Campus Connection

Guatemala trip an enlightening experience for CSH faculty

For UWL Mathematics faculty Jenn Kosiak and Maggie McHugh, a recent stay in Guatemala added up to a once-in-a-lifetime experience. 

Kosiak and McHugh joined a dozen Wisconsin educators on a professional development trip to Antigua, Guatemala, where they gained firsthand experience with native students, teachers and educational practices.  

The group spent several days at a local school, La Escuela de Esperanza (The School of Hope), with each Wisconsin teacher partnering with a Guatemalan educator and their students. 

The trip highlighted the unique cultural aspects of math education in Guatemala, as well as similarities to the United States. 

“As I was partnered in a sixth-grade classroom, and had taught sixth grade for 10 years, I cherished each time I saw one of the Guatemalan students act similarly to my students in Wisconsin,” McHugh says. “This made me realize that despite the language and cultural differences, kids are kids. My sixth-graders were also learning English, so practicing our language skills with them was entertaining, especially since my Spanish was ‘muy mal.’”

Two nonprofit organizations — Wisconsin Mathematics Council and Mathkind — organized the trip with the goal of increasing the effectiveness of mathematics instruction through research-based culturally responsive teaching strategies. 

With the aid of translators, the visiting teachers worked alongside their Guatemalan counterparts, exchanging teaching and learning practices. 

“Student mathematical brilliance is everywhere,” Kosiak explains. “When students are engaged in rich and meaningful tasks, they are able to showcase their passion for learning. Teaching culturally relevant math tasks transcended the language barrier and allowed us (instructor and student) to find commonalities across our borders.” 

The experience offered lessons that can be applied in all classrooms, for all learners. 

“When teachers are excited about their content, students naturally feed off of that excitement,” McHugh says. “The teacher really plays a central role in creating the culture and atmosphere of the classroom. Even though we were only in the classroom (in Guatemala) for five days, relationships can be quickly established when you show the respect and willingness to learn from each other (through Google Translate).” 

Beyond academics, McHugh and Kosiak left with a lasting impression of the region itself. In Antigua, a city nestled between two active volcanoes, they could see clouds of ash in the sky each morning — a jolting but memorable way to begin the day. 

“Neither one of us had traveled to Guatemala previously,” they note. “Being immersed in a new culture was extremely rewarding.”