatic opportunity for teachers to become an educational ambassador for the United States abroad. In this way, it gives me a chance to live out what I’ve been encouraging my students to do.
What will be the focus of your year abroad?
I received a teaching grant and will visit Norwegian high school classrooms and deliver workshops on brain science, influential women in U.S. history, and teen culture. In addition, I will offer workshops to Norwegian teachers on student-centered learning and grading for equity using standards based assessments.
What are your learning goals during your year abroad with the Fulbright U.S. Scholar program?
Some goals I hope to achieve is a better understanding of how teachers promote gender equity in the classroom. Despite having socialized medicine, free education, and generous maternity leave, women are still under-represented in leadership positions in the Norwegian workplace. I am curious about the ways in which cultural norms (might) impact course selection and career goals in teenage girls.
How does the Fulbright mission align with your professional goals?
This opportunity will enable me to visit over 100 different schools throughout Norway and engage directly with teachers and students. Norwegian teachers are highly interested in “going gradeless” and are curious about the ways American teachers are implementing competency-based pedagogies. In many ways, my experience working at Miss Porter’s has uniquely prepared me for this very moment!
How will you use your Fulbright experience as an educator?
I expect that this experience will heighten my cultural awareness and diversity perspective on education. Although I will have a teaching role, I also expect to be an active learner and absorb the methods and styles that teachers elsewhere employ to deliver quality instruction in an equitable environment. It is my hope that after my Fulbright experience, I will have expanded my cultural sensitivities as an educator and also represented the United States’ education system well.
The entire Miss Porter’s School community is excited for Lisa-Brit and this amazing opportunity and experience. We wish her well as she shapes a changing world.
Learn more about Lisa-Brit’s teacher and student workshops in Norway.
