Alina SlapacAlina Slapac is an associate professor of action research, and curriculum and instruction in the College of Education, Department of Educator Preparation & Leadership at the University of Missouri-St. Louis (UMSL), USA. Her research interests includeteacher preparation and development with focus on virtual exchange (VE) contexts through the social justice lens, internationalization of teacher education and global citizenship education, (participatory) action research, culturally and linguistically responsive teaching (culture as strength), and transformative pedagogy. She has been collaborating with educators from China, Norway, Romania, Spain, South Africa, South Korea and USA on research and teaching, including Collaborative International Learning (COIL) partnerships. She has also received three prestigious university teaching awards: Governor’s Award for Excellence in Teaching (UMSL, 2022), The Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Teaching (UMSL, 2020) and Emerson Excellence in Teaching Award (UMSL, 2013). Dr. Slapac has been an UMSL Global Fellow and an UMSL Inquiry Circles Fellow on global competency. Among numerous journal articles and book chapters, she also co-edited two books: Handbook of Research on the Global Empowerment of Educators and Student Learning through Action Research (Slapac, Balcerzak & O’Brien, 2021) and Beyond Language Learning Instruction: Transformative Supports for Emergent Bilinguals and Educators (Slapac & Coppersmith, 2019) (IGI Global). She currently serves as the Vice-Chair for Internationalization of Teacher Education TAG (Topic Action Group) through the American Association for Colleges of Teacher Education (ACCTE). Read More Read Less