Daria Pizzuto, M.A. ’13, a doctoral candidate in the College of Education and Human Services, has received a Fulbright Distinguished Awards in Teaching grant to conduct innovative research on teaching Spanish through authentic literature in Chile. The Award recognizes and encourages excellence in teaching in the U.S. and abroad. It allows U.S. and international teachers to receive grants to study at a university, observe classes and complete a project pertaining to their field of educational inquiry during their time abroad.

“The faculty and my coursework prepared me to produce a sound review of literature and methodology in my research proposal for the Fulbright application, and get it successfully accepted. I know that the things I learned in this program will be a huge benefit to me as further my research abroad. Pizzuto will spend six months immersing herself in Chilean Spanish education beginning in March 2017.

The basis of her study. “Research shows that literature-based instruction enhances communicative performance, helps students acquire life skills and leads to vocabulary and comprehension gains,” she said. “Yet, it is a challenge in the U.S. to find authentic middle grade novels written in Spanish by a native Spanish-speaking author. Since Chile has a rich children’s literature tradition, it is my hope that I will be able to examine and analyze Chilean children’s literature and use it as a foundation to create an innovative, literature-based Spanish curriculum to be used in American schools.”

She also plans to conduct interviews with Chilean educators and students. “I want to speak to Chilean teachers and students and go to their libraries in order to see how the educators teach Spanish with the literature that they use,” said Pizzuto. ‘This will allow me to create curriculum in my role as an educator, collaborate with international educators and share my findings with colleagues and policymakers.”